Corelli • Concerti Grossi, op 6. nos. 1-6
I grew up with Trevor Pinnock’s recording of Corelli’s concerti grossi on Archiv Production. These are the epitome of the concerto grosso, wherein a full ensemble has solo passages that emerge from among the ranks of an orchestra, rather than positioning a soloist in front of the ensemble.
There are by now a lot of recordings of these concertos; this release represents what I am sure will be a two-part series, offering us the first six concertos. I like comprehensive collections like this, even if the sets are separated by release time. Akamus uses a fairly large ensemble, with nine violins, three violas, two cellos, and a single double bass, harpsichord or organ, archlute, and harp.
The use of harp, I think, is suspicious. I don’t know of evidence to suggest Corelli’s Roman musicians used a harp as part of the continuo. Thankfully they don’t all play throughout; but the continuo team does come across as robust and colorful. Readers will most likely want to compare this production with the one released in 2023 on Hdb Sonus records by the Accademia Bizantina under the direction of Ottavio Dantone and violinist Alessandro Tampieri. Both recordings are ripe with dramatic contrasts and strong violin playing, although you can discover, as I did, that one of the recordings, I believe, features stronger rhetorical vibes in its interpretation.
Another production worth comparing is the Freiburg Barockorchester’s recording, which doesn’t cover the full sixth opus, but joins woodwinds into the texture. The violin solos are a bit more transparent than this recording.
Interestingly, as always, Akamus isn’t wed to the idea of a single lead violinist. This production shares the responsibilities between Mayumi Hirasaki and Georg Kallweit. Hirasaki leads the first concerto, which is rich in the bass department, but I found hearing the solo violins transparently somewhat difficult at times, given the balance with the ensemble.
The solo episodes, however, are enticing, as evidenced in the second track, in the first concerto.
The fourth concerto is lead by Kallweit; the Allegro of the opening track, no. 15, feels more athletic under his command. The playing by both violins is on-par, clean, and arrestingly played fast. The energy they achieve in this recording is palpable. The second movement’s repeated chords give us a palpable sense of the acoustics of the recording space which is luxurious; while I would have entertained an improvised violin part played atop this repetition, the ensemble does tease us a bit with texture from the basso continuo. The ensemble’s cohesion in the third movement is good. The tempo seems to wander a bit in the final movement? In the repeat, I love the extra articulation and humor-infused contributions from the solo violins. More of that, please!
The opening to the fifth concerto in B-flat, however, feels a bit pedestrian in approach. I compared it to the performance by Accademia Bizantina, which uses the stops and space between chords to provide a more dramatic performance solution. Their dynamics, too, by comparison, are a bit more dramatic. Akamus’s performance of the fugue (Allegro, third movement) is a played a bit safer here. Nothing wrong with their phrasing or how the ensemble sounds playing together.
In the Largo, Corelli provides some solo parts in the fifth concerto. But they play things safe, I think, with the dramatic stops and starts? The continuo, I will say, keeps the texture interesting, and I like the presence of organ.
Their playing of the finale is fun and confident.
Final Thoughts
There have been many fine recordings of Corelli’s opus 6 since Pinnock and the English Concert’s recording from the late 1980s. The influence of an Italian playing style, embraced by others, including Fabio Biondi and Amandine Beyer, is alive here, but perhaps not consistently, to their same high standard. While this recording was quite enjoyable, I kept thinking that I ultimately preferred the release by Dantone and Tampieri that much more.
That said, this is a very enjoyable release from the Academy of Ancient Music, Berlin.
