CD Reviews & Concert listings - March 2022

In the month of International Women’s Day, I am happy to say that by chance rather than design, I have ended up with three great recordings to review, as well as a range of concert listings, that feature no fewer than 14 women composers, 4 women conductors and 10 women performers. This shouldn’t be unusual, yet it still us - but it’s a sign of some progress that I haven’t explicitly gone looking for this. Credit should also go to the three recordings’ shared record company, First Hand Records, for supporting such a diverse range of music composed and performed by women.

Reviews

Late last year, The Telling released a new album, partly in response to the very sad and sudden loss of singer Ariane Prüssner earlier that year. The album consists of two soundtracks to ‘concertplays’, something the group have become so well known for. ‘Vision’ is the imagined testimony of Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), and ‘Unsung Heroine’ charts the imagined life and love of troubadour Beatriz de Dia, who was possibly born in the early 1140s and died around 1212. You may have caught both of these concertplays over the years in Brighton, as the other lead singer and founder of The Telling, Clare Norburn was also founder and co-director for many years of Brighton Early Music Festival. The music on this recording consists of soundtracks for film versions of the plays made in 2020 following the first lockdown. Both soundtracks are testament to the chemistry of Clare Norburn’s soaring soprano and Ariane Prüssner’s rich, deep mezzo-soprano, so passionately expressive when combined. In Vision, they explore the beauty but also the pain of Hildegard’s often shocking visions. There are moments of ecstasy, such as when Norburn’s solo line bursts forth above the simple harp accompaniment (Jean Kelly on medieval harp here) in Ave generosa, or when Prüssner’s rich tones circle and wind passionately in Columba aspexit. In Unsung Heroine, we enter the world of the troubadour, with a whole range of songs drawing on Beatrix de Dia’s poetry, some with existing vocal lines, some borrowed from other songs of the time. There’s lots of forbidden love and jealousy here, as well as the distress of betrayal, the latter evocatively expressed by Norburn’s rise to stratospheric heights in Estat ai en greu cossirier (‘I have been in a state of great distress’). Prüssner on the other hand gives us the passion of two lovers and a jealous husband, and a love that can never be, in Kalenda mia (‘May Day’), here accompanied by harp (Joy Smith) and the medieval bowed string instrument, the vielle (Giles Lewin). This disc is a wonderful testament to these two rich explorations of contrasting medieval music, but more importantly to the deep musical partnership between two exceptional singers, one now sadly lost to us.

Various. 2021. Soundtracks to the concert plays: Unsung Heroine and Vision. The Telling. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR123.

American pianist, Sarah Cahill, has released the first volume of a three volume series, ‘The Future is Female’, aiming to celebrate women composers right from the 17^th century through to the present day. In the first volume, loosely themed ‘In Nature’, the ten composers hail from across the globe, and there are a number of premiere recordings here. The works are presented chronologically, so we begin with a graceful and expressive Keyboard Sonata from Anna Bon (1739/40-after 1767). Born in Venice, she composed for Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia in Bayreuth, then later sang in Haydn’s ensemble at the court of Esterházy. Sadly, but not untypically, all record of her disappears after her marriage to an Italian singer. Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s (1805-1847) story is not dissimilar – despite being a child prodigy alongside her brother Felix, their father discouraged any ambition for Fanny as a composer, and once married, although she continued to compose in private, it was only after her death that her work began to be published. Here, Cahill plays two of her Vier Lieder, the rippling and poignantly expressive No. 1, with its turbulent, swirling left hand, and the gently throbbing No. 3, Cahill delivering the yearning melody with great lyricism here. Space won’t allow for discussion of all the pieces here, so I must focus on highlights, such as the turbulent waves around a constant chugging rhythm in Venezuelan composer Teresa Carreño’s (1853-1917) ‘Un rêve en mer’, or the brightly evocative bird song over dark chords in Fannie Dillon’s (1881-1947) ‘Birds at Dawn’. Agi Jambor’s (1909-1997) Piano Sonata: 'To the Victims of Auschwitz’ is unsurprisingly dark, with hammering repeated low octaves and nagging repetition, urgent driving rhythms, and then ghostly pianissimo tinkles at the top of the keyboard and a final deathly quiet chord to finish. Deirdre Gribbin (b.1967) explores the dark side of her adopted home of London in Unseen, with insistent, shaking urgency and dark, fearful undertones, before a moment of almost motionless calm. This is an impressive collection, with Cahill effortlessly traversing a phenomenal range of styles, even contributing her voice reciting a poem by Ruth Crawford Seeger in Eve Beglarian’s (b.1958) Fireside. Her exemplary performances here also serve to celebrate the variety of music composed by women over centuries excluded from the classical ‘canon’, and the next volume is eagerly awaited.

Various. 2022. The Future is Female: Vol. 1 In Nature. Sarah Cahill. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR131.

 

I very much enjoyed the first volume of violinist Kinga Ujszászi and harpsichordist Tom Foster’s exploration of the riches of an amazing archive from the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the ‘Cabinet of Wonders’, and now they’re back with another volume of delights. The archive has miraculously survived all that time in Dresden, and is known as ‘Schrank II’ after the cabinet in which it was stored. This volume presents us with music by Martino Bitti (1655/56-1743), Henricus Albicastro (c.1660-1730), Carlo Fiorelli (c.1673-unknown), and two works of uncertain origin, but possibly attributable to Girolamo Laurenti (1678-1751) and Antonio Montanari (1676-1737). I have to confess only the last of these names was at all familiar to me, but there is some delightful and inventive music on offer here. Bitti’s ‘Dresden’ Sonatas (of which three are performed here) have delicate grace and lively, bouncy faster movements. There are harmonically relatively conventional, but Bitti explores the higher register of the violin to great effect in the second Allegro of the Sonata No. 4. There are some slightly more interesting harmonic shifts in No. 1’s middle movement, which dances along nicely, and there is great rapid interplay between violin and harpsichord, a 10^th apart, in the opening movement. No.5’s final Gigue is lively, with the harpsichord trilling like a strumming guitar. Albicastro’s offering has a mournfully lyrical opening, as well as rapid figuration and imitation between the instruments in the middle movement. The Laurenti is perhaps the most overtly virtuosic for the violin, but it is the Montanari that stands out for me, with its sliding chromatic lines, frequent tempo changes, and delicate joint figurations from the two instruments. Ujszászi’s virtuosity is without doubt, but she is also alive to the more lyrical and expressive moments, and brings a graceful lightness to even the more conventional passages. There is clear unanimity between Ujszászi and Foster throughout, whether when imitating one another, or when in rapid runs together as in the Bitti. Given there are around 1750 works in ‘Schrank II’, I think we can confidently expect more volumes from these two talented players.

Various. 2022. Cabinet of Wonders, Vol. 2. Kinga Ujszászi, Tom Foster. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR121.

Concerts

Joanna MacGregor

Sian Edwards

The Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Joanna MacGregor present Silent Classics, with Neil Brand (pianist, film historian & composer), with live music performed to the Buster Keaton classic One Week, and Oliver Twist, starring Jackie Coogan & Lon Chaney (2.45pm, Sunday 6 March, Brighton Dome). They return later in the month for Elgar, Mozart and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1, with Joanna MacGregor now on the piano, and Sian Edwards conducting (2.45, Sunday 27 March, Brighton Dome).

Holly Mathieson

London Philharmonic Orchestra perform Williams, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, with Martin James Bartlett (piano), conducted by Holly Mathieson (7.30pm, Saturday 12 March, Brighton Dome and 3pm, Sunday 13 March, Congress Theatre, Eastbourne).

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason

Worthing Symphony Orchestra perform Mainly Mozart, including the Concerto for flute and harp (with soloists Monica McCarron & Elizabeth Green), the Piano Concerto No. 6 with Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (piano) and Elgar & Haydn also on the programme (2.45pm, Sunday 13 March, Assembly Hall, Worthing). 

Brighton Early Music Festival celebrates Early Music Day with a concert of Renaissance Music on a Grand Scale, including Brumel’s ‘Earthquake’ Mass, and music by Robert Carver, performed by the BREMF Consort of Voices and members of the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, conducted by Deborah Roberts (7.30pm, Sunday 20 March, St Martin’s Church, Brighton).

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared at Scene, March 2022) 

CD Reviews - February 2019

Violinist Johannes Pramsohler is back with more unexplored treasures, highlighting virtuoso violin concertos by Johann Jakob Kress (c.1685-1738), the court concertmaster at Darmstadt.  Four out of the five works here are receiving world premiere recordings, and Pramsohler is joined by the Darmstädter Barocksolisten.  Interestingly, they perform on modern instruments, thereby challenging the idea that Baroque music should now only be the territory of period-instrument groups.  Their attention to historically performed detail and articulation is certainly striking. The disc opens with a wonderful Concerto by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), with Pramsohler and the players joined by Manfred Bocksweiger on solo trumpet.  Possibly written for Kress to perform, the bright trumpet is matched by a scintillating high register violin part, and a delightful central Adagio is followed by a joyous Allegro finale, with watery running lines cascading from the solo violin.  There are two Kress Concerti on the disc. No. 1 has a beautifully touching, arioso Adagio, with staccato orchestral accompaniment, and a dancing Allegro to finish, and No. 6 has a stately slow introduction with delicate writing for the violin. Its Adagio is mournful, with sustained, unusual harmonic shifts, and the Allegro is a light dance.  The other two works here call for three trumpets in addition to the lighter orchestral forces, and this provides a great contrast.  The Concerto by Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758) contrasts a birdlike solo violin part against the full orchestra, with minor key interjections from trumpets and oboes.  There’s a skip in the step of the walking bass line in the Andante, and the Allegro is celebratory and virtuosic, with bright trumpet fanfares.  The disc concludes with a lively Ouverture (Orchestral Suite) by Johann Samuel Endler (1694-1762).  Its eight movements include plenty of highly virtuosic solo violin displays, often punctuated by punchy rhythmic accompaniment from the orchestra.  Yet there are lighter moments too, with a simple stately dance for strings alone (Fantasie) and a delicate, delightful oboe/violin dialogue in the Passepied.  This is a disc full of delights, and Pramsohler is clearly in his element.  His brightness of tone and lightening touch is matched by great energy and vivid articulation from the Darmstadt players.  Highly recommended.

Various. 2018. Violin Concertos from Darmstadt - Kress, Telemman, Fasch, Endler. Johannes Pramsohler, Darmstädter Barocksolisten. Compact Disc. Audax Records ADX 13716.

The Telling specialise in staged performances and ‘concert-theatre’ pieces to bring the ballads, poetry and story-telling of the Middle Ages to life. They will be familiar to many in Brighton, as they have performed regularly in the Brighton Early Music Festival, and one of their members, Clare Norburn was  co-founder and until recently Co-Director of the festival.  Together with fellow singer Ariane Prüssner, and medieval harp player and singer Leah Stuttard, the three have recorded a collection of striking works under the title Gardens of Delight, exploring the use of flowers as imagery and inspiration in medieval song.  They take us on a trip around Europe, through Spain, France, England, Italy and Germany, and also through time, with music spanning the 11^th to 15^th centuries.  Norburn has a bright, bell-like soprano voice, contrasted beautifully by Prüssner’s rich, deeper tones.  This is particularly evident in the opening traditional Sephardic song, La rosa enflorese, with Prüssner’s haunting voice, full of sadness, followed by Norburn’s yearning tones, all supported by Stuttard with an atmospheric, light harp accompaniment.  The works range from the florid and virtuosic, wandering lines of O rosa bella by Johannes Ciconia (1370-1412), to the unexpectedly passionate anonymous German song Der Winter will hin weichen, and the disc concludes with Hildegard von Bingen’s (1098-1179) passionately ecstatic Ave generosa (with Norburn’s voice souring aloft), followed by a closing Procession.  There are delicate solo works performed beautifully by Stuttard on the harp, as well as richly blended three part singing from them all in Ther is no rose of swych virtu, which may be a familiar tune to some.  Roses and lilies, and their symbolism associated with the Virgin Mary, figure large, but even gladioli make an appearance in one song.  This is a glorious selection of music, performed with clear devotion and the ability to communicate the varied emotions of this fascinating repertoire. Well worth exploring.

Various. 2018. Gardens of Delight - Roses, Lilies and Other Flowers in Medieval Song. The Telling. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR68.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, February 2019)

Brighton Early Music Festival 2016 - Preview

BREMF enters its fifteenth year and this year’s programme is as eclectic and diverse as ever.  As well as over fifteen events in the main festival (28 October – 13 November), there are also nine pre-festival events, including workshops, masterclasses, talks, tasters, and even a concert specifically targeted at 2-5 year olds. So as well as hearing great performances from top class early music musicians, you can take part too.

This year’s theme is Nature and Science, and events look the interconnections between these, and how they run closely with the history of music.  So the festival looks at the lives of some well-known and lesser-known scientists, musicians, philosophers and thinkers, as well as exploring the influence of science and nature on music and composers in new and imaginative ways.

The Marian Consort

Co-director Clare Norburn has written another music drama, following on the success of previous projects about the lives of Gesualdo, Hildegard of Bingen and others, this time turning her attention to Galileo.  As well as being a famous astronomer, physicist & philosopher, he had a passion for music, and music played a huge part in his family life, as well as in his understanding of practical experiments.  Music is performed by The Marian Consort and the Monteverdi String Band.

English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble
(credit: Hugh Beauchamp)

And Co-director Deborah Roberts presents an ambitious new production, Gaia, combining music and drama from the 16^th and 17^th centuries with 21^st century effects including film, projections, lighting, mime, yoga and dance to tell the story of our Earth.  The music includes Brumel’s amazing ‘Earthquake’ Mass, and performers include the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, the BREMF Consort of Voices, the Lacock Scholars and the BREMF Community Choir – an event not to be missed!  Money is still being raised to support this ambitious venture – and until 13^th September you can support it too.  See more here and at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/gaia-appeal.

The Telling
(© Robert Piwko)

Other events include L’Avventura London exploring the little-known 17^th century musician, alchemist & polymath Athanasius Kirchner, the viol consort Fretwork performing Bach’s The Art of Fugue, and The Telling perform The Lily and the Rose, a programme of music from the 12^th to 15^th centuries inspired by these flowers, and their association with the Virgin Mary.  For ‘Fairest Isle and Foulest Weather’, a programme of music from The Tempest by Matthew Locke and King Arthur by Henry Purcell, the BREMF Players and BREMF Singers are directed by John Hancorn.  

Palisander

Spiritato! present ‘Guts and Glory!’, with heroic music for strings, five natural trumpets and drums, baroque brass at its dazzling best.  And in a brand new family show, the recorder consort Palisander, a hit at last year’s festival, combine with puppets from Rust and Stardust to present Dr Dee’s Daughter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Details of all these concerts and more, as well as all the pre-festival events in September and October, can be found at www.bremf.org.uk or telephone 01273 709709.  Tickets on sale from 5 September.