Category: Recording

Benno Schachtner, Axel Wolf, Jakob Rattlinger, Andreas Küppers
59:04
Accent ACC24333

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his delightful recital CD recorded in the Baroque splendour of the library of Roggenburg Abbey in Bavaria is a showcase for the lovely voice and expressive musicality of male alto Benno Schachtner. Choosing the finest solo songs of the 17th century by the English composers Purcell, Dowland, Croft, Blow, Robert Johnson and token Scotsman Tobias Hume, Schachtner and his virtuoso continuo ensemble give exquisite and dramatic accounts which speak of deep study and considerable familiarity with this fine repertoire. At no point does Schachtner’s technique sound remotely stretched; indeed, we are blissfully unaware of technical considerations throughout this recording.

[Video is in German, without sub-titles]

More than this, the performers have clearly researched their material closely and alongside two energetic Hume gamba solos, the same composer’s Fain would I change that note  is performed by voice and gamba alone, as if the composer himself were performing it! Further elegant solos on the harpsichord and lute provide variety, but actually I could have listened to Schachtner’s expressive voice until the cows came home. Just as the group finish the song which gives the CD its title, Dowland’s Cleare or cloudie, and significantly just before they start Purcell’s Fly swift ye hours, the microphones pick up the plaintive call of a great tit in the background – so glad they left that in!

D. James Ross

Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli soprano, Luca Dordolo tenor, Cantar Lontano, Marco Mencobani
69:56
Glossa GCD 923512

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]n unkind review of some years ago referred to the ‘tweedledum-tweedledee’ style of performance applied sometimes to Monteverdi, and I’m afraid the term sprang to mind when I was listening to this CD of Monteverdi’s madrigals. In his programme note, Pierre Mamou seems to suggest that the performers will be seeking the exaggerated and ugly beneath the beauty of Monteverdi’s music (I oversimplify), and I’m afraid for my part they succeed only too well. Monteverdi’s dramatic dialogues need careful handling to avoid triteness, and I’m afraid if you are going for a comic effect as the singers do here, the result soon becomes tiresome and ridiculous. There is some lovely singing, when the performers temporarily seem to forget their stated mission and engage in lyrical singing and delicate ornamentation, but soon the exaggerated expression returns and the effect is spoiled. The central work, The Battle of Tancredi and Clorinda, receives a more measured account, or perhaps the drama inherent in the work makes this mode of performance more acceptable. Luca Dordolo is an animated testo, while the instrumental forces are also effectively engaged in this powerful tale. Due to the enlightened Scottish Exam Board decision to include Il Combattimento  in the 1970s Higher Music syllabus, it was the first music by Monteverdi I ever came across. As a result, I am very familiar with the multitude of recordings which have been made of it since, and while this is not the best, it stands up rather well by comparison. I should point out there is a bonus track on the CD, a rather ‘contemporary’ realisation of a song by Giovanni Felice Sances, which would not sound out of place in a New York piano bar – perhaps this is where the performers have been longing to be all along…

D. James Ross