The "Verschlungene Pfade" (crossing trails) of the title of this disc are those of the two composers represented -- the young
Handel made a stop at the court of the Elector of Düsseldorf on his way to fame and fortune in England, and the little-known Johann Sigismund Weiss also worked there for a time -- although he was the brother of famed lute composer Sylvius Leopold Weiss, his career and music remain mostly obscure. If part of the aim of this album is to show that genius grows from solid foundations, it succeeds nicely -- the oboe sonatas of Weiss share many stylistic features with those by the young
Handel, and it is not too surprising to learn that some were attributed to
Handel in the eighteenth century. Both composers freely disregard the Italian distinction between the church sonata and chamber sonata, mixing abstract and dance movements with abandon. Weiss in his expertly crafted adagios shows something of
Handel's flawless sense of timing, and it is hard to say which way the influence might have gone -- both composers, in taking up the sonata for solo instrument plus continuo, were experimenting with a then-innovative Italian form. The notes for this disc are replete with discussions of manuscripts, attribution questions, and other scholarly stuff, and it must also be said that the Baroque oboe is the final frontier in historical performance from the listener's standpoint -- it's a rough-sounding thing with a fatal attraction to the flat side of the pitch, even in the capable and expressive hands of oboist
Karla Schröter. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable disc for the general Baroque enthusiast; the
Concert Royal Köln catches the young
Handel's fascination with Italianate lyricism, and the variety of continuo groups -- a harpsichord, bassoon, gamba, archlute, and organ trade off and combine into groups according to the mood and structure of the individual work -- keeps things interesting. The Super Audio sound is clear and intimate; if the small Catholic chapel pictured in the booklet was the actual recording location, it was an excellent choice.