Baroque Rarities from Sweden

I spend a lot of delightful hours listening to Galaxie radio's Baroque channel on my cable.  They have a wonderful mix of Baroque music from different countries, and much of it is within the orbit of this blog -- that is, relatively little known.  A fair number of the recordings come from Naxos Records, the patron saint of lovers of out-of-the-way music.

I listen, I enjoy, and sometimes the music just washes over me, one piece relatively indistinguishable from another.  Sometimes, though, I hear a sound that makes me sit up and take notice, so to speak.

One day, a flow of pleasant Baroque instrumental numbers was suddenly augmented by a grand processional piece with trumpets and drums.  I immediately said, "That sounds like music for a royal court", and hit the button on the TV that displays the information screen.  The title was:  Music for a Royal Wedding.  The name of the composer was Johann Helmich Roman.  In short order I went to the invaluable Naxos-owned website, www.classicsonline.com, and downloaded the recording.

Roman was the court composer for the Swedish court, hence the name of the recording and the two suites of pieces included into it.  The two collections are both named after the famous old royal palace of Sweden:  Drottningholm Music and Little Drottningholm Music.  The suites included movements in concerto style, dance movements, processions, and more.  None of them are overly long, so the frequent changes of tempo, metre, and style give pleasing variety.  The total collection, lasting for 72 minutes, is all very listenable and enjoyable.  Performances by the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra (from Sweden) and conducted by Anthony Halstead are neat, clean, very musical, and grand where necessary without ever becoming heavy or ponderous.

As for my favourite Baroque bugbear, too-hectic speeds, this problem is also largely avoided.  The music has plenty of lift and a good sense of motion without ever degenerating into a mere frantic race to the finish line. 

Many years ago, Peter Schickele said on the cover of his first P.D.Q. Bach album, that this record was an answer to the needs of record collectors who had just finished their third collection of Brandenburg Concertos and were wondering where to turn next.  His response to that, of course, was a hope that you would rush out (after hearing P.D.Q.Bach's music) and buy a fourth set of Brandenburg Concertos!  I think that Roman's Music for a Royal Wedding is a much more satisfying solution.  Later on, I plan to share more Baroque rarities with you.

Highly recommended!