CD Reviews - October 2022

There have been a crop of recordings coming out of musicians’ exploits during lockdown, and violinist Sara Trickey is a strong addition to the field (released 21 October). Trickey posted weekly videos of solo violin music via YouTube, and as well as bringing her performances to new audiences, she enjoyed the communication from listeners too. As the world returns to some sort of normality of performance, that intimacy of connection is something many performers are now missing. Trickey has recorded a range of repertoire here from those weekly videos, the majority being contemporary works, with several world première recordings and a number of compositions specifically written for her. She begins however with Albéniz’s (1860-1909) popular Asturias from his Suite Española No. 1, Op. 47, in a strong arrangement by Jane Gillie. Written for piano, but also well known in the guitar version, it works remarkably well on the violin, and the instrument has the additional advantage when it comes to sustaining the melodic lines. Trickey communicates the dramatic rhythmic energy, but also adds this element of sustain to the melodies. Telemann’s (1681-1767) Fantasie No. 1 receives a pleasingly light interpretation, with introspection in the slow sections, and an energetic bounce in the faster movements. Her Prokofiev (1891-1953) Violin Sonata, Op. 115 is full of playfulness, dancing through the outer movements, with a light-footed approach to the variations in the middle movement. Norwegian composer Bjarne Brustad (1895-1978) was new to me, and his wistful Lento from his Fanitulsuite No. 1 is beautifully played here, with an ethereal breathy tone in its repeated patterns, often echoed by glassy harmonics. Sally Beamish’s (b.1956) The Wise Maid is folksy and playful, with a surprise towards the end as the harmonies suddenly shift and slide into its quirky conclusion. James Francis Brown’s (b.1969) Soliloquy, written for Trickey, is evocative and improvisatory, again with that introspective feel that speaks of lockdown and isolation. Errollyn Wallen’s (b.1958) Bertha, for which Trickey is joined by Rosie Bergonzi on the handpan is a curious mix of racing, scratchy energy that almost can’t be contained by the gentle insistence of the handpan, followed by a move into more gently rocking rhythms and a delicate song melody from the violin, before the earlier energy returns. David Matthews’ (b.1943) Prelude no. 12 from his set of 15 was written for Trickey’s birthday, with delicate lyricism and birdlike trilling packed into its brief two minutes. Lyell Creswell (1944-2022) sadly passed away just after the recording of his Lento, written for Trickey back in 1994. It has a moving simplicity, played with touching intimacy, and Trickey also played this at Creswell’s funeral earlier this year. The disc ends with a more flamboyant encore piece from Aleksey Igudesman (b.1973). His Applemania is full of energetic, insistent rhythms, with an infectious build which almost bursts out at its conclusion – a fitting celebration perhaps of an end to lockdown. Overall, this is a fascinating survey of varied solo violin repertoire, and speaks of intense commitment and a desire to communicate, as well as clear virtuosic command from Trickey. 

Various. 2022. From an Empty Room. Sara Trickey. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR139.

Pianist Louis Lortie has reached Volume 7 of his Chopin survey, and this volume contains a good spread of the Mazurkas, perhaps the quirkiest genre of Chopin’s (1810-1849) output. Lortie immediately sets out his store with a stylish swagger in the first of the Op. 17 set. The second is suitably wistful, and then he manages well the slightly seasick, circling repetitions of the third, giving the sombre fourth a delicate poignancy, with some relief in its gently throbbing central section. The Op. 68 set is a more mixed bag – the first is a little on the weighty side, but the sombre mood of the second has a lightness contrasting with its thrumming central section. The third has an authoritative command, with light echoes. Lortie saves back the fourth, the most wistfully exploratory, to the end of the disc. For the Op. 30 set, we’re back in sombre territory for Nos. 1 and 2, whilst No. 3 has a ballroom swagger, and the fourth pushes chromaticism the furthest. From Op. 63, No. 1 has a gently meandering central section, surrounded by more ballroom swaying. Lortie gives the nostalgic second a gentle sway too, and the third follows in the same vein. He brings a great delicacy of touch to the delightful Rondo à la Mazur, Op. 5, composed by Chopin aged 16, and full of youthful exuberance, but equally poise and control in its lighter sections. The Boléro, Op. 19, after an opening flourish, settles into a gently lilting melody, before the boléro proper arrives, with its polonaise-like, bouncing accompaniment under its infectious melody. The Rondo, Op. 16 has a highly dramatic introduction, and Lortie lets this develop with virtuosic command, before giving the rondo theme a gently playful bounce, enjoying the gradual build in virtuosic display. The Tarantelle, Op. 43 is a swirling whirlwind, given great energy here by Lortie. The ‘Héroïque’ Polonaise, Op. 53 carries suitable weight, but Lortie avoids overegging the pudding, maintaining a sense of dance amidst the heft. Another great volume in this strong survey.

Chopin, F. 2022. Louis Lortie plays Chopin, Vol. 7. Louis Lortie. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 20241.

 

CD Reviews - September 2022

A highlight of the 2019 Brighton Early Music Festival was vocal ensemble Voice's show, Hildegard Transfigured, a programme of music by and inspired by St Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), performed making expert use of the space of St Martin's, along with an atmospheric light show. Voice have now released a wonderful collection, Hildegard Portraits, containing much of the same repertoire, and some new additions too. The three singers (Emily Burn, Clemmie Franks & Victoria Couper) have been singing together since they were at school, and it shows - the effortless blend, despite their distinctive individual voices, and the precision of their combined ornamentation and sense of line is highly impressive, whether in the long, mellifluous lines of Hildegard's souring antiphons, or in the virtuosic rhythmic demands of the contemporary companion works on this disc. Spread across the recording are pieces from the suite that gives the disc its name, Hildegard Portraits, by Laura Moody (b.1978). The seven short movements actually set texts from Hildegard's letters, rather than from her devotional writings. So they explore more of a sense of who she was - a woman 'who lived and loved'. In Humility, Emily Burn's pure tone 'flies on the wind', in contrast to the spoken text in which Hildegard describes herself as 'a poor little woman'. Sermon is frankly quite scary, as the fervent tirade to the clerics of Cologne is delivered in gabbled fury, and the finale of the set, The Living Light, is a masterpiece of virtuosity, with its repetition, complex rhythms and hypnotic clashes. Elsewhere, each of the voices gets their own solo take on Hildegard, with Emily Burns ringing out above the soft drone in O virtus sapiente, Clemmie Franks' rich, fuller tone giving warmth to O orzchis ecclesia, and Victoria Couper's variety of bright tone and delicate ornamentation particularly effective in O mirum admirandum. In Tim Lea Young's (b.1975) Three Wings: pt 1, written for the trio (as were most of the contemporary compositions here), the three watery lines weave and shift, with the vocal range spread wide across the voices. Marcus Davidson's (b.1965) approach is a more speech-like setting of the texts, with the voices mostly together rhythmically, communicating the text particularly directly in Musical Harmony. And in Ivan Moody's (b.1964) O quam mirabilis, the singers get to explore a greater dynamic range, with some delicate quiet singing, as well as a climax of echoing hight parts ringing out over a steady lower line. Stevie Wishart has had a huge influence on these singers, as it was with her group Sinfonye that they first discovered the music of Hildegard when they were around 12 years old. So it is fitting that several works by her, some specifically arranged by Voice, appear here. The almost electronic, hocketed (where individual notes in a figure or line are split between voices) rhythms, combined with a soaring, high slow line in Aseruz trium vocum, and the multi-tracked spatial effects explored in O choruscans lux, as well as Wishart's arrangements of some of Hildegard's pieces, serve to show her influence, but also the range and virtuosity of this young ensemble. And they even get to explore folk and jazz timbres in Emily Levy's (b.1980) How sweetly you burn, with its opening plaintive callings, slides and bluesy turns, and the fade away on the text 'never fade'. Quite frankly, this is an astonishing display, both in terms of strong interpretations of Hildegard's evocative music, and as a demonstration of virtuosic vocal talent in the contemporary works - highly recommended!

Various. 2022. Hildegard Portraits. Voice. Compact Disc. Somm Recordings SOMMCD 0652.

And singer Victoria Couper crops up on another great new release, this time from Musica Secreta, directed by Laurie Stras. As a close supporter of the ensemble, I have to declare an interest in promoting this release here, but it so worth the recommendation. Mother Sister Daughter explores music drawn predominantly from two Italian convents, Santa Lucia in Verona and San Matteo in Arcetri, uncovered by Stras in her research. And it was particularly her discovery of records in the latter, also the home of Suor Maria Celeste Galilei, Galileo's daughter, that gave rise to much of the previously undiscovered music here. The six female voices here are joined by Claire Williams (organ), Alison Kinder (bass viol) and Kirsty Whatley (harp). The group launched the recording with a great live performance at Kings Place in June. The music is rich and varied, and the performances are tender yet commanding. Two gloriously high-voiced sets of Vespers of St Clare, and one of Vespers of St Lucy are joined by works by Leonora d'Este, as well as Brumel and Mouton. The disc ends with The Veiled Sisters, a new composition for the group by Joanna Marsh (b.1970), which juxtaposes two texts, one by Norfolk poet Esther Morgan (b.1970), and the other by Alessandro Francucci (fl.1620). The texts contrast a woman looking outwards into the light with the journey of a young woman into life in a convent, and the texts are sung concurrently, with high ringing voices contrasting the sombre lower lines, joined by the organ. The more modern choral dissonances exist within a sound world that still sits well with the rest of the disc's repertoire, and it provides a striking end to the collection. 

Various. 2022. Mother Sister Daughter. Musica Secreta, Laurie Stras. Compact Disc. Lucky Music. LCKY001.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in Scene, September 2022) 

An exciting 2022/23 season ahead from the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra is working its way up to its centenary in 2025, and their coming 2022/23 promises to be one of their most varied programmes for some years. They also venture out of their traditional Sunday afternoon slot into Saturday evenings for some concerts, and head out to some new venues too. In a further bid to reach new audiences, they are also offering a limited number of £10 'LoveMusic' tickets for three of their concerts, available to those who have never been to a classical concert or heard the BPO before (check out the details for this here).

Joanna MacGregor CBE

There is some familiar repertoire on offer - Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Elgar and Mahler, amongst others. However, notable is the inclusion of a broader range of repertoire, as well as some (albeit a few) works composed by women. So in their opening concert (2.45pm, Sunday 2 October, Brighton Dome), alongside Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, is Joan Tower's Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, composed some 40 years after Copland's piece. This concert includes Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite, and Quiet City, featuring soloists John Ellwood (trumpet) and Clare Hoskins (cor anglais). This packed programme also includes Gershwin - the Rhapsody in Blue (with the BPO's Music Director, Joanna MacGregor the piano soloist), and his Symphonic Suite from Porgy and Bess, all under the direction of conductor Sian Edwards.

 

The BPO Chamber Ensemble also pop up at the popular Strings Attached Coffee Concerts at the Attenborough Centre at the University of Sussex, with Rebecca Clarke's Two Pieces for String Quartet, along with Fauré's Piano Quartet No. 1, and Elgar's Piano Quintet (11am, 

Sunday 19 March, ACCA). MacGregor and the ensemble also venture over to the University of Kent in Canterbury for a concert of chamber works by Shostakovich, Brahms and Frank Martin (7.30pm, Friday 18 November, Gulbenkian Arts Centre).

 

Sian Edwards

The orchestra also collaborate with visual artist Kathy Hinde for Beautiful World, incorporating birdsong and Hinde's audio-visual work into a programme celebrating winter landscapes, with music by Philip Glass, John Luther Adams, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin. Once again Sian Edwards takes the baton, with Joanna MacGregor on piano and keyboards (7.30pm, Saturday 21 January, Brighton Dome).

 

Barry Wordsworth

Former principal conductor, now Conductor Laureate, Barry Wordsworth returns for Transfiguration, with Haydn's Symphony No. 88 paired with Mahler's Symphony No. 4. Carolyn Sampson (soprano) is the soloist, and she will also offer a couple of Mozart concert arias to complete the programme (2.45pm, Sunday 27 November, Brighton Dome). 

 

The BPO join voices with Brighton Festival Chorus for two concerts in the season. The first sees the BPO Brass Ensemble join the chorus for a concert of music by Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, as well as The Farthest Shore, an oratorio by Paul Mealor (7.30pm, Saturday 19 November, All Saints Church, Hove). Then the orchestra and chorus team up for a performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion, conducted by Robert Howarth, with soloists including James Oxley as the Evangelist (2.45pm, Sunday 19 February, Brighton Dome).

 

Ailish Tynan

For Christmas, the BPO Brass Quintet are joined by actor Roger Allam for performances of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (3pm & 6.30pm, Saturday 10 December, St Luke's Church, Brighton). And they celebrate the New Year with their traditional Viennese Gala. Conductor Stephen Bell is joined by Ailish Tynan (soprano) for classics from the Strauss family and the world of operetta, as well as seasonal music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Korngold and film composer Christine Hals (2.45pm, Saturday 31 December, Brighton Dome). 

 

They end this packed season with Towards the Light, with two Beethoven concertos (the Triple Concerto, Op. 56 and the Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 73 'Emperor') preceded by Barber's Adagio for Strings. Joanna MacGregor conducts from the piano, and is joined by Ruth Rogers (violin) and Peter Adams (cello) in the Triple Concerto (2.45pm, Sunday 26 March, Brighton Dome). 

 

Visit the BPO website here for details of all the concerts, the full season brochure and links to book tickets.