Last But Not Least!
Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 02/03/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Johann Joseph Fux ( 1660-1741) is possibly the only major Baroque composer whose music I haven't reviewed at least some time. This is not a sign of disregard; I'd rank Fux alongside Pachelbel, Carissimi, and Buxtehude, and very close even to Alessandro Scarlatti and JS Bach. Nationalism, however, is alive in 'early music', and Fux more than others is identified by his nationality as the Austrian court composer par excellence. Thus the only strong performances of his music available are by two Austrian ensembles, the Clemencic Consort and the Wiener Akademie. In fact, there are only four CDs worth hearing of Fux's vocal music, and I plan to review all four very soon.
The so-called Emperor's Requiem was composed for the funeral of the widow of Emperor Leopold I on March 5, 1720. It was performed again three times, in 1729, 1736, and 1740, always for imperial funerals. Unlike other requiems of the early 18th C - the one by Hasse for instance - Fux's Requiem is not a statement of pomp and grandeur, but rather a somber portrayal of mourning, a musical confrontation with death itself. In spirit, it's far closer to Mozart's unfinished Requiem of 1791 than to any liturgical music composed close to 1720. In this and in other works, Fux was clearly a herald of the Austrian pre-eminence that would emerge with Haydn and Mozart. In particular, Fux's use of trumpets, trombones, and chalumeaux, not as 'color' but as integral components of his orchestra, marks him as a forerunner of symphonic composition.
The Clemencic Consort, with René Clemencic conducting, performs the Requiem with both power and suppleness; I can hardly imagine a braver statement of Fux's significance. The Requiem is introduced by an elegant sonata for two violins and a vigorous Ciaccona for organ. Two 'a cappella' polyphonic motets, in a chaste almost Palestrinan style, are inserted in proper places in the Requiem, to good effect. Only the two brief (one minute) sonata movements played on trombones and organ fall short of brilliance to my ears.
The other Clemencic recording of Fux is the 2-CD performance of the operatic oratorio Dafne in Lauro. That's an exciting work as well, but less 'progressive' and distinctive than the Requiem. If you've never heard, or heard of, Johann Joseph Fux, this CD is where to start."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1