Showing posts with label
Choir of St John's College Cambridge.
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Showing posts with label
Choir of St John's College Cambridge.
Show all posts
First,
music from American composer, John Adams
(b.1947). I saw his opera in 2009 at the ENO, Doctor
Atomic, which centres around the physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, and the build
up to the first test of the atomic bomb.
An unlikely ‘story’ for an opera perhaps, but then Adams has carved
somewhat of a niche for tackling political and controversial topics in his
operas (Nixon in China, and The Death of Klinghoffer, for example). I was absolutely blown away by the intensity
and drama of the music, and also the central performance of Gerald Finley as
Oppenheimer. However, transferring the
music from this to an orchestral symphony, as Adams did in 2007 to produce his Doctor Atomic Symphony, was a tricky
move. Yet for me, the music still holds
the energy, and the second movement in particular (titled ‘Panic’) is truly
terrifying. Adams transcribes the
stunning aria ‘Batter my heart, three-person’d God’, which Finley made his own,
for solo trumpet here, and it almost works.
Overall, the work stands as a coherent symphony, and it is energetically
performed here by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Peter Oundjian. They follow this with
Adam’s popular concert work, A Short
Ride in a Fast Machine. This is a
great orchestral showpiece, and its energy and humour is irresistible. Here, the driving rhythms do not always feel
totally secure, but the drive to the finish is convincing nevertheless. The rest of the disc is then given over to Harmonielehre – which is a really a
three movement symphony. Composed in
1985, it was perhaps one of the earliest large scale orchestral works to emerge
from minimalism. Again, it contains the
same elements of drive, energy and power, achieved from Adams’ relentless use
of the clever combination of slow moving harmonies against fast, repetitive
rhythms, with hypnotic results.
Relatively
little is known about the life of the English Tudor composer, John Sheppard (c.1515-1558), and a lot
of the music that survives is incomplete.
However, the music we do have shows what a skilled writer he was,
particularly in combining and drawing on chant with choral textures. He also made especially imaginative use of
the soprano/treble voice, creating beautifully soaring lines which rise
wonderfully out of the choral textures from time to time. The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, under Andrew Nethsingha, have recorded two of the more substantial works – the ‘Western Wynde’ Mass, and Gaude, gaude, gaude Maria virgo – and
interspersed them with a number of shorter motets and anthems. The opening Gaude, gaude is perhaps the most successful here, and the six part
motet, Spiritus Sanctus procedens is
given a convincing reading. However,
there are some problems of blend overall here.
The boy trebles produce a pleasant sound, but are not uniformly secure
particularly at the top end of the range.
Equally, there are some quite strong and individual lower voices which
stick out of the texture at times. I
suspect there are some budding solo voices here amongst the men, but that’s not
necessarily an asset in this repertoire.
(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, April 2014)
Canadian
pianist Louis Lortie is now on the
second volume of his planned complete Chopin
collection, and this disc, as with the first, mixes and alternates Nocturnes with more substantial works –
here we have the four Ballades, with
the Barcarolle and Berceuse. This approach makes for a much more
satisfying listen, with pieces following in connected keys and flowing together
more appropriately than the usual systematic working through of all the
Nocturnes, say, in numerical order. Lortie’s
style is less overtly dramatic than some other Chopin interpreters – in fact,
he allows the music to speak in a way that many other pianists do not
achieve. That is not to say that these
are totally passive performances – virtuosity is certainly on display, and the
Ballades in particular receive full-blooded expression. I think it’s just that you’re left with a
sense of ‘this is the wonder of Chopin’, rather than solely ‘this is an amazing
pianist’, which is so often the case – and paradoxically, that is the sign of a
truly great pianist.
Chopin, Frédéric. Louis Lortie plays Chopin, Volume 2. Louis Lortie. 2012. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10714.
The Gould Piano Trio have just celebrated their
20th year performing together, and to mark this have released a
first volume of Beethoven Piano Trios,
with the ‘Ghost’ Trio and the Second Trio (Op. 1 No. 2), together
with two single movement works – an Allegretto
from 1812, and an early Theme and
Variations. These are in fact live
recordings from performances at St George’s, Bristol, and it shows – in a good
way. There is a real energy to their
playing, with spirited fast movements, and tender and sensitive playing in the
slow movements. The price is the
occasional rough edge in the presto sections, and a slightly dry acoustic, but
the payoff is a level of energy and immediacy rarely found in studio
recordings. The sign of a great live
recording is one that makes you wish you were there, and also one that will
survive repeated playing – this scores on both counts.
Following on from complete sets of the songs of
Butterworth and Delius, amongst others, baritone Mark Stone has now turned his attention to the rather trickier
English composer, Havergal Brian
(1876-1971), who ended his days in retirement in Shoreham.
Last year I sang in a performance in the Proms of his mammoth Gothic
Symphony, which involves a massive orchestra, four choirs, a childrens choir,
and four brass orchestras, as well as soloists – supposedly the largest
symphony ever written. This was
certainly an event, but I remained unconvinced by the composer’s ability to
maintain any sense of coherency over such a huge work So I was curious to hear
how the composer managed the complete opposite end of the spectrum in terms of
scale. In fact, this disc proved rather
a revelation. I was particularly taken
by the delicacy of his writing for the piano, sensitively performed here by Sholto Kynoch. Little
Sleeper is especially delicate and elegiac, with the almost Debussian
harmonies in the piano supporting a beautifully wistful solo line. Kynoch also performs Three Illuminations, and John
Dowland’s Fancy for solo piano, as well as accompanying Stone’s brother, Jonathan Stone (violinist with the Doric String Quartet) in an impressively
engaging Legend, and in fact these
are the works that stand out for me in interest. Mark Stone’s voice has a
beauitful tone, with only an occasional loss of focus at the top of the range,
and he performs these songs with great conviction. He sings Day
and Night with particular intensity, and once again, the piano writing here
is very atmospheric. This disc has
certainly made me reconsider this underperformed composer anew – I look forward
to the next volume!
The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, conducted by Andrew Nethsingha, are on fine form at present, as is evidenced in
their latest disc of Mozart
masses. They perform the popular ‘Coronation’ Mass, and appropriately
separate its movements with two Church
Sonatas, where the movements would have been interrupted by the
liturgy. The boy trebles sound secure at
the top, and the overall initmate sound, with period instruments (the St John’s Sinfonia), is very
engaging. Soloists Susan Gritton (soprano), Frances Bourne (mezzo), Sam Furness
(tenor) and George Humphreys (bass)
match the scale of the performance expertly.
The well-known Ave verum Corpus
comes next, but unfortunately here they follow the ‘tradition’ of performing
this beautiful gem at an incredibly slow speed, which is a shame. The then follow this with the delightful F
major Missa Brevis, and here they
are back on form. They end the disc with the popular favourite showcaser for
Susan Gritton, ‘Exsultate, jubilate’, and she doesn’t disappoint, providing a
suitably joyous finish to and enjoyable programme.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. 'Coronation' Mass, etc. Susan Gritton, Frances Bourne, Sam Furness, George Humphreys, John Challenger, Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, St John's Sinfonia, Andrew Nethsingha. 2012. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 0786.
Clarinetist Michael Collins begins his exploration
of British Clarinet Sonatas in
style, with works from John Ireland
(1879-1962), Arthur Bliss (1891-1975), Charles Stanford (1852-1924), Arnold Bax
(1883-1953) and Herbert Howells (1892-1983). Michael McHale ably accompanies him on piano. As ever, Collins produces an exquisite tone,
combined with effortless and fluid virtuosity when required. Ireland’s Fantasy-Sonata is particularly beautiful, and the slow movement of
the Stanford Sonata is dramatically
expressive. Bliss’ Pastoral is typically English, with lilting and rolling lines, once
again played here with a warm, liquid tone.
Another great disc from a soloist at the top of his game.
Various. British Clarinet Sonatas, Volume 1. Michael Collins, Michael McHale. 2012. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10704.
(An edited version of these reviews first appeared in GScene magazine)
