Tag: Baroque

Le Banquet Celeste, Damien Guillon, alto, director
128:00 (2 CDs in a box)
Alpha 426

Born in Venice around 1670 and trained as a chorister at St Mark’s, Antonio Caldara would become an exceptionally prolific composer, even by the standards of the Baroque, the author of output that included more than 75 operas and about 40 oratorios. The majority of the latter were sumptuous, large-scale works composed during the period Caldara was employed as vice-Kapellmeister to the Emperor Charles VI in Vienna (1716-1736). Maddalena ai Piedi di Cristo (Magdalene at the feet of Christ), however, was one of the earliest, having been given in Venice probably in 1697 or 1698.

Cast in two parts, the text of Maddalena is an allegory that follows the favourite Baroque conceit of presenting the central character with a moral dilemma, in this case, the choice between earthly pleasures (Amor Terreno), and heavenly redemption (Amor Celeste). The two characters are engaged throughout the oratorio in a battle for the soul of Mary Magdalene, who as a repentant sinner is torn by conflict. In addition to these protagonists, three further characters have a subsidiary role: Marta the righteous sister of Mary, a cynical Pharisee and Christ himself. While not without its weaknesses, Caldara’s music both captures the many moods and emotions of Mary and the adversarial battle between the two allegorical characters with a devotion and fervour not always evident in those of the composer’s later works I’ve heard. While many of the arias are scored for continuo only, accompanied arias and orchestral ritornellos demonstrate clearly Caldara’s skill as a contrapuntist (much put to use in Vienna, where the emperor was a lover of strict counterpoint) owes much to his supposed teacher, Legrenzi. Also notable are two arias including a cantabile obbligato role for cello, a reminder that it was Caldara’s own instrument.

The new recording faces stiff competition from a 1996 harmonia mundi set under the direction of René Jacobs, not surprisingly given that his set featured such luminaries as Maria Cristina Kiehr, Bernarda Fink and Andreas Scholl. It is one of the treasures of the early music catalogue. Happily, Le Banquet Celeste’s vitally performed and vividly projected set need have no fear of its august predecessor. From the outset Damien Guillon’s direction probes the oratorio’s inner spirit, the leisurely pace of some of his tempos suggesting that there is the odd aria where he perhaps loves the music a little too much, Maddalena’s heart-achingly lovely ‘In lagrime stemprato’ being a case in point. As it has to be, the performance is dominated by Emmanuelle de Negri’s immensely empathetic Maddalena. Her soprano is a lovely instrument, its fast vibrato only helping to create for its character an appropriate impression of vulnerability. In keeping with the remainder of the cast, her ornamentation in da capo repeats is invariably appropriate, though as usual the trill is largely a notable absentee from the proceedings. This is especially aggravating as de Negri shows (as in ‘Diletti, non più vanto) she can sing a trill, albeit a shallow one. As the adversaries fighting for her soul, both Benedetta Mazzucato (Amor Terreno), a true contralto, and alto and director Damien Guillon (Amor Celeste) are excellent, while Maïlys De Villoutrey’s sweetly expressive Marta is enchanting. Riccardo Novaro brings a powerful bass to the Pharisee, while the experienced tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen is a positive Christ. A word of praise, too, for the clear diction and insightful approach to the text brought by all the singers, not always gainsaid with allegorical librettos that today can seem arcane or even irrelevant. Less praiseworthy was the unnecessary decision to omit the da capo repeats of two arias.

While the new recording cannot and does not displace the Jacobs, it is worthy to stand alongside it. That in itself is high praise; we are lucky to have two such outstanding recordings of this lovely work.

Brian Robins

To make your choice even more difficult, harmonia mundi has re-released the benchmark René Jacobs recording (HMM 935221.22, 126:27, 2 CDs in a card tryptch).

Brian Clark

Vincent Lauzer recorders, Arion Orchestre Baroque, dir. Alexander Weimann
65:12
ATMA ACD2 2760

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ancy a glide down the Grand Canal with some wonderful Venetian sunshine glinting off the water in shimmering reflections, then this marvellous recording will not disappoint; even the familiar works are played with poise and fine articulation without any blistering speeds that boggle the mind and defy one’s ears, or vice versa! The impeccable balance between the soloist and superbly responsive orchestra is felt at every step, along with the unforced excellence in capturing Vivaldi’s splendid virtuosic contours for both alto and sopranino recorders. The concerto transposed in F (Track 9-11) RV312R is an arrangement of the G major Violin concerto RV312 by Jean Cassignol, and it works especially well, so too the wonderfully atmospheric “La Notte” on alto recorder, which loses nothing of that spectral feel. It is particularly pleasing to have these works gathered together for comparison and variation. RV441 (circa 1728) is a real tour de force  with unfurling ritornelli and incredibly challenging solo passages, which can go easily astray or be over-played! RV442 in F major written a little earlier, between 1724-1729, the later date reflecting the date of publication of the closely related RV434 (with Largo e cantabile  in G minor), the fifth work from the Op. 10 set of concerti, finds a more tender, subdued mood, again beautifully captured by the mellifluence of soloist Vincent Lauzer, and the closely supportive Arion orchestre baroque; the recorded sound is as radiant as the music… bathing in that bright Venetian sunshine!

David Bellinger

Jadran Duncumb baroque lute
57:19
Audax Records ADX13713

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or his first solo CD Jadran Duncumb has recorded music by Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) and Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750), composers who were good friends, and worked together as musicians in Dresden. Tracks 1-2 are from a manuscript (Leipzig, Musikbibliothek der Stadt, Becker III.11.46b) of four keyboard sonatas by Hasse intabulated for the lute (https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/198727/6/0/): “IV Suonate di Hasse accommodate per il Liuto fatte per La Real Delfina di Francia”. The dedicatee was Maria Josepha of Saxony, daughter of Frederick Augustus II, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. In 1747 she married the French Dauphin Louis Ferdinand and became mother to three kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. The original keyboard setting for some of the sonatas is given towards the end of the manuscript, but there is none for the fourth Sonata, the one recorded as a world premiere by Jadran Duncumb. However, the keyboard setting can be found on IMSLP (search for “Hasse, Johann Adolf” and “2 Sonate da camera per cembalo solo”). Duncomb sticks closely to the 18th-century intabulation for the Allegretto, adding his own tasteful decorations for repeated sections, which includes re-instating two answering phrases in the bass, which the intabulator had omitted to make the piece easier to play. Duncumb re-instates much that was left out of the Allegro, in particular pairs of thirds, turning it into a particularly difficult piece, which he plays with panache. Maria Josepha would have been impressed.

Tracks 10-12 are another keyboard sonata by Hasse in an arrangement for baroque lute. Both settings are in the same manuscript, Becker III.11.46c. The arranger intabulates the melody down an octave, which takes it as low as the 7th course on the lute. Many of the bass notes are intabulated down an octave too, resulting in a low tessitura, with the low, unstopped diapasons very much in evidence. Duncumb does well to maintain clarity at this end of the lute’s range, but he cannot prevent long open strings ringing on, muddying the water, particularly in fast passages. (A little Blu-Tack on the strings at the bridge might have helped.) Triplet semiquavers race effortlessly up and down the neck, and there are pleasing contrasts of loud and soft passages. His Allegro is spot on – fast, exciting, with lots of impetus to please a foot-tapping audience, yet far from mechanical, with subtle give and take between delicate well-shaped phrases, and somehow he manages to squeeze in some slick ornaments. Towards the end are three extraordinary bars of arpeggiated demisemiquavers, followed by a final flourish to top f”. As with all treble notes, the 18th-century arranger intabulates these last notes down an octave, but Duncumb will have none of it. He restores the original keyboard pitch, and shoots up to the 12th fret of his lute, where he waits with a dramatic pause before descending for the final cadence. It is a stunning performance. The Moderato is characterised by a succession of Scottish snaps, some of which he converts into triplets, together with a variety of extra notes, ornaments and fast little runs, to enhance the repeats. The Presto proceeds at a good pace, although at that speed many of the low, unstopped strings are a blur.

There are three items by Silvius Leopold Weiss. The first is the Sonata in D minor (SW35), noticeably different in texture from the Hasse pieces, because it was composed for the lute, not adapted from keyboard music. There is a welcome freshness and clarity of line, enhanced by Duncumb’s 13-course lute built by Tony Johnson, as Weiss exploits the full range of the instrument. This Sonata is one of Weiss’s mature works, with some extraordinary shifts of harmony in the Allemande, Adagio, followed by a lengthy Courante. it is a fine Sonata full of surprises and imaginative changes of direction. Duncumb gives the final Allegro the passion of Beethoven at his fieriest. The other Weiss pieces are the well-known Passacaglia in D major (SW 18/6) and the Prelude in C minor (SW 27/1). The latter is listed correctly in the liner notes, but incorrectly on the back cover.
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Unfortunately there is a downside to this recording. I admire Duncumb’s skill, his impeccable technique, and his mature understanding of the music he plays. He really is a fine player, playing with sensitivity and vitality, yet his performance is marred by his loud, heavy breathing. Even before the first note sounds, he starts frantically gasping for air as if he were in danger of drowning, and the noise continues unabated up to the last note. When the music is over, the gasping stops, and he returns to normal. I don’t suppose he gasps like that when he plays football, so why do it playing the lute? It is an unwelcome distraction, and I sincerely hope he can do something to curtail it.

Stewart McCoy