Campra - Grands Motets - William Christie & Les Arts Florissants

Release Date: 2003 Label: Virgin Classics Number of discs: 1 Composer: Andre Campra Performer: William Christie, Les Arts Florissants cd info/ buy

Review:

Though credited with inventing the “opera-ballet” and known primarily today for his numerous spirited stage productions, the remarkably prolific French Baroque composer André Campra was equally famous in his time as a church musician, penning (as of last count) no fewer than 60 “petits motets” and 51 “grands motets” (ones scored for full orchestra, choir, and soloists). In 1993 Les Arts Florissants director William Christie (performing on organ) shared continuo roles with viola da gambist Anna-Marie Lasla (who returns here), supporting soprano Jacqueline Nicolas in a lovely and highly acclaimed program of six of Campra’s petit motets for the Pierre Verany label. Now with much more Campra under his belt (including the premiere recording of Idomeneo, one of his most famous operas) Christie here offers an equally stunning program conducting three of Campra’s grand motets as well as a choral fragment–the Introit from his Requiem.Given how active Campra was as an opera composer it’s not surprising that equally rich gestural and melodic elements are often heard in these motets. For instance, the fifth movement of Notus in Judea Deus (In Judah is God known) features a highly dramatic bass duet powerfully rendered here by Andrew Foster-Williams and Arnaud Marzorati. Heightened by Christie’s crisper, more urgent articulation (particularly from the strings) Les Arts Florissants now marginally outclasses my long-standing reference recording–Herve Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel’s otherwise fine performance on Adda. (Enthusiastic listeners new to Campra would do well to seek out all three unfortunately deleted volumes Niquet devoted to the composer, featuring two extraordinary soloists–the youthful Veronique Gens and countertenor extraordinaire Jean-Paul Fouchécourt.) Equally exuberant is baritone Nicolas Rivenq’s opening aria to Exaudiat te Dominus (May the Lord hear thee), the program’s most consistently upbeat motet. Preceded by an orchestral pomp and fanfare worthy of Handel, Rivenq’s proclamations, though short, are stunning–as are the rousing choral, brass, and percussion forces that follow.Christie concludes the program with the Introit movement of Campra’s well-tended Requiem–Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi), Gardiner (Erato), and again Niquet all claim remarkably lucid, impassioned performances on disc. Though Christie favors a slightly slower tempo than all three, like Herreweghe he places primary emphasis on the movement’s rhythmic structure, heightening its sense of grandeur and solemn nobility. If Christie’s intention here was to whet our appetites for a complete performance of the piece, he has succeeded. Virgin’s sound is excellent–spacious and slightly reverberant while preserving instrumental and vocal detail. This is a very rewarding release and highly recommended, especially to those unfamiliar with this unjustifiably neglected composer.

 

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Stile Antico - Song of Songs - Palestrina, Gombert, Lassus, Victoria (2009) [24-96]

Release Date: 2009 Label: Harmonia Mundi Number of discs: 1 Composer: Various Performer: Stile Antico cd info/ buy

Review:

One expectation that such an album may raise in its listeners is an answer to the question of what common and special inspiration might composers have taken from contemplating this most erotic of Biblical texts. The symptoms of their reactions might be sensuous melismas, perhaps, and anguished suspensions, surging bass-lines and…let us draw a veil there. Such devices are in abundance, whether chastely deployed in turn by Clemens and Palestrina or flaunted all at once in the selections of Guerrero and Gombert, though no more so than they would be on a programme of Marian or Lenten devotions; and these are just the opening four tracks.That unfair calculation ignores the plainchant antiphons between each pair of motets. It is rare for me to feel that such interspersions work on CD – let’s get straight to the polyphony – as well as they must in a genuinely liturgical context, but they do here, thanks to the quiet good taste and stylistically homogeneous approach of Stile Antico, with an especially winsome unanimity to the female-only Tota pulchra es.Indeed, these are just the sort of performances I’d hope to hear in church, which was (one feels) the practical and creative laboratory for what is recorded: full but not strained singing, allowing an advantageous acoustic and the number (12) and freshness of voices to take care of blend and balance, with plenty left in reserve for the longer spans of the two magnificent Victoria anthems, Vadam et circuibo and Vidi speciosam. Small choirs of semi-pro ex-Oxbridge choral scholars are not exactly thin on the ground, but with that background in mind, you may still find something new and different: I did, in the naively affecting declamations and unisons of Ceballos and the madrigalian business of Vivanco.

 

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Telemann - Quatuors Parisiens Vols 2&3 - Holloway, Duftschmid, et al.

Release Date: June 28, 2011 Label: CPO Number of discs: 2 Composer: Telemann Performer: John Holloway cd info/ buy

Review:

This CPO edition presents a complete recording of the 12 Paris Quartets featuring high points in Telemann's chamber music as well as enthralling and imaginative interpretations by top-quality instrumentalists performing with elegance and sophistication.

 

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Telemann - Quatuors Parisiens Vol 1 - Holloway, Duftschmid, et al.

 

Release Date: 03/31/2009 Label: CPO Number of discs: 1 Composer: Telemann Performer: John Holloway  cd info/ buy

Review:

The works that have come to be known as Telemann’s “Paris Quartets” are actually two sets of works not meant by Telemann to be considered as one combined work. In 1730 in Hamburg, Telemann published six quadri (the word “quartet” was not in use in Telemann’s day) for violin, flute, viola da gamba or cello, and basso continuo, consisting of two concertos, two suites, and two sonatas. In 1736–37, these works were reprinted in Paris as Six Quatuors. In 1737, Telemann was able to fulfill a long-held desire of visiting Paris. During his stay, he published six Nouveaux Quatuors, so-called because of the previous printing of his Hamburg quartets. They were written for the same instrumental group as the 1730 publication. In modern times, these two publications were reprinted together as the “Paris Quartets.” This recording, labeled Vol. 1, is presumably the start of a new set of the complete “Paris Quartets.” For this beginning volume, the performers have chosen two works from each publication. The Concerto in D and the Sonata in A are the second and third works of the 1730 publication, while the Quatuors in A Minor and E Minor are the second and sixth works from the later publication. The performers are a very accomplished lot. Most of them have appeared on numerous recordings, individually and occasionally with one or two of their colleagues on this recording, generally receiving high praise from Fanfare’s critics. We are not told if they were brought together for this project or if they occasionally perform together as a group. They sound like an experienced ensemble. Their performances are lively without going to extremes. Rhythms, while not stodgy, are steady. These performers do not think the music requires extremes of tempo or fluctuations in tempo, something indulged in by the Musica ad Rhenum in their complete recording of the “Paris Quartets” for Brilliant. The results show that such extremes are not needed in this music. I look forward to further installments of what will undoubtedly be a distinguished set of the “Paris Quartets.”--Ron Salemi

 

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Antonin Reichenauer - Concertos - Musica Florea (2011)

 

Release Date: 06/28/2011 Label: Supraphon Number of discs: 1 Composer: Antonin Reichenauer Performer:  Musica Florea cd info/ buy

Review:

Antonín Reichenauer (c. 1694–1730) – a few years ago a name virtually unknown, today mentioned by Baroque music lovers in the same breath as the greatest Czech Baroque masters, not to mention Antonio Vivaldi himself. Reichenauer assumed after Johann Friedrich Fasch the post of court composer in the service of Count Morzin, whose chapel Vivaldi called a "virtuosissima orchestra" and for which he wrote a number of concertos. Following the previous – and first-ever – CD featuring Reichenauer’s concertos (SU 4035-2), within its Music from Eighteenth-Century Prague series Supraphon is now releasing world premiere recordings of other concertante works as performed by Musica Florea. Twenty years ago among the Czech pioneers of authentic interpretation of early music, today Musica Florea is an ensemble of international renown with a discography of acclaimed and award-winning recordings (Cannes Classical Award, Diapason d’Or). Their perfectly mastered playing on period instruments brings out to the full all the shades of colour, exquisite melodies and entrancing virtuosity of the concertos. After centuries, Reichenauer’s music is now revived and, as these recordings prove, rightly so. From the archives a priceless treasure has been unearthed.

 

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Sweelinck - Toccaten Fantasien Variationen - Peter Ella, clavichord

 

Release Date: 01/24/2006 Label: Hungaroton Number of discs: 1 Composer: Jan P. Sweelinck Performer: Péter Ella cd info/ buy

Review:

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck represents the highest development of the Dutch keyboard school, and indeed represented one of the highest pinnacles attained in keyboard contrapuntal complexity and refinement before J.S. Bach. However, he was a skilled composer for voices as well. Some of Sweelinck's innovations were of profound musical importance, including the fugue - he was the first to write an organ fugue which began simply, with one subject, successively adding texture and complexity until a final climax and resolution, an idea which was perfected at the end of the Baroque era by Bach. Stylistically Sweelinck's music also brings together the richness, complexity and spatial sense of the Gabrielis, with whom he was familiar from his time in Venice, and the ornamentation and intimate forms of the English keyboard composers. In formal development, especially in the use of countersubject, stretto, and organ point (pedal point), his music was far beyond the works of Girolamo Frescobaldi - its nearest predecessor - and looks ahead to J.S. Bach.

 

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Campra - Requiem (Messe des Morts) - Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir

Release Date: August 20, 2007 Label: Erato Number of discs: 1 Composer: Andre Campra Performer: John Eliot Gardiner cd info/ buy

Review:

The recording and performance does this exquisite Requiem perfect justice.The sensitive baton of the esteemed John Eliot Gardiner conjures heavenly playing from the English Baroque Soloists, and there is some superb work done by both choir and soloists.I honestly can't recommend this CD too highly to you. It's qualities are as crystal clear to me as it's possible to seem. Not only does it have the most entrancing and beguiling "Introit" this side of Faure (forgive the missing accent -- I'll fathom this keyboard some day !),but amongst a plethora of other beauties it boasts an "Agnus Dei" of such sweet and sublime grace that's rarely to be encountered in the entire repertoire. The setting itself bears most similarity to it's illustrious descendant by Campra's fellow countryman Gabriel Faure. It boasts the same melting, blissful, beguiling harmonies and textures.

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Bach JS - Mass in B minor - Hickox, Collegium Musicum 90

 

Release Date: 07/26/1994 Label: Chandos Number of discs: 2 Composer: JS Bach  Performer: Richard Hickox, Collegium Musicum 90  cd info/ buy

Review:

Hickox's work is almost always a model of good conducting, musicianship, and balanced interpretation--his recording of the Mass in B minor is no exception. The whole ensemble, voices and orchestra, render the piece with verve and liveliness. Hickox's tempi are usually swift, but not at the expense of the music's often complicated melodic lines (such as those fiendishly difficult melismas in the "Osanna"). The orchestra's playing in particular is breathtaking in moments, such as the horn player's stentorian "Quoniam" and the joyous exclamation at the beginning of the "Gloria." The vocal and orchestral forces are mid-sized, giving the music power where needed, but also that degree of intimacy many of the arias and more pathos-imbued movements demand (the "Et incarnatus est," for example). All four soloists rise to the occasion; the soprano (Nancy Argenta) sings the "Laudamus Te" with an audibly different accent--not a detriment, but a curiosity. Sound quality is wonderful: par for Hickox. This is a good all-around performance for people looking for the balance between traditional and modern Bach interpretations.

 

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Venezia - Rosenmueller, Legrenzi, Stradella - The Rare Fruits Council

 

Release Date: June 14, 2011 Label: Ambronay Number of discs: 1 Composer: Rosenmuller, Legrenzi, Stradella Performer: Manfredo Kraemer cd info/ buy

Review:

In late 17th century Venice, a trinity of highly talented composers Rosenmüller, Legrenzi and Stradella enjoyed flourishing careers. They were men whose lives were bound together by fame and persecution as well as peerless musicians whose innovative, passionate compositions were uniquely complementary. On this new disc featuring Sonatas and Sinfonias by this remarkable trio of maestri, Manfredo Kraemer leads his group The Rare Fruits Council in performances that illuminate the virtuosity and tenderness of their compositional art.

 

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Il ballo di Mantova - Organ Music in S.Barbara, Mantua - Tamminga

Release Date: May 3, 2011 Label: Accent Number of discs: 1 Composer: Various Performer: Liuwe Tamminga cd info/ buy

Review:

Liuwe Tamminga is considered one of the major specialists of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italian repertoires for organ. He is the organist of the historic organs at the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna together with Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, where he plays the magnificent instruments by Lorenzo da Prato (1471-75) and Baldassarre Malamini (1596). He has recorded several compact discs, among them the complete works of Marc’Antonio Cavazzoni (awarded the “Diapason d’Or,” Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2005, Goldberg 5 stars); the complete Fantasies of Frescobaldi (best recording of Amadeus, March 2006 and Diapason 5 stars); “Mozart in Italia” (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2006 and Diapason 5 stars); and a recording dedicated to Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, together with L. F. Tagliavini (“Choc de la musique” and the International Prize “Antonio Vivaldi” of the Cini Foundation in Venice, 1991). 01 - Anon.: Hatikvah (01:31) 02 - Anon.: Baraban (01:00) 03 - Ferrini: Ballo Di Mantova. 3 Variations (03:16) 04 - Cavazzoni: Hymn Ave Maris Stella (02:18) 05 - Cavazzoni: Canzon Sopra Il Est Bel Et Bon (02:12) 06 - Cavazzoni: Recercar Primo (04:05) 07 - Cavazzoni: Canzon Sopra Faute D’argent (02:35) 08 - Cavazzoni: Christe Redemptor Omnium (01:52) 09 - Anon.: Ballo Di Mantova. 2 Variations (02:11) 10 - De Wert(?): Ricercar (06:21) 11 - Brumel: Ricercar [Sopra Ave Maris Stella] (03:37) 12 - Brumel: Ricercata (01:33) 13 - Roncaglia: Mantovana. 6 Variations (05:21) 14 - Franzoni: Canzon Francese A 4 (02:34) 15 - Pallavicino: Toccata La Gonzaga (03:23) 16 - Bargnani: Canzon I La Gonzaga A 4 (02:34) 17 - Bargnani: Canzon XVI A 5 (03:35) 18 - [After Maria Grillini]: Barabén (02:06) 19 - [After Melchiade Benni]: Ballo Di Mantova (01:59) 20 - Frescobaldi: 6 Partite Sopra La Monica (04:20) 21 - Frescobaldi: Toccata XII (05:31) 22 - Anon.: Ballo Di Mantova (02:18) 23 - Anon.: Ballo Di Mantova. 4 Variations (05:18) 24 - Anon.: Hatikvah (01:34)

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Per la Vergine Maria - Alessandrini, Concerto Italiano (2011)

Release Date: 06/28/2011 Label: Naive Number of discs: 1 Composer: Various Performer: Alessandrini, Concerto Italiano cd info/ buy

Review:

The latest collection of liturgical choral works dedicated to the Virgin Mary begins where similar renaissance compilations have left off. The earliest work in Rinaldo Alessandrini's Marian sequence is Monteverdi's six-part Litanie della Beata Virgine, the most recent the tiny, austere Ave Maria that Stravinsky wrote in the 1930s. In between come 17th- and 18th-century eight-part Magnificats by Bencini, Soler and Carissimi, as well as a Salve Regina by Alessandro Scarlatti, but the real discovery, recorded for the first time, is a Salve Regina setting by Alessandro Melani, whose motets appeared on a Concerto Italiano disc last year. Those pieces, however, were far less striking than this short setting, in which a solo soprano (Monica Piccinini) is set against the remainder of the choir, whose role is to supply richly harmonized cadential phrases at the end of each section of the text. It's beautifully simple, and typically Concerto Italiano present it in a suitably unfussy way, with everything exactly judged and balanced, yet never over-elaborated.

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Praetorius, M - Pro Organico - Jean-Charles Ablitzer

 

Release Date: 02/12/2008 Label: Alpha Productions Number of discs: 1 Composer: Michael Praetorius Performer: Jean-Charles Ablitzer cd info/ buy

Review:

The works of Michael Praetorius (1571-1621), an outstanding composer and great innovator, have mainly come to the contemporary publics attention thanks to his collection of dances under the name of 'Terpischore' and to his theoretical writings. Jean-Charles Ablitzer here gives us the first recording of ten organ pieces selected from his 'Musae Soniae' (phantasies on Lutherian melodies) and from his 'Hymnodia Sonia (Latin hymns). This interpretation, already acclaimed by a 'Choc' from the Monde de la Musique, reveals Praetorius as an inspired and gentle colorist, whose musical idiom will leave a deep imprint on the first generation of baroque composers. the musicological rigor and the great sensitivity of the interpreter is further expressed by the choice of the historic organ of the church of St. Stephan in Tangermünde. Not only is it contemporary of the composer, but an identical model by the same maker is extensively described in Praetorius' 'Syntagma Musicum'. For once, as a unique exception, Alpha forfeits its role as a producer in order to bring this record to the public. It has been auto-produced by the artist but never commercialized while its unique quality soon turned it into an absolute, although unavailable reference.

 

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Geminiani - Concerti grossi op. II - Ipata, Auser Musici

 

Release Date: June 7, 2011 Label: Pan Classics Number of discs: 1 Composer: Francesco Geminiani  Performer: Auser Musici cd info/ buy

Review:

The compositions recorded here are a significant example of musical taste as it spread to the other side of the English channel in the first decades of the 18th century. England welcomed the Corellian style with such enthusiasm as to attract onto its banks a rich line-up of instrumentalists, singers, impresarios who with varying degrees of success contributed to the spread of the new Italian style based on the Sonata and the Concerto Grosso canonized in Corelli’s Op. V and VI. Francesco Geminiani arrived in London in 1714. As a direct disciple of Corelli, it was easy for him to become part of the musical life there in London, soon gaining great fame as a violinist. The six Concerti Grossi Op. II had the benefit of being performed publicly in concerts organized by Geminiani himself in the Hickford Room, with such favorable results that the composer was forced to expedite their publication in order to be ahead of possible pirated editions being prepared; after the first edition in 1732 there followed numerous reprints up to the end of the 1700’s, confirmation of a considerable and long-lasting success. Auser Musici is a vocal and instrumental ensemble which was founded in 1997 by Carlo Ipata. The public and critical reception of Auser Musici’s tours of Germany, France, Spain and the USA, as well as of their recordings, confirms the enormous interest in their work. German classical magazine Toccata Alte Musik wrote about the recording of Geminiani’s Concerti Grossi: It seems as if these works were only waiting for Auser Musici.

 

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Vivaldi - Concerti per il flauto traversier – Alexis Kossenko, Arte Dei Suonatori

 

Release Date: 01/11/2011 Label: Alpha Number of discs: 1 Composer: Antonio Vivaldi Performer: Alexis Kossenko, Arte Dei Suonatori  cd info/ buy

Review:

This is an absolutely splendid release and a must-have for all Vivaldi lovers as well as for all who appreciate vibrant playing in truly historically informed performances. French-born flutist Alexis Kossenko is an award-winning artist who devotes his talent more or less equally to both the modern and Baroque flute. In the former capacity, he has performed under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovitch and Valery Gergiev and recorded the Nielsen flute concerto with Justus Frantz and the Philharmonie der Nationen. In the latter capacity, he has partnered Baroque specialists such as Richard Egarr, Andrew Manze, and Catherine Bott, and has performed under John Eliot Gardiner, Philippe Herreweghe, Skip Sempé, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Jos van Immerseel, Jaap ter Linden, and Fabio Biondi. This is not my first encounter with Kossenko and the Polish Arte Dei Suonatori ensemble. Kossenko’s playing of flute concertos by C. P. E. Bach are simply astonishing and a must-buy. If icing on the cake be needed, it comes in the form of a thick French and English booklet containing notes on each individual concerto, detailed information on the instruments employed, and several pages of high-quality photographs. Viva Vivaldi, and kudos to Kossenko, Arte Dei Suonatori, and Alpha for a beautiful recording.

 

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Dall'Abaco - Concerti a quatro da chiesa, op.2 - Il Tempio Armonico

 

Release Date: 2003 Label: ORF Number of discs: 1 Composer: E. Felice Dall'Abaco Performer: Il Tempio Armonico cd info/ buy

Review:

Even though composer Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco was in the service of the Bavarian court of the elector Maximilian II Emmanuel for most of his life, his 66 skillfully crafted works (Op. 1 - 6), which were rooted in the Italian Baroque style, show his interest in experimenting with French dance forms and stately early classicism. Most of these creative pieces, described mainly as post-Corellian, were written within a 15-year period (1708 - 1721), during the repeated relocating of Maximilian's court. Dall'Abaco originally joined the court in 1704 after studying the cello and violin (probably with Torelli) and after performing in Modena, at times with Ambreville. Following a loss in the War of the Spanish Succession, the elector took many members of his court to various countries, beginning with the Netherlands, then to the city of Brussels, Mons, Compiegne, and finally back to Munich in 1715. Dall'Abaco was wed in the Netherlands to Marie Clamence Bultinck and the long period of relocating gave him the opportunity to prove his worth and devotion as a husband to his wife and as a court musician and servant to Maximilian. The elector was so pleased with the service he received that he appointed Dall'Abaco Konzertmeister upon their return; shortly thereafter, the composer then became electoral councilor. This triumph undoubtedly added to the joy he and his wife had shared following the birth of their son Joseph-Marie-Clement (1709 or 1710). Dall'Abaco continued to perform and compose in the service of the Bavarian court even after Karl Albrecht rose as its new leader following Maximilian's death. Dall'Abaco retired from the court in 1740 and passed away two years later, on the anniversary of his birth, at the age of 67.

 

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De Visee - Pieces de Theorbe - Jose Miguel Moreno

 

Release Date: 09/29/2009 Label: Glossa Number of discs: 1 Composer: Robert de Visée Performer: Jose Miguel Moreno cd info/ buy

Review:

José Miguel Moreno is one of the leading specialists of historical plucked string instruments, but with a repertory that extends from the 16th century to the present day. A co-founder of Glossa, he had previously recorded with Teresa Berganza for Philips and with Hespèrion XX for Astrée. As a soloist, as an accompanist or with his ensembles La Romanesca and Orphénica Lyra (focused on the Spanish repertoire of the Renaissance and Baroque), Moreno has made some of the signal recordings that have helped establish Glossa’s reputation: his groundbreaking album, The Spanish Guitar (1536-1836), for example, has sold in excess of 30,000 copies; other recordings have explored the musical worlds of Cervantes’ Don Quijote and of the painter Diego Velázquez. Moreno has also recorded Boccherini Guitar Quintets, accompanied by his brother Emilio’s La Real Cámara. More recently, he has – in the company of Eligio Quinteiro – dedicated albums to the music of John Dowland and Luys Milán. Over the years such recordings have also received substantial critical praise.

 

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Bach - Magnificat BWV 243; Handel - Dixit Dominus HWV 232 - Emmanuelle Haim

 

Release Date: November 20, 2007 Label: Virgin Classics Number of discs: 1 Composer: Handel, Bach JS Performer: Emmanuelle Haim,      Le Concert d'Astree cd info/ buy

Review:

Emmanuelle Haim never lets up in intensity. Her tempi on some of the Bach movements and on the concluding Gloria Patri of Handel are faster than I've ever heard anyone attempt. Especially on the Magnificat, she is clearly demanding the absolute maximum of her choristers, and to my ears they rise to the challenge. Likewise the soloists, especially the two sopranos and the male alto Philippe Jaroussky, match the demands of both composers and their ardent conductor. As a bassoonist, I'd like to  call attention to the eloquent Baroque bassoon playing of Philippe Miqueu. I'm envious; I wish I'd been there. Good performances of Bach's Magnificat are not uncommon, but this is the first thoroughly satisfactory disk of Handel's Dixit Dominus I've encountered. Special alert to dieters: The charge this performance will put into you is worth at least 1200 calories on the exercycle. Listen and exult!

 

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Handel - 20 Sonatas, Op.1 - Wallfisch,Goodwin,Beznosiuk, et al

 

Release Date: 11/21/1995 Label: 11/21/1995 Number of discs: 3 Composer: George Frideric Handel Performer: Tunnicliffe, Wallfisch,   Nicholson, Beznosiuk, Beckett, Goodwin cd info/ buy

Review:

This set gives authoritative readings, impeccable in style, dependable in text, and ornamented with enterprise but also with taste and sensible judgment. There are five violin sonatas, seven for flute and six for recorder. Lisa Beznosiuk has a soft and limpid tone, often almost sensuously full in the bottom register, and brings nicely crisp rhythms to the quick movements. Richard Tunnicliffe is a clear and alert cello continuo player throughout and Paul Nicholson's contributions at the harpsichord could hardly be bettered. Elizabeth Wallfisch, who has the violin sonatas, is another admirable stylist, and brings an unusual subtlety to music that is generally played more energetically. Above all, I relished the oboe sonatas here, played by Paul Goodwin.

 

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Gesualdo - Madrigaux a 5 voix - Christie, Les Arts Florissants

 

Release Date: 04/14/2009 Label: Harmonia Mundi Number of discs: 1 Composer: Carlo Gesualdo Performer: William Christie, Les Arts Florissants  cd info/ buy

Review:

In music circles, the name Carlo Gesualdo is usually followed by a strange look, knowing smile, or whimsical comment. The 16th-century Italian composer was nothing if not colorful, and his startlingly unusual music reflects an avant-garde approach to just about all aspects of his craft. Apart from his music, Gesualdo, Prince of Verona, was famously known for murdering his adulterous wife. In his music, especially his madrigals, he seemed to pay no attention to convention, or even to accepted rules of  harmony and melodic structure. As heard in the works on this disc, nothing is predictable, from sudden, surprising leaps, to disjointed melodies, jerky rhythms, and occasionally shocking harmonic shifts. Of course, music of this nature is difficult to sing, which is why you rarely hear these works in concert or on recordings. We are fortunate to have such skilled and imaginative interpreters as Les Arts Florissants, who present these marvelous pieces with real artistic flair and a true sense of fun. --David Vernier

 

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Lawes, William - Consorts in six parts - Phantasm

 

Release Date: 06/11/2002 Label: Channel Classics Number of discs: 1 Composer: William Lawes Performer: Phantasm cd info/ buy

Review:

Counterpoint is a wonderful thing, and seldom more wonderful than in the hands of 17th century English composer William Lawes. If you think that music for viol consort usually sounds like a heard of dyspeptic cows, you're in for a treat. This is fascinating stuff, fabulously rich, moving, emotionally gripping, and played to a passionate fare-thee-well by Phantasm. Each of these five suites (or "sets", as Lawes called them) contains a different selection of movements, comprising Pavans, Fantazies, Aires, and In nomines. Some contain three pieces, others four. Variety and contrast are the composer's watchwords, and with six players to work with, he's able to construct textures of a harmonic richness and polyphonic complexity that offer an almost unlimited range of expressive possibilities. There isn't a single movement without something special to say, but I have to mention a few: the G minor set's long opening Pavan (the only one in the collection) and delicious concluding Aire; the amazing harmonies over repeated note patterns in the C major set's central Fantazy; the gorgeous first Fantazy in the F major set (a sort of 17th century answer to Barber's bittersweet Adagio for Strings); and the whole of the strikingly intense C minor set. The players of Phantasm draw a sound from their instruments as richly colored as the music itself, and while they omit the organ continuo you certainly won't miss it, and the gain in polyphonic clarity certainly compensates. They're also fabulously recorded--warmly, but with none of that Grand Central Station public bathroom reverb that afflicts too many early music discs. Indeed, the sound adds considerably to the immediacy of music that offers visceral excitement and a communicative directness outstanding for any era. Not to be missed!--David Hurwitz

 

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