CD Reviews - January 2018

If you have any interest in song, particularly English song, then I cannot recommend this disc highly enough – and if you don’t think you like English song, give it a go anyway, I’m sure you will be converted.  Baritone Roderick Williams’ beautiful honeyed tones, accompanied expertly by pianist Susie Allan, communicate this repertoire in a way I’ve rarely heard it before.  George Butterworth’s (1885-1916) ‘Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad’ that open the disc are achingly moving, not least with the added poignancy of Butterworth’s death in the First World War aged 31, just five years after composing the songs.  Williams’ heartfelt sadness in ‘The Lads in their Hundreds’ is almost unbearable, and his characterisation of the ghostly apparition and his old friend in ‘Is my team ploughing’ is deeply affecting.  I have to confess to shedding several tears when I heard them perform this at the CD’s launch, and the recording is no less affecting.  There’s so much here – twenty-eight songs in total – that it’s hard to single things out.  Ireland (1879-1962), Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) and Britten (1913-1976) are all represented here, but also Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) – another casualty of the war, his already fragile mental health never recovered, and he ended his days in a mental hospital.  His setting of ‘Sleep’ by John Fletcher that ends the disc again has added significance perhaps, with its plea for peace and joy through sleep.  There are lighter moments too, with Gurney’s jolly ‘Captain Stratton’s Fancy’, and Peter Warlock’s (1894-1930) brief ‘Jillian of Berry’, and Williams relishes the chance to let loose.  And two songs from the only living composer represented, Ian Venables (b.1955), confirm the art of English song is still alive and well – his fleeting expression of a butterfly in flight, ‘Flying Crooked’ is a delightful miniature, and Williams enjoys the melodic twists and turns, with delicate support from Allan.  Vaughan Williams’ ‘Silent Noon’ and Britten’s ‘The Salley Gardens’ receive particularly touching renditions from Williams – I could rave about every song on this disc, there are truly no fillers here, but space restricts me to urging you to seek this recording out.

Various. 2017. Celebrating English Song. Roderick Williams, Susie Allan. Compact Disc. Somm SOMMCD 0177. 

French harpsichordist Philippe Grisvard has taken part in many recordings, including several with Audax Records’ founder, Johannes Pramsohler, and his Ensemble Diderot.  But the latest Audax recording, a wonderful collection of works for keyboard by Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759), is Grisvard’s solo recording debut.  Whilst the Suites are the most well-known and established of Handel’s keyboard works, Grisvard has also included a number of rarities, and a few pieces by lesser-known contemporaries.  This is a wise move, as it offers the listener much needed variety on a solo instrumental recording.  A particular gem is the arrangement by William Babell (1690-1723) of ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’ from Handel’s opera, Rinaldo – Babell’s arrangement of the opera’s overture is also here – in which Grisvard really makes the instrument sing out the aria’s familiar tune.  In his informative notes, Grisvard speculates as to whether these were arrangements by the English composer, or possibly even transcriptions of performances by Handel himself – the bell-like Prelude Presto from Babell that opens the disc certainly sounds like an improvised introduction to such a performance.  The Suite No. 2 has an almost mournful opening Adagio, and the E minor Suite has a delicate, graceful Sarabande.  As well as showing his virtuosic command in the showier movements (such as the E minor Suite’s final Gigue), it is in these subtler moments that Grisvard communicates most directly with poise and grace.  A lively if a little formulaic Capriccio by Wilhelm Zachow (1663-1712), Handel’s teacher, a brief Prelude from contemporary Johann Mattheson (1681-1764), and a pleasing Toccata by Johann Krieger (1649-1725) serve to further demonstrate the imaginative superiority of Handel’s compositions, and the wonderful Chaconne in G major here includes variations from several versions of the work, making it the most substantial piece on offer, and Grisvard clearly enjoys the virtuosic challenges, building through the increasingly complex variations to an impressive conclusion.  This is a delightfully varied and impressively commanding debut from Grisvard.

Various. 2017. Handel: Works for Keyboard. Philippe Grisvard. Compact Disc. Audax Records. ADX 13709.

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antartica, his seventh symphony, has its origins in the composer’s music for the film Scott of the Antarctic in 1948.  The symphony followed in 1951, and it makes use of a wordless soprano soloist (Mari Eriksmoen here) and a female chorus, also worldless (the singers here drawn from the Bergen Philharmonic Choir and the Edvard Grieg Kor) – hauntingly ethereal here, without being overly intrusive.  But the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, under Sir Andrew Davis are the stars here, with some breathtakingly taut and controlled playing, perfectly capturing the desolation and desperation of Scott’s ill-fated expedition.  There is a real sense of the expanse of the landscape, and impending doom, and the crashing entry of the organ at the end of the third movement is truly terrifying.  Vaughan Williams wrote his Four Last Songs, settings of poems by Ursula, his second wife and longtime muse, shortly after their marriage in 1953 (although their love affair had begun in 1938).  The songs were orchestrated by Anthony Payne (b.1936) in 2013, and were premiered at the Proms by mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston, but here they receive their premiere recording by a male voice, none other than baritone Roderick Williams.  Payne’s sensitive scoring, and Williams’ aforementioned rich tones, bring these brief romantic gems to life.  The disc is finished off with Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Two Pianos.  This started life as a Concerto for Piano, but his piano part proved overly challenging, and the suggestion of a version for two pianos followed.  Pianist Joseph Cooper (1912-2001) was charged with the arrangement, but Vaughan Williams changed the ending and added a new cadenza.  It opens with crashing, percussive explosions from the pianos, setting up a lively, energetic Toccata.  The central Romanza is more lyrical and romantic, with some subtle writing for woodwind, and the final Fugue and Finale, separated by a cadenza, return to the opening’s lively extrovert style.  Canadian pianists Hélène Mercier and Louis Lortie add great muscular attack and bite to the outer movements, as well as bringing sensitivity, lush lyricism and subtlety to the Romanza.  Once again, Davis and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra provide sumptuous orchestral textures in support. 

Vaughan Williams, R. 2017. Sinfonia Antartica, Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Four Last Songs. Louis Lortie, Hélène Mercier, Roderick Williams, Mari Eriksmoen, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Edvard Grieg Kor, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis. Hybrid Super Audio Compact Disc. Chandos CHSA 5186.


(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, January 2018)

CD Reviews - May 2017

For his second volume of Franz Schubert’s (1797-1828) works for solo piano, pianist Barry Douglas pairs the first set of Four Impromptus, D899, with the Piano Sonata in A major, D959.  The Sonata was the second of a final three sonatas Schubert finished just weeks before his death aged just 31, and the Impromptus come from the year before this.  The four Impromptus come first on the disc, and each have a different character, although they all share Schubert’s use of rapid figuration to decorate his lyrical melodies.  The first is perhaps the most dramatic, and here Douglas’ use of rubato (pulling about of the rhythms from bar to bar) unsettles the momentum.  However, his light fluidity in the second and the smooth melodic line over the rippling accompaniment in the most well-known third are impressive, and the fourth’s delicately cascading arperggios appear effortless.  The Sonata, like its companions from that final set, is a large scale, four-movement work, coming in at over forty minutes.  The opening movement has heft and energy, full of invention, yet despite its relatively conventional structure, Schubert pulls us up short with a surprisingly subdued conclusion.  This sets us up nicely for the darkly lilting slow movement that follows – but once again, just as we’re settling to this, Schubert cuts things short and there follows an incredibly wild and turbulent middle section, before the lilting boatsong returns, adorned to give added pathos.  Douglas combines sensitivity in the outer sections with virtuosic display in the middle, although both are somewhat restrained, giving this a suitably introspective feel. The Scherzo that follows wipes away the tears with a sprightly dance, and here Douglas gives us much-needed brightness and lightness of touch.  For the finale, Schubert reworked a movement from an earlier sonata, but its infectiously lyrical rondo theme proves a perfect fit here, with Schubert supplying almost constantly flowing triplet rhythms throughout.  At the end, Schubert brings proceedings to a halt with brief fragments of the theme, followed by a brief rapid coda, and a final hint of the opening chords from the first movement, and Douglas draws this impressive second volume to a convincing conclusion.  

Schubert, F. 2017. Works for Solo Piano, Volume 2. Barry Douglas. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10933.

Italian-born violinist Augustin Hadelich and Korean pianist Joyce Yang have been playing together since 2010, and clearly have a strong musical partnership, on the evidence of this, their first recital recording together.  They begin with André Previn’s (b. 1929) Tango, Song and Dance, a piece written for violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in 1997, before her subsequent marriage to (and later divorce from) Previn in 2002.  A sweet, central Song is bookended with a crowd-pleasing Tango and a jazzy Dance, and Hadelich and Lang have great fun with this.  They follow this with Robert Schumann’s (1810-1856) Sonata No. 1, Op.105, a turbulent and emotive work, and both players perform here with passion and drive.  Apparently when performing live, they lead straight from the Schumann into the Tre Pezzi, Op.14e by György Kurtág (b.1926), which come next on this disc, and provide a striking contrast.  The three short pieces are pared down and very stark compared to the flurry of action and intensity of Schumann’s finale, and of course in a completely different soundworld.  Hadelich and Yang deliver these miniatures with an almost claustrophobic intensity, such that the expansive outpouring of the Sonata by César Franck (1822-1890) comes as a great relief.  This is a very cleverly constructed programme, and also demonstrates these performers’ extensive range.  Their Franck is lush and full of depth, with Yang particularly excelling in the demands of the piano writing here, and Hadelich produces a consistently warm and rich tone well suited to this highly passionate work.  Overall, these are highly engaging performances in an imaginative and intelligent recital programme – highly recommended.

Various. 2016. Franck, Kurtág, Previn, Schumann. Augustin Hadelich, Joyce Yang. Compact Disc. Avie AV2347.

Bass-baritone Gerald Finley is joined by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Edward Gardner for ‘In the Stream of Life’, a disc of songs by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Most were orchestrated relatively recently, partly prompted by the 150^th anniversary of his birth in 2015.  The title of the disc comes from Einojuhani Rautavaara’s (1928-2016) orchestrated set of seven of Sibelius’ songs, and the theme of water runs throughout most of the songs on the recording.  Finley himself requested the arrangements from Rautavaara, and is clearly very much at home here.  He sings with precision and great dramatic communication, yet his rich voice also brings a moving melancholy to songs such as På veranden vid havet (On the Veranda by the Sea), one of the few here orchestrated by Sibelius himself.  In Rautavaara’s set, the orchestration captures Sibelius’ spirit, with watery strings in the folksy tale Älven och snigeln (The River and the Snail), and the mysterious, otherworldy and homoerotic Näcken (The Water Spirit).  One of the composer’s few originally composed orchestral songs, Koskenlaskijan mosiamet (The Rapids-rider’s Brides) is another watery tale, with Finley again convincingly communicating another fateful love being overpowered by nature.  In addition, Gardner commands attention with a taut reading of Sibelius’ wonderfully impressionistic sea-picture, The Oceanides, and we are also treated to Sibelius’ beautifully orchestrated tone poem, Pohjola’s Daughter, drawing on one of his favourite inspirations in a tale from the epic Kalevala.  A short but pleasing Romance for string orchestra is the other orchestral piece on offer here.  Gardner elicits great depth of tone combined with subtle agility from the Bergen players, making this a striking recording all round.

Sibelius, J. 2017. In the Stream of Life: Songs by Sibelius. Gerald Finley, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner. Hybrid Super Audio Compact Disc. Chandos CHSA 5178.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, May 2017)

CD Reviews - October 2016

Clarinettist Michael Collins has been working his way through an excellent survey of British Clarinet repertoire in his series of discs of Sonatas, and now with a second disc of Clarinet Concertos.  Here he is not only soloist but also conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in four fascinating but pretty obscure works seldom performed.  He opens the disc with Movements for a Clarinet Concerto by Benjamin Britten.  This began life as an incomplete sketch for an opening concerto movement that Britten wrote in America with Benny Goodman in mind.  However, on his return to Britain, his manuscripts were impounded by customs, on suspicion that they might somehow contain coded information.  Goodman later got cold feet when the US entered the war, and Britten had moved his attention on to Peter Grimes, so the work was never completed.  In 1990, Colin Matthews (b.1946) orchestrated the sketch, and Collins premiered the resulting movement.  Then in 2007, Matthews took a two-piano work and an orchestral sketch by Britten, and orchestrated both to make a three-movement concerto, which Collins also premiered.  The result is a remarkably convincing work, with a striking opening flourish and spiky arpeggios for the clarinet in the first movement, a subtle and somewhat subdued central 'Elegiac Mazurka', followed by a lively finale, in which Matthews brings in the opening theme from the first movement to give the concerto a sense of cohesion.  Gerald Finzi's (1901-1956) Five Bagatelles, Op. 23a were originally for clarinet and piano, but were arranged for clarinet and string orchestra by Lawrence Ashmore (1928-2013) in 1989 as a companion piece for Finzi's well-known Clarinet Concerto (recorded by Collins on his first volume of British Concertos).  These are characterful, mostly lyrical pieces, with lots of very English pastoral melodies. Finzi's family had Italian and German Jewish roots, but he was born in London, and studied under Stanford. The Romance is particularly beautiful and breathes with a wistful idyllic air, and the final Fughetta is joyful and carefree.  Arnold Cooke (1906-2005) was born in Yorkshire, and studied with Paul Hindemith, before teaching in Manchester and then at Trinity College of Music in London until 1978.  His Concerto No. 1 contains lots of angular melodies that have a clear link to Hindemith, and the opening movement is full of spiky contrapuntal writing, the leaps and turns of which Collins negotiates with ease.  The central slow movement's lyrical melody ends with a repeated blackbird call, and there is a definite feel of flight and pastoral freedom here. The finale picks up the pace with a lively dancing clarinet theme supported by varied rhythmic interest in the orchestral writing.    Wales is represented here by the Concerto Op. 68 by William Mathias (1934-1992).  The Concerto is orchestrated for strings and a variety of percussion, which is used to great effect throughout.  The opening movement's 'Scotch snap' rhythms create a birdlike, pecking feel to the melody, enhanced with Matthias' use of percussion, with a slower central section enhanced by an eerie vibraphone.  The slow movement is more introspective, with a mysterious intensity throughout, ending with a cadenza for the clarinet, which, joined by rototoms, rushes straight into a somewhat frenzied, jazz-infused finale, giving little breathing space for the clarinet.  This is a disc packed with variety and interest, and Collins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra give faultless and enthusiastic performances of these fascinating works, making this worthy of high recommendation.

Various. 2016. British Clarinet Concertos, Volume 2. BBC Symphony Orchestra, Michael Collins. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10891.

Lutenist Alex McCartney follows up his debut album, which I reviewed in January 2016 with 'Elizabeth's Lutes', a disc of lute music from the time of Elizabeth I.  She was a keen lute player herself, and also employed many musicians in her court.  McCartney has put together a nicely varied programme, all recorded in a highly resonant acoustic, which actually suits this music well, adding warmth and depth to the tone.  However, he opens the disc with a delightful piece, Susanne un jour, by the Franco-Flemish composer, Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594), who has no real connection to Elizabeth. Nevertheless, de Lassus was world famous and would surely have influenced musicians and composers of the time, and despite not specifically writing for the lute as far as we know, this lute arrangement was made by a contemporary in England.  There are a number of works here by Daniel Bacheler (c.1574-c.1610), who was 'Lutenist and Groome of her Majestie's Privie Chamber'.  His Monsieur's Allemande is the most substantial, with great opportunities for McCartney to demonstrate his command of the instrument in its variations.  He also plays two of Anthony Holborne's (c.1545-1602) rich Pavanes, and his touching Last Will and Testament.  Holborne was probably an usher at Elizabeth's court, and was not employed as a musician, despite composing much lute, cittern and bandora music in his lifetime.  Alfonso Ferrabosco's (1543-1588) Miserere is a little more ornate, with a delicacy and lightness, which McCartney brings out well here.  John Dowland's (1563-1626) career in England suffered from his early conversion to Catholicism, and he spent some time employed as a lutenist in Denmark, only finally being employed by the English court after Elizabeth's death. His Fancy included here begins quite starkly but soon gathers pace, building in virtuosity.  William Byrd's (c.1540-1623) keyboard Pavane Bray was arranged by Francis Cutting (c.1550-c.1596), and McCartney manages its contrapuntal lines evenly. This is a highly enjoyable disc, warmly recorded and expertly performed throughout.

Various. 2016. Elizabeth's Lutes. Alex McCartney. Compact Disc. Veterum Musica. 

Edward Gardner is on the third volume of Leoš Janáček’s (1854-1928) orchestral works with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and the main work here is one of his finest non-operatic works, the wonderful Glagolitic Mass.  Glagolitic refers to the script, an early version of Cyrillic, in which the Old Church Slavonic Mass was originally written.  This is an incredibly challenging choral work, and here Gardner has massed together four choirs, the Bergen Philharmonic Choir being enhanced by the Choir of Collegiûm Mûsicûm, the Edvard Grieg Kor and the Bergen Cathedral Choir. They opt for the revised edition, which includes changes made by Janáček during rehearsals for its premiere.  There are arguments for both – were those changes due to inadequacies of the Brno premiere forces, or were they changes that Janáček really wanted in the light of hearing the work being performed?  The upshot is that the earlier version has more raw edges, but also a more ‘dangerous’ energy.  However, the revised version is more often performed, and here it receives a highly energetic and incisive performance.  The choral forces are solid, with clear diction and well-blended tone, particularly impressive in the wildly joyful Svet (Sanctus).  The solo line-up is also strong, particularly soprano Sara Jakubiak and tenor StuartSkelton. Thomas Trotter’s wild organ solo is incredibly powerful, followed by a gloriously brassy Intrada to close the work. This is a strong performance, with great depth of recorded sound from Chandos.  I miss hearing the Intrada at the opening as well as at the end – but of course on CD, that’s easily rectified.  The disc also contains a moody Adagio, more overtly romantic than his later works, but nonetheless enjoyable.  Zdrávas Maria (Hail Mary) is for Soprano, chorus, violin and organ, and it receives a touchingly sensitive reading here from Sara Jakubiak and two of the choirs.  The final work is a setting of The Lord’s Prayer, Otče Náš, again for chorus and organ, but now with Tenor solo and harp.  Stuart Skelton and the choral forces give a passionate reading of this attractive setting.  However, none of the additional works can compete with the drama of the Glagolitic Mass and the powerful performance it receives here.

Janáček, L. 2016. Orchestral Works, Volume 3. Sara Jakubiak, Susan Bickley, Stuart Skelton, Gábor Bretz, Thomas Trotter, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Choir of Collegiûm Mûsicûm, Edvard Grieg Kor, Bergen Cathedral Choir, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner. Hybrid Super Audio Compact Disc. Chandos CHSA 5165.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, October 2016)