COMPOSERS: Boismortier,Goldberg,Hasse,Heinichen,Quantz,WF Bach
LABELS: Capriccio
WORKS: Works for flute by Quantz, Boismortier, WF Bach, Goldberg, Heinichen & Hasse
PERFORMER: Eckart Haupt (flute); Dresden Baroque Soloists
CATALOGUE NO: 10 471
Let’s face it, this period’s a dodgy one. It’s on-the-cusp post-Baroque pre-Classical with composers either nostalgically pursuing old values or experimenting with the new. Capriccio’s disc is an appropriately motley mix comprising sonatas with three or four movements, a trio sonata and a flute concerto. At the early end of the chronological scale flautist Eckart Haupt and the Dresden Baroque Soloists have chosen a lesser known concerto by the prolific Quantz.
Their interpretation is very human with audible dramatic intakes of breath and clicking keypads. Haupt’s ornamentation is light and intricate, but sometimes this music cries out for a punchier approach. Climaxes waft by; there’s much loitering and little intent. JS Bach’s eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann features: a Sonata bulging with catchy themes which jostle between the players but never really develop.
The violinist is an eager conversationalist; Haupt seems lacklustre in comparison. A feelgood Gigue in the trio sonata by Goldberg replenishes the disc’s lost energy, and a throaty double-bass and cello combination adds an interesting textural depth to the flute sonata by Hasse. Kate Sherriff