© Michel Cardin
The London Manuscript
Solo Sonata 12 in C Major
(Smith-Crawford 17)
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The Salzburg Manuscript, which is the only alternate source for this sonata is in such deteriorated state (at least, according to the microfilms received) that the deciphering of this music is arduous. This Salzburg source contains 46 Parties and 4 Concertos da camera, all clearly numbered and intended for trio ensemble, as every work bears at the beginning Liutho, violino è basso (except one adding up a mandora). Eight of these partitas are from Silvius Leopold and more than twenty are from a certain Fichtel, who might become one day, who knows? a better known composer when his music get better observation, like Weiss. I have nevertheless discerned a version that is remarkably similar to that of the London Manuscript, which in the margin of the first page bears an inscription by the author stating “veritable original. S. L. Weis”. As for the tenth sonata, the allemande and courante are in Weiss’s hand, the rest of the sonata having been written by an assistant.
The key of C major was described at the time as follows: “This tonality has a strong forward character but is not entirely unresponsive to those moments of rejoicing where one ordinarily gives free rein to happiness. An able composer, after having chosen wisely his accompanying instruments, can make of it a work of charm and can apply it equally easily to the creation of tender moments.” The ambivalent scene thus painted is actually quite close to the description of D major.
As always, the repeats of each section should be ornamented, particularly those of the allemande (Allem: ). Without recourse to frequent modulation, the piece retains an eloquence of musical gesture. What is true of the interpretation of the written notes holds equally for the ornamentation. An unsuspected universe of expressive possibilities becomes apparent only when the instrument is actually in hand. Likewise for the ornamentation; the mixture of open strings and stopped notes combine with the fortuitous disposition of the left hand to create breathtaking flourishes that would have been unimaginable from a simple visual reading of the music. The player should not be surprised by certain personal ornamental passages that appear to transcend the time period in question. These flourishes are quite natural, coming as they do directly from the instrument and not simply as the result of an unbridled impulsiveness. In this respect performers could adopt a typically Weissian creative strategy by composing idiomatically correct motives, often imitating melodic patterns found in his other works. A final word on the allemande; the apparent relationship between this piece and the preceding allemande is due to the identical bass line in the first three measures.
The rather voluble Courente that follows presents also the same bass line in relation to the courante of the first sonata. Here a repeated-note motif, however, is used as a dynamic element. This piece is followed by a cheery exhilarating Bourree that, as with the concluding paysanne, does not have a title inscribed at the beginning of the score, a fact which is somewhat surprising and quite rare. Though easy to deduce on stylistic grounds, final confirmation that these pieces are a bourrée and a paysanne comes from the Salzburg Manuscript in which these movements are identified as such. The terms mellowness, feminity, lightness and elegance best describe the Sarabande. As stated by the Dresden lutenist André Burguete, these qualities encapsulate the Dresden of the time, a flamboyant example of French and Italian influences co-existing in perfect equilibrium. It is not surprising, then, to learn that Weiss was very much at home here, and chose to remain despite some temptingly exorbitant offers from other princely courts.
The Menuet is one of the rapid variety which, with their thin harmonies and interchangeable voicings, are in contrast with the other minuets containing as they do, continuous soprano melodies and discrete accompanying voices (discretely written but nonetheless sonorous!). The latter sort might be played at a moderate speed. This minuet, for example, is comparable with that of the fourth sonata. Both the dimensions of the Paysanne and its resolute proud nature give adequate justification for its placement as a final movement and not a middle movement, as is the case with the paysannes of the sonatas nos 10 and 11.
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