Category: Recording

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The secret life of carols

The Tellin Secret Life of Carols CD cover

800 Years of Christmas Music
the telling
51:17
First Hand Records FHR94

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This selection of Christmas carols is gleaned from the 12th to the 20th centuries, sharing a sort of folk music quality, which suits the performance style of The Telling. Playing and singing in groups of at most three and sometimes solo, the two voices and two harps are at their best at their simplest. On the odd occasion, like track 3 “O Jesulein Süß”, when the two voices combine in harmony, the blend is less than comfortable, although each sounds fine in solo verses. The geographical range of the music seems neatly to match the cultural heritages of the performers, so we have mainly English, Irish, German and Finnish carols. I would have liked some more details about the medieval, baroque and ‘celtic’ harps played by Jean Kelly and Kaisa Pulkkinen, as well more information on the approach to the instrumental accompaniments – the iconic Gruber setting of “Stille Nacht” has a perfectly good accompaniment for guitar, but the accompaniment here on ‘celtic’ harp seems to be largely improvised. The stylistic range of the carols The Telling have chosen demands a considerable degree of versatility in performance, and I would confess that I don’t think they are equally effective with all the material – I think the medieval material seems best suited to the voices particularly. Reading their group CV, I think that their live performances usually include a dramatic dimension, and perhaps their recordings suffer a little by being deprived of this.

D. James Ross

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Rore: Vieni, dolce Imeneo

Vieni Imeneo Madrigals by Cipriano da Rore CD cover

La Compagnia del Madrigale
69:27
Glossa GCD 922808

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The invocation of Hymen, god of marriage, in the title of one of these madrigals by Cipriano de Rore, which in turn provides the CD with its title, is indeed felicitous. These works, all from late or posthumous collections, demonstrate the clear marriage of text and music for which Cipriano was renowned in his lifetime and for some time thereafter. Monteverdi was a great admirer, and it is fascinating to hear how the latter master picked up the Cipriano baton and ran with it in his own madrigals. The singing of La Compagnia del Madrigale is generally stylish and engaging – just occasionally the voices do a little ‘settling in’ in the opening phrase of a piece, and (fortunately also only very occasionally) they do some of the newly fashionable expressive ‘drooping’ in pitch, by which I remain largely unconvinced. Mostly though, this CD is an unadulterated musical delight, and I found myself wondering at Cipriano’s sheer facility and confidence in this genre. In an excellent and comprehensive programme note, Marco Bizzarini puts each madrigal in its historical, cultural and political context. To provide variety, some of the madrigals are performed with a mixture of voices and instruments, an utterly convincing option which works beautifully here.

D. James Ross

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Monteverdi: Madrigals Book 9

Monteverdi Madrigals book 9 Longhini CD cover

Scherzi Musicali
Delitiæ Musicæ, Marco Longhini
74:37
Naxos 8.555318

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As Marco Longhini reaches the last of Monteverdi’s Madrigal Books, the posthumously published 9th Book, I find I still have many of the same reservations that I had at the start of the series. The use of an all-male ensemble entails the group’s countertenors being cast as a range of lovelorn maidens, nymphs and shepherdesses, and for all the gusto with which they throw themselves into these roles, I remain unconvinced, particularly as there is no evidence that there was any sort of restriction on women singing this music. I’m afraid I am also less than convinced by Longhini’s countertenors themselves, who in contrast to the other male voices never seem entirely comfortable vocally. I remain similarly unconvinced by the prominent participation of harpsichord in the accompanying textures – often a madrigal is beautifully introduced by a continuo ensemble comprising various plucked instruments and cello only for a harpsichord to muscle in on the texture. Having voiced my main reservations, Longhini’s instinct for the potential drama in this music has not diminished during the project, and if it could occasionally be accused of being a little over-theatrical, it is certainly never dull. The singing is generally good, with only occasional intonation lapses, and is musically pretty convincing and delicately ornamented. The madrigal performances are introduced by a lovely instrumental Sinfonia by Biagio Marini, and the balance of the CD is made up of the Monteverdi’s Scherzi Musicali, a collection of ariettas published in 1632 and of which only a single copy survives. Interestingly, Longhini makes plausible use of a number of instrumental ritornelli which appear in the original publication, and which are normally ignored by performers, to link in conclusion a selection of the ariettas together. I found myself wondering how much the oddly immediate acoustic was to blame for my discomfort with some of the singing – although the recording was made in the Chiesa di San Pietro in Vincola, there is little hint of any bloom in the performance. This ‘in-your-face’ ambience is emphasised by the opening madrigal, in which the countertenor soloist emerges from a resonant distance abruptly to jump out of your speakers at you! Certainly theatrical, but oddly unsettling. I wanted to enjoy this CD more, and can only hope that some listeners derive more consistent pleasure than I did from what is clearly an important complete account of the Monteverdi Madrigals.

D. James Ross

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Haydn and the Harp

CD cover of recording of music by Haydn with harp

Chiara Granata harps, Raffaele Pe countertenor, Anaïs Chen violin, Marco Ceccato cello
68:23
Glossa GCD 923517
Music by Bochsa, Eloüis, Sophia Dussek, Haydn, Kozeluh, Anne-Marie & Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz, de La Manière & Ragué

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This CD is a genuine eye-opener. We tend to ignore the instruction ‘for piano or harp’ in the published versions of Haydn’s arrangements of British folk songs, but Chiara Granata has taken it literally and presents here a selection of music by Haydn and his contemporaries. Using two lovely restored harps of 1790 and 1825, she is joined by countertenor Raffaele Pe, violinist Anaïs Chen and cellist Marco Ceccato for these delightful accounts of songs and chamber works. The Haydn songs are beautifully sung by falsettist Raffaele Pe, while particularly intriguing amongst the music by Haydn’s contemporaries, mainly reworkings of the master’s music, are Louis-Charles Ragué’s arrangement for violin and harp of Haydn’s 71st Symphony and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa’s extraordinary medley for harp of melodies from The Creation. From his earliest days at Esterhazy to his late visits to London, Haydn had regular and close contact with amateur and professional harpists, and it seems natural that he would want his compositions to be available for them to perform. In fact, having heard these evocative performances, Haydn’s concise and sparkling idiom seems to lend itself very well to the tone of the harp, and Chiara Granata’s admirable project seems long overdue. Her discovery of the complementary music by Krumpholtz (Jean-Baptiste and Anne-Marie), Kozeluh, Louis-Charles Ragué, Bochsa, Joseph Eloüis, Exupère de La Maniere and Sophia Dussek is a revelation, and the entire programme is wonderfully evocative. The very musical playing and singing of the ensemble make them the ideal advocates for this neglected area of classical music, and the light they shine on it is a revelatory and valuable one.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Barbara Strozzi: Virtuosa of Venice

Barbara Strozzi CD cover Fieri Consort

Fieri Consort
67:18
Fieri Records FIER003VOV
With music by Ferrari, Fontei, Kapsperger, Maione, Monteverdi & Selma y Salaverde

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It is good to see Barbara Strozzi’s music receiving more attention – as more of it becomes familiar, it is clear that she deserves her own place in the history of early Baroque music. As a female composer and performer, her considerable success was greeted with some suspicion in her own lifetime, and even in our own day, acceptance of her skills has been slow and grudging. Her image as a serious performer/composer is perhaps not helped by the familiar bare-breasted portraits, but she was a pupil of the Monteverdi’s pupil, Francesco Cavalli, and was a prolific composer with seven books of madrigals, arias and cantatas plus a collection of sacred music to her name. That this large body of work was published is sometimes ascribed to the prominence of her father as a member of the prestigious Accademia degli Incogniti, but, as more and more of her stylistically varied music comes to be performed, it becomes clear that she was probably being published entirely on her own merits. The Fieri Consort fields six voices in various permutations with gamba, lute/theorbo and harp to present a selection from throughout the composer’s musical life. Thus we travel from the flirty music of the early madrigal collections to the more intense music of the late more profound lagrime. The fact that her music stands up very well beside the pieces by Monteverdi, Nicolò Fontei and Kapsperger with which the consort alternate her songs is a mark of their quality.  The singing and playing are generally good, if the ornamentation occasionally sounds a little laboured, and I like the variety of voices, which appear mainly in dialoguing pairs, as well as the subtlety of the instrumental accompaniments. 

D. James Ross

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Dowland: Lachrimae

Opera Prima Consort play Dowland Lachrimae CD cover

Opera Prima Consort, Cristiano Contadin
59:32
Brilliant Classics 95699

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This is a delightfully fresh look at the very familiar Lachrimae Pavans with associated Pavans, Galliards and Almands. The use of alto viola and violins on the upper lines is entirely authentic and gives the overall sound an engaging edge, while some daringly adventurous and ultimately beautifully musical divisions on the repeats of each section transform these performances into something very special. In addition to breaking the traditional viol consensus, Cristiano Contadin also introduces a recorder, which brings its own heightened level of intricacy to the repeat divisions. I am not entirely convinced by the recorder sometimes popping in and out, playing only on some repeats, and am happier with it playing the written line first time and then embarking on its divisions on the repeat having established its presence already. This is very much a personal whim, and I have to say that in practice both Contadin’s solutions, if a little unorthodox, work very well. The performances of the ensuing Galliards and Almans are wonderfully free and inventive, quirky and virtuosic, casting a bold new light on this terrific music. The playing is wonderfully expressive throughout, recalling my hitherto favourite 1985 account by Jakob Lindberg and the Dowland Consort on BIS. I have to say that the felicitous mixture of violins and viols and the deft ornamentation of repeats may just have won me over to this exciting new account! Highly recommended.

D. James Ross

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Cor Europae

Ensemble Tiburtina Christmas in Medieval Prague CD cover

Christmas in mediaeval Prague
Tiburtina Ensemble, Barbora Kabátková
60:14
Ricercar RIC410

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This CD, a compilation of vocal music for the Feast of the Nativity as it would have been celebrated in mediaeval Prague, alternates unison plainchant, organa and tropes from the libraries of Prague Cathedral and the Benedictine convent of Prague Castle. This may sound a little bit heavy going for the general listener, but believe me: the singing by the four female voices of the Tiburtina Ensemble is so exquisite that this is an hour of sheer delight. The perfection of their blend, balance, tuning and unanimity of movement recall the American ensemble Anonymous 4, but if anything the singing here is more impressive. The sometimes wayward lines of the 12th-century Czech organa are negotiated with breathtaking ease, and there is an unerring musicality both about the ensemble and the solo singing. On various visits over the years to the beautiful city of Prague, I have been impressed by the quality of Medieval and Renaissance instrumental concerts, often in stunning settings, and it is good to hear from this atmospheric CD that the state of early vocal performance is equally or even more advanced. This is some of the most persuasive and simply beautiful singing that I have heard recently. Invidious then to pick out particular highlights, but the organum settings of readings are intriguing and the concluding four-part motet simply beguiling. Highly recommended.

D. James Ross

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Resonanze

Resonanze CD of solo gamba music from the baroque and modern periods

music for viola da gamba
Ibrahim Aziz
63:31
First Hand Records FHR83
Abel, J. S. Bach, Martínez Gil, Rowe & Schenck

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This CD is a vehicle for the gamba virtuosity of Ibrahim Aziz. The programme consists of two Baroque pieces and two modern compositions for gamba, and an arrangement of the Bach second cello Suite. Notwithstanding Aziz’s formidable technique and sonorous tone, I found this the least successful piece on the recording, being so familiar with the work as a cello piece and feeling that the gamba with its frets acted as a restraint on the player. Carlos Martínez Gil’s Suite Estiu is very much in the neo-Baroque style, a nostalgic homage to the gamba compositions of the 18th century. He manages to find unusual textures and resonances in the work’s five varied movements, as does gambist and composer, Rebecca Rowe, in her impressive 2018 composition Journeying, specifically written for Ibrahim Aziz. As a player of the instrument, she seems more confident and enterprising than Martínez Gil in her exploration of its potential. The Three Pieces by Carl Friedrich Abel are surprisingly consequential, although this is hardly surprising from the leading gamba virtuoso in London in the 18th century. Curious to think of his gifted pupil, the painter Thomas Gainsborough, working away diligently on this sort of repertoire. The D-minor Suite V by another 18th-century gambist/composer Johann Schenck is the most substantial work in the programme, technically dazzling and musically powerful. It is not surprising to learn that his music was widely published and performed throughout Europe, although the present suite survives in manuscript only. This is a delightfully varied CD, demonstrating the full and varied potential of the gamba in the hands of a capable and wonderfully gifted young player. 

D. James Ross

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Handel: Works for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord

CD cover of Handel gamba sonatas recording by Aziz and Yamamoto

Ibrahim Aziz, Masumi Yamamoto
77:26
First Hand Records FHR91

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This CD of music by Handel for viola da gamba and harpsichord presents the G-minor Sonata HWV 364b and a couple of contested works, which may be the work of the young Handel along with a series of arrangements, respectively of the A-major Violin Sonata and the Keyboard Suites HWV 448 and 437. As fillers, we have the Suite HWV 429 for solo harpsichord in a copy by Gottlieb Muffat and a Prélude from a gamba suite by Sainte-Colombe le fils. So, while the title may not strictly describe what is ‘in the tin’, the performers have been distinctly imaginative and enterprising in their choice of repertoire. The playing is beautiful, with some wonderfully poignant gamba sounds from Aziz, who also displays a deft virtuosity on the instrument, while Yamamoto provides an impressively responsive accompaniment. Particularly intriguing are the musicians’ solo slots. The very conservative piece, thoroughly in the French style, by Saint-Colombe le fils, could easily be by his father, Jean, who taught the legendary Marin Marais – this in spite of the fact that S-C le fils was working in London at the same time as Handel. The edition of Handel’s HWV 429 suite for harpsichord by Gottlieb Theofile Muffat, son of the more imminent Georg Muffat, is intriguingly revelatory of performance practice at the time. Gottlieb Muffat, also a keyboard composer in his own right, spent his whole life in Vienna, and it is fascinating to think of him bringing his version of the music of Handel to the Austrian public in the generation before Mozart would find an audience for his Handel adaptations. Did he feel that Handel’s music needed ‘adapted’ to suit the Viennese taste, or as a composer/player could he just not bear to keep his hands off this fine repertoire? Throughout his lifetime, Handel was dogged by breaches of what would now be called copyright, but this is something else entirely – more akin to an homage from an admiring fellow composer. This is a thought-provoking and musically very satisfying CD.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Handel: The Recorder Sonatas

Handel Recorder Sonatas Stefan Temmingh CD cover

[Wiebke] Weidanz, [Stefan] Temmingh
63:20
Accent ACC 24353

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This account of the six recorder sonatas by Handel, each one tastefully ‘set up’ by a short prelude, either a keyboard prelude by Handel or Purcell, an anonymous Fantaisie for solo recorder, or in one case an improvised flourish on recorder and keyboard, has many virtues. The playing of Stefan Temmingh on a trio of Bressan copy recorders by Ernst Meyer is flamboyant and imaginative, while the accompaniment of Wiebke Weidanz on a Taskin copy harpsichord by Matthias Griewisch is equally so. If the harpsichord is consistently recorded a little ‘closely’ and dominates the balance somewhat, this is quite possibly a reflection of the natural dynamics of both instruments, although some of the detail of the recorder playing in the lower register is lost. Temmingh is always keen to embellish, sometimes ornamenting the first playthrough of a section, sometimes improvising on even the opening statement, before departing even more radically into the realms of fantasy on the repeat. This will not be to everyone’s taste, but I found the approach on the whole engaging and entertaining, particularly as Weidanz was quick to reflect this exciting level of spontaneity in the keyboard accompaniment. There is certainly no denying the highly imaginative nature of this improvisation, which manages to sound both utterly compelling and completely convincing. The programme note is in the (for me) annoying form of a dialogue between the two performers, which is necessarily more about their approach to the music and its performance and recording than the historical/musicological background. However, we do learn that, as we might have suspected, Weidanz plays from the original figured bass, allowing her imagination to realise the keyboard part spontaneously in response to Temmingh’s account of the melody line. This is perhaps not the recording to buy for a no-nonsense account of Handel, but the playing is very impressive and thoroughly musical – and you can’t help feeling that this is the sort of approach the composer might have taken in performing his own music.

D. James Ross