Bach: *Kammermusik*

Musica Antiqua, Köln record Bach’s Chamber Works. This music has been released and re-released a number of times. I first heard it on LP releases belonging to the Sibley Music Library (Rochester, NY), and found it coupled with other Bach/MAK recordings several years ago.

Yes, it was so good back in my college days, that a CD of it was warranted. This collection includes the sonatas for violin and harpsichord (good, but the recording from 1981 suffers a bit), the flute sonatas and partita, the gamba sonatas, and some extra bits, such as the Fuga BWV 1026, the Sonata BWV 1020 (here in the violin version), and the Sonata BWV Anh. 153. That’s right–some lesser known Bach works. Treats for the ears and the soul.

What we’re treated to, of course, is that quite unique, piquant Goebel violin sound. In general I found the violin performances exemplary, the da gamba works less satisfying (tempi too slow in some cases), the flute works, suffering from sound quality. In fact, the recordings as a whole suffer from inconsistent sound quality, having been recorded at different times, and originally issued as different releases. None of the performances are bad; its simply that newer releases have eclipsed some in their sound quality, or level of dynamic performance.

My favorite track of the set is the aforementioned BWV 1026, a “fugue” for violin and harpsichord. It has dubious origins, but I so badly believe it to be Bachian due to its stupendous quality. The piece is at once modern, ancient, and fresh. It’s foot tapping, glorious in that sound, and when those multiple stops come in, it brings the widest, happiest grin across your face. In a few places, Goebel sound a little stressed (tuning, scratchy) but it doesn’t get much more authentic than this… it has a palpable rawness to it that is so downright honest, that you know those performers feel the magic under their fingers, in their hearts, and minds.

It’s this passion the music speaks that can be found in smaller pockets throughout this collection of diverse Kammermusik.

This is vintage, “old school” MAK. Hazelzet and ter Linden take a back seat, but some of those flute movements are played with the challenge meter turned on high. Because of the extreme stereo separation of some tracks, I’d recommend this in an open listening room with loudspeakers, in lieu of using headphones.

Dowland: Lachrimae

I recently acquired a recording from Musica Antiqua, Köln of Dowland’s Seven Teares on the Challenge Classics label.

I first heard these consort pieces by Fretwork on their Virgin-Veritas recording, purchased during my college years, at a Borders Books and Music. I remember picking it up, after reading about Dowland and viol consorts. The music, itself, is a tragic lot of harmonies. They thirst for some developmental break that never really comes; it’s as if the whole collection is a thick blanket of clouds, with rays of sunshine filtering through, but never fully realized in sound. A blue sky never appears.

So, as consort music, it’s dry. I admit, not the most flavorful of music. But MAK does something else; they present some tracks that take departure from this core set. Track 9, for instance, is for harpsichord and solo violin. What’s left are the convoluted melodies, complete with the bowing and style known later in solo repertoire. It sounds like an experiment, for sure. Is this why MAK chose to record it on their “off-label” instead of DG Archiv?

Well, why did they record lute and viol consort music on their more Italian instruments of violins, violas, and cellos? It’s a valid question. It’s the same type of question I ask in seeing Goebel and partners holding violins with chin rests. After reading Brown’s essay in “Performance Practice after 1600,” a compilation of essays about string and other instrumental (plus vocal) performance practices, I came to find the chin rest is a 19th century invention. Does it affect the sound? Likely not; the chin-rest, does however, confirm a later playing style by inviting the performer to hold the instrument under the chin, where it’s squeezed. Some detail of the early instruments–from the way they were played, to the types of strings, to the why it’s held, all influenced the early MAK.

For them to pick up with Italiante instruments and play early English music may be historically improper. But they are foremost a string ensemble, and no one can deny anyone the desire to perform the literature they derive pleasure (or a living) from… If we look at the music, and consider its passage through time, we may ask… “If this was picked up by an ensemble (or would it have been) in say, 1730, how might they have played it?”

My guess (and it’s only a guess) would be: a) they wouldn’t bother; however it may be studied as a relic; b) if they did play it, they’d use their “modern” instruments of the day. Our modern-day obsession with the past hasn’t seen the light of day since the humanists of the Renaissance re-invented ideas from the Greeks. We know they did a miserable job, and hopefully we’re doing at least better, in re-living the sound world of the Baroque.

This is breathing music. It’s played well enough, but too many times I heard the real viols of Fretwork making a more convincing case. MAK has a better sounding recording, and more variety on disc. But instead of harpsichord, should we not have lute as the continuo instrument?

There is more interpretive freedom that could be exercised in these works, for sure, especially with dynamics. MAK makes some statements, but nothing too profoundly original with their reading. This was ultimately a disappointing release, but not so much for the performance, as the music itself.

To understand it, I believe, we have to look at the culture from which it came. For lovers of Dowland’s art, he no doubt had talents this fan of Biber have missed. I take credit for not finding his gifts.

Bach Alt Kantaten

“Old Cantatas?”

I read this post and got confused about exactly what work he was discussing… and found my favorite rendition of BWV 82 with Fabio Biondi (violin) and Ian Bostridge. But then sought-out the work I really had been thinking about when reading that post, the Johann Christoph Bach work, Ach, dass ich Wassers g’nug hätte… from the old-Bach archive.

Musica Antiqua Köln performed this work in their final concert performances. The string ensemble performance was excellent; I much prefer their recording with Magdalena Kozena than the lady who appeared on stage.

I have several renditions of this early work, too, which makes a nice comparison. The strings in the Cantus Cölln recording are far kinder, and polite than the MAK recording. It reminds me an “earlier” music mindset: a much clearer, less dramatic vocal, simple chords for accompaniment. So, between the extremes, of intense playing (with my memory of MAK’s live performance in mind), or more laid-back–which was it for Johann Christoph?

I then consulted an earlier MAK recording, made in their hey-day, right around the time they released their now-famous recording of Sebastian’s Brandenburg Concertos. An interesting contrast, for sure; it sounds as if the vocalist (here, a guy) is singing into an echo chamber, and the string ensemble is far more balanced with focus on the violin.

Then we go to Gérard Lesne and his recording “Bach,” with Il Seminario Musicale. Finally, some singing on par with Kozena! But they run an expensive production, complete with lute, which to my ears, loses the “full string ensemble sound” that was so admirable in other recordings.

Either way, this is a moving work, one that is harmonically rich, and full of German Affekt. Those performances that make most of these gestures are my favorites. I like the recording from the Lamento album with Kozena and MAK best for the ensemble sound, and the singing by Lesne best, on Astrée.

This is a dramatic work. A special one, for sure.

Hot Weather? Telemann Paris Quartets!

Today, currently, it’s 84 degrees in Richmond, VA. My OS X weather widgets always display the temperature, alongside the read-out for Merced, CA. I’ve got a 14-degree lead.

Ok, I am hot upstairs here.

And what better music to celebrate the full-force impact of Spring?

Telemann: Paris Quartets, as performed by the Trio Sonnerie with Wilbert Hazelzet.

Whenever I’ve heard a Paris Quartet live, I admire Telemann’s writing. They have that certain style about them, that “level of class” that might be missing in a more rustic piece like Vivaldi’s trio sonata “La Folia,” or one of Biber’s so-called “Mystery” sonatas.

Some years ago (I can remember the store, actually, in Westlake, OH, this little independent record store that had a classical section) I picked up both of Sonnerie’s discs; you can now find them in a two-for-one packaging.

Huggett and company do a real nice recording with Mr. Hazelzet, a once long-time and founding member of Musica Antiqua Köln. Here, however, they don’t play as a “a few regulars plus a guest,” but instead, play these works together, as if one mind is behind the whole sound.

The French quality of these works is reinforced through the use of a viola da gamba. Telemann chooses all kinds of forms for his “Quartets,” including suites, “concertos,” and more traditional sonatas. Some of the characterizations, such as Fatteusement are interesting, to say the least, and while more simple gestures are implied through Gai or Vite, each one of these special tracks embues a flavor that shows us both façades of light and dark.

Somehow, under the atomosphere of a warm afternoon with bright sunshine these works seem very apporpriate.

I know I’ve reviewed these discs before, but I make mention of the Quatuor no. 6 from the companion disc, and its last movement, a Modéré, which could be Telemann’s most masterfully written piece. It’s not a hot, spring afternoon piece, but is something far more reserved for once dusk comes, and cooler breezes blow the trees outside. The simple lines between flute, violin, and gamba are just that: simple, but it’s the tone of the original instruments, the E-minor key, and baroque gesture that put this writing over the top. It’s a sublimely beautiful movement that Sonnerie makes magic with. This one 4 3/4 minute track is worth the price of the entire CD.

Wireless/HiFi Hell

Of late, I’ve cried over the poor performance of my hi-fit setup.

I lament the fact that fixing a Mac is far easier than diagnosing audio problems.

• The network connection is cutting out
• The right speaker is “shorting out” from time to time, usually around softer passages
• Timing glitches

The network is a problem that doesn’t help anything. I’m using Airport Express + (original) Airport Extreme. I have to put them in B/G mode because I have some “B” only 802.11 machines. I have also been playing with “multicasting” whatever that is, from “1″ to “11.” The higher choice seemed better, then it was dropping out again.

The cordless phones in the house don’t help, and having 5-6 neighbors with wi-fi only makes it all the more difficult.

Might a new Apple “n” series Extreme unit help? Okay, I just switched to “G only” to see if this provides any bonus.

The right speaker issue likely has little to do with the network. Problem is, the issue is difficult to pin-point.

• Speaker Crossover problem?
• Speaker wire?
• Integrated amplifier?
• Source interconnects?

The amplifier and speaker cable are the oldest components. I re-fastened the cables to the right speaker today, I definitely got a better fit. But then the problem came back. I have speaker wires upstairs in my second set-up, but swapping those out to test is a big deal… as they don’t have the proper connections on the ends and getting them back on would be a whole day’s affair.

If it’s the speaker that’s bad; man… I have only had them for one year. I don’t want to have to ship it back to England, or even drive it back to Charlottesville. Could it be the DAC I just got back?

The timing issue has been gone tonight, at least. It was there earlier in the day… when it sounds as if all the streamed bits don’t arrive in order, or something. I figured this might be an issue with the network.

Funny thing, when I was getting the timing issues, I was streaming from upstairs downstairs through iTunes. When I switched, and directly sent the content from upstairs to downstairs (using VNC), the problem manifested as drop-outs, not timing errors.

Any advice out there? Again, when I split the speakers on the amp… and balance-out the left, only hearing the right, it can be okay… then it will drop out. Or sound “scratchy” like a bad electrical connection.

Casual Listening

I’ve been busy of late, with no time for serious, dedicated listening. Then I sent my DAC in for an “upgrade,” and was without my main stereo for several weeks. Now that I’ve submitted the book manuscript, I should have time for some musical reflection once again.

Thanks for your patience.

Speaking of which, I have had some bad experiences since the DAC came back. I have no reason to believe they are intimately associated with it, specifically.

As you may recall, since I’ve discussed it here before, my current hi-fi setup puts 320kbit MP3 and Apple Lossless files on my music server, and is powered via iTunes. Content is streamed to AirPortExpress wirelessly. Issues of late have included:

• crackling from one speaker
• timing skips and “restarts”

The timing issue took place regularly for several tracks. The track starts from a cold start, and the timing is messed up in the first 10-25 seconds of a track. It’s like the speed of the track is out of sync. This never has happened without the DAC, only with.

Connected tracks (sequence from one, to another) did not display the timing glitch.

The crunchy stuff I noticed this evening. I checked cables. I suspect the speaker. Or the DAC?

Seems it might have been the CD rip. In fact, my recording of Biber’s Harmonia Artificiosa with the Rare Fruits Council is all messed up: left-channel dominance, timing glitches, and crackling in the right speaker.

Tests I can try are to go directly digital from a laptop to the DAC to see if the problem persists. Or, play the CD directly, no conversion. What makes me suspect the rip is because I’ve heard some crunchy interpretations before on the music server itself, which drives another hi-fi system. Funny thing, is trying the track multiple times would sometimes fix the scratchy/crunchy stuff. But not so much now over Airport.

I just switched now to another version of the same music, right-channel is fine.

The Fibonacci’s

Back in 1998, I wrote three fanfares based on the Fibonacci Sequence. I imported them recently into GarageBand, and arranged them a bit with different instrumentation.

Fanfare #1 and Fanfare #3 (MPEG, Quicktime required).