64:13
Les Esprits Animaux
Musica Ficta MF8029
It is straight away obvious when an ensemble has taken due care and attention over what they choose to present on their recording. Here Javier Lupiáñez and Les Esprits Animaux are to be commended for their smart choices. Straddled by two fairly familiar works, opening with “Concerto
David Bellinger
ensemble La Française
55:00
Polynie POL 503 314
Music by Bernier, Bourgeois & Mouret
Praise be! A soprano whose vibrato is not the most prominent feature of her sound!! Marie
David Hansell
Legrenzi | Bononcini | Scarlatti
Paper Kite
61:18
Coviello Classics COV91719
This disc is a first for Paper Kite, an ensemble whose main focus is on ‘the various European traditions of the
David Hansell
Kreeta-Maria Kentala, Lauri Pulakka, Mitzi Meyerson
124:12 (2 CDs in a wallet)
Glossa GCD921809
As both listener and performer I’ve encountered and enjoyed isolated sonatas by Francoeur before, so I wasn’t at all surprised by the entertainment provided by the whole of his Livre 1. After a period of study the composer (1698-1787!) joined the ‘24
David Hansell
The London String Quartet
145:21 (2 CDs in a single jewel case)
hyperion CDA68221
This is the seventh in a series that on completion will be a complete cycle of the Haydn string quartets played by the London Haydn Quartet (Catherine Manson and Michael Gurevich [violins], John Crockatt [viola] and Jonathan Manson [cello]). The second of two sets originally issued with a dedication to the Esterháza violinist Johann Tost, the six quartets of opus 64 were composed in 1790, being the last Haydn produced before the first of his London visits. To the great Haydn scholar H C Robbins Landon they represent the composers’ ‘greatest single achievement’ of the period, being ‘six flawless masterpieces’ and I for one am not inclined to disagree. Like the previous set composed for Tost (op 54 and 55) they are characterised by the prominence of the first violin part, and in particular the frequent examples of high lying writing, for the playing of which Tost was apparently especially noted. The famous example here is of course the imitation of the song of the lark in the opening movement of the eponymous D-major quartet (no. 5). It is therefore odd to find Richard Wigmore’s note asserting that there is no evidence to suggest that the first violin part was designed with Tost in mind.
There are, however, many more equally remarkable features in these wonderful quartets. The invention throughout maintains a remarkably high level, suggesting that even as he approached high maturity as a composer Haydn was still probing and experimenting with new ideas. One notes for example the extensive use of chromaticism, not infrequently combined with contrapuntal writing, or the greater freedom of continuing to develop themes in the recapitulation of sonata form movements – a characteristic more usually associated with Mozart than Haydn – as in the opening Allego con brio of the G-major quartet (no. 4), where the further variation of the opening motif is actually more interesting than the development itself. Equally noteworthy are the sublime cantabile movements of the same quartet and the ‘Lark’, the first a hymn-like tune later lovingly embellished, the latter another ineffably lovely movement that moves from its opening serenity to explore darker regions.
That movement, played and phrased with quite exquisite sensitivity, is one of the highpoints of a set of performance notable above all for their consistent musicality, a musicality that throughout eschews extremes of dynamics and tempo. They are indeed performances that stand at the opposite pole to such as those of the Chiaroscuro Quartet, to whose attention-grabbing and excitingly insightful Haydn I have devoted several reviews on this site. That is certainly not intended as criticism of the London Haydn Quartet, though there are occasions when they might have made rather more of the composer’s dynamic contrasts. But there is certainly no lack of character, as the witty, fleet playing the Presto finale of the E-flat quartet (no. 6) or the Mendelssohnian lightness of touch and precise articulation of the final Vivace of the ‘Lark’ convincingly demonstrate.
The use of a set of parts from an 18th century edition by the London publisher Forster is curious, not least because the notes tell us nothing about it, not even its date. It is not among editions mentioned by Robbins Landon, who lists as an ‘authentic British edition’ only a publication of the quartets published by Bland in 1791. Obviously I have no means of comparing it with my version of the quartets (Dover). I did however note several instances where second half repeat indications of sonata form movements vary, for example in the Quartet in C (no. 1), where no repeat is called for at the end of the opening movement, but given here, while the final movement does call for one in the Dover score, but it is not given here.
Ultimately, of course, such things are of little concern, particularly in the face of such quietly rewarding performances, recorded with the same refreshing lack of ostentation that is a principal feature of the playing.
Brian Robins
Edited by Elizabeth C. Ford
Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era, 205
xvi+3+186pp
ISBN 978-1-9872-0057-7
A-R Editions, Inc. $180.00
This volume contains two sets of Six Sonatas for Two German Flutes, or Two Violins and a Bass (1729 & 1734), the sole surviving Traverso Primo of third set (1745), as well as Six Sonatas or Solos for a German Flute or Violin and a Bass (1740) and Six Sonatas for Two German Flutes (1748), arranged (apart from the fragment, which is consigned to an appendix) in chronological order.
As one would expect with music designed for the flute, sharp keys predominate; G minor appears twice and C minor only once. The sonatas have either three movements (a slower movement followed by two quicker ones) or four (broadly in the da chiesa form, though with some stylised dance movements thrown in for variety).
Ford’s introduction features a nice biography of the composer then deals with his music in general before discussing each of the original prints in turn. The edition is clean and clear; as usual with this series, the focus is on the music, not the presentation – a single system of a movement is printed after a page turn; a movement that would fit on two pages spreads over three (despite the fact that there is space on the last page) meaning anyone playing continuo has unnecessary turns. It puzzles me why, when these volumes can scarcely be called cheap, more care is not given to the aesthetics and practicality of actually performing the music. Surely a major reason for producing modern editions in the first place (in an age where more and more people are downloading facsimiles from free sites) is to make it accessible?
Brian Clark
London Baroque
568:25 (8 CDs in a box)
BIS-9050
This boxed set of 8 CDs is so much more than the sum of its parts. Over forty years, London Baroque has accrued experience at playing Baroque trio sonatas which is probably without parallel. This set could so easily have been a celebration of this substantial back
D. James Ross
Anja Lechner violoncello, Pablo Márquez guitar
56:51
ECM New Series ECM 2555
This CD presents a selection of music by Schubert arranged for cello and guitar framed by three Nocturnes actually composed for cello and guitar by Schubert’s contemporary Friedrich Burgmüller. As Schubert himself played the guitar and there was a degree of flexibility about instrumentation at this time, it is perfectly conceivable that Schubert’s songs might have been presented in this way. The arrangement of the ‘Arpeggione Sonata’ is also very effective, and Anna Lechner’s cello fairly sings the lyrical Adagio as it does the Romanze from Schubert’s Rosamunde. The ECM New Series recordings are famous for their clarity and for making listeners rethink standard classics, but in my experience they are also notorious for their rather nebulous programme notes – a note which begins ‘Franz Schubert never felt inwardly secure’ is always going to tell you more about the writer than about the composer or the music. Here we could have done with more background about the prominence of the guitar in Viennese chamber music of this period rather than a lot of psychobabble. Notwithstanding, this is a very pleasant CD providing genuine insights into the music of Schubert, and providing a rare platform for the charming music of Friedrich Burgmüller.
D. James Ross
Mélodies, Vocalises & Chants by Gounod, Meifred & Gallay
Anneke Scott horn, Steven Devine piano
75:57
(Also Bordogni and Panseron)
With this CD and its very readable notes by Anneke Scott, we are dropped into the midst of the mid-19th-century Parisian debate about the relative merits of the natural and valved horn. Active as horn teachers in Paris were Joseph-Emile Meifred and Jaques-Francois Gallay, the former represented here by a set of
D. James Ross
Phantasm73:10
Linn Records CKD 594
Of all the composers of Jacobean viol consort music, it seems to me that Matthew Locke is the one who makes most characteristic use of the viol while at the same time maintaining his roots firmly in the English idiom. The various four-part Suites and the two six-part Canons which Phantasm have chosen for this rich and varied programme show every aspect of Locke’s talent, ranging from music of profound intensity and seriousness to dancing episodes of felicitous energy. The sonorous texture of the viols is beautifully augmented by the theorbo of Elizabeth Kenny, which adds a percussive quality to the superbly smooth viol texture, points up the part writing and enriches the harmonies. These musicians are steeped in the music of this turbulent period, which saw the execution of a king, the temporary triumph of republicanism and then the restoration of
D. James Ross