early music review

The great castrato of the Napoleonic aria
Ann Hallenberg, Stile Galante, Stefano Aresi
71:45
Glossa GCD 923505
Music by Bianchi, Cherubini, Cimarosa, Mayr, Myslive&chacek;ek, Pugnani, Sarti & Zingarelli

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nother winner from the excellent Ann Hallenberg. Luigi Marchesi (1754-1829) was described by contemporaries as “the infinity and personification of the castratos”, and “the very best of his kind”. (He also achieved fame by refusing to sing before Napoleon, following the latter’s victorious entry into Milan in 1796.) Many descriptions of his superb singing survive, along with a number of written-out examples of his astonishing improvised ornamentation; these are the inspiration for this remarkable disc, which sets out to recreate his long-lost art.

Ann Hallenberg already has a number of extremely interesting and thoughtfully planned recordings to her name, and this is no exception. She gives us a breathtaking display of vocal fireworks – long perfectly-even semiquaver runs, spot-on arpeggios, and precisely tuned huge leaps – but with the added scholarly spice of them being either written-out or inspired by Marchesi himself. There is even an example of the once-famed Marchesi “rocket”, an exhilarating upward run in semitones over two octaves! Remarkably, despite all the pyrotechnics, the overall impression is of intense dramatic urgency and emotional aptness, as indeed Marchesi’s contemporary audiences agreed.

There are many highlights. Try the dazzling Cimarosa ‘Superbo di me stesso’ (track 9) for a good overall example, or the lovely slow Cherubini ‘Quanto e fiero il mio tormento’ (track 6) with its many cadenzas and electrifying allegro conclusion. The extended scena from Zingarelli’s ‘Pirro’ (track 11) is especially fine, with the added bonus of Francesca Cassinari’s lovely soprano.

Stile Galante supply superbly energetic orchestral support, with some particularly lovely string and woodwind solos (e. g., the glorious bassoon obbligato at the opening of Pugnani’s ‘Misero pargoletto’, track 7). Stefano Aresi, as well as sparkling overall direction, supplies exemplary and scholarly sleeve notes.
Much of the music is, as far as I am aware, new to disc, giving us a fascinating snapshot of operatic music and performance practice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Alastair Harper

[wp-review]

Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, Kevin Mallon
69:45
Naxos 8.573323

[dropcap]N[/dropcap]axos have produced the other sets of the Mannheim composer Franz Ignaz Beck’s collection of youthful symphonies op. 1, 3 and 4, so this recording I think must complete the major part of his symphonic output. All in three movements, the works are harmonically advanced for their time (published in 1760 after Beck’s move to Marseilles) and are well worth exploring – far removed from the mundane work of many of the minor continental figures of the period. Most of the movements are for strings alone, though horns poke their noses in on rare occasions. Kevin Mallon produces some neat, stylish playing from his Canadian chamber band Thirteen Strings. A good, honest performance of some interesting music. Naxos’ usual “economy class” booklet contains an informative essay on the music.

Ian Graham-Jones

[wp-review]

George Clifford and Dominika Fehér violins, Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, The Amadè Players, Nicholas Newland
71:43
Resonus RES10157

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]usic history frequently reminds us of the place occupied by Mannheim in the development of the symphony, at the same time overlooking the equally important part played by composers based in Vienna. This appealing CD featuring three composers who made important contributions to the early symphony should help redress the balance. The most senior of the trio is Karl Ordonez, born in Vienna in 1734, whose C major symphony is also the most old-fashioned of the works recorded here. Scored for strings alone and cast in four brief movements, it opens with a serious Adagio that still hints at contrapuntal writing. An Allegro driven by busy passage work is followed by an urbane Andante disrupted by dynamic contrasts, while the concluding Presto has the feel of a country dance. Nicholas Newland’s informative notes are a little dismissive, but I find it a rather engaging work.

Less so to my mind is the Concerto for two violins in C by Carl Dittters (von Dittersdorf), also a native of Vienna and today probably best remembered for being one of the famous string quartet that included Haydn and Mozart as well as the Bohemian-born Wanhal (Vaňhal). Dittersdorf was also the author of a charming autobiography, his music always striking me as accurately reflecting his good-natured writing. The present concerto opens with a march-like Maestoso that adds spice by adding minor inflections, before progressing to an easy going Adagio that intersperses cantabile writing with little passages of dialogue for the soloists. The final Presto is more ambitious in scale, with a long orchestral introduction. Like the concerto as a whole it includes much writing for the solo instruments together, giving more the impression of a concertante than a genuine concerto. Odd moments of suspect intonation aside, it is given a fine performance by George Clifford and Dominika Fehér.

The remaining three pieces are by Johann Baptist Wanhal, born in 1739, the same year as Dittersdorf. Much the finest work on the disc is his Symphony in A minor (Bryan a2). Newland has edited a new version of the symphony which he claims restores two (of four) horn parts and the Minuet. Both however were included on the recording by Concerto Köln, whose performance may be preferred by some for its finish and greater tautness. That said, the Amadè Players well capture the typical minor mode intensity of the opening Allegro Moderato, a movement with an impressive development. Given that it adopts dance rhythms and is predominately chordal, the second movement is rather curiously headed ‘Cantabile’, while the Minuet reverts to the minor. The final Allegro opens with hushed expectation before its four-chord motif is repeated forte to announce a movement of dynamic drama that enters ever more turbulent territory as it progresses.

The Violin Concerto in B flat (Weinmann IIb:Bb1) opens impressively with a long orchestral statement before the soloist enters with the same material. The central section includes some bravura writing, while the succeeding Adagio introduces attractive cantabile writing and the final Allegro steps out brightly to introduce a movement that develops with considerable inventiveness. Clifford again gives a fine performance, though his cadenza outstays its welcome. Unusually for a programme otherwise devoted to orchestral works the final work is choral, one of two Requiems in E flat Wanhal apparently composed in memory of his parents. This one is much the less ambitious, a brief work without solo contributions and featuring simple homophonic, at times unison, writing for the choir. The mood throughout is one of sweetly expressed tenderness, the effect touching. The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge would not I imagine consider itself among the elite of Oxbridge choirs, but it copes well enough with the modest demands of the work, some imprecise ensemble notwithstanding. Otherwise the performances, which feature very good orchestral playing, are directed by Newland with a sure and idiomatic hand.

Brian Robins

[wp-review]