01 Stephanie MartinApril Snow
Stephanie Martin; Chad Irschick
Sovereign Productions SPM002 (stephaniemartin.ca)

Luminous vocalist/composer Stephanie Martin not only possesses a delicious vocal instrument, but on her new, completely appealing recording, she also demonstrates her considerable chops as a composer of accessible, highly musical material. Expertly produced and co-written by the brilliant Chad Irschick, this gorgeously crafted CD is comprised entirely of original compositions arranged with intelligence and skill … in fact, Martin’s musical expression is beautifully defined by the harmonically satisfying vocal and instrumental arrangements.

The talented musicians who join Martin on the project include gifted multi-instrumentalist Tom Szczesniak on bass, keyboards and accordion, David MacDougall on drums (whose work is the strong, invigorating and steady pulse of the recording), Brian Barlow on percussion, Michael “Pepi” Francis on acoustic and electric guitars, Chad Irschick and Steve O’Connor on keyboards and yeoman featured guest vocalist Neil Donell.

Martin incorporates a number of influences into her vocal and writing style – transcending definitions and embracing elements of contemporary, pop, country and jazz musics. Her clear, stunning soprano (slightly reminiscent of the late, great, Nicolette Larson) deftly glides over the 13 satisfying melodies, making it all seem so easy and organic – replete with poetic lyrics that detail vivid and visceral life experiences to which we can all relate. Top tracks include the rhythmic and exciting Brazilian-influenced  Roundabout;  the anthem of independence, No Hard Feeling; the blistering political statement, Circle of Elders, featuring face-melting guitar work from Francis; the gorgeous ballad, The Sweater Song, made all the lovelier by Szczesniak’s acoustic piano and the album closer, No One in Particular, a gentle and uplifting vocal duet with Donell.

02 Brady instruments of happinessInstruments of Happiness - Electric Guitar Quartet
Tim Brady; Gary Schwartz; Michel Héroux; Antoine Berthiaume
Starkland ST-224 (starkland.com)

I cannot think of anything more exciting for any electric guitar super fan than listening to the Electric Guitar Quartet. Guitarists Tim Brady, Gary Schwartz, Michel Héroux and Antoine Berthiaume are each formidable instrumentalists who join listening and technical forces touching on all styles of guitar, be it rock, funk, new music, etc.

Three composed works are featured here. Brady’s The Same River Twice: Symphony # 5.0 is full of symphony orchestra-like harmonies, riffs, guitar effects adventures, a funky waltz and an intense closing section featuring loud verbal rhythmic counting. Each group section is divided by refreshing solo guitar meanderings. Brady then takes on this work as a solo piece. The Same River Twice Symphony #5.Solo is more introspective and different in its attitude. It feels more programmatic with its washes of sound in Freeze, and the dripping effects in Thaw.

Berthiaume’s Fungi is a sensitive and classical flavoured ensemble work in 6/4 time with its peaceful interludes and sections alluding to film and tango reminiscent dance music. Brady then remixes two live studio performances of Rainer Wiens’ What is Time? Wiens imaged it as a “series of clouds, constantly changing…” by utilizing different guitar preparations either fixed or performed in random order and requiring each performer to listen to each other’s breathing. The result is a sonic blast of washes and effects.

This is great happy music to be enjoyed over and over again!

03 Silk RoadSing Me Home
Silk Road Ensemble; Yo-Yo Ma
Sony Masterworks 88875 18101 2 (sonymusicmasterworks.com)

This latest album by Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road examines unique and diverse perspectives of home, with original and traditional tunes composed and/or arranged by members of the ensemble. Joining them are a number of stellar guest artists, amongst them singer Rhiannon Giddens, the Grammy-winning vocal octet Roomful of Teeth, Galician band Rustica, Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté, and the great Indian sitarist Shujaat Khan, among many other notable international performers. Each track tells a unique story. The Taiko drums of Shingashi Song are later followed by the voice of Dima Orsho, who shares a glimpse into a Syrian village wedding. Fiddler Martin Hayes adds a haunting cavalry march. In Little Birdie, singer Sarah Jarosz pays sweet tribute to the late Pete Seeger, with the addition of pipa (Chinese lute) and sheng (Chinese mouth organ) to the mix while Going Home is sung in both Chinese and English by vocalist and banjo player Abigail Washburn with ensemble member Wu Tong. Master guitarist Bill Frisell creates a wonderful interplay with Silk Road members on shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) and Indian tabla. This recording provides a veritable tapestry of world fusion; nonetheless, each selection is truly distinct and highly reminiscent of many diverse conceptions of home.

04 TurkwazNazar
Turkwaz
Independent Turkwaz01 (facebook.com/NazariTurkwaz)

With their first album Nazar, the Toronto based vocal quartet Turkwaz introduces a wondrous world of uniquely imaginative songs. This compilation features a selection from the Middle East, Turkey, Greece and the Balkans, collected individually over many years. While the songs themselves are traditional, the creative vocal arrangements and the use of exotic world instruments make this music delightful to the ear and harmonically surprising at times. Turkwaz – Maryem Tollar, Brenna MacCrimmon, Sophia Grigoriadis and Jayne Brown – sounds both pure and raw, with sincerity and sentiment that comes from their deep appreciation of this music. Their individual voices are light yet loaded with emotion.

Collectively, the intended textures of their voices are exquisite. The lyrics, sung in Turkish, Arabic, Greek, Macedonian and Bulgarian, are pure poetry, and for the most part fragrant with love themes. Nested in between the songs are expressive improvisatory vignettes by guest artists – Demetrios Petsalakis (spectacular on bağlama, outi), Nagmeh Farahmand (daff, tombak), Ernie Tollar (duduk, bansuri flute, saxophone) and Andrew Downing (cello).

Among many charming songs, a few numbers stood out for me. Send Me a Message My Love, The Beloved Visited Me in the Myrtle Garden, Love on a Rainy Day and the lively Alexandris/Grandpa’s Brandy all share alluring harmonic twists and delicately ornamented melodies, the power of voices being a driving force. The word nazar is derived from Arabic “sight” or “seeing.” It is a perfect title for this album as the members of Turkwaz bring forward their musical vision to each song. 

05 CountermeasureMade to Measure
Countermeasure
Independent (countermeasuremusic.com)

Review

Toronto a cappella group Countermeasure showcases itself as a musically astute and on-the-edge vocal group. Using only their voices, they create a mind-boggling array of sounds from harmonic lyrical choral to rocking percussive to instrumental sounds. Exciting and groundbreaking to say the least, the 14 young members are led in this energetic band project by composer/arranger Aaron Jensen.

A plethora of styles and influences are technically and convincingly performed. Cole Porter’s I’ve Got You Under My Skin is a funky percussive rendition with lush harmonies, horn and bass sounds supporting soloist Qwyn MacLachlan. Jensen’s ballad Fox in the Field highlights more classic wistful colourful harmonies and phrases. Train the A Take draws on the standard Take the A Train as fragments of melodies are combined and repeated while amazing train-like vocal noises keep it moving. Covers of a Middle Eastern world music-flavoured Bruce Cockburn’s Lovers in A Dangerous Time, and pop, jazz and you-name-it spiced Beatles’ I Saw Her Standing There give each song refreshing new aural lives. The title track Made to Measure is an uplifting touch of musical theatre written by member J-M Erlendson. Witty yet never sarcastic, the show goes on with brevity, drama and comedy.

Sometimes there is too much of a good thing as so many stylistic references and percussive sounds overtake the essence of the piece. Nonetheless, Countermeasure is a rising star in the Canadian music and recording scene.

Musical Inspirations Arise from Unexpected Sources

Creativity may, as the aphorism says, be 90 percent perspiration and 10 percent inspiration. But finding the proper inspiration can be a challenge in itself. Like a mathematical theorem made up of various formulae, stimulus for music – especially creative music – arrives from anywhere. Consider these discs whose genesis couldn’t be more dissimilar, but whose interpretation is of uniform high quality. 

01 QuartetskCDi006Turning another page in its scorebook filled with the themes of composers from the so-called classical music canon, Montreal-based Quartetski – now a quintet – Does Bartók, on Mikrokosmos Sz 107 (Ambiances Magnétiques AM 224 CD actuellecd.com). It reconfigures to group improvisation piano pieces composed by Hungarian Béla Bartók (1881-1945) to synthesize musical and technical problems. Bartók, who was as attuned to Magyar folk music as his contemporary Arnold Schoenberg was to serialism, could never have imagined Quartetski’s instrumental make-up, unless he was also a futurist. The band is reedist Philippe Lauzier, guitarist Bernard Falaise, violinist Joshua Zubot, drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli and Pierre-Yves Martel, playing electric bass and synthesizer. Like films whose interpretation of a literary source is radically different, but representative, Quartetski’s 25-track variant of the oeuvre adding jazz, folk, rock and electronic inflections must be judged on its own. One reductionist way to approach this material is to itemize how often and quickly musical currents appear and disappear. For instance, take the many transitions which are evident during the sequenced five tracks: En mode mixolydien #48, Unisson divisé #52, Mélodie en dixièmes #56, Majeur et mineur #59, Triolets #75 and Hommage à Robert Schumann #80. Near-heavy metal thuds and clangs struggle for space alongside pastoral reed notes and high-European string swells. Later, like a space ship from the future landing in primitive times, contemporary timbres are subsumed beneath electronic loops. Paradoxically, when the themes are more obtuse, a buoyant melody is created where rugged Eastern European dance inferences mix up with crinkly guitar flanges. Similar schematic diagrams could be constructed for other sequences which append inferences including Hawaiian guitar-styled licks to an electric bass line reminiscent of Stax-Volt. But the key linkage appears among other tracks, Six mélodies à l’unisson, Notes pointées #7, Mains alternées #10, Mouvement parallèle #11 and Danse hongroise #68 plus Mélodie contre double-cordes #70. Prominent among the calliope-like motifs and synthesizer smears is an arching narrative that by the end adds Prairie hints to the Magyar countryside. Quartetski’s originality is confirmed on the group-composed title track. Like the inevitability of waves hitting and receding from the shore, the performance bonds string sweeps, aviary reed whistles and an electric undertow into tremolo washes. The CD confirms that the quintet can positively transform a revered composer’s supposedly unalterable work.

02 AbsolutelySweeCD007An even better known 20th-century composer is Bob Dylan, whose 1966 2-LP milestone Blonde on Blonde is the inspiration for Berlin quartet Absolutely Sweet Marie (ASM)’s Another Side of Blonde On Blonde (Tiger Moon: Records TMR 003 tigermoonrecords.com). Unlike Dylan’s electrified guitars and keyboards-focused session, the band – trumpeter Steffan Faul, trombonist Matthias Müller, tenor saxophonist Alexander Beierbach and drummer Max Andrzejewski – play the songs in the same sequence as the original disc, but completely acoustically. Dylan’s canon is no more inviolable than Bartók’s and ASM shows its skill by re-contextualizing the familiar themes to take on new resonance. The marching band/Dixieland outlines of tunes such as Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 and Most Likely You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine are easily converted to peppy showcases with R&B-styled sax riffs and trumpet exotica. But like the climber who first rappels up the Matterhorn then tackles Mount Everest, upping the challenge is more breathtaking. Absolutely Sweet Marie for instance, takes on a trumpet and trombone Mariachi sheen, while Pledging My Time becomes a canon as horn tremolos decorate the theme. Replete with altissimo slurs from Beierbach, Temporary Like Achilles is ground down into atoms. Just as art restorers sometimes find traces of an earlier picture on the canvas underneath another, ASM exposes unexpected jazz linkages in some of the songs. Cross pulsations inject the chorus of Sun Ra’s Space is the Place into the melody of One of Us Must Know; while the transformation of Fourth Time Around into an energetic bebop rocker is both mocked and underlined as John Coltrane’s unmistakable introduction to A Love Supreme is heard. The crowning achievement is when the four inject a circus-like atmosphere into I Want You via yelping horn parts to make it swing in all senses. As notable and thorny as alloying steel, the anthemic Just Like a Woman is re-imagined with a horn trio, with Berierbach almost tying himself into knots as he improvises freely.

03 GregWardCD004A jazz score composed for a free-form dance company, Touch My Beloved’s Thought (Greenleaf Music GRE-CD-1050 greenleafmusic.com) has clear-cut themes and a point of view, but like a film recast with new actors to give it contemporary resonance, part of its achievement is what it’s not. That’s because the inspiration for alto saxophonist Greg Ward’s creation, interpreted by his 10 Tongues band, was that a Chicago dance company wanted to choreograph movements to something like Charles Mingus’ 1963 milestone, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Taking that as a challenge, Ward adapted elements of Mingus’ seminal work without emulating any of the music itself and used different instrumentation ranging from the cornet on top to the bass trombone and baritone saxophone on the bottom to do so. A couple of times his own sour reed bites approximate the sound of earlier soloists and in the finale, Gather Round, The Revolution Is at Hand, a direct Mingus theme is interpolated. But mostly Ward’s music is more romantic, bluesy and utilitarian than its model. Especially noteworthy is The Menacing Lean, where a bolero beast superseded Marcus Evans’ timed drum rolls, preceding a stop-time challenge from baritone saxophonist Keefe Jackson and tenor saxophonist Tim Haldeman that moves the ensemble to effortless swing. Jason Roebke’s ringing double bass line and Dennis Luxion’s piano note emphasis enhances the climax. Later, Norman Palm’s lazy trombone slurs and call and response from the saxophonists frame the penultimate tracks. Round 3 and Dialogue of the Black Saint come across as much a brass player’s derby’s tip to Mingus’ influence Duke Ellington and many pre-modern trombonists as dance accompaniment. Sonically illuminating many motifs from staccato tonguing to muted nostalgia, Ward suggests strategies for the dancers. Then, like a mathematician marshalling various hypotheses into a theorem, he uses the concluding sequence to build the instrumental sections up to excited cacophony and down to calm for an appropriately simultaneous summation and homage.

04 Umlaut Big BandIn terms of slightly off-centre inspirations, consider the Umlaut Big Band’s Euro Swing Vol. 2 (Umlaut UMFR-CD18 umlautrecords.com). While the 16-piece French orchestra puts a new spin on swing-era tunes, the transcriptions on which they’re based – mostly created by its saxophonist/director Pierre Antoine Badaroux – are unique. That’s because these pre-World War II recordings either featured jazzers like Duke Ellington visiting Europe, or were played by local bands directed by Americans such as drummer Sam Wooding or alto saxophonist Benny Carter, who were European residents at the time. Undoubtedly Carter (1907-2003), who spent time in Holland, Belgium, England and France, is the avatar of the session. Like comparing a pre-renaissance canvas to the Mona Lisa, hear how the primitive two-beat feel of Bull Feet Stomp, with its so-called hot choruses, first recorded by drummer Wooding in 1929 is replaced by the balanced classicism of Carter’s arrangements from less than ten years later. Tracks such as a mid-range treatment of Honeysuckle Rose, first recorded in Paris in 1937, with its buffed single-string break from guitarist Roman Vuillemin plus Badaroux’s alto, move the exposition forward to modernity, while the carefully harmonized reed section of I’m Coming Virginia, initially recorded in 1938 in Paris, confirms the music’s maturity. At the same time, while staying within the originals’ bumpy-smooth parameters, the band members’ solos are neither clones nor caricatures. Despite the Charleston echoes on 1925’s Piccadilly Strut, pianist Bruno Ruder takes into account the relaxed Count Basie-type style that wouldn’t be common until a few years later. Similarly Emil Strandberg’s muted trumpet glides ocean-liner-like on the reed riffs created for Ellington’s 1933 Stockholm-cut Serenade to Sweden, while the high-pitched brass blasts of the trumpet plus trombonist Fidel Fourneyron transform the cartoon soundtrack-like feel of Wooding’s 1925 Berlin-recorded Shanghai Shuffle into something more pliable and daring. The most creditable solos come from clarinetist Antonin-Tri Hoang. He brings the same effective fluttering tonguing and animated commitment to his parts whether it’s partial singsong on Piccadilly Strut, timed modulations on Sweet Madness initially done by Freddy Johnson in 1933 Paris, or bolstered sound waves on Blue Room, a 1940 Carter arrangement for Jean Omer.

05 BlowhardsCD002The enthusiasms of the other bands may be singular, but an equally notable eponymous set by the Brooklyn Blowhards (Little (i) music littleimusic.com) is a case study in post-modernism. Arranged by reedist Jeff Lederer, and played by the eight-piece band plus two guests, the 14 tracks owe allegiance to both the over-the-top free jazz of saxophonist Albert Ayler (1936-1970), who died by drowning, and the obdurate melodies of traditional sea shanties. The linkage may seem opaque, but once the gale-force bluster that characterizes Lederer’s tenor saxophone glossolalia on Ayler’s Bells is immediately followed by the heaving plunger smears from Brian Drye’s trombone on the traditional Haul Away Joe, the primitive power and connection of both concepts is obvious. When two saxophones flutter tonguing and flurries of cornet and trombone breaths are coupled with tremolo throbs, other Ayler lines such as Dancing Flower and Heavenly Home conjure up images of the late saxophonist dancing a sailor’s hornpipe. A similar transformation is evident with the sea shanties. Like pieces of rural furniture which can become condominium showpieces, ditties such as Black Ball Line and Haul on the Bowline pick up unexpected contemporary cadences. The former matches Lederer’s commanding vibrations with staccato overblowing from tenor saxophonist Petr Cancura as percussion replicates a flotilla call to arms. Cornetist Kirk Knuffke’s tongue pirouettes cunningly subvert the melody of the second shanty which speeds up to suggest a brass band blaring as it transverses the ship. Art Bailey’s accordion splatters owe more to zydeco than zig-zag sailing; while Gary Lucas’ bottleneck guitar runs help move Mary Larose’s singing of Shallow Brown and other ditties from traditionally paced to frenetic. Like a melancholy air played during a burial at sea The Language of Resistance, composed by Lederer and played with maximum solemnity on soprano saxophone precedes Larose’s recitation of The Seaman’s Hymn which in its transmogrifying sentiments, creates a proper memorial for Ayler and classic seafaring while transforming their qualities into born-again music. Good music can make just about anything a source of inspiration.

In September of 1966, exactly 50 years ago, 18 years after the introduction of the long-playing vinyl disc and 17 years before the CD, there were 31 of Haydn’s 104 symphonies in the record catalogue. The name symphonies enjoyed multiple performances, including the Farewell, the Schoolmaster, the Oxford, the Surprise, the Miracle, the Military, the Clock, the Drum Roll and the London. The unnamed Symphony No.88 had five versions. Well-known, saleable conductors and their orchestras were the order of the day. These performances predated the formation of original instruments groups and their adoption of what are believed to be historically correct practices. Some years ago I had an informative conversation with a fellow from Decca who had recently returned from Esterházy where they were to film performances by Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music playing Haydn in the very location for which the works were written. The musicians arrived well-prepared but when the orchestra began playing, to everyone’s utter dismay, in that venue, what they had diligently rehearsed was clearly at odds with what Haydn would had heard. As I was given to understand, changes were made and lessons learned.

01 HAYDN107Last year Decca issued a 32-CD set of all the Haydn Symphonies that Hogwood and the Academy were able to finish before the project ended. To top that, Decca has issued another box, this one of the Haydn – Complete 107 Symphonies (4989604, 35CDs). This new set incorporates all the Hogwood performances plus recordings by Frans Brüggen directing the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and also the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. Neither had set down the symphonies Nos.78 through 81.Decca selected the Accademia Bizantina conducted by Ottavio Dantone to provide them. This orchestra, managed autonomously by its guardian members, was founded in Ravenna, Italy in 1983 with the intention of “making music like a large quartet.” Recorded in 2015, their focus and totally unexpected energy comes as something of a shock as one plays through the set. If you wonder how the accepted 104 symphonies grew to 107 it is because of the inclusion of the “A & B” early symphonies and the Sinfonia Concertante in B-Flat major (Hob.1.105) from the same year, 1792, as the Symphonies 97 and 98. So here it is … the first complete edition of the historically informed performances of the 107 Haydn Symphonies employing “original” instruments. Yet, as performing music is not an exact science, each of the four ensembles is clearly different from the others, making the whole package all the more interesting.

03 opera goldThere is a fine collection of “the most beautiful operatic moments” from Decca Records appropriately titled Opera Gold (4788210, 6 CDs). In a box only 5/8 of an inch thick are 100 tracks of superb renditions of all the familiar and some, perhaps, unfamiliar solos, duets and larger ensembles drawn from the treasured archives of English Decca. Decca documented so many of the great ones: Pavarotti, Horne, Sutherland, Freni, Tebaldi, Kaufmann, Bergonzi, von Stade, Nucci, Te Kanawa, Milnes, Ghiaurov, Tourangeau, Fleming and Corelli. Conductors include Mehta, Bonynge, von Karajan, Pappano, Molinari-Pradelli, Serafin and Solti. All are on the first of the six CDs. This elegant little black box with gold lettering would be a thoughtful and lasting house gift instead of wine or flowers to take to an invitation to a friend’s home. Shop around, it can be found for about $20.

02 ARCHIV PRODUCTIONSince 2013 when DG issued Archiv Produktion 1947-2013 (4791045, 55 CDs) we have waited for a follow-up set which has now arrived, Archiv Produktion Analogue Stereo Recordings 1959-2013 (4791045, 55 CDs). As a background to Archiv Produktions we should go back to the spring of 1941 when all shares of Deutsche Grammophon were transferred to Siemens AG. Through the 1940s and the 1950s, under Ernst von Siemens, a music lover, the company became the industry leader in Germany and garnered international recognition. Siemens worked passionately, building a spectacular catalogue of impeccable performances of classical music that was supported to a large extent by the company’s catalogue of popular and dance music that was exported to other European countries. Siemens undertook to document Germany’s profound and lasting contribution to music and to do so, in 1947, the Archiv label was born. Bach, of course was the initial focus and the 40-year-old blind organist, Helmut Walcha was chosen to record the master’s works on the 1659 Stralsund Stellwagen Organ in the Church of St. Jacob in Lübeck. Appropriately, some of these very first recordings appear on the first disc of the first box. Sometime after the launch of the Archiv label it was brought to Herr Siemens’ particular attention that Archiv Produktions was not a profitable division for the company, to which he countered most emphatically that Archiv was not conceived as a moneymaker but to document and disseminate German culture. One is reminded of the MGM motto, Ars Gratia Artis.

In the second box, enthusiasts will applaud the return to the catalogue of classic performances by Karl Richter and the Munich Bach Orchestra, the Loewenguth Quartet, Simon Preston, Ralph Kirkpatrick, Pierre Fournier, August Wenzinger, Karl Ristenpart, Marcel Couraud, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Josef Ulsamer, Maurice André, Charles Mackerras, Fernando Germani, Michel Corboz, Edward Melkus, the Melos Quartet of Stuttgart, Jürgen Jürgens, Helmut Walcha, John Eliot Gardiner, Kenneth Gilbert, Jordi Savall and many, many others. The repertoire includes much Bach. Also of special particular interest are performances of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata played on an arpeggione by Klaus Stock accompanied by Alfons Kontarsky and 19 Weber Lieder sung by Peter Schreier with Konrad Ragossnig playing guitar. Also David Munrow leading the Early Music Consort of London in Music of the Gothic Era now complete on 2 CDs. That group, as some remember, included Christopher Hogwood playing harp and portative organ. The curiosity in the mix is Gong Kebyar playing Gamelan Music from Bali, sacred and dance music recorded in there in 1972. The sets have booklets with photos of the artists and recording data. The complete details of both sets may be seen on line at deccaclassics.com.

This second Archiv box contains only performances from 1959 through to 1981. Does this hint of yet a third box?

10_Strings_and_a_goatskin.jpgAuprès du Poêle
Ten Strings and a Goat Skin
Independent (tenstringsandagoatskin.com)

Woodstoves, community, dancing, good cheer, fire in the heart – such is the atmosphere on this album, and the aura of this music.  It brought dance to my feet and the love of life to my mind, in no particular order.

This is the third CD released by the acoustic trio from Prince Edward’s Island. Rowen Gallant (fiddle, viola, tenor banjo, vocals), Jesse Périard (guitar, pump organ, backing vocals) and Caleb Gallant (bodhràn, foot percussion, snare, cajón, clawhammer banjo, vocals) may be young but each is a very accomplished musician in his own right.  

While rooted in Acadian and Scottish roots and their love for traditional maritime music, Ten Strings and a Goat Skin were able to expand on this album into truly original interpretations and add unique compositional voices of their own, spicing it with indie and world music flavours. Thus this album comprises of a curious mix of original and traditional tunes and features an array of guest musicians, including Leonard Podolak (also producer of this album) and the members of Les Poules à Colin.

The title track, Auprès du Poêle, moves along with elegance and drive, and features a lovely scat voice/violin duet towards the end. Among many engaging tunes, my favourite were tracks 4, 5 and 6. When First I Came To Caledonia is a beautifully arranged traditional Cape Breton ballad – the dark viola timbre and the mellow voice add the melancholy touch. Shoot the Moon, one of the original tunes, has a few world music twists and a beautiful fiddle/percussion episode. Finally, Maluron Lurette, starts with a solitary melody that continues through progression of instruments and voices.

Sizzling fiddles, dynamic guitars and banjos and ever driving percussion – this album promises and delivers good times.

Concert Note: Ten Strings and a Goat Skin’s busy summer schedule includes three stops in OntarioJuly 7 at Hugh’s Room in Toronto, July 8 at the Almonte Celtfest in Almonte and July 9-10 at the Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia.

Material for this month’s column began with an email in early April from a young man in Hawaii saying he was sending me copies of two CDs featuring his music for baritone ukulele. I don’t think I ever responded to the email, but my curiosity was whetted – I was not familiar with the baritone member of that instrumental family – and when the discs arrived I was pleased to find them both interesting. The young man’s name is Ryan Choi (ryanckchoi.com) and the two discs present different sides of his compositional activity.

01a Choi WhenmillThe first, Whenmill (Off ODG049 off-recordlabel.blogspot.ca), presents four pieces for solo baritone ukulele in a fairly traditional contemporary classical guitar idiom. The rich tones of the instrument and the way Choi makes full contrapuntal use of its limited range makes it easy to forget that he is dealing with two fewer strings than on a guitar. Set 1 is comprised of three pieces, Quixano and Inn Blue, both from 2012, and Whenmill, composed the following year. I wish there were some program notes for the pieces, but even web searches turn up little information. The opening piece’s title, also the honorific of “Don Quixote de la Mancha,” makes me wonder if Inn Blue refers to the Don’s infamous adventure at a country inn and whether Whenmill, a word I cannot find mention of except in connection with Choi, has something to with tilting at windmills…but that is mere speculation on my part. Regardless of intent or inspiration, the “set” is a satisfying and intriguing exploration of the potential of this lesser-known instrument. At 12 minutes, the final track, South Aleksandr, composed in 2011, is longer than the other three combined and its virtuosic flamenco-like passages showcase Choi’s considerable abilities.

Review

RyanChoi IMAGE Three DancersChoi’s other disc Three Dancers (Accretions ALP-060 accretions.com) is quite a different offering including works for “prepared” baritone ukulele, percussion and electronics, all performed by the composer. The title of the 20-minute EP, again about 20 minutes in all (and of the third track,) refers to Picasso’s painting Les Trois Danseuses and the cover art is a line drawing by Choi. The brief opening track Preparations I and IV is percussive in its approach, seemingly achieved with preparations on the ukulele similar to those which John Cage developed for piano, rather than through the use of traditional percussion instruments. It is very rhythmic and pointillistic, but relatively tame compared to the dynamic second track, Apollon at Eros, which combines hand drumming and stilted string plucking which jumps erratically, although not randomly, around the fret board. The electronic treatments are subtly present in Three Dancers, with, as far as I can tell, textures produced by reversing recorded sounds which actually seem almost as if they could be created live in real time by this accomplished player. These two releases present a remarkable portrait of an instrument not previously known for its art music potential, and of an adventurous new voice on the contemporary scene.

02 William BeauvaisI was pleased, but not surprised, by the beautiful sounds on Old Wood – New Seeds, the latest from Toronto classical guitarist/composer William Beauvais (musiccentre.ca/node/138158). The disc opens with the suite, Appalachian Colours – Gold; Red; Green; Blue, evidently inspired not by Copland’s Appalachian Spring, but rather by that iconic American composer’s orchestral suite Rodeo. From the contemplative opening movement through the lilting second and the lullaby-like third, our attention is held by the lush colours Beauvais draws from his instrument. The gently ebullient final movement, glistening like sunlight off the surface of a rippling lake, held me wrapped in its thrall from start to finish nearly seven minutes later.

Shakespeare has arguably provided inspiration for more composers than any other literary figure throughout history. Beauvais has followed this time-honoured path with a pair of works, Fallstaffe’s Lament and Fallstaffe’s Charade, the first being a suitably mournful theme and variations and the second in the form of an English jig. No explanation is given for the aberrant spelling of the character’s name (nor for a different spelling, one “l” but still the “e,” in the program note), perhaps just to evoke the Elizabethan era before spellings were standardized. Certainly the music does so effectively. We’ll return to Shakespeare later in this column but Beauvais next takes us to Eastern Europe in The Ancient Waters suite which uses two Bulgarian songs and a rhythmic Balkan folk dance.

Beauvais incorporates Renaissance-style “divisions” in the warm and luscious Open Moonflower which is paired with the cascading Shoveling Clouds. Carré St. Anne, the final track on this very satisfying disc, begins quietly but gradually builds to a driving conclusion based on a Brazilian dance form. Throughout, the recorded sound is rich, but natural, and surprisingly free of extraneous finger and string noise.

Review

03 Pete SeegerOne thing I did not mention in the Beauvais review was that several of the tracks put me in mind of the Paul Winter Consort and how classical guitarist Ralph Towner was integrated into the fabric of that seminal crossover band in the 1970s. I mention this now because another package that found my attention this past month was a reissue of the 1996 CD Pete (LMUS 0032) along with the DVD Living Music Festival 1982 (LMU-45) featuring Pete Seeger and the Paul Winter Consort, on Winter’s Living Music label (paulwinter.com). Released 20 years ago when Seeger was 77, PetePete Seeger and Friends brings together Joanie Madden (pennywhistle), Howard Levy (harmonica), Paul Winter (soprano sax), Paul Preston (banjo, mandolin) and three different choirs, Gaudeamus, the Union Baptist Church Singers and the Cathedral Singers, in 18 songs showing the breadth of Seeger’s interest and experience. From straightforward folk songs like Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, through protest, pro-environment and pro-humanity offerings, Garbage, To My Old Brown Earth and My Rainbow Race, and to storytelling, Huddie Ledbetter Was a Hell of a Man, and traditional songs like The Water is Wide, we are presented with many facets of one of the most influential folk singers of the 20th century, someone who brought so many people together over the course of a career that spanned almost eight decades.

The DVD is a bit of a time capsule. Recorded at the Living Music Festival in 1982 when Seeger was a sprightly 63, the footage never saw the light of day until after his death in 2014 when Paul Winter sought out filmmaker Phil Garvin who fortunately still had the raw footage. The festival, organized by Winter in the Lichtfield Hills of northwest Connecticut, featured the Paul Winter Consort in selections from their album Common Ground, singer Susan Osborn and the Brazilian Pe de Boi Samba Band. Seeger performs an extended solo set singing in English, Yiddish, French and Spanish, accompanying himself on banjo, 12-string guitar and block flute. He also collaborates with the other performers and as you would expect there is lots of audience participation. It is vintage Seeger and a wonderfully nostalgic look at peace festivals of days gone by. There are bonus tracks recorded at the “Pete-nic” at Winter’s farm in 1997 and a five minute solo performance by Seeger for the Harriet Beecher Stowe Society in 2005 on the 40th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” Pettus Bridge March in Selma, Alabama. Although his voice had almost disappeared by that time, his energy and conviction had not flagged. It is a moving performance.

The CD/DVD set was supported by Music for the Earth, a non-profit foundation dedicated to “exploring ways that music can be used to enrich the lives of human beings and awaken a spirit of involvement in the preservation of wildlife and the natural environment of the Earth” – things to which Pete Seeger devoted his life and his art.

04 Chaim TannenbaumChaim Tannenbaum is another who has been involved in the folk music scene for more than half a century, albeit in a peripheral role. Peripheral that is if you’re not part of the Wainwright/McGarrigle musical dynasty. The erstwhile professor of the philosophy of mathematics and logic has been an integral part of that extended family throughout the decades, managing to stay as friend and collaborator with both Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle in spite of their breakup, frequently performing with Wainwright and with Kate and Anna McGarrigle and mentoring Loudon and Kate’s precocious offspring Rufus and Martha. Tannenbaum is a multi-instrumentalist with a distinctive voice who can be heard on many of the recordings of this family compact; his production credits include the album Therapy which marked Wainwright’s return to recording after a three-year hiatus in 1989.


Evidently happy in the shadows, it took much persuasion from Tannenbaum’s friends to embark on this voyage to centre stage. His belated debut album includes a number of traditional pieces – Coal Man Blues, Moonshiner, Mama’s Angel Child – and the gospel song Farther Along and Harburg/Rose/Arlen’s It’s Only a Paper Moon. But it’s not all old-timey fare and Tannenbaum turns out to be a fine storytelling songwriter too – the CD opens out to a double panel with four paragraphs of prose I initially took to be a memoir, but which turn out to be the lyrics for his song Brooklyn 1955. The booklet includes extended encomiums by Wainwright (heard in harmony vocals on several tracks) and by record producer (not this record) Joe Boyd. Chaim Tannenbaum was produced by Dick Connette and released on StorySound Records (storysoundrecords.com). This disc is not just for aficionados of the Wainwright-McGarrigles, but it will be of particular interest to them. Highly recommended.

Concert note: Chaim Tannenbaum launches his eponymous CD at Toronto’s Tranzac Club on Sunday June 12.

Review

05 Rufus Wainwright

I told you that Shakespeare would reappear later and here he comes. April 23, 1616 is the assumed date of the death of the Bard and to mark the 400th anniversary Deutsche Grammophon has released Take All My Loves (4795508), a setting of nine Shakespeare Sonnets by the above-mentioned scion of the Wainwright-McGarrigle dynasty, Rufus Wainwright. It is an eclectic offering, further exploring the singer-songwriter’s interest in blending the worlds of pop and high-art culture. There are readings by Siân Phillips, Frally Hynes, Peter Eyre, Carrie Fisher, William Shatner and Inge Keller, while the vocals are primarily shared by Austrian soprano Anna Prohaska and Wainwright himself, with the participation of Florence Welsh, Martha Wainwright, Fiora Cutler, Christopher Nell and Jürgen Holtz.

The project grew out of an invitation from director Robert Wilson back in 2009 – the 400th anniversary of the publication of the sonnets – to set some of them for a production of the Berliner Ensemble, a theatre company founded by Bertold Brecht in 1949. Although Wainwright’s interest in the poems dates back to his youth when he was encouraged to read them by his mother, they have been of ongoing interest in recent years. Following the cabaret style production in Berlin replete with garish costumes, the San Francisco Symphony commissioned Wainwright to orchestrate five of the sonnets for the concert hall, three of which appeared on his 2010 album All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu.

The current production is kind of a mixed bag, with lush full orchestral accompaniments featuring the BBC Symphony Orchestra, smaller settings with the Berlin String Section and a number of tracks with pop band instrumentation. All of the sung sonnets are introduced by a dramatic reading of the text, with the exception of Wainwright’s performance of Take All My Loves (Sonnet 40) which incorporates Marius de Vries’ recitation into the body of the song. Prohaska’s voice, celebrated across a repertoire that spans three centuries, is a highlight, especially in the gentle A Woman’s Face (Sonnet 20) and the wickedly dramatic Th’Expense of Spirit in a Waste of Shame (Sonnet 129). Wainwright’s distinctive voice is particularly effective in the title track, but his reprise of A Woman’s Face is something of a letdown with its straightforward pop arrangement and sensibility.

The extensive booklet includes an introduction by British actor Peter Eyre, full texts, translations and production credits. What is missing is an explanation of why two of the sonnets are presented in German necessitating the translations, or more properly the English originals, of All Dessen Müd (Sonnet 66) in a cabaret-like arrangement and Farewell (Sonnet 87) sung beautifully by Prohaska. I assume this has to do with the Berliner Ensemble origins of the settings, but it would have been nice if Eyre, whose English performance of Farewell with Wainwright can be found on YouTube, would have explained.

Concert note: Toronto audiences can catch Rufus Wainwright’s acclaimed recreation of Judy Garland’s 1961 Carnegie Hall show “Rufus Does Judy” June 23 and 24 at the Hearn Generating Station as part of this year’s Luminato Festival.

Review

06 Stravinsky Soldier

Concert note: On June 18 another Luminato performance at the Hearn features soloists of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with concertmaster Jonathan Crow and narrator Derek Boyes in Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. Naxos recently released a new recording of that work, Stavinsky – The Soldier’s Tale (Complete) featuring the Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players with violinist Tianwa Yang, narrator Fred Child and actors Jared McGuire (The Soldier) and Jeff Biehl (The Devil) under the direction of JoAnn Falletta (8.573537).

I have always liked this pocket drama – an hour-long Faustian story of a young man who sells his soul – or in this case his violin – to the devil and in so doing loses the things and people he loves. Composed in 1917 while Stravinsky was living in Switzerland during the First World War, it is scored for a modest orchestra of seven players reflecting the ravaged ranks of musicians who survived that conflict. Of principal interest is the violin, so dear to the soldier – its themes will reappear in Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto some 14 years later. It is a different take on the story because it is not the soldier’s greed which leads him to his fateful error. He is actually perfectly content with his modest life and his fiddle but is tricked by the devil into making the trade. Although granted fortune through the book he trades for, which foretells the future, it was never his idea and he is never comfortable in the role. Eventually he finds a way to beat the devil – by letting him win at cards – and regain his life. Spoiler Alert: all does not end well when you play with the devil and in a scene reminiscent of Orpheus’ glance back at Eurydice, the devil regains the upper hand and the violin.

The story is narrated effectively and Yang’s violin playing is flawless and convincing in this new performance. It is a welcome addition to my collection.

07 Stravinsky SacreAnd a quick final note. The Story of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps with Valery Gergiev (ArtHaus Music 109210) is a very effective documentary film by Peter Rump. Gergiev leads the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra through a rehearsal during which he analyzes and explains his approach to the iconic work. This is intercut with commentary and piano examples by Gergiev and historic footage of Stravinsky, Pierre Boulez and Alexander Toradze. Gergiev makes a very strong case for his interpretation – rough and rhythmic, rather than romantic – and provides an insightful introduction that shows how this 100-year-old masterwork is still fresh and vibrant.

Shameless self-promotion II: I am hosting a fundraiser on behalf of New Music Concerts at “Coffee House 345” (aka Gallery 345 on Sorauren) on Wednesday June 15. I will be bringing my eclectic repertoire, 6- and 12-string guitars and a few musical friends along for the ride. Thanks to NMC’s board of directors there will be complimentary snacks and libations. For reservations call 416-961-9594.

We welcome your feedback and invite submissions. CDs and comments should be sent to: DISCoveries, WholeNote Media Inc., The Centre for Social Innovation, 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, “buy buttons” for on-line shopping and additional, expanded and archival reviews.

David Olds, DISCoveries Editor
discoveries@thewholenote.com

 

 

When violinist Jacques Israelievitch joined the Faculty of Music at York University in 2008 he became a colleague of pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, and it wasn’t long before they started performing as a duo. They also sight-read all of the Mozart sonatas for their own pleasure, and soon added some of the late works to their concert recitals.

This led to their performing all of the sonatas in a marathon concert of more than seven hours (with three short breaks), an experience which convinced them to try to recreate the excitement by recording the complete series. They were part of the way through the project when Israelievitch was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Despite a break for hospital treatment he managed to find the strength to complete the project, recording the final six sonatas in less than four hours. He passed away on September 5, 2015.

01 IsraelievitchMozart: Sonatas and Variations for Piano and Violin Vol.1 is the initial release in the series, issued “with a heavy heart” by Fleur de Son Classics (FDS 58034). This first volume features the Sonata No.28 in E Flat K380, the Sonata No.32 in B-Flat Major K454, the Sonata No.35 in A Major K526 and the Six Variations on a French Song K360.

These works are perfectly suited to Israelievitch’s distinctive style and sound, which was always warm, gentle and sensitive. More so than in the early juvenile sonatas written before Mozart turned 11, where the violin is little more than an accompaniment to the piano, the instruments are on equal terms here, and it’s obvious that Israelievitch and Petrowska Quilico are of one mind in their performances.

I’m not sure how many volumes there will be in this series – there are 19 mature sonatas as well as the 17 juvenile works – but if this first volume is anything to go by then it will be a series to treasure, and one that will be a wonderful memorial tribute to a great and much-loved violinist.

02 Bis Leong ChiuThere seems to be a never-ending stream of emerging top-notch violinists these days, but every now and then a talent emerges that simply stops you in your tracks. One such talent is the 19-year-old Canadian violinist Kerson Leong, who makes his CD debut with Bis on the Analekta label with Canadian pianist Philip Chiu (AN 2 9160).

Leong is by no means an unknown, having won the Junior First Prize at the 2010 Menuhin Competition in Oslo, as well as numerous awards here in Canada, but from the very first bars of the opening track it’s clear that this is a very special violinist with qualities that lift him from the general crowd and place him in the stratosphere.

In a blog from the 2012 Menuhin Competition, Nancy Pellegrini called Leong “a 15-year-old with a 45-year-old’s stage presence.” The level of musical maturity on display here is simply staggering. Leong chose to make his first album a series of encore-style pieces, saying that he thought it would be the ideal way to introduce himself, and it was a wise decision: the wide range of composers and styles allows him to display his dazzling talents to the fullest.

From the rich, deep, passionate tone of the Brahms Hungarian Dances Nos.1 and 17, through Kreisler’s Liebesfreud and Liebesleid, a Gluck Melodie, the Bartók Romanian Dances, Medtner’s Fairy Tale, the three Gershwin Preludes, Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, a simply ravishing Debussy Clair de lune and Valse, to Wagner’s Albumblatt and the final Hebrew Melody Op.33 by Joseph Achron, this is magnificent playing by a young violinist who must surely be on the cusp of a stellar international career. Chiu’s finely judged accompaniments add greatly to an outstanding CD.

03 Francesca de PasqualeThe Juilliard graduate and Itzhak Perlman protégée, Francesca dePasquale (francescadepasquale.instantencore.com), has also released a self-titled debut album, with pianist Meng-Chieh Liu. Like Leong, dePasquale has been around for quite a while – she made her debut at the age of nine touring Spain – and for her first album chose works that she feels are not only dear to her heart but that also show her wide range as an artist; also like the Leong CD, it’s a choice that works extremely well.

DePasquale has a beautiful tone and impressive technique. There’s a lovely reading of the Bach Partita No.2 in D Minor for Solo Violin, and a really strong extended melodic line in Messiaen’s Thème et Variations. Paola Prestini’s very effective Oceanic Fantasy for Solo Violin and Electronics, a 2015 commission from dePasquale, incorporates field recordings of southern Italian songs, although the work is almost entirely for violin alone, with Bach-like arpeggios and double-stopping and strong melody lines. The remaining works are the brief Schumann Intermezzo from the F.A.E. Sonata, Bartók’s Rhapsody No.1 and a simply gorgeous performance of Marietta’s Lied from Korngold’s opera Die Tote Stadt; there is a video of the recording session of the latter, along with audio samples of all the tracks on the CD, on dePasquale’s website. It’s well worth a visit.

04 Laura MetcalfThis seems to be a good month for debut albums. First Day is the solo debut CD of the American cellist Laura Metcalf, accompanied by pianist Matei Varga in another varied program of works to which both performers feel deeply connected (Sono Luminus DSL-92201).

Metcalf has extensive experience as both a chamber musician and soloist, and has a lovely tone and a fine legato. She has been friends and musical partner with Varga since 2004, and one wonders why a solo CD has been so long in coming. Still, it was certainly worth the wait.

Two works on the disc by young American composers are world premiere recordings: Caleb Buhrans’ Phantasie and Dan Visconti’s very brief but joyful Hard-Knock Stomp. There are also works by José Bragato, Bohuslav Martinů, Alberto Ginastera and Marin Marais. A student work by a young George Enescu, the single movement Sonata in F Minor, was only recently discovered and is still unpublished.

The CD’s title comes from the phrase “paths of the first day” from the Francis Poulenc song Les Chemins de l’amour, the final track on the album. Metcalf adds a vocal performance to bring an excellent CD to a simply lovely close.

05 Sarita KwokThis also seems to be a great month for violin and piano CDs. Interchange is a new release from the Australian violinist Sarita Kwok (a longtime resident in the United States) and pianist Wei-Yi Yang featuring Violin & Piano Duos of the 20th Century (Genuin GEN 16548).

Janáček’s Sonata is a late work that shows the influence of the First World War as well as the composer’s fascination with the speech patterns of his native Moravia that gave his late music such a distinctive sound. It’s a difficult, intense, passionate and constantly changing work, and Kwok captures every element perfectly.

Stravinsky’s Duo Concertante and Prokofiev’s Five Melodies are given equally sympathetic performances, and there is a stunning sense of style in Ravel’s Sonata No.2 in G Major, particularly in the Blues middle movement and the final Perpetuum mobile.

Kwok displays a gorgeous tone, a dazzling technique and a beautiful focus throughout a terrific CD, and is matched in all respects by Yang’s outstanding piano playing.

06 Rachel Barton PineThe latest issue from the outstanding American violinist Rachel Barton Pine is Testament, a 2CD set of the complete Bach Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin (Avie 2CD AV2360).

As I’ve noted before, comparative reviews of these sets are not only extremely difficult, given the huge number of performer choices available, but also irrelevant. Probably more than with any other works in the solo repertoire, recorded performances of the Sonatas & Partitas are about making an intimate personal statement. The sheer size and scope of the work means that there will always be countless variations – small and large – between various interpretations; all that matters is that each performer’s personal views and feelings come through, for nothing lays a violinist’s soul bare more than these astonishing pieces.

Barton Pine makes no attempt to hide the work’s spiritual significance for her, choosing to record the CD in her church, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Chicago, the place she calls her “emotional home” for Bach’s music and where she first encountered the violin and first played Bach in a worship setting at the age of four. There’s certainly a spirituality to her playing, which is quite superb.

The recording is, she says, a testament to her lifelong relationship with one of the cornerstones of the violin repertoire and to all who have inspired and supported her. And what a testament it is.

07 Ysaye TyniecCanadian violinist Andréa Tyniec has released a simply stunning recording of the Six Sonatas for Solo Violin Op.27 by Eugène Ysaÿe (Really Records REA-CD-5898D). Tyniec raised the money to fund the recording through the online fundraising site Indiegogo and boy, was it worth it!

These astonishing sonatas, apparently mapped out within the space of 24 hours in July 1923 and published in 1924, manage to look back to Bach as well as forward to the 20th century, and are arguably the greatest solo works in the violin literature after the Bach Sonatas & Partitas. This is the sixth complete set I’ve received in the past five years and, as with the Bach works, comparative reviews are almost impossible in the space available.

Suffice it so say that Tyniec’s faultless technique, outstanding musicianship and a crystal-clear recorded sound make this marvellous set one to revisit and to treasure.

08 Ann MillerOne of the Ysaÿe sonatas – the No.4 in E Minor – is featured on Perspectives on Light & Shadow, the new CD from violinist Ann Miller (annmillerviolin.com) with pianist Sonia Long. Although a more-than-capable reading, it doesn’t quite match Tyniec’s; a rather muddy recorded sound doesn’t help. The same could be said for the Bartók Sonata No.1 for Violin and Piano, which doesn’t really come up to the Tanja Becker-Bender recording reviewed last month.

The real gem here, though, and what makes this CD so interesting, is the Sonata for Violin and Piano by the American composer Robert Beaser (b.1954). Consisting of a theme and 15 variations divided into three contrasting movements of five variations each, it was reworked for violin in 2002, having been originally written in 1981 for flute and piano, although you would never guess: it’s strong, idiomatic writing for the violin, and a striking and quite brilliant work that brings the best playing on the disc from Miller.

09 Fantasy and Romance SchumannFantasy & Romance – Schumann: Music for Cello and Piano is the latest CD from Emanuel Gruber, who has previously recorded the complete music for cello and piano by Beethoven and Mendelssohn; Keiko Sekino is the pianist this time (Delos DE 3481).

Although Schumann loved and played the cello he left only two works written specifically for the instrument: his Cello Concerto in A Minor and the Five Pieces in Folk Style Op.102, the latter included on this album. The other works here are all transcriptions or arrangements, although Schumann did suggest that two works – the Fantasiestücke Op.73 for clarinet and piano and the Adagio and Allegro Op.70 for horn and piano – could also be played on the cello.

The Drei Romanzen Op.94, arranged here by Valter Dešpalj, were originally for oboe and piano; the Märchenbilder Op.113, in a transcription by Alfred Piatti and Christian Bellisario, were originally for viola and piano. Two piano pieces – Abendlied Op.85 and the famous Träumerei Op.15, in lovely arrangements by Lothar Lechner – complete a very attractive CD.

Gruber notes that the lyrical quality of Schumann’s music makes the cello an ideal medium of expression, and regardless of the original scoring of the works here, these lovely performances certainly support that opinion.

Review

Victor Herbert was another composer who played cello, but in his case at full professional level. He was born in Ireland in 1859, but grew up in Germany, emigrating to the United States in 1886. By the late 1890s he was one of the most famous musicians in America, celebrated for his playing and conducting and for his operettas.

10 Herbert Cello CtiHis Cello Concertos Nos.1 and 2 are featured on a new Naxos CD in performances by Mark Kosower and the Ulster Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta (8.573517). Not surprisingly, both works are typical of the late German Romantic school. The Concerto No.1 in D Major Op.8 was performed by the composer in Stuttgart in 1885, and again in New York in 1887, but remained unpublished and apparently unperformed for many years; it was first recorded in 1986.

The Concerto No.2 in E Minor Op.30 is the stronger of the two works. Dvořák attended its premiere in New York in March 1894, and was so impressed with Herbert’s balancing of the large orchestra and the solo cello that it led directly to the composition of his own B-Minor Concerto within the year.

Kosower is in great form in two really lovely performances, and Falletta draws spirited playing from the orchestra for which she was principal conductor from 2011 to 2014.

Herbert’s Irish Rhapsody for Grand Orchestra completes the disc; it’s the expected mix of Irish tunes, much like the Bruch Scottish Fantasy in mood and orchestration, and with some brilliant counterpoint to round it off.

11 Dancing in Daylight Irish Piano TriosThere’s more Irish music on Dancing in Daylight – Contemporary Piano Trios from Ireland, a new CD featuring works by Seóirse Bodley (b.1933), John Buckley (b.1951), Rhona Clarke (b.1958) and Fergus Johnston (b.1959) in performances by the Fidelio Trio (métier msv 28556).

Last year the trio completed a residency in the music department of St. Patrick’s College in Drumcondra, Dublin, during which time they commissioned the works by Bodley, Buckley and Johnston. Johnston’s Piano Trio dates from 2011; Buckley’s Piano Trio from 2013; and Bodley’s Piano Trio ‘Dancing in the Daylight’ from 2014. Clarke’s Piano Trio No.2 was originally written in 2001, but revised in 2007 and 2015, when it was played during the Trio’s residency.

All four works are extremely strong, well-written, accessible and effective, with performances and recording quality of the highest level throughout a really interesting CD.

12 Matt SellickNocturne is the second CD by the Thunder Bay flamenco guitarist and composer Matt Sellick (matt.sellick@gmail.com), whose first album After Rain was very favourably reviewed in the February 2015 edition of The WholeNote.

Sellick has spent four summers studying in Spain with some of the leading flamenco guitarists, and it show. He admits that this new CD is “more clearly flamenco” than his first, but also acknowledges that there are other influences at work here as well. All 11 pieces – some solo and some accompanied by bass and percussion – are original compositions, and there is a lovely mix of different moods and tempos.

He obviously has a great feel for flamenco, an outstanding technique – clean, accurate and clearly defined – and plays with a warm rich sound and a lovely range of tone colour and shading. The recording quality and ambience are perfect.

Sellick is clearly a huge talent; this is a terrific CD, and it will be very interesting to see what he does next.

 

01 Xiayin WangXiayin Wang has recorded nearly a dozen CDs. Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No.2; Khachaturian – Piano Concerto; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Peter Oundjian (Chandos CHSA 5167) is her fifth for this label.

The Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2 is a big play at almost 45 minutes. This recording is of the original version, not the shorter one with significant cuts by Taneyev to the second movement. Wang proves to be a very precise player with a lot of stamina for whom Tchaikovsky’s wilder passages pose no difficulty. She is also comfortable with long interpretive pauses that give better definition to the deluge of musical ideas the composer releases in the opening movement.

Very much in command of her music when pitted against the orchestra, she also plays beautifully when more exposed with only solo violin and cello, as she is in the second movement. Similarly, in the Khachaturian Piano Concerto, Wang sustains long passages of simple octaves with great discipline, always sensitive to the mystery of the work’s Asiatic atmosphere.

Toronto-born conductor Peter Oundjian leads the Royal Scottish National Orchestra of which he has been music director since 2012. The RSNO is superb and deservedly claims its reputation as one of Europe’s leading orchestras. Both concertos require a broad range of stylistic and dynamic expression which the orchestra handles beautifully. They do especially well with the often angular nature of the Khachaturian. This recording brings together a wonderful team of musicians in a pair of truly demanding works. The result is a highly energized and superb performance.

02 Christian LeottaWith all 32 Beethoven sonatas in his discography, Christian Leotta has now added Beethoven – Diabelli Variations (ATMA ACD2 2485) to his growing list of recordings.

The Diabelli Variations have a history of divided critical opinion. At worst, Anton Diabelli’s original theme is considered a trite offering containing very little that any composer can use for a credible variation. That Beethoven used the material to write an entire set of 33 variations, is then something of a miracle that speaks directly to the composer’s inventive gift. Regardless of the theme’s actual merits, or lack of them, a performer needs to understand what Beethoven is actually doing in each variation in order to perform them intelligently.

This is where Leotta proves his standing as a highly respected Beethoven interpreter. He understands that Beethoven uses as little as a single interval and often barely more than that, a pick-up note, an ornament or a rhythmic pattern, to construct his variations. He remains highly focused on this, and in doing so holds the set of variations together despite its diverse moments of comedy, tumult, melancholy and contemplation.

Leotta has discerned Beethoven’s deepest imprint and conveys it in each of these utterances. What he makes clear by the end of it all is that Beethoven’s creative genius is for him, supreme.

03 Steeves haydnTimothy Steeves, known for his six recordings with violinist Nancy Dahl as Duo Concertante, has now released his first solo disc, Haydn Sonatas (Marquis MAR 469). Steeves admits to having a lifelong admiration for Haydn’s music and his choice of the three sonatas on this disc is meant to show Haydn’s creativity and originality. While the modern ear may have difficulty in hearing this music as original, because of its similarities to baroque and Mozartian works, a quick self-reminder as to where Haydn sits historically helps place him as the significant bridge from the baroque to the classical period.

Steeves plays with great clarity, required especially in the upper voices where Haydn tends to nest his melodies. He has a touch that demonstrates impressive control of tonal colouring, so important in the slow movements of the sonatas. The Adagio of the Sonata in A-Flat Major Hob.XVI:46 is an example of how Steeves gives the middle register a lovely dark sound while it supports a brighter upper voice. And while Haydn rarely creates the complex counterpoint we associate with Bach, Steeves pulls out inner voices whenever Haydn sends them lower down the keyboard.

The Sonata in C Minor Hob.XVI:20 opening movement is a telling example of how ornamentation remained a staple of keyboard writing style from the Renaissance, through the baroque and into the classical period. Steeves is meticulous throughout the first movement where Haydn has inserted trills and grace notes liberally. The Andante is noteworthy for the freedom Steeves takes with its phrasings, slowing a select few to a near stop to heighten the impact of their final cadence.

Steeves’ affection for Haydn is obvious and makes this a recording worth having.

Review

04 Beausejour PianoIn Baroque Session on Piano (Analekta AN 2 9128) harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour takes to the piano with pieces that he argues work well on that instrument for specific reasons. Beauséjour points out that much of the harpsichord repertoire does not play well on our modern keyboard because of the piano’s inability to deliver the clarity of complex ornamentation so often required by 15th- and 16th-century repertoire. He also points out that the darker colours of the piano’s middle registers can often obscure inner contrapuntal voices. Greater resonance is yet another factor that requires pianists to change phrasing techniques when playing harpsichord repertoire.

Selecting a program that avoids the worst of these problems, Beauséjour presents an attractive mix of frequently recorded works and others less well known. A couple of familiar Scarlatti sonatas and Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes deliver wonderfully clear and fluid runs. Bach’s Concerto in D Minor BWV974 after Marcello is an example of how the piano’s touch-based colours can make the second movement even more intensely expressive.

Other works by Louis Couperin and Georg Böhm, keep much of their harpsichord character with graceful arpeggios that Beauséjour retains more for a sense of period style than necessary technique. He includes a set of four Correnti by Frescobaldi and imbues them with a strongly rhythmic bounce and keyboard touch that suggests the crisp attack of the harpsichord’s plectra.

Baroque Session on Piano is a very fine recording commendable for its intelligence and musicality.

Review

05 Sudbin ScarlattiUnapologetic about the highly pianistic approach he takes, Yevgeny Sudbin admits that playing Scarlatti on the piano is in reality a transcription for a new instrument. Consequently, Scarlatti – 18 Sonatas (BIS-2138 SACD) is fully piano, with sustain pedal wherever needed, generous dynamic expression and every other technique the modern instrument can offer. Sudbin makes no effort at historical performance practice and instead claims the freedom to do whatever the music leads him to do – on the piano.

The result of all this might be a little shocking but is, ultimately, very believable because of the quality of the musical decisions underlying these controversial choices. Scarlatti remains identifiably Scarlatti, albeit with a new voice. Sudbin’s playing is undeniably gorgeous, rich in colour and texture, and everything the piano wants it to be.

As a litmus test for open mindedness on this issue compare the familiar Sonata in C Major K159 to any other performance, especially the Beauséjour described above.

06 Vadim KholodenkoWinner of the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Vadym Kholodenko has released a new recording with a varied program showing his remarkable versatility. In Tchaikovsky/Balakirev/Chaplygin/Kurbatov (Melodiya MEL CD 10 02365), Kholodenko opens with Balakirev’s Sonata No.2 in B-Flat Minor Op.102, a beautiful if curious work. The first movement begins with a contrapuntal idea that could have been written by Bach, and this is exactly how Kholodenko plays it. The second and third movements become increasingly Chopinesque until the Finale leaves no doubt where Balakirev’s French stylistic influences originate.

Despite this kaleidoscope of voices, Kholodenko provides a consistent and expressive approach. His playing style feels very choreographic. His keyboard presence is graceful yet powerful but not overbearing. Videos of his performances show him to be a physically restrained pianist but highly focused on expressiveness and this is, in fact, the first and most lasting impression he makes.

Tchaikovsky’s rarely heard Six Pieces on a Single Theme, Op. 21 is the only such short cycle he wrote. It uses a 15-note series embedded in the opening bars of each piece, varied only in rhythm. Kholodenko treats each section as a distinct character piece and closes the work with an impressive and energetic Scherzo.

Little Cyprian Music (2003) by Evgeny Chaplygin is a contemporary piece that compiles a series of musical impressions of a holiday on that island. It’s richly textured and technically very demanding in some passages. Kholodenko focuses on the composer’s intent in conveying the dance-like nature and Eastern flavour of Cypriot music.

07 Jonas VitaudFrench pianist Jonas Vitaud has only a few recordings to his credit, and while he’s already in his mid-30s, his remarkable playing would suggest we should really be hearing more from him. His newest recording Tchaikovsky – Les Saisons (Mirare MIR 308) offers two starkly contrasting works.

The Seasons Op.37a is an introspective work constructed on a calendar scheme with 12 sections. The music has some programmatic content based on activities or events associated with each month of the year. It is, more significantly, marked by a constant presence of fragility that is perhaps best known in the often quoted Barcarolle representing June. Even December – Noël concludes the cycle lightly and quietly. Maintaining this emotional posture with only a few energetic releases in sections like La Chasse is a challenge that Vitaud handles beautifully. His tenderness and fragility never convey weakness but seem perfectly poised. His playing is assured, even in the most tentative of Tchaikovsky’s moments.

By contrast, the Grand Sonata in G Major Op.37 begins with huge chordal gestures of confidence. These are echoed with even greater energy in the closing movement and played at furious speed. Still, the Grand Sonata contains a remarkable moment in the second movement Andante (about a third of the way through) where Vitaud strikes a dense chord and lets it sustain with all the dampers up off the strings. The resulting resonances grow by the moment into a rich texture not achievable by any other means. It’s a stunning device that he repeats near the end of the movement with the same result. It’s brilliant and creative.

We need more recordings by this fine musician who’s definitely worth hearing.

08 Americans in ParisPiano four-hands offers a texture not quite achieved in any other keyboard configuration. The possibilities for density and polyphony have enticed composers since keyboards became commonplace. Pianists Jerome Lowenthal and Michael Brown have just released Americans in Paris (Concert Artists Guild Records VEC 116 concertartists.org) and recorded some favourites including the Ravel Ma mère l’Oye that includes short bits of introductory narration to setup the fairy-tale background of each segment.

Samuel Barber’s Souvenirs Op.28 is a compilation of dances set in New York’s Plaza Hotel about 1914 and evokes the music Barber would have heard as a boy when taken there by his mother for tea. Lowenthal and Brown make an outstanding piano duo and deliver these dances, many of which have ample humour injected into them, with impeccable precision.

Plenty of piano students have played the four-hands Dolly Suite Op.56 by Gabriel Fauré. This performance is well-paced. Messieu Aoul and Le pas espagnol are especially admirable for the coordinated energy and execution they require.

The highlight of the CD is a four-hands arrangement of George Gershwin’s An American in Paris. It’s an autobiographical work recounting Gershwin’s own time there in the mid-1920s. It features some obvious references early in the work to the set of authentic Parisian taxi horns Gershwin had purchased during his trip. Lowenthal and Brown seem most at home in this piece, really feeling the deep melancholy of the blues section, as well as the jazzy syncopations that drive so much of the music.

09 Stanislav KhristenkoErnst Krenek was one of the 20th century’s most stylistically complete composers whose vocabulary gave him creative access to both historical and contemporary expression. On Ernst Krenek – Piano Music, Volume One (Toccata Classics TOCC 0298), Ukrainian-born Stanislav Khristenko performs a well-balanced program of Krenek’s compositions.

The Piano Sonata No.4 Op.114 (1948) is a work in which Khristenko demonstrates Krenek’s ability to move seamlessly between ideas that are tonally centred and others that aren’t. Khristenko not only captures the neo-romantic essence of Krenek’s language, but also the unsettling elements of the composer’s early life that express themselves in the edgy phrasing he uses to evoke the changed world emerging from the two world wars.

Khristenko’s choice of the George Washington Variations, Op.120 (1950) is especially entertaining for its use of all of Krenek’s favourite devices. Deployed as they are, they move an opening 19th-century military march through a metamorphosis of clever changes in which Khristenko never lets go of the initial musical idea.

Krenek held a lifelong devotion to the music of Franz Schubert. He spent years coming to understand the genius of Schubert’s music, its design and balance, especially as present in his lieder. Krenek’s decision to complete Schubert’s Piano Sonata in C Major D840 is based solely on the existence of sufficient thematic material in the final two movements to make credible development possible. Naturally, it’s difficult to listen to this Schubert without also listening for some Krenek.

Khristenko is also currently working on recording the complete works of Krenek as well as a recording of Soler sonatas.

10 Szilasi ChopinIt can be understandably difficult to get terribly excited about a recording of an upright piano, especially if it’s old, really old, say 1834. So why would Alex Szilasi record Chopin Berceuse, Barcarolle & Impromptus (Hungaroton HCD32473) on an old Pleyel upright? Evidently this one is special – Chopin played it. Pleyel Company archives show that Chopin played it at the factory in Paris and selected it for the Russian ambassador. He liked this particular model so much that he ordered one for himself. Both instruments were delivered to adjacent apartments at the ambassador’s residence where Chopin was a frequent guest. While Chopin’s piano was eventually lost, the other instrument has survived fully authenticated. This is its recording debut.

Chopin favoured the Pleyel piano for its soft tone. It was double-strung in its middle and upper registers and therefore softer than later triple-strung instruments. It responds to the gentlest touch to produce nearly inaudible pianissimos. Aggressive or heavy touch tends to cause distortion on these instruments, so Chopin would have favoured them for very specific repertoire, and certainly nothing terribly bombastic, hence this CD’s program of more tender compositions.

Szilasi creates some amazing effects with the instrument. The rapid chromatic runs in the right hand through the upper octaves of the keyboard sound extremely fragile like a web of silk threads, yet they remain clear although very soft. This is best heard in the Impromptu in F-Sharp Major Op.36. The familiar Fantasie-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor Op.72 is also a dramatic contrast to the more muscular performances commonly heard on modern pianos.

Alex Szilasi has created a thought-provoking recording that gives us a glimpse of how Chopin would have heard and played his own music 180 years ago.

 

 

01 Scarlatti PrimaveraAlessandro Scarlatti – La Gloria di Primavera
Moore; Ograjenšek; van der Linde; Phan; Williams; Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale; Nicholas McGegan
Philharmonia PDP-09

Alessandro Scarlatti was a major composer of the early 18th century, particularly known as a composer of opera. Since then his work has virtually disappeared. La gloria di primavera is not an opera but a serenata composed to mark the birth of the Archduke Leonard, the son of the emperor Charles VI, in 1716. Structurally the work is like an opera seria, with its alternation of recitatives and arias (mostly da capo), only one duet and few ensembles. The characters are allegories of the four seasons: Spring (the mezzo Diana Moore), Summer (the soprano Suzana Ograjenšek), Autumn (the countertenor Clint van der Linde) and Winter (the tenor Nicholas Phan). The four cannot agree on who can take the credit for the birth of the baby and they agree to ask Jove (the bass-baritone Douglas Williams) to adjudicate.

The singing and the orchestral playing on this CD are splendid but overall my sense is that the work does not represent Scarlatti at his best. The section near the end contrasting the devastation caused by the War of the Spanish Succession with the peace established in 1713 (the Peace of Utrecht) is splendid, but the basic plot strikes me as pretty flimsy.

02 Bach PentecoteLa Pentecôte: Bach – Cantates 68, 173, 174, 184
Mauch; Bertin; Daniels; Sarragosse; Montréal Baroque; Eric Milnes
ATMA ACD2 2405

Review

The Montreal Baroque Festival is held every summer in the historic churches, factories and warehouses of Old Montreal, and for the past six summers recording label ATMA has partnered with them to produce a recording of Bach’s cantatas, with discerningly spare vocal forces (one voice to each part) accompanied by period ensemble. This latest in the series features cantatas Bach composed between 1724 and 1729 for Pentecost, celebrated in the liturgical calendar 50 days after Easter Sunday. Bach’s realization of the themes of the Pentecost, the tongues of flame, the rushing wind, the spreading of the word as well as Christ’s revelation of God’s love for the world in BWV68, Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt (God so loved the world) which begins with chorale and ends with a quite busy and complex choral movement on a quotation from the Gospel of John, in which the four soloists race along beautifully together. In this and many of the others featured on the disc, Bach borrows from previous works, in this case two arias from his Hunting Cantata. Soprano Monika Mauch, countertenor Pascal Bertin, tenor Charles Daniels and bass Jean-Claude Sarragosse have lovely arias throughout the cantatas and the orchestra some lovely mirroring of parts throughout. Such a gem; we hope for many more annual releases from the festival.

03 Bertoni OrfeoFerdinando Bertoni – Orfeo
Genaux; Lombardi-Mazzulli; Petryka; Accademia di Santo Spirito de Ferrara; Ensemble Lorenzo da Ponte; Roberto Zarpellon
Fra Bernardo FB 1601729 (frabernardo.com)

Ferdinando Bertoni’s Orfeo ed Euridice was first performed in 1776, 14 years after Gluck’s opera on the same subject. The two operas use the same libretto (by Calzabigi) and, in both cases, the role of Orfeo was first sung by the castrato Gaetano Guadagno. Bertoni was clearly aware of the Gluck opera and the two works have a great deal in common: no more da capo arias and an increased role for the orchestra and for the chorus. No one is likely to prefer Bertoni’s work to that of Gluck: it lacks the aggressiveness of the Furies or the celestial calm of the Elysian Fields or the pathos of Orfeo’s lament when he loses Eurydice for the second time. The English 18th-century musicologist Charles Burney once wrote that Bertoni’s operas “would please and soothe by their grace and facility, but not disturb an audience by enthusiastic turbulence.” The comment is a little snarky and certainly very English but not altogether unfair.

Casting a singer for a role created by a castrato always involves problems. John Eliot Gardiner has both performed and recorded Gluck’s opera and has always used a countertenor in the main part. He argues that casting a female mezzo or alto constitutes a “deplorable” distortion. But we don’t really know what an 18th-century castrato sounded like and we have no guarantee that a modern countertenor comes closer than a female singer. In this recording the part of Orfeo is taken by the mezzo Vivica Genaux and she is splendid.

It is probably true that Bertoni “never had sufficient genius and fire to attain the sublime” (Burney again) and that he was not a major composer like Gluck. Still, there is plenty to enjoy in this recording. Recommended.

04 Schubert WinterreiseSchubert – Winterreise
Jesse Blumberg; Martin Katz
Blue Griffin Records BGR393
(bluegriffin.com)

Review

It is a rare occurrence when the accompanist in a recording is more of a household name than the singer; at the same time, it is refreshing to see the older, accomplished musician supporting a younger generation of singers. Pianist Martin Katz, who is well known for his performances with Marilyn Horne, Frederica von Stade, José Carreras, Kiri Te Kanawa and Kathleen Battle, first performed Schubert’s poignant song cycle Winterreise with Jesse Blumberg at Chicago’s Collaborative Works Festival, an annual celebration of art song, showcasing up-and-coming singers. While the young baritone clearly possesses the ability to provide all the necessary dramatic aplomb, Katz underscores the performance with all the intelligent expressivity of a supremely knowledgeable and seasoned veteran. And, at the same time, both manage to present this mixture of pathos and bluster whilst never sacrificing the beauty of exquisite tone and lyricism. The richness of this baritone voice also has a lovely upper register realized in Die Nebensonnen near the end of the song cycle, finishing with the tender yet strangely detached observation of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man (Der Leiermann). A lovely and sensitive rendition of a most complex and challenging work.

Bizet – Carmen
Rice; Hymel; Argiris; Kovalevska; Royal Opera House; Constantinos Carydis
Opus Arte OA 1197 D

Bizet – Les Pêcheurs de perles
Ciofi; Korchak; Solari; Tagliavini; Orchestra e Coro del Teatro di San Carlo; Gabriele Ferro
Cmajor 719508

05a Bizet CarmenThis release calls itself a film, but in reality it’s a DVD of Francesca Zambello’s 2006 staging that has seen better days like Jonas Kaufmann and Anna Caterina Antonacci, big name stars, but in another video. There were movies made of Carmen very successfully in the past with beautiful Seville as backdrop, real mountains, real bullfights, but this is nothing of the sort. It is shot in HD and even in 3D, obviously aimed at the mass market, because “Carmen sells” even for people who don’t know or care much about opera. The score is cut heavily by leaving out the “boring bits” like the intermezzos between acts, some of Bizet’s most beautiful music, making a rather short opera even shorter. The staging is traditional, expertly directed with unremarkable sets that leave lots of empty space for big crowds. There are all kinds of animals on stage, chickens, a donkey plus a beautiful black horse that carries in the torero Escamillo (Aris Argiris) who sings his big entry number on horseback. The production deserves praise for giving a chance to young singers who are attractive, enthusiastic, look the part, relaxed and athletic with fine, strong voices.

American tenor Bryan Hymel is no Alagna or Kaufmann, but has a strong, attractive voice and a certain vulnerability of character that makes him a believable Don José. His Flower Aria gets the biggest applause, deservedly. The role of Carmen is certainly what makes or breaks this opera and ROH chose mellifluous British mezzo Christine Rice who puts in an energetic and compelling performance and develops her character nicely from a seductress to tragic, defiant heroine, but the seconda donna, Maija Kovalevska (Micaela), an already highly accomplished Latvian soprano of wonderful stage presence, is a nice surprise and a joy to hear and behold.

05b Bizet PearlfishersMost likely known by the famous duet Au fond du temple saint between the two male principals, Bizet’s second most famous opera has shared the fate of Carmen by being a disastrous failure on its premiere, so totally unappreciated by the French petit bourgeoisie that it pushed its genius composer into an early grave.

Nevertheless Les Pêcheurs de perles remains an exotic, atmospheric, gorgeously melodic score, coming to us from the resplendent 18th-century San Carlo opera house of Naples that has a 250-year tradition of singing excellence. Fabio Sparvoli’s visionary staging, all in shades of beautiful blues, evokes sultry Arabian Nights. There is an ever-present ballet of sinuous dancers representing the spirits of the sea, sometimes playful, sometimes menacing as in the third act when it all turns into bloodthirsty madness.

The heroine is a beautiful priestess enslaved by the Brahmins to keep her chastity on pain of death, but she defies her fate by falling in love, bringing on the wrath of Brahma, the creator god, and the morbidly superstitious mob of the pearl fisher community. Italian spinto soprano, Patrizia Ciofi, famous for her supple, light, wonderfully expressive voice, deserves the highest praise as the priestess Leila, a role ranging from religious chant to dreamy love song in the night, a love duet and later tempestuous rage fighting for the life of her beloved. The lover, Nadir, is Russian lyric tenor sensation, Dmitry Korchak, who delivers the romance Je crois entendre encore, one of the most beloved melodies ever written and even turned into a pop song. Uruguayan baritone Dario Solari is a powerful and noble Zurga who gives up the girl he loves and brings death on himself by letting the lovers escape. Conducted with great expertise by the 80-year-old master, Gabriele Ferro. Beautiful story, enchanting music, eye-popping scenery. A moving performance.

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