Tag: Orchestral music

Categories
Recording

Mandolin on Stage

CD cover Mandolin on Stage Raffaele La Ragione Il Pomo d'Oro Francesco Corti

The Greatest Mandolin Concertos
Raffaele La Ragione, Il Pomo d’Oro, Francesco Corti
66:56
Arcana A524

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk
[Doing so helps us bring you these FREE reviews!]

This exciting and enjoyable CD of concertos for early mandolins begins with the well-known Concerto in C major (RV 425) by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Raffaele La Ragione plays a copy of a six-course Lombard mandolin built by Tiziano Rizzi after an original by Antonio Monzino (1792). It makes a bright, crisp sound which stands out from the group of accompanying instruments, but I would rather hear Vivaldi not played with a plectrum as La Ragione does, but rather with the right-hand fingers, which produce a sweeter more mellow sound. In his contribution to the book, The Early Mandolin, Early Music Series 9 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), page 38, James Tyler writes: “From the evidence examined so far, it is clear that finger-style playing was the norm for the mandolino in Italy, and I can find no evidence for plectrum-style playing until the second half of the eighteenth century.” However, La Ragione’s virtuosity and musicality are nevertheless impressive, and he brings life and vigour to his performance.

Il Pomo d’Oro is conducted by the harpsichord player, Francesco Corti, who adds his own embellishments, and keeps the ensemble tightly knit. The accompanying instruments from the group are two violins, viola, cello, double bass, harpsichord and theorbo. The theorbo is a welcome asset. It does much to create a warm, homogeneous sound. In the slow second movement the harpsichord drops out, and Miguel Rincon’s theorbo gently provides harmony, countermelodies, deep bass notes, and tasteful end-of-phrase fill-ins. Vivaldi’s third movement is typical of his style, with a plethora of broken chords, repeated notes, scalic passages, and round-the-clock chord progressions. Enjoy the third movement on YouTube.

There are seven items altogether: four concertos with a mandolin of some sort, interspersed with three items without mandolin. The first of the non-mandolin pieces is a lively Sinfonia in G major by Baldassarre Galuppi (1706-85). There is much repetition of four-bar phrases, and a lack of complex harmony and lyrical melodies. It is a romp designed to invigorate the soul. The other tracks without a mandolin are an Allegro presto from a Sinfonia in B flat major by Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816), and an Allegro from a Sinfonia in D major by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809).

The second concerto for mandolin is one in E flat major attributed to Paisiello. For this La Ragione plays a four-course Neapolitan mandolin by an anonymous Neapolitan maker c. 1770. Neapolitan mandolins are what most people today think of as mandolins. They have four courses of metal strings and are tuned in fifths. They are played with a plectrum, which gives a strong attack and enables super-fast tremolo notes. La Ragione’s instrument has a clear, full sound, which he uses to good effect, with a pleasing variety of tone and dynamic, particularly noticeable in a long unaccompanied passage towards the end of the second movement. The uplifting third movement is played with enthusiasm by soloist and orchestral members alike.

La Raggione also uses his Neapolitan instrument for a Mandolin Concerto in G major by Francesco Lecce (fl. 1750-1806). The second movement, Largo, is especially gratifying, with La Raggione’s bright, well-shaped phrases enhanced by the gentle notes of Rincon’s theorbo. The third movement, Allegro balletto, requires a fair amount of dexterity from La Ragione, with fast flurries of notes now in threes now in fours.

Another track to be found on YouTube is the Rondo from the Concerto in G major by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837). For this Concerto La Ragione plays a four-string Brescian mandolin by Lorenzo Lippi after a late 18th-century original by Carlo Bergonzi II. With its four single courses it has a more delicate sound than the Neapolitan mandolin, which La Ragione turns to his advantage. He is accompanied by a small orchestra, in which flutes, oboes, bassoons and horns are added to the strings and harpsichord. The extra instruments help to create a fuller sound, and provide a welcome contrast of timbres. What cheerful music this is.

Stewart McCoy

Categories
Recording

Vivaldi: 12 Concerti Di Parigi

CD cover Vivaldi 12 Concerti Di ParigiStefan Plewniak Orchestre de l'Opéra Royal

Venise – Vivaldi – Versailles No. 3
Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal, Stefan Plewniak
60:21
Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS065

To buy this recording on amazon.co.uk, click HERE.
[Sponsored links are the only source of income we have!]

Ten of the twelve concerti in this Paris manuscript are known from other sources, suggesting that the manuscript was drawn up at relatively short notice as a presentation piece for a potential patron. The set is associated with a visit to Trieste by the Austrian Emperor Charles VI, in whose retinue was the keen amateur violinist Franz Stephan, who seems to have acquired the set. This perhaps explains why they are all ‘ripieni’ concerti, spotlighting the whole ensemble rather than a soloist. The subsequent enormous popularity of Vivaldi’s music in France can hardly be put down to these concerti, as they lack the sparkle and originality of several of the master’s other manuscripts and publications. Plewniak and his orchestral forces seem determined to make up for the risk of any musical mundanity with the sheer energy of their performance – however, this seems frequently to err on the side of aggression. Each energetic track is preceded by what sounds like a sharp intake of breath from all concerned, while the percussive attack on the stringed instruments is given further edge by some very choppy guitar playing. It is a pity that this element of aggression is allowed to creep into these performances, as many of the more relaxed movements are lyrically and tastefully presented. I don’t want to sound too unenthusiastic about this latest in a series of thought-provoking recordings to emanate from the Palace of Versailles, but at the same time it seems part of a fashion of ‘overplaying’ Vivaldi, when often his music should be allowed to speak more for itself.

D. James Ross

Categories
Recording

Schubert: Complete Symphonies & Fragments

Schubert Complete symphonies and fragments

L’Orfeo Barockorchester, Michi Gaigg
277:25 (4 CDs in a double jewel box)
cpo 555 228-2

Click HERE to buy this at amazon.co.uk
[These sponsored links keep this site FREE]

Any project to record the complete Schubert symphonies is a challenge. He is famously the composer of an ‘unfinished’ symphony, but in fact Schubert was a serial ‘unfinisher’ of symphonic material, and even the total number and indeed the numbering of his complete symphonies are contested. In the early 1980s, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields recorded Schubert’s ‘10 Symphonies’, including impressive reconstructions by Brian Newbold using the surviving fragments. Subsequently, a number of period instrument ensembles have settled for the eight complete symphonies. The present recording takes an alternative approach, presenting the eight complete symphonies – renumbered so that the ‘Unfinished’ is now number 7 and the ‘Great’ is number 8 – as well as all the related surviving fragments and overtures. Some of these, such as D729 are substantial, in essence, a fair proportion of two movements, whereas others D74A are tiny, coming in in the middle of the action and then cut short. There is a definite academic interest in hearing any orchestral sketches Schubert left behind, and once you are prepared for the shock of a section cutting off in mid-flow, they do also make interesting listening. Besides, you can always select only the complete symphonies to listen to if that is what you want. These are live recordings, with some retakes added later, and have all the excitement of the concert performance about them. Just occasionally there are tuning issues, fluffs, and some extraneous noises, but nothing to interfere with the overall enjoyment. Michi Gaigg’s direction finds the magic in even the slightest of fragments, and she and her forces rise well to the challenge and scale of the later symphonies. She also has an unerring instinct for tempo, and has an excellent line-up of woodwind principals to take full advantage of Schubert’s famously rewarding woodwind solos. I am not sure how often I will be listening to the fragments, but these definitely do inform what I think are excellent accounts of the complete symphonies.

D. James Ross

Categories
Recording

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

Click HERE to buy this album on amazon
[Doing so supports the artists, the record company and keeps this site available – if no-one buys, no money is made and the site will disappear…]

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

Categories
Recording

Concertos pour violon

CD cover Ensemble Diderot Concertos pour violon

The beginnings of the violin concerto in France
Ensemble Diderot, Johannes Pramsohler
70:13
Audax Records ADX13782

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk
[These sponsored links support the artistes AND keep this site FREE!]

Don’t let the disc’s title fool you into thinking that this repertoire is in any sense less than fully-formed. The names of Leclair and Corrette should inspire some confidence (as should that of the principal soloist and his ensemble) and their colleagues are not so very far behind.

Inevitably, the Italian concerto concept was viewed in France with no little suspicion, but determined and talented composers and the need for material to play at the increasingly popular public concerts (where operatic extracts were not permitted) combined to produce a body of accomplished music, from which we hear well-chosen highlights (though always complete works).

If the Leclair (world première recording, as is the Exaudet – both in E flat, curiously) is the stand-out, I also greatly enjoyed the Concerto in A by Jean-Baptiste Quentin. This is more of a sonata da chiesa with a very florid top line, though the opening contrapuntal largo is really lovely. The strong stylistic contrast of the concluding Corrette concerto comique is a brilliant piece of programming.

To be sure, there are moments when the influence of Corelli and Vivaldi is all too apparent, but that is also true in Bach and Handel. And the playing – chamber-scale forces – is absolutely first-class in every respect. This will not surprise those familiar with Ensemble Diderot’s discography.

The booklet essay (in English, French, German & Japanese) actually tells us about the music (a welcome change) as well as its context, though there is no information about the players beyond their names. But the ensemble’s website will tell you all you need to know.

David Hansell

Categories
Recording

Au goût Parisien

CD cover Haydn 2032 vol 11 Au gout parisien

Haydn 2032, vol. 11
Kamerorchester Basel, Giovanni Antonini
80:27
Alpha Classics Alpha 688

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk
[This is you ONLY means of supporting us – and, of course, the musicians! Sponsored links like this keep the site free to access, although it actually costs us money to run…]

One of the greatest pleasures of my current reviewing activities is the arrival of a new CD in Alpha’s Haydn 2032 series. In this cycle, Giovanni Antonini is leading either his own Il Giardino Armonico or the Kammerorchester Basel through an intégrale of the composer’s symphonies scheduled for completion in time for the 300th anniversary of his death in 2032. The performances to date have been notable for the happy alternation of dynamic energy and subtly delicate colouring Antonini brings to the works, qualities enhanced by the conductor’s unusually acute ear for orchestral balance.

Not unexpectedly these features are again to the fore in the latest issue.  Unlike most of the previously issued recordings that also either introduced works by Haydn’s contemporaries or non-symphonic works by the composer, this concerns itself solely with four of his symphonies composed over a period of some twenty years. The title given to the disc requires little explanation as to the inclusion of Symphonies  82 in C, ‘L’Ours’ [the Bear] and 87 in A since they are respectively the first and last of the set Haydn composed in 1785 and 1786 as the result of a commission from the Concert de la Loge Olympique in Paris, at the time one of the oldest and most esteemed concert giving organisations in Europe. The inclusion of Symphonies 2 in C and 24 in D as being in the ‘Parisien taste’ is not so obvious, but explained by the fact that the first was the first Haydn symphony to be printed in Paris, while anecdotal evidence suggests that the D-major was almost certainly the first to be performed at the Concert de la Loge (in 1773).

The orchestra of Concert de la Loge was far larger than any for which Haydn had previously written, boasting some 40 violins and ten double basses. So it is hardly surprising he kicked off the sextet of symphonies for  the organisation with one of his grandest ceremonial C-major symphonies, a work sadly compromised by the inappropriate nickname given it in the 19th century. That may also account for the choice of modern-instrument Kammerorchester Basel for this issue, since although not as well-proportioned as the forces listed above it here boasts a handsomely-sized string section that, as usual, plays for Antonini with minimum vibrato. The opening of the Vivace, replete with thundering timpani and blazing brass, has an electrifying, visceral excitement that barely lets up throughout the movement, while in the finale the heavy drone dance that inspired the work’s nickname is played with such unbuttoned, bucolic fervour as to put the sedate reputation of the Swiss at risk. By contrast, the dance-like rhythms of the subject of the variations that form the Allegretto second movement are given the lightest of textures, while the Menuet has a trio that is one of several passages that allow the outstanding wind players of the Basel orchestra to shine.

The A-Major Symphony is more modestly scored without trumpets and drums, its opening Vivace articulated with a pointed rhythmic verve that brings to mind the opera house, its secondary idea another passage of the finest filigree texture. The following Adagio is one of the rare places where I differ from Antonini’s idea of tempo, being taken excessively slowly, but it is impossible to deny the beauty of the solo oboe’s love song or indeed the translucent concertante writing for the Harmoniemusik. The finale is a superb movement, again bristling with good-humoured vitality but allowing for momentary darker thoughts in the contrapuntal development.

The two symphonies from the early 1760s are much slighter, no. 2 having only three brief movements and being reminiscent of mid-century Italian opera overtures of composers such as Jommelli. The D-Major is primarily notable for its beguiling Adagio, a cantabile movement that is in effect a long-breathed love song for flute, here played with affectionate sensitivity. In sum, this is a splendid addition to a cycle distinguished above all by its vivid, life-enhancing spontaneity. 

Brian Robins

Categories
Recording

The Proust Album

CD cover of Shani Diluka The Proust Album

Shana Diluka piano, with Nathalie Dessay soprano, Pierre Fouchenneret violin, Guillaume Galliene speaker, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Hervé Niquet
81:52
Warner Classics 0190296676253

Click HERE to buy this album on amazon
[Doing so supports the artists, the record company and keeps this site available – if no-one buys, no money is made and the site will disappear…]

There is nothing either ‘Early Music’ or HIP here, but an important aspect of the EM movement has been the research and revival of repertoire that is forgotten/unknown yet worthwhile and it is in that spirit that we give this Proust-themed (ie music he liked) miscellany a brief notice. Reynaldo Hahn’s piano concerto was a welcome surprise, Wagner’s tiny Elegy (solo piano, as is most of the programme) intriguing, and the world premiere recording of Richard Strauss’s elaborately textured Nocturno should draw deserved attention to this relatively recent discovery.

The main essay (in French, English and German) stays on the right side of the informative/philosophical border though there is nothing about the artists. But if you feel like a wander away from your normal HIP path, there is much to enjoy here.

David Hansell

Categories
Recording

The Taste of this Nation

CD cover The Taste of this Nation Spiritato

Clara Hendrick mezzo-soprano, Spiritato directed by Kunga Ujszászi
74:26
Delphian DCD34236

Click HERE to buy this on amazon.co.uk
[These sponsored links help the site remain alive and FREE!]

With this imaginative CD Spiritato open a window on the London music scene just prior to the arrival there of Handel. Resident musicians such as the three represented here were already introducing the Italian taste to the English – it has to be said that they are very much ‘silver’ composers, and I found myself constantly wondering what a first-rater like Purcell would have been writing in their place had he survived. Perhaps the best known of our trio, and probably the best composer among them, is Prussian-born London resident Pepusch, whose four cantatas beautifully sung by Clara Hendrick vividly bring the scene to life, and directly prefigure the operatic world of Handel. The most striking of these is his ‘While pale Britania sate’, the very impressive precursor of so many similarly patriotic numbers by Handel and in which Hendrick duets stirringly with the group’s trumpeter, William Russell. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me were the Concerti Grossi of Obadiah Shuttleworth, music I was completely unfamiliar with. Perhaps wisely relying on the inventiveness of Corelli, Shuttleworth reworks this composer’s op 5 Violin Sonatas into very effective concerti grossi. In doing so, he usefully introduces Corelli’s music to London, but more than that he too is preparing the way for the greater master to come, Handel and his ground-breaking op 6 Concerti Grossi. Of the three composers represented here, the most English and the one who owes most to the previous generation of English composers is William Corbett. There are constant echoes of Purcell, although his Sonata for Oboe and Trumpet recalls the work of the Czech-born but London resident Godfrey Finger. With these wonderfully passionate performances, Kinga Ujszászi and Spiritato prove powerful advocates of this largely unfamiliar music, and make a powerful case that even in the few years between the death of Purcell and the arrival of Handel England was anything but a ‘Land ohne Musik’.

D. James Ross

Categories
Recording

Lully’s followers in Germany

Lully's followers in Germany

El Gran Teatro del Mundo
68:24
Ambronay AMY314

Click HERE to buy this album on amazon
[These sponsored links help the site remain alive and FREE!]

At first glance it may seem odd to have a Telemann ouverture-suite alongside works by the first-wave of lullists in germanic lands, but this is a perfect lesson in musicology, where the date that a work was copied does not imply its actual date of inception. This particular suite (TWV55: Es4) belongs to a small handful to have been transmitted through keyboard settings, some just a few movements (TWV55: E1 and E2) that long pre-date the copied versions; here we know that Bach’s eldest brother, Johann Christoph made a complete keyboard copy in the “Andreas Bach book” c.1708-12. Thus, the original may be from Telemann’s student days in Leipzig (1701-5) or when he was in the employ of count Erdmann von Promnitz at Sorau (1705-8). Compilations of Lully’s works first began to appear in 1682, when Jean Philippe Heus published two collections called: Ouvertures avec tous les airs, extracts from Cadmus et Hermione and Persée.

These works were the creative catalyst for the succession of germanic Lullistes to begin to capture the livel y“theatrical style” and place it into their own compositions; Kusser, Erlebach, Fischer, Fux, Muffat, Aufschnaiter and Steffani did just that. The early Telemann suite fits into this timeline just behind the first-wave of composers. Muffat studied under Lully for six years, and absorbed a great deal from source. This was at the very beginning of the vibrant cosmopolitan blend in music known as vermischter Geschmach or Gouts Réunis (“Mixed Taste”).

The disc opens with a fairly well known G-minor sonata (concerto grosso) from Muffat’s “Armonico tributo”, given a rather playful interpretation with fewer strings than we may have been accustomed to hearing, yet with attractive additions of oboe and recorder and an actively strumming theorbo to bolster the basso continuo section. The overall effect is much slighter, and the graves aren’t in any way onerous or overbearing.

Next the splendid Suite no1 in C from Fischer’s Journal du printemps (1695), again a lovely flowing, dulcet interpretation which makes for very clear melodic lines, especially in the unfolding final chaconne. Following on, another later Muffat work Nobilis Juventus from his 1698 Florilegium Secundum which does have a certain theatrical flair, well captured by the ensemble’s delicate tones.

Closing with the (nine-movement!) Telemann suite, originally for strings, we can hear the neat interplay of French, Italian and Polish elements from an early date. The Entree is a direct adoption from French opera, often employed for scenic changes. The menuets are wonderfully done here, before a far-too-ponderous, introspective reading of the loure (twice as long as the version on Carus 83.337!) followed by a vibrant italianate gigue, and a fine set of the bourrees. Next, a playful, neatly done polonaise and cheekily inserted “prelude” (Not original, not needed!) before the Aria, which I again felt was in too slow to be fully emotive. Lastly – in vivid contrast – the blithesome passepieds.

All are played with a polished delicatesse and relish, just waning in the latter slower movements of the final suite, yet overall capturing the essence of the emergent “mixed taste” with cosmopolitan flair.

David Bellinger

Categories
Recording

Jéliote, haute-contre de Rameau

Jéniote, haute-contre de Rameau (Mechelen)

Reinoud Van Mechelen, A nocte temporis
78:51
Alpha Classics Alpha 753

Click HERE to buy this recording on amazon.co.uk.
[These links are the only way you can support the site financially and keep it alive…]

CD booklets continue to amaze me, usually in a bad way. Here we have a recording (very good, by the way) in which the heroic tenor/haute-contre is also the musical director but he gets barely a line of credit and no biography. Fortunately Google can supply what Alpha denies us.

This recital surveys the career of Pierre de Jéliote, creator of more than 50 roles, interpreter of yet more, darling of the Opéra, all but indispensable to Rameau and one of the great singers of his day. The programme traces his career from Hippolyte et Aricie to Les Boréades and includes not only airs by Rameau but also by half a dozen of his contemporaries. And there is also an item by M. de Jéliote himself for, to quote the booklet, ‘in addition to being an accomplished musician, he was a composer too’.

This is some of the best singing of this repertoire that I have heard for a very long time. The high tessitura seems no problem to Reinoud Van Mechelen, whose tone is always sweet; he delivers the virtuosic passages with bravura; and overall he has the much-to-be-treasured good taste.

Even if the booklet (French and English) tells us nothing about him, we are at least well-informed about the inspiration for the project and the shaping of the programme, and the texts and translations are given in parallel columns. And a final shout-out for the orchestra, who give the singer unstinting and graceful support and enjoy the various overtures and dances scattered among the vocal tracks.

David Hansell