© Michel Cardin
The London Manuscript
Solo Sonata 19 in g minor
(Smith-Crawford 25)
The complete and updated version of 'London unveiled' by Michel Cardin can be downloaded as pdf files: 'London unveiled'
This sonata can also be found almost entirely intact in the Dresden Manuscript, though the sarabande is not the same. Unlike the London manuscript, the Dresden ms is an autograph copy and I have taken the liberty, however parsimoniously, to lift a few advantageous variants from it. These borrowings involve a few different notes, mostly in the bourree, used to enrich the harmony of a few measures. It should be specified that a prelude was added by a copyist, after the fact, to the Dresden ms but it could be judged unnecessary for a performance for reasons of discontinuity and brevity (it is only three lines long). Moreover, this prelude appears excessively conventional, consisting as it does of mere arpeggios, arpeggios that spring directly from another prelude (Dresden page 25). Mattheson's description of g minor, which speaks of 'moderate nostalgia' and 'peaceful joy’, was seen to be rather inadequate when ascribed to the tormented, sombre sonata no 3. In the case of the nineteenth sonata, these moods are quite predominant. The 'petulant charm’ that was spoken of by Mattheson is very apparent. In g minor, the tone a perfect fifth from the tonic (D) is quite prevalent due to the composition of the open strings, creating suspension effects over the bass in the finale of all six movements. This is yet another lute characteristic that is more discernible by the ear than the eye.
The first movement is entitled Andante, a more 'modern' nomenclature than Allemande, though identical in terms of tempo (not fast, but moving). The title of the Dresden equivalent is Allem: andante. From the very outset the tablature shows surprising left-hand dexterity due to the wide finger-stretches. One could conclude that Weiss was not troubled by problems of finger extensions! Even if this piece appears to be of a familiar writing style, there can also be found certain innovative agogic inflections. Voice doublings and chord spacings are perfect as always, revealing the full depth to which the composer 'heard' his instrument. These note doublings, whether by octave or unison, add an important element to the musical discourse through reinforcement of secondary harmonics, overtones that carry within themselves a lot of expressive power. As mentioned previously, these subtleties do not lend themselves to notational transcription. It is interesting to note different strata of string resonance (whether consonant or dissonant) as can be seen in this example:
These idiomatic utilisations of neighbouring string relationships, which evidently Weiss knew from memory, are all useful, resolving as they do very differently from each other and according to key choice. A performer must assimilate this information in order to recall it in such a way that the correct dynamic inflection is used during performance. At this point, it would seem worthwhile to show the bass line found at the beginning of the piece. The line seems at first glance to be dislocated but closer scrutiny shows that it is actually rich and full in its double tessitura:
Consistent with his concern for variety, Weiss replaces the expected courante movement with a lively mischievous Passepîed. Quite different from a minuet, the movement is quick and uses an up-beat before the first measure of each section. There are periodically recurring doubled measures, a feature that permitted dancers to place one foot over the other ('passer le pied' or 'faire le pas'). Even after hearing enough of his bourrees to be convinced that Weiss was decidedly the master of the genre, it comes as an unrestrained surprise to discover here another Bourree that is distinguished by a delightful cheeriness. Musical phrases trace patterns like rocket flares to the accompaniment of sharply defined sustained rhythmic accentuation. The title, present in Dresden, is not in London. The eloquence of the Sarabande (related thematically to the sarabande of the Sonata no 7, S-C 11) becomes fully apparent through added ornamentation. Long suspensions give a monologue quality to the work, a soliloquy steeped in fatalism. Musical phrases are presented as successions of differing rhythmic panels. These musical atmospheres are different to the point of being occasionally paradoxical, a situation that is exacerbated by the ornamentation of the repeats. All of this contributes to a surprising, interesting musical statement.
The rhythm again confers a playful aspect to the minuet entitled here La babilieuse en Menuet. The prattling of our 'Chatterbox' (Babilieuse) is evoked by the alternation between ‘notes inegales’ and ‘notes egales’, a strategy that gives simultaneously a delightfully sensuous dislocation to the phrases while maintaining an aura of turbulence. Obviously, any 'straight' reading of this minuet would make it quite boring to listen to. The babbling aspect is preserved in the elongated trills, all of which are clearly notated in the score. An examination of the left-hand fingerings of the Dresden version shows some of the composer's intentions in the areas of phrase articulation and accentuation. The same could be said of the Gigue which gives right-hand fingerings as well. Notwithstanding a virtuosic use of the right-hand thumb, these fingerings demonstrate quite convincingly our view that these gigues were not played as quickly as previously supposed, and that rich sonorities with plenty of ornamentation were probably highly favoured.
Copyright © 1998-2006 Laurent
Duroselle, Markus Lutz
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