Corelli and Handel on Recorder • Koudelková
This chamber music recording is headlined by the Czech recorder player, Michaela Koudelková, whom is a new name to me. She’s studied with some well-known experts, and is joined by harpsichord, cello, and plucked continuo (guitar and theorbo). The recording was made in Prague in a church. My guess is that the harpsichordist is her sister.
I can’t help but think back to the recording made by Michala Petri, Mahan Esfahani, and Hille Perl of Bach sonatas in a church. That recording suffered from the acoustics of an overly large church. This one, thankfully, has us much closer to the musicians, without having to adjust to hearing through too much reverb. While not perhaps ideal, the setting for this recording prove that the highest notes achieved by Koudelková don’t glare back at us.
The pieces covered in this recital include four Handel sonatas (BWV 367a, 363b, 359b, and HWV 371), most coming from his famous collection of “opus 1” sonatas for various solo instruments. Corelli is represented by three sonatas borrowed from his opus 5 collection, for violin, which have been taken over by recorder players for at least a few decades, if not more. I do remember the Seon recording by Frans Brüggen with Gustav Leonhardt of Corelli’s sonatas as likely one of the first on period instruments. Included is the crowd-pleaser, La Folia.
This is all to say that this recital isn’t one offering a complete recording of works by Handel and Corelli that could be played by the recorder; nor are these performances without peer in the catalog. Often those taking oft-recorded works should be prepared to shine against the competition.
I went back and listened to Brüggen, Bylsma, and Leonhardt’s recording of La Follia. It was remarkably clear for its age. The playing for me was a tad “straight” in conception. One of the greatest evolutions in HIPP performance, for me, has been the allowance of rubato and rhetorical declamation as part of the period performance style. Brüggen’s recording is tightly played, virtuosic. At one point he introduces vibrato into the mix. I imagine this recording when it came out was polarizing for many familiar with these pieces as violin sonatas.
Off the start, the recording by Michaela Koudelková takes more time—about 2 minutes longer—which I anticipated would allow for her taking time, where required, to let the music respond to the artists’ feeling for the music.
Koudelková uses a soprano instrument, which sparkles in its highest tessitura. Her interpretation comes across to me as more virtuosic affair. As anticipated, the musicians together, while playing tight together, come across less stiff than the earlier recording by Brüggen. The approach here to phrasing and, furthermore, giving each variation its own flavor, is well-done. As with all of these sonatas, there’s something to appreciation with the timbre of Koudelková’s instruments. The way she approaches vibrato, too, I think is a superior solution to the one employed by Brüggen, with Koudelková using a variety of techniques to lightly bend the sound over a more traditional, continuous flute vibrato. The basso continuo support isn’t all players, all-in, the whole time. They instead come and go into the texture, supporting the music and dynamics, I think, appropriately.
Where she gets the air for the penultimate variation, I’m not sure.
I wanted to compare this performance to the one left us in 2014 by Michala Petri and Mahan Esfahani. The presence of Esfahani’s harpsichord is clear, his playing a creative component to their performance. Petri, however, I don’t think comes across as especially interesting. Using a different instrument, some of her lower notes get lost in the wash of the recording made in a Copenhagen church. While as much as I appreciate Esfahani’s playing, the whole package I think is bettered in this newest recording by Koudelková.
Going back to the album in question, I next auditioned the E minor sonata by Handel, HWV 359b, luxurious in its colorful basso continuo instrumentarium. Despite the first movement being marked Grave, I felt they pushed things along, and I liked that.
The Allegro is tastefully performed, with good support in phrasing. While this piece might work equally well soloed by a violin, as an example, I think there’s a strong case to be made here for it working well on recorder. The lowest note played at the end of the Allegro is captured well. Again—compare that to the low register in the Petri recording.
The terraced approach by the continuo in the final fast movement is a smart way to approach the repeat. Even when everyone is playing balance isn’t negatively influenced.
The D minor sonata, HWV 367a, is a longer one, in terms of movements: seven in all, including a Furioso! I wanted to compare this performance to the one by Max Volbers which I reviewed recently that also includes this sonata. The first thing I notice is the closer, more intimate sound in the recording by Volbers and harpsichordist Alexander von Heissen. Volbers is interested in playing more with his sound using “special effects.” While I generally like these, I can’t speak to how well these Italiante techniques were used by those in Handel’s circles. While offering a strong performance, with no lack of flair, Volbers’ instrument sound isn’t nearly as attractive as the one employed by Koudelková. It could be well an artifact of how the recordings were made, but Koudelková’s instrument has a more focused and less fuzzy sound.
The Alla breve starts with the right hand of the harpsichord playing along with the recorder part. Nice, tight integration. Balance wise, I felt that despite the limitations of a recorder’s power in the lower parts of its register, the balance achieved between three players throughout this piece was well-maintained; the final tempo di menuet showcases this balance well, not to mention how Koudelková isn’t shy about using dynamics to enhance her playing.
Final Thoughts
Both Handel and Corelli make for a good recital together. Even though these pieces work on the violin, I think Koudelková makes the case for them being performed by a recorder. She uses multiple instruments across this album, with the instruments like the soprano used in HWV 363b, having favor in my ears. She’s an extremely clean player with really good control on articulation and phrasing. While perhaps not as extrovert as Max Volbers on pulling out all the tricks to add variation to her sound, she’s not immune to introducing ornamentation and tonal color to her arsenal of techniques. In some cases, listeners may well prefer her approach with these. When they happen, I can’t help but enjoy them thoroughly. But they are not always omnipresent, and I think some things offered in moderation is a good compromise.
Taste is an important aspect of any artist’s personality. While this recording didn’t have the most ideal recorded sound, erring a tad on being too heavy with reverb, it the engineers managed to keep the recorder’s sound up-front. Of special note is how much I found the timbre of Koudelková’s instruments enjoyable. No, all recorders do not sound the same. And while there is variety among the instruments she uses, I can’t help but think she’s chosen her instruments—all historical models—wisely. The sound does, for me, represent the type of experience you’d have in a live performance. So, props to the team for making it sound natural.
This recording succeeds for me. The music is familiar, yes, but the performances are well-polished. They reflect several decades of movement in HIPP to bring us music that, at least for me, moves me more so than the recordings by Brüggen. My introduction to Handel’s opus 1 came by way of a Hyperion recording featuring a number of British early-music specialists. This new recording—while not complete—is an excellent introduction to a strong flutist, one who I hope we hear more from soon. It’s got style, rubato, dynamics, and the right amount of good taste.
