Quantz, JJ :: Six Duets op. 2 Volume II

Six Duets op. 2 Volume II

Quantz, JJ

International Music Company presents J.J. Quantz's 'Six Duets, op. 2' Volume 2 for two flutes edited by John Wummer, which includes the final 3 duets in C Major, D Major, and E Minor.

'Stylistically, the six duets ... provide excellent examples of the composer s intermediate position between the Baroque and Classical eras. They afford the performer and scholar an opportunity to test the author s precepts in an appropriate context. As a composer Quantz certainly cannot be classed among the great, but he does display a high level of craftsmanship, and his works frequently come alive in actual performance in a way one would hardly expect from simply analyzing the printed page. They clearly illustrate the qualities and defects of much mid 18th-century music, and how dependent such music is on certain basic elements of performance. Re-created with the clarity of phrasing, dynamic variety, and in fast movements the briskness which Quantz demands, the duets become elegant, light, and tender. Performed too slowly and clumsily, they are merely tedious. - Edward Reilly.

Having performed these duets many times in concerts and for this recording, we now think the music is probably better than Reilly is suggesting. He is correct that they come alive in actual performance and Quantz s ideas on performance practice make a big difference. The slow movements in particular are often very expressive. -Greg Dikmans, 2014