Christine Schornsheim
Cembalokonzerte

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I don’t know.
Similarly, I can't say whether the Composer is influenced by the tastes and customs of the Era they live in or if they themselves actively influence and characterize their time. What I know is that we tend to divide historical-musical periods by inevitably associating them with the masterpieces of a few Composers, selected for us by history, musicology, and the recording industry.

Among these giant "oaks," there is an undergrowth of less famous but equally important Composers who are the first to experiment with certain formulas or anticipate the public's tastes, delivering them as semi-finished products to the ingenuity of those who will be able to transform them into masterpieces.
Thanks to publications like the one at hand, this undergrowth occasionally emerges and makes itself known, without any revisionist blackmail but purely for the sake of entertainment and pleasure.

In this light, I reflect on the 3 keyboard concertos collected on this CD, works by Johann Gottfried Müthel (1728-1788), Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1721-1783), and Christoph Nichelmann (1717-1762), at the origin of the birth of the Piano Concerto.

A student of J.S. Bach in Leipzig, Kirnberger is remembered more for his lifetime commitment to publishing some Preludes-Chorales of the great Master than for his own works.
His "Concerto in C Minor for Harpsichord, Strings, and Basso Continuo" cannot help but pay homage to the Master's work, but it highlights his modernity, combining polyphonic writing with dance rhythms, particularly Polish, a result of his experiences as a Kappelmeister.

The "Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings, and Basso Continuo" by Nichelmann shows an even more modern structure, especially in the initial "Allegrissimo," where the harpsichord sharply dialogues with the orchestra, as a true soloist. The "Andante" in second place enters seamlessly; here, the harpsichord seems to dance on tiptoe to the orchestral accompaniment through lovely trills and virtuosic embellishments. The concluding "Vivace" again expresses Nichelmann’s virtuosity, with a theme full of strong dancing accents.

The last student of Bach, with Müthel we move from the harpsichord to the fortepiano, and things inevitably become more serious. In his "Concerto in G Major," the dimensions expand, thanks to the greater expressive capabilities of the fortepiano. We are still in the realm of the pre-classical concerto (the initial "Not Too Allegro," for instance, lacks a development section), but the lyricism occasionally expressed in the "Poco Adagio" in second position already projects towards future pages.

The performance, far from being gallant, by Christine Schornsheim, a student of Leonhardt and Koopman, is energetic, intense, absolutely alive, an expression of the Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress) that characterizes the period. The music flows fiercely yet delicately through her fingers, accompanied with equal vigor and elegance by the genuine parts of the Berliner Barock-Compagney.

A journey to the origins of the Piano Concerto and the joyful discovery of small masterpieces. Highly recommended.

Christine Schornsheim (fortepiano and harpsichord), Berliner Barock-Compagney, Capriccio, 2000, T: 47’55, DDD