Jean-Marie Leclair: Sonatas

La Tempesta (Patrick Bismuth) records the fourth book of sonatas by Leclair. As I wrote earlier, I’m a fan of Leclair’s style and the richness, too, of some of his works. While my reception to the CD by John Holloway was fair, I have a far more enthusiastic reaction to that of Mr. Bismuth.

First, this recording was difficult to procure. I had to purchase it in France. It’s a 3-CD set, actually, and is well-recorded. There’s a very distinct separation of the channels, with the violin on the right. Both Bismuth and his ensemble (but especially him) are not just playing the music: they’re living it through an interpretation that both highlights the virtuosity of the music and the emotional depth within. A lot of music doesn’t exactly ooze emotion, you have to find it. You project, pull, and highlight those elements which especially speak to the listener. Much like the gestures we use in voice, the simple combination of soloist against continuo requires the performers to sometimes independently, but also sometimes collectively infuse their “reaction” of the music. It comes, perhaps, with practice… knowing what the lines and harmony are doing, or what’s coming up, and how to project that. Bismuth is doing an excellent job in this recording finding what makes each movement special.

One of his more expressive gestures is the use (or absence) of vibrato. It plays deeply into his “sound,” but can also add a dramatic richness to his timbre. His instrument I feel is thin sounding (on account of the strings) but has a very nice sound. At times, when vibrato is applied, it’s sweet; other times it’s penetrating and rustic. It’s weakest in the lower register, but sings and sparkles with the higher notes.

A variety of continuo is used, usually with a combination of instruments, including cello, bass lute, and organ. As with many collections like this, I like the variety of continuo. All together this is a strong set, full of many ideas penned by Leclair. You probably wouldn’t want to listen to the entire collection from cover to cover, on account to the stylistic similarities and the strength of the dramatic performances. Under La Tempesta, you long to savor each work on its own.

I should add that one sonata is performed on flute. Leclair listed it as an alternate soloists.

This collection, perhaps than others collectively by Leclair, speaks to his strengths as a composer-violinist. The performers here match the call with variety of expressive means that excite the listener and showcase the music’s appeal with a variety of invention and showy virtuosity.

Recommended to all fans of baroque violin repertoire.

Holloway – Jean Marie Leclair

John Holloway performs sonatas for violin by Jean-Marie Leclair with Lars Ulrik Mortensen and Jaap ter Linden.

I’ve become a fan of late of the music of Leclair, a French composer most famous for being murdered. His music took on a rather continental style. He published a number of sonatas for his instrument, the violin, plus a number of violin concertos, some of which, are quite challenging.

This is the sixth installment by Holloway on ECM New Series, one he has steadfastly done with Lars Ulrik Mortensen. He previously had Mr. Mortensen perform on harpsichord simultaneously with his wife on organ. If memory serves correct, this is the second album since she passed; the last one of Veracini was also with the same continuo team.

A reviewer on Amazon described Holloway’s tone as “smoky,” and that term somehow fits. (Describing the tone of a violin requires quite an exercise in creativity, not unlike trying to describe the flavors one encounters in a glass of wine.) I never thought his violin’s sound was his best trait.

There are moments of spirit in this recording, such as track 18, an allegro movement from the B-flat sonata.

As usual, Holloway plays with excellent intonation and then my usual criticisms creep in: at times the tempi are not quite energetic enough–you get the sense that the tempo chosen is good, but not perfect… great for rehearsing, but in a live performance, folks might just push it a little further? Tracks like #19, from the same B-flat sonata, just fall flat, short of boring. Neither performer in the 3-man ensemble takes the liberty to adjust dynamics terribly much, and I simply don’t read a terribly deep emotional deposit in the performance.

A better example of what the trio is capable of is in track #10, an allegro from the sonata in A major. Dynamic shading is “in the house,” and the tempo is lock-on appropriate. It isn’t Leclair’s best writing, but it’s well played.

I have found the readings of Leclair sonatas by François Fernandez and Patrick Bismuth are ultimately more musically satisfying. Where I didn’t care for the overly “wet” acoustic in Holloway’s solo Bach, the recording this time around is far more complimentary to the musicians. I’d simply love the recording more if it had a darkness at appropriate moments, one which Andrew Manze managed to find in his reading of Frenchman Jean-Féry Rebel. If you’ve been a fan of the other Holloway recordings on ECM (or elsewhere before his association with the label), you might just then like this recording.

I’d start first with the others mentioned. Like the Veracini album before it, this one simply comes up a tad short on energy and spirit in all the right places.

John Holloway on the Sonatas and Partitas

It was ambitious of ECM to release both John Holloway and Gideon Kramer recording Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin within months of one another.

Kramer’s recording ended up being a favorite of mine. Sheer power, but in an emotionally appropriate way.

Holloway plays in far more airy acoustic than Kramer, and you have to be careful about how you record solo violin. I always felt Huggett’s recording on Virgin was too close. And Holloway’s? Likely too distant. Kramer’s is about right.

Despite what it does the recording, I imagine Holloway had some fun with the acoustic when playing, It amplifies his violin’s sound, and it makes the space between notes ever so connected, no matter his articulation. Intonation is true.

I don’t particularly like the sound of Holloway’s violin. Not because it’s bad sounding, it just takes some time to enter his sound world. The upper register can be slightly strident, the bottom lean, but he has full control of the instrument. My only gripe with the interpretation, then, is with the famous Chaconne. It starts out far too academic for me. I’d rather have a little more of Holloway in the reading.

Holloway’s reading isn’t likely the one you have to have, if you were on a desert island. I think Gideon Kramer’s rendition on ECM beats this one out for both the sound quality of the violin and also for interpretation and also for recorded sound. But Kramer’s a modern violinist; Holloway follows baroque performance practice.

What it does offer is a very gifted violinist’s read of Bach’s (and the world’s) violin masterpieces. It’s worthy to have. It may most closely take me to the sound world of what it might have sounded like to hear Bach himself playing these works in the space of St. Thomas’s on a late night evening when the building was empty. It may lack the polish of the world’s finest rendition, but it excels in being honest, reverbrent, and in some cases, truer to the text than what we’re used to.

Italian Flute Concertos

This recording by Musica ad Rhenum featuring Jed Wentz features the composers Vivaldi, Ferrandini, Albinoni, Galuppi, Tartini, and Giordani. A rather interesting mix, for sure; all Italian. Using baroque instruments, the ensemble gives us a survey of (likely) their Italian favorites.

All of the concertos follow the Vivaldian 3-movement form. I am betting most folks won’t know these works. Even the Vivaldi work was unfamiliar to me, not belonging to his op. 10 or other collections.

The recording is good, there isn’t terribly much separation between soloist and ensemble, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Each concerto is played with sensitivity using a small number of forces. Fast tempi are fast, Probably my favorite work is the Galuppi, being set in a minor key. The concerto opens on the D minor triad and goes about the standard structure. What makes it interesting is the addition of a second flute, and the natural pauses of affekt that the ensemble takes. It reminds of me of another favorite flute concerto in some ways, that one of by Blavet in its harmonic language.

In all, this CD has great performances of a number of obscure baroque flute works from Italian composers. Fresh air, for sure, and an ever deeper understanding of the musical language active from 1715 on.

Sacrificium

Ceclia Bartoli performs with Il Giardino Armonico works of supposed complexity written for castrati. Composers represented include Handel, Porpora, Leo, Graun, et al. This might be my second “castrato” CD after already enjoying Vivica Genaux in Arias for Farinelli.

I picked up the deluxe edition which includes a booklet covering everything you might want to know about castrati. Perhaps unsettling is the graphic representation throughout the CD packaging of knives and tools used for castration. Multiple languages are represented in the book, and we also get some detailed notes on the arias.

Bartoli certainly sounds different than a castrato might sound, but she nevertheless does an admirable job with the music. She’s of course got a first-class “backup” band in Antonini’s Giardino (minus Onofri). Pieces such as track #7, In braccio a mille furie by Porpora is a real fireworks type of piece that Bartoli excels at. If you were to judge her intonation and control in the Vivaldi set with IGA, here she has even more control and finesse.

The sound effects come out with thunder and horns in Chi temea Giove regnante Leonardo Vinci’s number. Between all the singer’s notes, the sound effects, and the energy behind the ensemble, the piece is emblematic of the type of bounty found within this set.

You likely won’t know any of the pieces presented here, save for Handel’s Ombra mai fu from Serse. The faster numbers are certainly fun and will survive repeated listens. The whole collection isn’t all fireworks, and Bartoli manages to find her regular soft side here too. They are less favorite, but when listening to the album as an album, they certainly break up things for contrast. Throw in some rustic concerti for strings by Vivaldi or a concerto by other Italians, and you’ll have an even more collection for a evening of listening.

This release may not be for all fans of vocal music. You’ll likely already know Bartoli’s sound. I like far less robust singers (Emma Kirkby, Jaroussky) but there’s enough room for Ceclia too! Take the plunge into the world of the unknown. I’m not sure you’ll need the “compendium” of castration, as I certainly don’t need it to enjoy the music. But if you’re interested at all in the art and history behind music like this, you may well decide to go for it. Samples are available via the singer’s website of both the prose and of course, the singing.

Tartini: Sonate a violino

Violinist Chiara Banchini plays solo works by the late-Baroque composer Giuseppe Tartini, and is then joined, oddly enough, by soprano Patrizia Bovi with various arie del Tasso.

I picked this up on the good reputation that Banchini already had with her Bonporti set, and her Tartini Concertos with her Ensemble 415. This is is mostly solo violin music, alongside a few songs that seem to pre-date the violin works. Despite their distance in age, the juxtaposition isn’t terribly indecent. Tartini takes some rather oriental twists from time to time, which adds color to his writing. The arias likewise have a foreign sound that enhances Tartini’s harmonic forays.

But I could have done just as well without the singing.

A close recording and miking is used on Banchini’s violin alongside a generously wet acoustic.

Banchini’s sound is rustic, with soft-tensioned gut strings on her violin. Sometimes digging into lower notes, the sound booms from her instrument, blooming in the recording space. This is music that would sound rustic no matter the performer, the writing is such that the figures require dexterity and a variety of techniques, from pizzicato to multiple stopping, with far more chromaticisms than your average baroque violinist-composer has been known to inject.

If you like his more famous Devil’s Trill Sonata, you will likely also admire this collection. Tartini’s music is less measured than my favorite Bach. Because of that, I’m not sure all the works here work as a complete album. But sample from it often, and you’ll enjoy the interpretations for sure.

Biber: Un Carnevale

Biber: Un Carnevale a Kremsier is an album by Ars Antiqua Austria which I haven’t listened to especially much, likely because it isn’t the choicest set of Biber’s music.

That’s not to say it isn’t colorful.

The leader Gunar Letzbor previously did a great Mystery/Rosary set, his pedigree established earlier with Musica Antiqua, Köln. Among the more interesting of the 24 tracks are the sets of Balletti, which colorful additions to strings, such as a bell. Another work found in other collections includes the so-called Balletti Lamentabilli in four parts. The performance here is solemn, likely written for an occasion that you’d rather not repeat. Sorry, I’ve found this piece a little snoozy.

Likely the most interesting works are the Harmonia Romana and the Trombet-undt Musicalischer Taffeldienst. These multi-movement works in a somewhat “phantastic” style don’t rival Biber’s Mesa Sonora collection, yet they’re not far from that sound world. Speaking of “table music,” the music takes on an almost renaissance flair when the strident color of recorder enters the picture. And then you’ll wonder who’s drunk when the “Nightwatchman’s” song comes out of the woodwork. The aesthetic here is for sure of a drunkard. While I prefer the rendition by Musica Antiqua Köln on their Scherzi Musicale album, this one is good too.

This disc may not be an essential unless you’re a real fan of Biber. If that’s the case, the folks here don’t do much wrong. It’s simply that this isn’t Biber’s most engaging music.

Alexandre Tharaud – Rameau

Currently playing in iTunes: Suite en Sol: L’Enharmonique by Alexandre Tharaud…

The album on piano comes by way of Alexandre Tharaud. I’ve had this album now for some time, enjoying a little baroque via piano. His dextrous fingers certainly can delight, especially in numbers such as L’Egyptienne, or Les Sauvages by Rameau. Rameau of course was a famous claveniste, but the music is good enough, of course, it can live beyond the confines of one instrument.

Tharaud is a gifted pianist that doesn’t take all of our obvious avenues with this music. Where I suspect Rameau wants the harpsichord to get loud and obnoxious, the piano here may be handled with lightness, bringing a rather transparent, clear quality to all of Rameu’s hemisemiquavers.

Among the most famous pieces included is his Gavotte avec six doubles, each one here treated to its own track. Fabulous.

22 tracks, including Debussy’s Hommage a Rameau. In the end, I fatigue listening to all of this at once. Good recorded sound. I prefer the harpsichord in the end, but this is still a worthy reading with merit. This reading has personality.

Getting to the Details

As it happens, I’m thinking of late of my two listening “areas” in the house and how I might upgrade the experience (of listening).

Downstairs, in one of the larger rooms of the home, I have a 2-channel system set up with a Mac Mini, a DAC, monoblock amplifiers, and of course, speakers. I have no headphone capability there. Upstairs, I use my computer and I have a set of bookshelf speakers, although more and more, I find myself listening via headphones.

This holiday, I received a new pair of headphones which immediately, with 0 hours on them, sounded more open and telling. They had a far more focused detail. They are very similar to my last pair, same manufacturer, just another step up in the line.

But the connections in my upstairs setup are far from ideal: I am taking the music from an analog headphone jack (mini jack), to an integrated amplifier, to the headphones. What I need is another digital to analog converter (DAC) to get more sparkle and detail about of the music.

So, I began looking to replace the downstairs DAC. My desire there is to eliminate the preamp altogether, and drive the amplifiers with a DAC that includes a digital preamp function. While I search for the perfect solution, I’ve moved the downstairs DAC upstairs, and am still breaking-in the new headphones.

All I can say is—I am once again re-discovering my music collection. The amount of detail I am getting out of this setup is incredible. You can hear details you never knew existed. At the same time, I’m discovering my iTunes library was slowly becoming corrupted. I rebuilt the library (by eliminating the iTunes Library file, and then re-importing the iTunes Library.xml file), and as I listen, I’m amazed.

I am also finding some CDs that were never “upgraded” to re-encodes at lossless or 320kbits (remnants of my original ripping project in 2001 at 160kbits). Maintaining a library of music on the computer is efficient and fun, but it also requires some maintenance from time to time.