Clarinetist Michael Collins
continues in his partnership with pianist Michael McHale, bringing us the music of eight composers, spanning nearly one
hundred years. Some are lighter in character
– the Canzonetta by Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937), the
earliest work here, is a pretty, delightful piece, and the Solo de concours by Henri
Rabaud (1873-1949), a conservatoire test piece, manages to squeeze a slow
dance between a rhapsodic opening section and a highly virtuosic quick-fire
close, all in under six minutes. Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie was also a
conservatoire test piece, but is an altogether more weighty affair. He later made a version for clarinet and
orchestra, and it is somewhat reminiscent of his earlier Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, for flute and orchestra, with the same sense of languid
lyricism and dreamlike fantasy. The
latest work here is Time Pieces by Robert Muczynski (1929-2010). Its four movements each focus on a different
characteristic of the clarinet, such as the soft, lyrical tones required in the
slow movement, quirky folk style in the third, and lively jazz rhythms in the
final movement. Bohuslav Martinů’s (1890-1959) Sonatina is full of complex
rhythmic devices, as well as hints of Czech folkdance, and its finale is a
joyous celebration, testing the clarinet’s flexibility to its limits, with wild
leaps and real bravado. Jazz is here too, as it is in Leonard Bernstein’s (1918-1990) Sonata, his first published piece, and Collins and McHale bring to life
its Hindemith-influenced cerebral first movement, the warmer more songlike
writing of the second movement, and the jazz style of the finale. As ever, Collins’ command of the technical
requirements is faultless – as is McHale’s command of the often equally
demanding accompaniments (particularly in the Martinů). A great survey
of music perhaps otherwise only known by clarinetists.
Baroque
violinist
Johannes Pramsohler has
carved out an innovative and successful career in a very short time, and has
now even launched his own music label,
Audax Records, to produce his and other recordings.
I first came across him when he led the
International Baroque Players in a concert with
Emma Kirkby (when I sang with
BREMF Consort of Voices in choruses from Purcell’s
Dido and Aeneas), and was
blown away by the energy and life in the performance from Pramsohler and the
young players.
His first recital disc on
his own label is of a varied range of
Sonatas
for violin and basso continuo, and he is joined by
Philippe Grisvard on harpsichord. They begin with Corelli (1653-1713), and the first
Sonata from his highly influential
Op.
5 set from 1700.
The opening of this
Sonata demands attention with its declamatory opening, and Pramsohler sets the
tone immediately for what proves to be a remarkably engaging recital.
Again, there is incredible energy here,
making this sound like a live recital.
However, it is the Telemann
(1681-1767)
Sonata which follows that was real revelation for me.
I have always found Telemann somehow lacking
in something, and rather pedestrian, but here again there is great spirit in
Pramsohler and Grisvard’s approach, which really brings the music alive.
Yet that is not to say that the performers
lack sensitivity or subtlety – the opening movement of the Telemann has such
poise and grace, which makes the contrast with the lively
Vivace that follows
all the more delightful.
Ornamentation
throughout is elaborate yet tasteful, and this is underpinned throughout by
sure-footed accompaniment from the harpsichord.
Jean-Marie Leclair’s (1697-1764)
Sonata was a delightful discovery for
me here too.
Again there is grace and
beauty in the opening
Andante, contrasted with the joy of the final
Giga.
Handel
(1685-1759) is represented here in the
Sonata in D major, and singers of Handel’s oratorios will recognise some of
the music here from
Solomon and
Jeptha.
The recital ends with
Sonata ‘La
Follia’ – a set of variations on the popular theme, but not Corelli’s
famous set.
This time, we have the
lesser known Giovanni Albicastro’s
(c.1660-c.1730) set, and this provides both players with a great way to
shine and round off this excellent programme in style.
My only (very minor) quibble with this otherwise exemplary
release is the lack of detail in the notes on the repertoire itself, as some of
these works are less well-known – but there is a very interesting article on
the tradition of the violin recital by Reinhard
Goebel.
I await more recordings of
this calibre from Pramsohler with anticipation.
Various. 2014. Corelli, Telemann, Leclair, Handel, Albicastro. Johannes Pramsohler, Philippe Grisvard. Compact Disc. Audax ADX13700.
The Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips, have reissued their
landmark recording of Ikon of Light
by Sir John Tavener (1944-2013) who
died last year. The recording is exactly 30 years old, and the work was commissioned by The Tallis Scholars, and
premiered by them at the Cheltenham Festival that year. Two other works on the disc were also
premiered by The Tallis Scholars – Funeral
Ikos, and the Great Canon of St
Andrew of Crete. The final piece
here is one of Tavener’s most well-known short choral works, The Lamb, and it is conducted here by
the composer himself. In Ikon of Light, the singers are joined
by members of the Chilingrian String Quartet (minus a violin) for a seven movement work of over forty
minutes. From the perspective of looking
back over Tavener’s career, many of his trademarks are here – dramatic use of
silence juxtaposed with loud, thick choral chords, his use of exact contrary
motion and palindrome to create unusual dissonance, and his immersion in the
Orthodox Church and its texts. His use
of the string trio is mostly to provide distant, rather ethereal textures,
which the strident choral chords interrupt – although they do get an interlude
by themselves in the long middle movement (which accounts for nearly half the
piece). Being used to hearing The Tallis
Scholars in early repertoire on the whole, and in precise, polished recordings,
it is actually refreshing to hear them with a slightly rougher, hard-edged
sound, totally appropriate in this repertoire, and still with pinpoint tuning
and accuracy throughout. The other
substantial work, the Great Canon,
uses just twelve singers, with a bass cantor part sung very commandingly by Jeremy White. Again, Tavener’s use of repetition to create
a timeless, meditative atmosphere is in evidence, although I suspect this
atmosphere would be better created by a live performance than on disc. The performances of the two better known,
shorter works here are strong, and the Alleluia setting that Tavener used
frequently in his music is particularly effective here in Funeral Ikos. The Lamb has been recorded so often and
by so many now, but this historic performance with Tavener conducting is still
a significant landmark. The Tallis
Scholars will be performing Ikon of Light, along with the première of Requiem Fragments, written just before the composer’s death, in the BBC Proms on Monday 4 August.
Tavener, J. 2014. Ikon of Light. The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips. (Release). Compact Disc. Gimell GIMSE 404.
(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, June 2014)
Pianist Mark Bebbington has recorded a disc of works by Arnold Bax (1883-1953), along with a premiere recording of Harriet Cohen’s (1895-1967) Russian Impressions. The disc opens with Bax’s Sonata in E flat major, which was never performed publicly in Bax’s lifetime. He wrote it in 1921, but the densely textured work went on to form his First Symphony, so the piano version was laid to one side. It opens explosively with weighty, dramatic exclamations, although it subsides into relative calm, before slowly building back up in intensity. Bebbington manages the thick textures and chromatic colours with great clarity, and paces the ebb and flow of the dynamic shifts with great control, and the watery ripples of the opening of the slow movement are captivating. Again, the music builds to a phenomenal climax, before a beautifully soft and tender conclusion. The weighty chordal opening to the finale gives way to a sprightly chromatic theme, and Bebbington leads us towards its emphatically triumphant close with energy and determination. The Sonata is followed here by an unpublished work by Bax, In the Night (Passacaglia). This has a dreamy, nocturnal feel throughout, and after the fireworks of the Sonata, it gives Bebbington the chance to demonstrate a softer touch, although there is also a fervently romantic climax here too. The Four Pieces from 1947 were again not performed in Bax’s lifetime, and receive their premiere recording here. A spiky, sardonic Fantastic March is followed by more nocturnal writing in the dark Romanza, then a calmer Idyll, before an uneasy, turbulent Phantasie to finish. The single movement Legend concludes the disc here, with its rippling arpeggios and cantabile central melody, concluded with more emphatic chordal writing. But before this comes Cohen’s Russian Impressions. Pianist Harriet Cohen was a key figure in English music of the time, premiering works by many composers, including Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Ireland and of course Bax, with whom she had a forty-year affair. Her Russian Impressions are her only original compositions in print. As one might expect from the title, the four movements are impressionistic, with an atmospheric Sunset on the Volga to open, followed by a solemnly touching The Exile. The Old Church at Wilna is equally moody, with its tolling opening chords, and The Tartars, the longest of the four pieces, uses more bell-like chords to underpin its darkly mellow melody. Bebbington brings out some of the richness in Cohen’s harmonies within these atmospheric miniatures, and they provide welcome contrast to the weight of Bax’s writing. An interesting exploration of mostly unknown repertoire, expertly and knowledgeably performed here.
