Cannabich / Lukas Consort / Lukas Symphonies 59 63 64 67 & 68 CD

Symphony No. 63 in D major is more elaborately scored, calling on pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets and timpani, as well as the inevitable strings. The first movement starts with a slow introduction, in it's emphatic unison once more characteristic of Mannheim. This leads to an Allegro in broadly classical form. Here another Mannheim effect, the disciplined crescendo for which the orchestra was famous, is marked in the surviving parts. The A major slow movement, marked Andante moderato, starts with a gently lilting oboe melody, taken up by the first violin. The strings provide a second element, in a related key, before the clarinet brings back the original theme, accompanied by the violins only. There is a shift to A minor, as the secondary material returns, but it is the first melody and key that finally prevails. The Presto is in classical tripartite form, with two contrasted subjects, a rather more extended development, and a final recapitulation, with the two subjects now both in D major. There is no slow introduction to start the first movement of Symphony No. 64 in F major, scored now for pairs of oboes, bassoons and horns, with the necessary strings, now in five parts, with first and second violas. The first subject of the opening Allegro makes use, as Mannheim composers often did, of the device of sequence, with the first phrase answered by a parallel phrase of the same outline. Again there are wide leaps in the first violin part, a related second subject in C major, with a use of woodwind and single strings, and an exciting, gradual crescendo. The central development is duly followed by the expected recapitulation, with a crescendo leading to the final coda. The slow movement, marked Andante and in B flat major, omits the French horns and offers contrasts of subject and key in it's first section, which later returns in recapitulation in the key of the movement. The symphony ends with a Presto that opens emphatically, in Mannheim style. As in the first movement, the oboes are entrusted with the presentation of the second subject. The development of this sonata-form movement finds room for a crescendo, a feature that precedes the final coda in the third section. Symphony No. 67 in G major makes use of a single flute, with pairs of oboes and horns, in addition to a four-part string section. The flute adds color to a repetition of the first subject and features prominently in the second. There are crescendi in both the development and the recapitulation. The following Andante con moto is in C major and the principal theme is entrusted to the strings alone, with the full entry of the wind instruments delayed until the A minor second half of the movement. The principal theme returns, followed now by an excursion into C minor, before it's definitive restatement in conclusion. Sequence is a feature of the first subject of the final Presto, with it's exploration of remoter keys and use of varied techniques and textures, which include the use of pizzicato strings and strong dynamic contrasts.

1. Symphony No. 63 in D Major: 1: Grave - Allegro 2. Symphony No. 63 in D Major: 2: Andante Moderato 3. Symphony No. 63 in D Major: 3: Presto 4. Symphony No. 67 in G Major: 1: Allegro 5. Symphony No. 67 in G Major: 2: Andante Con Moto 6. Symphony No. 67 in G Major: 3: Presto 7. Symphony No. 64 in F Major: 1: Allegro 8. Symphony No. 64 in F Major: 2: Andante 9. Symphony No. 64 in F Major: 3: Allegro Molto 10. Symphony No. 59 in D Major: 1: Allegro 11. Symphony No. 59 in D Major: 2: Andante 12. Symphony No. 59 in D Major: 3: Presto 13. Symphony No. 68 in B Flat Major: 1: Allegro 14. Symphony No. 68 in B Flat Major: 2: Andante Moderato Assai 15. Symphony No. 68 in B Flat Major: 3: Allegro Vivace