Tag: Baroque

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Adriatic Voyage

CD cover Adriatic Voyage Marian Consort Illyria Consort

Seventeenth-century music from Venice to Dalmatia
The Marian Consort, dir. Rory McCleery | The Illyria Consort, dir Bojan Čičić
58:26
Delphian DCD34260

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The premise behind this excellent recording is simple: it traces the musical connections between Venice and its dominions on the Dalmatian coast. The detailed booklet describes the historical background and the music presented. And what music! The five singers of The Marian Consort are individually very stylish singers, not afraid of using vibrato ornamentally but never allowing it to impact the tuning of their faultless ensemble singing. The aptly named Illyria Consort provides both the harmonic support the singers need in their solos and duets, and the glitter in the larger pieces, with Čičić’s violin and Gawain Glenton’s cornetto stylishly improvising around their lines. I was surprised to discover that only four of the 18 tracks are premiere recordings, but then with music of this quality (and there are some stunning pieces, such as Jelich’s beautiful tenor duet, Bone Jesu) it should not have come as a shock. Topped an tailed by arguably the best-known Dalmatian composer of the day, Francesco Usper (aka Sponga), this disc deserves all the awards it will undoubtedly garner.

Brian Clark

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Buxtehude: Trio sonatas op. 2

CD cover Arcangelo Buxtehude

Arcangelo (Sophie Gent violin, Jonathan Manson viola da gamba, Thomas Dunford lute, Jonathan Cohen harpsichord)
71:25
Alpha Records aplha 738

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It is fascinating to see how the exploration of the music of Buxtehude, at one point known mainly as a composer of keyboard music, has widened our perception of this all-round Baroque genius. His contribution to the trio sonata is indeed profound, and this spirited recording of his opus 2 (BUXWV 259-265) by the four musicians of Arcangelo serves further to enhance his reputation. The combination of violin and gamba, with lute and harpsichord on the continuo, frees up the lute to contribute catchy cross-rhythms while at the same time adding substance to the accompaniments, while the contrasting timbres and ranges of the two ‘melody’ instruments is exploited to the full. Buxtehude’s flair for inventive melodic shapes, as well as his consummate craftsmanship, are very evident in this set, and these wonderfully musical performances by Arcangelo bring out the many charms of this remarkable ground-breaking repertoire. Notwithstanding their opus numbers, this and Buxtehude’s other set of seven trio sonatas (opus 1) are works of his maturity composed in the 1690s when the composer was in his 60s. So they benefit from a lifetime’s compositional experience, but more remarkably there is a stunning spontaneity and quirkiness, more readily associated with the music of youth. There are many ways into the fascinating world of the Baroque Trio Sonata, but there are few more enticing pathways than these relatively early examples, and specifically these vibrant performances.

D. James Ross

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Handel: Messiah

Floral design

Eboracum Baroque, Chris Parsons
132:08 (2 CDs in a card triptych)
1 98000 82190 6

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Whenever I am presented with a new version of a frequently-recorded work such as Messiah, my first question has to be what does this performance add to the body of existing recordings? After I have expressed my admiration for this project, conducted under the most difficult pandemic conditions and representative of the sort of ‘can-do’ attitude which has seen us through the worst of Covid restrictions, I have to report that this recording doesn’t really add much at all. Although its virtues are several, the problems with it are – I fear – predominant. It is a reduced-forces performance (the oboes are dropped and everything else is one-to-a-part), by its own admission unlike any performance from Handel’s time, providing us with what the performers hope will be ‘an exciting take on Handel’s masterpiece’. While the singing of a line-up of young soloists, who double as chorus, is generally perfectly presentable and the instrumental playing is effectively detailed, the latter is underpowered and the former is undistinguished – and neither of these features is adequate in a field of superb performances. While audiences would have been forgiving of the occasional blurring due to social distancing in a live performance, this is harder to condone or live with in a recording. Problems are compounded with the ‘popping’ of a mic in several of the choral tracks. I wanted to be more positive about this crowd-funded recording by what is clearly an enterprising and excitingly talented young ensemble out of York University, but perhaps pressing ahead with a recording of an established classic in these far from conducive conditions was a mistake.

D. James Ross

 

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À sa guitare

CD cover A sa guitare

Philippe Jaroussky, Thibaut Garcia
69:03
Erato 0 190295 005702

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This eclectic CD seems to be the result of two musicians ‘clicking’ and enjoying making music together – and this enthusiasm infuses the wide range of repertoire represented here. While Jaroussky’s countertenor voice is largely associated with music of the Baroque, Thibaut Garcia plays a modern guitar and the pair range throughout the entire history of music from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Curiously, the earliest repertoire (Dowland and Purcell) and the latest repertoire (Poulenc, Granados, Rodriguez, and Britten) sound the most effective, while the classical and romantic music is more problematic. Perhaps this is less due to the arrangements for guitar, which are surprisingly effective, than to the appropriateness of the countertenor voice for this repertoire. Schubert’s Erlkönig is a case in point. The contrasting use of different registers in the original is turned on its head, while the guitar struggles to portray the pounding hooves of the horse with anything like the drama of Schubert’s original writing. I remember attending a performance by the countertenor Andreas Scholl of romantic Lieder, and I had exactly the same reservations about that. It seems inevitable that specialists in the music of a particular period find the grass greener in unrelated periods. This CD is evidence that, while the musicians may be superb exponents of their art, such explorations can only be partly successful. And then again, the lovely modern ballad Septembre by Barbara works superbly well – perhaps the mistake was feeling the need to spread themselves across the history of music, rather than finding truly sympathetic repertoire. To end on a positive note, the two musicians’ musical rapport and superb musicality emanate from every track, and the repertoire which does work is beautifully executed.

D. James Ross

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Eredità Galanti

Eredità Galanti

Alberto Gaspardo organ
56:40
Barcode 8 05571 5 60000 9
SFB Records 002

Available from: accademia.superfluminababylonis@gmail.com

Like so many other musicians in the early 18th century, the Venetian-born Giovanni Battista Pescetti found his way to London in search of a career. The fact that he wrote so extensively for keyboard takes us back to his ancestry, and specifically his father Giaconto Pescetti, who was custodian of the organs in San Marco, and a famous builder of organs. One of the many delights of this CD is that the son’s music is played on an instrument built by the father. As the title of the CD suggests, Pescetti’s music is predominantly in the galant style, and as the excellent programme note points out his cantabile movements are particularly charming. The Pescetti organ in the Chiesa di S. Giacomo Apostolo in Polcenigo offers a pleasing range of stops, of which the organist Alberto Gaspardo makes full use. The decision to complete the programme with works by two composers born in 1991, Roberto Squillaci and Nathan Mondry, may have proved risky, except that the two young composers are clearly well-versed in Pescetti’s music and seem to be commenting on the galant style – while the latter is writing a form of pastiche, the former has a more pungent, angular response to Pescetti’s sound-world. Compared to the organ music of the Baroque and the Romatic eras. galant organ music of the 18th century is often overlooked, and it is a genuine delight to hear a programme like this, imaginatively and musically presented, and including modern works which comment so intelligently and sympathetically on the earlier repertoire.

D. James Ross

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I put a spell on you

I put a spell on you cover

Body & Soul Consort
47:41
E-Label: bellesecouteuses.com

Well… I approached this CD with an open mind, and if I could have selected my favourite bits I would have been writing quite a positive review of about ten minutes of music. This would have consisted of some lovely singing of 17th-century material by Ellen Giacone, accompanied by archlute, cornet and gamba. Unfortunately, this was not possible as, in addition to being interspersed by 1940s and 50s numbers, the early material had a habit of being invaded by drumkit and bass guitar, as if they had been waiting for centuries for this treatment. While the ‘early’ material is relatively inoffensive, the later material does not really lend itself to performance on a mixture of early and modern instruments, while the crossover treatment is often just silly. I usually complete the headings of my reviews after I have written the review itself, and it is quite some time since I have noted with relief the brevity of a CD. I can’t imagine who will want to buy this curious CD, but if 17th–/20th-century fusion is your thing, knock yourself out.

D. James Ross

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Vivaldi: Entre Ombre et Lumière

CD cover Vivaldi entre ombre et lumière Ensemble Baroque de Toulouse

Caroline Champy Tursun mezzo-soprano, Ensemble Baroque de Toulouse, Michel Brun
61:02

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This CD features Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater RV 621, sung by mezzo-soprano Caroline Champy Tursun, who also supplies a selection of arias from Bajazet, Giustino, Farnace and Orlando furioso, while the ensemble’s director appears as flute soloist in the flute Concerto Il Gardellino and the strings contribute the Sinfonia al Santo Sepolcro Rv 169. Recorded using a system called ECA in the Chapelle Notre-Dame-d’Alet, the performance is extraordinarily vivid – to my ear, unsettlingly so! As most of the orchestral playing is one-to-a-part and the default approach is distinctly ‘choppy’, I found the occasional legato sections, as in the slow movement of the flute concerto, a blessed relief, while much of Tursun’s singing was also pleasantly musical. The presentation of the package is distinctly odd – I still haven’t found a record label or a number, so have stated the group’s website in its place, although that doesn’t appear to be on the package either. The single CD is attached to the bottom of a box, which accommodates a huge folded sheet of programme notes, like a motoring map and for all its size only in French. Of course, this eccentric presentation need not put anyone off purchasing this CD, except that it is a reflection of the eccentricity of the performance, which seemed to go out of its way to distort Vivaldi’s music in a variety of ways. I have mentioned the persistent choppiness, and in the Sinfonia Al Santo Sepolcro a rather arch approach to the legato texture made this piece sound equally eccentric. Poor Vivaldi seems particularly open to ‘interpretation’, to the extent that it is quite unusual to hear his music given a good straightforward performance. It is probably true that Vivaldi is played too much, but rather than finding some new spurious approach to his music, why not turn to his less frequently played contemporaries? The present forces could easily have presented fine performances of these pieces, but seemed too intent upon being quirky.

D. James Ross

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Sopra La Spagna

La Spagna, Alejandro Marías
74:42
Lukos records 5451CRE201665

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This celebration of the tune la spagna and its role throughout the history of music, opens paradoxically with a work which is not part of this tradition. The lament Triste España by Juan del Encina was composed to mark the death of Don Juan, the son of Ferdinand and Isabella, and I can’t hear it without recalling the searingly minimalist 1970s performance by Musica Reservata and the unrelenting voice of Jantina Noorman. In their instrumental rendition here, La Spagna manage a similar level of bleak integrity, appropriate perhaps for a project delayed by a global pandemic. What follows is a tour of la spagna-inspired music from throughout Europe, including a some newly conceived improvisations. There is some degree of variety amongst the historical la spagna settings, and the threat of turgidity is avoided, if occasionally only just. There is a certain degree of uniformity in the all-string rendition of much of this repertoire – perhaps a recorder might have lent a little textural variety? – but these are intense performances with integrity and considerable commitment. Particular highlights for me were the introduction of castanets into one of the modern improvisations, as well as the dynamic account of Tobias Hume’s Spanish Humor and the delightfully varied performance of Marin Marais’ Folies d’Espagne with which the programme concludes.

D. James Ross

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Locatelli: Sei Concerti a Quattro op. 7

CD cover Natale Arnoldi directs Locatelli Sei Concerti a Quattro op 7

Ensemble Baroque “Carlo Antonio Marino”, Natale Arnoldi
79:52
Tactus TC 691203

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By the time Locatelli published his opus 7 set of Concerti a Quatro in 1741 he was an established musician of European status living in Amsterdam, but having travelled widely throughout the continent. What is perhaps most striking is that although now of mature years, the composer was still experimenting with style and form, combining the rigours of counterpoint with the more gentle aspects of the galant style. The resulting compositions have a delightful freshness, which both look back at the music of the first half of the 18th century, but also anticipate mid-century developments which would come into fruition with the Mannheim school. The ensemble match the freshness of Locatelli’s compositions with a lovely spontaneity of performance, and some engaging incidental ornamentation. Hearing these vibrant accounts, it is surprising that Locatelli’s opus 7 concertos weren’t more successful as a publication. Perhaps the composer had left it too long since his previous publication, and the modest number of six pieces may also have put people off. It is surprising though that Locatelli’s public seemed unable to appreciate how these pieces simultaneously acknowledged the past and pointed to the future.

D. James Ross

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Sabine Devieihle: Bach · Handel

CD cover Sabine Devieihle sings Bach and Handel

Sabine Devieihle: Bach · Handel
Pygmalion, Raphael Pichon
83:37
Earto 1 90296 67786 1

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The stated aim of this CD is ‘to portray affliction and repentance as well as joy and desire through the works, sacred and profane,’ of Bach and Handel. This catch-all mission statement has the ring of something made up to try to cover an eclectic range of performances, and indeed that proves to be what we are presented with. However, the sweet-voiced Sabine Devielhe sings so expressively and exquisitely while the forces of Pygmalion make such a wonderfully effective contribution that it almost doesn’t matter that the thematic links may be a little tenuous. The programme provides beautiful performances of Bach’s cantatas BWV 51 and 199, as well as the Sinfonia from BWC 199 and the sacred song Mein Jesu was vor Seelenweh BWV 487. Perhaps the odd part of the programme is that where a further couple of Bach cantatas and sacred songs could have provided the balance, the performers turn instead to the oratorios and operas of Handel. We have two arias from the Brockes Passion, interspersed with two arias from Giulio Cesare, rounded off with the final aria from Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. Interestingly, the Brockes Passion finds Handel at his most Bachian, and the direct comparison that this juxtaposition invites is instructive. The impressive Devieilhe proves equally effective as a singer of Baroque opera, while her account of the concluding recit and aria from Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno is simply spellbinding. The concluding showpiece, BWV 51 Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, in which Devieilhe duets dramatically with Pygmalion’s trumpeter, Hannes Rux, is a suitably showy conclusion to this enjoyable and impressive CD. Raphael Pichon, who can on occasion be a bit of a showman, demonstrates here that he can direct with subtlety and refinement, allowing this powerful music to speak very much for itself.

D. James Ross