Category: Recording

Anne Schumann violin, Sebastian Knebel Friedelshausen organ 1699
40:24
Querstand VKJK1423
Sonatas 1-5 + Buxtehude: Passacaglia BuxWV161

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is the first of three CDs that present each of the three sections of Biber’s print with different church organs in Thuringia. The first, the joyful mysteries, features an organ by an unknown maker from 1699, located in a gallery above the altar, which was restored to something akin to its original state (the Flöte traversiere stop was probably added in the 18th century) in 1990. As Gunar Letzbor has written in many CD booklets, the sounds performing musicians hear are very different to the experience of their audiences and I fear that the love that Anne Schumann and Sebastian Knebel share for this particular venue is based more on what they hear than what we do. That is not to say that these are not fabulous performances – indeed they rate very highly in my “best ever” for this marvellous repertoire – but I have to be honest and I found the recording (something for which Querstand are renowned and it pains me to be negative!) imbalanced in the organ’s favour. Biber’s scordatura means that the timbre of the violin is constantly changing, tuning is difficult to manage, and generating a lot of volume from strings that are either more tense or more loose than usual is a technical minefield so equalizing the two instruments was never going to be easy. Perhaps they – like Letzbor – are consciously striving for a realistic representation of the actual sound, of course! The Biber is preceded by the sound of the church bells and followed by a Passacaglia by Buxtehude. I do look forward to hearing the next volume of the set.

Brian Clark

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Vinciane Baudhuin oboe, Bach Concentus, Ewald Demeyere
62:30
Challenge Classics CC72669
TWV 51:c1, c2; 55: D13, G4, B5

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is a neat programme, sandwiching the two C minor oboe concertos (each of which instantly seizes the attention, though by different methods) between three characterful suites for strings. The latter are the well-known sequences of “ancient and modern” nationalities (TWV55: G4), a different group of peoples (TWV55: B5), and a sequence of dances and character pieces (“La Galliarde”, TWV55: D13). The composer’s invention is such that the ear is always entertained and in these lively and well-recorded accounts each of the move-ments has a distinctive flavour. Perhaps the concertos offer a darker side of his personality, C minor seemingly a rather angst-ridden key for him, and Vinciane Baudhuin relishes the challenge of bringing out the drama.

Brian Clark

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La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider
59:36
cpo 777 890-2
TWV 52:a1, 53:D4 & D5, 54:D4 & B2

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is a real treat for the ears – not only is Telemann’s fabulous music beautifully served (as we now expect from Schneider & Co.), but the diversity of instrumental colour is just another reason why the hour rushes by. Four of the five works follow the standard slow-quick-slow-quick da chiesa format, while the final concerto dispenses with the first of the four; here it is called a concerto from violin, trumpet, strings and continuo, but it also has an obbligato part for cello (in both the Dresden and the Darmstadt sources), which is why its catalogue number begins TWV 53… It also has three ripieno violin parts and two violas, so it is a rich texture indeed, to which the trumpet does little more than add some colour in the tuttis. The trumpet player has meatier fare elsewhere – one of the composer’s best-known works is his concerto for trumpet choir and strings – I first remember hearing it on what was for me an earth-moving recording by the AAM under Hogwood. This present rendition is equally revelatory, for never has the sound of the trumpet choir sounded so martial and (in a good way) “listen to us!” The tempi are faster than Hogwood’s but it’s the energy that is uplifting. Telemanniacs will need no recommendation from me to buy this, but if there are still any cynics out there, you don’t know what you’re missing!

Brian Clark

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Coro Claudio Monteverdi di Crema, La Pifarescha, Bruno Gini
69:11
Dynamic CDS 7714

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ull marks to Dynamic for producing this recording, which presents the entire contents of Cavalli’s 1675 print rather than a reconstruction of any particular Vespers service. Venice’s liturgical plan required a far more diverse range of psalm settings than elsewhere, and this set – in common with predecessors by Grandi, Rovetta and Rigatti (among others) – uses double choir so was probably written originally for performance during special feasts at St Mark’s when the magnificent pala d’oro was opened. If there are very occasional moments of instability amongst the voices, these scarcely distract from the stylish readings of this sumptuous, sonorous music.

Much better known today for his operas, Cavalli certainly knew how to write for large vocal ensembles and here the two four-voice choirs are not only divided between solo and ripieno line-ups, but in some of the psalms they are reinforced further by two groups of cornetto and three trombones and organ. While the players freely decorate their lines, I was unaware of the solo singers doing likewise, which I cannot believe to be a true representation of contemporary performance practice – surely, if only the very best singers found a place in the choir (Cavalli among them, of course!), they would not have wanted to be outshone? Be that as it may, I was excited to hear this recording, and I would love to hear the same forces (perhaps with more freedom given to the singers?) in some of the earlier repertoire in the context of a full service.

Brian Clark

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Choeur de Chambre de Namur, Clematis, Cappella Mediterranea, Syntagma Amici, Ensemble La Romanesca, La Real Camara
Ricercar RIC358
Music by da Cabezón, Cererols, Correa de Arauxo, Fernandez, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Romero, de Selma y Salaverde, Zamponi & anon

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his re-issue is aimed primarily at visitors to this year’s blockbuster Velázquez exhibition in Paris. It contains a wide-ranging selection of music from 17th-century Spain, but those with any musical interest in this wonderful period will probably already possess many if not all of the featured items.

There is, of course, some magnificent music and music-making. The fine Choeur de Chambre de Namur feature largely, in the polychoral splendours of Romero and Cererols, and close the disc with a splendidly lightfooted Fernandez Christmas villancico. The lovely Zamponi ‘Ulisse all’Isola di Circe’ was new to me – I’ll be checking out the disc this came from!

The disc also includes solo keyboard music, for harpsichord by Cabezón, and for organ by Correa de Arauxo, well played by Jean-Marc Aymes and Bernard Foccroulle, respectively, and is completed by several secular vocal items, including pieces by Hidalgo and Anon.
A major drawback is the lack of texts; the subtle vocal writing and word-setting is lost without these. To the HIP reader, perhaps best regarded as a useful pointer to delights to be pursued, then, rather than a disc as an end in itself.

Alastair Harper

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The Great Violins
volume 1 – Andrea Amati, 1570
Peter Sheppard Skærved
127:11 (2 CDs)
athene ATH23203

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is the first of a projected series in which the violinist is allowed to play some of the most important violins that have come down to us. I suspect that, had I been involved, I would have argued very strongly that the recordings should also feature relevant music. So “disappointed” is possibly the best way to describe my reaction to the fact that this two CD set of Telemann is played on a 1570 Amati! What about all the fabulous music of the earlier 17th century? Then to think that some of the repertoire is not violin music at all calls the entire enterprise into question – is it all about the violins, or is the player really supposed to be the focus of our attention? A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (to whom the instrument belongs), and “dedicatee of over 400 works for violin”, he clearly has something of a reputation but I regret to say that there is little to engage me here, either in terms of the recorded sound or the way in which Telemann’s interplay of voices is handled – the music is read horizontally without any concept (at least as far as I can discern) of the importance (perhaps I might even go as far as to say “the existence”) of the vertical. His notes seem to suggest that Telemann expected the works to be played in sequence, with the brightness of one “immediately annulled” by its successor. I’m afraid this won’t be on my shelves very long.

Brian Clark

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