Category: Recording

Nova Ars Cantandi, Giovanni Acciai
123′ (2 CDs)
Tactus TC 650290

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his world premiere recording of the composer’s op. 9 set of Vespers psalms “a quattro voci con violini, e suoi ripieni, con altri salmi a due e trè voci con violini” (printed in 1690 by Giuseppe Sala in Venice) should draw attention to a much neglected composer. Performed by an all-male ensemble (apart from Ivana Valotti on organ!), the entire contents of the volume are performed in the original sequence and not as part of a reconstructed service. After the Domine ad adiuvandum (2 sopranos, 2 violins, BC), the psalms are Dixit Dominus (tutti), Confitebor tibi Domine (SB, 2 violins, BC), Beatus vir (tutti), Laudate pueri (CAB, 2 violins, BC), Laudate Dominum omnes gentes (tutti), Laetatus sum (SSB, 2 violins, BC), Nisi Dominus (SAB, 2 violins, BC), and Lauda Jerusalem (tutti), and there are settings of the Magnificat and the Litaniae Beate Virginis Mariae. There being only four named singers, Nova Ars Cantandi (“a new way of singing”?) have obviously opted not to include ripieni in their performances of the larger works, and one is left to assume that the alto takes the 2nd soprano part in the two pieces that require one.

The performances is well paced and nicely recorded. The booklet notes are extensive, which is all the more surprising since little is known of the composer’s life apart from the places where he worked and the dates of such employment; I think the claim that composers such as Cazzati, Legrenzi and Colonna “were the first to give up the sixteenth century practice of ‘singing and playing with all sorts of instruments’ and to promote the emergence of a new kind of composition in which the concertante instrument could interact, at last, with the vocal parts, imitating their phrases of porposing new ones” is a little odd – surely Monteverdi and his contemporaries several generations earlier had already done that. The translation is by far the best I have seen from Tactus, yet there are still some little things that could be improved (and would have been easily spotted by a native speaker!); sonate a tre is rendered “trio sonata”, for example, and since we don’t really have a modern expression matching maestro di cappella, leave it in Italian rather than translating it into German! These are very minor points in an otherwise excellent presentation of some fine music.

Brian Clark

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Les Traversees Baroques, Etienne Meyer, Fiori Musicali
59:40
K617248

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is the latest in a fine series of recordings in which the cornettist Judith Pacquier promotes the Polish baroque. The pieces vary from the massive multichoral to intimate small scale pieces – in homage to their Italian models. The performances are fresh throughout, even the largest in scale are like souflees, always achieving an airy and graceful presentation. The disc includes a pair of Gabrieli pieces to bring the comparison between the two nations into the foreground. This suggests two comments: It has become customary in Gabrieli performance to substitute the vocal top parts of upper choirs by instruments (and the complement for bottom bass parts). In the opening and closing larger pieces by Zielenski, this would seem to have been a useful approach. The top soprano part is of a conspicuously higher tessitura than the rest of the vocal parts. Though wonderfully sung, the resulting natural prominence means the audience has to peer through the bars, as it were, to see the more homogenous and self-sufficient group thus encased. The second is that graceful flow may, with benefit, sometimes be set aside. Gabrieli’s In ecclesiis includes many stark changes in harmony and sudden interruptions are surely meant to chill and shock – in the most baroque way. These were often papered over most elegantly, leaving the work of creating the drama to the changes in overall scale. Beautifully done, but delivered from a reduced arsenal.

The compositions include the harmonically adventurous and marvellous Vox in Rama, which is no second fiddle to the Italian masters, rivalling perhaps Gabrieli’s Timor et tremor. In a very effective change of scale, the first two large scale pieces are followed immediately by a single voice and single cornett providing divisions in comment. This is played very lyrically; the song reflected in a rippling stream. Later on we have an Italian version from Bassano, this time multiple voices and instruments, which forces a greater formality on proceedings, but is delivered with all the freedom possible. The whole ensemble, in all its combinations, is very well formed and balanced. There is something for everyone on the disc, and it convinces us that the mission of bringing Polish music further into the mainstream is one well worth pursuing.

Stephen Cassidy

Gillian Webster soprano, Laurence Kilsby treble, Jeremy Ovenden tenor, Peter Harvey baritone, Ashley Riches bass, William Whitehead organ, Gabrieli Consort, Gabrieli Players, Paul McCreesh
141:38 (2 CDs)
Signum Classics SIGCD392

An extremely interesting and important issue, which attempts to reconstruct the initial version of this lovely work. To those familiar with existing recordings, the changes are twofold- items added for the 1741 and subsequent revivals are omitted (so for example there is no ‘Bellman’s Drowsy Charm’, no ‘Daisies Pied’ or ‘Gorgeous Tragedy’ and no ‘Hairy Gown And Mossy Cell’) while ‘Concerto’s for Several Instruments’ are included (Op 6 nos 1 and 3 before Parts 1 and 2 respectively, and the organ concerto Op 7 no 1 before Part 3.)

McCreesh also follows Handel’s initial vocal distribution, with the L’Allegro airs being sung by three male voices (treble, tenor and bass) and Penseroso by a female soprano. The results are most persuasive- the work fresh from Handel’s imagination, before the practicalities of performance take over, has a fine conciseness and sense of overall shape. Despite the complete lack of a “story”, the contrasting moods set out in the opening accompagnatos with the protagonists subtly mimicking each other’s affects, and wondrously further explored throughout the work, are satisfyingly resolved in the glorious final duet.

The performance, as one would expect, is very fine. McCreesh is an experienced Handelian with a long and distinguished discography, and he does not disappoint here. The soloists are good – I especially enjoyed Laurence Kilsby’s astonishingly mature-sounding treble and Jeremy Ovenden’s intelligent tenor (though why the declamation in “There let Hymen oft appear”?) Allegro’s character is ably completed by Ashley Riches’ mellow bass. Gillian Webster provides a creamily passionate Penseroso (though sometimes clarity of diction is sacrificed to beauty of tone) and Peter Harvey is an eloquent Moderato.The choir and orchestra are as good as ever.

The sumptuously produced booklet has exemplary notes (in particular a fine and scholarly essay by Ruth Smith), though one might have liked mug shots of all the performers, rather than the several art-pics of only a couple of them!

This should be an essential addition to any serious Handel collection.

Alastair Harper

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Rachael Lloyd Dido, Robert Davies Aeneas, Elin Manahan Thomas Belinda, Roderick Morris Sorceress, Eloise Irving woman 2, witch 1 & spirit, Jenne Harper Witch 2, Miles Golding drunken sailor, Armonico Consort, Christopher Monks
50:45
signum classics SIGCD417

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]’m quite glad that I’ll never have to conduct a recording of D & A. What on earth do you do that hasn’t been done before, at least not very often? AC’s answer is a male falsettist as the Sorceress, ‘silly’ voices for the witches, silly-voiced vocal echoes in the Furies Dance, and a chorus of sailors who sound like refugees from the cast of Poldark. They are led by a re-designated specifically ‘drunken’ sailor (sung by the leader of the orchestra1) who doesn’t sound especially drunk – just not very accurate. Then there’s the omission of the continuo from ‘Great minds’ and ‘With drooping wings’, and there is no repeat of this final chorus, either with or without instruments. The presence within the continuo team of a double bass will not be universally welcomed. This isn’t meant to be a Beckmesser-ish list of faults, but D & A is a work that raises great passions of many kinds and EMR-land listeners will, I think, want to know what they’re getting on a disc for repeated listening as opposed to in a one-off concert experience when all these details are doubtless very effective. In the lead roles, after a slightly uncertain start Robert Davies does as much as anyone can with Aeneas and Rachael Lloyd and the band remind us what stunning music the Lament is, though I would have preferred a little more vocal control on the end-of-phrase ‘me’ whenever it occurred. The booklet essay (English only) shies away from issues of edition and performance practice though in other respects is sound, even if the sentence/paragraph on page 5, top left needs the attention of a fierce copy editor. On the whole, with recordings of this work, you pays your money, you makes your choice and you probably won’t like all of it.

David Hansell

1 I can claim a ‘sort-of’ precedent for this, having presided over school performances of operas in which the leaders of the overture orchestras subsequently appeared on stage as Figaro and Orpheus (both girls!). At least this produced an Orpheus who could do ‘his’ own violin playing (in Offenbach).

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his lively account of Dido and Aeneas makes a virtue of its small forces – one to a part on the orchestral parts and two to a part on the chorus parts – by creating a splendidly punchy account of Purcell’s opera. The inclusion of a double bass helps to beef up the texture, but is occasionally rather overpowering. The uncreditted guitarist who contributes to several tracks is presumably theorbist Robin Jeffrey. Rachael Lloyd gives a suitably wounded Dido, and although I found her vibrato on emphasised notes irritating (particularly in the famous Lament), her reading of the part is powerful and convincing. She is supported by a beautifully gauged Belinda, in the person of Elin Manahan Thomas, and her Aeneas, Robert Davies, is suitably red-blooded and gruff, but also able to express the inner turmoil necessary for Act II. Roderick Morris’s Sorceress and his demonic sidekicks are truly menacing, and their cackling contribution to the Echo Dance is inspired. Miles Golding’s drunken mummerset sailor’s approximations of the notes, would, I fear, wear a bit thin on repeated listening. This is an account which powers forwards and sweeps the listener with it and yet which avoids out-and-out parody, allowing the moving conclusion to enjoy its full dramatic effect. Comparison with my all-time favourite account on CD, directed by Andrew Parrott with the incomparable Emma Kirkby as Dido on Chandos (CHAN 8306) overshadows this account somewhat, but this is a fine engaging reading which always entertains and certainly never hangs about.

D. James Ross

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Lucy Russell violin, John Butt harpsichord
85″ (2 CDs)
Linn Records CKD433

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ucy Russell, best known as leader of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, and John Butt, director of the Dunedin Consort, join forces to produce a uniquely personal interpretation of these six sonatas, or perhaps more correctly, trio sonatas, as many movements follow the pattern of the organ trio sonatas, giving two of the three contrapuntal lines to the harpsichord. This can often give rise to problems of balance, and I felt that the harpsichord could at times have been a touch more forward in this recording.

To compete with numerous other period instrument recordings – Comberti, Mackintosh, Manson, Manze, Podger, to mention just a few well-known names (in alphabetical order) – this recording needs to stand out, and a comparative review would here be impossible. Others may be better value, in that they include the G and E Minor sonatas (BWV 1021, 1023, both with continuo accompaniment), whereas the six trio sonatas alone are inevitably short measure on two discs. These works can often receive performances which can sound dry and a little academic, but here Lucy Russell puts her own stamp on the works, giving a spirited and emotional rendering, and for that this recording is worth investing in, even if you have another. Allegros are always spirited and the tempi never sag in the slow movements, whereas I have heard some players who like to wallow in the sound.

It is a test of a harpsichord player to make the right sort of sonority from the instrument in the passages where Bach’s writing imitates the texture of an accompanied string band (e.g. as in the first and third movements of the E Major sonata), and John Butt acquits himself well in such passages. I was pleased that I could detect no trace of a 4’ sound, Butt confining himself to the texture of just two 8’ stops. Although Lucy Russell gives details of the violin used in the recording, it would have been interesting to know the instrument that John Butt was playing. Otherwise the booklet notes, all in English, are excellent, with an extended essay on the sonatas from John Butt.

Ian Graham-Jones

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Portland Baroque Orchestra, Monica Huggett
75:06
Portland Baroque Media PB501
BWV1041-43, 1063, 1064R

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his CD is a fabulous showcase for the depth of talent among the Portland Baroque Orchestra’s violin sections – as well as the artistic director, Monica Huggett, no fewer than four of them take solo lines; Carla Moore plays the A minor concerto (as well as the second lines of BWV1603 and 1064R), Rob Diggins the E major concerto (and the third line in BWV 1064R), Jolianne Einem plays the top line of the D minor double and the third line of BWV1063, and Adam LaMotte plays the lower part of BWV1043. The three well-known pieces are nicely played and placed centrally in the programme. The less well-known of the “reclaimed” concertos, the D minor BWV1063, whose outer move-ments in particular are full of extremely virtuosic passages, opens the disc and proceedings are brought to a close by the other work for three violins, BWV1064R, which the Portlanders perform without ripieno violins.

Brian Clark

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