The coronation of Charles II was a glorious celebration of the restoration of the monarchy following a coup d'�tat, civil war and an eleven-year government of the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. Although contemporary statements concerning the music that was played are imprecise, Wim Becu and the ensemble Oltremontano have created this fascinating reconstruction of the ceremony, which portrays the King's arrival, his coronation in Westminster Abbey, the ensuing royal banquet and the royal masques that followed.

Pleasant to hear they are and so were named, viola d'amore, oboe d'amore and Flauto d'Amore. In the latter case it is a flute that - sounds like a third lower than the conventional instrument - similar to the oboe d'amore. The experimental sound sense Telemann, Graupner and Vivaldi gave this, for us today exotic instruments with a grateful solo and group concerts, of which imagine Marcel Ponseele and Il Gardellino us some of the most beautiful.

NICOLAI;BERTALI;SCHMELZER DEUTER VIOLIN MUSIC

The fame that he enjoyed in his lifetime clearly hasn’t served Carl Friedrich Abel well in the two centuries since his death. He was fêted all over Europe both for his supreme skills as a performer of the viola da gamba as well as for the quality of his compositions, and was responsible (along with JC Bach) for setting up arguably the first series of subscription concerts in the history of Western music, the “BachAbel-Concerts”. Even the prodigy that was Mozart benefited from Abel’s teachings (and was claimed as the composer of one Abel’s own symphonies). All this was known by keen minds of the time such as Charles Burney, JF Reichardt and Goethe.

Czech gambist Petr Wagner delivers here a scintillating rendition of Abel’s ever inventive music which ranges across Preludes, Adagios and sundry dance forms. Where to place this “late” music for the viola da gamba? Not Baroque and definitely heading in the direction of the classicism of Mozart, Haydn and even Beethoven.

Several masses with large orchestration attest to the outstanding compositional skills of the Salzburg master Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644-1704) in coping with large ensembles. As usual in Salzburg, Biber expects polychoral performances. The church music at the Salzburg cathedral drew its orientation from the performance practice in Venice. The Missa Alleluia was probably composed after 1690 and certainly before 1698, because a manuscript was made in Kremsmunster that year. The original score and sheets from Salzburg are lost. Excellent copies have been preserved at the Upper Austrian abbey at Kremsmunster: they serve as a basis for the present recording. Biber has fully exploited the possibilities of Baroque Instrumentation in the Missa Alleluia: a chorus with 2 sopranos, 2 altos, 2 tenors and 2 bass voices grants him a large number of combinations of voices and thus constant change of timbre. The strings choir also has six parts, with both violins often conducted virtuosically. A chorus with 3 trumpets and 2 cornetti is even surpassed in tonal mass by the chorus composed of 2 clarini, 4 trumpets, and timpani. This large number of trumpets emphasizes the cheerful character of the work and is very luxurious by Austrian standards.

Hiro Kurosaki is an Austrian violinist of Japanese origin. He studied in Vienna at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst and attended masterclasses with Nathan Milstein. Since becoming interested in historical performing practice on original instruments Hiro Kurosaki has performed as concertmaster and soloist with Les Arts Florissants, the Clemencic Consort, London Baroque, the Cappella Coloniensis, and Concerto Köln. Hiro Kurosaki has had a longstanding musical partnership with Linda Nicholson, concentrating on the Classical and Romantic repertoire. Linda Nicholson is one of the foremost keyboard players specialising in the performance of baroque, classical and early romantic music on instruments of the period. After studying at the Royal College of Music and London University she has performed widely throughout Europe and the Far East, in solo recitals, chamber music and as concerto soloist; for example with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Les Arts Florissants, and the Academy of Ancient Music.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Hiro Kurosaki, violin; Linda Nicholson, fortepiano. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN - COMPLETE VIOLIN SONATAS, VOLUME 2: Sonatain A minor, Op. 23; Sonata in F major, Op. 24 "Spring"; 12 Variations on 'Se vuol ballare' for violin and piano, WoO 40; Six German Dances, WoO 42.

BEETHOVEN Bagatelles: op. 33; op. 119; op. 126; in B?, WoO 60; in a, “Für Elise.” Andante in F, “Andante favori.” Rondo a capriccio, op. 129. Allegretto in b, WoO 61 • Linda Nicholson (fp) • ACCENT 24180 (76:29)


Wow. Wow, wow, wow! Putting this CD on and starting it up will put you into a musical space like no other. And it’s not just because it’s Beethoven, not just because Nicholson plays these short pieces with charm and style, but because she is so completely into the music that she becomes it. In a sense, there seems to be no interpreter here, though it’s obvious that she has given each and every note and phrase of these 29 pieces her complete and undivided attention. There seems to be no interpreter here because I hear, above everything else, Beethoven communicating directly with the listener.


All of the composer’s quirky peasant charm, his introspection, his kinetic energy, his quickly moving musical mind are here. One gets the sense of not listening to a recital, but of hearing the composer compose this music—or, to be more accurate, of having finally coalesced his ideas to the point where the jumble of notes has finally sorted out and progressed from conception to reality. By the time one reaches the last piece on the disc, the annoyingly over-popular “Für Elise,” which I hear as a “ringtone” on more cell phones than I care to count, you just know she’s going to have something new and valid to say about it, and by golly she does. There is nothing of the hackneyed in her performance of this or any of the other works. Her extraordinary command of rubato is subtle, makes sense, and creates a wonderful give-and-take. Everything, as I say, has been rethought; and yet, as I’ve also said, it seems to be rethought through the mind of Beethoven himself.


Fanfare requires comparisons for new recordings of oft-performed material, but I’m hard-put to compare Nicholson to anyone else. Brendel (Philips) is at times more energetic, at others more sustained, but this is clearly an interpretation—excellent, but not entirely Beethoven. Jenö Jandó (Naxos) sounds flaccid by comparison to either. Gould (Sony) slows them down a bit, revels in their skeletal structure, but again, this is an interpretation, not home ground. Of all those playing modern, conventional pianos, John O’Conor (Telarc) comes closest to Beethoven without interpretation—as Nicholson does here. But just try to get a modern piano to simulate the buzzing sound she creates with the bassoon pedal on this instrument, which lowers a piece of parchment onto the lower strings as in op. 119/3. The Bagatelle, op. 119/7, will have you on the edge of your seat—and the music simply drops you off the precipice; it doesn’t let you down easily. To paraphrase jazz pianist Lennie Tristano, she has reached the point where her “fingers sink into the keys and you reach that POW! moment.” Buy, listen, and marvel. This one had me in suspense for the entire 76 minutes. How often can you say that about performances of bagatelles? Oh, the sound quality is absolutely perfect. Even listening through headphones plugged into my computer speakers, Nicholson’s pianoforte (a sensational 1815 model made in Vienna by Johann Fritz) is right there, dancing in your head. Just listen to the range of colors she elicits in the op. 33/5, for instance. Might I be permitted one more “Wow”? This woman is a genius.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Following the Brandenburg Concertos, Sigiswald Kuijken now presents this new recording of the four Orchestral Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach with his ensemble La Petite Bande. Orchestral suites in the French style, in which the actual 'overture' is always followed by a series of dances or characteristic movements, were quite well known during Bach's time at courts throughout Europe. The splendour of the Versailles court of Louis XIV and XV was imitated everywhere, and music was of great importance in this respect. Sigiswald Kuijken has chosen a rather small ensemble for the present recording; the particular advantage of this approach is in the transparency of the voice-leading. Alongside the harpsichord, the bass group consists of one or two so-called 8-foot violones, a bass instrument significantly larger than the baroque cello and which produces a considerably more resonant sound due to its larger body and thicker strings. What is especially remarkable about this recording, however, is the exclusive use of natural trumpets without auxiliary holes - customary today but in fact historically incorrect.

-----

REVIEWS:

The resulting chamber music quality of these performances is refreshing, enabling one to hear the detail of the contrapuntal inner parts that is lacking in so many other recordings. Even if you have another recording of these suites, do get this one.

– Early Music Review

There are few musicians who appear more steeped in their worlds than Sigiswald Kuijken and one sense that Bach's pure instrumental vein frees his spirit like none other. A mesmerising purpose, natural balance and transparency of sound bring these works alive with quite remarkable results.

– Gramophone

In the hands of skilful players such as these they sound convincing and that equally applies to all the musicians of La Petite Bande.

– BBC Music Magazine

Following two prize-winning recordings of works by Jan Dismas Zelenka (ACC 24244/ACC 24259) highly praised by the international press, the Prague Collegium 1704 directed by Václav Luks has meanwhile given guest performances at the most important European concert venues. With its new CD recording, the ensemble has now conquered a milestone in baroque choral literature: Johann Sebastian Bach's B-minor Mass. The enigma of this great Catholic Mass by the Protestant Bach has continued to occupy musicologists to the present day. In accordance with the current state of research, the ensemble is set up according to the ideals of Johann Sebastian Bach. The choir - the high-quality Collegium Vocale 1704 - provides not only choral parts, with four singers to each part, but also the soloists, accompanied by an orchestra of 30 instrumentalists all of whom are internationally known specialists in historically accurate performance practice. This new recording - also the first Czech CD recording of this work on historical instruments - captivates listeners through the special charm, lightness and great virtuosity for which this ensemble is noted, together with the extensive knowledge and seriousness with which Václav Luks tackles his projects. Whereas a rather Protestant sobriety dominates other recordings of Bach's great Mass, this recording is impressive for its Catholic-influenced, Bohemian joy in music-making - with a zest for living that can be felt at all times.

In the 18th century, each composer of distinction and name composed works for the transverse flute: Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Philipp Telemann, Georg Frideric Handel and also Johann Sebastian Bach, who had the opportunity to meet Quantz on several occasions. As is so often the case, his flute compositions are deemed to be the culmination of their times, not only because of their contrapuntal content, but also because of the tremendous technical difficulties confronting the flute player. In some cases, Bach pushes the boundaries of the flautistic possibilities of the time to their utmost limits, making full use of the tonal range of the instrument and even leading the transverse flute into its remotest key ranges. In addition to solo works (the Partita BWV 1013 and a set of flute sonatas), on this release Jan De Winne presents concertos in which the transverse flute plays a crucial role: the Orchestral Suite No. 2 BWV 1067 (a “must” in the repertoire of any flutist), the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 BWV 1050, and the Triple Concerto BWV 1044.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

In the beginning there was great scepticism towards the thesis that Bach’s sacred vocal works were originally written for solo voices. Now this interpretation is establishing itself more and more. With this edition of one cantata for each Sunday and the great feasts of the ecclesiastical year Sigiswald Kuijken and La Petite Bande want to strengthen this new approach and prove it right by their excellent performances. This Vol. 14 of the edition contains the Christmas Cantatas BWV 57, 91, 122, and 151.

“Among current cantata series Sigiswald Kuijken's has a distinctive place, his one-to-a-part voices and few instruments achieving striking delicacy. His vocal soloists sing with disarming simplicity and ease in arias, and blend superbly in ensemble. A rare treat, Kuijken – and Bach – at their very best.” (BBC Music Magazine, March 2010, review vol. 9)

Do you really know how the instrument looks for his Bach Suites for Violoncello wrote? Sigiswald Kuijken is in his research that it may not be dealing with the now well-known (held between the legs) cello, but a violoncello da spalla (shoulder-cello). A convincing argument for Kuijken thesis is certainly this recording on a custom-made product for Kuijken instrument that knows these works represent more than just convincing.

BACH Cantatas Nos. 34, 173, 184, 129 • Sigiswald Kuijken, cond; Gerlinde Sämann (sop); Petra Noskaiová (alt); Christoph Genz (ten); Jan Van der Crabben (bs); La Petite Bande (period instruments) • ACCENT 25316 (70:01 Text and Translation)


In his cantata series Sigiswald Kuijken serves two masters. First and foremost is Bach; second is the way he believes Bach ought to be performed—which is to say, sung one-to-a-part. Forget what you’ve always been told about two masters; he serves both well. As far as the music is concerned, Kuijken has few peers in its interpretation, and these performances are the proof of it. As for chamber-style performance, the voices are the key, and Kuijken has assembled a well-nigh ideal quartet for the undertaking. Not only are all four singers outstanding soloists, but they also blend well together as a mini-chorus. Fortunately Kuijken’s devotion to authenticity does not extend to gender. Gerlinde Sämann’s and Petra Noskaiová’s contributions are among the many highlights of the disc. Noskaiová’s magical aria in Cantata 34 is a case in point. The excellence of La Petite Bande’s instrumentalists is, of course, a given. One objective of chamber-style performance is to individualize the polyphonic strands of Bach’s compositions, and Kuijken’s musicians and Accent’s engineers have done a superb job of doing just that. Skeptics (I am one) remain unconvinced, but in this recording, along with the series as a whole, Kuijken makes as strong a case as could be for his proposition. Heartily recommended.


FANFARE: George Chien

William Dongois is one of the best-known cornettists of our time. He is able to play the repertoire of his instrument - the cornett resembles a flute in its construction, whereas its wooden mouthpiece is used similarly to that of a trumpet - with dancelike elegance, rhetorical concision and, often, even with a certain 'groove'. On this CD, together with the Ensemble Le Concert Brisé, he presents a portrait of the composer Antonio Bertali (1605-1669), who hailed from Verona and was active at the Habsburg court in Vienna starting at the age of 20. He composed in the stylus fantasticus, which represents a synthesis of the Italian and Austrian styles. Typical of this style are echoes of dance movements, sections written above ostinato basses having the effect of improvisations, chromatic passages, but also dialogues and echo effects - all combining to form a music full of interpretative freedom that always appears to be telling a story. Today, Bertali's great Chaconne for solo violin (also recorded here) belongs to the standard baroque repertoire, but Dongois and his ensemble also demonstrate in the lesser-known works how variegated and enticing this music is.