La flûte de Monsieur Buffardin
This album features a variety of baroque music for flute, here performed by Leonard Schelb. I didn’t have access to the booklet, but I’d assume here that the instrument used is either an original of a flute by the fabled period flutist Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin, or a copy of such a specimen.
The recital starts with Wq. 128 by CPE Bach; next is a sonata in E by Louis-Gabriel Guillemain. Two pieces by J.S. Bach are next, then W.F. Bach’s F major sonata, and finally a G minor sonata by Michel Blavet. Seventy-one minutes total of music.
By default, I think the pieces by the Bachs are all strong; I was less impressed by the Guillemain sonata. The Blavet sonata is also strong; it’s a long one, written in five movements, including a pair of gavottes and a gigue as part of its design as a combination between sonata/suite.
A variety of keyboard instruments are used; reading about the album elsewhere, it seems the keyboard players are a diverse group. The W.F. Bach sonata is where they’ve used a clavichord, which is an unusual combination, but speaks to a domestic performance.
The sound on this recording is close, suggesting as such, a domestic performance.
Schelb is an affective player, pulling a number of colors from the flute. Among the most revealing pieces for any baroque flautist is the partita, BWV 1013. Just listen to his performance of the second movement, a Corrente and how he alters the music in the repeat. All while addressing well the poorly placed spots Bach left for the flautist to breathe.
I’ve always thought the Sarabande from this piece has a strong affinity to Telemann’s writing, as evidenced in his solo pieces. Here the piece takes on new life with Schelb’s modifications in the repeats. I want to hear more performances like this!
He’s also adept at the French style; the pair of gavottes mentioned earlier by Blavet speak to this well. The metallic keyboard is icy cold against the warmth of this flute. Throughout you’ll notice for sure that it’s been tuned to a particular temperament that gives it a special voice.
I like here how each piece is simply for flute and keyboard, of specialty here beyond the flute used is the combination of different keyboard colors. It’s a rare thing, a luxury even; but as in the CPE Bach uses an early piano, we ought to hear more of these galant pieces with early pianos.
All around, a well-chosen recital highlighting a range of solutions for writing for the transverse flute. I hope to hear more from these artists in the future. I'm not surprised Schelb's playing is so strong, after learning he's studied with a number of luminaries, including Michael Form, Marc Hantaï, Michael Schneider and Karl Kaiser.
