The Consort
Douglas Hollick
Vol. 75, Summer 2019
George Berg, Twelve Sonatinas for keyboard op. 3, vol. 1 (nos. 1-6)
ed. Michael Talbot
Edition HH HH450.SOL, Launton, 2017 (pbk, £9.95)
ISMN 979 0 708146 57 5
www.editionhh.co.uk
George Berg (1730-75) was born in London to a German father and an English mother. He trained as a keyboard player, and between 1762 and his death held the post of organist at the London church of St Mary-at-Hill. Among his surviving compositions are many keyboard pieces, seven collections of which were published between 1757 and 1770, and songs, eight collections of which appeared between 1756 and 1768. In addition, Berg composed numerous overtures, concertos, odes, anthems, hymns and glees. His Antigono (1764) was the first opera entirely in Italian by an English-born composer to be publicly performed.
Berg was active as a harpsichord teacher, and this inspired three collections, each containing twelve sonatinas for keyboard (op. 3, 4 and 6). On the title page he describes these as ‘easy lessons for the harpsichord chiefly intended for the improvement of young practitioners, composed in various styles’. His op. 3 set was published by John Johnson in 1759, the two sequels following in 1760 and 1762. At this time in London, the pianoforte was almost unknown, a situation which was to change from 1765 with the arrival of emigré instrument-makers from Germany, and the emergence of both ‘grand’ and ‘square’ pianos built by makers such as Zumpe and Pohlmann. In 1768 Berg’s op. 7 sonatas mention the ‘piano forte’ and include crescendo and decrescendo markings, acknowledging the new instruments.
The sonatinas of op. 3 provide high quality music of moderate difficulty, and all are in two movements. This is music of much greater inventiveness than is often found in such collections for beginners, and while the harpsichord is the most appropriate instrument on which to play them, they also work well on the clavichord, and would be very acceptable on a modern piano, as long as they are played with sparing or no use of the sustaining pedal, and with a clean, articulated touch.
The texture is mostly two-part; four of the first movements in each volume are marked Allegro, with one Siciliano and the remainder marked Andante. The second movements are mostly Minuets, with some Jiggs and one Aria. They are mostly written in G and D major and minor, with one each in C major, A major and A minor, so they pose no great difficulty for an early-stage musician. The variety of both melodic and harmonic invention is considerable, and makes these little works a joy to play.
There is a distinct increase in difficulty in the later works – Sonatina no. 8 in A minor, for instance, has some quite tricky fast hand-crossings in the manner of Scarlatti in the first movement, while the opening Andante of no. 10 in G major contains much passagework, using both scales and broken chord patterns. The Allegro first movement of no. 11 requires some dexterity, with its rapid semiquavers alternating between the hands and its wide-ranging left-hand figurations, once more reflecting the influence of Scarlatti.
However, all the technical challenges are set in such a way that they should not pose too great a problem for anyone who has reached ABRSM grade 5 or 6. This is music which is rewarding to play, and while intended for performers of modest ability, it should not be ignored by the advanced player either, as the inventiveness and charm of this music is considerable.We are grateful to The Consort for permission to reproduce this review.
Volume 1