Freiburger Barockorchester / Gottfried von der Goltz W.A. MOZART Concertante alla Harpa e Flauto

With a few major exceptions, most of Mozart's works are tied to specific situations and locales. That being the case, it's surprising that more recordings haven't been devoted to works he wrote in a certain place and at a certain time. One learns a lot from hearing all his Masonic pieces at one time, for example. And this disc, which offers a slice of Mozart's music from his 1778 visit to Paris, makes a satisfying whole -- and along the way makes a strong case for Mozart's authorship of the disputed Symphonie concertante for flute, oboe, horn, bassoon, and orchestra, K. 297b, presented here in an adaptation by Robert D. Levin of a later and probably spurious version with a clarinet. The symphonie concertante was a genre of French origin, and the example here fits with the rest of the ingratiating, abundantly lyrical, slight but absolutely seductive music Mozart wrote in Paris. The Freiburg Barockorchester and leader Gottfried von der Goltz also offer the two versions of the middle movement of the Symphony No. 31, "Paris", the second provided by Mozart as a replacement after a concert series director protested that the original contained too many modulations. This offers an unusual insight into Mozart's creative processes as he worked to meet the needs of patrons who did not fully understand his music. Check out the delightful Concerto for flute, harp, and orchestra, K. 299, for an example of the basic approach of this period-instrument German group in this music: in place of the high spirits most performers infuse into this concerto, von der Goltz draws on the influence of ballet in Parisian musical life -- a field into which Mozart himself ventured with his curiously titled ballet Les petits riens (The Little Nothings). This is very graceful but rather restrained Mozart. Still, it avoids the cold quality that many Baroque-oriented groups have when performing Mozart, and the program is an unusually worthwhile one.

Mara Galassi / Giovanni Togni G.F. HAENDEL Microcosm Concerto

The story of Handel’s associations with the harp and also those of harpists with his music stretches out across more than a century, from before the composer’s arrival in London in 1712 until well into the 19th century, when arrangements of his works were continuing still to be published. In an original and novel CD - in which the harpist Mara Galassi performs on two contrasting period instruments, a Welsh triple harp and an Érard pedal harp - there appear both compositions written by Handel for the instrument, such as the Harp Concerto HWV 294 and the Suite in D minor HWV 448, as well as later arrangements by composers such as Edward Jones and Nicolas Charles Bochsa, in new works partially attributed (in a somewhat doubtful manner) to Handel.

This is Galassi’s third disc for Glossa (following Il Viaggio di Lucrezia in 1998 and Les Harpes du Ciel in 2003, two CDs which have been quietly acquiring cult status), and on it she shares centre stage with the keyboard player Giovanni Togini, who acts as the ideal musical companion on any of the three instruments which he makes use of for this Microcosm Concerto: the organ, the harpsichord and the fortepiano. (GLOSSA)