Category: Recording

Categories
Recording

German Funeral Music of the 17th Century

CD cover of Voces Suaves German funeral music of the 17th century Johannes Strobl

Schütz: Musicalische Exequien
Voces Suaves, Johannes Strobl
65:56
Arcana A483
+Music by Ebeling, Gleich, Kessel, Knüpfer, Rosenmüller, Schein, Schelle

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk [sponsored link to help cover the costs of maintaining this website]

The very first note – a wonderful, resonant low C on voices and lute – heralds a promising CD centred on Heinrich Schütz’s Musicalische Exequien and setting that funeral music in the context of other motets from 17th-century Germany, that might be suitable for such elaborate occasions. The CD starts with the splendid motet by Schein, Ich will schweigen, where all the sonorities we will hear in the rest of the CD are displayed. Second is a motet by Andreas Gleich, set for contrasting choirs of high and low voices. The overall sound is marvellous with near-faultless singers, including some excellent and un-wobbly sopranos, clear-toned tenors and a violone-like bass, with wonderful open, rasping bottom notes. Somewhere in the middle, alas, is a female alto whose voice is not so under control; this slightly mars what is otherwise a well-recorded and mesmeric performance. Even if you have the wonderful CD of the Musicalische Exequien by Vox Luminis, you shouldn’t miss the other motets here by Schein, Gleich, Knüpfer, Schelle, Ebeling, Kessel and Rosenmüller – all, except for Schein’s, unknown to me.

Voces Suaves, founded in 2012, is based in Basel and many members are former students at the Schola Cantorum. This CD was recorded last summer in the former Romanesque Alte Kirche in Boswil, and if you want a glimpse of the quality of this group, their website offers a fine Youtube recording of Monteverdi’s Sfogava con le stelle, with all-male lower parts. There is an interesting essay (in English, German and French) by Cosimo Stawiarski to introduce the place of music in German 17th-century funeral rites, and alongside the texts of each motet there are details of exactly which of the 12 singers is singing which line: the continuo includes a G violone, two theorbos and a positive organ (with some bright upperwork) played by Johannes Strobl who directs this performance – no details are given of these instruments, nor of pitch or temperament, but full and helpful details are given of all the musical sources.

I would have preferred the theorbos recorded not quite so close, as the voices do not need rhythmic arpeggios to keep the suspensions taut, and I was surprised that there was not more resonance in this concert room conversion of the former church, though there is adequate give to ensure a good overall tone.

This is an excellent disc by an experienced group, singing the music that is clearly at the heart of their repertoire, and the accompanying motets provide an ideal context for Schütz’s Exequien.

David Stancliffe

Categories
Recording

Haydn: String Quartets, op. 76

CD cover of London Haydn Quartet Hyperion recording of op 76

The London Haydn Quartet
153:29 (2 CDs in a single jewel case)
hyperion CDA68335

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk [sponsored link]

Few other than benighted beings like record critics are likely to listen closely to all six quartets of Haydn’s opus 76 in one sitting, especially in performances as well endowed with repeats as these by The London Haydn Quartet. Yet to undertake such a task is to marvel again at the richness of invention and almost kaleidoscopic variety found in this remarkable set of works, composed as the result of a commission by Count Joseph Erdődy, the chancellor at the Hungarian court in Pressburg (Bratislava). Probably commenced in 1796, the year after Haydn returned from the second of his two London visits, they were completed the following year and published in London and Vienna in 1799. Curiously for such late works, the original autograph disappeared completely; the present recording employs those first editions.

In some ways, the set consolidates those of opp 71 and 74 that Haydn wrote in London, works in which Haydn took a genre previously identified with the salon into the concert hall. Like them, the quartets of op 76 contain many passages of almost orchestral sonority, the tersely powerful chordal passage that opens the Presto finale of No 3 in C being a particularly striking example. In other ways, it seems that even in his late 60s the mature Haydn is still probing, experimenting with new ideas. Both No 1 in G and No 6 in E flat for the first time have presto minuets that are scherzos by any other name, a new conception that carries through to the two quartets of op 77 (1799). Yet possibly the most notable aspect of all is the impression given time after time that here is a mature composer at the pinnacle of his powers, a composer happy to engage with supreme contrapuntal writing of a kind we sometimes fail properly to acknowledge in Haydn’s works – listen for example to the canonic writing in the so-called ‘Witches Minuet’ of the D-minor Quartet (No 2) or the wonderful 3-part counterpoint and chromaticism in the third of the variations on the ‘Emperor’s Hymn’ (the C-major Quartet). There are, too, movements in which Haydn seems to have captured an inner repose given only to those at peace with themselves and the world. The ineffably lovely Largo of No 5 in D comes immediately into the mind, surely the music of a man that has found such peace, a peace ruffled only momentarily by darker thoughts before returning to utter tranquillity, qualities also found in the Adagio that gives the ‘Sunrise’ its name (No 4 in B flat). This being Haydn, humour and the folk element that reminds us of his humble beginnings are never far away, sometimes found together. The finale of the B-flat Quartet, for instance, is a cheeky east-European folk-song that surely cries out to have bawdy words fitted to it. And this would equally not be Haydn without the odd surprise. The D-major Quartet opens with an easy-going allegretto that has a Schubertian air of insouciance, proceeding in this fashion until a sudden allegro bursts out to take the same thematic material into an entirely unexpected and more brutal world.     

The performances of this glorious music – and there is so much more that could be said about it – are in general extremely rewarding, attaining the same level of musicality that I praised in the ensemble’s recording of op 64 I reviewed for this site. Tempos are in the main sensible and well-judged, though for me some of the slow movements are taken just that shade too slowly. That wonderful Largo of No 5 is a case in point, but it is so beautifully drawn forgiveness is not difficult. Otherwise, my main caveat would be that, as with the op 64 recording, dynamic contrasts might have been made more of. But the playing is technically of a high order and the excellent balance also adds to the pleasures of a set that will delight anyone collecting a complete cycle now nearing completion.

Brian Robins      

Categories
Recording

Richard: Professeur du Roy Soleil

CD cover of L'Encelade Etienne Richard harpsichord teacher Fabien Armengaud

Richard: Professeur du Roy Soleil
Fabien Armengaud harpsichord
70:00
L’Encelade ECL 190

The Bauyn manuscript is most famous as a major source of keyboard music by Chambonnières and Louis Couperin, but it has a third layer in which can be found the music of Richard, harpsichord teacher to none other than Louis XIV. There are three suites by him in the programme, surrounded by the music of his contemporaries, both illustrious (d’Anglebert, etc.) and shadowy (Jacques Hardel, etc.). The suggestion is that these pieces may have been part of Richard’s teaching repertoire, though the point is not forced.

The instrument (modern, but ‘in the spirit of French instruments of the last decades of the 17th century’) is quite brightly voiced and closely recorded so you may find a lower than usual volume setting is desirable, especially if listening through headphones. It is very well-tuned, both in terms of the temperament chosen and the accuracy of the octaves, and I didn’t mind the occasional mechanical noise – usually the shove coupler being (de)activated – though there are a few moments when the dampers could have done a better job at the end of a piece. Its resources (three registers on two manuals) are deployed sensibly.

This is very committed playing, with sprightly ornamentation, determined (in a good way) to make the best possible case for this little-known music though an extra layer of enjoyment can be detected in the luxuriant textures of the Louis Couperin Passacaille that closes the programme.

The supporting essay (in French and English) is informal in style but manages to stay on the right side of ‘gushy’ and tells us what we need to know. This is a valuable issue, not just in itself but for the wider context that it provides for the keyboard masterpieces of the period and the insight into the Sun King’s skills and taste.

David Hansell

Categories
Recording

Frescobaldi: Musiche inedite dai “Codici Chigi”

CD cover of Ivana Valotti playing Frescobaldi on organ

Ivan Valotti
71:23
Tactus TC 580609

It is quite a thought – though a distracting one in this particular context – that Monteverdi knew the sound of this organ, the 1565 Antegnati in Santa Barbara, Mantua. And utterly splendid it is, a rich and full chorus with more than enough variety even for this programme of 31 mainly short pieces. The tuning is quarter-comma meantone (so a few ‘startling’ moments in chromatic passages e. g., the Toccata per organo track 22) and the pitch 462. I quite enjoyed the ‘clunks’ when stops were added or silenced during a piece, though I do wonder if this is historically appropriate, even though everything is within the player’s comfortable reach – not always the case with historic instruments.

The repertoire is music by or at least attributed to Frescobaldi in the Chigi Codex and not published in his lifetime. It is all now published (2017) and we are given volume/page numbers for our own easy reference. There is a blanket ‘World Première Recording’ claim.

I enjoyed the recital very much. The recording is close enough to allow us to appreciate the clarity of the player’s articulation and part-playing while also giving a sense of the building. Tempi are well chosen, allowing both the nobility and display that characterise this music. These pieces do not alter our perception of Frescobaldi one way or the other and in some cases might be the shavings that fell from his workbench, but we should thank the Complete Edition and Ivana Vallotti for sweeping them up.

The booklet (in Italian and English) contains a ten-page essay that both puts the music in its context and offers observations on individual pieces. But the instrument is the star of the show.

David Hansell

Categories
Recording

Purcell: Royal Odes

CD cover of King's Consort Royal Odes on Vivat

The King’s Consort, Robert King
81:12
Vivat 121

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk

Those that follow EMR are unlikely to need reminding of Robert King’s devotion to the music of Purcell, with which, as he reminds us in his touching notes, he has been involved for nearly 50 years. Neither will enthusiasts need their memories jogged to recall the valuable complete series devoted to both the sacred music and the secular odes some thirty years ago. The present generously filled CD revisits three of the royal odes: ‘Why, why are all the Muses mute?’ (a welcome ode for King James II from 1685), and two odes celebrating the birthday of Purcell’s much-loved Queen Mary, ‘Now does the glorious day appear’ (1689) and ‘Welcome, welcome, glorious morn’ (1691).

However, the performances are far from being a conventional remake. They were made in September and October 2020 under conditions dictated by the Covid-19 pandemic and as such have a special feel to them. Perhaps the first thing to say is that despite social distancing the sound obtained in the Fairfield Halls in Croydon is of outstanding quality, with splendid balance to the ensemble singing and excellent detail in the orchestral playing. Although King refers to what has been learned in the period since the Hyperion recordings as regard to such matters as vocal and instrumental forces, they are in fact virtually identical. That’s to say two voices per part for the choruses matched by single string parts and continuo plus a pair of oboes and trumpets in the 1691 ode.  The vocal ensemble is a happy mix of singers King has long worked with, including the inimitably stylish tenor Charles Daniels, who participated in several of the original Hyperion series, and soprano Carolyn Sampson, along with singers of the younger generation. Among them high tenor David de Winter makes a favourable impression, giving the unexpectedly subdued air that opens the 1685 ode – there is uniquely no overture – a fine sense of line delivered with excellent diction.

King’s notes don’t, of course, fail to draw the analogy of Purcell himself having lived through a time of plague in London (1665-6), but perhaps some find it surprising his suggestion that Purcell’s music was throughout his life pervaded by ‘a sense of melancholy, of fading glory’. This is borne out by performances that reflect a maturity and sense of poise that would have been foreign to the ebullient King of earlier days. I don’t think it too fanciful to find here a valedictory sense of thoughtfulness that reflects the time in which the performances were recorded. That is not in any way to suggest they have been overlaid by unwanted sentiment or self-indulgent tempi. Comparison with the earlier recordings reveals that tempos are in fact very similar and indeed in the case of ‘Welcome, welcome’, resplendent with its addition of pairs of oboes and trumpets, the overall timing was quicker in 2020 than it was in 1991.

In the face of such satisfyingly integrated performances, it seems invidious to single out special moments, but I can’t resist drawing attention to one or two. In the King James welcome ode countertenor Iestyn Davies produces a ravishingly lovely ‘Britain, thou now art great’, bringing an irresistible lilt to the air, the singing complemented by exquisitely nuanced string playing. In the same ode, Daniels captures with exceptional insight the pensive autumnal glow of the final air, ‘O how blest is the isle’. The 1689 ode sees Davies and Daniels come together with Sampson as a ‘dream team’ for the finely wrought trio, ‘Our dear religion’, while in the more brilliant 1691 birthday ode Sampson is outstanding in the recitative and air, ‘My prayers are heard … I see the round years’, one of the finest sections of the ode, succeeded by a splendid chorus making effective use of one of Purcell’s favourite devices, the echo.

The effervescence of the younger Robert King cannot be gainsaid in these celebratory works, but the more reflective King’s ‘Purcell in a time of Plague’ has its own distinctive qualities and demands to be heard by all for whom our greatest composer is special.

Brian Robins

Categories
Recording

Mancini: XII Solos, London 1724

CD cover of Mancini XII solos Armonia delle Sfere

Armonia delle Sfere
115:46 (2 CDs in a single jewel case)
Tactus TC 671390

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk

These ‘Solos for a Violin or Flute’, (incidentally not ‘a Violin of Flute’ as it appears on the cover and back of the CD) are actually fully-fledged sonatas in four movements, and some of the most ambitious and successful chamber music Mancini composed. Famous during his lifetime for his operas and church music, Mancini operated in the musically rich environment of Naples, and is sadly one of the many such composers whose reputation has suffered an almost complete eclipse in ensuing centuries. On the basis of these solo sonatas, it is hard to see why this is: they are charmingly accessible, consistently inventive and idiomatically written for the recorder. Daniele Salvatore by alternating two treble recorders with a voice flute, a sopranino recorder and a transverse flute, dispenses with the need for the violin alternative option. I find his vibrato (particularly in the free unaccompanied introductory episodes) a little extreme, and he has the annoying habit of occasionally overblowing so as to ‘jam’ high notes, although elsewhere he plays more sympathetically and has an impressive technique. Two of Mancini’s keyboard toccatas, essentially study pieces rather than concert works, provide a little textural variety, while the move to sopranino recorder and the introduction of a guitar into the continuo ensemble really switches things up a notch for the final sonata. It is good to see Italian ensembles exploring their considerable national Baroque heritage, and Mancini sounds likes a composer worthy of attention.

D. James Ross

Categories
Recording

Mozart: Serenades

CD cover Mozart sereandes McGegan Capella Savaria


Capella Savaria, Nicholas McGegan
69:30
Hungaroton HCD 32850

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk

These performances of the Haffner Serenade K250/248b and the Serenata Notturna K. 234 are part of the complete recording of music by Mozart for solo violin and orchestra played by Zsolt Kalló and the Capella Savaria. As the relatively low Köchel numbers suggest, these are works from Mozart’s Salzburg period, but already the young Mozart seems dissatisfied to write conventional Unterhaltungsmusik, incorporating unexpected movements featuring solo violin, which he may well have played himself. One of these is the perky trio to a darkly foreboding minuet, which would not be out of place in one of the late great symphonies. It is not difficult to picture the young genius already chafing at the bit of his conventional role in Salzburg and longing for the challenges of Vienna. The Bartók Concert Hall in Szombathely provides a nicely resonant acoustic for some delightfully idiomatic playing from the Capella and their soloist. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Capella Savaria was the first period instrument group in Hungary, and has traditionally harnessed the innate talents of this very musical nation in the service of period performance.

D. James Ross

Categories
Recording

Edinburgh 1742: Barsanti & Handel, Parte Seconda

CD cover Edinburgh 1742 Ensemble Marsyas Parte seconda

Ensemble Marsyas, Peter Whelan
51:51
Linn Records CKD 626

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk

This is the second of a pair of CDs evoking the lively world of the 18th-century Musical Society of Edinburgh and bringing us the balance of Barsanti’s op 3 Concerti Grossi, those featuring solo trumpet and two oboes, as well as another four of his Old Scots Tunes and music by Handel. Barsanti’s treatment of the wind instruments in these Concerti Grossi, published in Edinburgh in 1742 just before the Jacobite Uprising, sounds very classical in style, alternating them as a section augmented by timpani with the strings. Perhaps more innovative still and unexpected are the more structurally free slow movements. The four Old Scots Tunes are charmingly played by Colin Scobie – a member of the Maxwell and Fitzwilliam Quartets, in encore slots Colin frequently demonstrates his considerable traditional fiddle skills, and these are very much to the fore here as he is joined by Elizabeth Kenny on the Baroque Guitar for stirring accounts of ‘Dumbarton’s drums’, ‘Ettrick banks’, ‘The bush aboon Traquair’ and ‘Cornriggs are bonnie’. Handel’s Overture to ‘Atalanta’ serves to illustrate a very different treatment of the trumpet and indeed a very different style of composition, notwithstanding that Handel and Barsanti were contemporaries and acquaintances. These works by Barsanti, in an edition from Prima la Musica, provide a valuable counterbalance to our sometimes Handel-dominated and London-centric view of the mid 18th century, and it would be interesting to hear accounts of his later publications, which include a set of six motets for five or six voices and continuo (1750) and his Trio Sonatas op 6 (1769). On first listening, I found the recorded sound a little cramped, but then the Musical Society concerts were presented in the ‘upper room of St Mary’s Chapel, Niddry Wynd’ until 1763 when they moved into the superb surroundings of St Cecilia’s Hall. At any rate, I soon adapted my ear, and the amount of detail captured in the recordings is indeed impressive.

D. James Ross

Categories
Recording

The Complete Fitzwilliam Virginal Book

CD cover Belder Complete Fitzwilliam Book Brilliant Classics 15 CDs

Pieter-Jan Belder
978:46 (15 CDs in a card box)
Brilliant Classics 95915

Click HERE to buy this (15 CDs for less than £40!) at amazon.co.uk

If ever a project deserved the term magnum opus this complete recording of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is it. This remarkable volume contains 297 pieces and was compiled towards the end of the Tudor period by Francis Tregian – in the manner of musical history, the books doesn’t bear the name of this intrepid individual, who is thoroughly deserving of our gratitude, but that of an aristocrat, the 7th Viscount Fitzwilliam, through whose hands it briefly passed in the 18th century. Pieter-Jan Belder, a van Asperen student, has form as regards complete recordings, having previously committed the complete keyboard sonatas of Scarlatti as well as the complete keyboard music of Rameau and Soler to disc, with further ambitious ‘integral recordings’ in his diary. A comprehensive programme note by Jon Baxendale proves an indispensable guide through the music and its composers. I had honestly anticipated that the quality of the music in such a huge volume might prove variable, and as the project began with Belder recording his favourite composers, only later opening out over the next eight years into a complete recording, I feared that I might be left with the dross at the end. Not only does there seem to be no dross, but astute programming means that the attention is held thoroughly throughout each of the individual CDs. The repertoire varies from really quite slight miniatures to works of symphonic proportions, which seem in some cases to cry out for orchestration. If occasionally sets of variations outlive their welcome, this is by no means the fault of the performer, but rather that of the composer or perhaps just the comprehensive taste of the time. Much more frequent than these moments of ennui are the regular delights of unexpected harmonic and melodic turns of phrase, passages of stunning beauty and quirky examples of the composers’ wit and invention. In all, 25 composers are represented, some of them household names from their contributions to other genres such as Byrd, Gibbons, Tallis, Tomkins, Parsons and Philips, others chiefly known for their keyboard music such as Bull and Farnaby. Belder’s approach has been commendably flexible, ‘cheating’ where he feels necessary regarding period fingering, and taking an imaginative intuitive approach to ornamentation. The playing throughout is impeccable, but also more importantly persuasive and engaging. Although a few pieces are played on virginals and muselar, and even a couple on chest organ, the instruments of choice are modern copies of Ruckers harpsichords, most notably an Adlam Burnett 1980 copy of the famous 1638 Ruckers in Edinburgh. This latter instrument has a deliciously full mellow tone, and probably is indeed the ideal vehicle for this music. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t express a couple of tiny reservations, namely that the way the project developed means that this Burnett/Ruckers harpsichord only appears in time for the later CDs and so we don’t get to hear the major works by Bull and Philips on this fine instrument. My second comment slightly negates this, by pointing out that most of the instruments, including the Burnett/Ruckers, are slightly later in period than the music, and when we hear the couple of tracks for which Belder uses virginals we are in a very different sound world. I admit it his hard to imagine some of the more ambitious works limited to the virginals, but on the other hand, some of the slighter works sound a little overblown on the Burnett/Ruckers harpsichord. Whatever my tiny reservations, I found this collection utterly enthralling, and Belder’s imaginative and consummately musical playing, as well as the consistently vivid recordings made in the sympathetic acoustics of a selection of Dutch churches, helped turn what could easily have been a bit of a chore into a complete delight.

D. James Ross

Categories
Recording

Couperin: Suites Royales

CD Encelade Couperin Suites royales

Claire Gautrot viola da gamba, Marouan Mankar-Bennis harpsichord
76:00
encelade ECL 1902

It is understandable that Couperin’s keyboard oeuvre should over-shadow the rest of his output but the chamber music is scarcely disappointing! Here we have two suites originally designated for viol avec la basse chiffrée (pub. 1728) and one of the 1722 Concerts Royaux, for which any suitable melodic instruments can be used. Each suite is followed by a complementary movement from the harpsichord livres.

I regularly question the need for the multiplicity of continuo instruments we often hear in this repertoire so it is something of a relief to note that in this recital a harpsichord shows that it can do the job on its own – and rather well. Variety of texture, in particular, is used to great effect and the recorded balance is unfailingly excellent.

And so is the playing. The plangent tone of the viol, its infinite capacity for tonal shading and ability to convey delicate filigree makes it an ideal voice for this exquisite music. I defy anyone not to be tempted to repeat Pompe Funèbre, possibly more than once. So, if you share my love of the French Baroque, and even if you don’t, this is very rewarding listening, helped on its way by a sensible and quite substantial essay (in French and English).

David Hansell