Scherzi Forastieri
Flute Alors!
ATMA ACD2 2818 (atmaclassique.com/en/product/scherzi-forastieri)
Speaking as a former recorder player, I can say, with good authority, that it can be a frustrating instrument: limits to timbre and dynamics can quickly outweigh the joys of how easy it is to make your first decent sounds. The Montreal-based recorder quartet Flûte Alors! is a shining example of the other side of this coin, revealing for years now how astonishing this instrument can be when it’s well played.
Although known for its eclectic repertoire, the latest offering from the quartet focuses solely on Italian music of the early Baroque. The title is taken from a collection of canzoni written in 1611 by Giovanni Cangiasi and translates roughly as “pleasantries of a foreigner.” Of the 18 tracks on this CD, ten are by Cangiasi and they really are very cheerful and inventive. Like most music from this period, the curiosity for modern ears lies in all the ways in which the conventions of the high baroque have not yet been formed: vestiges of renaissance harmonies and dance forms present themselves again and again.
I particularly liked the “clucking hens” of Cangiasi’s La Furugada and the athletic and sinuous theme of Nicolò Corradini’s La Bizzarra; both of these feature that light-speed tonguing only possible on the recorder. Execution throughout is spectacular: virtuosic and tasteful ornaments, spot-on tuning, infallible passage work. Yes, the colours are limited but the group has selected interesting and varied music and as far as taking the listener back in time, it is thoroughly and delightfully convincing.
