A great showcase for the Jervaulx Singers and Charlie Gower-Smith, combining strong solo voices in choral textures

The Jervaulx Singers (named after the ruined Jervaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire) were founded by Director Charlie Gower-Smith and soprano Jenny Bianco in 2021. They describe themselves as a professional soloists choir, and on their first recording, they comprise just eight voices. On this disc, they tackle predominantly contemporary choral works, although some solo song, and a finale from Bernstein’s Candide are also included, as well as a solo piano piece performed by pianist Alison Frances Gill. The sound is fulsome, as one would expect from professionally trained voices, and although their intention is to give singers space for ‘each individual’s own sound’, they still create a suitably blended overall ensemble when needed. As a result, the sound is refreshingly bright, particularly in the sweeter repertoire.

 

They open with a traditional Norwegian song, Ingen Vinner Frem Til Den Evige Ro, arranged by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo (b.1978), now living in the US. That bright, clear ensemble is immediately evident, and the rich basses emerge through the flowing folk lines. The balance of the tenors leading in the third verse over the more choral textures below is also well judged. Lithuanian Onutė Narbutautė (b.1956) is a composer new to me, and her Vasara (Summer) definitely intrigues me to hear more. It opens with a cuckoo call, and makes use of vocalisations of bird calls throughout, rather reminiscent of Janequin’s Le Chant des Oiseaux from some 500 years previous. Aside from the bird sounds, playful flowing rhythms evoke the two young lovers running barefoot through nature. Pianist Alison Frances Gill joins the choir for Lili Boulanger’s (1893-1918) Hymne au Soleil next. Setting an atmospheric text describing Brahmins worshipping the rising sun, Boulanger contrasts bright, homophonic choral treatment of the text initially with more polyphonic entries to evoke seven rushing steeds. There’s plenty of word painting, with high chords for ‘il se lève, il s’élance’(it rises, it soars), and there are also delicate choral echoes alongside a rich solo from mezzo soprano Sarah Anne Champion, before the declamatory style of the opening returns, the combined singers here delivering a powerful climax.

 

To calm things down, Alison Frances Gill treats us next to one of Rachmaninov’s (1873-1943) 12 Romances, op. 21, namely No. 5, Lilacs. The rippling, flowing textures are given a watery lightness of touch, and Gill effortlessly delivers the final cascade with a flourish. 

 

Morten Lauridsen’s (b.1943) Les chansons des roses, which gives this album its title, is a popular favourite of choirs, with its contrasting tempos and styles across five short movements. Here, they take the opening En une seule fleur at a rapid tempo, making it dance along, staying just the right side of not garbling the French text, although their proficient precision is in danger of making it feel a little throwaway here. For Contre qui, rose, Lauridsen is in the familiar territory of his most famous piece, O magnum mysterium, and it receives a suitably tender reading here, with pure sopranos and rich basses. De ton rêve trop plein contains the most variety, with sparky, snatched faster sections against slower, sweeter passages, and the singers capture the folksy feeling well here, with excitement in the contrasts of tempo and dynamics. For La rose complète, we’re back to O magnum mysterium (Lauridsen does definitely have some trademark chord progressions!), and Gower-Smith shapes the slow build here with considerable tenderness, with a lightness and transparency here to the overall sound from the singers. The piano joins for the final song, Dirait-on, a pretty song that borders on the cheesy, but is saved by clever canons and increasing complexity of texture. The sopranos in particular produce a rich sound here, and there is a successful build overall, before a well-controlled quiet ending. 

 

To break up the choral textures, next comes a performance of the final song, Fleurs, from Poulenc’s song cycle Fiançailles pour rire. Mezzo soprano Beth Moxon gives a tender rendition here, with Gill providing gentle pulsing piano chords in the background, and the return of the first verse is particularly delicate and touching. 

 

Jonathan Dove’s (b.1959) The Passing of the Year  was composed in memory of his mother, and sets texts by Blake, Dickinson and Tennyson, amongst others. It launches in with minimalist rapid motion in Invocation, with slow lines on top, and the piano driving the rhythm, and it all builds to a glorious final chord. The singers are in their element here, really being able to expand their sound and create extremes of contrast, and in The narrow bud, their lines fall over one another with great energy over the bell-like piano, before the sopranos positively soar for ‘the spirits of the air’. Answer July has a train-like insistence in its playful rhythmic insistence, leading to its triumphant ending. The singers capture the breathy, muggy oppressiveness of Hot sun, cool fire, with its thick, complex textures, and the lyrical tenors lead in Ah, Sun-flower!, with the upper then lower voices cascading around them. Adieu! Farewell earth’s bliss! is tender and haunting, with the singers again drawing out the contrast between the plaintive ‘I am sick, I must die’ and the anger of the middle verse. Then the cycle concludes with Ring out, wild bells, the ‘O Earth’ chant returning from the opening movement, crashing into the circling piano. Entries ring out, and once again, Dove is the master of choral contrasts, with ominous unison for ‘let him die’, against defiant ‘grief’. The singers build to a glorious sound, letting their powerful combined voices bring this exciting work to a glowing conclusion.

 

And then for something different to finish – the finale, Make Our Garden Grow, from Bernstein’s (1918-1990) Candide. Here, tenor Gareth Meirion Edmunds opens with a strong, open-hearted Candide, to which soprano Eleanor Garside responds with bright tenderness as Cunegonde. The company expands to seven solo voices, before building to the full-throttled finale. Inevitably, the piano can’t quite compete here, but the operatic scale of the singing is very powerful. 

 

All in all, this is a great showcase for a fine group of singers, and shows that it is possible to effectively blend high-calibre solo singing in choral textures.  

Various. 2024. Les chanson des roses. Jervaulx Singers, Charlie Gower-Smith. Compact Disc. Convivium Records CR101.

Dove's Mansfield Park positively fizzes with Waterperry Opera in Marylebone

Sarah Anne Champion (Julia Bertram)
(from 2022) © Robert Workman

Jonathan Dove (b.1959): Mansfield Park

Alasdair Middleton (Libretto), after Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Rebecca Meltzer (Director)

Ashley Beauchamp (Musical Director)

George Ireland (Pianist)

Waterperry Opera Festival

St Marylebone Festival

Flora MacDonald (Fanny Price)

Phil Wilcox (Sir Thomas Bertram)

Emily Gray (Lady Bertram)

Milo Harries (Edmund Bertram)

Charlotte Hoather (Maria Bertram)

Sarah Anne Champion (Julia Bertram)

Eleanor Garside (Aunt Norris)

Robin Bailey (Henry Crawford)

Eleanor Sanderson-Nash (Mary Crawford)

Lawrence Thackeray (Mr Rushworth)

St Marylebone Parish Church, London

5pm, Saturday 8 July 2023

★★★★★

Mansfield Park
(from 2022) © Robert Workman

‘Everything gallops along at a great pace … Dove’s driving music adds to this sense of forward momentum, as do the chorally announced chapters’.

‘The choreography definitely deserves a mention – no moment is wasted, so whilst formally dancing in another scene, the cast also deliver multiple weaving lines of contrasting emotions, no mean feat. It is further testament to the strength of the cast … that they blend these lines perfectly, no one singer dominating’. 

‘Dove conjures up a remarkable variety of moods, switching from silent movie comedy capers to subtle hints of classical pastiche, as well as minimalist rocking between major and minor at moments of high emotion’.

‘With a uniformly strong cast and glorious singing resounding in the church’s warm acoustic, this was a joyous outing for a consistently entertaining and cleverly constructed chamber opera’.  

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

CD Reviews - March 2023

Jonathan Dove (b.1959) has composed many operas, as well as orchestral, chamber and film music, but I am personally most familiar with his choral works, ever since singing in performances of his oratorio, There Was a Child, with Brighton Festival Chorus and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simon Halsey, back in 2011’s Brighton Festival. A few of the BFC tenors were then invited to join the CBSO and the CBSO Chorus for a performance of the work in June of that year, at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. That concert was recorded, and it was great to have the opportunity to really get inside this striking work for soprano & tenor soloists, adult & children’s choruses and orchestra. I remember then being particularly impressed with Dove’s effortless choral writing, presenting singers with rhythmic and harmonic challenges, but always within very ‘singable’ music – understanding choral singing is still surprisingly rare among composers. And so it was a great pleasure to explore a new disc of Dove’s settings of texts by the Greek poet Sappho (c.630-c.570 BC), commissioned by the Cambridge based choir, the Fairhaven Singers, conducted by Ralph Woodward. Sappho Sings consists of six settings of fragments of verse, and are scored for the choir and orchestra, and the Fairhaven Singers are joined here by the London Mozart Players. There is great contrast here, with pastoral flutes and perpetual motion underpinning long vocal lines and falling cascades in the opening ‘From Heaven to here’, to driving string energy, vocal jabs and repetitive rhythms reminiscent of John Adams in ‘You burn me’. Dramatic timpani and brass, and racing strings create a stormy background for ‘Love shook my heart’. Then the upper voices are given richer textures from the strings and horns to underpin their tender rendition ‘Of Love’, with its sensual climax left hanging. In contrast, the lower voices have boisterous rhythmic energy in the

racier ‘Night’. The set then concludes with more long sustained vocal lines, and building, layered choral textures, in ‘Stars around the radiant moon’. There is some lovely word painting here, with falling vocal clusters on ‘stars’, a build to radiant high chords on ‘She’ and ‘silver’, and shimmering high strings left in the air at the very end. These are very effective pieces, with ample variety of textures and vocal styles in a relatively short set (around 19 minutes). The Fairhaven Singers give strong performances here, managing well the challenges of the sustained lines and tricky clustered harmonies, and there were only a couple of points at which the orchestral textures were in danger of overwhelming them in the balance. They sustain the long lines well, and give energy and drive to the more rhythmic passages. These pieces certainly deserve to be picked up by other choirs, adding to Dove’s growing catalogue of strong choral repertoire.

Dove, J. 2022. Sappho Sings. Fairhaven Singers, London Mozart Players, Ralph Woodward. Compact Disc. Convivium Records CR076.

Dove, J. 2012. There was a Child. Joan Rodgers, Toby Spence, CBSO Chorus, CBSO Youth Chorus, CBSO Children's Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Halsey. Compact Disc. Signum Classics SIGCD285.

 

American composer George Crumb (1929-2022) passed away last year, and shortly before his death, recordings from a concert of his works given in Holland in 1978 had just been rediscovered. Ensemble Dreamtiger (Kathryn Lukas (flute), Alexander Balanescu (violin), Rohan de Saram (cello), Douglas Young (piano) and James Wood (percussion)) were formed in 1973 and were dedicated to performance of new and old music from around the world, although American music featured prominently, including the music of George Crumb, and in that concert in 1978, they performed three of his works. The ensemble gave their last concert in 1989, but they have offered up these remastered recordings in tribute to Crumb. First of all is a remarkable piece, Dream Sequence (Images II), for violin, cello, piano, percussion and off-stage glass harmonica. There are four groupings here – four tuned wine glasses, percussion, piano and strings. The groups play independently of each other, so every performance will be different – a recording can therefore only be one option for performance. The ringing from the glasses goes on pretty much throughout the seventeen minutes, creating a slightly disturbing tinnitus-like effect after a while, with glassy string shimmers and insect-like slides, squeeks and birdlike pecking. Shaking bells and bowed crotales add further effects, and the cumulative effect, once you get used to the constant ringing, is definitely dream-like, with thoughts flitting in and out of consciousness. The sudden crashing piano interruption towards the end is certainly a wake-up call, before the piece ends on a single glassy note and then disappears. The three movement Sonata for Solo Cello that follows provides a welcome contrast, and is the earliest work here, from 1955. Cellist Rohan de Saram delivers the opening movements guitar-like pizzicato followed by its dramatic exposition with passionate expression, and the central movement’s set of variations on a gently swinging siciliana combines improvisatory expression with racing pizzicato and singing harmonics. After a slow introduction, the finale races off in a moto-perpetuo gallop, with only occasional halts in its insistent rhythm. The disc then ends with Vox Balaenae (‘Voice of the Whale’), an eight section work for flute, cello and piano, progressing from the beginning of time, through successive geological eras, to the very end of time. The flute opens with fluttering and singing into the instrument, evoking Andean pipe music, before the piano crashes in and then delivers Jaws-like scrapings on the strings. There is extensive use of harmonics from the cello, as well as some falling, whistling firework effects. In the later sections, the piano is used to imitate the gamelan, and high crotales introduce the final section. Like Dream Sequence, this is a haunting piece that captivates once you settle into its world, and the expressive cello and flute duet and slightly more secure harmonies that follow in the final section give some sense of resolution. This is a fascinating window on Crumb’s music, and this disc is an important record of Ensemble Dreamtiger’s relationship with the composer and performances of his work. 

Crumb, G. 2022. Dream Sequence, Cello Sonata, Vox Balaenae. Ensemble Dreamtiger, Rohan de Saram. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR130.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and the Manchester Camerata, conducted by Gábor Takács-Nagy, have reached Volume 7 of their project to record all of Mozart’s Piano Concertos. And their project is special for other reasons. Firstly, their ‘Mozart, made in Manchester’ project centres on the acoustically acclaimed Stoller Hall at Chetham’s School of Music, and they have also involved string students from the school in the project. The recordings also pair the concertos with some of Mozart’s opera overtures, so on this latest disc, two late concertos are joined by the Overture to Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). As with previous volumes, the matching of Bavouzet’s energetic precision and fresh articulation with Takács-Nagy and the Camerata’s nimble playing makes for recordings that positively fizz. The woodwind of the Camerata stand out particularly in the chamber, serenade-like passages, such as in the slow movement of the Piano Concerto No. 24, K491. There is an alertness in the players’ responses, so that the relationship with the pianist feels so much more conversational. In the opening movement of No. 24, Bavouzet’s playing has bite in the articulation, with the timpani, the perky horns and the fresh woodwind solo passages responding in kind. Yet there is real grace in Bavouzet’s slow movement here, beautifully paired with the chamber, pure-toned woodwind serenade. And then all concerned have a great play with the seemingly four-square, almost martial finale, always giving shape and nuance to Mozart’s simple theme, and the strings in particular get to play with the pianist here. The strings are also particularly sprightly in the opening of the Piano Concerto No. 25, K503. Bavouzet makes the rapid passagework flow beautifully, and the play on the Marsellaise in Broberg’s cadenza is a joy. Again, his grace is gloriously matched with the woodwind in the slow movement, which has a very laid back, relaxed feel, before the slightly spiky strings set off the finale with driving energy, setting things up for the racing piano entry, and here Bavouzet takes full advantage of Mozart’s playing with the sense of the downbeat. These are lively and illuminating performances, with a freshness and real sense of joy in Mozart’s glorious invention. The disc begins with a positively fizzing Overture to Le nozze di Figaro, with great dynamic contrasts from the quiet opening to the explosion that follows, and the precise articulation throughout from the players, without ever sounding laboured, is highly impressive.  

Mozart, W. A. 2023. Mozart: Piano Concertos, Volume 7. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Manchester Camerata, Gábor Takács-Nagy. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 20192.

 

Energy and virtuosity from VOCES8 in an impressive Proms debut - Proms at ... Cadogan Hall 1

VOCES8
© Andy Staples

VOCES8

Monday 22 July, 2019, 1pm

Proms at ... Cadogan Hall 1

Cadogan Hall, London

★★★★





Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179): Spiritus sanctus vivicans vita
Pérotin (fl c.1200): Viderunt omnes - excerpt
Josquin des Prez (c1450/55-1521): Ave Maria ... Virgo serena
Jean Mouton (before 1459-1522): Nesciens mater virgo virum
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611): Regina caeli a 8
Jonathan Dove (b.1959): Vadam et circuit civitatem
Orlando de Lassus (1530/32-94): Missa 'Bell'Amfitrit'altera' - Gloria
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c1525-94): Magnificat primi toni
William Byrd (c1540-1623): Sing joyfully
Alexia Sloane (b.2000): Earthward (world premiere)
Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625): O clap your hands
Encore:
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943): Bogoroditse Devo, from All-Night Vigil, Op. 37


'The eight singers promised and delivered great skill and smooth blend, at the same time as their ability to characterise the music, text and individual lines when required'.

Dove:
'VOCES8 convey the rich, warm early clustered harmonies, as well as the repeated rising phrases and weaving lines, making this a highlight of their performance today'.

Sloane: 
'The precision and confidence of their performance was highly impressive'.

Gibbons:
'Full of energy and madrigalian lightness ... bringing their highly impressive Proms debut to a glorious conclusion'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

CD Reviews - November

Flautist Emily Beynon has joined forces with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Bramwell Tovey, to record an interesting selection of British flute concertos.  The disc opens with Jonathan Dove’s (b.1959) The Magic Flute Dances, composed for Beynon.  Dove has taken motifs from Mozart’s opera and woven them into a pleasing set of dances, which go far beyond the obvious ‘flute’ connection, with some fascinating effects of orchestration.  William Alwyn’s (1905-1985) Concerto for Flute and Eight Wind Instruments, arranged by John McCabe (b.1939) for flute and orchestra comes next.  This is more immediately virtuosic for the soloist, perhaps understandable given that Alwyn was an orchestral flautist before turning to composition.  A slight ‘cheat’ next, with French composer Francis Poulenc’s (1899-1963) Flute Sonata, arranged for flute and orchestra by Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989), whose own Flute Concerto closes the disc.  These are both great works that deserve greater exposure, and Beynon does them justice, with a bright and engaging sound throughout.

Various. British Flute Concertos. Emily Beynon, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bramwell Tovey. 2012. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10718.

The great violinist Ruggiero Ricci died in August, aged 94.  Born to Italian parents in California, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall aged 11.  Often referred to as the ‘Paganini of the 20^th Century’, he was the first to record the complete Paganini Caprices in their original form.  This month I’ve been listening to a two CD set of Virtuoso Violin Concertos, with the Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Khachaturian concertos, along with Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy, Saint-Saëns’ Havanaise, and various other works.  The recordings date from 1959-1961, yet sound remarkably fresh.  There is a slight thinness to the sound, but my ears soon atuned to this – and the pay-off is hearing a romantic virtuoso at the height of his abilities.  Sadly, he carried on recording long after his technique had begun to wane.  But returning to these recordings, his true talent shines out.  His style, and the orchestral playing (from the LSO and LPO, under conductors including Sir Malcolm Sargent and Piero Gamba), are from a different age, but there can be no doubting he was truly a great violinist.  

Various. Virtuoso Violin Concertos. Ruggiero Ricci, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Øivin Fjeldstad, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Piero Gamba, Anatole Fistoulari. 2010. Compact Disc (2). Decca Eloquence DECCA 480 2083.

Every cellist must feel obliged to record the Elgar Cello Concerto at some point, yet it must be hard to know how to say something new, with such an iconic piece.  However, Paul Watkins has entered the fray, along with great Elgarian Sir Andrew Davis, and the BBC Philharmonic.  Having performed the work live on many occasions, he manages to make this recording feel fresh and immediate, and Davis and he produce touching sadness without ever wallowing.    The disc also contains the full set of ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ Marches, and Davis and the BBC Philharmonic avoid the overblown excesses of many ‘Last Night’ performances, yet bring out the inherent joy in these pieces.  The Elegy is also sensitively performed, emotion barely contained here.  The final piece here is the Introduction and Allegro for solo quartet and string orchestra, and this also receives an outstanding performance.  Overall, a strong offering, with perfect recording sound throughout. 

Elgar, Sir Edward. Cello Concerto, etc. Paul Watkins, BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis. 2012. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10709.

Armenian pianist Nareh Argamanyan has relased a CD of Rachmaninov, with the Morceaux de Fantasie, the Etudes Tableaux, and the Corelli Variations.  These are well-known show pieces, yet Rachmaninov also demands a great understanding of emotion and lyricism, if they are not to become overblown and sentimental.  Argamanyan is clearly committed to communicating this emotion, as is evident in the interview with her on the bonus DVD (which also contains performances of part of the Corelli Variations, and the great C sharp minor Prelude).  Yet on the whole, she manages to not allow this expression of emotion to become over-indulgent.  These are all fiendishly difficult pieces, yet with playing as confident as this, you are not made overly aware of this.  A whole disc of Rachmaninov can make you feel a bit bloated, but Argamanyan maintains enough interest and lightness of touch to avoid this – in fact, the final (and longest) work on this disc, the Corelli Variations, held my interest the most. 

 
Rachmaninov, Sergei. Morceaux de Fantasie, etc. Nareh Argamanyan. 2012. Hybrid Super Audio Compact Disc and Digital Versatile Disc. Pentatone PTC 5186 399.

(These reviews first appeared in GScene magazine)