Big Bands Redux

Although most people associate big bands with swing-era dances and later, jazzier, manifestations such as Nimmons ’n’ Nine and The Boss Brass, despite the dearth of venues and difficulties of keeping even a combo working steadily, musicians persist in utilizing large ensembles. Like muralists who prefer the magnitude of a large canvas, composers, arrangers and players appreciate the colours and breadth available using numerous, well-balanced instruments.

Case in point is Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii. Like a traveller who dons a new outfit when moving to a new locale, Fujii organizes a new big band. So Fujii, who recently relocated from New York to Berlin, debuts the 12-piece Orchestra Berlin (Libra Records 212 037 satokofujii.com), joining the large ensembles she already leads in New York, Tokyo and Nagoya. Although ABCD, the final track gives individuals solo space, including some dynamic string plucking and key-slapping vigour from Fujii, the disc’s showpiece is the extensive, but subtle sound-melding highlighted in the title suite. Treating the orchestra as one multi-hued instrument, most of the skillfully arranged climaxes have the seven brass and reed players operating as one undulating whole. At the same time, two drummers – Michael Griener and Peter Orins – keep themes on course during transitions with surging whitecap-like rhythms, buoyed by bassist Jan Roder’s robust walking. Brief, but zesty solos also appear like sophisticated scallops in the origami-like sound creation. For instance, Roder’s harsh thumps face off with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura on Ichigo Ichie 3, with the trumpeter later backing up to race guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi’s slurred fingering to a mountaintop-high plateau of interlocked timbres. Trombonist Matthias Müller’s yearning, plunger-moans cut through the rumbling thunder-like tension from the other horns on Ichigo Ichie 1; while tenor saxophonist Gebhard Ullmnan’s metal-shaking glissandi reach raw quivering excitement on Ichigo Ichie 2, with his solo complemented by gravelly trumpet grunts. Instructively, that track starts out with the group swinging as confidently as any traditional big band. All-in-all, Fujii’s pivotal talent coordinates radiant group motion plus stunning single showcases to create a challenging yet satisfying program.

Tellingly, drummer Orins plus trumpeter Christian Pruvost – both of whom play in a quartet with Fujii – are two of the dozen players who make up the Lille-based Circum Grand Orchestra. But its 12 (Circum-Disc CD 1401 circum-disc.com), only resembles Orchestra Berlin in number not style. Just as sushi and pâté are wildly different concoctions, but both are food, so the CGO’s composer/leader, electric bassist Christoph Hache’s take on a big band differs from Fujii’s. Hache’s six tracks float rather than swing, but avoid being lightweight by anchoring the tunes with a rhythm section of piano, two guitars, two basses and two drummers. From the top, 12 constitutes a musical journey as a pre-recorded voice rhymes off itinerary stops. The pieces are also framed by their soloists. Graphic for instance slides awfully close to lounge music via Stefan Orins’ moderated piano licks plus wordless vocalizing from flugelhornist Christophe Motury. Even the subsequent tenor saxophone solo is so reminiscent of a lonesome night on a deserted street that it takes a tag-team effort from drummers Orins and Jean-Luc Landsweerdt to enliven the pace. On the other hand Padoc could be Peter and the Wolf re-imagined by Ozzy Osbourne, as a buoyant flute and bass clarinet stop-time duet twirls into rugged melody characterized by wide flanges and distortions from guitarists Sébastien Beaumont and Ivann Cruz, thick tremolo keyboard strides and undulating, accelerating saxophone splashes. Putting aside the toughness suggested by reed shrills, string reverb and percussion clobbering that underlines much of the music, the key to 12 is probably the title track. Like a model changing from an outfit of raw wool to one of sleek silk, the romantic continuum suggested by the graceful dual flugelhorn introduction is swiftly coloured with streaming counterpoint from the reeds and rhythm section, before retreating to dual flute sonata-like patterns and climaxes that highlight both interpretations in symmetrical fashion.

It’s hard not to envision symmetry when dealing with Orkester Brez Meja/Orchestra Senza Confini (Dobialabel dobialabel.com). As the title indicates this 17-piece ensemble was spawned by merging the Italian Orchestra Senza Confini (OSC) with the Slovenian Orkester Brez Meja (OBM), as Slovenian drummer Zlatko Kaučič and Italian bassist Giovanni Maier share composing and conducting credits. Magari C’È the second and final track is skittishly volatile, notable for its consolidation of magisterial beats from drummers Marko Lasić and Vid Drašler as well as crisscross alto saxophone riffs from Gianfranco Agresti and trumpeter Garbriele Cancelli’s carillon-like pealing. But in reality it’s an extended coda to Brezmejniki, the nearly 32-minute narrative that precedes it that defines the disc. As Brezmejniki moves in a rewarding chromatic fashion, like sophisticated surgeons during a difficult operation who allow appropriate anesthesia or incisions as necessary, the co-conductors add and subtract soloists. At points, one of the three tenor saxophonists erupts into a crescendo of honking tones; angled string strokes and jerky flutter tones arise from three double bassists; a cellist evokes contrapuntal challenges; and soothing harmonies result from Paolo Pascolo’s celestially pitched flute. Sometimes vocalist Elisa Ulian sounds distant gurgles; elsewhere, Adriatic-style scatting. Throughout, while certain rock music-like rhythms are heard, the sound perception is of looming storm clouds, conveyed by the ensemble resonating calculated accents and wrapped up by crunching bass and drum patterns that rein in and concentrate the horns into a time-suspended dynamic finale.

Kaučič’s and Maier’s project uses conduction, which is directing improvisation through gestures. Lawrence “Butch” Morris (1947-2013) originated the concept and Possible Universe (NBR SA Jazz 014 jtdistribution.net), a newly released session from the Italian Sant’Anna Arresi Jazz Festival in 2010, confirms its skillful application. This eight-part suite by a 15-piece European-American band encompasses hushed impressionism and hard-rocking with the same aplomb. Like a theatre director, Morris knows when to scene-set the proceedings with moderate polyphonic insouciance and when to have soloists let loose with dramatic emotions. Floating ensemble tones dominate Possible Universe part two for instance before giving way to a slurry Ben Webster-style tenor saxophone solo. Supple patterning from percussionists Hamid Drake and Chad Taylor maintains the linear theme on Possible Universe part four, even as kinetic plinks and jitters from guitarists Jean-Paul Bourelly and On Ka’a Davis threaten to rip it apart. Lumbering grace is imparted as the ensemble members improvise in unison, with sophisticated dabs from Alan Silva’s synthesizer adding a contrapuntal continuum. Spectacularly, one curtain-call-like climax occurs on Possible Universe part seven. David Murray’s ocean-floor-deep bass clarinet smears create the consummate intermezzo between the entire band’s upwards-floating crescendo that precedes it and theme variations on the final track. At nearly 13 minutes, lengthier than anything that precedes it, Possible Universe part eight quivers with a semi-classical romanticism through affiliated cadenzas from the guitars, double basses and Silva’s synth’s string setting, even as atonal splutters from Evan Parker’s tenor saxophone and an equivalent blues-based line from Murray’s tenor saxophone struggle for dominance against the two trumpeters and one trombonist’s brassy explosions. Following numberless theme variations at different pitches, volumes and speeds from nearly every player, the finale is a calming timbre consolidation.

However, the most unconventional use of a big band here is on Morph (Confront ccs 37 confrontrecordings.com). Swiss-born, Paris-based tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler’s composition for Paris’ ONCEIM ensemble is a hypnotic, structured drone that transforms the entire group into a solid mass of tremulous polyphony. Considering that the length of the piece – 29 minutes – is actually one numeral less than the total players – 30 – Denzler’s skill in uniting tones and suppressing bravado is unsurpassed. Simultaneously acoustic and electric, Morph is all of a piece, but like the finest wine additionally manages to hint at other sonic flavours from the brass, reeds, strings, percussion and electronics. Three-quarters of the way though, the pace speeds up infinitesimally but distinctively, adding more tinctures of sound. A single guitar string strum is heard in the penultimate minutes as the timbres align more closely, uniting into a murmur that’s lively, seductive and tranquilizing.

Hearing any of these sessions easily demonstrates that contemporary large group compositions and arrangements have long surpassed Moonlight Serenade or Take the A Train to plot and meet individual challenges.

Canto
Daniela Nardi; Espresso Manifesto
eOne REA-CD-5826 (danielanardi.com)

From My Life
Judith Lander
Independent (judithlander.com)

Vocalist, composer and pianist Judith Lander has achieved wide international acclaim as a consummate classical cabaret and theatrical performer. With the release of her debut recording (produced by Lander and bassist Tom Hazlett), she achieves a level of meaning that can only be reached through rich life experience and the intuitive use of a profound emotional vocabulary in symbiosis with fine musical compositions. Lander has wisely selected material here that not only wraps around her warm contralto perfectly, but also reflects her career and pays tribute to some of the legendary theatre artists with whom she has worked, such as Jacques Brel and Lotte Lenya. Included in the collection are potent tunes by Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Kurt Weill, Brel, Michael Leonard, Lennon and McCartney and Lander herself.

Most beautifully rendered are Weill’s haunting September Song (rarely performed from a female perspective); a particularly lithe and graceful take on Sondheim’s title tune Anyone Can Whistle (arranged by the great Gene DiNovi) and Jacques Brel’s La Chanson des Vieux Amants, sung “en duo avec” Ghislain Aucoin. Weill’s My Ship is a true stunner, with a clever, fresh arrangement and first rate trio work from Bruce Harvey on piano, Tom Hazlett on bass and Tom Jestadt on percussion. Also of note is Stephen Sondheim’s heart-rending ballad of longing and loss, I Remember (originally heard in the 1967 black-and-white television production of the musical Evening Primrose). This gorgeous, well-produced and well-conceived CD is not only the auspicious (and long overdue) debut of one of our most treasured performing artists, but a must-have for any serious devotee of cabaret and musical theatre.

Finding Anyplace
Ozere
Independent (ozere.ca)

Finding Anyplace by the Canadian band Ozere is a gem of a CD that deftly combines elements of classical and various traditional and folk musics. Founded and led by classically trained violinist Jessica Deutsch in 2012, Ozere’s rich instrumental tone, interesting rhythms and inspired compositions create a music that feels profoundly comfortable and yet also very fresh and different. The core group of instruments is a new take on the quintessential classical string quartet, but here with violin, cello, mandolin and upright bass – the brainchild of Deutsch whose vision was to blend folk and art music. With the addition of vocals, guitar and some non-Western instruments we sometimes move into other musical realms, including Middle Eastern and even jazz. Of course, many bands cross these kinds of stylistic and cultural boundaries, yet not always with Ozere’s elegance and finesse.

All of the 11 tracks are composed by Deutsch and vocalist Emily Rockarts except two traditional songs – Wayfaring Stranger and MacArthur Road. Each track brings something new: for example, The Sun Ain’t Down and Song for Tina are mostly Celtic in style with attractive violin and mandolin parts; Anyplace is an instrumental number that begins in quasi-Middle Eastern style, then segues into something more jazzy and Celtic; and Wayfaring Stranger is a catchy Klezmer-influenced interpretation.

With its fine musicians, well-crafted songs and arrangements, and incredible variety, this is definitely a CD to recommend and a band to watch.

Payadora
Payadora Tango Ensemble
Independent (payadora.com)

The popularity of tango music is no surprise. The diverse compositional strengths, wide-ranging musical sentiments and driving rhythms offer something for all listeners, regardless of their musical tastes. Toronto-based Payadora Tango Ensemble showcase their enormous respect for the style and their phenomenal performing talents in a jam-packed 12 tango release.

Payadora’s musicians are each superstars in their own right. Pianist Tom King shines in his flourishes and gutsy glissandos. Violinist Rebekah Wolkstein plays sultry long tones and melodies with equal dynamism. Double bassist Joseph Phillips performs with a rich tone while holding the group together in a tight sense of pulse. And accordionist Branko Džinović flies over the keyboard with rapid colourful phrases and chord punches executed perfected by the master of bellows control. Together they each remain as soloists yet with superb individual listening skills blend tightly as an ensemble. Superb production qualities add to this recording’s live sound.

A welcome diverse collection of tango music is represented here, each performed with detailed musical nuances. Highlights include the traditional El Choclo in an uplifting rollicking rendition with jazzy undertones. The two Astor Piazzolla compositions are performed with his musical intentions in the forefront, complete with a dramatic finale in Retrato de Milton. Julian Plaza’s Payadora is the perfect showcase with its swelling dynamic shifts, a mournful accordion and violin opening section, and a joyous, toe-tapping, dance-tango section. Enjoy this timeless release!

Komitas
Gurdjieff Ensemble; Levon Eskenian
ECM New Series ECM 2451

Komitas’ name is familiar to many local music-lovers, thanks to Isabel Bayrakdarian’s performances and CD of his songs. Soghomon Soghomonian (1869-1935), considered the founder of Armenian musical nationalism, took the religious name of Komitas upon his ordination as a priest in 1895. The priest-musician not only composed original works, but transcribed some 3,000 folk tunes, arranging many for piano, often indicating the folk instrument to be imitated by the pianist, such as the plucked-string tar, the double-reed zurna and duduk, and the tmbuk drum. These annotations assisted Levon Eskenian, director of the Gurdjieff Ensemble, when arranging some of Komitas’ folk-derived pieces for his ten-member folk-instrument group. These, then, are arrangements of arrangements, rather than any original Komitas compositions.

This is a disc to be dipped into, rather than listened to all at once, as most of the 18 tracks, like most of Komitas’ songs, are slow and sad. Only three up-tempo pieces interrupt the melancholy: the raucous Mankakan Nvag XII for reeds and drum; Lorva Gutanerg, a pogh (flute) solo; and Hoy, Nazan, a very pretty, gently flowing pogh-kanon (zither) duet. By far the longest track, over 11 minutes, is Msho Shoror, processional dance music for a traditional religious pilgrimage, now stately, now mournful, with the keening wails of zurnas and duduks, and the haunting sound of the pogh.

While more up-tempo pieces would have been welcome, this CD’s beautiful melodies and vivid, piquant instrumental timbres deliver genuine listening pleasure.

On October 13, 2015 Toronto music lovers attended a recital by the distinguished young pianist, Benjamin Grosvenor, in a return engagement presented by Music Toronto in the Jane Mallet Theatre. After his debut there in February 2014 his self-effacing technique and insightful interpretations were, and still are, the subject of some conversation. This year’s program of Mendelssohn, Bach, Franck, Ravel and Liszt exceeded our highest expectations. The final item on the published program, a dazzling tarantella by Liszt, as they say, drove the audience wild. He returned to the keyboard and treated an expectant, hushed audience to one encore: Percy Grainger’s simple arrangement of Gershwin’s Love Walked In. Devastating! At the moment, Grosvenor has three Decca CDs which, while not exactly the same as being there, are the next best experience.

I mention these two concerts because Decca has issued a box of Stephen Kovacevich: The Complete Philips Recordings (4788662, 25 CDs). I hadn’t listened to his recordings for some time but, unexpectedly, here were very similar qualities latent in Grosvenor’s playing. Stephen Kovacevich is one of the most revered pianists in the world, whose recordings on Philips are to be found on the shelves of music lovers around the globe. He was known as Stephen Bishop until 1975 when he adopted his mother’s name.

The first recording by the American pianist from Los Angeles, who went to London to study with Dame Myra Hess, was made in the Brent Town Hall, Wembley in February 1968 of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. Back to Wembley in August, Philips recorded the Brahms Handel Variations and other pieces.  In December they recorded the Bartók Second Piano Concerto with Colin Davis and the BBC Symphony. They all returned the following April to record the Stravinsky Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments.  Davis proved to be the perfect conductor for Kovacevich. They were simpatico on the various aspects of interpretation as is self-evident in their many collaborations re-issued here; Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Grieg and Schumann.

I would like to have more than nine CDs of Beethoven; the five concertos, the Diabelli Variations, eight sonatas and three sets of Bagatelles for, as these performances unfolded, they reignited an old passion for the composer.

The Brahms First Concerto is a favorite of Kovacevich which is obvious from his recording here. The second movement is tranquility and simplicity itself. I have never heard another performance  come even close to its communication of elegance and acquiescence. Equally intuitive are the four Mozart concertos. The Schumann and Grieg concertos are outstanding, eschewing the empty, meaningless bravura of a mere technician.

This set is a reminder of the constant introspection and depth that Kovacevich conjures. Each and every work – solos, duets, trios and quintets by a variety of composers – is infused with a sense of fragrance and discovery of truthfulness as it resolves with not a single caveat. The performances carry their own authority making comparisons invidious. In so many cases one forgets that the piano is a percussion instrument. Check out the video preview of this set at youtube.com/watch?v=ePGxjGWB-iw.

When the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal moved into its new home, the Maison symphonique in the Place des Arts in 2011, the reviews were enthusiastic for both the aesthetics and acoustics of the hall. In May 2014 the crown jewel of the edifice, Le Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, was unveiled in concerts which included the Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony No.3 and new works by Montreal-born Samy Moussa and Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. Kent Nagano was at the helm of the orchestra and the soloists were OSM organist emeritus Olivier Latry in the Saint-Saëns and Saariaho and current organist-in-residence Jean-Willy Kunz in the Moussa. The stunning performances were captured in exquisite recordings that can be found on a recent Analekta CD (AN 2 8779).

In earlier years the OSM made many of its recordings in Église de St. Eustache which offered a good acoustic and a fine organ. As the sound on this new CD attests there is no longer any reason for the OSM to leave home to make a recording, and the arrival of the new organ by Casavant Frères is the icing on the cake. The organ was designed in collaboration with the hall’s architects Diamond Schmitt + Ædifica to specifications developed by Latry (now organist at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris). It comprises four mechanical action keyboards, with electrical assistance, 109 registers, 83 stops, 116 ranks and 6,489 pipes.

The Saint-Saëns, the benchmark against which all other works in the genre must be measured, is well enough known that I will not go into details here. It will suffice to say that orchestra, soloist and instrument are all in splendid form and under Nagano’s direction it’s hard to imagine a finer performance. The new works, both commissioned by the OSM (in conjunction with Orchestre national de Lyon and London’s Southbank Centre in the case of the Saariaho), are dark works that explore the sound/colour spectrum available through the combination of full orchestra and the vast resources of the “King of Instruments.” Moussa, is a 30-year-old with a flourishing career in Quebec and in Germany. His A Globe Itself Infolding is a one-movement work that slowly unfolds, gradually combining dense textures with only moments of punctuation and no real melodic development but is effective and compelling. It is conceived as a stand-alone piece but also as the prelude to a possible future full-length concerto. Saariaho’s Maan Varjot (Earth’s Shadows) is in three movements. The first, Misterioso ma intenso, is just that, mysterious and intense without much development. This is followed by a Lento calmo in which prominent, if sparse, trumpet phrases are echoed and embellished by the organ. The final Energico opens with a blasting cadenza from the organ which is taken up and sustained by the orchestra, eventually giving way to quiet bass drum “footsteps” and a high, soft organ chord that gradually dies away. Although she has not written extensively for the instrument, Saariaho was an organist in her student years and her understanding of the medium is displayed in an effective work that brings this excellent disc to a close.

I first met Erkki-Sven Tüür at the quadrennial Estonian World Festival which was held in Toronto in 1984. At just 25 years old, he was a young composer emerging from the world of rock and roll where he was something of a star. I have followed his development in the three decades since then, both through recordings and live performances, as he has become a fully mature contemporary composer.

Tõnu Kaljuste, who conducted a work of Tüür’s a few years ago in Toronto for Soundstreams, was the instigator of a recent recording which features Tüür and Australian composer Brett Dean. The title Gesualdo (ECM New Series 2452) refers to the Italian Renaissance composer and prince, Carlo Gesualdo, best known for his intensely expressive chromatic madrigals and for brutally murdering his first wife and her lover after finding them in flagrante delicto. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra perform under the direction of Kaljuste, who transcribed the opening track, Gesualdo’s Moro lasso, for string orchestra. Dean’s Carlo for choir and strings begins with a quotation from Moro lasso and other Gesualdo motives in the choir which are gradually displaced by the orchestra as we are led into a 20th-century sound world. Toward the end of the piece, in the composer’s words, “Gesualdo’s madrigals are eventually reduced to mere whispers of his texts and nervous breathing sounds. These eventually also grow in dramatic intensity into what may be seen as an orchestral echo of that fateful night in Naples.”

At Kaljuste’s request Tüür arranged Gesualdo’s O crux benedicta for strings (adding some “fragile sound clouds” to the original material) and composed L’ombra della croce especially for this recording. The latter reflects the sensibility of Gesualdo’s music with its sombre mood and slowly descending melody, with a brief light and joyous section just past the mid-point before returning to the murky depths.

The disc concludes with Psalmody, an earlier work which has its roots in Tüür’s prog-rock band In Spe (1979-1982). Although not composed until 1993, Tüür says it was “a retrospective commentary on the music I had created in [those] years.” It stands in marked contrast to the other works on the disc. Originally written for mixed chorus and the early music ensemble Hortus Musicus, it was conceived as a vehicle to bring together a minimalist diatonicism and complex atonality. In its several incarnations the atonal aspects were excised and in 2012 it was re-orchestrated and reworked for choir, double winds and brass, percussion, keyboard and strings. It is a joyous and energetic work in which the composer “aimed to step into a dialogue with the mainstream of minimalism that originates from America.” I think fans of Steve Reich and John Adams would be suitably impressed. I know I was.

The other discs to pique my interest this month were a direct result of my association with New Music Concerts over the past 16 years. I first encountered the composer and clarinet virtuoso Jörg Widmann in October 2005 when Robert Aitken invited him to curate a concert of his own music on the series. He was just 32 but well on his way to a stellar double career. Since then he has returned to Toronto several times, at the invitation of the Toronto Symphony in 2012 to take part in the New Creations Festival with conductor/composer Peter Eötvös and again in 2014 for another portrait concert with NMC and to rehearse with the TSO for their European tour.

On that first NMC concert he played music of Alban Berg with pianist David Swan and three works of his own with our musicians. The highlight of the concert for me however was the Accordes’ performance of Widmann’s Jagdquartett – String Quartet No.3 with its vocal and extra-musical interjections and flamboyant gestures. That came right back to me while listening to a new Wergo 2CD set Jörg Widmann – Streichquartette which features all five numbered string quartets plus two short early works for the strings performed by the Minguet Quartet (WER 7316 2). The Minguet has worked extensively with Widmann over the past decade. This is actually their second recording of his quartet cycle so I think we can consider these definitive performances of very challenging works that employ myriad extended techniques.

The quartets are presented in chronological order and, as discussed extensively in the comprehensive liner notes, treated as five movements of one large work. In this way I am reminded of the Orford Quartet recording of the first five quartets of R. Murray Schafer as recorded for Centrediscs back in 1990. At the time producer David Jaeger suggested the same thing about Schafer’s cycle with its interlocking themes and motives. There are other parallels between the Widmann and Schafer quartets, particularly with the vocal outbursts in both third quartets and the use of soprano (albeit much more extensively by Widmann – Claron McFadden is superb) in their respective fifths. Of course Schafer has gone on to expand his set to an even dozen, all interconnecting and all recorded by Quatuor Molinari for ATMA (atmaclassique.com). I wonder if Widmann will continue in the same fashion. At 42 he certainly has time to consider it, but he is currently booked for years in advance with opera and orchestral commissions. It has been a decade since he composed his fifth quartet and so, for the time being, we must content ourselves with this testament to the outstanding contribution to the genre by a young composer who has moved on to larger projects. The set also includes the youthful Absences for string quartet and a brief moto perpetuo movement entitled 180 beats per minute for the somewhat unusual combination of two violins, viola and three cellos. A marvellous “portrait of the artist as a young man.”

The most recent New Music Concert featured the Turning Point Ensemble from Vancouver, a large group whose members include cellist Ariel Barnes (featured in a concertante role in Linda Catlin Smith’s Gold Leaf) and harpist Heidi Krutzen (not present for the Toronto performance). Together these two formed the ensemble Couloir in 2011 and have since commissioned a number of works for this somewhat unusual combination. Released in 2013 but previously unknown to me, Wine Dark Sea (Revello Records RR7879 couloir.ca) presents three of these original works: Three Meditations on Light by Jocelyn Morlock; Drifting Seeds by Baljinder Sekhon; and A monk, dancing by Glenn Buhr.

The disc opens with Vancouver composer Morlock’s Meditations. The birds breathe the morning light begins quietly with the harp providing pointillistic accompaniment to a high, falling melody in the chanterelle range of the cello which gradually develops denser textures without ever losing its contemplative mood. Bioluminescence, the subtitle for which gives the album its title, while still gentle is a more dance-like movement with rhythmic harp motives shimmering under the lyrical cello melodies. Absence of Light – Gradual Reawakening begins, as we might expect, in darkness and the depths of the instruments’ registers but eventually leads us back to the light with some bird-like sounds along the way, ending in warm long tones from the cello.

Sekhon is a composer and percussionist living and teaching in Florida. There are world music influences and extended techniques in his 2012 Drifting Seeds which he says “explores the social and cultural connections between individuals and societies. … While composing this work I was very interested in the idea that we are all different versions of each other.” He does this by juxtaposing, layering and ultimately eliminating materials from a “collection of musical fragments. They appear at different speeds, transposition levels, and with different timbres throughout the work.” It is very effective.

Kitchener-based Buhr says, “A monk, dancing is a good metaphor for a composer. We composers spend much of our time alone in our studios (monastic cells), but the task is to imagine music; so in our minds, we dance.” After a long contemplative section rife with rich melodic chant-like lines in the cello, an arpeggiated transition leads to the “dance” – “bright and happy, with a beat a monk could dance to…” – before returning to contemplation.

While there is a certain sameness to the lush timbres and textures produced by harp and cello in all of the pieces, there is enough diversity to sustain interest throughout this fine recording.

At the Turning Point concert I was particularly impressed with the sound Barnes produced from his cello which he told me is a modern Portuguese instrument. On this CD he is playing another gorgeous-sounding cello, the 1730 Newland Johannes Franciscus Celoniatus on loan from the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank. I am left with the feeling that any cello would sound great in his hands.

The only piece of music by Isang Yun that I have ever heard performed live was Novelette for flute, harp, violin and cello, presented in the context of New Music Concerts’ Portrait of Toshio Hosokawa that also included Hosokawa’s Memory (In memory of Isang Yun) back in May 2000. The story of Yun is an intriguing one. He was born in what is now Tongyeong, South Korea in 1917, long before the division of North and South. Yun studied and settled in Germany where he was the first Asian composer to integrate aspects of the music of his homeland into the Western Art Music tradition. Yun was a strong believer in the reunification of Korea. While living in West Berlin, along with a number of compatriots, he was in contact with North Korean representatives in East Germany trying to open cultural relations between the two Koreas. Accused of being a spy, Yun and his colleagues were kidnapped and taken to South Korea where they were imprisoned and tortured. After a year, pressure applied by the German government resulted in Yun’s release and return to Germany, where, despite hoping to one day return home to a unified Korea, he remained until his death in 1995. Since that time his music has been championed in both North and South Korea where there are institutes, competitions and festivals in his name, although he is still seen as a dubious character by some.

Of course there is much more to the story than that, some of which is told in Isang Yun Inbetween North and South Korea, a film by German director Maria Stodtmeier which has been released by Accentus (ACC 20208). It is an excellent introduction to the man and the music, with extended excerpts of performances of his challenging and virtuosic compositions – of special interest to me was the extremely demanding Cello Concerto – as well as moving reminiscences of him as a teacher, mentor and composer of popular school anthems, which continued to be performed anonymously during the period when his music was banned in his homeland.

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Variations, by their nature, tend toward the cerebral. Pianists who understand this devote a good deal of effort maintaining their ties to the thematic homeland in spite of the distances a composer may travel in his creative wanderings. Konstantin Scherbakov demonstrates this beautifully in Eroica (Two Pianists Records TP1039190) where Beethoven’s Eroica Variations Op.35 journey far on a surprisingly short musical idea. When at times the composer has left little more than a hint of harmonic progression as a fragment of the original idea, Scherbakov finds it and underlines it to remind us of our point of departure. By the time he’s played through all fifteen variations, the closing fugue comes as a highly energized and joyous finale in the form Beethoven so loved to use.

The same disc contains both the Pathétique and Appassionata sonatas. Here, Scherbakov is more formal. He is very aware of the architecture around his musical content and artfully recalls the ideas Beethoven requires in the closing arguments. The Adagio of the Sonata No.8 in C Minor, Op.13 “Pathétique” is perhaps less outwardly emotional than some would like, but this works well in the context of Scherbakov’s overall approach to both sonatas. A strong performer with a clear technique, he has made this a very fine addition to anyone’s Beethoven collection. Production values on this disc are very high despite the fact that the program was recorded in different locations (UK and Moscow).

Also recorded in Moscow are Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas 6, 7 and 9. Digitally restored from original sources Prokofiev Piano Sonatas (Archipel Records ARPCD 465) features three separate public recitals by Sviatoslav Richter from the mid-1950s. Disappointingly bereft of any historical notes about the concerts, the disc is economically packaged but thankfully a little web sleuthing can uncover plenty more about this material. These are among the recordings from the decade that introduced Richter to the West. The audio restoration is wonderful although the somewhat narrow frequency range of the recording reflects the technology of the period. Still, it in no way impedes the colossal technique Richter possessed. His utter control of the wildest passages in Sonatas 6 and 9 stand in contrast to his pensive playing of the Sonata 7 where doleful reflection speaks of the personal burden Prokofiev felt under the Stalinist regime.

Richter seems the perfect pianist for this repertoire. Recording two of Prokofiev’s “War” sonatas from the early 1940s (No.6 and No.7) just a few years after Stalin’s (and the composer’s) death, one wonders what the propaganda chatter must have been at the time. The final sonata on the disc, No.9, was written for and dedicated to Richter in 1947. All three of these performances are truly arresting.

Vadym Kholodenko is the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist. His collaboration with Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in Grieg, Saint Saëns Piano Concertos (harmonia mundi HMU 907629) produces thoughtful and unhurried performances. Pianist and conductor are in complete agreement on tempi that favour a more relaxed approach than we sometimes hear. This subtle expansion of time offers the listener an extra moment of consideration before processing the composer’s next thought. The Grieg slow movement is especially exquisite for this reason.

The Saint Saëns Concerto No.2 in G Minor, Op.22 is not quite so restrained. Kholodenko takes the first two movements almost ad libitum alternating between the pensive approach of the opening movement and his dazzling chromatic octave runs in the second. But the third is where he explodes out of the gate with real drama. The palpable energy and crisp articulation make this a performance hard to surpass. This is Kholodenko’s second recording for the label. His third is the Prokofiev concertos the first disc of which we can expect the first disc in 2016.

Last month’s column reviewed several discs using period instruments. American Romantics, The Boston Scene (Piano Classics PCL0080) does something similar using an 1873 Chickering grand in a historic Episcopal church in Charlestown, MA. The instrument benefits from modern action and sounds more like a contemporary piano than a fortepiano. Still, its darker colours and unique upper register voicing remind us of its vintage. Pianist Artem Belogurov clearly loves this piano and as much caresses it as plays it. His repertoire choices reveal how much this late romantic American school owed to its European origins.

It wasn’t until the next generation of composers, the modernists of the early 20th century, that an identifiable American voice began to emerge. Still, this disc’s program helps us understand the creative heritage from which that sprang. Highly programmatic, these short pieces by Foote, Paine, Chadwick and Nevin are beautifully written by composers who knew their craft well. Belogurov commits to them wholly. His playing is sincere and utterly convincing.

The disc is enlightening, entertaining and offers a profoundly satisfying final track with Margaret Ruthven Lang’s Rhapsody in E Minor Op.21. Published in 1895, it’s the most substantial work on the recording and demonstrates a remarkable affinity between composer and pianist, across cultures and generations.

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Some four decades later Leonard Bernstein, then in his late teens, wrote his Sonata for the Piano (1938) and Music for the Dance No.2. These two works open and close pianist Alexandre Dossin’s program on Bernstein: Thirteen Anniversaries (Naxos 8.559756). Dossin is Brazilian-born, Moscow Conservatory-trained and now teaches in the U.S. He plays the Sonata with all the boldness and assertiveness that the young Bernstein brought to the page. It’s brilliant music and brilliantly played. The three-movement Music for the Dance is polytonal and angular in rhythm. Dossin understands Bernstein’s structures and always keeps the principal ideas up front for us to follow.

Thirteen Anniversaries from 1988 is the last of four such collections of miniatures Bernstein wrote for his family and numerous friends. A half century separates these from the early compositions on this disc and the difference is remarkable. Dossin conveys what the older composer is feeling. For Stephen Sondheim is a heartfelt tribute to his friend and librettist with very subtle harmonic tilts in the direction of Broadway. In Memoriam: Ellen Goetz is simple and profoundly moving and serves as a fitting close to the set. The 1943 Seven Anniversaries contains tributes to Aaron Copland as well as Serge and Nathalie Koussevitsky and others. Dossin finishes this set with an aggressively energized For William Schumann. All of it is superb.

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Felt Hammers (Tantara TCD0314FHM) is a collection of the piano works of Michael Hicks played by Keith Kirchoff. This disc is far from common fare but more than a few will like it – a lot. Contemporary and a bit experimental in both composition and performance, the music has titles that reflect strong allusions to the sacred, poetic and philosophical. Still, one hesitates to deem it entirely programmatic. With the piano tuned to Werckmeister III (a tuning system with subtle shimmers in certain keys), Kirchoff plays the instrument in the conventional way, but also stops and plucks strings manually and occasionally adds vocalizations.

The core of the program is The Stations of The Cross and its narrative is easy to follow. What raises this composition far out of the ordinary is that Kirchoff has fully captured Hicks’ intention to use the piano in ways that create new and powerfully evocative sonorities. These are sound paintings that strongly project images of Jesus’ journey from condemnation to death and burial. It’s emotionally graphic, though in an abstract way.

The Annunciation is the only piece that extensively uses familiar keyboard technique. Its technical demands are high and Kirchoff meets them capably. The disc opens with a helpful introduction to Hicks’ keyboard language. The Idea of Domes is a simple keyboard tone poem that delivers exactly what its title suggests and prepares the listener for what’s to come. The closing track L’épitaph de Monk is based on Thelonious Monk’s Crepuscule with Nellie and echoes the rhythmic note clusters that punctuate Monk’s original. Those in the target niche for this recording will find it very gratifying.

Since winning first prize at the 2000 International Chopin Competition at age 18, Chinese pianist Yundi has scarcely stopped to catch his breath. Countless international tours and 16 recordings later Yundi’s energy is as impressive as ever. His latest disc is Yundi Chopin Preludes (Mercury Classics/Deutsche Grammophon 4811910) which presents all of the Op.28 Preludes plus the Op.45 in C-sharp Minor and a posthumous work as well.

While each on separate tracks, the 24 preludes are produced with very little time between them and give the effect of a larger single piece. This has the novel effect of joining Chopin’s disparate ideas, many less than a minute long, into a statement that he may never have considered. If anything, it allows us a high-contrast glimpse of his remarkable imagination and technique, none of which is beyond Yundi’s grasp. His playing is often unbelievably fast as in the Prelude No.18 in F Minor, but never sacrifices clarity or phrasing. Others like the No.23 in F Major move with an enchanting fluidity. It’s a breathtaking recording and easy to play often for the sheer marvel of it.

Film music became its own form when musicians first started playing for silent movies. Largely given to supporting and enhancing the emotions portrayed on the screen, film scores occasionally rise beyond their usual task and stand on their own artistic merits. Composer/pianist Francesco Di Fiore has taken this a step further by creating a video and piano performance project using selected shots from a variety of modern films and has reinterpreted the film scores as minimalist keyboard iterations. The studio version of this live project is Piano Sequenza – Piano Music in Film (Zefir Records 9642) and is a remarkably intimate listening experience.

Most of the music selected for this recording was already piano-centric, either written for the instrument as solo or using it to carry the main thematic idea. Di Fiore’s reinterpretations have the effect of being artistic distillations, powerful for their links to films we know well, The Piano, The Hours, The Truman Show and others. And while there is a strong melancholic undercurrent to it all, he infuses it with a clear and uplifting simplicity that has a lingering effect.

Whether he is spinning the ideas of Michael Nyman or Phillip Glass, Di Fiore succeeds in turning the piano into a unique voice, through which we experience the film world of directors Peter Weir, Jane Campion and the others included on this unusual disc.

Our own James Ehnes is back with a CD of early 18th century works on Vivaldi Four Seasons (Onyx 4134), with his regular partner Andrew Armstrong at the piano for Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata and Leclair’s Tambourin Sonata, and the Sydney Symphony under Ehnes’ direction providing the support for the title work. It’s the first time Ehnes has recorded The Four Seasons, and it was certainly worth the wait. The playing is everything you would expect from him: it’s warm, intelligent and beautifully judged, with sensitive and very effective orchestral accompaniment.

The Tartini and Leclair sonatas are the opening works on the CD, with Ehnes using the Kreisler edition of the Devil’s Trill sonata that ends with the challenging cadenza that Kreisler added to the work. Again, the playing by both performers is outstanding.

Another Onyx CD features live concert recordings of violin music by Sergei Prokofiev in terrific Frankfurt performances by Viktoria Mullova (ONYX 4142). The Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi provides the support in the lovely Concerto No.2 in G, Op.63, recorded over two days in May 2012. Mullova is equally at home in the work’s beautiful slow movement and in the music’s spikier passages.

Prokofiev’s two unaccompanied violin sonatas – the Sonata for Two Violins in C, Op.56 and the Solo Violin Sonata in D, Op.115 – were recorded in December 2014. Tedi Papavrami joins Mullova in the former. The recorded ambience is full and resonant, especially in the concerto, and there is no real sign of audience presence other than the applause at the end of the works, which fades out after a few seconds.

There’s more live Prokofiev, as well as Shostakovich and Rachmaninov on Russian Concert, a 2-CD recording of the March 28, 2006 concert in Toronto’s Glenn Gould Studio by the outstanding violist Rivka Golani and pianist John Lenehan (Hungaroton HCD 32743-44). The concert opens and closes with pieces (six on CD1, five on CD2) from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet, transcribed for viola and piano, with the composer’s permission, by the Russian violist Vadim Borisovsky. Violist Douglas Perry joins Golani and Lenehan for the final two pieces.

CD1 ends with a brooding performance of the Shostakovich Sonata for Viola and Piano Op.147, the only work in the concert in its original form, but the heart of the recital is the transcription – again by Borisovsky – of Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata in G Minor Op.19. More than anything else on the two CDs this brings impassioned playing from both performers, with the piano often predominant in a role that is far from being merely an accompaniment. Despite the wonderful viola playing, however, it’s difficult to ignore the fact that the instrument’s pitch is higher and somewhat thinner than the cello’s, and the absence of the latter’s strength, depth and richness, particularly in the lower strings, alters the tonal relationship with the piano; at times here, the music just seems to be too big for the instrument. Still, what a performance!

The ever-reliable English cellist Steven Isserlis is back with yet another delightful CD, this time with harpsichordist Richard Egarr on Bach, Handel and Scarlatti Gamba Sonatas (Hyperion CDA68045).

Bach’s three sonatas – in G Major BWV1027, D Major BWV1028 and G Minor BWV1029 – are programmed around Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in D Minor Kk90 and Handel’s Violin Sonata in G Minor HWV364b. The Handel here relies on an authentic manuscript version that shows the opening of the violin part lowered an octave and indicated as for viola da gamba. In this work and the Scarlatti the players are joined by Robin Michael on cello continuo.

Isserlis points out that playing with a harpsichord allows him “to play as lightly as possible without ever courting inaudibility,” and the result is playing of grace, lightness and warmth. Add the usual intelligent and insightful booklet notes written by Isserlis in his inimitable style – he even quotes Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel at one point – and the whole package is another winner.

The often-asked question “How could I not have heard them play before?” raised its head again this month when I played Four Centuries, a new CD from pianist Susan Merdinger and violinist David Yonan featuring works by Mozart, Schumann, Bloch and the Chicago-based contemporary composer Ilya Levinson (Sheridan Music Studio susanmerdinger.org). Both players have impressive résumés, but the Berlin-born Yonan made his recital debut in Berlin, Moscow and St. Petersburg at the age of 11. He also studied with the legendary Dorothy DeLay at Juilliard. He has impeccable technique, a sumptuous tone and a real depth to his playing.

A lovely performance of Mozart’s Sonata No.13 in B-flat Major, K454 opens the disc, with the fine balance between the instruments reminding us that the work was written as being “for Piano and Violin.”

Schumann’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in A Minor, Op.105 is also beautifully played, but it is the 20th century work, Bloch’s Suite Hébraïque that really steals the show here. “It is the Jewish soul that interests me,” said Bloch, and it’s that soul which is at the heart of this three-movement suite and given a brilliant realization by Yonan. It’s stunning playing.

The final work is the world premiere recording of Levinson’s Elegy: Crossing the Bridge, a short piece dedicated to David Yonan, who gave the world premiere in Chicago in 2011. Susan Merdinger is a terrific partner throughout a highly satisfying CD.

Three of the great Czech string quartets are featured on Janáček & Smetana String Quartets, the latest CD from the Takács Quartet (Hyperion CDA67997). All three works, while being strongly nationalistic, are also intensely personal.

Smetana openly admitted that his Quartet No.1 in E Minor, From My Life, was a tone picture of his life: the first movement is his youthful yearnings; the second the dance music of his youth; the third his first love – his future wife, whom he would lose to tuberculosis; and the fourth his joy in incorporating nationalism in his mature music, a joy that would be terminated by his growing deafness, represented in the score by the sudden ominous high E harmonic pitch that sounded in the composer’s ear. It’s obvious from the passionate opening that this will be a rewarding performance, and it never disappoints.

Janáček’s two quartets, subtitled The Kreutzer Sonata and Intimate Letters, were both written late in his life, when he had found his decidedly individual voice and was experiencing a late surge in his career. In particular, he was deeply involved in an intensely passionate – though essentially unrequited – friendship with the young Kamila Stősslová, and the second quartet specifically represents events in Janáček’s relationship with her; despite his age, it’s full of the passion and yearning of a youthful man.

The performances of both works here are all that you could want them to be.

American Dreams is the title of a lovely new CD from the St. Helens String Quartet (Navona Records NV6004) as well as the subtitle of the opening work, Peter Schickele’s String Quartet No.1 from 1983.

Schickele, who turned 80 this year, has enjoyed a long career as a composer and performer when not busy with his alter ego P.D.Q. Bach. This quartet, the major work on the CD, is beautifully written, moving in an arch from an Appalachian start through jazz, blues and fiddle styles and a Navajo song back to the dulcimer-like Appalachian tune from the opening.

Ken Benshoof (born 1933), Bern Herbolsheimer (born 1948) and Janice Giteck (born1946) are the other composers, represented by a variety of short works. Benshoof’s Swing Low from 2004 is eight views of the famous spiritual, and his Remember is a nostalgic sketch from 1977. His Diversions from 2005 – six pieces in various moods, including Blue Grass and Raggedy Blues – are for violin and piano, with pianist Lisa Bergman providing the accompaniment.

Botanas, Herbolsheimer’s five-movement work from 2008, is named for the appetizers served in Mexican bars and cafes. The two pieces by Giteck are Ricercare (Dream Upon Arrival) from 2012 and Where can one live safely, then? In surrender, written for the St. Helens Quartet in 2005. There is nothing here that is hard to assimilate, and a great deal that is thought-provoking and highly enjoyable. The playing throughout is warm and idiomatic, the recording quality excellent.

Also from Navona Records is Feral Icons, a suite of six movements for solo viola by Peter Vukmirovic Stevens performed by Mara Gearman (NV6008). The work was written for Gearman in 2013-14, and according to the very sparse booklet notes employs Stevens’ signature sound of extended tonality and isometric rhythms.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure what that means in this particular context. We’re told that Stevens, who studied with Bern Herbolsheimer among others, has a compositional approach that strips away the extraneous to reveal simplicity, and certainly the writing here seems to be mostly tonal and quite accessible, with a fairly standard use of the instrument. There’s not a great deal of dynamic, rhythmic or tonal range though, and Gearman’s vibrato never seems to vary much. Still, she’s more than up to any technical challenges the work presents.

Judging by the number of cello ensembles around these days, cellists must love company. Vibrez is the first release on the UK’s Edition Classics label by the London-based cello octet Cellophony (EDN1047), featuring a program of nine arrangements by octet member Richard Birchall and one original composition. The eclectic list includes Wagner’s Prelude to Act 1 of Tristan und Isolde, three Schubert songs, Liszt’s La Lugubre Gondola, Wieniawski’s Scherzo-Tarantelle (in a particularly dazzling performance), Mendelssohn’s Ave Maria, a Bach Prelude and Barber’s Adagio Op.11, the famous “Adagio for Strings.” The original composition Violoncelles, Vibrez! by the contemporary Italian composer and cellist Giovanni Sollima completes a charming and entertaining disc.

Music for a New Century is a new and intriguing CD of Violin Concertos by the American composers Sidney Corbett and Christopher Adler, performed by Sarah Plum (Blue Griffin Recording BGR371).

The Chamber Music Midwest Festival Orchestra under Akira Mori joins Plum in a live recording of Corbett’s Yaël at its June 5, 2011 North American premiere in Wisconsin, while Nicholas Deyoe conducts San Diego New Music in the world premiere of the Adler concerto, commissioned by Plum specifically to pair with the Corbett on this CD release.

While both works are clearly very strong neither is an easy first listen, with a good deal of unrelenting toughness that tends to act like a suit of emotional armour, keeping you at bay. Plum, however, calls them “beautiful, original and quite striking,” and says that she is “confident that they will enter the repertoire and be played for many years to come.” I really hope she’s right, but I won’t be putting any money on it; these are works that are not immediately audience friendly in the traditional sense, even on repeated hearings, and might prove difficult to program.

Mind you, it’s difficult to imagine a better flag bearer for them than Sarah Plum, who is quite brilliant here, or better performances or recordings. This is still an indispensable addition to the contemporary American violin concerto discography.

Rimsky-Korsakov – The Tsar’s Bride
Peretyatko; Rachvelishvili;Kränzle; Cernoch; Kotscherga; Tomowa-Sintow; Staatkapelle Berlin; Daniel Barenboim
BelAir Classics BAC105

This production was a highlight of the 2013 season in Berlin. One of the reasons was Russian director-genius, Dimitry Tcherniakov (creator of the COC’s unorthodox and spectacular Don Giovanni last February) who has since become a very desirable commodity all over the world. Tcherniakov’s modern concept targets the world of media bosses inventing computer-generated heroes and rounding up beautiful women (remember The Bachelor?) to be chosen against their will to be their wives. His concept chimes in nicely with the gruesome original story and is also very engaging, colourful and spectacular to look at.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tsar’s Bride is largely unknown in the West and it is the true story of Ivan the Terrible’s chosen bride who was poisoned soon after their marriage. The opera is strongly dramatic with beautiful melodic invention and is profoundly moving, especially in the hands of Daniel Barenboim, who is packing in sold-out performances one after the other in Berlin and in Milan – at La Scala where Verdi was discovered and where he is referred to these days simply as “The Maestro.”

The celebrated cast is headed by Russia’s latest export, the gorgeous high soprano Olga Peretyatko, still a bit of an unknown quantity to most, but already a star. I’ve watched her in Rossini literally charming the Pesaro audience with her conquering hair-raisingly difficult vocal acrobatics and her spectacular stage presence. It’s almost impossible to outdo her, yet mezzo Anita Rachvelishvili’s deeply felt, heartbreaking performance as the wronged woman gets even more applause at the end. Of the men, German bass-baritone J.M. Kränzle, who is also a great character actor, makes a big impression as a larger-than-life and complex Boyar Grigory. Opera at its best.

Parry – I Was Glad; Coronation Te Deum
Choir of Westminster Abbey; Onyx Brass; Daniel Cook; James O’Donnell
Hyperion CMA68089

Sir Hubert Parry’s most famous Church of England standards such as Jerusalem, Dear Lord and Father of mankind (on his hymn tune Repton), the ode Blest pair of sirens, his “Mag and Nunc” (Magnificat and Nunc dimittis) and coronation pieces I was glad and Te Deum are featured alongside lesser-known early works in this excellent recording by the gentlemen and boys of Westminster Abbey. Though some contemporaries saw Parry as overly conventional, one must admit that his music can be rousing and has graced many a royal occasion, not just in his own time but in ours as well.

While I was glad and Te Deum served for coronations throughout the 20th century, Blest pair of sirens – Parry’s setting of Milton’s ode At a Solemn Music, was performed by the Westminster Abbey Choir for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate). By employing the Onyx Brass, this recording pays tribute to the many times brass was introduced in arrangements of Parry’s work, notably those by Grayston Ives. The choir performs as if born to this music and an excellent solo quartet for the Magnificat emerges from its ranks, including a treble solo of great clarity by the young Alexander Kyle. Organist Daniel Cook veritably shines, having been given the over 11-minute Fantasia and Fugue in G Major.

Rufus Wainwright – Prima Donna
Janis Kelly; Kathryn Guthrie; Antonio Figueroa; Richard Morrison; BBC Symphony; Jayce Ogren
Deutsche Grammophon 479 5340

Perfect Polyphony – Peter Phillips’ Favourites
Tallis Scholars
Gimell CDGIM 213

Coming up to 2000 concerts and 56 albums, director Peter Phillips has chosen to celebrate the Tallis Scholars by compiling his favourite recordings from 40 years of their stellar performances of Renaissance polyphony. Appropriately, the disc begins with Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli, which also happens to be the very first piece the group ever recorded, and is followed by a lovely 1987 recording of Victoria’s Versa est in luctum. Tackling Gesualdo’s intense and harmonically challenging Ave, dulcissima Maria highlights the high level of precision these singers can execute. Particularly moving are the two sets of Lamentations of Jeremiah by Thomas Tallis, with Brumel and Ferrabosco’s settings following. Repetition, however, is not an issue: each composer’s treatment (and selection of text) is quite different. The opening of Josquin’s Missa Ave maris stella is resplendent with purity of tone, particularly in the women’s voices, and is lovely in its canonic pursuit from start to finish. The Tallis Scholars’ perfect intonation is enhanced by their uncanny ability to imbue the performance with meaning and beauty, never departing from the true spiritual significance of these works.

Concert note: The Chamber Music Orillia Chamber Choir performs Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli and works by Rachmaninoff, Fauré and Bach under Jeffrey Moellman’s direction on November 8, at St. James' Anglican Church, Orillia.

The Vale of Tears
Theatre of Early Music; Schola Cantorum; Daniel Taylor
Analekta AN 2 9144

Many years ago I discovered Heinrich Schütz’s funeral cantata, the Musikalische Exequien at an early music workshop in Amherst, Massachusetts. I am not exaggerating when I say that this was one of the most stunning musical experiences which have come my way. The week ended with a performance which was recorded. Naturally I rushed out to obtain the tape. It proved truly awful. Fortunately I discovered a fine professional performance conducted by Hans-Martin Linde on LP (it never made it to CD). Since then there have been others. I do not myself care for the very extroverted disc conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (Archiv) but there is a superb rendering by Vox Luminis on Ricercar, conducted by Lionel Meunier, who is also one of the bass soloists.

I am not going to claim that this new recording led by Daniel Taylor is even better, but it certainly runs close. It gets off to a very good start with the Intonation sung by Rufus Müller, who is terrific throughout. The singing is very fine and besides Müller I very much enjoyed the soprano soloists, Agnes Zsigovics and Ellen McAteer. The CD also contains two short movements from a mass by Michael Praetorius as well as a cantata by Bach (O heiliges Geist- und Wasserbad, BWV165). That cantata has a solo quartet consisting of Zsigovics, Müller, Daniel Taylor (alto) and Alexander Dobson (baritone). They are very good as are some of the obbligato players, notably the violinist Cristina Zacharias and the cellist Christina Mahler. Highly recommended.

Concert note: The Theatre of Early Music Choir and Students of the Schola Cantorum led by Daniel Taylor, are featured in The Lamb: An A Cappella Christmas Concert at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, on November 29.