New and Notable CD/DVD Acquisitions,
March 2006

Baroque and Renaissance Music

Ars Ecclesiae: Church music in the time of Philip II (CD 14290 v. 1-3). This three-CD, three-booklet recording brings together three previously released CDs of music by Morales, Guerrero and Victoria, performed by Musica Ficta.

J.C. Bach. Sonatas (CD 14305). Byron Schenkman, fortepiano, Courtney Westcott, flute.

J.S. Bach. Bach at Naumburg (CD 14380), Robert Clark, organ; The Bach Masses (CD 14308), The Washington Bach Consort, J. Reilly Lewis, director; The Leipzig Chorales (CD 14307), Christa Rakich, organ; Festival Chorales (CD 14306), Lynn Edwards Butler performing on the central-German Baroque style organ of the First Church, Deerfield, Mass.

Josquin. Musica symbolica (CD 14262). The Missa Gaudeamus and several motets, performed by De Labyrintho.

The Eastman Italian Baroque Organ (CD 14348). Hans Davidsson, David Higgs and William Porter perform works by Frescobaldi, Rossi, and many other composers on “the only full-size Italian Baroque organ in North America.”

New World Symphonies (CD 14372). Ex Cathedra, with Jeffrey Skidmore conducting, perform works by Mexican baroque composers including Juan de Araujo, Domenico Zipoli, Juan Garcia de Zespedes, and Juan Gutierrez de Padilla.

Antonio Soler. Six concertos for two organs (CD 14375). Gareth Price and Graham Howell perform these unusual works on the dual organs of Douai Abbey.

Andreas Staier. Hamburg 1734 (CD 14261) North German harpsichord music.

Tripla Concordia. “Musicke from the Ayre and Back to the Ground” (CD 14367). The awful pun that makes up the title of this CD can be forgiven by the fact that none of the members of Tripla Concordia are native English speakers. Less easy to forgive are the occasional but noticeable lapses of intonation in the recorders. Tripla Concordia consists of two recorder players, a cellist, and a keyboardist. The cello continuo poses an immediate historical problem for some of this repertory, since Jenkins’ and Locke’s music was definitely conceived for viol continuo. However, despite the odd lapse of intonation and the slight instrumental anachronism, this young Italian group brings some panache to the fast movements of these sonatas and suites and makes much of the “fantastic” chromatic elements so relished by English composers of this period.

Antonio Vivaldi. Late violin concertos (CD 14333). Giuliano Carmignola performs with the Venice Baroque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon conducting. Carmignola’s highly idiosyncratic interpretations will not be to everyone’s taste, but at their best, he and the Venice Baroque Orchestra perform energetic, highly articulated interpretations. Carmignola is especially good in the slow movements, spinning long, exquisite pianissimo lines out of Vivaldi’s relatively modest thematic material with quasi-improvisational flair.

Classical

We’ve acquired some new Mozart CDs by Andrew Manze and the English Concert. Manze performs the three violin concertos (CD 14264) with the expected combination of panache and a slightly off-the-cuff technique that some might interpret as roughness. However, Manze’s extraordinary freedom and breadth of expression, anchored by the sonorous and always-reliable English Concert, bring the concerti to life with great verve and immediacy.

The Violin Sonatas of 1781 (CD 14263), with Richard Egarr on fortepiano, begin with considerable energy, and Manze makes clear in his playing (as well as the program notes) that he wishes to make the violin an equal partner to the piano in these works. Manze’s performances here are somewhat more refined than on the Concertos CD, but his wonderfully filigreed tone and lovely touch in the slow movements more than makes up for this relative lack of improvisatory flair. (Even with this caveat, Manze and Egarr’s performances of these sonatas are considerably more characterful and risky than most.) Egarr (and the wonderful, light-but-articulate pianoforte on which he performs) makes a fine partner and more than holds his own in the instrumental give-and-take that characterizes these works.

For a slightly different take on period-instrument performances of the Mozart sonatas, see the performances by David Breitman and Francois Rivest (CDs 14408 and 14409). Breitman is well-known as a former Bilson student, and his training shows to good effect on this CD. Breitman and Rivest make much of the slightly dry sound of the fortepiano and the similarly reedy tone of Rivest’s violin, working with pedaling, vibrato and articulation to achieve a remarkable tonal match between the instruments. The only possible quibble with this recording is that Rivest’s extremely crisp, almost spiccato articulation in the faster movements may be startling to purists. However, the close attention to detail combined with an infectious sense of fun and close rapport between the performers make these discs compare well to the best Mozart sonata recordings.

Beethoven. Works for cello and piano (CD 14346). Tanya Tomkins (cello) and Eric Zivian (fortepiano) performing the Cello Sonata in G minor op. 5 no. 2, the 11 Bagatelles op. 119, and other works for cello and piano on period instruments.

Hummel. Mass in D minor ; Salve Regina (CD 14374). Susan Gritton, soprano, with Collegium Musicum 90 and Richard Hickox in these premiere recordings.

Contemporary

Benjamin Britten. War Requiem (CD 14304). The Washington Chorus and Orchestra, Robert Shafer, conductor, Christine Goerke, soprano, Richard Clement, tenor, Richard Stilwell, baritone, with other performers. Recorded live at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., April 14, 1995.

Sebastian Currier. Quartetset ; Quiet Time (CD 14303). Cassatt Quartet.

Maurice Durufle. Hommage a Durufle: oeuvres pour orgue (et) orgue et choeur (CD 14377) Several organ works, including the Suite op. 5, numerous motets, and several improvisations and a short composition, “In memoriam,” by the organist Thierry Escaich. The Cambridge voices perform under the direction of Ian de Massini in the vocal works.

Petr Eben. The Organ Music of Petr Eben, vol. 5 (CD 14371) Includes the monumental “Landscapes of Patmos” and “Okna (Windows)” for trumpet and organ, along with shorter works from 1999 and 2000.

Ensemble Gelberklang. Farben der Stille (CD 14373). This small German ensemble performs music by Takemitsu, Roller, Morton Feldman, Kaija Saariaho, and Albrecht Imbescheid.

Giacinto Scelsi. Action music no. 1 (CD 14385). Two piano pieces by Scelsi, “Action music” and Suite no. 8, performed by Berhard Wambach.

Morton Feldman. Something Wild: Music for Film (CD 14386). Ensemble Recherche performs film music by Feldman, much of it never previously released on CD.

Fritz Hauser. Deep time (CD 14294). Hauser, Urs Leimgruber (saxophones), Pauline Oliveros and David Gamper improvise on acoustic instruments with an “expanded instrument system” and electronic tape. Contains two versions of the improvisation.

Anthony Iannaccone. Quintet for clarinet & string quartet (CD 14378). Chamber music by Iannaccone, including the Partita and Keyboard Essays for piano and the title work.

Stephen Jaffe. Concerto for violin and orchestra; Chamber concerto (Singing Figures) for oboe and five instruments (CD 14321). The Odense Symphony, Gregory Fulkerson, violin, Stephen Taylor, oboe, and Speculum Musicae perform works by Jaffe.

Terry Riley. Assassin Reverie (CD 14302). With the ARTE Quartett.

Verederos. In Common (CD 14379). Music for flute and percussion by Lou Harrison, Stuart Saunders Smith, Ralph Shapey, and others.

Folk/Jazz/World Music

Shirley Collins and Davey Graham. Folk roots, new routes (CD 14358). A definitive album in the British folk revival, this CD (originally released on LP in 1964) combines Shirley Collins’ pure, haunting voice with Graham’s hard-edged, blues- and Indian-inflected guitar playing, giving a new and unexpected quality to the mostly-traditional ballads that make up the album. Controversial at the time of its release, the musical integrity and stunning quality and inventiveness of this music require no apologies now. Whatever we may think of the moral questions surrounding Western artists co-opting non-Western musics, this album testifies that the results can be stunningly beautiful. Graham was also one of the single most important influences on Jimmy Page (vis. this album’s instrumental “Rif Mountain”).

Bembeya Jazz National. The Syliphone Years (CD 14347). Born of the Guinean anti-colonialist movement of “authenticité,” Bembeya Jazz combines big-band horns with the virtuosic, Claptonesque guitar work of Sekou Diabate along with a strong dose of African percussion. The result of this combination has been called “one of the best bands in the world.” Required listening for anyone interested either in the roots of Afropop or excellent guitar playing.

Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 (CD 14319). Recorded from a radio broadcast, the sound quality of this concert from the New Jazz Foundation is a little fuzzy and distant, but the musicianship of Gillespie, Parker, Don Byas, Max Roach, and others sounds as fresh and exciting as it must have at the time. Gillespie’s solo on “Bebop” is unparalleled, Byas and Parker blow as if their lives depended on it, and Roach bashes the drums with a combination of brute force and finesse. None of these tracks have been released previously.

Prince Far I. “Silver & Gold” 1973-1979 (CD 14318) Classic dub reggae from the performer sometimes called “The Voice of Thunder.”

Richard Thompson. Rumor and Sigh (CD 14316), Presenting Henry the Human Fly (CD 14357), I want to see the bright lights tonight (CD 14356) (w/ Linda Thompson), Shoot Out the Lights (CD 14355) (w/ Linda Thompson). Thompson’s solo albums, and those made during his stormy marriage and musical partnership with Linda Thompson, are consistently excellent, showcasing Thompson’s powerful voice and innovative guitar technique. The generally accepted “masterpiece” of Rumor and Sigh is the spare, ballad-like “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” which displays Thompson’s clean, folk-inspired acoustic guitar and typically bleak lyrics. Many of these songs, though, are more pop inspired (as in “I Feel so Good,” which disguises a rather ugly lyric under typical eighties-hard rock clichés). Some of Thompson’s lyrics could be considered misogynistic (viz. “Mother Knows Best,” “Grey Walls”), but his bitter and highly publicized divorce may have contributed to this vein in his notoriously dark songwriting.

Many critics consider the products of Richard and Linda’s collaboration (including I Want to see the Bright Lights Tonight and Shoot out the Lights) to be classics of pop music. The arrangements are consistently innovative, using such unusual instruments as krummhorn and mountain dulcimer. Influences include English music hall, blues, and traditional folk music, but these albums are really defined by the combination of Linda Thompson’s unmistakable, dark-hued voice and Richard’s evocative, sometimes macabre songwriting. The title song of I want to see the bright lights tonight must be some kind of classic high (or low) mark in the expression of sheer desperation through pop music. These albums also contain some of the finest examples of Richard Thompson’s songwriting and arranging (“When I get to the Border,” “The Calvary Cross”).

Fairport Convention. Liege & Lief (CD 14317), Unhalfbricking (CD 14315). Fairport Convention (Richard Thompson, guitar, Dave Swarbrick, fiddle, Sandy Denny, vocals, and others) was arguably the most influential English folk-rock band, and their brand of folk-rock is far different from that produced by later American bands such as the Eagles. Despite Thompson’s electric guitar, Fairport Convention’s music is very heavily influenced by the English ballad tradition, and Dave Swarbrick’s fiddling contributes an authentically Anglo-Irish touch.

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Updated: 13 Dec. 2005