TIMES OF TRANSITION

Cello Concertos by C.P.E. Bach and Haydn


C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto in A major, H.439, Wq. 172 (1753)

J. Haydn: Cello Concerto in C major, Hob.VIIb:1 (1761–65)

J. Haydn: Cello Concerto in D major, Hob.VIIb:2 (1783)

“The term ‘turning point’ is commonly used in art history to describe shifts in artistic expression; it sounds dramatic, but such shifts are rare. During the Baroque period, polyphony and the fugue reigned supreme, but melody with accompaniment was an equally valid form of expression that simply gradually supplanted polyphony. And in times of transition, labels are of little use, for Baroque and Classicism can appear side by side in the work of a single composer. But since historians value order and filing cabinets, we are easily tempted to perceive stylistic concepts as something the music itself has created, whereas they are actually merely a way of approaching it. The three cello concertos on this CD shed light on the long, fertile period in the latter half of the 18th century, when the typical stylistic features of the Baroque were gradually supplanted by the simple, so-called “galant” style”
Karl Aage Rasmussen

Reviews:
“Another home run from Concerto Copenhagen”
Jeppe Rønnow, Magasinet Klassisk, September 2021

“Breathtakingly beautiful”
, *The Strad*, October 2021

Performers:
Andreas Brantelid – cello (Emil Hjort, Copenhagen 1887, with gut strings)

Concerto Copenhagen:
Oboe: Antoine Torunczyk, Lars Henriksson

Bassoon: Jane Gower

Horn: Emmanuel Frankenberg, Renske Wijma
Violin I: Fredrik From, Peter Spissky, Alison Luthmers

Violin II: Hannah Tibell, Jesenka Balic Zunic, Gabriel Bania/Jens Solgaard

Viola: Antina Hugosson

Cello: Tom Pitt

Double bass: Megan Adie
Harpsichord and musical direction: 
Lars Ulrik Mortensen

The album was released by Naxos on August 27, 2021