"New" Music Log

[Todd A]

Mozart's Requiem transcribed for string quartet. The Quatour Debussy play Peter Lichtenthal's 1802 transcription of the work, with a few alterations of their own. No, this is not as good as the real thing, but that would be impossible. It is naturally lighter, attractive, and it is moving from time to time. Some movements work better than others. The two main standouts for me are the Confutatis and Lacrimosa, which really jump out. Both the Dies Irae and Agnus Dei work better than anticipated, too. While I would not consider this a must listen, it's an interesting and fun enough diversion. Truth to tell, this was really more of a test drive for the Quatour Debussy, to hear if they have got the right stuff. They've recorded a DSCH cycle, and I figured if they can make this enjoyable, they can handle the Russian's music. Sure enough, the playing is superb, as is the sound.

 

[Todd A]

It took a while, but I finally purchased a disc devoted solely to the music of Henry Purcell. I've got a sprinkling of Purcell works in my collection in some anthologies, but that's it. This disc of fourteen songs and dialogues, plucked from operas and stand-alone collections, features a much younger Emma Kirkby and bass David Thomas singing an array of love songs alone or as a duo, with lutenist Anthony Rooley backing them up. All of the songs are written in 17th Century vernacular, but the basic themes are pretty much the same as now. One needn't listen beyond the first dialogue, In all ouur Cinthia's shining sphere, to hear some racy lines about how the woman will not die a maid. Goodness! The songs are generally nice, the singing is splendid, the lute playing is predictably excellent, and a much younger Tony Faulkner proves to be as skilled at engineering SOTA recordings as his older self. (That written, low level hiss is audible, indicating that mastering may have been analog for this 1982 recording.) Coming relatively soon on the heels of the disc of music from roughly contemporaneous composer Cristóbal Galán, this music sounds too conservative and dowdy, though, and the Spaniard will receive more spins.

 

[Todd A]

This disc contains two works new to me. I've got a version of the third Cello Concerto played by Pierre Fournier, which is predictably superb. So is this version, as are the first two concertos on the disc. There's no point in going into great detail by work. Rather, in all three concertos, a similar musical style can be heard. The fast movements are energetic and vivacious and bursting at the seams with invention. CPE Bach saw no reason to write straight-forward movements when ones with more dramatic dynamic and tempo contrasts could be written, or when one could write music with twists and turns and unexpected passages. The slow movements are all quite slow and lengthy and quite expressive. The music doesn't tip into romantic excess, but it is not constrained by convention, either. Overall, these concertos are freer and more inventive than even Haydn's from roughly the same era. Truls Mork's playing is tip-top shelf, and the conducting of Bernard Labadie and the playing of Les Violins du Roy are both impeccable. Combine all this with major label A-grade sonics, and this disc is a winner.

 

[Todd A]

Love me the lion's share of Schumann's solo piano output, so I figured I should try his organ output since I was able to snap up the disc for under five bucks.

It was a nice buy. All three works are all enjoyable. The Six Studies in Canonic Form Op 56, originally for pedal piano, are colorful works that often sound like Schumann writing for a circus or, well, carnival. The Four Studies, Op 58, also for pedal piano, are a built bolder in conception, and often sound like Schumann piano works scaled up, which more or less means good by default. The Six Fugues on Bach, Op 60, are more formal and serious, as one would expect, and the registration results in a bit less color, but the music and playing is very nice nonetheless.

Sound of the 18th Century Riepp organ, transplanted to Winterthur Stadtkirche and oft updated over its life, including a rebuild by Walcker, sounds just lovely. Hospach-Martini uses registration superbly to generally extract vibrant colors that never sound bright, and bass that never overwhelms. Recorded sound is close to flawless, with only some room sound a potential distraction, or not, depending on taste. I will never play this disc frequently, but it sure is nice to own.

 

[Todd A]

Circling back to the composer who kicked off this thread, though somewhat belatedly as this disc was released in 2009. (I could also post this in The Asian Invasion as Mr Ruo was born in China, but as it is part of the American Classics series, I shall limit it to this thread.)

The disc opens with the Drama Theater No 2, the second of five dramas comprising a cycle. The piece is scored for Piano, Cello, Percussion, and 18 Beer Bottles. The first movement opens with stark, bold timp thwacks, and it focuses on rhythmic pulse. The music is often aggressive and insistent, yet simple, with repeated notes and sounds and patterns. The inclusion of gongs and whistles and the like brings to mind Antheil, with slowed down Nancarrow tossed in. The second movement is slower, and relies on novel sounds. The use of beer bottles is actually handled more deftly than one might expect, sort of sounding like a flute, with the players relying on controlled, short bursts to generate sounds. I would have liked it more had flutes been used. The final movement is back to more aggressive stylings. Bartok and Stravinsky are to be heard, but that's OK.

Drama Theater No 3 follows, for pipa and voice. (The concert version is for pipa, voice, and multi-media.) Rather like Scelsi's Khoom, the artist does not sing words, but rather word-like sounds that are to disappear into the air. I like Khoom, so I do rather like the effect here. I also appreciate the pipa stylings of Min Xiao-Fen, who seems in absolute command of her instrument. This may not be for everyone; think of it as an extended (thirteen minute-plus) aria from an Eastern opera with string accompaniment. If that appeals, this may work; if not, probably not.

Drama Theater No 4, To The Four Corners, is meant to be a staged work with five instrumentalists, with the percussionist in the center, and flute, clarinet, viola, and violin in the four corners and rotating during performance. Inspired by Chinese Nuo Drama, it is two short scenes combined into a twenty-one minute piece. The first scene starts with a prolonged, insistent percussion solo, before handing the music off to other instruments, and then blending together in various combinations. Sometimes, the music will be stark, angular, and decidedly avant-garde, and sometimes it will blend, if even briefly, more traditionally lovely playing of an instrument (the clarinet, in particular) with tetchy percussion playing. The second scene starts with winds being used in unconventional ways to generate unconventional sounds, as well as what sounds almost like a didgeridoo. It also includes whispered, spoken, and yelled words, in at least two languages, which, even in the context of an audio-only recording, presents a good sense of the theatricality of the piece.

The disc closes with Ruo's First String Quartet, The Three Tenses, and it is a transcription of a work by the same name for brass. The single movement work sounds more conventional in a post-war, avant-garde kind of way. Even in this context, Ruo introduces some whistling to the piece, which I could have lived without. The underlying string writing is gripping, though, making me wonder what later quartets may sound like.

I enjoy this disc, probably more than the Chamber Concertos disc. The sound world here is more distinct and non-Western than the earlier disc, and it is novel and challenging yet easy enough to get into. I wouldn't mind hearing how Ruo handles a full orchestra.

Sound and playing are superb.

 

[Todd A]

This is, I think, my first exposure to the music of Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer. Born in Bohemia in 1656, he lived all the way until 1746. He ended up working as a court musician and composer, ultimately doing a long stint for Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden. He wrote a wide array of works in a variety of genres, with some of the works lost to the vagaries of time. I ended up with this particular disc because it was on clearance. The disc contains three works: the Orchestral Suite No 1, the Missa Sancti Michaelis Archangeli, and the Missa in Contrapuncto. The Orchestral Suite is short, at a bit over ten minutes, and is comprised of six contrasting movements, predominantly of the dance variety. Mostly jaunty and light, the instrumental writing falls nicely on the ear. The Missa Sancti Michaelis Archangeli, at over thirty-three minutes, is the longest and beefiest work on the disc, with five soloists, chamber choir, orchestra, and organ. The total forces still fit in St Marien in Lemgo, so it is not of massive scale, but it is satisfyingly sized. The playing maintains a very dance-like rhythm in many places, though there's ample solemnity, too. It seems to go by in notably less than half an hour. The Missa in Contrapuncto is more intimately scaled, with four soloists, a smaller chorus, and limited bass continuo, and lasts just over twenty minutes. It harks back to more of a Renaissance style in many places, and some movements evoke earlier monophonic music. It makes for a most intriguing contrast in styles to the prior mass, and might even be more attractive overall.

I did not know what to expect going in. Fortunately, the disc offers a most enjoyable musical outing. If not music of the caliber of Biber or Bach, it's nonetheless most enjoyable, and if I won't make it a point to hunt down numerous recordings of the composer's works, some of his keyboard music might be nice to hear.

Singers, the instrumentalists of Handel's Company, and conductor Rainer Johannes Homburg all do excellent work. MDG's sound is predictably superb.

 

[Todd A]

From the DHM big box. You know a box-set promises good things when Thomas Hengelbrock conducts the first disc. Mr Incisive is well known to me, and CPE Bach's keyboard music is no stranger to these ears, but this disc represents the first time venturing into some non-concerto orchestral music. Much of the music is very energized, sometimes almost giddy or manic, sometimes dramatic in a Sturm und Drang fashion, and it always sounds fresh. And can one detect some inspiration for Haydn's Bear Symphony in the Allegro assai of H660? In the one Harpsichord Concerto on the disc, Hengelbrock is joined by Andreas Staier, who plays his part with ample energy and drive and tidiness. The Oboe Concerto sees fine work from Hans-Peter Westermann. The now somewhat aged digital sound is excellent.

 

[Todd A]

Rupert Ignaz Mayr is another baroque composer new to me. Born in what is now Austria, Mayr was a violinist and composer who held various positions in German speaking cities, including a stint in Munich. This disc contains, as indicated on the cover, various Psalms, Motets, and Concerti. The pieces all more or less sound like miniature baroque religious pieces. There's a certain warmth and comfort to them, and the sound is quite pleasant. There's nothing quite so challenging or vibrant as the recent JCF Fischer disc I listened to, nor anything of the magnitude of the bigger names of the era. Playing is excellent, singing generally excellent but not as even, and sound is fully modern but not SOTA.

 

[Todd A]

Vivan Fung is a name entirely new to me, but since this disc was available for less than the price of a cup of coffee, I figured it couldn't hurt to try it. Ms Fung is a Canuck armed with a Juilliard PhD and Juno Award who has wrangled commissions from high grade ensembles.

The disc opens with the Violin Concerto from 2011. Szymanowski's name comes immediately to mind in the opening pages. Then later comes big hints of Stravinsky. Then some dabs of Gloria Coates. And last, and certainly not least, Eastern music in the form of gamelan music. That makes it sound derivative, and maybe it is, but it is also superb. No ugly, harsh dissonance solely for the purpose of ugly, harsh dissonance here. No, the music is light, the violin part largely fleet and virtuosic, the orchestration bright, colorful, and quasi-exotic. It follows a broad fast-slow-fast model, though a big chunk of the slow portion is basically an extended cadenza that reveals violinist Kristin Lee to possess modern conservatory super-chops. The Eastern influences, complete with folk sounding melodies and nice dollops of string glissando appear in the back third of the piece. Really, the piece seems like a wonderful Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra.

The second piece is the 2006 work Glimpses for prepared piano. Of course John Cage comes to mind, but so does Lou Harrison in this gamelan-in-a-box piece. Fung's writing is more focused and purposeful than Cage's, and pianist Conor Hanick has the music dialed in. In the second piece, Snow, the instrument sounds like what can best be called an industrial harpsichord-player piano hybrid in the higher registers, married to a harp-like instrument to allow for captivating strumming. But the show-stopper is Chant. It opens with rosined twine being pulled across the strings, creating an almost electronic music effect, then relies mostly on plucking and strumming to create effects more akin to orchestral music heard in avant-garde sci-fi films than on classical music discs. It rates a real Wow!, though the effect may not age well.

Hanick also plays the Piano Concerto, Dreamscapes, from 2009, which gives the disc its title. The piece evokes a "what the hell am I listening to?" kind of feel on first listen - but in a decidedly good way. Quiet and somewhat languid, with Rautavaaraesque bird calls generated by the use of seven Vietnamese bird whistles spaced throughout the orchestra, it does indeed start off dreamy. A couple minutes in, the orchestra joins in and the pianist plays more conventionally. But nothing lasts for long. Like the Violin Concerto, it is more fantastic, with everything thrown at the listener. There's more prepared piano playing, there's some Bartok, there's some gnarly post-war avant garde writing smuggled in, there's some more Eastern-y music, some quotes from or allusions to other music, or something original that somehow manages to make the listener ponder where the tune comes from. Fung hurls ideas and sounds at the listener at a breakneck pace, even in slow passages. Every page, probably every bar brings something new.

Conducting, orchestral support, and sound are all superb.

These non-Western music inspired pieces strike me as sort of a Pacific Basin equivalent and analog to the African and European folk music inspired pieces by Stephen Hartke, and they work at least as well. This really is something new, at least for me. Ms Fung has written not a few pieces, and there are some recordings of other of her works. I would not be the least bit surprised if I sample more of her compositions.

A real find.

 

[Todd A]

Not even once have I thought about buying a disc of harp music on its own. I don't recall ever having listened to any recordings of solo harp music on the radio or as an exceprt on disc. But, having bought the hundred disc DHM box, I finally ended up with a disc of harp music in my collection. This disc contains music from various seventeenth century English composers, with large dollops of works from Dowland and Byrd. The pieces themselves are transcriptions of other solo instrumental pieces rather than purposely written harp music. I must say, the disc is better than I thought it would be. Harpist Andrew Lawrence-King uses two different instruments, an old Italian job with gut strings, and a cláirseach. Both produce mostly gentle, lovely sounds. The Italian instrument sounds almost like a richer, slightly more powerful clavichord, while the cláirseach has a vaguely gamelan-y sound. It would be fun to hear such an instrument used to play transcribed prepared piano pieces by John Cage, or maybe Lou Harrison's limited output for keyboard. The works presented, especially the Dowland, do not sound too far away from lute works, though the even warmer sound of the main Italian instrument makes the pieces sound more fantastic, as in fantasia-esque. I do not see myself rushing out to buy more harp discs, but this one is none too shabby, and it's in superb sound.

 

[Todd A]

More Hengelbrock from DHM. This disc contains fourteen tracks by nine composers, with four pieces from Monteverdi. Hengelbrock selected and arranged the pieces to be played along with a stage production, but here it is a studio recording of the music only. Opening and closing with music by Pietro Antonio Giramo, the vibrant opening piece gives way to music making more solemn than one would expect given the theme of the disc. To be sure, it all sounds attractive, but it needs more snap. Not too surprisingly, the best music on the disc comes from Monteverdi, and everything flows together nicely, what sounds like an abrupt edit the first of two Vecchi pieces notwithstanding. Overall, the disc is longer on promise than delivery.

Playing, singing, and sound are all top shelf.

 

[Todd A]

I very rarely listen to the music of John Adams, but this updated, modern sensibility, feminist take on the Arabian Nights heroine caught my eye. This is no Violin Concerto, even though a big name fiddler plays the solo part. No, this is something more ambitious: it is a Dramatic Symphony for Violin and Orchestra. How about that? The real question is can Mr Adams live up to his grandiose new label? He comes pretty close. It sounds like a modern, programmatic Violin Concerto to me, but if others prefer the other title, that's fine. His work gives evocative/provocative titles to the four movements, the first being "Tale of the Wise Young Woman-Pursuit by the True Believers". Here, the formidable Leila Josefowicz sometimes coaxes lovely tones from her instrument, but she more often extracts shrieks, slashing her way through her part as the heroine tries to elude the bad guys. Adams creates an intense, at times almost violent orchestral backdrop for the soloist to play against, and the dulcimer adds an exotic, lightly percussive texture. The second movement, "A Long Desire (Love Scene)" starts off almost throbbing, and not at all in a typically "romantic" sense. Just shy of two minutes in, it slows down, becomes more flowing, and it calms down - but it does not become calm. It remains charged. Not until after four minutes in does it take on a more sensuous sound, with the violin offering some longing playing, but there seems to be a hesitance to the music. Maybe the sensuality is feigned, the heroine playing a part convincingly to stay alive, and the music after nine minutes in sounds quite agitated, though the last several minutes are achingly beautiful. The next movement, "Scheherazade and the Men with Beards", offers the opposite, with a grinding opening and a more biting, driving, angular, modern sound. Josefowicz's playing sounds small and timid when she enters, and it retains a somewhat fearful feel, when it is not more frenzied, surrounded by savage orchestral music, the heroine fending for her life, ending with cries of terror. The last movement, "Escape, Flight, Sanctuary", finds the heroine running for her life, Josefowicz bowing ferociously in places. The pursuers are just behind her; she cannot rest. Finally she arrives, but is it really a sanctuary that welcomes her, or is it death?

The piece seems somewhat front-loaded, with two big movements followed by two shorter one, but it ends up well-balanced, and Adams uses the soloists and orchestra expertly, extracting much color and writing robust parts for every section. It is at once fully modern and easily accessible, at least to people who like modern music. I'm not completely sold on the composer's description of the piece, but I'm sold on the music.

Ms Josefowicz plays spectacularly well, and David Robertson and the St Louis Orchestra are fully up to the challenge.

I streamed this recording, and though streaming from Amazon is limited to 256 Kbps as far as I am aware, sound was completely satisfying. Clarity is superb, low frequencies are weighty, and the highs don't seem materially rolled off. I suspect a physical disc might sound slightly cleaner and probably would have broader dynamic range, which would be especially helpful in the tuttis, but it works fine this way. Still, I may have to go optical to hear what I missed.

 

[Todd A]

The first Savall Saturday covering the first disc from the Jordi Savall España Eterna box. Eight hundred year old songs that still sound swell. Comparatively lengthy, and sounding both ancient and folksy, and completely accessible to modern ears, the seven selections move along at a nearly always hypnotic pace. One hears ancient roots of grooviness, too, as well as non-Western traditions. There's a sense of dated exoticism, but the datedness only serves to enhance musical appreciation. Montserrat Figueras anchors the set vocally. She is joined by her sister Pilar in a duet in the especially appealing Na Carenza al bel cors avinen by Arnaut de Maruelh, and by the tenor Josep Benet in three of the songs. In every case, Figueras delivers the goods. So do the other singers, and the instrumentalists, including Christophe Coin. But perhaps the star of the show is the sound quality. The 1977 vintage recording sounds nearly SOTA by modern standards. A most auspicious opener for the set.

 

[Todd A]

[This will also be posted in The Asian Invasion.]


What an age we live in when not one, but two projects to record the complete keyboard sonatas of Leopold Koželuch are currently underway. Kemp English is recording the cycle for Grand Piano* while Jenny Soonjin Kim is doing so for Brilliant Classics. Mr English is further into his cycle than Ms Kim, but as Ms Kim's also satisfies my desire to listen to Asian artists, I decided to have this twofer be my first listen to an all-Koželuch release.

Ms Kim was born in Korea and earned her bachelor's in music from Seoul National University before pursuing additional studies first at the Salzburg Mozarteum, then UCLA, and finally earning a PhD in Historical Performance Practices from Claremont Graduate University, where she teaches. So she comes to this endeavor with a hefty academic background. Unsurprisingly, given her background, she uses a fortepiano in what at times sound like live recordings made at Kresge Chapel on the campus of Claremont School of Theology. As to the composer, Koželuch is one of those lesser known classical era composers whose name I've seen but whose music I've never really delved into. Born in 1747 in what is now the Czech Republic, he studied for a while in his hometown before studying with his cousin, one František Xaver Dušek, a rather well known musical personage. Koželuch apparently was quite famous in his day and cranked out many works in multiple genres, and when Mozart died, Koželuch took over some of his court functions.

To the music. This twofer contains the first eight of over fifty sonatas. All but one are in three movements, with the outlier a two movement job. All more or less adhere to the common fast-slow-fast structure. I'd be exaggerating if I wrote that these sonatas rise to the same level as the best of Mozart's, or even the very best efforts from Haydn or CPE Bach, but they definitely have their formidable charms. The best ones on offer best (sometimes handily) the lesser works from the bigger names. Aided by the crisp sound of the fortepiano, the fast movements are clean and clear and generally ebullient, which is aided by Kim's obviously excellent playing. Unsurprisingly, the slow movements lack the same degree of lyricism that modern grands can offer with their lengthier decays and greater sustain capabilities, but the softer sound of the instrument offsets that to a significant degree. The first two sonatas sort of sound like elaborate background music, but come the opening Allegro con brio of Op 1, No 3, one encounters music as fun as anything by Haydn. One also hears deft mood changes, including some music that satisfyingly dramatic without ever becoming heavy. Nice. The Poco Adagio that follows is fairly Mozartean and very nicely played by Kim, and the concluding Rondeau offers more contrasting material that moves beyond simple fast-slow-fast. So one needs to wait until only the third sonata for something ear-catching. The two movement Op 2, No 3 sonata starts off with a Largo - Poco presto movement that opens and closes with slow, dramatic music, with more spirited music in the Poco presto section, and ends with a fun Allegretto. It's a piece that an interventionist pianist could potentially make a meal of. The set ends with a nicknamed sonata, "The Hunt", and it's the best thing on the twofer. The opening Allegro molto is rhythmically and dynamically bold. The very long second movement - eleven minutes here - is an Andante and variations, with the theme an original one of not a little sophistication. Kim demonstrates the dynamic range of her instrument with some unexpectedly pointed sforzandi (and this from streaming), and Koželuch's variations have some nice invention in them. The concluding Rondeau is quick, dynamic, and fun. Though Kim plays it splendidly and with plenty of dynamic range, this work begs to be played on a modern grand.

This twofer does make me wonder what the second completed twofer offers - more of the same is my initial guess - as well as what Ms Kim sounds like in other repertoire. As luck would have it, she recorded core rep items for Arabesque Records, so I can find out. Also, it would be interesting to hear how these works fare when played on a modern grand, so I will give one or two or more of Mr English's discs a shot at some point. I will almost certainly be listening to Ms Kim's second volume in the near future.






I enjoyed the first volume of Jenny Soonjin Kim's Koželuch's sonatas enough that I figured I should listen to her second volume right away. Another twofer with another eight sonatas, it picks up where the prior volume left off. Sonatas range from two to four movements this time around. The pieces sound stylistically, and more important, qualitatively equal, or really close to, those of Haydn certainly, and maybe even Mozart. Dynamic shifts are more pronounced in some of the sonatas than in the first volume. While all the sonatas hold their appeal, lucky Number Thirteen stands out as especially enjoyable, and brimming over with ideas. And if the Fourteenth seems something of a step down, with a slow movement that overstays its welcome, all is well again in the most excellent Fifteenth Sonata, in E Minor, Op 13, No 3, which has hints of drama in just the right places and proportions. So does the tripartite opening the Sixteenth sonata, which has a more agitated K457 vibe that's almost proto-Beethovenian. Kim again delivers all the sonatas with some very fine playing. When she's done, if Brilliant issues the complete set, I may spring for it, provided the modern grand alternative is not better. (The downside to having two ongoing complete sets is that both may be good enough to warrant purchase.)



* Mr English also wrote his dissertation on Koželuch's keyboard sonatas. It is available online: https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/84697/8/02whole.pdf

 

[Todd A]

The second disc from the Jordi Savall España Eterna box. Savall is a bit player here. The star is Victoria de los Ángeles. This short LP length (~38') collection of seventeen songs from composers anonymous to famous-ish (eg, Morales and Guerrero) from the late medieval to Renaissance periods are all nicely sung and performed by the musicians. It's not as good as the first disc, though the songs themselves boast accessibility. The older recording is also not as aurally striking as the first disc, being about on par with other vocal discs of the middle analog stereo era. A nice disc, but one lacking maximum Savallian goodness.

 

[Todd A]

Cipriano de Rore's setting of the St John Passion delivers something new for me. I've listened to a fair amount of 16th Century polyphony, but it all sounds different from this. Here is stripped down music. Only five singers are used, with only the soprano part going to a woman. Only a half dozen instruments are used for support, and usually sparingly. Gorgeous polyphonic passages akin to Cristóbal de Morales are nowhere to be heard. Beautiful ornamentation and complex, interweaving melodies give way to much simpler settings of the text, including some monophonic writing. The sparse instrumentation often discreetly doubles the singers or discreetly replaces voices. And discretion is a must. This is among the most austere, stark pieces of music I've heard. The work treats the subject matter in the most devout, serious way imaginable. The music serves a purpose. Excess is forbidden. Even the brief instrumental interlude is austere.

As a setting of the Passion, the diminutive forces at first blush seem inadequate, but that notion is very quickly dispelled. The music never assumes a sense of grandeur of later, similar works, nor does it sound as superficially beautiful as some contemporaneous, similar works, but it appeals in its own severe, devout way. The work is barely over an hour long, but it packs a quiet wallop.

Singing and playing from Huelgas Ensemble under Paul van Nevel is what one expects it to be. Sound is superb, and when listened to through cans the music and performance takes on an even greater degree of intimacy.

 

[Todd A]

Disc three from Jordi Savall España Eterna box, Llibre Vermell de Montserrat. Starting with a monophonic piece of no little beauty, the piece expands into full-on festival music in the second piece, with a flowing, rhythmically catchy sound. Ancient instruments pepper the sound nicely, though based on what I read of the original work and this and subsequent Savall performances and recordings, Savall deviates from the more somber nature of the music and adds improvisatory elements that may or may not be intended. Since I'm not a purist, I don't care about any of that, I only care that the music is groovy. The third movement switches to multipart choral singing of no little beauty, though less sophistication than what came a couple centuries later. That's quite alright. The music then more or less alternates between the sacred and profane, or at least less sacred. Savall and crew also blend in other, broader musical influences to superb effect. Overall, the performance is most enjoyable and sound excellent, if not as good as the first disc. Another hit by Savall and crew. Maybe I'll try his 2013 recording.

 

[Todd A]

From the DHM long box, my first exposure to the music of Marianna Martines. This is a disc devoted to music by a woman composer, directed by another woman, conductor and keyboardist Nicoleta Paraschivescu, and joined in by one of DHM's stars, Nurial Rial. What a splendid disc! Martines' style is very much of the classical era, and the pieces here are of the light and exuberant sort. I immediately thought of Haydn in the opening Overture, and particularly of earlier, sunnier Haydn. The music doesn't necessarily sound as refined as the master's best examples from the time (ie, the 1760s), but it does not shrink in comparison, either. Apparently, Ms Martines lived in the same house as Haydn for a while, took keyboard lessons from him, and sang in some of his works, including The Creation. She obviously learnt a thing or two. (Perhaps he did, too.) There are so many springy, fun tunes that it was hard not to have one's mood elevated while listening. Ms Nurial's contribution in the title Il primo amore cantata is just lovely, her contribution to Berenice, ah che fai? is lovely and weightier. The text was later set by Haydn, as well, so it had legs. Throw in some top shelf DHM sound, as well as fine playing by all involved, and this is an extremely fine disc. Now both Ms Paraschivescu and Martines are on my radar, and wouldn't you know, Ms Paraschivescu recorded another disc of the composer's music? It seems like something I might have to investigate.

 

[Todd A]

A twofer from the Savall box. The discs are fairly esoteric and specific in focus. The first is devoted to "Court music and songs from the age of discoveries", while the even more specific second disc covers "Sephardic romances from the age before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain", meaning the music covers the century from the middle of the 15th to the middle of the 16th Century.

The discs were record in 1975, and right from the get-go, one hears the aural luxuriousness one often associates with Savall. The castanets pop while the other instruments come into focus, and Montserrat Figueras materializes dead center to captivate and beguile the listener. The first disc has two dozen short pieces, every one of which is small in scale. Some are festive and fast, some more somber and slow, and all are most attractive. It's like a regional Renaissance Greatest Hits collection, in outstanding sound. The drum thwacks and plucked instruments all have an immediacy to them that even some modern recordings lack.

The second disc starts with a not unpleasant, in your face drum in the left channel (it switches channels later on) sounding more Eastern or at least unfamiliar than normal, and not unusual instruments produce mildly unusual sounds in many places. I suppose the Saracen chitarra nearly qualifies as exotic, if a lute-sounding guitar can sound exotic. Something less exotic is the inclusion of bagpipes, which I think make their first non-AC/DC appearance in my collection. The music, especially the singing, often has a more lilting sound about it than the first disc. Even the more vibrant music has a different rhythmic feel to it. Figueras' style and delivery sounds especially well-suited to the tunes on the disc.

How authentic everything is, I can't say, but it's all most excellent.

 

[Todd A]

More new to me music from the DHM long box. This disc of six concerto grossi plucked from Opp 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 by Francesco Geminiani and played by the Petite Band under Sigiswald Kuijken's direction. All of the works sound nice, sport the occasional violin part of distinction, and make for a fine if not especially memorable listening experience. There's nothing at all wrong with the pieces, it's just that other concerti grossi (Handel's) or concertos (Bach's) are more my speed. It's not hard to hear why some of the more famous baroque composers are more famous today.