
Mstation Classical Reviews

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Mon, 20 Dec 2004
Herbert Tachezi at the organs of the Stiftskirche, Ossiach and the Hofkirche, Innsbruck Michelangelo Rossi (1601/2-1656) Toccata Sesta in G Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1555-1612) Canzon francese in E Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) Partite undecima sopra liAria Tarquinio Merula (1594/5-1665) Capriccio cromatico in D Girolamo Frescobaldi Toccata per liElevatione Canzon terza in G Tom.s de Santa Maria (? n 1570) 8 fantasies in the 8 church modes EnrIquez de Valderr.bano (mid C16th) Fantasia primero grado Antonio de CabezUn (1510-1566) Diferencias sobre el canto Llano Luis de Mil.n (c.1500-c.1561) Pavana and Galliarda Claudio Merulo (1533-1604) Toccata Vincenzo Pellegrini (? n 1631) Canzona per organo iLa Serpentinai Michael Praetorius (c.1570-1621) Hymn: iO Lux beata Trinitasi Paul Hofhaimer (1459-1537) Recordare Johannes Kotter (c.1485-1541) Salve Regina Christian Erbach (c.1571-1635) Ricercar secundi toni Recorded in the Stiftskirches, Ossiach (tracks 1-6) and the Hofkirche, Innsbruck (tracks 7-15) in 1968, 1980 and 1981 Apex 2564-60446-2 Apex have cobbled this recital disc together from various sessions recorded by the notable Austrian organist Herbert Tachezi. The title of Renaissance Organ Music is accurate insofar as the music dates from a period covering the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries, but is somewhat wilful in that this view of the renaissance centres almost exclusively on developments in keyboard music in southern Europe n with the exception of the last two tracks all the composers represented are Italian or Iberian. Anybody unfamiliar with organ developments buying such a disc cold is going to find the diet lacking in variety as the greatest developments in organ building occurred in the northern lands. Not to be found here the great pedal reeds of the 16th century Germanic or Netherlandish instruments n this is all music on a much smaller scale performed on instruments that have no lack of character, but perhaps do lack something in the variety of sounds available. There is an abundance of very bright principles, even brighter mixtures and some attractively chiffy flutes, but a prevalence towards 8i and 4i combinations of principals, and whole works played on a 4i flute does become monotonous. Only a couple of very pungent reeds in the Pavana and Galliarda by Luis de Mil.n and a characterful krummhorn that appears briefly at the beginning of the Kotter Salve Regina relieve the soundscape. That having been said, Herbert Tachezi is a stylistically engaging champion of this repertoire. His playing sparkles with virtuosity and the dexterity with which he brings out the lines of counterpoint on instruments without pedals is impressive. Witness the tortuous lines of the Capriccio cromatico by Tarquinio Merula, or the delightfully rhythmic chuffing of the Vincenzo Pellegrini Canzona iLa Serpentinai. These pieces of technical panache contrast with moments of serenity and contemplation as found for example in the Frescobaldi Toccata per liElevatione, a central point of the Roman Mass that was often accompanied by ethereal music. It can be argued that the programme is not as varied as it could be, and indeed the very bright, almost strident sound of the organs becomes wearing after a while. On the other hand there is detail in the execution, which provides new facets on repeat visits, even if the repertoire is fairly limited in its variety of styles. It must be borne in mind, of course, that southern European organ building and playing in the 17th century developed along completely independent lines to, and for different functions from, that of the better known North European schools represented by Sweelinck or Buxtehude, and which lead ultimately to Bach. However, certain crossing points do emerge; variations on popular tunes being one. Frescobaldiis Partite undecima sopra liAria di Monicha bears immediate comparison with the Ballo del Gran Duca of Sweelinck and shows no less a level of invention. The instruments on which Tachezi plays are presumably examples of 16th century organ building, but the accompanying notes to the disc are scant in information about the instruments, to say the least. In fact they are only named in the tiniest of letters on the back of the CD case. This is a distinct oversight, particularly given that the information about the composers that is given in the body of the booklet is hardly detailed or useful in understanding the music. As a recital disc of early, southern European organ music, there is much to admire in Tacheziis performance, and at Apexis super-budget price this disc can be considered good value. For the general purpose listener, however, there is a lack of variety of sound and given that many listeners expect something of the sense of grandeur in their organ music, this somewhat variety-lacking collection of small-scale pieces is probably more recommendable for fans of Tachezi, or for serious organ music collectors only. (c) 2004 Peter Wells
Teatro alla Scala Riccardo Muti DVD, Opus Arte I must take one of these music DVD's along to the Bang and Olufsen shop one day and plonk it on their most expensive system to see what the sound is like -- a lush production like this deserves a fair trial. Actually, I think the editor should organise one for a hardware trial. Yes, he really should. (Ed: I suppose I could say that the cars we test are more expensive but this is a case of flying pigs, I think.) Anyway, this La Scala production brought to us by Opus Arte is of their usual high standard. No funny fellows being played with avante garde productions (which almost never stand up to camera closeups even though they might look passable in the theater). There is a full libretto in the program notes, and of course, being a DVD, you can do things like turn the subtitles on or off. This particular production was originally recorded for television by RAI in 1989. (Count K)
Monteverdi, The Sacred Music 3
The King's Consort, Robert King LP, Hyperion People will think we pull a salary from Hyperion as I don't think we've uttered a bad word about any release that has gone over our desks. Alas, it's not the case but we do get the listening pleasure. This disc is the third in the series of Claudio Monteverdi's sacred music. Most of it was published beteen 1615 and 1651 and relates to his work at St. Mark's in Venice. Most of these items are motets and not part of the liturgy of the Catholic church. In the seventeenth century, as it says in the extended notes and libretti, such motets were often sung at Elevation and Communion or between psalms at Vespers. I must now find out whether very "high" Catholic churches do this today. (Count K)
DVD, Arthaus Musik Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Kiev in 1889. Later, in Paris under Diaghilev, he was part of the sensation their ballet created. He grew to be a legend in his own lifetime, which is even more remarkable when you consider that he suffered from schizophrenia and spent almost thirty years of his life in various hospitals. He died in London in 1950. Here we have ballet from Sheherazade, Le Spectre de la Rose, The Polovtsian Dances, and Firebird. performed by the Kirov at the Theatre Musical de Paris - Chatelet. Ballet is a bit of a natural for DVD. Listening to opera is fine but listening to ballet without vision rather misses the point I think. (Count K)
Barockorchester Frankfurt Junge Kantorei Joachim Carlos Martini with Elisabeth Scholl, Natacha Ducret, Lawrence Zazzo, Ewa Wolak, Knut Scchoch, Jelle Draijer This is the second of Handel's oratorios. It was first aired in 1733 with a hundred performers of which twenty five were singers. This was a difficult time for Handel as the Prince of Wales had recently started a rival opera company which had lured away some of his top singers. Deborah wasn't to prove his salvation but he did do well with later oratorios such as Athalia. This isn't one that music scholars have favoured as Handel's habit of borrowing from himself led to this one being called a 'pastichio' (pastiche!). For the rest of us, this has all Handel's usual mixture of grace and grandeur and this performance over three CDs is a very nice one. We've all heard versions of Handel where it sounded as if the musicians were somewhat tired and disinterested but this one is not like that at all. As an aside, Handel's house, at 25 Brook Street close to Bond Street, in London is now open to visitors after a refurbishment.
A Christmas Present from Polyphony Polyphony with City of London Sinfonia Stephen Layton LP, Hyperion A treat for non-commercial carol lovers here: an assortment that does include well-known carols such as Silent Night, and Away in a Manger, but mostly consists of less-known Christmas carols. These include O Morgenstern, The Sussex Mummer's Carol, Shepherd's Pipe Carol, and quite a few others. Polyphony have a nice, rich sound and it is well recorded. Bath Abbey Girl's Choir sings Christmas Carols Marcus Sealy, Ruth Faber, Peter King LP, Priory This is especially nice when the girls hit the descants and high notes generally. There is quite a range here, twenty-four tracks, which include both well-known and lesser-known carols. It was nicely recorded by Neil Collier, who runs Priory and who talked to us, here at Mstation, a couple of years ago. You can find him on the music page. The Naxos Book of Carols recorded at St Jude on the hill, Hampstead LP, Naxos I'm going to mention this release of last year's again because it was so nice. (Count K)
Angela Hewitt - piano Fantasia and Fugue in a minor BWV904 Aria Variata 'alla Maniera Italiana' BWV989 Sonata in D major BWV963 Partie in A major BWV832 Suite in f minor BWV823 Adagio in G major BWV968 Fugue in C major BWV953 Jesu, meine Zuversicht BWV728 Wer nur den lieben Gott laesst walten BWV691 Fantasia and Fugue in a minor BWV944 Recorded in Henry Wood Hall, London on 3-5 February 2004 Hyperion CDA67499 Although she has become somewhat ubiquitous in recent years, one cannot help but admire Angela Hewitt. She has suffered from massive over-exposure (BBC radio 3 being a real culprit in this - if it's Bach, it's Angela) and yet retains integrity as an artist that most who achieve such exposure loose. Hyperion is onto another winner with this disc, the last in Angela's series of Bach keyboard works on this label. There is a particularly interesting aspect to this disc as it presents a selection of the "best of the rest" of J S Bach's works for keyboard. Thus the obvious inclusions are missing leaving a repertoire that is at once fascinating and less well known. Hewitt's performances are always well reasoned and beautifully crafted, her technique being allied to an impeccable sense of musicianship, which enables her to present complex music ideas with apparent ease of clarity. The grandeur inherent in the opening a minor fantasia and the solemnity of the following complex fugue show this balance well. The tempo chosen for the fugue is conservative, but Hewitt makes so much of the individual lines that the feeling of movement is always present. The Aria Variata 'alla Maniera Italiana' BWV989 is not a frequently performed work, and yet it shows clear familial relationships with the larger and better-known Goldberg variations. Hewitt's performance covers almost the same breadth of vision and expression as would be possible in the larger set. Also of great moment in this disc is the performance of the suite in f minor BWV823. This noble work, although only three movements long (a sublime two subject Prelude, and extended Sarabande en Rondeau and a Gigue) provides one of the truly momentous highlights. The Sarabande is performed with a grandeur and scope that compliments the almost austere purity of the prelude. Throughout, Hewitt's distinctively clear touch and careful articulation are everywhere in evidence. This is superb playing of Bach at the piano. If there is a criticism of Hewitt's performances (and it is debatable whether one is needed) it could be the lack of rhetorical flourish in the playing. This harks back to the old piano/harpsichord debate for the performance of Bach's keyboard music, but the harpsichordists of recent generations have made much of the ideas of musical rhetoric - of stylised flourish and maximum contrast. All of this is there in Bach's music without a doubt - rhetoric was the standard language of the 18th century musician - but it could be argued that Hewitt's performances tend towards the goal of beauty of sound and line above the possibility of expression on different levels. In this disc the variety of the programme negates the chance of any sense of monotony, but one wonders how well this same highly polished, but always rather similarly beautiful, sound would fare in a programme of, say, the 48 or the French suites. As it stands, this particular disc, with its wide variety of material, excellent recording and matchlessly flawless piano sound from Hewitt, has to come in as a strongly and easily recommendable release. Here is 67 minutes of beautiful playing, wonderfully well captured, and one can't really ask for more than that. ((c) 2004 Peter Wells)
Philip Glass, Symphonies 2 and 3
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop LP, Naxos It seems extraordinary that a society that could produce, nurture, and give some success to Philip Glass might also be the same place that voted in the neandrathal personage of George W. Bush as president. Personally I'm not at all sure that he's real at all. He seems more like a cobbled together series of images to serve as a front for venality. You heard it here first -- the moon landings and now the actual president! Alright, enough of that lunacy but I suppose it is useful to remind ourselves of the USA of Philip Glass and that not all Americans see justice at the wrong end of a gun, just as not all Iraqis are murderous vermin who torture and kill middle-aged female charity workers. Philip Glass is much loved for his symphonic music and also for theme music such as for the cult film Koyaanasquatsi (which I've most likely spelt wrong). Symphony No. 2 was commisioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and was first performed there in 1994. The Third Symphony followed in the next year and was commisioned by the Wurth Foundation for the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and they performed it first in Kunzelsau, Germany. It's easy to see why Philip Glass is valued. The hypnotic swirls of these pieces, while not being as spacey as the film music, are human brain freindly in that look-at-me pedagogy is left out in favour of skill and craft with orchestral textures. (Count K)
Choeur di Theatre du Chatelet Monteverdi Choir Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique Sir John Eliot Gardiner 3 DVD's, BBC Opus Arte But wait there's more! That's hardly an appropriatre marketing come-on for classical DVD's but it certainly seems appropriate here. To start with there's the awesome volume of 3 DVD's and in addition to the performance itself, we have a cast gallery, a synopsis, a documentary, and interviews with the main production protagonists. In addition to all of that, it has "true surround sound" as well as superior quality sound and vision. Les Troyens (The Trojans) is generally regarded as representing pretty much all that Berlioz ever learnt. It has ballet and divertisments as well as the opera itself. The form might have thoughts of the Baroque but it is only the form. Berlioz was a Romantic through and through. In poetry, Shakespeare was his ideal, and in music, Beethoven. He was extremely inventive and even got his friend, Adolphe Sax, to build new instruments for his pieces. This opera came about through his friendship with Liszt and was completed after a little blackmail from Liszt's mistress, Princess Carolyn Sayn-Wittgenstein, in 1858. Unfortunately, it is such a major (and expensive to produce) opera, that it was not performed in full until 1890 in Karlsruhe, and it is only now that it is entering the opera house repertoire. The staging won a prize in 2003 from the Syndicat du Critique Musicale ... which means it's a modern staging. Sompe people will like that more than others, but it is a very worthwhile production of something you're unlikely to see outside the world centers for opera. (Count K) |
