New and Notable CD/DVD Acquisitions
Nov.-Dec. 2005

Early music (in no particular order)

Nikolaj Ronimus, The Naked Recorder (CD 13938). Ronimus, who has been described as the “Jimi Hendrix of the recorder,” (a listen to the second selection on this CD will suggest why) performs a selection of unaccompanied works by Van Eyck, Bach, and Telemann. Ronimus’ performances of the frequently heard Telemann solo suites in A major and F# minor are stylish and idiomatic, if extremely rhythmically free. His Bach is persuasive, although here, the transition from transverse flute to recorder tells even against Ronimus’ stellar technique (the final high C of the allemande is produced at an ear-splitting volume that seems driven more by technical necessity than musical sense). Ronimus is clearly at home with the van Eyck selections, performing with sparkling wit and technical daring.

Rainer Ullreich. Sonate, symfonie e capricci: early Italian violin music (CD 13960). Ullreich performs a varied selection of early Italian violin music, variously unaccompanied and accompanied by alto and bass viol, Baroque guitar, chitarrone, harpsichord and organ. The program encompasses solo sonatas and fantasias, and numerous variations in bastarda style, including two sets of passaggi on the ever-popular Vestiva e colli. The sound quality and ensemble balance are excellent, the violin alternating between lyrical intensity and startling virtuoso outbursts, sometimes in remarkably quick succession. An extremely detailed 70 page booklet accompanies the CD.

Dufay, Guillaume. Quadrivium (CD 13959). Cantica Symphonia directed by Giuseppe Maletto. Cantica Symphonia performs antiphons, isorhythymic motets, and free/cantilena motets, in performances highlighting the mathematical/rhythmic complexity of the works. Extensive, scholarly program notes accompany the recording.

Charpentier. Vespres pour Saint Louis (CD 13951). Les Pages & les Chantres, Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, Olivier Schneebeli, director. A selection of vocal works by Charpentier and keyboard works by Nivers assembled into a hypothetical Vespers service as it might have been heard in Versailles at the time of Louis XIII.

Other interesting Charpentier releases include a selection of motets, Le Jugement dernier (CD 13939) (Ensemble William Byrd, Graham O’Reilly, conductor), the Messe à quatre choeurs (CD 13953) (Ex Cathedra with Jeffrey Skidmore), and the Te Deum and Grand Office des Morts (CD 13961) (William Christie and Les Arts Florissants).

Nigel North, Go from my window (CD 13946). This Super Audio CD captures the warmth and vibrancy of North’s playing with startling immediacy. He performs a selection of ballad tunes, with settings by Cutting, Holborne, Dowland, Johnson, and others. A particular standout is the anonymous lute transcription of Byrd’s My Lord Willoughby’s Welcome Home.

Trio Mediaeval. Stella maris (CD 13964). A program of 12/13 th century chant from England and France with Sungji Hong’s chant-based “Missa Lumen de Lumine” (2002), all performed using three voices.

Clavichord music

Bach. French suites (CD 13945). Performed by Ilton Wjuniski on harpsichord and clavichord.

Bach. The secret Bach (CD 13947). Christopher Hogwood performs several works on clavichord, including the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, selections from the Clavier-Büchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and the Partita in A minor after BWV 1004.

Müthel, Johann Gottfried. 3 sonates et 2 ariosi avec 12 variations (CD 13944). Menno van Delft, clavichord. Müthel’s undeservedly neglected music receives a sympathetic performance from van Delft. The clavichord is recorded closely, but the recording manages to avoid some of the startling extraneous noises that crop up in clavichord recordings, partly because Delft brings out a full sound without becoming rough. The two Ariosi show Müthel’s breadth of invention, mastery of musical pacing, and knowledge of the full scope of clavichord technique.

Other early music acquisitions

Tallis. Lamentations and contrafacta (CD 13949). Chapelle du Roi with Alistair Dixon.

Gesualdo. Tenebrae responsories for Maundy Thursday (CD 13952). The King’s Singers.

Lasso, Orlando di. Lagrime di S Pietro (CD 13954). Capella dvcale Venetia, Livio Picotti, director.

Palestrina. Stabat mater (CD 13948). The Cardinall’s Musick, Andrew Carwood, director. A selection of motets with interludes of chant.

Danielis, Daniel. Coeleste convivium (CD 13950). Ensemble Pierre Robert, Frédéric Desenclos, director.

Gesualdo. Madrigali libro I-III (CD 13963). Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam, Harry van der Kamp, director.

Jazz and Pop

Bill Evans. The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 (CD 13970). This three-disc set highlights Evans’ seminal collaboration with Paul Motian and virtuoso bassist Scott LaFaro. Evans’ and LaFaro’s collaborations on standards and original tunes break new ground in collective improvisation, with Motian providing an unobtrusive, straight-ahead backup. Stunning technique fused with perfect taste, endless inventiveness, and the inability to fall back on cliché make this a classic milestone of jazz.

Bright Eyes. I’m wide awake, it’s morning (CD 13890) and Digital ash in a digital urn (CD 13891). These two albums by Bright Eyes (a project of singer-songwriter Conor Oberst) were released simultaneously in 2005. “I’m wide awake” is largely acoustic, with Oberst’s disarmingly high, reedy tenor and lyrical preoccupations with God, love and redemption against a barren, existential backdrop evoking the young Leonard Cohen. Oberst’s musical sophistication, however, far outstrips that of early-career Cohen. Country and folk influences predominate throughout the album, with arrangements ranging from a single acoustic guitar to full bluegrass treatments. The final cut, “Road to Joy,” is based on the theme of the finale of Beethoven’s 9 th symphony, building from an unsettling march to a conclusion of screaming frenzy.

“Digital ash” is a completely different album, largely electronic with creepily ambient atmospherics (it opens with various sounds, including something that sounds like a chain being slowly dragged across the stereo soundscape). Unremittingly dark, the album settles into a metal/techno groove, with sound and lyrics evoking the same dysphoric atmosphere as “I’m wide awake, it’s morning,” exchanging that album’s ironically upbeat tone for a more straightforwardly brutal approach. Both albums are highly effective, showing Oberst’s transformation from a teen prodigy to early maturity as a songwriter and arranger. (Thanks to Prof. Peraino for suggesting these albums).

Notable DVD acquisitions

Wagner. Ring des Nibelungen (DVD 196 vol. 1-5). Bayreuther Festspiel Orchestra and Chorus, Pierre Boulez, conductor.

Britten, Owen Wingrave (DVD 198), The Rape of Lucretia (DVD 200), and Death in Venice (DVD 199). (Thanks to Prof. Rosen for these suggestions.)

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Updated: 13 Dec. 2005