Greatest Hits, Vol.1
Elmer Iseler Singers; Lydia Adams
Independent EIS 2013-01 (elmeriselersingers.com)

Recorded and released to mark the 35th Anniversary season of the Elmer Iseler Singers, this disc features some of the choir’s most requested performance pieces. This may be, after all, a choir with one of the longest histories in Canadian choral music. In a previous life as the Festival Singers (founded long before in 1954) the 20-voice professional chamber choir took on the name of its founder in 1979. Directed by Lydia Adams since 1998, the choir has continued to perform and record a variety of works whilst serving as a champion of Canadian choral composers.

This latest offering was expertly recorded by Keith Horner and Robert DiVito in what Horner describes as the “spacious acoustics” of Toronto’s Grace Church on-the-Hill. Peppered amongst favourites by Eleanor Daley, Healey Willan, Allister MacGillivray, Paul Halley, Leon Dubinsky and Rita MacNeil are traditional Mi’kmaq and Inuit chants arranged by the conductor, traditional American songs and spirituals, with a little Schubert and Mendelssohn added for good measure. As always, the choir is impeccable and soloists Anne Bornath, Gisele Kulak, Andrea Ludwig, Alison Roy and Nelson Lohnes shine forth with gorgeous clarity, as do guest artists Shawn Grenke, piano and Clare Scholtz, oboe.

Derek Holman – Ash Roses
Mireille Asselin; Lawrence Wiliford; Liz Upchurch; Sanya Eng
Centrediscs CMCCD 19914

The Canadian Art Song Project was founded in 2011 by tenor Lawrence Wiliford and pianist Stephen Philcox with a mission to build on the rich legacy of Canadian song, especially art song, through performance, recording, commissions and editing. There is no finer example of Canadian art song composers to feature than the English-born and longtime Canadian resident Derek Holman. Holman has written a prolific number of choral works in addition to his opera, oratorio, keyboard, chamber and orchestral compositions. In Ash Roses, two song cycles and two collections are featured in this first all-Holman recording.

Wiliford sings with passion, power, and clear articulation in The Four Seasons, an eight-song cycle commissioned by the COC in memory of Richard Bradshaw. Set to a number of British poems, it is a moving collection rich in lyrical tonality, word painting, contrasting moods and subtle harmonic shifts. In Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal, Wiliford is joined by soprano Mireille Asselin in a virtuosic duet. Asselin shines in the song cycle title track Ash Roses. The at times witty text of Canadian poet Tricia Postle is given a more atonal setting with vocal interval leaps and shifting rhythmic piano accompaniment. Pianist Liz Upchurch is unbelievable in her accompaniments – these difficult piano parts sound effortless thanks to her awesome musicality and technique. Harpist Sanya Eng accompanies Wiliford admirably in the intricate Three Songs for High Voice and Harp.

Holman ends these compositions with simple luscious resonating cadences leaving the listener begging for more Canadian art songs.

The Art of Melancholy –  Songs by John Dowland
Iestyn Davies; Thomas Dunford
Hyperion CDA68007

Half a century ago a countertenor was still seen as unusual, some would say unnatural. There are now a substantial number of countertenors and I would rate Iestyn Davies as one of the very best, judging from the record under review and also from the recent recording of Handel’s Belshazzar, in which he sings the role of Daniel. He has a strong and very even voice with an excellent sense of pitch. He has himself said that for him the finest countertenor is Andreas Scholl and he has commented on Scholl’s ability to create “a column of sound which doesn’t weaken and stays absolutely even.” The comment fits Davies’ own singing.

Melancholy was a common malady in early 17th-century England. Think of Hamlet or of Jaques in As You Like It. It could become an affectation and it was delightfully parodied in Ben Jonson’s Every Man in his Humour, in which a character calls for a stool to be melancholy upon. Davies, however, believes strongly that, for Dowland, melancholy is more than just a pose. That conviction accounts for the passion which Davies brings to the songs on this disc.

Davies is ably accompanied by lutenist Thomas Dunford, who also has five solos. They include The Frog Galliard, a performance which, for good measure, throws in Greensleeves as an excursion. Davies sang in Vancouver, Banff and Calgary a couple of months ago. I hope we shall hear him in Toronto soon.

Terra Tremuit
Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal; Christopher Jackson
ATMA ACD2 2653

Several Renaissance composers dwell on the subject of world catastrophe – the cataclysms, floods, epidemics that will lead to humanity’s end. On this disc Christopher Jackson’s studio (40 years old this year) interprets doom-laden compositions by six such composers.

 An all-too-short one-minute motet Terra tremuit by William Byrd, with its sometimes clashing parts, sets the scene. Antoine Brumel’s five-movement Earthquake Mass for 12 voices follows, starting with a serene “Kyrie eleison” and a “Gloria” initially gentle but where the discordant music finally reflects the sinister nature of this compilation. It is certainly the case during Brumel’s “Sanctus, Benedictus”; his demands on the vocal abilities of the singers to change from high to low, and to perform melodic leaps must surely be intended to reflect the events of an earthquake.

 Then there are the composers who followed in the footsteps of Brumel. Vaet and Crecquillon, as employees at the court of the emperor Charles V, saw first hand the terrors of absolute power; not surprisingly they bring a mellow and melancholy richness to their compositions – both are terrified as they look to the last day and their judgment. More formal is Palestrina’s Terra tremuit. This depicts the aftermath of the earth’s trembling and the quiet that pertains as God rises in judgment.

 And if the sky does fall in, at least you will have been warned well in advance by some of the greatest early composers.

Le Jardin de Monsieur Rameau
Les Arts Florisants; William Christie
Les Arts Florissants Editions Edition AF002

Le Jardin des Voix is a two-week training program for young singers, organized by the ensemble Les Arts Florissants. It was launched in 2002 and this recording represents its sixth edition. Le Jardin de Monsieur Rameau was devised by Paul Agnew, the Associate Director of Les Arts Florissants. It was given as a semi-staged entertainment, first in Caen (in Normandy) and then on a tour that took the musicians as far west as New York and as far east as Helsinki.

In an interview printed in the booklet that comes with the CD, Agnew expresses the view that a normal training program may help a singer to perform the role of Gilda or that of Masetto but is of little help in 18th-century French opera. The training these young singers received has certainly paid off in their idiomatic command of both the literary and the musical language of the works performed. They are also very well attuned to each other.

The music of Rameau is central to the disc but there are also arias, duets and ensembles from Montéclair, Campra, Grandval, Dauvergne and Gluck. When I saw the track list I was concerned that the overall effect would be terribly fragmented, but I need not have worried. The program flows beautifully. I was especially taken with the alto-tenor duet from Rameau's Les fêtes d'Hébé, with the baritone aria from the fourth Act of his Dardanus and, most of all, with the heavenly quartet from his Les Indes galantes, which closes this recording.

Italian Memories
Mauro Bertoli
Independent (maurobertoli.com)

Despite Italy’s long-standing reputation as a country of vocal music, there is also a keyboard tradition going back as far as Frescobaldi – and what better way of sampling 300 years of Italian keyboard music than with this new recording titled Italian Memories with pianist Mauro Bertoli?

Born in Brescia, Italy, Bertoli has established an international reputation within a fairly short time, having appeared in recital and as a soloist with numerous chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the world. A recipient of the prestigious Giuseppe Sinopoli award in 2006, Bertoli has been artist-in-residence at Carleton University in Ottawa since 2009. Italian Memories is his fourth recording, and one that clearly brings him back to his roots.

The CD opens with four miniatures by three composers, Benedetto Marcello, Mattia Vento and Domenico Paradisi. Bertoli’s playing is elegant and poised, easily demonstrating how well music originally intended for harpsichord can sound on a concert grand. The name Muzio Clementi is a more familiar one – is there a piano student who hasn’t played music by this Italian-born composer who spent most of his life in England and whose reputation rivalled that of Haydn? The two sonatas presented here are a delight, and Bertoli makes ease of the sometimes breakneck speed required of the performer. A complete change of pace comes with two brief and languorous pieces by Martucci and the Diario Indiano by Ferruccio Busoni, an homage to Native American culture. The latter is a true study in contrasts where Bertoli’s wonderful sense of tonal colour is juxtaposed with a formidable technique.

The final work is a true tour de force, music not by an Italian but by the 12- year- old Franz Liszt – the Impromptu Brilliant on Themes by Rossini and Spontini. Here, both Liszt and Bertoli pull out all the stops in this flamboyant piece, thus rounding out a splendid program of music that deserves greater exposure.

Brahms – String Quintets
Takács Quartet; Lawrence Power
Hyperion CDA67900

The string quintet, as an art form, offers ingenious possibilities for creating unique harmonies and colours, and Brahms took full advantage of that. While he was known to have some difficulties establishing the right medium for his creative ideas, with string quintets he had found a perfect vehicle for expressing the depth and uniqueness of his artistry. Edvard Grieg allowed for the same sentiments in one of his letters: “How different the person we call Brahms now suddenly appears to us! Now for the first time I see and feel how whole he was both as an artist and as a human being.”

In String Quintet in F Major, Op.88, we hear Brahms’ signature use of eighth notes against triplets enhanced by syncopation in the first movement. The second movement combines the characteristics of two movements by means of alternation, thus expressing both dark colours that evoke mystery and a light, pastoral character. The rhythmic energy of the closing movement grants a boisterous mood to the fugal subject. The String Quintet in G Major, Op.111, opens with a grand, densely scored first movement, followed by two middle movements with more alluring, dreamy melodies. The final movement follows the thread of different and at times surprising tonalities.

The members of the Takács Quartet and Lawrence Power present cohesive and thoughtful performances. They are equally at ease expressing melancholy and introspection as they are at bringing out the complexity of Brahms’ writing. Their vibrato is so exquisite that it makes every note meaningful. If you find yourself in a mood for contemplation, this is a perfect recording for such moments.

Dvořák – Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op.104
Alisa Weilerstein; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Jirí Bělohlávek
Decca B0019765-02

When we think of great cello concertos only a handful come readily to mind, namely those from the Romantic composers; Dvořák, Elgar, Schumann, Saint-Saëns, plus Prokofiev and the two from Shostakovich. Of course, there are also these popular named works: Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, Bloch’s magnificent Schelomo. For the average music lover, the Dvořák and the Elgar are most likely to come to mind.

Neither of the two wants for excellent recorded performances from past and present luminaries, but today’s artist to listen for is Alisa Weilerstein and she has recorded both (her EuroArts DVD and Decca CD recordings of the Elgar were reviewed in these pages in October 2011 and December 2012 respectively). From the moment of her entry in the first movement of the Dvořák we are aware of her flawless and stimulating technique, producing thrilling sonorities with assurance and rhythmic precision. 

Under Bělohlávek, the Czech Philharmonic has regained the sound and authority of the past, playing with palpable enthusiasm and partnering in a very exciting and satisfying performance, superbly recorded.

Just a thought: a photograph of the recording session shows Weilerstein facing into the orchestra which may account for the total involvement of everyone concerned.

Six shorter show pieces are included: Lasst mich allein, Op.82 No.1; Rondo in G Minor, Op.94; Goin’ home; Songs my mother taught me, Op.55 No.4; Silent Woods, Op.68 No.5 and an exciting Slavonic Dance in G Minor, Op.46 No.8. Even though she does not yet have a recognizable, distinctive sound of her own, Weilerstein excels with an engaging rendering of each piece, closing out this most welcome disc.

Fauré – Nocturnes and Barcarolles
Stéphane Lemelin
ATMA ACD2 2466

Stéphane Lemelin’s program interweaves Fauré’s complete nocturnes and barcarolles (13 of each) on this two-disc release, providing an ideal chronological overview of the composer’s development. Lemelin’s program notes are clear and interesting. For example, he notes that while the pieces became less nocturne- or barcarolle-like over the composer’s lifetime, the publisher retained those generic names in an effort to boost sales!

Interpretively, Lemelin follows Fauré’s abstention from rubato yet maintains expressiveness with inflections and sense of breathing, in the manner of a Fauré mélodie (art song). Technically he executes well, from the clarity and filigree work of Barcarolle No.2 to the rumbling bass, octaves and even tone clusters of Nocturne No.12. Stylistically, many listeners will find the experimental works of the years 1902-1913 most difficult to appreciate: here Lemelin is uncompromising in projecting the bleakness and obsessive quality of Nocturne No.10, or the repetitive melody and harmony (for this chromatically sophisticated composer) of Barcarolle No.9. And yet, on repeated hearing I find that these pieces too reveal many beauties.

As for Fauré’s accessible early pieces, Lemelin sets a high standard of commitment from the beginning. His playing of Nocturne No.1 is full of harmonic interest and emotional depth. Though Barcarolle No.1 is fairly conventional Lemelin elevates it, capturing the beauty of texture and occasional twists of chord direction that will become stylistic trademarks. And so it goes, onward from these works and throughout this wonderful set.

James Ehnes is back with a program of Russian music on his latest CD, Khachaturian/Shostakovich (ONYX 4121). Ehnes is joined by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Mark Wigglesworth in a solid performance of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto. The slow middle movement is particularly lovely here, and the “Allegro vivace” final movement really sparkles. Recorded in the orchestra’s Melbourne concert hall, the violin seems to be a bit far back in the balance at times, but the overall sound is full and resonant.

Shostakovich is represented by two works from his series of 15 string quartets – the Quartet No.7 in F Sharp Minor, Op.108 and the Quartet No.8 in C Minor, Op.110 – played here by the Ehnes Quartet, an ensemble formed in 2010 in which Ehnes himself is joined by violinist Amy Schwarz Moretti, violist Richard O’Neill and cellist Robert deMaine. The quartets, both written in 1960, are highly personal in nature, with the Op.110 in particular being essentially autobiographical. Dedicated “To the Victims of Fascism and War,” it quotes from six of Shostakovich’s earlier works and is dominated by his signature monogram D-S-C-H, the German designation for the notes D, E flat, C and B natural. It is a work that consistently reduced Shostakovich to tears, both in its composition and in performance. The playing here is dynamic and thoughtful, although perhaps a bit too polished at times; the aching, yearning sense of melancholy, desolation and despair so essential to the Op.110 in particular doesn’t always come through.

Shostakovich’s influence is clearly audible in an outstanding 2-CD set of the music of Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996), the Polish/Soviet composer who, with Shostakovich’s help, settled in Moscow in the early 1940s. The two composers shared a close friendship and clearly influenced each other. For many years Weinberg’s music has been unjustly neglected, but that has gradually been changing, with an ever-increasing number of CDs exploring his extensive and hugely impressive output. This latest issue on the German ECM Records label (ECM 2368/69) featuring Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica makes a massive contribution to the growing appreciation of Weinberg’s music.

Three of the works – the Concertino Op.42 for Violin and String Orchestra, the Sonatina Op.46 for Violin and Piano and the String Trio Op.48 – are from the period 1948-50, when toeing the Party line was more than just a sensible idea; Reading between the musical lines, the excellent booklet essay on Weinberg, refers to his being “under suspicion and shadowed day and night for five years from 1948 to 1953.” Like so much Soviet music of the time, these works are immediately accessible, but always with the sense of added meaning lurking beneath the surface.

The two other works – the monumental and towering Sonata No.3 Op.126 for Solo Violin from 1978, which Kremer rightly puts on the same level as the Bartók sonata, and the Symphony No.10 Op.98 for String Orchestra from 1968 – are from a period when the mature composer clearly enjoyed a greater sense of freedom, both politically and musically.

It’s a quite stunning set, with the performers outstanding in all respects. Kremer is as good as I’ve ever heard him, and this is clearly music very close to his heart.

Hyperion’s The Romantic Violin Concerto Volume 15 features the music of Polish composers Emil Młynarski (1870-1935) and Aleksander Zarzycki (1834-1895) (CDA67790). Młynarski enjoyed a hugely successful international career as a violinist, conductor and composer, and is represented here by his two violin concertos, No.1 in D Minor Op.11 from 1897 and No.2 in D Major Op.16 from 1916. The style is typically late Romantic, with echoes of Wieniawski and Dvořák. The first concerto virtually disappeared after its initial success, and apparently remained unplayed until 2011. The second concerto is clearly a more confident and individual work that has stayed in the repertoire.

Zarzycki was primarily a virtuoso pianist before concentrating on composition and teaching. His Introduction et Cracovienne in D Major Op.35 and Mazurka in G Major Op.26 are both delightful virtuosic pieces. Violinist Eugene Ugorski is terrific, with a big tone and a large and constant vibrato which is perfectly suited to the style of these works. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Michał Dworzyński provides excellent support.

British violinist Jack Liebeck is superb on another outstanding Hyperion disc, this time a recital of Kreisler Violin Music, accompanied by pianist Katya Apekisheva (CDA68040). The Viennese violinist Fritz Kreisler was one of the most outstanding and instantly recognizable players in the first half of the 20th century. As the excellent booklet notes by the ubiquitous Tully Potter point out, Kreisler`s continuous use of vibrato was considered to be a revolutionary new style of playing; he was also renowned for his pure, sweet tone and his immaculately clean and accurate double-stopping.

Although there is now ample opportunity for us to hear Kreisler himself in recorded performance – there are well over a dozen Kreisler CDs in the Naxos Historical series alone – he is still mostly remembered for his compositions, transcriptions and arrangements. Some of the compositions, of course, were the subject of a mini-scandal in the mid-1930s when Kreisler, who had passed them off as being by various Baroque and Classical composers, even claiming to own the original manuscripts, finally admitted that they were his own compositions. They are now usually listed as “in the style of…” The most well-known (and arguably the best) of these, the Pugnani Praeludium and Allegro, opens this recital in fine style. Other “in the style of…” compositions are the Boccherini Allegretto and the Cartier La Chasse, the latter full of the dazzling double-stops that Kreisler could handle so comfortably. As can Liebeck, quite clearly.

The four most popular Kreisler compositions – Schön Rosmarin, Tambourin chinois, Liebeslied and Liebesfreud – are here, the latter two, incidentally, having been originally passed off as being by the Austrian waltz composer Joseph Lanner. The lesser-known Syncopation, Toy Soldiers’ March, Caprice viennois, Polichinelle and Marche miniature viennoise are also included, along with the fascinating Recitativo and Scherzo for solo violin. Four Kreisler arrangements fill out the program: Gluck’s Mélodie from Orfeo; De Falla’s Danse espagnole from La vida breve; Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance in E minor; and Tartini’s G minor Sonata The Devil’s Trill, where Liebeck’s superb multiple-stopped trills bring an outstanding CD to a jaw-dropping conclusion.

There is a good deal of competition in recordings of this repertoire, but Liebeck and Apekisheva provide as lovely playing of these beautifully crafted works as you could wish to hear.

Stravinsky – Oedipus Rex; Apollon Musagète
Soloists; Monteverdi Choir; London Symphony Orchestra; John Eliot Gardiner
LSO Live LSO0751

John Eliot Gardiner celebrated his 70th birthday a year ago last month, and over the course of his 50- year career, he has rightfully established himself as an internationally renowned conductor and pedagogue. Although regarded primarily as an interpreter of music from the Baroque and Classical periods, Gardiner’s talents have also extended to include such composers as Beethoven, Berlioz, Mendelssohn and Massenet. Nevertheless, it’s not often he has approached 20th century repertoire, so this new CD featuring Stravinsky’s Apollon Musagète and Oedipus Rex recorded live at his birthday concert in April 2013 with the London Symphony Orchestra is something of a rarity.

The ballet Apollon Musagète for string orchestra was completed in January 1928, the result of a commission from the Library of Congress. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Gardiner would be drawn to music written by the Russian composer during his neo-classical period. So just how does the founder of the Monteverdi Choir deal with Stravinsky? In a word, admirably! Here, the listener immediately senses what great care Gardiner has taken with this performance, with no detail left untouched. The LSO strings are warmly resonant with the ensemble achieving a fine of sense of balance in the ten contrasting movements.

Oedipus Rex, completed a year earlier, is a tougher nut to crack. Part opera, part oratorio, the work was based on Sophocles with a libretto by Jean Cocteau and then translated into Latin. Its mixture of musical styles can make it a challenge to bring off convincingly, but here, Gardiner and the LSO - along with the Monteverdi Choir and soloists that include Jennifer Johnston, Stuart Skelton and Gordon Saks – achieve a wonderful sense of drama at times infused with wry humour.

Refusing to be typecast, Gardiner first gained acclaim through his performances of early music, but now succeeds at the other end of the spectrum, proving to be as adept at Stravinsky as he is with Monteverdi or Mozart.

American Grace – Piano Music from Steven Mackey and John Adams
Orli Shaham; Jon Kimura Parker; Los Angeles Philharmonic; David Robertson
Canary Classics CC11

Orli Shaham and Jon Kimura Parker brilliantly perform Hallelujah Junction, for two pianos, written in1996 by John Adams. The piece derives its title from a truck stop on Highway 49 on the California/Nevada border. It is an extremely complex piece rhythmically and harmonically. The pianists play off of one another in chunky, alternating chords and jazzy syncopations. There is a moment of impressionistic repose until the intense and ferocious boogie–woogie concludes the piece. Steven Mackey’s Stumble to Grace is a piano concerto written for Shaham in 2011 and commissioned by the Los Angeles, St. Louis and New Jersey Orchestras. Although the concerto is in one movement, it is divided into five stages, which are inspired by those that a young child goes through in developing into maturity. Mackey is a guitarist who had been thoroughly immersed in rock music until later in life. He is now a Professor at Princeton University. I was absolutely enthralled with this piece and the imaginative and unique orchestration. The interaction and play with the piano resulted in fascinating tonal colors. Both the orchestra and the pianist were superb in bringing this unusual concerto to life. China Gates by Adams, a mesmerizing and hypnotic minimal piece, was played by Shaham with sensitivity, articulation and crystalline touch.

My only suggestion in regards to this excellent CD would be to change the order of the works. I would leave out the Sneaky March by Mackey, which at a little over one minute seemed superfluous, place China Gates second and end with the remarkable concerto.

Compositeurs de la CASA DE VELÁZQUEZ: Samuel Andreyev; Kenji Sakaï
Various Artists
Académie de France à Madrid (casadevelazquez.org)

Samuel Andreyev – The Tubular West
Samuel Andreyev
Torpor Vigil Records TVR-CD006 (torporvigil.com)

We rarely hear about Canadian composers living abroad; the young Samuel Andreyev (b.1981) hails from Kincardine, Ontario but has made Paris his home since 2003. Andreyev’s music is complex, meticulously scored, and intriguingly quirky – his ensembles often include musette (a piccolo oboe) or a Casio SK-1 (a now-defunct electronic keyboard).

Andreyev is clever in establishing stasis, then disturbing it constantly: both intermittently and unexpectedly. The colours of his orchestration – imagine an ensemble of piccolo, musette, piccolo clarinet and tin cans together in Vérifications – never offend. The complexity of his textures seems organic, almost improvisatory, yet over multiple listens, I hear the careful planning and evolution of sounds – a chimerism of form.

The concertante work for piano, À propos du concert de la semaine dernière, systematically separates left and right hand, and accompanies each in a hauntingly Schnittke-esque bipolarity.

Andreyev’s music is sometimes raw – even profane – but reveals its intention profoundly. Fortunately, Canadian ensembles are taking more notice of this composer (already published by A. Leduc); the Edmonton New Music Festival featured his music this season, and Esprit Orchestra has commissioned an orchestral work (planned for 2014/15).

I would be remiss not to mention Andreyev’s venture into pop music: the composer has a full-length release on the Torpor Vigil label. Andreyev – on The Tubular West – is “geeky” (in the most positive sense): a kind of early Beck meets Sondre Lerche, but the detail of the arrangements clearly pegs him as a “real composer.” Andreyev is also a published poet.

Chiyoko Szlavnics – Gradients of Detail
Ensemble musikFabrik; Peter Rundel; Dirk Rothbrust; Asasello Quartett
World Edition CD #0022 (world-edition.com)

Armed with great insight and awareness of 20th century classical music history, in her first CD, Gradients of Detail, Berlin-based Toronto composer Chiyoko Szlavnics explores musical ideas that while leaning toward abstraction possess a finely nuanced sensitivity to the nature and reception of sound.

One of her primary memes is the use of “pure,” senza vibrato, sustained tones, and yet there is plenty of motion in the music too. Some tones rise in pitch while others fall in slow glissandi. At other moments they overlap and interfere, creating sonic moiré patterns, or are occasionally interspersed with a timbrally thick staccato, the sonic equivalent of a fuzzy thick point on paper. Szlavnics assays these common raw materials with the three variably scored works performed on this CD.

The musical result is a constantly shifting, subtly beating soundscape reminding me stylistically of various composers: a less bellicose early Penderecki, Xenakis (another composer inspired by the possibility of dialogue between graphic representation and music) and perhaps certain works by Feldman. In particular the influence of James Tenney, Szlavnics’ Toronto composition teacher, appears to hover in the background. It’s revealed in elements of instrumentation (sine-wave generators), tuning (i.e. just intonation), quirky texture (multiple crossing glissandi) and an extreme sensitivity to instrumental tone colour and its structural and even melodic exploitation.

Black graphic lines and moiré patterns dominate Szlavnics’ graphic art, liberally displayed on the CD cover and in the booklet; the symbiosis between her graphic and musical oeuvre is the primary theme explored in the thought-provoking essay “Drawing Music” by Eugen Blume.

I’ve chosen to sketch in the broad outlines of the music on the CD but I wanted in closing to mention the outstanding Szlavnics ensemble piece (a)long lines: we’ll draw our own lines. The haunting work seamlessly dovetails electronically- and acoustically-produced timbres into a sound world that’s all her own, performed with virtuoso precision and emotional warmth by the Cologne-based Ensemble musikFabrik. Listening to the album several times – please turn the volume up to enjoy the full sonic palette – has been an exciting personal journey. Along the way, a delightful surprise: the thrill of discovering a masterful compositional voice.

Through the Looking Glass
Alpha
Dacapo 8.226579

This sonic offering presents several pieces by four of Denmark’s most celebrated living composers, as re-visioned by Alpha, a trio playing recorders, saxophones and percussion. The CD opens in sparkling fashion with two short pieces by Poul Ruders. Alpha’s version of his rhythmically energetic Star Prelude makes clever use of high recorders and pitched percussion, and the fun continues with the same composer’s Love Fugue in which saxophone plays a more central role. Later on in the program, Bolette Roed gives a great rendition of his funky Carnival, originally scored for alto flute. Hans Abrahamsen’s Flowersongs, originally composed for three flutes, gets a broader stroke of colour from Alpha’s musical paintbrush, and Per Nørgård’s Heydey’s Night is sweet and humorous. Saxophonist Peter Navarro-Alonso’s arrangements of Nørgård’s Isternia and Bent Sørensen’s Looking on Darkness provide some welcome contemplative turns to this generally chipper program.

There is much to admire in Alpha’s elegant playing, both as individuals and as an ensemble. With a fairly minimalist slant this program might not be to everyone’s taste, but it proves that things are vibrantly alive and well in contemporary Danish music. Unfortunately though, while the booklet notes describe Alpha in glowing terms, there’s no information whatsoever about the original composers or the pieces reworked here. I didn’t particularly mind googling them, but considering that these composers not only created the original material but also gave their blessing to this project, this omission seems quite regrettable.