John Garth - Six Concertos for Violincello - Avison Ensemble/Tunnicliffe

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John Garth - Six Concertos for Violincello - Avison Ensemble/Tunnicliffe

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John Garth - Six Concertos for Violincello - Avison Ensemble/Tunnicliffe
Classical | 2 CD | EAC | FLAC, CUE, LOG | Scans | 536 MB | RS
Recorded: 10-13 Dec. 2006, Picture Gallery, Paxton House, Berwick upon Tweed
Released: 2007 | Label: Divine Art dda25059 | TT: 43:33, 50:36
Richard Tunnicliffe - cello | The Avison Ensemble, dir. Pavlo Beznosiuk

It is probably only experts in the history of British music who will prick up their ears at the name John Garth (1721-1810), and even among those experts only those who have specialized in the 18th century. The organist, from Durham in northern England, enjoyed greater popularity during his life than his friend, the nowadays better known Charles Avison (1709-1770), under whom Garth is presumed to have studied. […] Even though all the concertos follow the fast-slow-fast three movement sequence typical of the 18th century, the pieces show influences not only of the Italian Concerto Grosso style, but also touches reminiscent of the gallant style of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach […] (Aron Sayed, klassik.com)

While London was the hub of English musical life in the 18th century, there were other cities in which musical societies sprang up and flourished. These included Newcastle upon Tyne, Bath, and Durham. Durham was a convenient way station for travelers and many would lodge in the inns there. One of these, The Red Lion, became a focal point for meetings as well as musical get-togethers. In fact, it would not be incorrect to say that it was Durham's equivalent to Zimmermann's Kaffehaus in Leipzig where Bach and his Collegium Musicum would convene for their evenings. […]

John Garth (1721-1810) […] exercised a strong influence on Durham's musical life. Little is known of Garth's musical training, but he may have numbered among the early students of Charles Avison, the well-known organist and composer from Newcastle. […] Garth's name first appears in a Durham advertisement from 1746. As the years went by, he took responsibility for the management of the subscription concerts in several venues in and around the city.

[…] Garth's cello concertos – though written for his own use – were dedicated to Edward, Duke of York, a cellist of considerable ability. […] At the time, there was a surfeit of substantial cello music and until then nothing akin to Garth's concertos had been published in Great Britain. The Newcastle Journal reported on a concert in June of 1753 where Garth played one of the concertos: “We hear from Durham that … several fine Pieces of Musick were performed, particularly a Violincello Concerto composed and executed by Mr. Garth, which was justly admired and applauded by all present.”

Garth was following the winds of change with these concertos. They walk away from the old school style of Corelli and Geminiani tenaciously clung to by many of England's indigenous composers and move toward the more attractive and accessible idiom of the London-based J. C. Bach. All of the concertos follow the slow-fast-slow pattern of the Italian sonata da camera and follow Corelli's plan of alternating solo and tutti sections. However, Garth was probably more influenced by the “Prussian” sonatas (1742) of C. P. E. Bach, since they make use of a form that Garth employs in both his themes and modulations.

Garth's maturation is traceable from the first through the last of these concertos; the First is more heavily influenced by the Baroque while the Fifth Concerto is more up-to-date. This indicates that these concertos were probably composed over a long period of time. The outer movements tend to follow Avison's thoughts on melody and harmony, while the middle movements – though shorter than their bookends – generally place the spotlight on the cellist, with gentle and occasional punctuation by the orchestra.

[…] This is wonderful music, possessed of flair, style, and occasional significant breadth. The Sixth Concerto is the most expansive, having at its center a gorgeous Siciliana that would even make an Italian composer green with envy, and the unsettled mood of the opening movement of the Fifth Concerto is certainly among the best written in England at the time.

The performances are equally commendable. Richard Tunnicliffe is in complete control of his instrument (c. 1730), which is attributed to Leonhard Manisell of Nuremberg. Tunnicliffe's tone is rich and deep across the range of his cello, never thinning or becoming anemic, and his technique is more than up to the demands required by Garth. The Avison Ensemble is small – no doubt to some degree in keeping with the forces available to Garth – but there is no lack of tonal strength here. They also play with generous helpings of solid musicianship, not to mention complete dedication. The tempos are comfortable, never rushed or lugubrious, and the sound is quite vivid, no doubt due to the acoustic properties of the venue, The Picture Gallery, Paxton House, Berwick upon Tweed.

This is a must-have for cellists, Anglophiles, and all who cherish music of the era; it is also the latest inductee into our Classical Hall of Fame. (Michael Carter, Fanfare)