early music review

Ana Quintans soprano, Concerto de’ Cavalieri, Marcello Di Lisa
deutsche harmonia mundi 8 88750 81922 2
Arias from Ardelinda,* L’Eraclea,* Le gare generose,* L’inconstanza schernita,* La Statira; sinfonia from Zenobia, Concerto a cinque op. 5/5, Sinfonia Si7 in g
*=world premiere recordings

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] have mixed emotions about this recording. I was moved to tears by Quintans as Jonathan in Charpentier’s sacred opera at the Edinburgh Festival a few years ago, but was not immediately taken by her interpretations of Albinoni’s unsurprisingly glorious music for voice. Repeated listening brought a change of heart; maybe the more Italian’s more virtuosic but (broadly speaking) less emotive writing was the “problem”? But hearing the disc several times actually convinced me that it was the overall approach to the music that niggled me most – the fast music felt uncomfortably hurried, especially by the time we reached the minutely manicured final cadences (complete with obligatory delay before the placing of the very last chord!) Some arias are accompanied by full orchestra (44221 + oboes – without bassoon – trumpets and drums, flute, plucker and harpsichord), while others are taken by a pair of solo violins – and very nicely, too. Interspersed with the vocal items are three instrumental pieces; here again, the outer movements go hell for leather, while the slower ones were dominated by harpsichord links and flourishes. The booklet note reads like a music dictionary article on “Albinoni and the theatre”, telling us all about the works and the venues where they were performed but nothing at all about the individual items; while that is printed in four languages, the poetic texts are given (on separate pages) in Italian and English only. It is only in the closing credits that one discovers that the flute obbligato (written “in the pure and fascinating Venetian tradition”) was reconstructed (to what extent is not shared with us!) by Guido Morini. To summarize, some delightful music and an elegant, virtuosic singer, but perhaps worthy of a less histrionic approach?

Brian Clark

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Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko flute, Zefira Valova violin
70:23
Alpha 200
TWV 51: D1, D2, a1, 52: e3, 55: F3

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s the title suggests, this excellent disc has an orchestral suite (strings with pairs of horns and oboes plus bassoon) and four concertos, two for flute, one for violin and one for both. Regular readers will know that I am a fan of Telemann’s music, so it will come as no surprise that, when it’s as well played as it is here, I have no hesitation in recommending Les Ambassadeurs. The dance movements of the suite will have the most reticent of toes tapping, and each of the concerti – think elegant Albinoni or Marcello rather than virtuosic display à la Vivaldi and you’ll have the right idea – is finely crafted by composer and performers alike; I was particularly impressed by the opening of the A minor violin concerto – the throbbing upper string chords leading into Valova’s first entry are captivating, and her colourful interpretation of that sinuous solo line (a masterclass in the use of vibrato as an ornament, and right hand control) meant listening to that track over and over again. That astonishing control is key to Les Ambassadeurs’ approach, and I hope they will go on to explore more German repertoire.

Brian Clark

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Gaetano Nasillo violoncello, Sara Bennici violoncello, Michele Barchi harpsichord
79:03
Arcana A 385
Music by Alborea, Greco, Lanzetti, Pergolesi, Pericoli, Porpora, Ruvo, Supriani + CD of Neapolitan cello concertos with Ensemble 415, Chiara Banchini

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]suspect only Porpora and Pergolesi will be known to the majority of readers, and such names as Rocco Greco, Francesco Alborea detto Francischiello, Giulio di Ruvo, Francesco Supriani, Salvatori Lanzetti and Pasquale Pericoli will be names, hopefully to whet the listener’s appetite.

The disc covers the 70-year period 1699 to 1769, and the items are presented as far as possible in chronological order and are chosen show the development of the sonata in Naples at the time. The earliest are dance based, and one, by Supriani, is labelled ‘Toccate’. Lanzetti’s sonatas are interesting pieces which use passages in harmonics at some points – there are two examples on the disc – with some virtuoso writing, as is the Nicola Porpora sonata. Nearly all the movements are with harpsichord and a cello bass line, whereas some movements or works might have been more suited to one or the other, but otherwise this is an interesting disc for cellists. The booklet usefully gives the sources of the sonatas. A 70-minute bonus disc of five cello concertos by Fiorenza, Porpora, Leo and Sabatino with Nasillo and Ensemble 415 is included, which I found in general more interesting than the sonatas. This makes it a worthwhile purchase for those interested in exploring less well-known repertoire for the instrument.

Ian Graham-Jones

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