Un concert pour Mazarin

Ensemble La Fenice records Un concert pour Marazin with Philippe Jaroussky.

I once saw this CD at Tower Records. By the time I realized that it contained the violin talents of Enrico Onofri, I went back only to find it all sold-out (or removed). I recently procured the recording, featuring not only Onofri on violin, but the directing of Jean Tubéry and the singer (countertenor) Philippe Jaroussky.

One of the more famous tracks is the Sancta Maria from Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. Somehow, I feel the chorus is actually Jaroussky and the recording engineers. If so, I don’t care, he makes a very nice recording of this work. His voice soars about the chorus, with nice lutework underneath.

Then there are the instrumental works… such as the Canzon per Cornetto e Violino by Viadana, or the Turini sonata a 3 sopra la Monica. While the recording doesn’t best his Anno 1630, Onofri is on fire again, matched many times with Tubéry on cornetto in a very convincing early Italian style. This is music with verve and style. Great stuff.

I find the solo keyboard works less satisfying, save for the Fugue a Quarte Parties by Roberday. Never heard of the man, but he betters Frescobaldi on this recording.

Every track here isn’t a perfect gem, but the performances are first-rate, and the delights, many. The last work, a three-track span entitled In Caligine Umbrosa shows off the excellent acoustic used to record the CD, bringing many ensemble players together, including a convincing Jaroussky, expressing a range of emotions in a very convincing, natural way.

More on the “Sweet Spot”

After writing earlier this morning on the positioning of speakers, I adjusted mine just a hair more here and there, and saw even more improvement.

I then drew-up this diagram. It’s not scientific at all. But I used the purple wedges to show sound coming out of the speaker. It may in fact not widen as it travels; it may also be wide as soon as it comes out. A course in physio-acoustics would be in store for me.

But the lines show how I aim the speakers. The left speaker is aimed to the right-most part of the sofa, the opposite for the right speaker. What I’ve created is a type of criss-cross of direct lines. I swear to my maker I can hear the cellist right now (happens to be Chrisophe Coin performing Vivaldi sonatas with Christopher Hogwood) right in the center of the two speakers. And he’s in the middle of the room.

My guess is… the closer your speakers are to one another (back, green triangle) the less toe-in that is required. The further apart, the more toe-in.

Speaker Placement

Recently, while contemplating what might be improved in my hi-fi setup, I considered moving some furniture. I had read that having something between speaker can affect performance. That advice is indeed correct.

I’m learning Google Sketchup, and decided to model what I’m talking about. Looking at hi-fi set-ups online from places like Audiogon, where folks are uploading pictures of their setups, makes me gasp. Too many folks are putting speakers too close to walls, and some are not using toe-in. I’ve demonstrated toe-in in the graphic, above. It’s where you angle the speakers inward, towards the listener. You can see what I’m referring to, here:

So, the triangle design defines your listening space. The point of the triangle defines a so-called “sweet spot,” where imaging happens, the channels converge, and your ideal vantage point lies in the room.

I have seen changes in adjusting toe-in levels (angle) before. But a big, comfortable leather chair has been positioned between the two speakers. And this, I feel, has introduced a problem.

The sense of a three-dimensional space that can be achieved with 2-channel stereo was mostly lost. What happened when I moved the chair further back, and the speakers forward? It was like getting a whole new stereo! I am talking a change in mere inches. The whole presentation of sound was richer, more focused, and musically, more satisfying. For the lack of a better word, I’d say there was more synergy. I know that means nothing… but it sounded now like the two speakers were working together to produce music, not mere sound.

I have read folks who say that speaker placement and room treatment changes can be more profound than upgrades in cables and equipment. And now I believe it.

I had fun creating this model. I modeled the speakers after my B&W 703s; it’s not exact, of course, as the 703 has 4 drivers and a bass port, but I never intended to get this close. I should have painted my sofa red, its real color, too.

Pisendel: Violin Sonatas

Anton Steck and Christian Rieger perform violin sonatas by Johann Pisendel.

Steck and Rieger are both former members of the illustrious Musica Antiqua Köln, and recorded this CD in the same studio where many of MAKs best recordings were made, at the former “West” German radio in Cologne.

Too bad the microphone used was on sale, for the recorded sound here fails, somewhat, these musicians who play with passion. Pisendel was one of the star violinists to play at the Dresden court, evidently inspiring concertos by Vivaldi. So, you might expect, his own works might be challenging and full of little baroque warts. They are.

The opening sonata in D is in fact so challenging to bridge into a more modern style, with a wide range in notes for the violin, sending Steck into frenetic twists where unchartered tuning curses our ears.

Far more interesting is the solo sonata (without Rieger on harpsichord) in A minor, similar in scope to one of Bach’s own solo violin sonatas. The recorded sound ripens for this work, too. Pisendel’s writing extends the upper-range of the violin, but lacks the writing of a genius musician. Its nevertheless odd enough (maybe not to the artful degree Zelenka’s works are) and irregular enough to inspire our time listening. The notes don’t always go into the expected places. My favorite track is the last, a gigue with variations.

The e-minor sonata starts out typically; it could perhaps be by Albinoni in its old-fashioned opening. The ending Scherzando is devilish, more Tartinian, Steck sounding more assured.

The C-minor work is the most famous, for having been once attributed to J.S. Bach (complete with its own BWV number). Steck’s reading is interesting up against Goebel’s early recording with the other Bach sonatas. Goebel had some intonation issues in his reading, and Steck here, improves on intonation but occasionally breaks-out into an impassioned vibrato that I find starkly modern, seemingly foreign to the otherwise Baroque-sounding work.

Who knows who wrote this work. It does have a certain Bachian touch, elevating the quality of the writing. This same flair is evident in the resulting work, too, a Sonata in G minor (my favorite key). It’s back to the trilling and over-ornamented style that introduced us to Pisendel’s style.

Violinist Anton Steck seems to be going after some less well-known composer’s chamber music for baroque and early classical violin. I applaud “the series” that’s being released on CPO, and hope it continues. There’s a little bit from time to time to arouse our eyebrows with a rustic touch here and there, but it’s also seemingly an honest, genuine appraisal of some curious works. This is not a must-have CD, but one for a curious interest in Mr. Pisendel and his personality, for sure.

New CDs

I recently acquired some new CDs.

They fall into the following categories:

• Loussier Trio (I decided to just buy it all up)
• Baroque (Bolivian Baroque, Pisendel)
• Jaroussky (Concert for Mazarin, Heroes-Vivaldi)

I’ve already written some on the Jacques Loussier material. The Bolivian Baroque CD by Florilegium is difficult to write about. I picked up the first edition after seeing a spot on CBS Sunday Morning with Ashley Solomon. The story behind the music is a compelling one: music preserved for hundreds of years in the Bolivian rain forest is played, complete with “authentic” Bolivian singers, depending upon your definition of the word. I found the whole description of “who” wrote this music confusing: was it in fact “American” “Indians,” or Italian Jesuits? The music definitely has that turn-of-the-century Italian baroque feel to it. The sound is interesting (it comes on Super Audio CD, I’m listening to the so-called redbook version). It comes with a low-calorie DVD explaining the project, which was interesting.

More Vivaldi is never bad, in this case, I picked up Jaroussky’s latest Vivaldi disc, plus his earlier disc which I purchased for the Onofri on violin: Un Concert pour Marazin. Backed up by Ensemble La Fenice, it contains early Italian works.

I hope to write-up some reviews soon.

Jacques Loussier Trio plays Bach’s Goldberg Variations

You know when a piece of music is good. People record it in record numbers. Even better yet, they re-arrange and re-work something multiple times. Take the recent Beatles Love album, as an example. Bach’s music is in the same camp, if not a more lofty one. And here, the Jacques Loussier Trio perform his BWV 988 on Telarc Jazz.

My first complaint when listening to these miniatures is the lack of repeats. And what a controversial topic! Bach wrote-in repeats for this binary pieces, and here we get the run-through. Some maybe do not warrant repeating, but some can build upon repetition, and invite the performer(s) to manipulate the music upon second playings. In fact, you could repeat a variation multiple times, creating a so-called multiplicity of variations, upon variations.

Loussier does an excellent job at some tracks. The jazzy style is there, and the use of all three instruments (drum set, piano, and bass) all make equal, compelling solutions this Goldberg update. A few tracks lack the re-working. This is where Loussier depends more so on a direct translation of the part, alongside drums and bass.

Variation 9 is an example of the first. The theme starts in the bass, and then we add-in the piano. #26 is an other interesting example: Loussier is playing one-handed to deliver a quick sequence of notes–the same notes we’d hear by some pianist playing the Goldbergs straight. But it all comes together in a nice mix, toe tapping guaranteed.

Variation 29 is a better example of my second comment, a complaint. It’s the variation as Bach wrote it, pretty much, with a little jazzy fluff dressed on top. Not all treatments are equal.

Variation 30 is unique in the use of an extended bass solo. When the piano finally comes in, I almost wish some other melody instrument was there, a soprano sax? A trumpet? With bass and drums so easily able to change their sound quality, the piano could almost use a little variation of its own.

We could nit-pick all day on an album where they’re picking on Bach. The Variationen Goldberg are already a fine work, why mess with success? For one, it’s flattery. For another, it’s a fun to “shake things up” a bit, musically. There are, on this CD, many moments that will make you smile. A few warts aside (like the recorded sound of Loussier’s piano), this release pushes the sound world of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with a variety of treatments and styles. If you already admire Bach’s Goldeberg Variations, this CD is likely a fitting dessert.

Jacques Loussier Trio plays Handel

The Jacques Loussier Trio performs works by Handel on Telarc Jazz, (p) 2002.

It wasn’t long ago that I was listening to the Loussier Trio perform Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on my updated hi-fi, and was amazed at the lower extension of the bass. Loussier plays piano, and uses one of two bass players, and seems to always pair with drummer André Arpino. Having since lost the recording’s original CD, and only having a 160Kbit rip in MP3 format, I re-purchased the album along with a few others. First up for review is their 2002 recording of Handel, specifically, music from the Fireworks and Water Music suites, plus a Passacaglia that lasts some 5 minutes.

What’s fun about the Loussier recordings is knowing this music inside-out, upside-down. It’s the tickle of fancy of recognizing old favorites in new clothing. I think Handel’s music is less successful in this clothing than that of Vivaldi or Bach. Of course, there are some successful tracks amid some “good tries.”

The concluding “Trio” from the Water Music suite is energetic, if not virtuosic. Some areas where the music is “quoted” verbatim bother me… of course, you have to referenc the original, but there are other ways to weave these melodies into something… I think this music, whether it be Handel, Bach, or someone else, is so rich that you could make many CDs off the same source material, if you were so talented.

Loussier has a particular talent… he’s good at capturing spirit. The direct quoting I find less successful. The last movement of the Fireworks music, with over a minute of drum fodder, then a direct quotation… I found less than enjoyable. Nice try, wrong approach, I think.

So yes, there is some to love, some to hate on this release. Then we get the final track. A sparse 5 minutes, but so richly wrought-out, it is the jewel on the disc. It’s less about direct quotation, and more about getting to the essence of a work. I don’t mean to sound cliché, but this is about high-life, with all the cheese we might associate with a successful man sitting in his easy chair after work, enjoying a fine scotch. This is that soundtrack… but when you brush the cheese aside, it’s music that simply makes you smile.

Any CD that forces a smile on your face is a good one, despite its warts.

Only if we could plays these for Dr. Handel.