early music review

Simone Kermes, La Magnifica Comunità, Enrico Casazza
65:25
Sony Classical 888751113824
Music by Boësset, de Briçeño, Cesti, Dowland, J. Eccles, Lambert, Legrenzi, Manelli, Merula, Monteverdi, Purcell & B. Strozzi

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his bears a resemblance to Magdalena Kožená’s ‘Lettere Amorose’, which I reviewed in these pages several months back. Both feature artist-driven choices of 17th-century songs and operatic excerpts, one common to both CDs, given with instrumental arrangements that are often none to fussy about appropriate style. Both are personality productions featuring a glamour cover, Simone Kermes’ showing her lying arranged in an alluring pose wearing a long white satin (I think) dress.

If I express a marginal preference for the Kermes there are two reasons. Firstly, it seems rather more structured as a programme, creating the impression that it was intended to build to a climax on the final item, an unfussy if not entirely idiomatic version of ‘Dido’s Lament’. It is a feeling enhanced by an interesting reminder of just how many of love’s complaints were voiced over an ostinato bass in the 17th century. More importantly, there is Kermes’ never less than whole-hearted commitment and that richly lustrous soprano, here at its best when keeping things simple, as in the intimacy of Antoine Boësset’s heartbroken ‘Frescos ayres del prado’ or Merula’s ‘Chi vuol ch’io m’innamori’, where Kermes floats her voice to magical effect.

The downside is accompanying arrangements that range from the innocent to the horrible. One or two tracks sound as if a particularly manic Leonardo García Alarcón has been let loose on them and if you’ve ever felt a desire to hear Dowland’s ‘If love’s a sweet passion’ with a counter melody played on the cornett, well, this is your chance. There is also the air of pretension that hangs over the whole project, best exemplified by the superfluous additional verses quoted in the singer’s introductions, many of them by Shakespeare or John Donne. Like Kožená’s CD, this is one for fans of the singer rather than the general EMR reader.

Brian Robins

Concerto Romano, Alessandro Quarta
66:56
Christophorus CHR 77398

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]everal times I have written in these pages about the different reaction one can have, purely based on the equipment one hears a recording on. I listened to this passion oratorio during a car journey and was not impressed; some of the soprano singing was so shrill there was even interference with the speakers. So I was slightly confused when a Radio 3 presenter praise the release for the fine quality of the singing.

I am glad – as I always am – that listening to it again on a different machine altered my first impressions; while I am still not 100% convinced by some of the “drama”, there is much to recommend the performance overall, and it is high time we had more recordings of this sort of repertoire. It is slightly disappointing that Pasquini does not take the opportunity to write choruses at the end of each half, with or without the violins. The second half is actually preceded here with a sinfonia from an earlier Modenese Pasquini oratorio about St Vitus. I know I am in the minority in not buying into the current aural kaleidoscopic approach to continuo; of course manuscripts of Luigi Rossi’s works contain references to various instruments, but never within a section, and certainly not the diversity of sounds as has become fashionable – on I’m not sure quite what  grounds… Overall a welcome release and something different to contemplate next Easter.

Brian Clark

Johann Rosenmüller Ensemble, Arno Paduch
73:17
Christophorus CHR77389

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Johannes in question is John the Baptist and this – perhaps the first true German oratorio? – tells of his birth and destiny. Most likely written for one of his employer, Archbishop and Elector Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg’ significant birthdays in the 1620s, the work has an opera-like structure: two acts, each of three scenes setting texts from St Luke’s gospel, follow a prologue from Isiah (sic) and are, in turn, followed by an epilogue (a Magnificat antiphon from the rite for St John the Baptist), each of the divisions being framed by sinfonias for a variety of instrumental combinations (two cornetti with bassoon, a pair of violins with “viola bastarda”, three recorders, cornetto, violin and recorder). I found these the most satisfying parts of the whole, but there were moments to enjoy in the “drama”, too, especially the choruses. The booklet is informative but I had to read the German to make complete sense of various passages. Personally, I think it was a miscalculation to follow the drama with another of Bollius’s compositions; surely the fact that it ends with a sonata for the same forces as it began with is enough of a framework. Bollius is best known today for his treatise on singing “after the modern Italian art”, but clearly his music deserves wider distribution!

Brian Clark

Ensemble Diderot, Johannes Pramsohler
66:45
Audax Records 13705

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] little over five years ago (it already seems so much longer!), Musica Antiqua Köln – for so long trail-blazers of the “early music revival” – signed off with six unknown sonatas by Johann Friedrich Meister from his Il giardino del piacere  of 1695. In so many ways, the present recording marks a “changing of the guards”; as something of a protegé of Goebel, Johannes Pramsohler has, in a few short years, built a considerable reputation for not being afraid to tackle “new” repertoire (though never without both historical importance and real musical merit). So now he and his equally impressive colleagues from Ensemble Diderot mop up the six sonatas Goebel was unable to include in his final discographic offering as violinist (nos. 1, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 12 of the set). Apart from “La Musica Duodecima”, each opens with three abstract movements (while nos. 3, 7, 8 and 9 have a Fuga Allegro  between two Adagios, no. 1 has a Canon in unisono), then a sequence of dance movements. The final sonata opens with a Grave, then follow six dances. As with previous Audax recordings, the sound quality is extraordinary, capturing a wide range of dynamics – impressive as some of the virtuosity is, I especially enjoyed the slower music on this disc, where the three string players relish the sounds of their instruments so that we can, too; the violins are sufficiently different to allow us to hear the crossing lines, and Gulrim Choi relishes the moments where she can take the lead. I recall not being convinced by Goebel’s sleevenote claim for his release that MAK had truly discovered a long-last master (that being what “Meister” means in German), but on this re-acquaintance, I fear I was a little harsh – these are accomplished works that certainly deserve to be better known, and I cannot believe that this recording will not spread his reputation (and enhance those of the performers!) around the globe.

Brian Clark

Stefano Montanari, Ensemble Barocco “Carlo Antonio Marino”, Natale Arnoldi
53:12
Tactus TC671302

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]arino’s most likely claim to fame is that he was probably Locatelli’s violin teacher; a proclaimed virtuoso, sometimes based at Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, Marino published at least eight volumes of music, including a set of cantatas for solo voice, but primarily sonatas and concertos for strings, including three that survive in Manchester. As galant an effort this is to promote Marino’s output, I am afraid to say that neither the performances nor the recorded sound are quite up to the highest levels – some of the (undoubtedly challenging) solo music is fudged and there are some awkward moments of ensemble that really ought either to have been edited out or re-recorded. I am sorry to be so unkind to a world premiere recording, but I am compelled to give my honest opinion. Without doubt, Marino deserves to be heard and I hope that the fact that the performers have name their group after him means they will continue to explore it and bring it to a wider audience.

Brian Clark