Pieces for flute and orchestra. Dorothee Oberlinger/Ensemble 1700

Pieces by:

• Gottfried Finger
• George Frederick Handel
• Johann Gottlieb Janitsch
• Johann Gottlieb Graun
• Johann Joachim Quantz
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
• Ernst Gottlieb Baron
• Johann Christian Schultze

The diversity of composers represented on this disc, in addition to their stylistic backgrounds (the Finger piece vs. the CPE Bach Flute Sonata are as about as different as you could imagine), paints a very interesting picture about chamber music popular around Berlin and Potsdam. While I have always thought of the most famous flutist at the time (Frederick the Great) of playing a transverse flute, Oberlinger makes the case for the “sweet flute,” the recorder. As I already knew from her previous work, she is a true virtuoso, offering us astonishment both for her technical talents and sensitivity. Everything from a true chamber piece, the Baron suite for flute and lute, to the fullness of the Handel (one of my favorites on the disc, and one I am certain you have not yet heard) or Schultze concertos, speaks to the range on this recording.

The Handel piece has most definitely his signature, but the piece for soprano recorder and bassoon is most interesting as it is believed to come from a 17 year old Handel. It has a very Italian flavor.

The recorded sound quality is excellent, as are the contributions from Ensemble 1700. I don’t know if others will have the reaction I have when jumping from one musical aesthetic to another (we might say from the high baroque to the gallant), but pieces such as the Janitsch quartet and even the Concerto à 5 by Schutlze, are my favorites on this recording. They, along with the opening short piece (from 40 Airs anglos pour la flute), are from the older baroque aesthetic. We know from the encounter of J.S. Bach to Potsdam that the old style was not favored by Frederick. And interestingly enough, my least favorite piece is the Trio Sonata in F by C.P.E. Bach. Its scoring, though, is as interesting as they come: bass recorder and viola with basso continuo. And it’s that eclectic mix of style, scoring, and different composers’s pens that make this an interesting release.

Warmly recommended.