Author: EMR2015

Music at San Marco di Venezia 
ensemble officium
63:53
Christophorus CHR 77390

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his varied programme of music for voices and instruments is taken from Andrea Gabrieli’s Sacræ Cantiones  of 1565, an early publication comprising works composed for the Munich Hofkapelle, which Gabrieli visited, working alongside Lassus. It is worth remembering that this music, which now sounds so distinctively ‘Venetian’ to us was composed for Lassus’ Court ‘orchestra’, and bearing that in mind, we can readily hear the influence of Lassus throughout. This is particularly the case in a cappella works such as Bonum est confiteri, whereas in the more elaborate works incorporating cornets and sackbuts we can hear the future musical world which was to make San Marco the envy of early Baroque Europe. All of the music is taken from the 1565 publication with the exception of the ‘diminution’ of Laudate Dominum  for cornet and organ, completed in period style by the group’s excellent cornet soloist Friederike Otto, and the complex 10-part setting of Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius, published posthumously in 1587 by the composer’s nephew and musical heir, Giovanni. The singing and playing are precise and expressive, and if I could occasionally have done with more panache and a slightly more generous acoustic – assuming as the CD title suggests that Gabrieli went on to use his earlier works in San Marco following his appointment there in 1566 – I liked the way the ensemble sometimes employed voices on each line, including the high top lines. Although it is widely assumed that the choral forces in San Marco were made up of adult male singers with falsetto male alto voices topped by cornets, the use of boys or even adult male sopranos cannot be ruled out. I also liked the variety of presentations, including a lovely instrumental rendition of O sacrum convivium. It is easy to dismiss Andrea Gabrieli as a bridge figure between Lassus and his flamboyant nephew Gabrieli, but this CD helps to reinforce the fact that he had his own distinctive and profound voice, which was already clearly in evidence in this early publication.

D. James Ross

Gli Incogniti, Amandine Beyer
73:08
harmonia mundi HMC 902221
Violin concerti RV228, 282, 313, 314a, 316, 322, 323, 372a, 391
Sinfonia to L’Olimpiade & Ballo Primo  from Arsilda Regina di Ponto

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ans of Vivaldi will welcome this disc of six three-movement concertos, with some incomplete single movement concertos or reconstructed movements of others, plus two operatic excerpts. This small ensemble of just four violins with one player on each of the lower parts shows Vivaldi’s virtuosity at his best, yet it is not afraid of some real sustained pianissimo playing – a quality sometimes sadly lacking in some period ensembles today.

(The video is in French)

I particularly enjoyed the different sonority of the scordatura concerto RV 391 in B minor, with the solo violin tuned to B-D-A-D, for it is often than Vivaldi shows his best compositional skills in minor mode works – and indeed four of the full concertos on this disc are in minor keys. Nevertheless the D major RV 228, with its cadenza in the third movement (here given the full ‘Paganini’ treatment, yet still stylistically convincing) is a fascinating work. The ensemble’s title, and indeed the theme running through the disc, is taken from Benedetto Marcello’s little publication satirising some of the features of the Italian opera of the day.

Ian Graham-Jones

5 3*4.5

Christopher Wilke 13 course lute
J. S. Bach, Falckenhagen, Weiss
Barcode: 6 90474 54098 2

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hristopher Wilke’s CD begins with variations by Adam Falckenhagen on the German chorale “Wer nur den lieben Gott”. The melody begins with simple chords, but it is soon decorated with fast flourishes. There follow passages of broken chords in quavers, semiquavers, triplets, sextuplets, and the piece ends with a dramatic triple suspension. This is the florid world of galanterie, where simple musical ideas are subsumed in excessive decoration.

Next comes J. S. Bach’s Lute Suite BWV995. In the Präludium Wilke adds much ornamentation, and in the Presto he keeps the semiquaver movement going with notes séparées  and the addition of appoggiaturas from above and below. His speed is a modest 152, about the same as Axel Wolf, slower than Andreas Martin and Joachim Held at about 166, and faster than Peter Croton at about 142. A restful Allemande with neatly played ornamentation has Wilke’s own tasteful doubles for the repeats. The Courante is played with distinctly uneven quavers and a few lightly strummed chords. The slowly-played Sarabande is enhanced by Wilke’s doubles for the repeats. In Gavotte 1 there are a few um-chings and a demisemiquaver flourish for the repeat; he takes a steady speed, so that Gavotte 2 has the same pulse with quaver triplets; extra notes are added to the return of Gavotte 1. The Gigue could be crisper if he didn’t clip some of the dotted quavers, but all in all I do like the way he puts his own gloss on this oft-played suite.

There follow Falkenhagen’s extravagant variations on “Nun danket alle Gott”, the well-known hymn “Now thank we all our God”. Ponderous bass notes underpin the melody first with rich chords, and then with variations which become more and more elaborate, until the effect is almost reminiscent of flamenco guitar. It is curious stuff, and certainly takes us a long way from the simplicity of the original Protestant hymn.

The rest of the CD is devoted to music by Silvius Leopold Weiss based on “L’Amant Malheureux”, an allemande by the 17th-century French lutenist, Jacques Gallot. From the Rohrau manuscript is Gallot’s original composition together with a double by Weiss, a Courante, a Fantaisie, and a Gigue variation on “L’Amant Malheureux”. There is an extraordinary wealth of musical ideas here, and the music requires considerable virtuosity from Wilke. From the Paris manuscript (Pn Res Vmc Ms 61) are pieces in G minor: variations by Weiss on “L’Amant Malheureux”, a Courante, and a Gavotte. Finally, from the London manuscript (Lbl Add. Ms 30387), another variation by Weiss on Gallot’s allemande. In his liner notes Wilke suggests that Gallot’s piece must have been important for Weiss, for him to have used it so much as a basis for his own compositions. Wilke confesses that Weiss’s gloss on Gallot helped him through a difficult time in his own life.

Stewart McCoy

[wp-review]

Claire de Sévigné soprano, Maria Soulis mezzo-soprano, Aradia Ensemble, Kevin Mallon
59:48
Naxos 8.573324
RV604, 606, 607, 627, 628, 631, 633

My first reaction to this CD was one of surprise. In a world packed with unperformed Baroque music, it is surprising to come across what I assume is yet another complete account of the sacred music of Antonio Vivaldi. So what do these Canadian performers bring to Vivaldi’s music which would necessitate another complete account of his church music? Well this CD is a testimony to the healthy state of period playing and singing in Canada. Claire de Sévigné’s singing in In turbato mare irato  is spectacular – effortlessly virtuosic throughout the wide range it demands and beautifully sweet-toned. Her fellow soloist Maria Soulis has a fine warm mezzo-soprano voice, which has uncanny elements of the male alto about it. The playing and singing of the Aradia Ensemble, which turns out to embody a chorus as well as a string orchestra, is concise and delicate and under the direction of Kevin Mallon the performers demonstrate a profound understanding of Vivaldi’s oeuvre. The fact is that these performances are very persuasive indeed, and if somebody is to commit the complete sacred Vivaldi to disc, these are probably the best people to choose. For Vivaldi fans these are crisp fresh accounts of familiar repertoire, for those unfamiliar with Vivaldi’s vast sacred output other than the ubiquitous Gloria  there are many delights in store, while for the parsimonious a new complete account of Vivaldi’s sacred music has its own delights. If I am stretched to answer my own original question about what these performances add to the sum of human knowledge about Vivaldi, the high standard of the singing and playing can only delight.

D. James Ross