Rhapsody in Blue and other piano works
Mauro Bertoli
Cavalli Musica

From Mozart to Khachaturian
Mauro Bertoli
Cavalli Musica

Piano Works by Scarlatti; Schumann; Granados; Ginastera
Mauro Bertoli
Cavalli Musica
www.maurobertoli.com

In the world of classical music, Italy has long been known for producing famous singers and conductors. For some reason, though, the list of renowned Italian pianists is considerably shorter — Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Maurizio Pollini are among those who come to mind. However, with the release of three CDs on the Cavalli Musica label featuring a young artist by the name of Mauro Bertoli, that list should be immediately augmented! Born in Italy, Mr. Bertoli has been the recipient of several international piano prizes including the prestigious Giuseppe Sinopoli Award in 2006, and he has appeared in major concert halls throughout Europe, North America, Israel and China. It’s our good fortune that he has decided to settle in Canada, where he’s currently on the piano performance faculty at Carleton University in Ottawa.

At the outset, these discs are impressive with their eclecticism. While certain pianists tend to concentrate on music of certain periods, or by particular composers, Bertoli’s repertoire is wide and encompassing, spanning 300 years of piano literature. For example, the CD Rhapsody in Blue and Other Piano Works, focuses primarily on music from the romantic period, with pieces by Schumann, Brahms and Liszt, but also included is the brief and poignant Für Alina by Arvo Pärt. The Brahms Intermezzo Op.188, No.2 and the Liszt Romance S169 are warmly introspective, while the Schumann Toccata Op.7 aptly demonstrates Bertoli’s flawless command of the keyboard. In contrast, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue provides a rousing conclusion. Bertoli may hail from the land of olive trees, but his convincing interpretation of this jazzy and syncopated music from 1924 has ”Manhattan” written all over it.

The disc From Mozart to Khachaturian is another study in contrasts. Opening with Mozart’s poetic and gracious Rondo K494, the disc also features two of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies, Schumann’s Sonata for the Young, Op.118, Granados’ Allegro de Concert and Shostakovich’s Three Fantastic Dances — a virtual United Nations of piano literature.

Not many pianists today turn their attention to keyboard music of the Italian Baroque, but three sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti lead off the third disc, all of them demonstrating Bertoli’s manual dexterity and acute sense of timing. Also on this CD are the Schumann Paganini Etudes, Op.3 and Nachtstücke, Op.23. But for me, the highlight of this recording is surely the set of three Danzas Argentinas by Alberto Ginastera. Written in 1937, this music dates from early in the composer’s career and is challenging from all perspectives. With their complex rhythms and chromatic harmonies, these dances might faze many pianists, but Bertoli handles the complexities with apparent ease, bringing the disc to a spirited conclusion.

My only quibble with all three discs is the recording quality, which I found somewhat “dry.” Fine playing such as this deserves a decent sound, and a little more resonance would have been preferable. But this is minor issue and certainly doesn’t detract from these eclectic collections of piano repertoire. Bravissimo, Mr. Bertoli — let’s hear from you again!

Concert Notes: Bertoli is pianist-in-residence at Barrie’s Colours of Music festival (September 21 to 30) and will be performing several concerts there including Strauss’ Enoch Arden with actor Kevin White on the 24th and a solo recital on September 30 featuring works by Gershwin, Khachaturian and Schumann; he will also conduct a masterclass on September 27. On October 7, Bertoli performs at U of T’s Hart House for their Sunday Concert Series.

Alison Balsom
Alison Balsom
EMI Classics 50999731660 2 3

Two years ago I had the opportunity to review the first recording I had heard by this amazing young British trumpeter. For the most part, that recording consisted of transcriptions of works which were not originally written for trumpet. By contrast, this recent disc contains a wider spectrum of music. The recording starts and ends with works by Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla. Balsom’s haunting tone sets the stage with his Escuale, and ends with a dazzling fiery performance of Libertango. While this recording too contains mostly transcriptions, it also has the Andante movement of a trumpet concerto by a composer named Neruda. Since no first name was given, a visit to Google turned up three composers by that name. From the sound of the work, I would assume that it is the work of 18th century composer Johann Baptist Neruda. There are movements from an oboe concerto by Marcello, a trio sonata by Bach, a flute work by Debussy and yet another excellent transcription of Rachmaninoff’s ubiquitous Vocalise. A new work, written for Balsom by Scottish composer James Macmillan, Seraph for trumpet and string orchestra, is in a similar vein.

Rounding out the program are arrangements of two traditional works, Shenandoah and Nobody Knows. Since much of the music is by lesser known composers, I would have appreciated some biographical information. Unfortunately there is none. Overall this is an excellent display of the talent of this young woman’s virtuosity. One does not have to be a trumpet aficionado to enjoy an hour of quality music with this CD.

From my reviewing standpoint, I don’t think any CD label has provided as many interesting releases over the past few years as England’s Hyperion Records. The latest release to reach me is a 2-CD set of the Complete Suites for Violin and Piano by Joseph Achron (CDA67841), in simply stunning performances by Hagai Shaham and Arnon Erez. Five of the six Suites are on CD2, recorded in 2009 at the Jerusalem Music Centre in Israel; the Stempenyu Suite and the 17 shorter pieces on CD1 were actually recorded 13 years earlier at the same location, and were previously released on Biddulph (LAW021). There is no discernible difference in the sound quality.

Achron (1886–1943) was a Russian Jewish virtuoso who studied under Leopold Auer in St. Petersburg, as did Milstein, Elman, Zimbalist and Heifetz; the latter is described in the excellent booklet notes by Malcolm Miller as Achron’s “friend and champion.” It’s a fitting connection, for Achron’s compositions — especially the earlier ones — are much in the style of the encore and salon pieces of Kreisler and Heifetz; the Children’s Suite on CD2 is a 1934 arrangement by Heifetz of eight of the 20 pieces in Achron’s original piano suite of the same name. Achron’s brother, incidentally, was Heifetz’s pianist in the US in the early 1920s. To strengthen the connection even more, Shaham’s tone and vibrato are very reminiscent of Heifetz’s own playing. And what playing there is on these two discs! Shaham is not only technically superb, but presents perfect interpretations, never treating the music as just occasional pieces, but never going over the top with the virtuosic aspects either.

What is particularly interesting about the music here is that it presents such an intriguing picture of the musical world through the early years of the 20th century; names mentioned in the notes as influences on Achron include Scriabin, Franck, Ravel, Stravinsky, Bartok, Mahler, Zemlinsky and Bloch. Achron’s style clearly developed as he moved through his life, from his early Russian pieces, through his connection with the Society for Jewish Folk Music in St. Petersburg in 1911, to his later, more chromatic works in Berlin and the US, works which were much admired by Schoenberg.

I simply can’t say enough about Shaham’s playing here — this is truly a violinist’s violinist. Erez is no slouch at the keyboard either, albeit possibly with less virtuosic demands. Surprisingly, much of Achron’s music still remains in manuscript form only, which makes this CD set even more valuable. Achron wrote three violin concertos, premiering the last two of them with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra during his Hollywood years in the late 1930s; what I wouldn’t give to be able to hear Shaham playing them!

The latest CD from England’s Brodsky Quartet offers beautifully-judged performances of the String Quartet and Piano Trio of Claude Debussy (Chandos CHAN 10717). The quartet was founded 40 years ago, with two of the original members still there, so their faultless ensemble playing should come as no surprise.

The String Quartet is a beautiful and idiomatic reading: passionate, nicely coloured and with a wonderful range of tone and dynamics. The Piano Trio is an early work from 1880, when the 18 year old Debussy was employed by Nadejda von Meck, Tchaikovsky’s patroness. Despite its lack of maturity, it’s an interesting piece, with many hints at the composer’s later style, but with a rather weak ending. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is the perfect pianist for this music, having recorded Debussy’s Complete Works for Solo Piano for the Chandos label. Again, it’s a beautiful performance.

Two shorter works fill out the CD. The Deux Danses (Danses Sacrée et Profane) for chromatic harp and orchestra were written in 1904 as examination pieces for the Brussels Conservatory, after that institution had been persuaded by the Parisian instrument makers Pleyel, the chromatic harp’s inventors, to run courses for the instrument. Welsh harpist Sioned Williams is the excellent soloist in this arrangement for pedal harp and string quintet, with Chris Laurence on double bass.

The closing track is the 1890 piano piece Reverie, arranged for string quartet by the Brodsky’s violist Paul Cassidy. Beautiful string playing throughout, with excellent balance and sound quality, make this a very attractive release.

Camillo Sivori (1815-94) was Paganini’s only pupil, and was already touring Europe as a virtuoso violinist by the age of 12. Like most 19th century virtuosi, he wrote works for his own instrument. The Italian label Tactus has issued his Opere per Violino e Pianoforte (TC 811901) in excellent performances by violinist Mauro Tortorelli and pianist Angela Meluso.

On first hearing, the seven pieces here are much in the style of Paganini, but Sivori was apparently noted for “advancing and maturing the concept of interpretation,” as the rather awkwardly-translated booklet notes put it, and the works offer a fascinating look at mid-1800s Italian virtuoso playing and composing in the post-Paganini years. Detailed performing and publication histories of the works are included in the booklet.

The playing here is absolutely first-class; it’s never enough simply to get all the notes and technical tricks in this type of music, even if it’s not that deep emotionally – you must also make it smooth and seamless, and apparently effortless, without making it sound like empty virtuosity. Tortorelli gets it stunningly right on all counts. The piano has less to do, but Meluso is a fine and sympathetic accompanist.

Sivori’s name also turns up on Bottesini – Capriccio di Bravura, a CD of stunning double bass performances by the Dutch bassist Rick Stotijn (Channel Classics CCS SA 32612). Giovanni Bottesini (1821-89) was a brilliant bass virtuoso, and his compositions for the instrument were responsible for the double bass becoming a bona fide solo instrument.

His most frequently heard work is the Gran Duo Concertante in A Major, originally written for two double basses and orchestra, but now played almost exclusively in the arrangement by Camillo Sivori for violin, double bass and orchestra. It is played here in an arrangement by Duncan McTier for the same soloists with string orchestra, with the outstanding Liza Ferschtman on violin and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta under Candida Thompson.

Cellist Monika Leskovar joins Stotijn for the Duo Concertant on Themes from Bellini’s “I Puritani,” also in a string orchestra arrangement, and the CD also features two works for double bass and string quintet: the Grande Allegro di Concerto “alla Mendelssohn,” which seems to rely heavily on the E Minor violin concerto for its inspiration; and the Capriccio di Bravura in A Major.

Stotijn’s sister, mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn, joins her brother and pianist Hans Eijsackers in two songs that reflect the composer’s love of – and familiarity with – opera and the bel canto style. Bottesini was a successful opera conductor, having conducted the premiere of Verdi’s Aïda in 1871, and he also wrote several operas of his own. Neither song is particularly Italianate or showy, and the bass beautifully supports the vocal part.

Stotijn’s playing throughout is quite astonishing, although the music itself isn’t always up to his high standards; his tone, vibrato speed, agility and range are truly amazing. At times it’s difficult to tell the violin and bass apart in the Gran Duo, and Stotijn manages to sound more like a cellist in the quintets.

The contributions from members of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta in the chamber works are first-class; there is a lovely resonance to the recorded sound, with the soloists perfectly balanced.

I’m not sure where to start with the new CD from the American cellist Charles Curtis – Bach: An Imaginary Dance (eOne EOM-CD-2127). “An extraordinary new reading of 3 Bach Cello Suites,” says the sticker on the front of the jewel case: “Accompanied by tabla and organ, Charles Curtis opens an alternative dimension of rhythm and color.” Well, maybe.

First things first. Curtis is a superb cellist. His playing here is smooth and flowing, with no hint of technical difficulty, and with a lovely sense of line that simply bursts with life and energy. I would pay a good deal to hear him perform the complete suites unaccompanied. So how did he end up recording selected cello suites with tabla (Naren Budhakar) and organ (Anthony Burr)?

For a start, he is fully aware of the historical context of the works, of the importance of dance in social life at the time and of Bach’s lack of hesitation in adapting his music to different instrumentations.

But why the Indian instrumental additions? Well, Curtis has studied the Kirana style of Indian classical music, and is a regular member of the Just Alap Raga Ensemble. When he decided to enhance the dance nature of the suites, the organ and tabla must have been immediate options: the tabla clearly supports and embroiders the rhythmic nature of the music, and the organ fills in the harmonic structure implicit in the solo cello lines. It’s a subtle harmonic support, too, with no vibrato and no contrapuntal lines – just a smooth, low-key chordal sound typical of the portable organs used in Indian music.

Now the big question: does it work? The Suites chosen are numbers 1 in G Major, 3 in C Major and 4 in E-flat Major; all have six movements – Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Bourrée or Menuet, and Gigue – and in each case the Prelude and Sarabande (the slow movements) are played unaccompanied. Even in the remaining movements, the tabla and organ are not always present; the degree of participation varies a great deal, whether they are playing singly or together. I tended to find that I would forget about them in the solo cello movements and then wonder why they had returned.

You can argue as much and as long as you like about whether or not this approach provides an ear-opening new way of listening to these works, or whether such additions do nothing but pointlessly compromise the integrity of the original music, but the bottom line for me is that Curtis’ cello playing is so wonderfully full of life, as close to perfection as you can get, that I can’t see how you could possibly need anything else. In many ways the tabla and organ don’t really detract from the music, but they can hardly be said to add anything either; at best, they buzz and hover around it like mosquitoes at an outdoor evening dinner.

“An alternative dimension of rhythm and color?” I don’t really know; I was too busy listening to the cello.

Bouliane; Gougeon; Rea Joseph Petric;
Nouvel Ensemble Moderne;
Lorraine Vaillancourt
ATMA ACD2 2395

Lorraine Vaillancourt and the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM) deliver a vibrant performance in this most recent of an ongoing series of releases celebrating the new music of Montreal. Equally precise and passionate, they play the music like they own it.

Denys Bouliane’s Rythmes et échos des rivages anticostiens is an exciting work based on his imagined historical reconstruction of the music of Anticosti Island. The composer is particularly interested in the encounter between European and First Nations cultures, a project in which he brings to bear both his European academic background and more recent research into First Nations music. Sophisticated use of devices such as simple repetition achieve highly complex results, propelling the piece though an intense and inventive timbral tour of the NEM’s resources.

In En accordéon, Denis Gougeon, the self-described “knitter of sounds,” bases his ideas on the alternating squeezing and stretching of the accordion’s bellows. Dramatic gestures abound in this contemporary rendition of the classic concerto genre, as Joseph Petric’s virtuosic passage work and the silvery tone of his accordion are juxtaposed and combined with the sound of the ensemble. In Mutation, the composer’s use of musical gesture lengthens to encompass the entire work, giving it a strong sense of sweep and clarity.

John Rea’s fascination with music’s essential foundation, time, connects him with György Ligeti, to whom his piece Singulari-T is dedicated in its subtitle. Listeners will be fascinated to follow various musical manipulations of our sense of time: from metronomically steady, speeding up or slowing down, to irregular and unpredictable. At certain moments, some tendency reaches a breaking point and everything suddenly changes.

In all, a highly recommended album.

Eatock, Colin – Chamber Music
Various Artists
Centrediscs CMCCD 17812

Toronto-based renaissance artist Colin Eatock is successful and thought provoking at whatever he attempts. As a writer and critic, he is thorough and relentless at unearthing the truth. As a composer, he is justified in his acknowledgement of such musical influences as Shostakovich, Messiaen and Crumb, as he experiments and develops the truth of his own sound.

The six works featured here were composed from 1987 to 2010, and are colourful examples of his favourite musical worlds. Eatock is strongest in the three vocal works. Especially noteworthy is the final movement of Three Songs from Blake’s “America” (1987). The transparent piano part exposes the bass-baritone (Andrew Tees) in a haunting hummable melody. This ethereal sparse quality again surfaces in the “Elegy” movement of the Suite for Piano (1995) performed by Timothy Minthorn. The stillness of this movement is a welcome rest after the previous jaunty Toccata with its movie music chase lines.

Eatock’s compositions are carefully written works that accommodate the performer while pushing them to enter his harmonic nuances. All the musicians on this studio release recorded at various times since 1999 are superb in their interpretations. Recording quality is of an equally high standard.

Ensorcell
Bill Gilliam
Melos Production MPBG-004
www.bill-gilliam.com

Bill Gilliam’s experience and his output since the mid-80s has spanned formal composition, jazz and jazz-oriented improvisation as well as electro-acoustic music and music-visual media. His new recording features the kind of music-making that one suspects is closest to his heart: it’s a very personal-sounding collection of solo piano improvisations.

Gilliam has aimed to bring his composer’s sense of form and continuity to the improvisational process so that each of the pieces in the recording has its own distinct character. Nevertheless, separate compositions often seem to flow into and resemble one another, but this only enhances the enjoyment of listening to this album start-to-finish. While, in earlier work, the jazz element in Gilliam’s compositions included a strongly pulse-based rhythmic aspect, this recording tends more toward an elastic, rubato approach that is closer to the post-Romantic European tradition than to jazz. Meanwhile, his harmonies blend 20th century classical and jazz sounds in a convincing, comfortable modal-chromatic style.

The music communicates the integrated joy of moment-to-moment composition and, especially, of piano playing: Gilliam’s love of his instrument both as performer and composer-improviser is this album’s major attraction. Respect and affection for the sound of the piano has also guided the technical side of the project, resulting in a warm, sonically accurate and dynamic recording.

Sophisticated Ladies
Peter Appleyard; Molly Johnson;
Emilie-Claire Barlow; Jill Barber;
Elizabeth Shepherd; Sophie Milman; Jackie Richardson; Diana Panton;
Carol McCartney; Barbra Lica
Linus 270151

The veteran American bass player Charlie Haden released Sophisticated Ladies, a collection of songs covered by contemporary, mostly American, female jazz singers, in early 2011. (See my January 2011 review) Now veteran Canadian vibraphonist Peter Appleyard has released a CD called Sophisticated Ladies that is a collection of songs covered by mostly Toronto-based female jazz singers.

Whether the mimicry was deliberate or not, comparison is difficult to avoid. Both discs feature solid musicianship from the singers (such as Jackie Richardson, Emilie-Claire Barlow and Jill Barber in this case) and players (Appleyard is joined by Reg Schwager, Neil Swainson, Terry Clarke and John Sherwood), but where the Canadian version pales a bit is in the song choices, which are predominantly well-worn standards. The arrangements are all straightforward, jazzy treatments with few musical curveballs, so it all adds up to a pleasant, swingy listen. This would make a fine addition to a CD collection for anyone wanting a sampler of current Canadian jazz singers.

Jane and the Magic Bananas
Sam Shanabi; Alexandre St-Onge;
Michel F. Côté
& Records &17
www.actuellecd.com

Exemplars of a distinctive Québécois aesthetic called Musique Actuelle, the oddly named Jane and the Magic Bananas is actually a trio of male performers who during nine bizarrely titled improvisations confirm the links between Heavy Metal and Musique Concrète.

With Michel F. Côté’s drums electronically amplified, plus Alexandre St-Onge extending his resonating double bass lines with self-controlled electronics and electric guitarist Sam Shanabi moving from arena-rock-styled flanged distortion to intricate and off-centre note clusters, the sonic result is as aleatoric as it is atmospheric. A tune like Passing the Gates of Shalmir-Keshtoum for instance, languidly contrasts electrically oscillated bass motion with drum clatters and ruffs; whereas staccato guitar runs plus heavy-gauge bass strings plucked and resonating for maximum physicality, meet nerve beats from the drummer on Gul Shah’s Hunchback Henchmen. Meanwhile among Côté’s seemingly random hits and rumbles on In Which Jack’s Cruise is Ended, Shanabi manages to weave dense chording and filigree licks in such a way as to sound as if several guitarists are present. Most characteristically, each player appears to take off in a different direction on Third Invasion of the Swingingsguord until cross-patterning drums, a slurred bass ostinato and distorted guitar licks combine for a sound eruption that makes Pierre Schaeffer’s pioneering Étude aux chemins de fer sound as hushed and primitive as liturgical plainsong, while avoiding the blank nihilism of Hard Rock. If Jane and the Magic Bananas can be faulted, it’s that the three players don’t extend the humour implicit in their name and song titles to leaven some of the dense chiaroscuro-coloured improvisations here.

Reg schwager is a consummate guitarist, as skilled an accompanist as he is a soloist and an imaginative improviser at bop tempos and ballads, continuing the special lineage of Toronto guitarists that includes Ed Bickert and Sonny Greenwich. On Duets (Rant 1142 www.rantrecords.com) Schwager plays with four distinguished bassists, each of whom he has worked with extensively: Don Thompson, Neil Swainson, Dave Young and Pat Collins. Each duet has some special quality: there’s the boppish Sir George with Swainson, dedicated to their former employer George Shearing; the cool Niterói Night Sky with Young’s propulsive use of glissandi; and the understated Latin rhythm that floats Collins’ own Judge’s Row. The sense of dialogue is always strong, but Schwager’s exotic The Alchemist’s Dream is a highpoint, a probing, expansive discussion between the guitarist and Don Thompson, frequent duo partners.

Electric bassist Chris Tarry has put together one of the most imaginative releases of the past year, combining the music of his quintet with his short story writing. Rest of the Story (19/8 Records www.christarry.com) looks like a book, but by the fourth story in the collection — The Hole — it gives way to just that and the next 70 pages present a fringe of text around a CD (it was striking enough to win the Recording Packaging of the Year award at the 2012 JUNOs). Tarry’s narrative interests arise in his compositions as well: they’re filled with subtle harmonic ambiguities and rhythmic nuances, with strong melodies and intriguing internal shifts in genre, a ballad assuming a blues hue, a beat becoming explicitly Latinate. The band includes first-rank soloists in guitarist Pete McCann — he brings a shimmering lucidity to You Are the State — and forceful saxophonist Kelly Jefferson.

There are strong narrative elements as well in the Maria Farinha Band’s Uwattibi (Farpat 009 www.mariaffarinha.com), though one requires a command of Brazilian Portuguese to pick up the details. The title means “place of the canoe in Tupi-Guarani,” an allusion to a love story about a French colonizer and a native Brazilian woman. Farinha presents her songs with a light touch and they’re filled with neatly turned emotional resonances, whether poignancy or muted joy. The band is co-led by guitarist Roy Patterson, and it’s very good: Andrew Downing plays cello in addition to bass, adding a distinctive texture to Atina Marahao and a darker hue to the buoyant instrumental Sentient Baiao as it soars on Jean Pierre Zanella’s flute.

The Vancouver-based clarinettist François Houle has assembled a genuinely brilliant band that he calls 5 + 1 for Genera (Songlines SGL 1595-2 www.songlines.com). It’s an international cast with U.S. cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser, expatriate Canadians Michael Bates on bass and Harris Eisenstadt on drums, with frequent appearances here by French pianist Benoît Delbecq, a long-time Houle associate (they released the duo CD Because She Hoped on Songlines last year). Houle’s compositions are more than just triggers for improvisation. The beautiful Guanara, anchored to a slow Latin beat, achieves an almost Gil Evans-like sonic richness from a limited palette; Essay #7, all tightly controlled angles, finally surrenders to a burst of liberating collective improvisation; Le Concombre de Chicoutimi II has the suspension and grace of Ravel. It’s a CD filled with clear, thoughtful, expressive work, and the settings — both the compositions and the band — raise Houle’s own improvisations to a new level.

The Element Choir, founded and led by Christine Duncan, is a large Toronto vocal group that practices “conduction,” collectively interpreting and improvising on hand signals that trigger different activities and sub-groups, control dynamics and synchronize dramatic events. The choir is a cross-section of Toronto’s improvised music community and their latest CD, with William Parker at Christ Church Deer Park (Barnyard BR0326 www.barnyardrecords.com), is a spectacular performance with the choir 70-strong and joined by several musicians: the trio of trumpeter Jim Lewis, bassist Andrew Downing and drummer Jean Martin; Eric Robertson — both a regular collaborator and organist at Christ Church Deer Park — and the New York bassist William Parker. The result — a 44-minute collective improvisation called Ventures in a Cloud Chamber — is remarkable, whether it’s the choir in the foreground with its startling massed pitches, rhythmic chanting, eerie dialogues or banshee wails, or the musicians soloing against the backdrop of all those voices. Hearing about it, it might sound like an experiment; hearing it, it’s a remarkable communal accomplishment.

Paying homage to late great artists is as perilous as it is inviting. Ranee Lee recorded Deep Song: A Tribute to Billie Holiday (Justin Time Just 250-2) in 1989 and it’s just been reissued. Lee is a fine singer with an interpretive depth and melodic subtlety that immediately distinguish her. Those gifts serve her well on such challenging Holiday classics as God Bless the Child and the harrowing Strange Fruit. She can also manage the Holiday playfulness on a light pop tune like Them There Eyes, but she’s less successful in the emotional netherworld of Don’t Explain. The accompaniment, too, is a mixed bag. Pianist Oliver Jones and bassist Milton Hinton play great jazz; saxophonist/flutist Richard Beaudet just sounds “jazzy.” Overall, it’s an affecting invocation of a singular figure, and Lee manages to assert her own vocal personality while creating it. 

One of jazz’s watershed musical creations, John Coltrane’s 1965 performance of Ascension marked his commitment to Free Jazz and has since served as a yardstick against which saxophone-centred large ensemble improvisations are measured. On September 7 at the River Run Centre’s main stage, one of the highpoints of this year’s Guelph Jazz Festival is a reimagining of Coltrane’s masterwork by the Bay area-based ROVA Saxophone Quartet and guests. Not only is the ensemble gutsily tackling the suite, but its arrangement takes Coltrane’s all-acoustic piece for five saxes, two trumpets and rhythm section and reconfigures it so that ROVA’s four saxes plus one trumpeter interact with two drummers, two violins, electric guitar and bass plus electronic processing.

You can get an idea of ROVA’s style of sonic daring-do on A Short History (Jazzwerkstatt JW 099 www.jazzwerkstatt.eu). Referencing all sorts of reed writing from R&B vamps to atonal serialism, the 35-year-old quartet made up of soprano and tenor saxophonist Bruce Ackley, alto and sopranino saxophonist Steve Adams, baritone and alto saxophonist Jon Raskin and tenor and sopranino saxophonist Larry Ochs show its versatility throughout. Especially germane and related to Ascension is a section on Part 2 of the Ochs-composed Certain Space sequence when he corkscrews an intense, stop-time solo into a strident collection of irregular polyphony and slap-tongue invention from the other saxes with the authority of Coltrane’s sax choir from 47 years earlier. That’s merely one highlight of this tour-de-force which outline’s the band’s other influences with tracks dedicated to improv pianist Cecil Taylor and notated composers Giacinto Scelsi and Morton Feldman. The Scelsi section dramatically contrasts bagpipe-like slurs from the soloists with impressionistic harmonies from the other reeds modulating through different modes and tones. Although other sequences in the Taylor section expose sinewy tessitura and staccato reed bites in call-and-response fashion, Part 3, for Feldman, is unsurprisingly moderato and leisurely, introduced and completed by air blown through the horns’ body tubes without key movement, yet lyrically balanced throughout as each saxophone’s timbre is clearly heard within the close harmonies.

That same night, Ascension guitarist Nels Cline and others will join members of Norway’s Huntsville trio at St. George’s Church for its unique mixture of improvisation tempered with electronic impulses and influenced by folk and rock music textures. Huntsville’s Ivar Grydeland, who plays electric, acoustic and pedal steel guitars plus banjo and electronics with bassist Tonny Kluften and percussionist Ingar Zach in that band, shows off his zesty mix of spidery licks, resonating twangs and droning pulses with Ballrogg, another Norwegian combo on Cabin Music (Hubro CD 2515 www.hubromusic.com). With that trio filled out by alto saxophonist/clarinettist Klaus Holm, who adds electronics and field recordings to the mix, and bassist Roger Arntzen, the disc is a close cousin to what Huntsville creates, albeit with more overdubbing, and, with Grydeland frailing his banjo as often as he strums his guitar, more country-folksy. Probably the most descriptive track is Sliding Doors which manages to deftly balance clarinet glissandi, ringing banjo flanges and a powerful walking bass line. Before the result takes on too much of a rural interface however, the trio’s juddering interaction is meticulously intercut with previously prepared jagged guitar flanges and sluicing bass lines.

Negotiating the tightrope between staccato and lyrical in his playing is the forte of pianist Matthew Shipp, whose duo with saxophonist Darius Jones is the other half of the double bill at Cooperators Hall. Elastic Aspects (Thirsty Ear TH 57202.2 www.thirstyear.com), with long-time associates bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Whit Dickey however, shows that Shipp’s improvising can be as mercurial in the standard jazz piano trio setting as well. With each of the 13 aspects of this suite stretching so that they adhere to one another, the effect is wholly organic, not unlike the recording of Ascension. With Dickey’s nuanced patterning and Bisio’s buzzing, often bowed, sometimes walking bass lines beside him, Shipp skilfully moves through the piano language. A track like Explosive Aspects balances on ringing, left-handed syncopation, while the subsequent Raw Materials evolves like a baroque invention with leaping, high-pitched notes carefully shaded as they jostle with pedal-point bass line until the theme finally breaks free into rubato pulsing. There are internal string plucks and harpsichord echoes in Shipp’s playing as well. With tremolo, lyrical and sometimes impressionistic patterning on show, the trio maintains the swinging centre of jazz while subtly or overtly charting new experiments and explorations.

There are no guitars in sight the next afternoon at a double bill at River Run Centre’s Cooperators Hall, although Miya Masaoka’s multi-string koto may make up for that as she plays with bassist Reggie Workman and percussionist Gerry Hemingway. A long-time festival visitor, Hemingway’s recent CD There’s Nothing Better to Do (OutNow Records ONR 007 www.outnowrecordings.com) with tenor and soprano saxophonist Albert Beger demonstrates the drummer’s skill in the sort of duo format that Coltrane excelled in during his latter career. The near-naked improvising of this first-time meeting between American drummer and Israeli saxophonist demonstrates the universality of expression. Using his hands as often as sticks and brushes, Hemingway is as likely to come up with a tom-tom rhythm, produce a ratcheting scratch on his kit’s sides or tap a small bell as he is to let loose with full-force ruffs and drags. Beger responds to these understated rhythms in kind, with hoarse-throated vibrations, ragged tongue fluttering or surprisingly aligned trills, which are as often chromatic as cascading. Using both his horns throughout, the saxophonist’s moderate tones can be graceful and emotional as Hemingway’s beats gracefully scurry around them. However elsewhere ragged, altissimo reed bites stridently operate in tandem with the drummer’s blunt flams and tough backbeat. With bravura timing the two show how easily they can move from cacophonous vibrations to an arrhythmic but bluesy output on Missing You or on the title track, speedily layering freak reed notes and circular slurs plus clashing cymbals and incisive shuffle beats into a parallel exposition that is as moving as it is staccato.

Overall 2012 promises to be a banner year for the Guelph Jazz Festival (September 5 to 9). And that’s not even mentioning the dusk-to-dawn Nuit Blanche late Saturday encompassing more unexpected sounds. Full details can be found at www.guelphjazzfestival.com.

Our Lovely Day
Patricia Hammond
Imperial Music and Media IMMPLC002
www.patriciahammond.com

Canadian born and London (UK) based mezzo-soprano Patricia Hammond has a luscious classically trained voice that has graced the stage with numerous opera companies and symphonies. But on Our Lovely Day she performs a collection of “parlour” songs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that she has performed in recital for the elderly in British hospitals and nursing homes. Her joyous interpretations, haunting tone colour and in-depth background knowledge create a brilliant presentation of historical accuracy and contemporary flavour.

The Hammond-penned liner notes combine historical facts with personal reminiscences from her performances, childhood and recording sessions which aids to a better understanding of each track. It is great to hear the rarely performed verses included in Button Up Your Overcoat and Always. Love’s Old Sweet Song is a bit quick for my liking yet Hammond’s clear diction saves the day. She cleverly adds in a bit of baroque-like ornamentation at the close of Drink to Me Only, while the rocking band instrumental leading into the Did You Ever See a Dream Walking showcases her tight backup orchestra and the colourful work of arrangers/musicians Nicholas D. Ball and Matthew Redman.

Our Lovely Day will appeal to all age groups, from the very young to the not so very young. My experience allows me to stress that the songs here are extremely tricky to perform, but Hammond makes them all sound so easy and fun!

In march 1960 the 18 year old Maurizio Pollini won first prize in the Sixth International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. The prize earned him a three LP contract with EMI. The first, completed by April 21, 1960, was the Chopin First Piano Concerto, recorded by with Paul Kletzki and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. The second sessions were in September when he recorded the two sets of Etudes, Op. 10 and 25. Although he gave no specific reason, Pollini refused to allow them to be released. EMI paid the cancellation penalty for the third recording and said goodbye to Mister Pollini who, ironically, would re-emerge as a superstar on Deutsche Grammophon.

Testament has issued the now legendary complete Chopin Etudes (SBT1473, stereo CD) and we can only wonder why the pianist said no at the time. Listening to these reproachless performances is completely disarming. Peter Andry, the producer for these recordings, writes that “When I heard him play, his strength and flair for the piano were prodigious. Hearing him perform the first of Chopin’s complete sets of etudes that we recorded was a spine tingling experience, with great rolling waves of sound coming from the grand piano. This was pianism of the very finest kind. Rarely had I heard such perfection. He seemed to play these demanding works effortlessly. I remember the occasion even now as one of my greatest musical experiences.”

Why Pollini withheld permission to release the Etudes is explained by Peter Andry in his book of enticing memoirs, Inside the Recording Studio, published in 2008 as a quality paperback by Scarecrow Press (ISBN 13 978-0-8108-6026-1). Aware that EMI was losing interest in Pollini, DG was wooing him and promising that they would record the Etudes. They eventually did so ... in 1972. The DG recordings are fine performances but quite different from the EMI whose recorded sound is cleaner and more pleasant to the ear. There is a higher level of virtuosity in these early performances, his lighter touch befitting the repertoire. This recording would be a gem in any thoughtful collection and is recommended without reservation.

For the first half of the 20th century HMV was, by default, the only recording company that meticulously documented the art of singing lieder, particularly, but not exclusively, Schubert Lieder. The HMV catalogue was populated by the leading artists of their time — Leo Slezak, Elena Gerhardt, Frieda Hempel, Alexander Kipnis, John McCormack, Richard Tauber, Meta Seinemeyer, Georges Thill, Vanni Marcoux, Feodor Chaliapin, Lotte Lehmann, Charles Panzera, Elisabeth Schumann, Gerhard Hüsch, Frida Leider — to mention some of the pre-c.1950 luminaries of the field. Adding to this cast were the many lesser known but not lesser artists of the period. The generation of singers since then should be familiar to concert goers and record collectors; Schwarzkopf, Pears, Baker, Hotter, Ameling, Ludwig, Fischer-Dieskau (he has his own disc), Wunderlich, Bostridge, Hampson, and others. Die Schöne Müllerin is given to Peter Schreier, Schwanengesang to Olaf Bär, and Winterreise to Thomas Hampson. Hampson is also heard on the 17th disc in a discussion, Schubert’s Journey: An Exploration of his Lieder. The grand total is 91 singers singing 213 songs in Schubert Lieder on Record 1898-2012 (EMI 3275752, 17 CDs). Clearly, some singers sing more than one song and some songs are sung by more than one singer. Erlkönig has seven versions including the spine-tingling 1930 recording with tenor Georges Thill, sung in French with a baritone and a boy soprano.

This set has a heritage. Schubert Lieder on Record 1898-1952 was released in 1982 on a mammoth (for the day) 8-LP set (later on six CDs) compiled by the late Keith Hardwick. The invaluable Hardwick was the engineer who did many of the transfers from 78s for EMI’s acclaimed series Great Recordings of the Century on LP.

Expanded to 17 CDs with recordings made since 1952, the spiritual worth of the interpretations herein can’t be measured. The recording dates are given in the enclosed booklet but no translations. This unique collection will give endless satisfaction to the select group of devotees of this repertoire.

A generation or two ago it was the Budapest String Quartet that came first to mind when someone mentioned string quartets. In the 1930s they recorded several of the Beethoven quartets for HMV and in 1951 and 1952 Columbia recorded a complete monaural cycle for release on LP. Columbia returned them to the studio for a stereo remake in sessions that spanned 1958 to 1961 with Josef Roisman, first violin; Boris Kroyt, viola; Mischa Schneider, cello; and Alexander Schneider replacing second violinist Jac Gorodetzky. Fifty years later, time has not reduced the charm and beauty of these later committed performances. Sony has reissued these valuable stereo recordings, in immaculate sound at an ultra-budget price, as The Budapest String Quartet Plays Beethoven – The Complete String Quartets (Sony Masters, 886977 767821, 8 CDs). Arguably, one hasn’t really experienced these works unless you’ve heard such performances as these. Devotees may wish to compare these late performances with the highly regarded 1951/52 mono recordings that are available in fine sound from United Archives (NUA01, 8CDs) at a somewhat higher price. Founded in 1917 by four members of the Budapest Opera Orchestra, the Budapest String Quartet disbanded in 1967.

For about three decades circa 1940 to 1960, Hungarian-German pianist Julian von Karolyi’s popularity was such that both DG and EMI signed and recorded him in solo and in concerted works. His performances were insightful, authoritative and assured. Karolyi attained his popularity with audiences from numerous concert appearances without the kick-start of being a competition winner.

His recordings are starting to appear on CD, the latest being from DOREMI (DHR-7984). Heard on this new re-issue are two staples of the concerto repertoire, the Tchaikovsky First and the Schumann A Minor, both in collaboration with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. The 1948 Liszt Hungarian Fantasia from Munich is an attractive bonus. The word collaboration is well considered. Karolyi is a team player who displays strength and sensitivity in partnership with the orchestra, not jockeying for position. The two concertos are in stereo. 

September marks a milestone in the history of recorded classical music: 25 years since the establishment of the Naxos label. Originally regarded with disdain by the record business establishment, this “budget” line of CDs has gone on to become the largest manufacturer and distributor of classical CDs and digital downloads in the world. Later this month Naxos founder Klaus Heymann will be in Toronto for a media event celebrating the anniversary and the release of The Story of Naxos — The extraordinary story of the independent record label that changed classical recording for ever.

In the two months since the last issue we have received 21 CDs on the Naxos label and more than 80 on labels distributed by Naxos. And that is just the number that has physically crossed my desk; there were more than 200 separate titles listed on the August release sheets alone. For this month’s column I decided I would select a few of the discs that were of most interest to me personally from this wealth of material. This proved harder than I first imagined. Since my own area of expertise is music of the 20th century I decided to limit myself to this field and even so I ended up bringing ten discs home; a selection of works with which I was already familiar and a number which were new to my ears. Space precludes any in-depth analysis of the recordings, but suffice it to say that with minor hesitations as noted, none of the discs disappointed me and a number of them were very satisfying indeed.

Although well versed in the chamber music and concertos of Sergei Prokofiev, I am less familiar with his other orchestral and particularly symphonic output (with the exception of the ever-popular “Classical” Symphony). I chose a recording of two works composed during the Second World War, the symphonic suite The Year 1941 and the Symphony No.5 in B-Flat Major, Op.100 performed by the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop (8.573029). The first of these works is, perhaps understandably, bombastic with its patriotic movements “In the Struggle,” “In the Night”and “For the Brotherhood of Man,” but nevertheless well crafted and well performed. The symphony is more abstract in nature and although still noticeably nationalistic is not overtly jingoistic.

The next up on my unknown list was the Symphony No.6, Op.79 and the Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes,works dating from 1963 and 1949 respectively, by another Soviet composer, Mieczyslaw Weinberg (8.572779), performed by the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Lande. Weinberg fled to Russia to escape the Nazi invasion of Poland and his music is receiving quite a bit of attention and a plethora of recordings in recent years. I first became aware of his music about five years ago on a CD featuring the ARC (Artists of the Royal Conservatory) ensemble, here in Toronto. Weinberg was a protégé of Shostakovich and his music is often reminiscent of that master’s work.

While I enjoyed the Naxos CD I found the Weinberg Cello Concerto, Op.43 contained on a recent Chandos release (CHSA 5107) of more interest, likely to do with my own kinship with that low member of the violin family. Although composed in 1948, the concerto had to wait until 1957 for its first performance. Rostropovich gave that premiere and the work is eminently suited to the big sound of that late maestro. Claes Bunnarsson proves himself well equal to the task in this performance with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Thord Svedlund. The disc also includes the premiere recording (and perhaps first performance according to the detailed liner notes) of Weinberg’s Symphony No.20, Op.150 dating from 1988 (eight years before his death). I mention this recording here as Chandos is one of the many major labels now distributed by Naxos. I’m tempted to note that this is the first recording I’ve seen that includes a logo reflecting sponsorship from Volvo.

A second disc I was drawn to because of the prominence of the cello is on another label from Naxos’ distribution stable. Truls Mørk is the soloist in Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Towards the Horizon (Cello Concerto No.2) on a recent Ondine release (ODE 11782) which also includes the percussion concerto Incantations featuring Colin Currie, both dating from 2008, and the 1957 orchestral composition Modificata which was revised in 2003. All are performed with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under John Storgärds direction. My proclivity for the cello notwithstanding, it was the percussion concerto with its (mostly) subdued use of mallet instruments which I found most satisfying.

One of Naxos’ most prolific lines is the American Classics series. Richard Danielpour, a composer whose work I first came across in a recording of a cello concerto written for Yo-Yo Ma, is featured on a recent release with the Seattle Symphony and Chorale under Gerard Schwarz (8.559712). What drew me to the disc was the Symphony No.3 “Journey Without Distance” when I first conceived of this column, thinking it would focus on modern symphonies. While the symphony is a striking work featuring soprano Faith Esham as the “voice of as angel” in a transcendent text by Helen Schucman, it was The Awakened Heart, a purely instrumental work (in spite of literary references in the movement titles) which captured my attention. It dates from 1990 and is a dramatic and often exuberant work, at times reminiscent of the hybrid of symphonic and theatrical music in Leonard Bernstein’s oeuvre.

I was not previously familiar with the symphonic output of British composer Peter Maxwell Davies although certainly aware of his cycle of string quartets (commissioned by Naxos) and such modern classics as Eight Songs for a Mad King and Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise. I was a little surprised to learn that he has written nine symphonies and if recent releases are an indication I assume we will see all of them from Naxos in the coming months. I added Symphony No.2 (1980) (8.572349) and Symphony No.3 (1984) (8.572350), both performed by the BBC Philharmonic under the composer’s direction,to my carry home bag and have enjoyed both of these textural pieces. I would almost consider them concertos for orchestra rather than symphonies, not because of sectional virtuosity but because they seem to be more about the different sonic possibilities inherent in the ensemble than in thematic development. The caveats I mentioned earlier in this article have to do specifically with these two discs. Each of the symphonies is accompanied by what I would call an incidental piece. Although the premise of each — St. Thomas Wake (Foxtrot for orchestra on a pavan by John Bull) and Cross Lane Fair — is “serious” enough, with separate dance band and Northumbrian pipes and bodhran respectively, they come across as merely pastiche. This is not to suggest that they are not a worthy part of Maxwell Davies’ oeuvre, simply that I would prefer a so-called “separation of church and state” — discs of symphonic repertoire on the one hand and of the more theatrical music on another.

With my space rapidly running out I will just briefly mention my “old favourites” revisited in recent Naxos recordings.

The abrasive music of then young Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki was an important aspect of my introduction to the music of the 20th century. There have been a number of recent Naxos Penderecki releases, each of which combines his youthful output with more conservative works of his mature years. Fonogrammi/Horn Concerto/Partita (8.572482) includes Fonogrammi for flute and chamber orchestra, Anaklasis for string orchestra and percussion and De natura sonoris I for orchestra, all from the 1960s, with several works from the 70s and the much more recent Horn Concerto “Winterreise”(2009).With a variety of soloists the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Anthony Wit provide definitive performances.

Olivier Messiaen’s Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (8.572714) is a devotional work from 1964. The Orchestre National de Lyon gives a strong performance under the direction of Jun Märki, but without ecstatic interludes such as those included in the earlier Turangalîla Symphony, to my ears the piece is a little “too much of a muchness.” The disc is redeemed however by the inclusion of two early orchestral works which provide welcome dramatic contrast: Le Tombeau resplendissant (1931) and Hymne (1932).

Saving the best for last, Marin Alsop returns with a recording of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra (1943) and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1936) (8.572486). In this instance she is conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in performances that rival any I’ve heard of these two works which number among my very favourites.

Naxos is to be commended for its commitment to thoroughness, excellence and affordability. This small sampling of recent output only includes the art music of our time. It must be pointed out that the Naxos catalogue is just as extensive, one could say exhaustive, in classical repertoire from the Renaissance through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras. And as Nicholas Soames, author of The Story of Naxos and director of Naxos AudioBooks would certainly point out, the Naxos catalogue extends far beyond the scope of classical music. There are two things I look forward to in the coming month: finding the time to read Soames’ story of this innovative company that has changed the history of recorded music in our time, and the newest addition to the Naxos Canadian Classics series, Dreamscapes, featuring orchestral music by Vivian Fung due out on September 23.

Of related interest: Jerry Fink, former CEO and President of Naxos of Canada Ltd., will present a ten-week class surveying the history of Western “classical” music from a Jewish viewpoint. Jewish involvement in the development of “classical” music from before the Byzantine Empire to the present day will be explored historically and examined musically. Examples from the presentation include: the Psalms and their use in Christian church music; Jewish troubadours of the Middle Ages; a Jewish national music school in pre-Soviet Russia. Thursday evenings beginning October 4 at Holy Blossom Temple. Tuition fee $235 (416-789-7400).

  We welcome your feedback and invite submissions. CDs and comments should be sent to: The WholeNote, 503–720 Bathurst St., Toronto ON M5S 2R4. We also encourage you to visit our website, thewholenote.com, where you can find added features including direct links to performers, composers and record labels, and additional, expanded and archival reviews.  

— David Olds, DISCoveries Editor, discoveries@thewholenote.com

If i keep it brief, I’ll have room for all seven of the discs that have been in rotation on my player over the past month … 

First there were a couple of hot-off-the-press releases from the Canadian Music Centre. My Life in Widening Circles (Centrediscs CMCCD 17712) features music of R. Murray Schafer, both new and old, performed by Land’s End Chamber Ensemble. The disc begins with a string trio written in 2006. Quasi tonal and dramatic, with echoes of previous Schafer (and Mahler) motifs, it is a beautiful addition to the repertoire of this neglected combination of instruments (violin, viola, cello). The ensemble playing is immaculate and the blending of sound is enhanced by the fact that all three instruments were constructed by the same luthier, Christopher Sandvoss, who was also the producer of the recording session. Book-ending this collection is another 2006 composition written for guest soprano Stacie Dunlop, Six Songs from Rilke’s Book of Hours.I find the juxtaposition of purely instrumental sounds and the powerful voice of Dunlop quite jarring, but as both works were written for Land’s End I understand why they wanted to showcase them together. In between, we hear Dunlop in a set of songs from very early in Schafer’s career, Kinderlieder from 1958, and core member John Lowry in two works for violin and piano: Wild Bird, originally for violin and harp, which was written for Jacques Israelievitch’s 50th birthday celebrations, and Duo for Violin and Piano from 2008. Curiously there are three pianists listed in the credits, but I have been unable to discern who actually plays on which cuts. The Duo received a 2011 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the year in its recording by Duo Concertante for whom it was written. It is an all too rare opportunity to have a second recording to compare with the first, but a little surprising to find them both on Centrediscs in such close proximity.

The other new Centrediscs release is very different in nature. Forging Utopia (CMCCD 17612) features four powerful orchestral works by Vancouver composer John Oliver, also know for his electroacoustic compositions and as an accomplished guitarist. The works presented here span more than a decade and are performed by orchestras from Vancouver, Windsor and Ottawa. The title track was commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s Generation XYZ festival in 1998 and reflects Oliver’s thoughts and feelings about the world at the turn of the new millennium, striving to “forge a future for music, rather than dwell too much on the past.” The CBC commission Unseen Rain, which takes the mystical writings of the Sufi poet Rumi for its inspiration and texts, features renowned opera mezzo Judith Forst in full voice and splendour. The settings are mostly meditative yet manage to convey the dense textures of the poetry. Face in the Abstract, whichtakes as its premise the multi-layered, quasi-narrative visual art of Johannes Deutsche and Anselm Keefer, seems a convincing aural representation of a similar approach to art. The most extended work, Raven Steals the Light, is an effective tone poem wordlessly re-telling the dramatic Native American story of the same name as told and illustrated by Bill Reid and Robert Bringhurst. All in all this is an important addition to the Canadian orchestral discography and a timely reminder that there are a number of composers in this country who have created a significant body of large scale works.

A third disc devoted to the music of a single Canadian composer, in this case Barbara Monk Feldman, also captured my attention this past month. Released on the American contemporary music label Mode Records (mode 244), it features performances by Aki Takahashi and the Sabat/Clarke duo with percussionist Dirk Rothbrust. Deeply rooted in the sensibility of her teacher/mentor/late husband Morton Feldman, the music is delicate, pristine and precise. I have found it takes a special mood and patience to appreciate this school of composition, but when that state can be achieved the music takes on a wonderful trancelike and even transcendental quality.

The first piece, The Northern Shore, is scored for violin, piano and various percussion instruments. As it unfolds slowly over nearly half an hour with lush piano textures and mostly resonant mallet percussion instruments with chimes and bell sounds, I am left confused by the choice of such a dry timbre for the violin. While the use of pure, vibrato-less pitch is understandable, I believe it is still possible to achieve a fuller tone that would better complement the other members of the trio, but here Marc Sabat, and presumably the composer, have opted for a thin and reedy sound. My other hesitancy from fully embracing the piece is that, sparse and slow though it is, once I have suspended my usual expectations and relaxed to the point of immersion in this near timeless state, I feel that the piece would actually be more effective and convincing at half the pace, giving more time for each group of notes to fully decay before proceeding to the next.

I have no such concern about Takahashi’s performance of In the Small Time of a Desert Flower, perhaps because of the monochromatic, though again very lush, texture of the solo piano. Once again taking nearly half an hour to develop, the immaculate pacing and balance of the piece make it a crystalline gem.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition has been orchestrated so often and effectively that it is easy to forget its origin as a solo piano composition. As I was listening to J. Scott Irvine’s version for brass quintet and organ as recorded by the True North Brass and Eric Robertson (TNB005 www.truenorthbrass.com) I found myself wondering if I missed the strings of the original version. It took me a minute to realize that my memory was being tricked into believing Pictures to have been conceived as an orchestral piece.

Ravel’s orchestration (commissioned by Serge Koussevitsky in 1922) has become the most familiar, but there have been literally dozens of different orchestrations of Mussorgsky’s remembrance of his friend, artist Viktor Hartmann, since it was composed in 1874. For comparison’s sake I went back to the 1996 recording by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra using Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s performing edition (Finlandia 2 14911) which drew on the orchestrations of Sergei Gortschakov (1920s) and Leo Funtek (1950s). While there is a bit less lushness in Irvine’s “orchestra”— the Casavant organ at All Saints’ Kingsway Anglican Church — the instrument brings its own fullness and vast range of colour to the mix in a very effective way. And due to the acoustic properties of the church, the engineering skills of Anton Kwiatkowski, Irvine’s arrangement and the excellence of the players, the brass quintet is positively convincing in its orchestral range. Congratulations to all concerned!

The next disc also involves arrangements, but this time in a more idiomatic way. The Métis Fiddler Quartet is comprised of four siblings who appear to be in their teenage years, although there is very little personal information included in the notes, which exclude even their surname. North West Voyage/Voyage Nord Ouest (MFQ1201 www.metisfiddlerquartet.com) features Alyssa, Nicholas, Conlin and Danton [Delbaere-Sawchuk] playing fiddles, guitar and cello in their own arrangements of traditional and recently composed fiddle tunes, with particular emphasis on the aboriginal fiddle tradition. This album honours elders John Arcand (Métis, SK), James Flett and Lawrence “Teddy Boy” Houle (both Ojibwe, MB). The playing is exceptional and the music is more diverse than one might expect. Of particular note is the arrangement of the traditional Trade Song which begins with a prologue in a haunting and surprisingly modern tonality before progressing into more familiar ground. The cello, a somewhat surprising addition to the traditional instrumentation, is used effectively as both a pizzicato bass and a full-voice bowed melody instrument. This disc will be at the top of the pile next to my CD player this summer.

One of the highlights of the 2011 Montreal Baroque Festival was a performance by Bande Montréal Baroque under Eric Milnes’ direction of six New Brandenburg Concertos as reconstructed by the late Bruce Haynes. Drawing on the vocal works of Johann Sebastian Bach and taking his premise from the writings of Telemann, who suggested that instruments could occasionally be substituted for voices in cantatas, Haynes has created new orchestral pieces modeled on the six existing Brandenburgs. ATMA has released these performances (ACD2 2565) and now we are left to decide whether the world really needs more transcriptions of the works of the master. Haynes suggests that they are offered more in the “tongue-in-cheek spirit of the famous recordings by the Swingle Singers or of Wendy Carlos’ Switched On Bach” and that they should not be taken too seriously. Because the music is authentic Bach and the instruments replacing the voices are carefully chosen with historical context in mind, I find the “experiment” to be a success for the most part. My main qualms are the extent to which the “new” concertos mirror the original six in instrumentation and form, right down to the third having only a cadence in place of a full second movement. All in all, however, I find the music satisfying and the recording sustained my interest right up until the last concerto, which seemed somehow to lose steam as it progressed. Completely familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, this music will be a welcome addition to anyone who can’t get enough Bach.

I must confess that although I am a great fan of the cello and of the music of Debussy, I’ve never quite been able to “get” the Sonata for Cello and Piano. I first heard it performed by Rostropovich at the George Weston Recital Hall in the early years of that remarkable establishment. It was a great recital, but I was left scratching my head at the work which seemed devoid of any of those things which I had come to think of as Debussy. Two decades later I am still at a loss to understand the piece, one of his very few forays into the world of chamber music, but at least it is starting to sound familiar. It is this sonata that Winona Zelenka and Connie Shih have chosen to begin their recording Connections (Marquis MAR 81427) which includes music by four “connected” French composers of the late 19th century. They certainly play the Debussy with conviction and don’t show any signs of confusion in their approach, so perhaps it’s just me…

            Chausson’s Piece, Op.39 is a “wistful gem” in Zelenka’s words and it is nicely complemented by Fauré’s “lightning fast” Papillion, Op.77. But herein lies one of my own pet peeves. This “Butterfly” is darting around like a hummingbird rather than a Monarch or the familiar cabbage butterflies that we are used to seeing. Perhaps it is a Red Admiral, but at any rate it is atypical of the genus as far as I’m concerned, reminiscent of The Flight of the Bumblebee when used as a virtuosic showpiece. Have these people ever seen a “Bumble” bee? It’s about the clumsiest creature to take to the air and I’ve heard that from an engineering standpoint it shouldn’t be able to fly at all… But please excuse my diatribe. Inthe case of Papillon my complaint is with the composer not the players because I have compared a number of performances and the general consensus is that this is meant to be a moto perpetuo. (By the way, I find Fauré’s song The Butterfly and the Flower a much better depiction of a butterfly in flight.)

            The final work on the disc is the wonderful Sonata in A Major originally for violin and piano by César Franck. This is a truly great piece of music and is totally convincing in its cello adaption. It is often paired with the first Fauré violin sonata in its cello arrangement and I’m glad to be presented with a different context in which to hear it. Zelenka and Shih play the Franck with passion and nuance and it makes a strong finish to this thoughtful and well recorded disc. 

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— David Olds, DISCoveries Editor
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A Poet’s Love through the eyes of Heine, Schumann & Lysenko
Laura McAlpine; David Ellakis
Independent
lauramcalpine@mac.com

Two song cycles based on selected texts from Heinrich Heine’s Buch der Lieder are offered on this recording, the first being Robert Schumann’s famed and well-loved Dichterliebe. This cycle is most often performed by male voice, yet, lest we be mistaken that Laura McAlpine’s fine performance is without precedent, this was actually first dedicated to a woman, German soprano Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient.

McAlpine’s clear, expressive voice does justice to the light-hearted as well as the more dramatic songs. While I sometimes feel she could achieve even more expressiveness by taking more liberties with the rhythm “as written,” pianist David Eliakis provides an excellent foil by use of measured rubato that, nonetheless, stays perfectly in sync with the singer.

The second part of the recording is a cycle of texts by Heine set by Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko (1842–1912). Despite pressure to embrace “Great Russian” culture from the Russian Imperial Music Society which had funded his studies abroad, Lysenko devoted himself to Ukrainian music, setting all his vocal compositions, including this, in his native language. A challenge for many singers, but McAlpine has clearly done her research, mining her resources as well as her family heritage to deliver these texts naturally and with fine artistic sensibility.