The Dutch record label Challenge Classics releases music by compatriot Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1561-1621) on cd. Harpsichordist Fabio Antonio Falcone performs the secular variation cycles of this master. The album Sweelinck klavierwerken — "The Art of Variation" presents variations on songs and dances on a Johannes Ruckers (1632/1745). With attention to timbral color, Falcone brings this repertoire back to life on the harpsichord.
Although no original keyboard works by Sweelinck have been preserved, his repertoire is a musical treasure. His music bears witness to several turning points: such as the emergence of Protestant religious music, the elevation of secular music, and the further emancipation of keyboard music. But what distinguished this Dutch master from his contemporaries?
The Golden Age and Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck is often regarded by musicologists as the pinnacle of Dutch music in the Golden Age (1570-1700). With the flourishing of religious music, the growing popularity of secular music, and the emergence of carillon music, this was a very fertile period for composers from the Low Countries. In the Southern Netherlands, English composer Peter Philips (1560-1633) was one of the musical masters, and in the North, Sweelinck was the great household name.
Religious music played a major role in the development of Sweelinck's musical development. He was one of the first composers after the Reformation to compose Calvinist music. His early works conform to the sober instrumentation that Calvin prescribed. These were monophonic compositions for the community with simple organ accompaniment for support. For other types of music, specially organized concerts were provided. Sweelinck regularly composed music for these concerts. These works are often labeled as æmulatio and are primarily religious works. Some of these compositions have a secular basis. An innovation of the Golden Age that would continue to return in later works such as his keyboard variations.
After his study trip to Venice, Sweelinck built a reputation that earned him the nickname "Amsterdam Orpheus." He was known at home and abroad. Sweelinck began as a composer of vocal, religious music but also built an international reputation as a pedagogue and as a brilliant keyboard improviser.
Variation cycles for keyboard
Sweelinck only began to compose more for keyboard after he had already made a name for himself as a vocal composer. Using counterpoint and rules from polyphony, he developed a keyboard style that was unique. Sweelinck also blended his style with influences from Italian virtuoso harpsichordists, the art of English virginal players, and Spanish organ style.
This diversity and unique character of Sweelinck's style is central to Fabio Antonio Falcone's cd. The earliest collection 13 Chorale Variations is skipped by the harpsichordist and he focuses immediately on the later works. He opens with the variation cycle Ballo del granduca [track 01]. This first track immediately highlights an important aspect of Sweelinck's variation technique. Namely his love for popular secular influences: dance structures. The titles ballo, pavane, and allemande immediately reveal the link with the eponymous dances. But other works also use dances as a model for structure. For example, Solo es sein [track 07] is based on a Polish dance. While "Onder enn linde groen" [track 04] and "Est-ce Mars?" [track 09] — two variations from 8 Variation Cycles on Secular Songs — are both characterized by an allemande structure.
Falcone is a master on the harpsichord. He proves this again with this cd. With his specialization in Renaissance and early Baroque repertoire, the keyboard legend Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck is a perfect match for Falcone. It is an oeuvre that is less virtuosic than his beloved Italian repertoire but where clear structure is crucial. And Falcone does this very elegantly. With an eye for color and contrast, he breathes new life into Sweelinck's secular variations. And Falcone manages to fully command the timbre of the chosen Johannes Ruckers instrument.
3.5/5
- WHO: Fabio Antonio Falcone [harpsichord]
- WHAT: Sweelinck klavierwerken — "The Art of Variation"
- LABEL: Challenge Classics CC72926
- ORDER: JPC