NI 5836 SEIXAS & SOLER sonatas RICHARD LESTER

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8 NI 5836 The Portuguese family of Antunes were prominent harpsichord and makers in the eighteenth century and shared a workshop in and it is quite probable that Soler and Scarlatti were familiar with their work. On the original there are two eight foot registers strung in brass with a harp stop on each. There are two pedals, one engaging one eight foot, the other operating the harp. Generally speaking, on instruments of this type, one register appears to have been fi xed, but it is possible that at some stage both eight foots were independent allowing greater tonal variety. It is unclear however if this arrangement is original and on the Michael Cole copy the two pedals operate the eight-foots independently. This allows the performer to make subtle crescendos and diminuendos by gradually adding or subtracting a register, a device of which I’m sure my old teacher George Malcolm would have approved. There is a separate stop for the harp. The length of the instrument (8ft 3in) allows for a rich and Carlos Seixas & Antonio Soler resonant bass and the tapering of the soundboard in certain areas produces a sonorous treble. The case is of pine with tulipwood veneer, a spruce (fi r) soundboard with walnut bridges and the keys are of ebony and mother of pearl. The compass of the instrument is fi ve octaves GG to g’’’ Harpsichord Sonatas © 2008 Richard Lester Richard Lester Richard Lester In the mid 1970s, Richard Lester was described both by the Daily Telegraph and the Times as ‘one of our leading players’ and more recently acclaimed as ‘one of the greatest early music performers of this or any other time.’ His fi rst major break came in 1981 when Sir William Glock, former BBC controller of music, invited him to perform a solo harpsichord recital at the Bath International Festival. Countless solo performances followed including concerts at the Bruges Festival, Wigmore Hall, and London’s South Bank Centre. Teaching posts have included Dartington International Summer School where he gave master classes, concerts and lectures with Fernando Valenti. Lester’s recording of the complete cycle of more than 600 Scarlatti sonatas also released on Nimbus has won international acclaim.

7 NI 5836 NI 5836 guitar fandangos to this day, most notably in the effect created by the Phrygian cadence (A-G-F-E). The rest of Soler’s Fandango juxtaposes melismatic passages, chromaticism reminiscent of vocal portamento, guitar techniques, castanet effects (an important part of the danced fandango) and an over-riding sense of fl amenco spirit. There are points in Carlos Seixas (1704-1742) the score where the writing is quite sparse and I have taken the liberty of adding a few 1 Sonata in D minor No. 19 [Allegro] 2.56 ‘Spanishisms’ here and there. I have also truncated the work slightly where, to my mind, 2 Sonata in D minor No. 20 [Allegro assai] 3.22 repetition becomes superfl uous. 3-5 Sonata in F major No. 23 Allegro – Giga – Minuet 6.17 6-8 Sonata in A major No. 11 Allegro – Adagio – Allegro assai 9.42 It is not entirely strange to understand the secular nature of this music as the Escorial, 9-q Sonata in D minor No. 6 Allegro – Adagio – Minuet 5.12 in spite of its austere exterior, was not exclusively a place of penitence and prayer. On w-e Sonata in D minor No. 5 [Presto] – Minuet 5.24 festive days, the monks took part in street parades and other activities that were largely r Sonata in G minor No. 25 [Allegro assai] 3.58 temporal. They would also have witnessed the spectacle of dancers and folk musicians from other regions of Spain who constantly displayed their art in the capital, Madrid. The seminarians also had ample opportunity to participate in the classical Spanish drama for Antonio Soler (1729-1783) t Sonata in F-sharp major R 90 Allegro 5.29 which Soler composed accompaniment. Soler’s life did not therefore approach the total y seclusion that one assumes is associated with a monastic existence. Sonata in F major R 56 Andante cantabile 4.37 u Sonata in D minor R 117 [Molto moderato] 4.04 The general style of his music is of extensive modulations often to keys unrelated to i Sonata in G major R 45 Allegro 4.21 the original; harmonic practices that were quite daring in eighteenth century Spain and, o Sonata in D major R 15 Allegretto 4.32 as previously stated, a decidedly national character about his music as the dance and p Sonata in D-fl at major R 88 Allegro 5.11 other folk song elements would suggest. In 1762, Soler published Llave de la modulacion a Sonata in D major R 84 Allegro 3.43 which was a set of rules for modulating rapidly from one key to another. The work s Fandango 10.02 attracted much opposition and Soler was constantly on the defensive with his musical Total playing time 78.51 contemporaries; a controversy that lasted for years. The Instrument Both had access to a number of instruments including some imported from England, France, Italy and Flanders. The robust Portuguese and Spanish instruments of the type heard on this recording1 greatly enhances the rustic quality in much of the music; yet when required is capable of much delicacy. Recorded in 2004 at Wistaria Lodge, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Recorded by Raymond Fenton, Atkyns Sound.

1A copy by Michael Cole of the José Joachim Antunes instrument made in and dated 1785 in This compilation  2008 Wyastone Estate Limited  2008 Wyastone Estate Limited the collection of musical instruments in Kent, England. Issued under license from the copyright owner Privilège Accord 6 3 NI 5836 NI 5836 Keyboard music in the Iberian Peninsula during the fi rst half of the eighteenth was The Organa Hispanica collection from which this recording is taken contains around dominated by three composers; Carlos Seixas (1704-1742), Padre Antonio Soler (1729-1783) 30 sonatas and probably represents a pretty concise overview of his complete oeuvre. and (1685-1757). Scarlatti, an Italian, spent most of his life in the service Unlike Scarlatti’s sonatas, many of Seixas’ sonatas contain two or three movements; an of Princess Maria Barbara, daughter of King João V of Portugal. Following her marriage Allegro movement followed by a Giga or Minuet. The allegro sections are usually in to Ferdinand VI of Spain, Scarlatti moved fi rst to Seville and then to Madrid remaining binary form containing the normal two repeated sections. His harmonic ideas are rich in in loyal service for the rest of his life. These three composers were instrumental in the invention and as Scarlatti once reported to Don Antonio, younger brother of King João V, growth of the binary form sonata in the Iberian Peninsula which dominated harpsichord ‘Your Highness commanded me to hear him and I must inform you that he is one of the music to an even greater degree than the tiento in the previous two centuries. best musicians I have ever heard.’ The origin of the binary form sonata is unclear but it had been around since the mid- Seixas’ music has charm, individuality and at times sheer virtuosity; qualities that sixteenth century, or earlier in the form of dances and variations. Scarlatti wrote around establish him as one of the musical luminaries of the Iberian Peninsula. 600 of the most imaginative sonatas in this style that were unequalled in the genre. Antonio Soler was born in Olot, Gerona and baptized on 3 December 1729. His father The harpsichord sonatas of Carlos Seixas and Padre Antonio Soler strongly reveal the Marcos Mateo enrolled him in the Escolonia de Montserrat near Barcelona at the age of six infl uence of Scarlatti with whom they studied. Scarlatti and Soler utilized the melodies as a pupil at the singing school. Entry into the school required a sound musical education and intoxicating rhythms of Spanish folk music and dance in many of their works and the scholastic foundation was to provide Soler with a fi rst class all round education. conveying a distinctly national character. All three were also instrumental in developing At 15 he was appointed as Master of the chapel in Lerida and eight years later in 1752 the ‘novel’ galant style that effectively provided a stepping stone between the Baroque he took minor orders becoming a sub-deacon, together with the post of organist at the and Classical periods. Escorial. In 1753 he became a monk, devoting the rest of his life to composing, teaching, as well as daily duties. His pupils included Prince Gabriel de Bourbon, talented son of It was the galant style that attracted Carlos Seixas and during his short life he produced Carlos III. His music like that of Seixas leans towards the ‘galant’ style; the sonata in F some seven-hundred or so keyboard sonatas which for their time were exceedingly major R 56 is such an example. Some of his sonatas on this recording are also infl uenced adventurous. by the dance; most notably R 90 in F-sharp major (Bolero), R 84 (Caracoles), and others that Seixas was something of a prodigy and after an early appointment at Cathedral obviously have their roots in the dance. Time and again one hears the strong Moorish (his home town) at the age of fourteen, he moved to Lisbon two years later as organist infl uence; a constant reminder of the Arabs who, after their conquest and subsequent of the court chapel and the Cathedral; as well as securing a healthy teaching practice. He settlement in Spain in the eight century, left a powerful imprint where emotions are most was knighted by João V of Portugal in 1738 (the same year that Scarlatti also received the strongly expressed through music. same honour) and was a wealthy man of property. Soler’s Fandango is unique (though some doubt its authenticity) and follows closely Seixas’ chief medium was the keyboard but owing to the disastrous Lisbon earthquake of the harmonic texture of its folk song and dance counterpart. Founded mainly on a 1755, only about one hundred or so sonatas actually remain. dominant bass ostinato in the Dorian mode, it modulates to (F major) – then to B-fl at major before resolving back to the dominant. This form of modal colouring is present in

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