Divertimenti by Combattimento Consort Amsterdam

Joseph Haydn

Combattimento Consort Amsterdam

Divertimenti

Price: € 12.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917234527
Catnr: CC 72345
Release date: 04 September 2009
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917234527

Catalogue number
CC 72345

Release date
04 September 2009

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

Four of the less known baryton works by Joseph Haydn performed by the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam under the direction of Jan Willem de Vriend (also chief conductor of the Dutch Symphony Orchestra).

Hob.X:1, 5 and 12 come from a series of six divertimenti for baryton and a larger ensemble consisting of strings and two horns. The source of Hob.X:10 is unclear, but in In the Entwurf-Katalog the work appears in a version for baryton, viola, cello and double bass.

On May 1 in the year 1761, Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) entered into the service of the princes of Esterházy. It was an association that would last nearly 30 years and prove fruitful for Prince Nikolaus I and the composer. Haydn held an enviable position with the Esterházys. To a degree, he had a confidential relationship with Prince Nikolaus, owing in particular to the prince’s unusual hobby: Nikolaus was a passionate player of the baryton. This relative of the viola da gamba was even then uncommon.

Between 1766 and 1775, Haydn wrote more than 125 trios for baryton, viola and cello. He took care that the baryton parts were not all too complicated so that Nikolaus could handle them. Trios were endlessly performed – Haydn generally playing the viola part – sometimes without audience, for Nikolaus’ sole enjoyment, and sometimes in private house concerts.
Haydn also composed a number of pieces for baryton with a larger ensemble. In these, too, Nikolaus played the baryton, but Haydn conducting the ensemble. The roles were reversed, Haydn leading and Nikolaus following.

The pieces that Haydn researcher Anthony Hoboken listed under category X in his catalogue of the composer’s complete works form a part of this music for baryton in ensemble setting. Nos. 1, 5 and 12 come from a series of six divertimenti for baryton and a larger ensemble consisting of strings and two horns. These pieces have almost symphonic traits in their structure and execution, not least because of the highly virtuoso horn parts, proof again that Haydn had excellent musicians at his disposal in the court orchestra. The divertimenti quickly became very popular outside the court, too. In 1781, the Viennese publisher Artaria issued them as Six Divertissements op. 31, with the flute replacing the baryton. Shortly later they were issued as Six symphonies in London. Hob.X:12 is known only from the Artaria edition – in its original form, no autograph or manuscript is known to exist. It is not entirely certain, but nonetheless highly likely that this work was originally composed with the baryton as soloist. In any case, the baryton part can readily be reconstructed from the Artaria edition’s flute part.

The source of Hob.X:10 is unclear. In the Entwurf-Katalog, in which Haydn long kept an account of his compositions, the work appears in a version for winds and another version for baryton, viola, cello and double bass. Here too, the technically demanding horn parts stand out. Also noteworthy is that aside from the baryton, all of the instruments are to be played with mutes.

Vier vrij onbekende werken van Hadyn voor een bijzonder solo-instrument
Op 1 mei 1761 trad Haydn in dienst van de prinsen van Esterházy. Het dienstverband zou bijna 30 jaar duren en was lonend voor zowel Hadyn als Prins Nikolaus I.

Nikolaus speelde de baryton, een ongewoon instrument dat verwant was aan de viola da gamba. Tussen 1766 en 1775 componeerde Haydn meer dan 125 trio’s voor baryton, altviool en cello. Hij zorgde ervoor dat de barytonpartijen niet al te moeilijk waren, zodat Nikolaus ze zonder problemen kon spelen. Tijdens de vele uitvoeringen van de trio’s speelde Haydn vaak de altvioolpartij. Daarnaast componeerde hij een aantal werken voor baryton met een groter ensemble. In deze werken speelde Nikolaus nog steeds de baryton, maar Haydn was nu dirigent. De rollen waren omgedraaid: Hadyn leidde en Nikolaus volgde.

Dit album, uitgebracht in het Haydn-jaar, bevat vier van de minder bekende werken voor baryton. Dit instrument wordt zelden gebruikt en is lastig om op te spelen. De barytonpartij wordt gespeeld door Freek Borstlap. De werken worden uitgevoerd door het Combattimento Consort onder leiding van Jan Willem de Vriend. De Vriend had het ensemble in 1982 opgericht maar is tegenwoordig actief is als chef-dirigent van het Nederlands Symfonieorkest en als gastdirigent bij orkesten in binnen- en buitenland.

Hob.X:1, 5 en 12 komen uit een serie van zes divertimenti voor baryton en een ensemble bestaande uit twee hoorns en strijkers. Het is niet duidelijk waar Hob.X: 10 vandaan komt, maar het werk verschijnt in de Entwurf-Katalog in een versie voor baryton, altviool, cello en contrabas.

Die Kompositionen, die der Haydn-Forscher Anthony Hoboken in seinem Katalog unter den vollständigen Werken von Haydn in der Kategorie Nr. X eingeordnet hat, gehören zu eine Sammlung von Musik für Baryton mit Ensemble. Nr. 1, Nr. 5 und Nr. 12 sind Teil einer Reihe von 6 Divertimenti für Baryton und ein Ensemble von Streichern und 2 Hyrnern. Es sind Werke, die in ihrem Aufbau und ihrer Ausarbeitung fast symphonisch anmuten. Die Divertimenti genossen schon bald auch außerhalb des Hofes große Popularität. In den letzten 25 Jahren hat sich das Combattimento Consort national und international einen Namen gemacht. Sowohl die hohe Qualität der Aufführungen des Ensembles als auch dessen unterschiedliches - oft überraschendes und unbekanntes - Repertoire werden geröhmt. So spielt das Ensemble Kammermusik, Kammerorchestermusik, Oratorien und Opern.

Artist(s)

Combattimento Consort Amsterdam

Over the past 30 years, Combattimento Consort Amsterdam has established a strong national and international reputation. The ensemble is famous for the high quality and energy of its performances. That, together with its varied and often surprising and unfamiliar repertoire, for formations ranging from chamber ensemble to chamber orchestra, and from oratorios to operas, has made it one of the most successful Baroque ensembles in the world. The Combattimento Consort’s roughly 60 performances a year are distinguished by the originality of the ensemble’s presentation, led by one of the trend-setting conductors in Dutch musical life, Jan Willem de Vriend, who in November 2012 received the Radio 4 Prize. The Combattimento Consort has gone on a number of tours in recent years...

Over the past 30 years, Combattimento Consort Amsterdam has established a strong national and international reputation. The ensemble is famous for the high quality and energy of its performances. That, together with its varied and often surprising and unfamiliar repertoire, for formations ranging from chamber ensemble to chamber orchestra, and from oratorios to operas, has made it one of the most successful Baroque ensembles in the world. The Combattimento Consort’s roughly 60 performances a year are distinguished by the originality of the ensemble’s presentation, led by one of the trend-setting conductors in Dutch musical life, Jan Willem de Vriend, who in November 2012 received the Radio 4 Prize.
The Combattimento Consort has gone on a number of tours in recent years to Germany, Spain, Central Europe, South America, Japan, Russia and the United States. It has recorded more than 35 CDs and DVDs – this year, its CD of Handel’s Concerto Grossi op. 6 will be released. The ensemble has worked with prominent soloists such as Barbara Bonney, Andreas Scholl and Sol Gabeta, Thomas Zehetmair and Sabine Meyer, as well as with the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the Nationale Reisopera and Cappella Amsterdam. The spearhead of its artistic direction is the performance of unfamiliar and as yet unpublished repertoire. Innumerable searches through libraries, churches and cloisters over the past 30 years have resulted in a notable collection of remarkable performances. In 2007, for example, Combattimento Consort Amsterdam presented Arminio, the only surviving opera of Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Over the years, it has developed a distinctive style of playing, which has even come to be known as the “Combattimento School” of performance. Recognizable and energetic, inventive, style-conscious and inspiring. The ensemble presents itself as a “consort”, but with the visibility of the “individual”. Jan Willem de Vriend leads the Combattimento Consort from the “first chair”, appearing as a conductor only in the larger productions (operas and oratorios). The instrumental soloists are in most cases members of the ensemble.

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Jan Willem de Vriend (conductor)

Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”. An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest...

Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”.
An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Belgian National Orchestra, Tonhalle Zurich, Orchestre National de Lyon, Bergen Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Netherlands Radio and Hessischer Rundfunk (Frankfurt Radio Symphony), Melbourne Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic. He is Principal Conductor Designate of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Lille, and former Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya and the Brabant Orchestra.
For the Challenge Classics label, de Vriend and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra have recorded the complete Mendelssohn symphonies and all Beethoven’s symphonies and concertos with, among others, pianist Hannes Minnaar and violinist Liza Ferschtman. De Vriend’s interpretation of the Symphony No 7 prompted Classic FM to admire “a bounding flair that does real justice to the composer’s capacity for joy”. A further landmark of his recorded catalogue is his complete recording of the Schubert symphonies with the Residentie Orkest Den Haag.
De Vriend’s collaborative spirit is equally evident in his work for the stage, notably with opera director Eva Buchmann and Combattimento Consort Amsterdam. In addition to works by Monteverdi, Haydn, Handel and Telemann, their productions in Europe and the USA have included staged versions of Bach’s ‘Hunting’ and ‘Coffee’ Cantatas at the Bachfest Leipzig, and operas by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Cherubini, among them Mozart’s Don Giovanni und Rossini’s La gazzetta, both toured in Switzerland. De Vriend has also conducted operatic productions in Amsterdam (with the Nederlandse Reisopera), Barcelona, Strasbourg, Lucerne, Schwetzingen and Bergen.

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Composer(s)

Joseph Haydn

(Franz) Joseph Haydn was a prolific Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets 'Father of the Symphony' and 'Father of the String Quartet'. Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family at their remote estate. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, 'forced to become original'. Yet his music circulated widely and for much of his career he was the most celebrated composer in Europe. He was a friend and mentor of Mozart,...

(Franz) Joseph Haydn was a prolific Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet".
Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family at their remote estate. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". Yet his music circulated widely and for much of his career he was the most celebrated composer in Europe.
He was a friend and mentor of Mozart, a teacher of Beethoven, with whom he formed the First Viennese School. He was also the older brother of composer Michael Haydn.

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