Category: Recording

Silvia Frigato Primavera, Elena Biscuola Estate, Raffaele Giordani Autumno, Mauro Borgioni Inverno, SATB, Venice Monteverdi Academy, Ensemble Lorenzo da Ponte, Roberto Zarpellon
122:30 (2 CDs)
fra bernardo FB 1503177

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his allegorical oratorio for four soloists (representing the seasons), chorus and orchestra was written for the Jesuits in 1731, and was subsequently performed in Venice. In a tail of everyday allegorical nonsense, Winter returns from the mountains to discover that the Virgin Mary is dead; having expressed all the necessary grief, the four seasons then strive to claim to be the most important season of her life, until they finally resolve that none of them deserves such an accolade and they should instead rejoice in her ascent into Heaven. This is a modest (modern) performance in a large acoustic – the choir (4333) and orchestra (33111 with organ and harpsichord) fill the undisclosed venue. The music is actually very fine, especially some of the arias (the tenor Autumno has two that last over seven minutes and demand real virtuosity), and there is a rich variety of instrumental writing. I cannot help but think, though, that a HIP performance of it is long overdue – for one thing I found the regulation slow down before final cadences rather tiresome. The booklet only has an Italian libretto, so you will have to rely on the synopsis to keep up to date with what is going on.

Brian Clark

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Chelys Consort of Viols, Dan Tidhar & James Akers
59:38
BIS-2153 SACD

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he re-scoring of Lawes’ Royall Consort for two treble violins and two bass viols with lute continuo has been described by some scholars as part of a progression. The earlier four-part instrumentation of treble, alto, tenor and bass viols (Byrd, Ferrabosco, Jenkins) was replaced by two trebles, tenor and bass viols, (Mico, Lupo), which in turn became two trebles and two basses (Jenkins, Lawes, Simpson). This in turn led to the standard baroque trio sonata of two trebles and basso continuo, but not before it had produced a significant repertoire of marvellous music. Lawes’ second version is fairly well known, together with Jenkins ‘Newark Siege’, but Simpson’s music is yet to achieve that prominence given to his contemporaries; a surprise, given his status as a ‘teacher’ of the modern viol players.

It will be even more of a surprise to many listeners of this recording. Simpson’s music has such melodic charm, so much immediate appeal, particularly when as well played as this, one imagines that one could find a book about him and his music, or, maybe these days, an extensive article on the Internet. Where are the scholars when you need them?

There is no shortage of recordings of his Divisions for one or two bass viols, or of extracts from ‘The Seasons’ and ‘The Months’ for this instrumentation, but very few of theses Ayres. And it is surely time that this mysterious man, who left such marvellous gifts to us, has the profile he deserves.

This recording will undoubtedly gain a measure of it for him. All twenty Ayres are recorded here, interspersed with divisions for two basses, or treble and bass, with continuo. It makes for a nicely varied programme, and the recorded sound is wonderfully sonorous, rich and voluptuous. The treble viols are beautifully matched, the balance with the two basses is very satisfying. The playing captures the impulsive nature of the music, vigorously rhythmic as appropriate for the dance forms, which include Pavins and Galliards, not danced at this time, and thus music for listening and enjoying, played with passion precision and brilliance in the divisions.

The booklet could have given a little more information about the instruments – it points out that they are strung throughout in gut, as appropriate for this period, and indeed the balance reflects this. There is a lovely bright sound from all the instruments.

The photograph of the ensemble shows a different set of instruments than those that feature on this recording. But these are minor cavils in the face of a recording that is so worth having, both for its novelty – it’s the first complete recording of the Ayres – and for its quality.

Robert Oliver

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François Fernandez & Luis Otavio Santos violins, Laurent Stewart harpsichord/organ, Eduardo Egüez theorbo, Rainer Zipperling, Kaori Uemura & Philippe Pierlot bass viol
Flora 0705
+ two sonatas by Philippus Van Wichel

[dropcap]U[/dropcap]nlike other Flora releases, this excellent CD (recorded way back in 2005) comes complete with a booklet note, not only telling us all about the composers (in French, German and English), but also with detailed track and cast lists! Two violins, up to three bass viols, theorbo (who also has one solo) and harpsichord/organ perform a range of works including five trio sonatas and two sonatas a4. They are all in the familiar patchwork style of the late 17th century, with imitative sections juxtaposed with more chordal passages. On this evidence, both Hacquart and Van Wichel deserve to be better known; if some of the more dance-inspired tracks are a little four square, the freer movements have a breadth and sense of architecture about them that should encourage ensembles to take up the challenge – with a few harmonic surprises to keep them on their toes!

Brian Clark

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Midori Suzuki soprano, Ensemble Anthonello
64:23
Christophorus CHE 0203-2 (© 2002)
Music by Bartolotti, Falconieri, Ferrari, Frescobaldi, d’India, Kapsberger, Merula, Salome Rossi, Selma y Salaverde & Storace

[dropcap]O[/dropacp]n this CD the Japanese Ensemble Anthonello follow the progress of the chaconne from its inception as the Chacona in South America through Spain to Italy where the Ciaccona became all the rage, influencing French composers to compose more sedate Chaconnes. With its insistent rhythms and repeating bassline, the Ciaconna gained something of a raunchy reputation, and Ensemble Anthonella provide delightfully spicy renditions of their cross-section of Ciaconas. Their vocalist Midori Suzuki has a beautifully pure voice which blends perfectly with director Yoshimichi Hamada’s cornett as well as the group’s two recorders. Also among the instruments used are an arpo doppio, beautifully played by Marie Nishiyama, while Rafael Bonavita contributes some fine Baroque guitar sounds. The two recorder players have a delightfully free approach to their lines, using various flutterings and glissandi to bring their parts to life. This is a lovely CD which brings a wide range of music by familiar but mainly unfamiliar composers vividly to life, and I was surprised to note that the original recording was made in 2000 – I hope that this is a reissue and that it hasn’t been languishing in Christophorus’s ‘to do’ tray for fifteen years. The cover depicting dancers at the Dowager of Bilbao’s Ball in 1626 is also a delight. A little gem.

D. James Ross

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Iberian Organ & Choral Music from the Golden Age
Martin Neu (organ of San Hipólito, Córdoba), ensemble officium, Wilfried Rombach
54:48
audite 97.713
Music by de Arauzo, Coelho & Zaraba

Our two reviewers are in broad agreement:

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his CD of freely composed works and diminutions of originals is performed by Martin Neu on the 1735 Corchado organ of the San Hipólito Church in Córdoba. This instrument was recently dismantled and completely rebuilt, restoring its original tuning and temperament but preserving most of the original pipework, so it is able to produce some startlingly original timbres to enhance the music of 17th- and 18th-century Spanish composers Diego Xaraba, Manuel Rodrigues Coelho and Francisco Correa de Arauxo. Drafting in the ensemble officium to provide vocal alternatims allows Neu to present some of the music in a liturgical context, although the CD’s promise of Organ and Choral Music from the Golden Age is a little disingenuous as the singers only supply plainchant and two short sections of albeit beautiful polyphony. The highlight for me was Arauxo’s Tiento on Morales’ Batalla, a work which has been unfortunately lost. Neu makes fabulous use of the venerable instrument’s trumpet stops to evoke the full excitement of the 17th-century battlefield.

D. James Ross

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he real star of this fine recording is the magnificent 18c organ of the church of San Hipólito, Córdoba, dating originally from 1735 and superbly restored, using most of its original pipework, in 2006-7. Martin Neu puts it through its paces in a well-chosen selection of 17th- and early 18th-century music by Correa de Arauxo (of Seville) and Rodrigues Coelho (of Lisbon), along with an anonymous Tiento from a manuscript in Madrid. This latter opens the disc in fine style, with blazing Trompetas Reales much in evidence. Neu is joined by ensemble officium in two alternatim pieces by Coelho, a gentle Tone 1 ‘Versos de Kyrie’ with schola singing the ‘Cunctipotens genitor Deus’ chant, and a more extended setting of the well-known ‘Ave Maris Stella’ hymn, both showing the intimate relationship of organ and voices in ‘ordinary’ service music of the period. Ensemble officium also provide attractive fauxburdon-like verses of the Marian hymn ‘Todo el mundo en general’ contrasting with Correa de Arauxo’s Tres Glosas. The disc concludes with Arauxo’s lively ‘Tiento Tercero de Sexto Tono’, based on a (lost) Batalla by Morales, itself based on Jannequin’s famous chanson, giving the wonderful reed stops another moment of glory. Most enjoyable.

Alastair Harper

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Amandine Beyer & Leila Schayegh violin, Jonathan Pešek violoncello, Jörg-Andreas Böttcher harpsichord/organ and Matthias Spaeter “liuto attiorbato”
72:48
Glossa GCD922514

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his fine recording combines four sonatas from Caldara’s op. 1 trios (1693) with five from his op. 2 of six years later. Broadly speaking, each of the four movement works (except op. 2/12 which – in a direct reference to Corelli – is a chaconne) from the first set are cast in the “da chiesa” style, while the others consist of a Preludio and a sequence of “dances”. He may only have 23 when his name first appeared in print, but he had definitely mastered the Roman trio sonata medium, and indeed was prepared to embellish it by liberating the role of the violoncello. The performers take this fact and the knowledge that the composer was – amongst other things – a reputed master of the instrument as justification for improvised links between sections by the cellist; while that may or may not actually have been the case, I doubt that 17th-century players spent enough time rehearsing to make decisions about when one musician would take on that responsibility, and when another – here the plucker is, for my tastes at least, a little invasive. In fact, the booklet notes discuss the fact that there are four books for each set, but with slightly different designations of the two bass part; for op. 1 one is for cello, the other for organ (and yet the latter role is played on harpsichord and lute!), while the plucker’s presence is fully justified in op. 2 by the lable “Tiorba o Violone”, while the other is “Basso continuo”. So much for my gripe about the scoring… The playing is absolutely first rate, and the recorded sound perfect – each of the individual parts can clearly be heard, and the balance between treble and bass is well handled. The violinists, of course, are excellent – they toss Caldara’s melodies back and forth with gusto, and their ornaments flow naturally from the composer’s elegant lines. I doubt my wish would come true, but I would love a companion disc with the missing sonatas!

Brian Clark

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Stefano Molardi (Silbermann organs, Freiberg Cathedral (1714) & Marienkirche in Rötha (1722))
220:10 (3 CDs)
Brilliant Classics 95089

[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ohann Kuhnau was the revered predecessor of Bach at Leipzig, and Bach reissued his Clavier-übung there shortly before he began to publish his own collection. A remarkable polymath, Kuhnau studies and wrote on Hebrew and Greek as well as more modern texts, and is probably best known now for his motets like Tristis est anima mea, which Bach incorporated into one of his composite Passions, and the cantatas like Gott, sei mir gnädig for four part voices and five-part strings or Uns ist ein Kind geoboren (formerly attributed to Bach as BVW 142).

But his keyboard works are many and diverse and among them the most distinctive are the six Sonate Bibliche, published in 1700 and achieving considerable commercial success. Kuhnau did not specify which type of keyboard might be suitable for which sonata, but here they are all played on the Gottfried Silbermann organ of the Dom in Freiberg which dates from 1714, where Elias Lindner, Kuhnau’s pupil, was the organist. Some of the smaller works included on these three discs together with the seven sonatas of the Frische Clavier Früchte are played on the single manual Silbermann organ of 1722 in the Marienkirche at Rötha. These sound more like a set of instrumental sonatas in the style of Corelli, while the larger Biblical Sonatas have a more mixed parentage that combines Buxtehude with a more naturalistic, Italianate, descriptive style.

The subjects of the Biblical Sonatas are all Old Testament in character, revealing Kuhnau’s interest in Hebrew, and are I imagine what the composer might have improvised had the great Silbermann organ been set up in the cinema of the day. Lots of flashing D major arpeggios and trumpet calls are the prelude to martial music celebrating David’s triumph over Goliath and the Philistines, or Gideon’s surprise attack. This is frankly rather predicable extemporisation! Rather more interesting are the sombre scenes – Saul’s rage and David’s soothing harp-playing; or the Tomb of Jacob, where we hear some of the melodic lines for which Kuhnau was famous, Hezekiah’s lament, which has some sustained development of a musical theme rather than a few conventional rhetorical flourishes, and some imaginative use being made of the strings, flutes and reeds for which the organ is renowned. Snatches of Lutheran chorales float over the Hebrew landscape like birds of prey, waiting for the kill. But overall, I found the playing, though worthy and accurate, rather uninspiring. Only Silbermann’s Vox Humana and a breathtakingly slow-beating tremulant depicting ‘The Burial of Israel, and the Sorrowful Lament of Those Present’ made me sit up. This is vulgar programme music, and it needs more of an extrovert showman to bring off its rather conventional gestures.

Stefano Molardi has recorded a lot for Brilliant Classics, including the whole of Bach. Those who have no other keyboard music by Kuhnau and are keen to understand the surprisingly broad range of keyboard music being published as J. S. Bach was getting into his stride will be glad to have these CDs, played on this wonderful organ. Those whose interests are less specialised may want to sample them before committing to this substantial listen.

David Stancliffe

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