Empfehlung der Redaktion Klassik.com


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Das Sausen im Eichenwipfel

Uwe Schneider von Klassik.com schrieb am 07.11.2006 Folgendes über die Cd:
"Über die Leiden des einsamen Kontrabassisten hat Patrick Süßkind 1981 einen erfolgreichen, seinerzeit viel gespielten Monolog geschrieben. Er thematisierte nicht ohne Witz die Geschichte des Instruments und seiner geringen Prominenz. So wie Georg Kreislers 'Triangelspieler' fristet der Kontrabassist ein zumeist unscheinbares Dasein im Orchester, hat kaum je Gelegenheit zur Selbstdarstellung und zur auffallenden Virtuosität.
Das 'Rieseninstrument' war schon Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart in seinen 'Ideen zu einer Ästhetik der Tonkunst' (um 1780) aufgefallen. Seinen Eindruck über das seinerzeit noch relativ neue (und noch keinesfalls in der heutigen Form ausgereifte) Instrument beschreibt er im Solospiel wie folgt: "Die Tiefe war brüllend, schauerlich, durchschneidend – klang wie das Sausen des Sturmes im Eichenwipfel. Die oberen Töne brachten die lieblichste Tenorstimme hervor, die aber nicht wie Saitenton, sondern wie Tenorposaune tönte."
Drei Konzerte aus jener Frühphase des Kontrabass’, die zu musikästhetischen Überlegungen Anlass gab, sind nun in der auf historischen Instrumenten eingespielten Reihe 'Vergessener Schätze' der Kölner Akademie unter ihrem Chef Michael Alexander Willens erschienen. Es sind Werke für den so genannten fünfsaitigen 'Wiener Bass', der mit seiner speziellen Stimmung ab den 1760er Jahren den Weg ins solistische Spiel ebnete. Die Wiener Klassik brachte bedeutende Konzerte für den Bass hervor, aus dieser Blütezeit stammen die drei eingespielten Konzerte von Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812), Wenceslav Pichl (1741-1805) und Johann Vanhal (1739-1813), die ersten beiden gar in Ersteinspielungen. Die Eignung als Soloinstrument belegen diese kompositorisch souverän gestalteten Konzerte mit ihrer klassischen Dreisätzigkeit allemal.
Der kanadische Kontrabassist David Sinclair spielt sie auf einem Wiener Bass von 1729 mit grandioser Wendigkeit. Den teils hohen technischen Anforderungen begegnet er mit hörbarer Virtuosität; Doppelgriffe, längere Triolen-Passagen, Sechzehntelreihungen, weite Griffe - nichts raubt dem noblem Ton Sinclairs die homogene Ausstrahlung und Expressivität. Das musikalische Material gewinnt unter seiner schon athletisch zu nennenden Fingerfertigkeit und Bogenphrasierung Festigkeit, gelegentlich gar singenden und tänzelnden Charakter. Ob munter oder lyrisch, die Klangvielfalt die er dem Instrument zu entlocken versteht, ist erstaunlich. Man kann Schubarts bewunderndes Erstaunen über Klang und Möglichkeiten des Instruments nach dem Hören der CD bestens verstehen.
Die Kölner Akademie ist ihm ein sensibler Musizierpartner, man hört aufeinander, scheint sich gegenseitig zu inspirieren, die Balance zwischen Soloinstrument und Orchester ist auch aufnahmetechnisch wunderbar gewahrt. Die klare Stimmführung Michael Alexander Willens’ und die energische Leitung tun ein Übriges um die Konzerte aus ihrem Nischenbereich herauszuholen und in ihrer musikalischen Bedeutung gleichwertig neben andere Solokonzerte der Wiener Klassik zu stellen. So hat man nicht den Eindruck einer exotischen Wiederbelebung zu lauschen, sondern mehr über das so reichhaltige, unbekannte Repertoire der Wiener Klassik zu erfahren. Die Reihe der 'Forgotten Treasures', die das Label Ars mit dem Kölner Ensemble aufnimmt, erweist sich einmal mehr als kurzweiliges, informatives Vergnügen."

Pforzheimer Zeitung, 14. August 2007
In der Pforzheimer Zeitung (tw) vom 14.08.2007 erschien Folgendes über diese Cd:
"Wiener Konzerte

Konzerte, die zwischen den 1760er-Jahren und 1785 speziell für den fünfsaitigen Wiener Kontrabass geschrieben wurden stellt der Virtuose David Sinclair vor, begleitet von der Kölner Akademie unter der Leitung von Michael Alexander Willens. Als Ersteinspielung erklingen Werke von Franz Anton Hoffmeister und Wenceslav Pichl, Johann Vanhals Konzert wurde hier erstmals mit einem Wiener Kontrabass aufgenommen. Mit durchdringendem, in der Höhe leicht nasalem Ton und mächtiger Tiefe ist der Klang des Instruments von Sinclair eher ungewohnt. Die Spielfreude des Virtuosen gepaart mit hoher Klangqualität machen den Reiz der Einspielung aus."

International Society of Bassists
Robert Nairn von der International Society of Bassists (Volume 30, Number 3) schrieb Folgendes über diese Cd:
"Canadian bassist David Sinclair's new CD is an outstanding release, musically, technically and historically. Featuring three concertos from the second half of the eighteenth century, it is the first recording of the Hofmeister Concerto and first recording of the Vanhal on Viennese violine (Lars Baunkilde recorded the Pichl on Viennese violine in 1997). It is superbly recorded in Super Audio (surely the first solo bass CD in this format) on Annette Schumacher's wonderful Ars Produktion label. The balance has been carefully considered in every movement and the accompaniment from fellow bassist and conductor Michael Willens directing the Cologne-based ensemble Kölner Akademie is sensitive and supportive. It's wonderfully illuminating to hear these concertos as they were originally conceived and here performed by a virtuoso of the order of David Sinclair [...]
This is a CD that will appeal to a wide range of bass players, other musicians and technophiles as it is so much more than a historical document to those interested in the Viennese violine - it is superbly performed and produced and we can only hope it is not another 12 years before we hear from David Sinclair again."

SA-CD.net


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Bei SA-CD.net (Geohominid) erschien am 16.02.2008 Folgendes über diese Cd:
"If your only contact with the double-bass as a solo instrument is 'The Elephant' from Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals, this disk will open your ears. The double-bass was the last of the violin family to be developed, mainly because the 6-stringed bass viol was an excellent bass for accompaniments. Most bassists were loth to throw away a perfectly good instrument and buy an expensive new-fangled one. The 5-string replacements evolved during the C18th, and one product of that evolution was the Viennese double-bass, with its flat back, long fretted neck and gamba shape. It was tuned F'-A-D-f#-a compared with the modern bass tuning of E-A-D-G.
Canadian David Sinclair is an internationally acclaimed bassist who has made a special study of the Vienna Bass and a number of concertos written for it in the C18th, when it was a favourite at the princely courts of Central Europe. He plays an instrument from 1729, and is accompanied by the Kõlner Akademie, a period instrument band. They field an orchestra typical of that found at Esterházy during the period 1760-80: 10-12 string players with pairs of oboes and natural horns with harpsichord continuo.
The three concertos selected for this concert represent the period over which the Vienna Bass was in favour. They are in the generally popular concerto style used by Haydn, in three movements fast-slow-fast. They each have colourful orchestrations, good tunes and exploit the full range of the instrument's tone colours and capabilities. Conductor Michael Alexander Williams keeps things moving fluently, and clearly the orchestra is thoroughly enjoying their outing with the largest member of the string section.
Sinclair's solo work is little short of astonishing. He has to cope with virtuoso passages of rapid double stopping in 16th notes, sudden leaps from the depths to the topmost range, fast arpeggios and long cantilenas in the trombone-like baritone and lovely tenor-like upper ranges. The construction of the instrument was arranged to suit its unique tuning. Speaking of which, intonation on such large instruments is very difficult; I have heard bassists remark that they are lucky to get within 6 inches of the correct note! Many of the movements have written cadenzas which allow us to hear all the glorious resonances and rich sonority of this now forgotten instrument. It only takes a few moments of the first track to get over one's surprise at such tonal depth and range in a concerto solo instrument, then one relaxes into the music. The Vanhal work in particular is a very fine piece, with a noble and confident first movement main theme. Its slow movement is gracious and charming, with the bass approaching the violin's melody from its depths upwards, until it embellishes the tune itself in its best 'cello voice, almost reaching operatic intensity. Vanhal's finale then races off in great good humour with foot-tapping syncopations.
The 5.1 DSD recording is exemplary, taken with minimal microphones in a small church. There is air around the players but no excessive reverberance. The listener seems to have the best seats in one of the Esterházy's concert rooms. Woodwind/string balance is perfect for this size of orchestra, and the rich sonic character of the Viennese bass is superbly captured. If your system needs a good work-out of its deeper regions, then this disc will do it. The soloist's breathing and a few finger or bow noises can be heard, but this adds to the realistic picture of the performance.
The usual well-designed Ars booklet includes a fascinating account of the evolution of the double bass, notes on the composers and music as well as the usual brief biographies of the musicians, in good English and German. The provision of session photographs always helps the listener to visualise the orchestral seating and recording environment.
As soon as the last notes died away I just had to play the disc again. Undemanding music, yes, but very much of its time and giving great fun and pleasure. The disk is ripe for exploration if your musical tastes are even a little adventurous."

Fanfare Magazine July/Aug 2009
Ron Salemi schrieb im Fanfare Magazne Folgendes über diese Cd:
"Before receiving this disc for review, I was unaware that there is such a vast repertoire of concertos featuring the double bass. I knew of Haydn’s lost concerto, and I assumed there were a few more, but one rarely encounters them. According to the New Grove, there are over 200 concertos for double bass. Composers in the second half of the 18th century produced many concertos for double bass, presumably in response to the development of virtuosos on the instrument.
In Austria and Germany in the 17th and 18th centuries, a five-string double bass was commonly used, and it is a recreation of this instrument, here called a Viennese double bass, that David Sinclair plays on this recording. The Viennese double bass is tuned to F'-A'-D-f♯-a in contrast to the E'-A'-D-G of the modern double bass. The instrument is viol-shaped, with a flat back, and of moderate size with a long fretted neck. The sound of the Viennese double bass, as the CD booklet describes it, is “bright and colorful, tinged with a reedy, slightly nasal and penetrating timbre.”
Franz Anton Hoffmeister was a composer and music publisher active in Austria from the latter part of the 18th century through his death in 1812. He was quite prolific, composing, among other works, 66 symphonies, 45 concertos, operas, songs, and chamber music. Although he was praised by his contemporaries for the emotional expression of his works and his symphonies were admired for their flowing melodies, his work is, according to The New Grove, “generally lacking in originality and depth.” He wrote three double bass concertos; the one recorded here, although known as the first, is probably the last composed.
Václav Pichl, born in Bohemia, had an active career in Grosswardein (Oradea in modern Romania), Vienna, and Lombardy. His compositions total about 900, most of which are still extant. Haydn admired his works and had them performed at Esterháza. The Double Bass Concerto recorded here was probably written while he was in the orchestra at Grosswardein, and may have been written for Carl Schieringer, a bassist working with Haydn from 1767.
Johann Baptist Vanhal, also of Bohemian origin, was also a prolific composer. There are 700 printed works and others still in manuscript, including at least 73 symphonies. In the 1780s, he was praised as “undoubtedly one of the noblest and best among the most recent composers.” His works were performed by both Mozart and Haydn. He wrote only one double-bass concerto. In his notes to this CD, David Sinclair praises it as surpassing all of his contemporaries’ double-bass concertos and as one of the best works ever composed for solo bass.
David Sinclair has an active career performing on both double bass and viola da gamba, as well as teaching and bow-making. He is responsible for the performing editions used here as well as many of the stylish cadenzas. His performances are first-rate and lively. The Kölner Akademie provides excellent support, making this an attractive program of unusual repertoire. This disc is Volume 3 of a series that Ars Produktion calls “Forgotten Treasures.” It will be of especial interest to those who wish to explore the by-ways of the 18th-century concerto. None of these concertos is currently available elsewhere, although Ars only claims premiere status for the Hoffmeister and Pichl concertos and the first recording of the Vanhal on the Viennese bass. “Treasures” may be too optimistic a description of the contents, but the performances and rare content make this disc worthy of your interest."