Physycal and Digital Release: 24 May 2024
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The London Manuscript, MS. 31528
Manuscript number Mus. Ms. 31528 of the British Library, London, is a collection of 46 undated works for violoncello. Of these at least 30 are autograph works from Giuseppe Dall’Abaco (a mix of solo sonatas with basso continuo, 2 virtuoso cello duos, as well as 1 ‘Duetto’ of debatable provenance) including his unpublished „Op.1“ (XII Sonate | Per il Violoncello, e Basso | Del Sig. Giuseppe Barone | Dall’Abaco). The very high quality script, along with the appearance of bass figures at critical moments, strongly suggests that this set of pieces was in preparation for publication. The manuscripts of the remaining 18 sonatas are not so carefully prepared, including scribbled revisions, and are in need of some final corrections. Furthermore, the bass line appears almost entirely without figures, leaving ambiguity as to which instrument(s) would have made up the continuo section. There is a further key difference between these two group of sonatas: whereas the Op.1 works start off relatively easy, and progress in order of difficulty, the other 18 sonatas are works of consistently astonishing virtuosity. They include sparkling passage work in extreme thumb positions akin to Boccherini, long sequences of double stops, and demand exceptional bow as well as left hand technique. All this suggests that these 18 virtuoso sonatas were written for Dall’Abaco’s own private use, as he made his living playing salon concerts, presenting himself as a dashing Italian virtuoso cellist to British society. Similar to cellist-composers like Salvatore Lanzetti, it is plausible that Giuseppe Dall’Abaco’s music fell into two categories: marketable pieces of only moderate difficulty for his students and hobby musicians, and the devilishly-complicated works intended as vehicles for his own virtuosity, to impress a noble audience. On this CD appear 3 Solo Sonatas with basso continuo from the ‘virtuosic’ set of 18, and the 2 Duo Sonatas for two cellos.
Julia Nilsen-Savage © 2024
Giuseppe Clemente Dall’Abaco (1710-1805)
Though none of Giuseppe Clemente Dall’Abaco’s music was published in his lifetime, and though editions of his cello sonatas have only recently been edited for publication, nonetheless was something of his music for accompanied cello familiar to enthusiasts for C18th instrumental music – a version of one of his sonatas made its way into the repertoire, albeit known (due to a subsequent error of attribution) as ‘Sammartini’s Cello Sonata’.
Relatively little is known for sure about Dall’Abaco’s formative years. His father, Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco (1675-1742), was Capellmeister at Munich, and a respected composer, whose chamber works were well-regarded by no less than J.S. Bach. The young Dall’Abaco received his primary musical education from his father, who possibly sent him to Venice to further his studies. Certain is that in 1729, aged 19, he was employed as cellist in the chapel orchestra of Prince Elector Clemens August I of Bavaria, in Bonn. Owing perhaps to accommodating terms of employment, or the precarious financial situation at court, this position came with a degree of freedom to travel. Like many virtuosi and composers of his time, Dall’Abaco sought success in London. Public concerts flourished in the 1700’s, a cultural phenomena which culminated in Haydn’s visits to the city at the end of the century. Foreign performers could reasonably hope for success in this environment, for their technical superiority was generally acknowledged. The welcome was not entirely uncritical, though, as captured in one Oxford don’s edgy description of ‘Handel and his lousie band of foreign fiddlers’.
Cellists enjoyed particular fame in this era, due in part to a conspicuous rise in the popularity of their instrument, which in the 1730’s was lent further luster by the decision of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, to take cello lessons. Of the star cellists it was the Italians who enjoyed the greatest success, not only as virtuosi but also as composers – Salvatore Lanzetti, Pasqualini, and Caporale (principal cellist in Handel’s opera orchestra) were all drawn to London.
The city’s concert-going public was sufficiently impressed by Dall’Abaco to warrant him holding a benefit concert in April 1736. His fame evidently extended beyond the capital – documents show that his music was performed in York – and the preeminent diarist of musical life in the 18th century, Charles Burney, lists ‘Abaco’ as one of those Italian virtuosos who had ‘brought the violoncello into favour, and made us nice judges of that instrument’. Dall’Abaco’s work as a composer was evidently motivated by his success as a soloist for, unlike his father who composed for various chamber ensembles, the vast majority of his surviving works (with two exceptions) were all written for cello.
It was perhaps his burgeoning reputation, or simply favour at court, which in 1738 led him to be promoted to the position of Cammermusikdirector. In November of that year his family life also changed, through his marriage to Therese Cosman. However, his new family ties would also bring unwanted upheaval: in 1752 his brother-in-law was accused of stealing over 35,000 thalers from the royal safe. The scandal was sufficient to persuade Dall’Abaco to move his family to his father’s home city of Verona. The situation worsened when, during a winter stopover in Munich, Dall’Abaco himself was accused of plotting to poison his previous employer. After an 11 day inquest held in January 1753 (and documented in over 200 pages of material) he was eventually cleared of the charge.
Dall’Abaco established his family on a plot of land in Arbizzano, north of Verona. Any damage done by past controversies was evidently not lasting, for in 1766 the Munich Elector ennobled him with the hereditary title of ‘Barone’. A further honour followed in 1767, when the now Barone Dall’Abaco was admitted to the prestigious ‘Accademia Filarmonia’ of Verona. Dall’Abaco lived on his estate until his death in 1805, aged 95. How he spent these years is not well-documented, but we might imagine that, amid the vineyards of Valpolicella, the violoncellist dabbled as a viticulturalist.
Edward Leach © 2024
Candela Gómez Bonet
The Spanish cellist, Candela Gómez Bonet, specializes in historical performance practice. In her youth, she devoted herself to multiple hobbies besides making music until she realized that music and playing the cello were her very personal way of expressing herself and truly revealing something about herself. Upon completing her studies, Candela was principal cellist of the European Union Baroque Orchestra. She performed great works of the French and Italian Baroque in prominent European concert halls under the direction of the Danish harpsichordist and conductor, Lars Ulrik Mortensen. In 2020, Gómez founded the Gara Quartet with the aim of devoting the quartet to historical performance practice with “freshness and passion." Today, Gómez is a cellist with Les Concert des Nations under Jordi Savall, as well as tutti cellist with Concerto Köln, where she has recorded everything from Vivaldi to Wagner.
Candela searches for the grammar and language of the composer, the colors and affects of the music, until she understands what the composer wants to say with the music. Empathy is therefore her secret, both in her engagement with the works and in rehearsals with her colleagues. In the end, it is important to her that “all musicians involved in the project leave the rehearsal happy.”
Julia Nilsen-Savage
Having attended some of the most prestigious conservatories in America, Julia Nilsen-Savage completed her studies in baroque cello with Dall’Abaco specialist Prof. Kristin von der Goltz. Now based in Frankfurt am Main the Australian-American cellist and gambist plays with such notable ensembles as La Stagione Frankfurt, ensemble reflektor, La Folia Barock Orchester, Concerto München, Orchester im Treppenhaus, as well as the young Dutch chamber orchestra, Ars Musica. One of the aspects of being a musician she most cherishes is the opportunity to visit far-flung corners of the world; her career so far has taken her to the Süreyya Opera House in Istanbul, the concert halls of Seoul, South Korea, and Bodø, Norway, just north of the artic circle. Not a stranger to the microphone, Nilsen-Savage has appeared on 3 CDs with Sony Classical/harmonia Mundi, as well appearing on the German/French television channel arte, BR fernsehen, and SWR Radio. In 2023, her ensemble Baroque Avenue was nominated for an opus Klassik ‘most innovative concert or the Year award’. Presently, Nilsen-Savage is an instructor of cello at the Music Academy Hofheim, as well as a tutti cellist in the Bach Orchestra Mainz. In her leisure time she loves cycling, reading, crime mysteries of all types, and yoga.
Shin Hwang
Shin Hwang, a prize-winner of the 1st Westfield Fortepiano Competition, is a versatile keyboardist who has won recognition in both modern and historical performance. After completing his Masters degree at the University of Michigan unter Penelope Crawford and Arthur Greene, he received the prestigious Fulbright Grant to study at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. In 2011, he performed at the United States Library of Congress for American Musicological Society Lecture Series: “What the Autograph can tell us.”Other significant performance engagements include solo and chamber performances with Yale University Schola Cantorum, Utrecht Early Music Festival, Academy of Early Music in Ann Arbor, and the AMUZ Festival in Antwerp. As a recipient of the DAAD Grant, he pursued additional studies with Robert Hill at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and completed a Doctorate in Musical Arts in Performance Practice at Cornell University under the guidance of Malcolm Bilson. In 2023, his CD „Heimat“ was released by Claves Records in which he recorded songs from the Swiss composer Friedrich Theodor Fröhlich together with tenor Raphael Höhn.
Giuseppe Clemente dall'Abaco
(b Brussels, bap. 27 March 1710; d Arbizzano di Valpolicella, 31 Aug 1805). Flemish composer and cellist of Italian descent, son of Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco. He was at first a pupil of his father, with whom his career has often been confused. The latter, employed at the Munich court, apparently sent his son to Venice to further his musical education; but on his return the young man could not find work in Bavaria, and on 29 March 1729 he joined the electoral chapel at Bonn as Titular-Kammerdiener und Hofmusikus mit dem Violoncell. On 26 August 1738 he was appointed director of the court chamber orchestra. In spite of his Bonn appointment he was able to travel, going to London and other English towns in 1740, and apparently to Vienna in 1749 when a work by him for five cellos was performed. In 1753 he left the court to go to Verona. He seems to have remained in contact with the Munich court, and on 22 September 1766 (VannesD) was created a baron. He died on his estate in Arbizzano di Valpolicella at the age of 95.
Dall'Abaco's cello sonatas, despite the advent of the new galant and pre-Classical styles, retain the gravity of the Baroque and the broad melodic span inherited, through his father, from Legrenzi, Bassani, Vitali and Lully (nearly 40, including many autograph and a few anonymous ones, are in GB-Lbl, three in D-Bsb and one in A-Wgm; he also wrote a cantata for the Bonn court, apparently now lost). His reputation, however, was mainly as an instrumentalist, and his fame as a composer did not match his father's. (M. Marsigny: Joseph Clemens Dall’Abaco (v.1708–1805) et la sonate pour violoncelle au 18e siècle, diss., U. of Louvain-la-Neuve, 1980)
13.55€
