Violinist
Tasmin Little and the BBC Philharmonic, under Sir Andrew Davis, have gone for
some canny programming with their latest disc of works for violin and orchestra
by British composers. Getting top
billing is the ever-popular The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams, and it
receives a beautifully sensitive performance from Little and the orchestra,
without a hint of routine – a remarkable achievement in itself. We are also treated to expanded arrangements
of three popular Elgar salon pieces – the two Chanson (de matin & de nuit),
and Salut d’amour. Once again, these are
lovingly yet not over-indulgently performed.
However, they head the disc with what could be regarded as the real
‘meat’ here – E J Moeran’s (1894-1950) Violin Concerto. This is definitely a work that demonstrates
how the performing canon often persists in ignoring works that deserve better
exposure. Moeran gives the solo violin
plenty to do, and there is some really demanding material here. However, the Irish tinges throughout, the
lively dancing middle Scherzo, and a particularly beautiful slow final movement
make this a very enjoyable and accessible piece that surely could be more regularly
performed. Here’s hoping Little’s
advocacy, and clear love of the music, brings it greater recognition. Delius’s (1862-1934) Légende was published in
the composer’s lifetime as a work for violin and piano, and although the
composer himself produced an orchestral version, it was only published in
1985. This short single movement work is
delightful, with singing lines for the violin, and skillful orchestration,
particularly in the use of the wind section.
This is placed next to a similar length, single movement from Holst
(1874-1934), A Song of the Night.
Unfortunately, this work suffers from the juxtoposition, and despite
some interesting writing for brass, and a striking opening cadenza for the
violin, it didn’t hold my interest – the performance cannot be faulted,
however. Throughout the disc, Little
manages to combine a consistently smooth and sweet tone with an easy command of
the considerable demands these pieces place on the soloist. A well crafted programme of winning
performances, highly recommended. Little performed The Lark Ascending with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under David Hill in Brighton on 8 March 2014 - my review here.
I
have reviewed live recordings from the annual Heimbach Festival which takes
place in an Art Nouveau style Hydroelectric Power Station. Despite this unlikely setting, it draws some
great chamber performers, and the recordings have real excitement and energy,
and the latest, a collection of chamber works from the early 20th
century, is no exception. The disc opens
with Two Pieces for Piano Trio by Lili Boulanger (1893-1918). She was the first female winner of the
prestigious composing award, the Prix de Rome, at the age of 19. Sadly, she died just 5 years later, and her
life was blighted by illness. Her older
sister, Nadia (1887-1979), is better known, as she went on to become the the
most celebrated composition teacher of the last century, with students including
Copland, Philip Glass, Piazzolla and even Quincy Jones. In fact, she composed a limited output
herself, as the tragic death of her sister led her to vow to stop composing,
devoting herself to teaching, conducting and to promoting the work of Lili. Here, her early Three Pieces for Cello and
Piano are already more challenging harmonically, in contrast to the more
lyrical soundworld of Lili’s work.
Debussy is represented on this disc by an early Scherzo for Cello and
Piano, and his more substantial Violin Sonata.
The Violin Sonata is performed here by Alina Ibragimova (violin), with Lars Vogt, the Artistic Director of the festival, on piano. Ibragimova produces a slightly more rounded
sound for me than cellist Gustav Rivinius, who plays the Debussy Scherzo, as
well as the Nadia Boulanger pieces. At
times, I find his tone a little brittle – although to be fair, this is perhaps
more suited to the astringency of Boulanger’s writing. The final work on the disc is Paul
Hindemith’s (1895-1963) Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello. This is certainly a terbulent work,
reflecting the times (the German composer wrote this in 1933) as well as the
shifting styles in Hindemith’s work.
Sometimes his music can be almost unbearably dry and cerebral, yet here
there is real energy and life, and the live performance from Christian Tetzlaff
(violin), Volker Jacobsen (viola) and Bartholomew LaFolette (cello)
communicates this well. A fascinating
insight into lesser known twentieth century chamber repertoire here.
Various, 2013. Boulanger, Hindemith, Debussy. Wanzhen Li, Gunilla Süssmann, Alina Ibragimova, Lars Vogt, Gustav Rivinius, Anna Rita Hitaj, Christian Tetzlaff, Volker Jacobsen, Bartholomew LaFolette. Compact Disc. Avi 8553295.
French
pianist Jean Efflam-Bavouzet enters the middle period of Beethoven’s Piano
Sonatas in his second volume set for Chandos.
The ‘biggies’ here are perhaps the ‘Tempest’ (Op. 31 No. 2), the
‘Moonlight’ (Op. 27 No. 2), the ‘Grande Sonate’ (Op. 26), and of course the
‘Waldstein’ (Op. 53), which heralds the final period sonatas which will
presumably form the final volume in due course.
As with Volume 1, Bavouzet’s playing is commanding, and following his
ongoing Haydn cycle, it is interesting to hear him bring the articulation and
joy of that repertoire into his Beethoven playing, whilst also having the power
and gravitas required for the increasingly extreme writing in Beethoven’s
sonatas. I particularly like his
‘Tempest’, and the slow/fast contrasts in the first movement are especially
senstively judged. I personally like a
darker, more menacing ‘Moonlight’ than Bavouzet gives, and the finale here
could be wilder and less tamed. However,
his ‘Waldstein’ is a towering performance, particularly throughout the
incredibly challenging Rondo finale.
Beethoven, 2014. Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Volume 2. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Compact Disc (3). Chandos CHAN 10798(3).
Finally,
chamber music by Heinrich Hofmann (1842-1902).
Previously unkown to me, this German Romantic composer was apparently
one of the most frequently performed German composers of the day, and yet is
almost completely forgotten today. Works
such as his Sympnohy in E flat and his cantata, Märchen von der schönen
Melusina, were widely performed in England and the USA too. Having listened to this new CD from the
Berolina Ensemble of three of his chamber works, I can see why the music was
very popular, but I can also perhaps understand why it hasn’t stood the test of
time. The String Sextet is lively, with
lyrical tunes and a rousing finish. The
Serenade for Flute and String Quintet has great writing for the flute, with a
touching slow movement and dance-like finale.
The Octet, for the unusual line-up of flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon and
string quartet, is the most interesting piece here, with greater complexity of
ideas – yet there are still no great surprises.
And therein lies the crux – music that doesn’t surprise may be popular
in its day, but it is unlikely to achieve longevity. These are convincing performances, and the
wind players in the Octet particularly deserve mention for their lyricism. But I am not inspired to seek out more of
Hofmann’s work on the back of this.
Hofmann, 2013. Chamber Music - Octet, Serenade, Sextet. Berolina Ensemble. Compact Disc. MDG 948 1808-6.
(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, March 2014)
The Italian, all male
Renaissance polyphony group, Odhecaton
were new to me, but they have been around since 1998 and have a number of discs
behind them, as well as several awards.
Their latest recording, entitled De
Passione, consists of music by Franco-Flemish composers Josquin des Prez (c.1450/55–1521), Jacob
Obrecht (1457/8-1505), Loyset Compère (c.1440-1518) and Gaspar van Weerbecke (c.1445-after 1516), all
published by Ottaviano Petrucci in Venice in 1503. The 11 singers are directed by Paolo Da Col, and the motets they have
chosen for this collection all focus on texts relating to the passion and Holy
Week. The substantial works by Josquin (O Domine Iesu Christe, Miserere mei Deus, and
Qui velatus facie fuisti) are
familiar to me, and they receive assured and beautifully sustained performances
here. Compère’s equally substantial In nomine Iesu was new to me, however,
and is beautifully rich in texture, with Odhecaton exploiting the composer’s
use of the lower registers of all the voice parts. I really enjoyed the sound world of all male
voices, and the countertenors consistently avoided the common tendency for a
slightly hooty sound on top, blending perfectly with the lower voices. Obrecht’s subtle Parce Domine opens the disc, and van Weerbecke’s dark, sonorous Tenebrae factae sunt is an added
treat. This is followed on the disc by a
startling contrast – which certainly surprised me on first listening, as I
hadn’t read the notes beforehand.
Sardinian singer Clara Murtas
sings a solo traditional lament, O
tristu fatale die. The style is a
sudden change, but somehow finds a fitting place here, the mother of Jesus’
lament almost providing a release after the contained and controlled polyphony. To follow this and close the disc, Odhecaton
return with Josquin’s Miserere mei Deus. Highly recommended.
Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra continue the series of Orchestral Works by Gustav
Holst (1874-1934) they took over following the sad death of Richard
Hickox. The latest volume contains two
works, The Mystic Trumpeter, and his
First Choral Symphony. Both works employ a soprano soloist, here the
great Susan Gritton, and they are
joined in the Choral Symphony by the BBC Symphony Chorus. The
Mystic Trumpeter is the shorter work here, and perhaps because of this, is
the more successful in my mind. The text
is by Walt Whitman, and Holst achieves a real sense of structure, guided by the
poem, building to suitable peaks, before subsiding into peace and tranquility
at its close. The First Choral Symphony, at over 50 minutes long, however, struggles
to maintain coherency for me. There is
great music here, and the first three movements succeed to a great extent in
creating a variety of textures and moods from the diverse texts by Keats – the
seven beats to a bar Baccahanal, the relaxed calm of the second movement’s Ode,
and the delicate orchestral textures at the close of the third movement. But having explored this variety, one gets
the sense that Holst didn’t quite know how to conclude this mammoth work, and
the finale dissapoints. However, the
performance here cannot be faulted and Gritton in particular is in fine form. Credit also to the BBC Symphony Chorus, who produce
a well-disciplined and rich sound throughout.
Another continuing Chandos
series with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
and Chorus, this time with Edward Gardner conducting two works by Karol
Szymanowski (1882-1937). His Stabat
Mater from 1925/6, with solo voices in addition to the chorus and orchestra, is
a striking and affecting work, with a stunningly beautiful lament from the solo
soprano (here impressively sung by Lucy Crowe), and a fiendish fourth movement for just female choral voices, later
joined by the female soloists.
Szymanowksi makes great use of these different forces, using choral
chanting, a duet between solo alto (Pamela Helen Stephen) and clarinet, and melody in the final sixth movement for the
solo soprano that is to die for. The
other piece here is the Choral Ballet, Harnasie,
which is rooted in the culture of the Podhale region in the Tatra mountains
in Poland. Whilst there are moments
reminiscent of Stravinsky and Janáček here, the overall effect is of a totally
individual sound, and without even looking at the texts, images of folk
dancing, revelry and wedding scenes are immediately conjured up. In fact the story is of a bride who is
abducted by a robber (Harnás). I can’t
profess to understanding Polish, but the BBC Symphony Chorus sound totally
convincing and authentically unison in their diction, which must have been a
considerable challenge. There is real
excitement and life in this music, which is fully expressed in this commanding
performance from all concerned.
(These reviews first appeared in GScene, February 2014)
