November 28th, 2006
8:34 pm
Archive for November, 2006
Bach Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas
Monica Huggett, violin performs the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin BWV 1001-1006, (p) 1997 Virgin Veritas
For many years we only had Kuijken on baroque violin for Bach. Then in the late-1990s, we started to see some more “baroque” violinists try their fingers at Bach’s (the world’s) masterworks. Among them, Monica Huggett, who made a recording with a very close microphone. Her colleagues from Sonnerie produced the album.
Bach: Harpsichord Concertos
I feel old, having seen two generations of the AAM record the harpsichord concerti of Bach, and too the violin concerti. The AAM has taken the world stage under the direction of violinist Andrew Manze. This 2-CD set offers Bach’s single harpichord concertos and the triple concerto featuring Richard Egarr on cembalo with a one-per-part AAM plus lute continuo.
Andrew Manze leads the Academy of Ancient Music with soloist Richard Egarr in Bach’s Harpsichord Concerti and Triple Concerto, BWV 1044 on Harmonia Mundi France (p) 2002.
This recording is well done—the performances are shaped, clean, and respectable, however they fall short of what they could be with the care of more imagination, speed, and daring. Pinnock and the English Concert offer a good comparison (and I have them in my collection, with ever so slightly more quick tempi which really make a profound differerence).
That’s what I had to say in April ‘03. And after listening to this collection (for the quality of the music, over the performance) I have a few things to add.
Pavana - the Virgin Harpsichord
Pavana: the Virgin Harpsichord; (p) 2001 Astree; Skip Sempé, Olivier Fortin, and Pierre Hantaï.
I’ve never seen Sempé in a public performance. Nor have I seen his buddy, Fortin, but I have seen Hantaï, perhaps the most accomplished of this trio. I find this music interesting in that sometimes it lacks direction–is it pulling us in any one direction?
When I first reviewed this CD in November of 2002, I said:
Tartini: Concerti by Ensemble 415
Chiara Banchini, Enrico Gatti, and Roel Dieltiens perform concertos by Giuseppe Tartini.
Tartini was a composer of the late Italian baroque. Imagine if Vivaldi had smoked some of the same pipes as Mozart. We’d have nice even phrase lengths, melodies over invention, and clearly defined moments of tutti vs. solo passages. Yet, somehow, it would all be Italiante, and more Baroque.
This CD features the ensemble Ensemble 415, and I found the recorded sound to work against the ensemble and soloists. It features concerti grossi, violin concertos, a cello concerto, and more of the same. Good variety, for sure, but the sound of the ensemble was thin and at times sounded ever so slightly mistuned. I imagine the sound is rather authentic… yet, the polish was somehow missing from the big picture.
Concerti per vari Strumenti
Zefiro performs wind concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, (p) 2000 Naive-Auvidis.
I first reviewed this recording in September, 2003. Back then, I had this to say:
The whole CD package is attractive (as many Naive recordings have been lately), but more so is the quality of wind playing. That’s the focus of the ensemble, but it carries here authentically on record. From RV 538 for two horns (expertly recorded in a perfect acoustic) to the brisk rendition of RV 535 a few tracks earlier, for two oboes. For big Vivaldi fans, some works are old hat favorites, still others are probably new.
The recording of the concerto for two trumpets is superb. It’s not the best of Vivaldi’s concertos, but thankfully the ensemble took a nice tempo that sets it going and engages the listener. The ultimate movement really sets the strings a flutter, and as they now say, “That’s all good.” Indeed, lots to enjoy from both the winds and strings.
The ultimate movement for RV 545, featuring oboe and bassoon is no less enjoyable. We are treated here to the Grazzi brothers, who once played with Il Giardino Armonico, in their excellent Vivaldi series.
There is much here to enjoy. This CD isn’t as rustic or wild as say one we might expect from a Biondi, or dramatic as an Alessandrini, but oboist and director Bernardini plays his Vivaldi with a fair amount of zest (honesty), a little restraint (historical authenticity), and does so on a record with clean recorded sound.
I really like their reading of the C-Major double trumpet concertos. The tempos are ideal, as is the trumpet tone and sound. Their take on other concertos is welcome to, playing with small numbers on each part. It sounds like chamber concertos, and they’re done well.
The concerto in D minor (in four movements) simply screams speed (track 14). I believe this may be one of those oboe works that Vivaldi may not have composed, but were instead were a Frenchman’s try at playing Vivaldi. Either way, the work is good, and the cooking tempo is a welcome departure from what I typically hear.
Another favorite is Zefiro’s attempt at a brassy affair in the Double horn concerto (in F). Like the trumpet concerto, the brass sounds fantastic. I can’t say the same for the artistry in Vivaldi’s writing for this ensemble, but the horns are allowed just to be a little brassy. And I like that.
“Zesty restraint,” and nice control of the brass sound. Warmly recommended.
Bach and his Era
On Tuesday evening, November 7, 2006, I watched as Musica Antiqua Köln took the stage for one of their final concerts in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Hall.
I questioned, however, what made this “MAK” versus, just some friends who had played together before? For their leader, Reinhard Goebel was absent due to health reasons. I am not sure if this had to do with his recent hand injury reoccuring or something else. I wish him well.
Chanticleer - Live
On March 18, 2002, I attended a concert put-on by Chanticleer in Richmond, VA.
This evening I had the opportunity to hear the all-male vocal ensemble Chanticleer perform at the University of Richmond. Dubbed as the only “full time, professional choral organization devoted to classical music,” the 12 members performed everything from spirtuals, renaissance madrigals, and the Scott Joplin tune “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.”
First, it is always disappointing to go to a concert here, at the University of Richmond, only to see more people with white hair than you see anyplace else, save for a retirement home with assisted living services. The sold-out concert though, did bring a crowd, and the triple standing ovation at the end was a testament to their success as an ensemble. Read the rest of this entry »
Care Charming Sleep
Yes, an odd mix, and this is not like Swingle Singers Bach or Jacques Loussier piano jazz, either. The instruments, and the voice of John Potter combine to suit the music in effective, just ways. Quite simply, this is a testament of excellent musicians grouping together for some music that has been belittled in modern times—we could say left behind. Yet, something greater emerges as a modern rendition is relived.
This collection contains gentle pieces that fit the mood, as suggested by the title. Pre-bed time songs, perhaps, but ever so dark and serious, yet tantalizingly sweet. You can’t help but twist your head just so as you listen, and smile at the pleasure that affords you with the sensual gift of sound. That’s quite a laud, but this is the real thing. Favorite track: 13, a combination of Stubb’s own chiccone pattern that leads into a Monteverdi aria.
The Dowland Project records works by Monteverdi, di Rore, Johnson, Purcell, and Stubbs (p) 2003 ECM New Series.
I first reviewed this recording in October of 2004. It is a real favorite. Most highly recommended. The musicians enjoy themselves here, and the dark mood is infectious. Works really well with the volume high and the lights low.
Biber: Mystery Sonatas by John Holloway
John Holloway and Tragicomedia perform the 15 Mystery Sonatas of Biber, (p) 1990 Virgin Veritas
I first reviewed this collection of Biber’s Mystery Sonatas in April of 2003. Back then, I wrote:
I first heard this 1991 Gramophone Magazine award-winner for best instrumental baroque recording while in college, at the Eastman School of Music. I had just bought my Goebel recording (reviewed here earlier), and my initial reaction was that it was inferior, and not worth the $32.
Some 10 years later, I return to purchase it, in the years since, it has maintained a following in the press and through personal accounts; and for half-price, it ought to be in a biberfan’s personal collection. No?
The notes were a big disappointment; I remember more from reading the original notes than what was presented in this set. I remember in the first, Holloway discussing his standing on a platform in an archway, or some such architectual feature, to acheive good sound. Hearing it now, despite that, I felt that the recording suffers quite a bit. I can imagine standing towards the back of a medium-sized church, empty, and this is what it sounds like. To record from that distance, you lose definition of sound in the wash of reverb. I think microphone placement in this case is to blame; the reverb is nice, but it’s too… sostenuto for violin playing.
Manze to leave EC in 2007
I recently read on the English Concert’s website that director/violinist Andrew Manze will be leaving in 2007 to pursue work in Sweden, including conducting.
This is an interesting twist, as Manze just took over the ensemble in mid-2003 and seems to be doing an admirable job, after directing the rival AAM in London.
CPE Bach Symphonies
Andrew Manze and the English Concert record works by C.P.E. Bach on Harmonia Mundi, (p) 2006.
Well-recorded sound. Excellent, in fact. Very nice symphonic sound for a chamber orchestra. One of the few discs of note where Manze isn’t the star, but the orchestra is. Excellent flute, oboe, and especially horn playing. This music is ripe with drama and penache.
Bach’s most-gifted son wrote works that really depart from his father’s sound world, works that are clearly in a new, galant style. This disc offers us four symphonies in three movements (my preference) and a concerto for Cello. All the works are played with an affective style, at times with winking humor, and at others, with a seriousness deserving a smile, since it’s done so well. The cello concerto for me was an interesting work, but likely the weakest of the offerings. I can only think that Bach’s father would have thought this a bit to silly and tidy. Who knows, he was dead.
I noticed especially on this disc some fine harpsichord playing by David Gordon. The crisp texture is heard in each work, and the fireworks emerging from the instrument are an exciting textual element that is missing from so many other recordings.
All the works on this disc are new to me. They are not overly serious works, but they have energy and are played so well. I highly recommend this disc—I think it might be the best EC disc ever recorded. According to the roster, the EC has some new blood of late.
