Category Archives: Music

Gaetano Pugnani – The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts XIX

With this, the nineteenth instalment of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we begin the third set of six overtures published monthly between 1763 and 1783. The next six overtures are dedicated to Italian composers whose music was all the rage in London towards the end of the 1760s. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, in the complete series are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

The earliest known advertisement for Periodical Overture No. 19 is dated 20 August 1767, and it contains the standard phrase “This Day is published” that Bremner used when each issue was newly released. He did repeat the identical verbiage in another advertisement two days later, so it is possible that the symphony had made its actual debut a few days before 20 August, with no earlier newspaper issues surviving today to document the fact. Still, it is certain that the work appeared during August 1767, and thus Bremner once again honored his pledge to publish only music that had not yet appeared in the British Isles.  …

Curiously, the version of the symphony published by Bremner differs in numerous respects from its Parisian predecessors (as well as from the subsequent Welcker edition, since that is a duplicate of the Oger/Maillet print). Some of the changes reflect Bremner’s customary practices: he added figured bass to the Basso part, which is not present in either French publication. As was often the case, Bremner eliminated the “Minuetto” movement that appeared in the Oger/Maillet edition; that movement is also absent from Bailleux’s Sinfonia Periodique. Indeed, it seems probable that Bremner used the Bailleux version as his source, since his Basso part matches the many pitch register differences that distinguish the two French parts, as well as the duration of the multi-measure rest in the first movement that starts at measure 43; Bailleux and Bremner give the basses ten measures of rest, while it is only nine bars in Oger/Maillet.

In other ways, however, Bremner differs fairly significantly from both of the French prints. The viola part is divisi in all three movements of Periodical Overture No. 19, whereas the Oger/Maillet version divides the violas solely in the Andante movement (which Bremner labels as “Adagio”). Moreover, the viola parts in that French edition are completely different than the parts in Bremner’s issue. Instead, Bremner’s Viola I melody is derived from the Bailleux print (which contains only a single, undivided part), and Bremner has crafted his own Viola II part, harmonizing it primarily in thirds with Viola I, along with occasional polyphonic interweavings.

An even more surprising change is Bremner’s simplification of the syncopated pulsation that Violin I plays at the opening of the work in both French editions. Instead of off-beat quarter notes (reinforced by Violin II starting in measure 6), Bremner has his violins play steady eighth notes. It is not clear why he made this change; was it intended to make it easier for less-skilled ensembles to perform? A need for simplification does not seem fully warranted, since there had been many other symphonies already published as Periodical Overtures that presented greater rhythmic challenges. The modification seems even stranger in light of the fact that Bremner retains the French off-beat notation during the recapitulation of the opening material (m. 114). The purpose for these alterations remains a mystery, but perhaps it was a justifiable decision, given the subsequent longevity of the work. Although Bremner published only this one symphony by Pugnani in the Periodical Overture series, it remained in the repertory for a long time. Scholar Jenny Burchell has documented at least five performances of Periodical Overture No. 19 at concerts of the Edinburgh Musical Society, starting in 1769 and persisting for twenty years after it was published.[1]

Even with Bremner’s modifications, Pugnani’s ingenuity as a composer remains apparent. Rather than the bold coup d’archet openings of so many Mannheim composers, the start of Pugnani’s “Allegro assai” is a mysterious pianissimo. Only in the second bar, still at pianissimo, do the low strings present the simple rising-and-falling motif that comprises the first “melody” of this sonata form. Finally, in measure 19, a subito forte, reiterated triplets against “drum 8ths,” and the tutti ensemble combine to jolt the listeners. Three homorhythmic chords—played by the full ensemble—mark the end of the bridge (m. 42) and the start of the second theme (m. 43), which again starts quietly. This time, the first violins play little fragmentary motifs above the harmonic “carpeting” provided by the horns and lower strings. The theme ends with a striking series of whole-note chords (m. 62), drawing attention to the end of the exposition and the start of the development, which is filled with measured tremolos (m. 71). Three strong chords (m. 113) again articulate the structure, with the recapitulation beginning in the subsequent bar. This time, however, the low strings start their melody during the first measure of Violin I’s pulsations. Again, three emphatic chords (m. 135) herald the return of the second theme (m. 136), and the delicious whole-note chordal passage recurs in bar 155.

For the slightly melancholy “Adagio,” Pugnani shifts to the relative minor and eliminates the horns. Not only does this movement again open quietly, but it sustains the piano dynamic throughout, and all the string instruments are continuously muted. The movement is structured in three parts, each of which has a very similar rhythmic profile: a melodic line that emphasizes off-beat eighth notes against an on-the-beat accompaniment, often in a steady eighth-note/eighth-rest pattern. The second of the three sections, B, at measure 10, shifts to the mediant key, and a variant of the B material recurs at bar 29. The third section, C (m. 41), restores the movement to its opening C minor tonality, but does not reprise the melodic material heard at the start.

The strong emphasis on the downbeats and the bouncy contour of the melody during the closing “Allegro assai” reflect the gigue’s influence on this finale. The opening key of E-flat major is restored, and Pugnani employs a binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata”; it can be diagrammed as an || a/I b/V  a/V b/I || structure.[2] A crescendo for the full ensemble (m. 37) points to the arrival of the second theme (m. 45) This melody is presented by the oboes, initially unaccompanied, but then joined by the tutti in bar 49. The first theme reappears in measure 66, and in the process of transitioning back from the dominant to the tonic, the oboes are given another solo feature (m. 84). They return to the spotlight a third time in bar 123, when the second theme is now played in E-flat major. Overall, the finale creates a strong contrast to the distinctive first and second movements, giving the audience a wide variety of musical experiences within a single work.

Alyson McLamore

[1] Jenny Burchell, Polite or Commercial Concerts?: Concert Management and Orchestral Repertoire in Edinburgh, Bath, Oxford, Manchester, and Newcastle, 1730–1799, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities, ed. by John Caldwell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1996), 312, 319, 337, 344, 347.

[2] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

Franz Xaver Richter – The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts XVIII

With this, the eighteenth instalment  of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we are almost one third of the way through this extended publishing project. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

 

Bremner’s one issue by [Franz Xaver] Richter … had staying power. Bremner drew from a French source for the symphony in D major that became “Number XVIII” of the Periodical Overtures. Georges Cousineau had published it in Paris circa 1765 as No. 5 of Sei Sinfonie a Otto, billed as Richter’s opus 7. No newspaper advertisement survives to pinpoint the date of Bremner’s subsequent British issue, but it was announced at the bottom of Bremner’s list of “New Music” on 7 February 1767, so it is likely to have been released at the start of the month or perhaps even earlier.[1] Scholar Jenny Burchell has documented at least five subsequent performances of Periodical Overture No. 18 at concerts of the Edinburgh Musical Society, starting in 1769 and persisting for at least seventeen years, until 1786.[2]

In a small way, Bremner modified Richter’s already-conservative symphony to make it even more old-fashioned: he added figured bass to the Basso part, which had not been present in the Parisian print. Still, that was Bremner’s customary practice throughout the series, and Richter’s symphony still retains many features that speak to its “modern” Mannheim origins. The first movement opens with four measures of a bold premier coup d’archet, made even more dramatic by two weighty pauses prolonged by fermatas. This “first strike of the bows” is followed by quiet but vigorous measured tremolos that climb in stepwise fashion, supported by “drum 8ths.” The same pairing recurs in measure 51 to mark the start of the sonata form’s development, while the movement’s second theme—a showcase for the oboes at measure 28—is the first melody to return in the recapitulation (m. 108). The first theme makes only a brief reappearance at measure 124, shortly before the end of the “Allegro spiritoso” movement.

Richter shifts to the dominant key of A major for the strings-only “Andante” movement, and he employs a binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata”; it can be diagrammed as an ||: a/I b/V :||: a/V b/I :|| structure.[3] The florid first theme, played by the violins, interlocks contrapuntally with the lower strings. The second theme (m. 18) layers the string instruments in four ostinato-like rhythms: the first violin plays off-beat pairs of sixteenth notes; the second violin performs three eighth notes after a downbeat eighth rest; the viola sounds steady sixteenth notes, while the cello and bass play an eighth note on each beat of the duple meter. Bremner’s edition marks this passage “dolce”—an indication that is lacking in the Parisian print.

Richter retains both the Type 2 sonata form and duple meter for the D major “Allegro molto” finale, but his proclivity for the learned style makes a clear appearance here as well. The first oboe and first violin play an ascending melody that opens with half notes, then adds to the rhythmic energy with increasingly shorter note values. Two bars later, the second oboe and second violin echo the melody, creating a fugato passage, while the low strings play drum 8ths. The full ensemble then participates in a brief but effective crescendo (m. 7), reflecting Richter’s Mannheim background as well. The first violin plays the lyrical second theme at measure 34, at which point the supporting oboes are instructed to play “dolce,” an indication again absent in the Cousineau print, and the rest of the strings add quiet drum 8th pulsations. The second half of this binary sonata (m. 92) again opens with a fugato passage and a brief tutti crescendo. This time, however, the transition back to the second theme and the home key (m. 150) is much longer; it is filled with measured tremolos, sequences, and various interlocking patterns. Although Charles Burney sometimes found such sequential passages tedious, feeling they indicated a “want of invention,” he still regarded Richter’s themes as “often new and noble,” and saw “great merit” in Richter’s music—a view clearly shared by many of his fellow British citizens.[4]

Alyson McLamore

[1] The Public Advertiser, 7 February 1767, p. 1.

[2] Jenny Burchell, Polite or Commercial Concerts?: Concert Management and Orchestral Repertoire in Edinburgh, Bath, Oxford, Manchester, and Newcastle, 1730–1799, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities, ed. by John Caldwell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1996), 313, 316, 330, 344, 347.

[3] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

[4] Charles Burney, The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Provinces, 2nd ed., corrected (London: T. Becket, J. Rosson, and G. Robinson, 1775), II: 329.

Thomas Alexander Erskine (The Earl of Kelly) – The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts XVII

With this, the seventeenth instalment  of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we are now well on our way to the halfway mark in the publishing project. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

As had been true with Erskine’s first symphony within the Periodical Overtures series [overture 13], purchasers of No. 17 got quite a bit more than the “8 Parts” they would have expected. This time, in addition to the standard string complement of first and second violins, viola, and basso, there were cues for bassoon in the basso part. … Besides the usual two horns, the winds included two flutes and two B-flat clarinet parts—the first time any of the Periodical Overtures had featured clarinets. [Kelly’s] Biographer David Johnson notes that the flutes play only with the full ensemble; he speculates that Erskine was writing with the Edinburgh Musical Society in mind, whose flutists were amateurs (professionals were hired for the other wind parts). Johnson suggests the flutes were deployed “only where they would cause minimum damage.”[1]

The increased number of winds resembled the typical scoring for outdoor wind-band groups, while the breadth of available colour allowed Erskine to pursue the concertante style that was growing in popularity.[2] In fact, although Erskine had gained early fame for introducing British audiences to the Mannheim idiom, he spent several years in London in the early 1760s, and seems to have absorbed ideas from Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782) and Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–1787). H. C. Robbins Landon sees a resemblance between Erskine’s wind-band solos in Periodical Overture No. 17 and the similar solo passages in the Abel symphony that had once been credited to Mozart as K. 18.[3]

Nevertheless, Erskine’s symphony still contains plenty of features that evoke the Mannheim approach. The opening “Allegro,” in cut-time, is supported by “drum 8ths,” measured tremolos, and a few passages of murky-bass oscillations. The sonata-form movement contains three themes: the first opens with triple-stop chords in the upper strings, followed by an arpeggiated passage. It also contains numerous instances of the quick rising-and-falling motif known as the Bebung. The second theme drops the dynamic to piano and moves in a conjunct descending direction, while the third theme showcases the wind[s].

The “Andantino,” in , moves to the relative key of c minor. Like the first movement, it is structured as a sonata form without repeats, shifting (rather abruptly) to E-flat (III) for its secondary key area. Unusually, this slow movement employs the full ensemble, rather than reducing the scoring to strings alone. It opens pianissimo and features many upper-neighbor gestures. The wind band is again prominently featured. … The progressively shorter note values in the final fifteen bars are a nice illustration of the Classic era’s fondness for building excitement by means of increasing animation.

The energy rises even more for the “Presto” finale in , again in sonata form, but this time with repetitions of the exposition and development/recapitulation subsections. The tutti ensemble opens with a vigorous unison arpeggiation that is a commanding premier coup d’archet, while the tone color shifts to strings alone for the piano second theme. The full orchestra returns for a forte closing theme, filled with drum 8ths and measured tremolos for extra flair. Overall, Periodical Overture No. 17 illustrates the “genius for composition” credited to Erskine by his contemporary Charles Burney.[4] It certainly supports the British scholar Charles Cudworth’s view that “after the middle of the century, the Earl of Kelly was undeniably our most gifted symphonist.”[5]

Alyson McLamore

 

[1] David Johnson, ed., Preface to Symphony in E Flat (Periodical Overture 17), by Thomas Erskine, Earl of Kelly, Musica da Camera 31 (London: Oxford University Press, 1974), [ii].

[2] Simon McVeigh, “The Symphony in Britain,” in The Eighteenth-Century Symphony, ed. Mary Sue Morrow and Bathia Churgin, Vol. I of The Symphonic Repertoire (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2012), 647.

[3] H. C. Robbins Landon, Review of Symphony in E-Flat Major (Periodical Overture 17) for Flutes, Clarinets / Oboes, Bassoon, Horns, Strings and Continuo by Earl of Kelly, ed. by David Johnson, Notes 33, no. 3 (March 1977): 676.

[4] Charles Burney, A General History of Music From the Earliest Ages to the Present Period (1789), Vol. II, ed. by Frank Mercer (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1935]), 1018.

[5] Cudworth, “The English Symphonists of the Eighteenth Century,” 48.

Carl Friedrich Abel, The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts: XVI

With this, the sixteenth instalment  of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we are now well on our way to the halfway mark in the publishing project. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

Abel’s symphonies tended to be somewhat less substantial than those of his colleague Johann Christian Bach (periodical overtures 1 & 15), but they showed a similarity in the structures that were becoming the rage in England: an opening movement showpiece, a simpler and lyrical slow movement, and a light-hearted finale.[1] In fact, the observer William Jackson, writing in 1791, felt that Abel had “very successfully” followed the model of Franz Xaver Richter (Periodical Overture 18), the earliest of the Mannheim composers to have symphonies performed in England.[2] Periodical Overture No. 16 is, overall, an excellent illustration of Abel’s compositional traits. It features the standard (but not inevitable) “eight parts” of the Bremner series, and its contrasting middle movement shifts to the subdominant key of G major. Lacking repeated sections altogether, it is also one of the shortest of all the Periodical Overtures.

The Allegro is the most elaborate of the three movements. After an emphatic tutti opening chord, the upper strings proceed through delicate upward and downward scalar passages in common time, supported by steady “drum 8ths” in the violas. The accompaniment soon shifts to even more animated measured tremolos. The sonata form’s refined second theme features a “learned” passage of contrapuntal interplay between the strings, while the closing theme returns to an embellished scalar ascent in the oboes and first violins above vigorous measured tremolos and drum 8ths. The development  relies on motifs from the first theme to return the movement to D major. The closing theme makes two reappearances during the recapitulation, framing the return of the contrapuntal second theme.

In contrast to the largely conjunct melodies of the first movement, the Andante relies on considerably more disjunct motion. It opens at a quiet piano dynamic, but jumps to a subito forte in the fourth bar. The second theme, like the first, contains numerous leaps, but also plays with the contrast between sixteenths in simple subdivision and triplets. The sonata form ushers in the tiniest whiff of a development, while both of the themes are shortened during their recapitulation.

Abel employs a sonata form for a third time in the jaunty finale. This Presto puts the whole orchestra to work in a unison tonic-chord ascending arpeggiation for the first six bars. Abel also displays the era’s increasing interest in greater orchestral color by giving the oboes the conjunct second theme in harmonized thirds; drum 8ths in the second violin and viola provide steady support. The development  plays with ostinato-like repeated rhythms before driving to a robust recapitulation of the first theme. The transition between themes is even more expansive than it had been in the exposition, and one of its highlights is an orchestral crescendo which reflects Abel’s awareness of the orchestral devices that were being popularized by the Mannheim composers. The second theme, again in the oboes, reenters at last, while another full-ensemble tonic-chord arpeggiation, this time moving in a downward direction, pulls the movement (and symphony) to an emphatic close.

Alyson McLamore (adapted)

[1] Franklin B. Zimmerman, ed., “Introduction: Carl Friedrich Abel,” in Carl Friedrich Abel, 1723–1787: Six Symphonies, Opus 1 / Johann Christian Bach, 1735–1782: Six Symphonic Works, Series E, vol. II of The Symphony (New York: Garland Publishing, 1988), xiii; Sanford Helm, ed., “Preface,” in Carl Friedrich Abel: Six Selected Symphonies, vol III of Recent Researches in the Music of the Classical Era (Madison: A-R Editions, 1977), viii.

[2] William Jackson, Observations on the Present State of Music in London (Dublin: A. Grueber, J. Moore, J. Rice, W. Jones, R. M’Allister, and R. White, 1791), 16.

Johann Christian Bach: The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XV

With this, the fifteenth installment  of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we have now completed 25% of this publishing project. The overtures are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich.

Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain the score and parts.

Bremner’s version of the [periodical] overture [XV] enjoyed a healthy longevity, judging from the records of the Edinburgh Musical Society. It was performed twice in 1768, once in 1769, and twice in 1770. Then, after a thirteen-year gap, the society played it again in 1783 and 1785.[1] Moreover, it is possible that it was presented any number of additional times; Bach was well represented in the programming traced by scholar Jenny Burchell, but many listings identify each work solely as “overture,” making it impossible to know what specific work was performed.

Unsurprisingly, given the Italian origin of the overture, Bach follows the structure of the customary operatic sinfonia. It is in three movements, in a typical fast-slow-fast tempo arrangement, and the middle movement is in the key of G, the subdominant of the outer movements’ D major tonality. Unlike Periodical Overture No. 1, Bremner retained the expanded scoring of Bach’s La Giulia overture: not only are the customary oboes replaced by flutes during the “Andante” movement, but in all three movements, the violas frequently are divisi, making this a symphony “in 9 Parts” at the very minimum, even if the woodwinds are counted as doubling.

The kinship between Italian symphonic practices and the increasingly famous “Mannheim School” is quite evident in Bach’s symphony. The first movement, marked “Allegro di Molto,” opens with a bold premier coup d’archet consisting of a staccato upward arpeggio and then a quick downward scalar cascade. Shortly after the opening phrase, which starts to be supported by “drum 8ths” in measure 4, Bach introduces measured tremolos (m. 6) that add to the robust spirit. The movement takes the unusual step of introducing the lyrical second theme (m. 41) in the dominant minor before shifting to its parallel major at measure 61. Bach also starts the second theme with a drop in dynamics to piano, and he withholds the oboes until measure 47. Structurally, the first movement is a sonata form without a development, which James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 1 Sonata.”[2] The recapitulation of the first theme begins at measure 67, while the second theme again opens in the tonic minor (m. 105). It performs an emphatic shift back to D major at measure 118, embellished with energetic horn arpeggios.

The “Andante,” like the first movement, is in common time, but the oboes have been replaced by flutes, and the horns are tacet. The gracious opening theme employs numerous Scotch snaps (which Bach would have probably called “Lombard rhythms”), supported by a rarely indicated “spiccato” articulation. In the first half of this binary form, the modulation to D major introduces a second theme (m. 8) that showcases a call-and-response between the flutes and violins, passing a triplet-sixteenth-note motif back and forth. The second half of the form (m. 20) is darker in character, using a new Lombard-rhythm theme and moving to the relative key of e minor. The return to G major (m. 31) ushers in a fourth theme, this time with the flutes initially doubling the violins. Another call-and-response passage (m. 39) draws the movement to a close.

Bach concludes the sinfonia with a typically gigue-like “Allegro” in a five-part rondo form. Set in 3/8 time, the rondo opens with a bouncy refrain (A) that moves in an upward direction, with the horns adding a good deal of rhythmic energy. The “B” episode (m. 9) is much quieter; the flutes gradually descend above a rather static string ensemble, while the horns are silent. The A refrain returns at measure 17, but this time in the dominant key of A major. The quiet C episode (m. 25) uses the violas—later joined by the flutes—to present another descending line, juxtaposed against upward arpeggios in the violins. The horns also add a pedal tone on A in the second half of the episode, building up anticipation for the return to D major. The final appearance of the refrain begins in measure 41, ending the movement (and the symphony) with a great deal of vigor.

Alyson McLamore

[1] Jenny Burchell, Polite or Commercial Concerts?: Concert Management and Orchestral Repertoire in Edinburgh, Bath, Oxford, Manchester, and Newcastle, 1730–1799, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities, ed. by John Caldwell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1996), 309, 311, 324, 336, 342.

[2] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 345.

Nicolò Jommelli: The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XIV

This is the fourteenth installment of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts which are being published in conjunction with Musikproduktion Höflich.

Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain the score and parts.

In addition to Jommelli’s operatic achievements, his reputation was [well known] in England, thanks to his sacred work Le passione that had been performed several times in London, starting in 1764.[1] Therefore, it must have been something of a coup for Bremner to obtain a symphonic work from him to include in the British series. To create his contribution, Jommelli combined two pre-existing components: a transposed version of the first movement of his sinfonia for the opera Demetrio, coupled with a chaconne that is identified as “Op. V, No. 13” in the Conservatorio di Napoli library.[2] Michael Kelly (1762–1826)—a singer/composer who studied with Mozart for a time—reported that this “chacoone” had been used for operatic dance music in Stuttgart.[3] The conservatory manuscript itself is undated, and there is also controversy concerning the dating of the opera. Its libretto lists the premiere as taking place in Parma in the spring of 1749, and that information is reproduced in most standard reference works.[4] Nevertheless, Helmut Hell cites a 15 September 1750 letter from the librettist Metastasio to the castrato Farinelli, commenting that Jommelli had just received the Demetrio libretto and was currently at work on composing the score. Hell also believes the letter implies that Jommelli was composing the opera for Madrid (where Farinelli was employed).[5] A scholarly consensus has not been reached, but it is clear that Bremner announced the publication of the composite version on 31 May 1766. The advertisement gave special billing to the second movement, which he described as “the delightful Chaconne.”[6]

There is plenty of proof that audiences indeed found the “symphony with chaconne” delightful. Scholar Jenny Burchell has tabulated sixteen documented performances by the Edinburgh Musical Society between the years 1768 and 1786, as well as ten performances in Oxford occurring between 1788 and 1799, along with a 1793 performance in Bath.[7] In 1785, a Moravian community was founded in Fairfield, England, and Jommelli’s Periodical Overture No. 14 was among the works in their music library.[8] Clear into the nineteenth century, various publishers issued keyboard arrangements made by William Smethergell (1751–1836), a “T. Lyon,” or a “W. Watts.” Four-hand versions were also issued, by an uncredited arranger for Preston and again by Watts for Lonsdale. It is very likely that the “overtura” found by Robert Stevenson in the Colegio de Santa Rosa collection in Morelia, Mexico, is also a copy of the Periodical Overture.[9] More than thirty years after Bremner first printed the work, Michael Kelly was responsible for assembling the music for a gothic drama titled The Castle Spectre (1797). In his Reminiscences, he recalled, “For the situation in which the Ghost first appears . . . to her daughter . . . I selected the chacoone [sic] of Jomelli, as an accompaniment to the action.  This . . . was thought an odd choice of mine for so solemn a scene; but the effect which it produced, warranted the experiment.”[10] Thereafter, published scores cited The Castle Spectre on their title pages as an additional marketing effort. The 1798 publication by L. Lavenu made the theatrical reference particularly explicit: The Favorite Movement, Performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, During the appearance of the Ghost, in the Drama, of the Castle Spectre, adapted for the Piano Forte, by T. Lyon.[11]

It is not clear what led Jommelli to select the first movement of the Demetrio sinfonia to serve as the “Allegro di Molto” in Periodical Overture No. 14, especially since it necessitated a transposition from the operatic overture’s F major to the E-flat major key used in Bremner’s publication. However, it has an effervescent spirit that makes a nice contrast with the subsequent chaconne. The score calls for Bremner’s standard eight parts, including paired oboes and horns, but the basso part contains bassoon cues as well. The movement’s form is a pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy label a “Type 1 Sonata,” which is sometimes called a sonatina; it is, essentially, a sonata form without development.[12] It opens with three hammer blows that return two bars later after busy sixteenth-note flourishes. The second theme (m. 15) features numerous neighbor-motion oscillations. The “Jommelli crescendo”—that would soon be more widely credited to the Mannheim composers—begins in measure 43 during the recapitulation; it acts as the bridge between the first (m. 28) and second (m. 47) themes.

The “celebrated Chaconne,” marked “Andante,” relies on a steady four-measure phrase structure in triple meter rather than strict repetitive melodic or harmonic patterns. Although certain motifs recur from time to time, the movement’s primary interest is in the variety of material offered during the regular phrases, which resemble a slow minuet.[13] Jommelli showcases the winds at several points, particularly in measures 62, 94, 138, and 154. The accompaniment, too, employs a wide array of different figurations, adding another appealing layer of variety to the texture.

The impact of Bremner’s publication is apparent in the numerous imitations that it spawned. Some retained Jommelli’s two-movement structure, such as François-Hippolyte Barthélemon’s Op. 6, no. 5, William Smethergell’s Op. 5, no. 4, and the overture to Stephen Storace’s No Song, No Supper (1790).[14] Probably the most popular chaconne-only imitator was Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi, who used that structure in the overture to Le pazzie d’Orlando (1771).[15] It is regrettable that Jommelli himself did not live to see the extended influence of his creativity.

Alyson McLamore

[1] McVeigh, Concert Life in London from Mozart to Haydn, 150.

[2] Dinko Fabris, commentary for “Niccolò Jommelli: Ciaccona op. 5 n. 13,” Veni Creator Spiritus, Cappella de’ Turchini, conducted by Antonio Florio, Tesori di Napoli Vol. 9, transl. Avril Bardoni, Opus 111 OPS 30-254, 10.

[3] Aubrey S. Garlington, Jr., “‘Gothic’ Literature and Dramatic Music in England, 1781–1802,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 15, no. 1 (Spring 1962): 56.

[4] McClymonds et al., “Niccolò Jommelli,” 182.

[5] Helmut Hell, Die Neapolitaniche Opernsinfonie in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts: N. Porpora—L. Vinci—G. B. Pergolesi—L. Leo—N. Jommelli, Münchner Veröffentlichungen zur Musikgeschichte, Vol. 19 (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1971), 594.

[6] The Public Advertiser, 31 May 1766, p. 1.

[7] Jenny Burchell, Polite or Commercial Concerts?: Concert Management and Orchestral Repertoire in Edinburgh, Bath, Oxford, Manchester, and Newcastle, 1730–1799, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities, ed. by John Caldwell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1996), 309–374 passim.

[8] Karl Kroeger, “An Unknown Collection of Eighteenth-Century Instrumental Music,” Fontes Artis Musicae 35, no. 4 (October–December 1988): 277, 280.

[9] Robert Stevenson, Renaissance and Baroque Musical Sources in the Americas (Washington, D.C.: Organization of American States, 1970), 189.

[10] Garlington, “‘Gothic’ Literature and Dramatic Music in England, 1781–1802,” 56.

[11] The British Library, h.721.bb.(2).

[12] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 345–6.

[13] Simon McVeigh, “The Symphony in Britain,” in The Eighteenth-Century Symphony, ed. Mary Sue Morrow and Bathia Churgin, Vol. I of The Symphonic Repertoire (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2012), 647; McVeigh, Concert Life in London from Mozart to Haydn, 142.

[14] McVeigh, “The Symphony in Britain,” 648.

[15] McVeigh, Concert Life in London from Mozart to Haydn, 139.

Thomas Alexander Erskine (The Earl of Kelly): The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XIII

This is the thirteenth installment  of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts which are being published in conjunction with Musikproduktion Höflich.

Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain the score and parts.

(Johann) Stamitz’s shadow is evident in many …  features of (The) Periodical Overture No. 13, but not in the total number of movements: (Thomas) Erskine limited himself to the more conservative three-movement structure, perhaps knowing that this kept his work more in line with British taste. The first movement—a lively “Allegro” in cut-time—conforms to the binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata,” albeit without repeats and with a third theme; it can be diagrammed as || a/I b/V c/V  a/V b/I c/I ||.[1] Fans of the Mannheim school would appreciate the “hammer blows” (or premier coups d’archet) that open the work, followed by the surprising timbre of the oboes  who play the first moving line, a conjunct descending melody that is repeated after a second group of hammer blows. The strings, meanwhile, launch measured tremolos and a “murky” bass in the ninth bar, and the violins present the second theme (m. 24) in a contrasting piano dynamic level. The closing theme (m. 43) showcases all the winds; the flutes and oboes perform an engaging series of calls-and-responses, supported harmonically by the horns (and a bit by the lower strings). In the last portion of the movement, starting in m. 101, the ensemble presents a thrilling Mannheim crescendo after the second appearance of Theme 2, making the return of the closing theme particularly exciting.

Erskine’s “Adagio ma non troppo” movement contains the typical reduced scoring of strings alone; it shifts to the subdominant key of A-flat major and is set in common time. Here, too, Erskine employs the Type 2 sonata form, this time with the customary repeats and with only two themes: ||: a/I b/V :||: a/V b/I :||. The conjunct first theme is filled with sudden dynamic contrasts—sometimes as many as four changes in a single measure—while the more disjunct second theme (the anacrusis leading to m. 11) emphasizes the tension of frequent appoggiaturas. All through the movement, Lord Kelly plays with juxtaposed dotted-note groupings and triplets, along with off-beat syncopations.

The gigue-like finale, in  time, returns to the tonic E-flat major and the full orchestra. Like the other movements, it is a Type 2 sonata form, with three themes. “Drum 8ths” and measured tremolos support much of this “Allegro,” with the strings presenting the first theme, consisting of essentially upward motion. The flutes get a soli showcase for the second theme (m. 21) and—probably to everyone’s surprise—the horns get a brief moment to shine at the start of Theme 3 (m. 41). Other features that add to the zest of the finale are the uneven phrase lengths, making the movement less predictable in many places. The generally expansive writing and inventive instrumental coloring support the British scholar Charles Cudworth’s view that “after the middle of the century, the Earl of Kelly was undeniably our most gifted symphonist.”[2]

Alyson McLamore

 

[1] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

[2] Cudworth, “The English Symphonists of the Eighteenth Century,” 48.

Johann Stamitz: The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XII

This is the twelfth installment  of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts which are being published in conjunction with Musikproduktion Höflich.

Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain the score and parts.

The musicologist Eugene Wolf, regards No. 12 as a middle-period work by Stamitz, dating from approximately 1748–1752.[1] Perhaps for that reason, the opening movement’s sonata-form is somewhat vestigial. After three crisp “hammer-blow” strokes, or premier coups d’archet, followed by a series of arpeggiated chords, the first theme proceeds into a measured-tremolo passage (a characteristic “Mannheim” gesture) that is repeated via a descending sequence.[2] Stamitz’s orchestration skill is evident in a delicious passage occurring first in measures 31–34, in which an upward-leap motif is quickly tossed between various families of the ensemble. The second theme (m. 47) is more lyrical; after ten piano measures, it ascends through a forte sequence above “drum 8ths.” It, too, is followed by a repetition of the upward-leap interplay, and the exposition concludes with arpeggiation that resembles the opening. The development (m. 79) begins with the hammer blows, now in C major, but the recapitulation (m. 141) starts with the second theme, and only a small fragment of the first theme’s arpeggiated material returns to wrap up the movement (m. 195).

As is the case with many early-Classic symphonies, the second movement shifts to the subdominant key of B-flat major and employs a binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata”; it can be diagrammed as an ||: a/I b/V :||: a/V b/I :|| structure.[3] The first theme is filled with energetic sixteenth-note triplets that are often performed homorhythmically by the strings-only ensemble; rapid dynamic changes occur every one or two measures. The second theme (m. 32) is conjunct and more lyrical, but it, too, features multiple dynamic contrasts. The first theme is presented in the dominant F major at measure 44, while it is only the second theme that returns to the tonic in measure 86.

In several ways, the “Presto” finale meets the expectations of its era: it is in a gigue-like 3/8 meter and conforms to a standard sonata-form structure. The bouncy first theme arpeggiates the home key of F major and the melody is soon underpinned by Mannheim-esque measured tremolos and drum 8ths. Stamitz’s surprise arrives with the second theme, however, which is in the dominant minor mode (m. 44). Only with the closing theme (m. 63), with its forceful quadruple-stop chords, do we arrive at a full-fledged C major. The themes are presented in the same order during the recapitulation (m. 134), but the second theme retains its minor mode (m. 180). Again, however, the multi-stop closing theme (m. 198) steers the movement back into major mode, leading to an extended and robust coda.

Alyson McLamore

[1] Wolf E., The Symphonies of Johann Stamitz, 391.

[2] David D. Boyden and Peter Walls, “Coup d’archet,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 2001), Vol. 6: 579.

[3] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

Johann Stamitz: The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – No. XI

This is the eleventh installment  of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts which are being published in conjunction with Musikproduktion Höflich.

Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain the score and parts.

 

In 1826, a correspondent … wrote to The Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review in response to a previous issue’s article “The Great Symphonists.” He listed a number of mid-eighteenth-century symphonists whom he felt had been unjustly ignored. He credited (Johann) Stamitz with introducing the crescendo and diminuendo, and pointed to Periodical Overture No. 11 as possessing “beautiful specimens” of the crescendo in its first and last movements.[1] Then, in 1980—two centuries after the symphony’s heyday—Claude V. Palisca published Stamitz’s first movement in the inaugural edition of the Norton Anthology of Western Music.[2] He based his score on the venerable Denkmäler Deutscher Tonkunst edition from 1902.[3] That selection has therefore given generations of collegiate music students an introduction to characteristic “Mannheim” features in this vigorous opening; it also make the first movement of Bremner’s edition seem like a familiar friend.

One of the memorable gestures of Periodical Overture No. 11 is the use of three sharp “hammer-blow” strokes, or premier coups d’archet, that immediately grab listeners’ attention.[4] This “Allegro assai” is structured as a quadruple-meter sonata form without repetitions (characteristic of Stamitz’s later symphonies), and the first theme is underpinned by measured tremolos in the second violins and violas and by “drum 8ths” in the “Basso” part.[5] Distinctive horn calls resound in the second half of the theme (m. 11), and one of the transition’s most exciting elements is the use of Mannheim crescendos, which begin building in measure 18 and again in measure 27. The oboes are showcased in the more lyrical second theme (m. 47), which also plays with antiphonal effects between sections of the orchestra. After the modulatory development (m. 75), the recapitulation reverses the order of the themes, with the lyrical oboes reappearing in measure 108, the horn calls in measure 132, and the hammer-blows in measure 139 for a resounding conclusion.

The “Andantino” shifts to the dominant key of B-flat major, and it employs a binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata,” diagrammed as an ||: a/I b/V :||: a/V b/I :|| structure.[6] This simple-duple movement is scored for strings only, and its first theme has a lovely lilting quality above softly pulsing drum 8ths. The second theme (m. 30) features both the bass and viola parts in rising and falling scalar patterns, followed by the violins in a more disjunct and syncopated line (m. 40). Like many Mannheim works, sudden dynamic contrasts are often separated by only a single measure, and the latter half of the movement is peppered with rinforzandi accentuations.

The “Prestissimo,” an exhilarating finale in 3/8, is again loaded with strategies that the Mannheim orchestra made famous. Its first theme comprises an upward sequence that employs the quick rising-and-falling motif known as the Bebung, while the bass strings accompany with steady drum 8ths.[7] The sequence gradually crescendos to bell-like chords played fortissimo by the whole ensemble (m. 17) while the upper strings now play measured tremolos. The chords are quickly followed by lively hunting-style fanfares for the winds and upper strings. The sonata form’s second theme (m. 47) again starts quietly; the second violins and violas play oscillating, conjunct lines underneath measured tremolos, with the oboes joining in on the second half of each phrase. The extremely brief development (m. 95) plays with a modulatory Bebung before stabilizing in E-flat at measure 103 for the recapitulation of the first theme. The second theme makes its own return in measure 149. A series of seven hammer-blow E-flat chords in the last three bars bring the movement (and symphony) to a satisfying, table-thumping close.

Alyson McLamore

[1] Senex, “To the Editor,” The Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review 8, no. 31 (July 1826): 304–5.

[2] Johann Anton Wenzel Stamitz, “Sinfonia a 8 in E-flat Major (La Melodia Germanica No. 3), in Classic • Romantic • Modern, 42–50, Vol. II of Norton Anthology of Western Music, ed. Claude V. Palisca (New York: W. W. Norton, 1980); it continues to appear in the 2019 eighth edition.

[3] Hugo Riemann, ed., Sinfonien der pfalzbayerischen Schule (Mannheimer Symphoniker), Jahrgang III, vol. 1 of Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern (Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst, Zweite Folge), ed. Adam Sandbergern (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1902), 1–28.

[4] David D. Boyden and Peter Walls, “Coup d’archet,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 2001), Vol. 6: 579.

[5] Wolf, The Symphonies of Johann Stamitz, 340.

[6] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

[7] Hugo Riemann, ed., Sinfonien der pfalzbayerischen Schule (Mannheimer Symphoniker), in Year 7, Vol. II, of Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern, in Series 2 of Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1906), xvii.

Christian Cannabich: The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – No. X

This is the tenth installment  of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts which are being published in conjunction with Musikproduktion Höflich.

Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain the score and parts.

The original four-movement structure of The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts by Christian Cannabich indicate that it is an early, composed while he was still under the influence of the late Johann Stamitz and before he took his excursions to Paris. All three of the movements retained by Bremner use the same binary-sonata format that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata”; it can be diagrammed as an ||: a/I b/V :||: a/V b/I :|| structure.[1] The brisk unison premier coup d’archet chords at the start of the “Allegro ma non troppo” are, unusually, in triple meter, and the rest of the movement is filled with features that are associated with the Mannheim school: “drum 8ths” (especially in measure 17 and onward), dramatic crescendos (mm. 2, 32, 43, etc.), measured tremolos (m. 44), and the quick rising-and-falling motif known as the Bebung (m. 2).[2] Of course, commentators have been noting since 1778 that these characteristics can also be found in Jommelli’s music, so Cannabich would have been influenced from two directions to adopt these gestures.[3] For the second theme (m. 36), Cannabich presents a disjunct call-and-response dialogue between the violins and flutes, introducing a nice timbral variety to the movement.

The “Andante Grazioso” reduces the scoring to strings alone and shifts, unsurprisingly, to the subdominant A-flat major. The violins initially engage in a hocket-like sequential dialogue, but they join forces for longer stretches of parallel harmonies (m. 9). The violins again harmonize in the second theme (m. 22), keeping listeners a bit off-balance with variable phrase lengths.

Cannabich uses a host of devices to enhance a sense of irresistible drive in the “Presto assai.” Steady drum 8ths maintain the propulsion against a quiet, syncopated, rising string melody, with occasional fanfare interjections from the French horns. An upward sequence of Bebung motifs (m. 22) yields to measured tremolos (m. 25), all during an exciting crescendo passage. A series of brief climbing motifs launches the second theme (m. 49), but the flutes are quickly given a more extended solo showcase (m. 53). A robust closing theme (m. 73) plays with sudden dynamic contrasts, helping to make the entire movement seem breathless and exhilarating.

Alyson McLamore

[1] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

[2] Hugo Riemann, ed., Sinfonien der pfalzbayerischen Schule (Mannheimer Symphoniker), in Year 7, Vol. II, of Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern, in Series 2 of Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1906), xvii.

[3] Wolf, “Christian Cannabich,” 389, note 8.