Johann Helmich Roman: Concerto for violin and string orchestra in D minor (BeRi 49)
Johann Helmich Roman
born 26 Oct. 1694 in Stockholm;
died 20 Nov. 1758 in Haraldsmåla.
Composition:
Year of composition unknown, probably after 1735.
Recordings:
Nils-Erik Sparf 1984
Jan Stigmer 1994
Elisabeth Wallfisch 1994
As a violinist, as a long-time director of the court orchestra at the Stockholm court and as a composer, Johann Helmich Roman was an important player in late Baroque court life in Sweden.
During his years of study in England in 1716-21 (studying with Pepusch) and during an extended journey to England, France, Italy and Germany in 1735-37, he acquired detailed knowledge of the
musical trends of the period between the Baroque and the gallant Rococo. His many works as a court composer include the 35-movement ‘Drottingholm Music’ (composed in 1744 for the marriage of
Crown Prince Adolf Fredrik to Lovisa Ulrika), the 45-movement Golovin Music (written for a feast in 1728 for the Russian Minister Golovin), around 30 ambitious symphonies, sacred works, trio
sonatas and concertos, among which 5 violin concertos stand out. His Assagi for solo violin are also an important, unfortunately little-known contribution to the Baroque solo literature. Roman's
work also shows the extent to which baroque musical culture characterised princely Europe at the time.
Listen to it here!
Movement 1: Allegro
Movement 2: Andante
Movement 3: Allegro
Listening companion:
I Allegro
The opening is dynamic, memorable and fascinating: the three-part ritornello theme starts diatonically in the first five bars with three concise back and forth exclamations and answers. Bars 6
and 7 respond with a chromatic upward passage, whereupon a two-bar rhythmic turn concludes the ritornello.
The solo violin immediately enters with its own epic continuation of the initial swing, rhythmically accompanied by the orchestra. Ritornello motifs repeatedly alternate with free, less
structured passages in the solo part. The memory of the chromatic upward movement in the orchestra leads back to the ritornello from time to time, with the violin immediately taking the lead
again.
After a brief pause, quietly drawing new strength, the orchestra once again marks its presence with the complete repetition of its D minor ritornello. An interlude by the solo violin invents new
twists and turns and creates further music.
But then the orchestra returns ‘da capo’ to the beginning and repeats the ritornello and the violin solo again from the beginning until the exhausted stop shortly before the end. The solo violin
improvises a short cadenza before the orchestral ritornello has the last word.
II Andante
This is followed by a pastorale in B flat major, which could have been taken from one of Haendel's operas. But baroque music makes no individual authorial claims. The dance character (here a
siciliano rhythm) determines what listeners are allowed to hear. In two sections (repeated depending on the performance), the orchestra and solo violin (with their ornamentation) present a
meditative andante.
III Allegro
A D minor ritornello theme extending over 26 bars begins with great energy. It is characterised right at the beginning by halting interruptions. It then expands into violin figurations, moves
into unison runs and ends again in D minor.
The violin solo follows immediately, with the same energy and determination, but shining with different motivic structures and alternating between forte and piano. The beginning of the ritornello
theme reappears, now in A minor. Again, the solo violin responds with its own solo motifs, carves out new motifs, brings them forte and piano into new contexts, develops freedom and imagination,
follows effective solo figurations, syncopates and shines. Until the final repetition of the entire first ritornello theme brings everything together to form a whole.