Early, Classical and Beyond

Couperin - Concerts Royaux
Clavecin en Concert; Luc Beauséjour
Analekta AN 2 9993

Louis XIV summoned Couperin to play for him nearly every Sunday; the works performed in 1714-1715 were titled Concerts Royaux and were published in 1722. Couperin left the instrumentation of the concerts to the musicians’ discretion, a traditional Renaissance practice, even if the movements take the form of the traditional French baroque suite, no doubt under the Sun King’s influence.
 
From the first concert, the flute, oboe and bassoon lend a different quality to what would otherwise have been strings-dominated pieces. The woodwind instruments are prominent in the prélude and sarabande, where they impart a melancholy quality, and in the gavotte and gigue where the result is a more rustic feel.
 
In the second concert, the strings make themselves felt much more, notably in the gentle quality of the air tendre. The last movement, échos, restores the balance in favour of the woodwind, in a dignified baroque style.
 
The third and fourth concerts royaux combine some lively performances for oboe, bassoon and flute, most notably in the musette of the third. The name allemande for the second movement of the third concert belies its liveliness, even if sarabande grave is an entirely appropriate name for the fourth movement.
 
And then the fourth concert, with yet another allemande not living up to its sombre reputation. In fact, both the courantes which immediately follow, and the rigaudon and forlane en roundeau make this the most exuberant of the concerts royaux.
 
All in all, an enjoyable collection of Couperin’s music for his royal master.

Haydn - Piano Concertos Nos.3, 4 & 11
Marc-André Hamelin; Les Violons du Roy; Bernard Labadie
Hyperion CDA67925

This new offering from Hyperion features Haydn’s three “indubitably genuine” concertos for keyboard and orchestra (HOB XVIII: 3, 4 and 11), and a delightful offering it is. Performed on modern piano, strings and winds rather than on their historical counterparts, the disc opens with the popular D major concerto, written for “harpsichord or fortepiano” sometime between 1779 and 1783. The latest and most dramatic of the three concertos, it makes a bold and energetic opening statement. The F major and G major concertos, originally written for harpsichord in the 1760s, are slightly less effusive works but in these performances they sparkle with refined galanterie.

Hamelin’s performance as the piano soloist is expressive, well considered and full of humour, tenderness or bravado as befits the musical moment at hand. His talent for paying infinite attention to detail without ever losing sight of the bigger musical picture is truly impressive, exceptionally so in the slow movements. As we’d expect from Les Violons du Roy under the baton of Bernard Labadie, the ensemble playing is detailed, focused and musical – lots of light when they are in the forefront, and fine shadowing of Hamelin when the limelight is his. The teamwork between orchestra and soloist is well balanced and amiable. And finally, my kudos to all for the beautiful distinctions made between the various vivaces, allegros and prestos!

Mozart - Piano Concertos 17 & 27
Angela Hewitt; Orchestra da Camera di Mantova; Hannu Lintu
Hyperion CDA67919

There is a cute little story attached to Mozart’s G major concerto. Apparently he acquired a little bird, a starling who quickly picked up the rondo theme of the third movement and sang it day in and day out, adding some of its own bits to it which pleased Mozart, a bird lover, immensely. No doubt, this helped him composing.

Canada’s own stellar pianist, Angela Hewitt chose this and the last, the B flat major concerto to follow-up on her previous Mozart concerto issue on the distinguished Hyperion label and what a fine recording this is. In coupling the G major, which comes from a very happy and successful period of the composer’s life with the B flat major, his last statement in this form, Hewitt traverses  a cross section of emotions, from joyful happiness to sad resignation and premonition of death.

My own experience with Hewitt’s exceptional pianism began with Bach and later with immense enjoyment of her beautiful set of Chopin Nocturnes (that were probably easier to interpret), so she came to Mozart relatively late. It was worth the wait. She approaches Mozart like a scholar with exceptional intelligence and a thoroughly sympathetic heart. Her playing has graceful elegance, impeccable technical prowess; the emotional content is deeply felt and compositional structure is fully understood. The orchestra and the conductor Hannu Lintu are wonderfully compatible and in perfect balance with the angelic tones of the Hewitt’s celebrated Fazioli piano. The recording is superlative.

Chopin - Etudes
Jan Lisiecki
Deutsche Grammophon 4791039

Young male pianists all too often try their audiences with a few years of brash playing where speed and volume overshadow their muse. Although impressed with divine keyboard technique, one nevertheless waits patiently for music to emerge – which it eventually and thankfully does.
More rarely, however, comes a young man for whom impeccable technique is merely a tool in the search for music’s kernel of meaning. This is Jan Lisiecki.

Since his early public appearances 5 years ago (in his mid-teens) this young Polish-Canadian has somehow managed to avoid this testosterone trap. He is capable of the most ethereal pianissimos, a blazing and accurate technique and breathtaking power at the keyboard.

The two dozen Etudes of Chopin’s Op.10 and 25 seem the perfect repertoire for Lisiecki at this point in his career. His playing shifts convincingly from transparent lightness to earnest melancholy. His tempi and dynamics feel more understood than learned. His own comments in the CD notes reveal a young mind with a remarkably mature interpretive grasp of Chopin’s music. He thinks with his heart.

As impressive as his playing is his recording technique in which each of the Etudes was recorded as a complete “take.” Technology today offers performers digital perfection with undetectable manipulations of speed and other values, but Lisiecki wanted his audience to have the real thing, start to finish. He allowed no edits. This speaks to a commendable honesty in performance. We should anticipate many years of truly extraordinary recordings from this young man. But we might also hope that his gift finds expression in teaching… we need such mentors.

L'Opera Concertante (Opera transcriptions by Ernest Alder)
Trio Hochelaga
ATMA ACD2 2652

Transcribing arias from the popular operas of the time was one of the favourite practices of 19th century composers. Those transcriptions ranged from faithful reductions to variations, fantasies and potpourris, and were usually done for one or two pianos, trios and quartets. The public enjoyed the more intimate, chamber setting of these transcriptions and took pleasure in the idea of bringing the opera into their salons.

Richard Ernest Alder (1853-1904) was a Swiss composer who studied at the Paris Conservatory and spent most of his life in France. He wrote a number of pieces for piano, as well as choral and orchestral works. He is being rediscovered today as a transcriber and arranger.

This CD features seven of Alder’s trio transcriptions of the beloved operas by Camille Saint-Saëns (Samson et Dalila), Ambroise Thomas (Mignon), Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (La Muette de Portici), Giacomo Meyerbeer (La Pardon de Ploërmel and Les Huguenots) and Jules Massenet (Le Cid and Werther). The transcriptions are skilfully done and adopt the same formula consisting of a brief introduction, followed by alternating sequences of fast and slow segments ending in a dramatic climax. Even though the composers are different, the music feels like one cohesive piece. Alder brings out both the sweetness and the drama in these transcriptions, combining virtuosic practices of 19th century-writing with more serene and sonorous parts, while using the craftsmanship firmly rooted in the German Romantic tradition.

Trio Hochelaga (Anne Robert, violin; Paul Marleyn, cello; Stéphane Lemelin, piano) is a distinguished Canadian ensemble whose repertoire places an emphasis on lesser known works of French music. Their interpretation of Alder’s transcriptions is playful, sensitive and polished. The ensemble’s use of colours and textures truly captures the romantic essence of these operas.
It is not necessary for the listener to know the operas that inspired Alder – one can just enjoy the wonderful chamber music on this CD and, like the 19th century audience, be entertained by it.