Category: Recording

Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York, John Scott
68:34
Resonus 10152
BWV [Anh.] 159, 225-230

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hese performances were taped during sessions in May 2012, 2013 and 2014 with the same “men” (seven altos, ten tenors and eight basses) but a slightly different group of two dozen or so boys and three different organists, though the same cello and violone players. As a full-time church choir singing five services every week, and under the guidance of the former director of music at St Paul’s in London, they are a well-oiled machine which performs these masterpieces with self-assured gusto. The “chorale arias” are carefully shaped (one can almost hear the conductor’s hand waving in the air), much thought has gone into deciding which phrases should or should not be “sung through” (and ensuring that sufficient breath is reserved for the final long notes!) and the texts (and their meanings) come across clearly. There are very occasional technical imperfections – the devilish lines of some of the faster sections lack clarity, for example – but the overall impression is positive indeed. John Butt’s booklet essay is – of course – excellent.

Brian Clark

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Hana Blažíková, Joanne Lunn, Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk, Peter Kooij SScTTB, Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
65:30
BIS-2081 SACD
BWV235-238, 240-242, Anh. 26

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he interest for me in this well produced CD which has all the quality we expect from Suzuki’s forces is not only in the two Lutheran Masses, of which there are already a number of recordings like the recent one by the Sixteen or the earlier and matchless OVPP version by the Purcell Quartet (1999), but in the additional movements which have rarely been recorded – four settings of the Sanctus BWV 240, 241 (after Kerll), 238 and 237 – and the Kyrie in C minor based on Durante with the Christe in G minor BWV 242. These are presented as part of Suzuki’s mopping up operation, and have an interesting blend of scoring. They show Bach exploring styles of writing – some very dense vocally – which illuminate the way he developed the clarity of his mature style from the models which he reworked. On many occasions Bach must have used other composers material either straight or adapted in some way in his regular presentation of Sunday music. Some of this material shows him at work, and I’m grateful for these typically illuminating performances.

David Stancliffe

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Gilbert Rowland
129:10 (2 CDs)
divine art DDA21225
HWV426, 440, 442, 445, 447, 448, 449, 451-3

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hough renowned in his day as a keyboard virtuoso, Handel’s own music in this medium is relatively little known, and beyond the ‘Eight Great Suites’ of 1720, surprisingly seldom performed today. This double-disc release, (which I see from the notes is the third to appear) is thus doubly welcome. Gilbert Rowland has assembled a beguiling programme, ranging from the early suites in D minor (HWV 448) and G minor (HWV 453), via the first of the Great Suites (HWV 426), to the final ones in D minor (HWV 447) and G minor (HWV 452) written in 1739 as exercises for Princess Louisa, daughter of George II. Though all sharing the ‘suite’ title, the individual movements are wonderfully varied; in addition to the standard Allemandes, Courantes and Gigues, there are extended French Overtures, Sarabandes, Menuets, Airs and an astonishing Chaconne, with no fewer than 62 variations, to finish the recital. All posess the characteristic Handelian blend of melodic charm and harmonic substance.

Gilbert Rowland is a persuasive performer. His realisations of the chordal preludes are extremely convincing, and he decorates and varies reprises as the ‘Caro Sassone’ himself might have done. He plays a fine 2005 harpsichord by Andrew Wooderson, after Goermans (Paris 1750).

Alastair Harper

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Bassorilievi
76:59
TWV42: c6, F5, g7, g15, a7, h4 & 43: C2, h3

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t can surely be no coincidence that the vast majority of Telemann’s music for this combination survives in Darmstadt – there must have been players there who inspired the composer; further, there must be a reason why the most of them are in minor keys (five out of six!) The two quartets (both called concerto in the sources) add a bassoon to the mix. The booklet notes (a convoluted affair whose absolutely pitiful English translation is a hard going) suggest that the plaintive sounds of the gamba (here often coloured with the style of vibrato I associate with the French school) blend effortlessly with those of the flute, and on the evidence of this rather glorious recording I would have to agree. The continuo section includes theorbo, cello, violone and harpsichord and manages to create a rich backdrop for the “soloists” without ever sounding fussy or intrusive. In fact, this is among the nicest recital of this repertoire I have heard – and it claims (albeit with an “as far as we know” caveat) a world premiere of TWV42: F5.

Brian Clark

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Concentus VII
67:16
Resonus REC10142
Handel Mi palpita il cor, Pensieri notturni di Filli, Oboe sonata HWV357
Lotti Ti sento o Dio bendato
Mancini Recorder sonata no. 1 in d
A. Scarlatti Bella s’io t’amo, Filli tu sai s’io t’amo

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is an excellent recording of some really nice 18th-century music for soprano with oboe or recorder(s). Emily Atkinson’s beautifully controlled voice is perfectly matched by Belinda Paul’s oboe and Louise Strickland’s recorder. They are joined by Amélie Addison and Martin Knizia on cello and harpsichord respectively. The programme is built around the Roman Arcadian Academy, who played host to all of the composers represented apart from Francesco Mancini, whose presence is justified (if it needed to be) by his having taken over control of music in the Naples churches during Scarlatti’s sojourn in Rome. What a privilege it must have been to be a member of such a club, if the performances there were anything approaching the quality of these! My sole reservation is the soprano’s incessant “decoration” of the vocal lines to the point of their being unrecognisable; now, I know that there is evidence for some extreme ornamentation but surely the reason they survive is because someone had to write them down in order to remember them; i. e., they were not a spontaneous act of enhancement – and therefore not the norm. I feel it is actually a pity that such a beautiful voice is wasted in such gratuitous display. She would do far better to step away from the manuscript paper and play to her undeniable strength – that truly beautiful voice! In comparison the woodwind players are models of restraint. Interesting booklet notes, and full English translations of the texts.

Brian Clark

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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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