An NPR Music Best Classical Album Of 2018

After the huge success of her first album for Alpha, Crazy Girl Crazy, which received a Grammy Award, a JUNO Classical Award in Canada, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, FFFF in Télérama and DIAMANT in Opéra Magazine and was BBC Music Magazine CD of the Month, Barbara Hannigan is back with her long-time collaborator, the Dutch pianist and great interpreter of twentieth-century music Reinbert de Leeuw, for a recital exploring the roots of modern music, with the composers who left their mark on the turn of the twentieth century: Hugo Wolf (Mignon Lieder), Arnold Schoenberg (Vier Lieder op.2), Anton Webern (Fünf Lieder nach Gedichten von R. Dehmel), Alexander Zemlinsky (selected lieder), Alma Mahler (Die stille Nacht etc.) and Alban Berg (Sieben frühe Lieder). From what has been called the Second Viennese School, an incredible mix of musicians, painters, writers and other artists frequenting salons and cafés, a completely new musical language was born. Barbara Hannigan is especially fond of this repertory and has long championed it.

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REVIEWS:

Hannigan's tone at the final cry of "Magdalene" is an object lesson in how to color the voice with emotion. She sweetens her sound in Zemlinsky's gorgeous "Empfägnis" (Conception), while in Anton Webern's compact "Am Ufer" (On the Shore), every overripe note is charged with anticipation. With painter-like touches, pianist Reinbert de Leeuw excels in every searching harmony, every lonely pause between notes.

– NPR Music (Tom Huizenga)

The sensuous beauty of Hannigan’s voice as she traces the vocal lines’ leaps and bounds is always pure in tone. De Leeuw’s piano playing, gently crisp and penetrating, casts its own spell, enhanced by the sympathetic recording.

– Sunday Times (UK)

FAURÉ Dolly for Piano Four-Hands. Masques et bergamasques for Piano Four-Hands. Fantaisie for Flute and Piano, op. 79. Morceau de concours for Flute and Piano. Piano Trio, op. 120. Aprés un rêve for Cello and Piano (trans. Casals). Pelléas et Mélisande: Sicilienne, for cello & piano. FAURÉ-MESSAGER Souvenirs de Bayreuth for Piano Four-Hands • Eric Le Sage (pn); Alexandre Tharaud (pn); Emmanuel Pahud (fl); Pierre Colombet (vn); Raphaël Merlin (vc); Françoise Salque (vc) • ALPHA 603 (70:32)


This comes wrapped in a certain air of carelessness. It might be called Eric Le Sage and Friends , and one assumes that Le Sage is the principal pianist, but there is no attempt to identify who plays what, on the jacket or in the booklet. Likewise, there is a reluctance to credit the arrangers and collaborators of several items, e.g., the contribution of André Meassager to the Souvenirs de Bayreuth ; some of which are taken at breakneck speed, thus obscuring their allusions to the Wagner operas they’re guying. In other pieces, however, gung-ho spontaneity is salutary. Going for the gusto, finesse occasionally takes a hit. Nestled amid the bonbons, a movingly elegiac reading of Fauré’s late Trio, too often dismissed as a feebly geriatric effort, makes a superb case for it and prompts one to hear Le Sage & Company’s three other Fauré albums. Despite occasional reservations, this gives pleasure. Recommended.


FANFARE: Adrian Corleonis

The year 2017 was a vintage one for Giovanni Antonini: he was awarded an Echo Klassik, two Gramophone Awards, and a Diapason d’Or of the Year for his recent releases. Two of these prizes were for his release ‘Il Distratto, volume 4’ of the complete recording of the Haydn symphonies on which he embarked for Alpha in 2014. For the sixth volume, released in 2018, the Milanese conductor is again joined by the Kammerorchester Basel, which shares the project with Il Giardino Armonico and which he knows very well, since he conducts it regularly and they have made many recordings together, including volume 5 of the Haydn series. This volume focuses on symphonies with a ‘sacred’ inspiration: the Symphony No. 26, ‘Lamentatione,’ was composed in 1768 for Holy Week, and no. 30 was nicknamed ‘Alleluja’ after the plainchant melody Haydn uses in it.

Building on the success of their first album of Beethoven violin sonatas, which won a Diapason d’Or of the year (the magazine hailed ‘the birth of a great duo’) and ‘Choc’ de Classica, Lorenzo Gatto and Julien Libeer continue their complete recording of the cycle. “Beethoven’s sonatas have become the core of our musical lives. Rehearsed, tried out in concert, given a rest, rehearsed again.” Since performing the entire cycle over three consecutive evenings at Flagey in Brussels in 2016, they have played them repeatedly, and they met again at the end of 2017, at the Hilversum studio in Amsterdam, to record three more sonatas: “Surprise, even now?... Anyone who frequents Beethoven for a long time is no longer surprised to be surprised. For him, everything is coherent, but nothing is written in advance.” So they experiment here again and Julien has chosen a piano with parallel stringing: “The resonance of Chris Maene Straight Strung illuminates this music in a subtly different way. We enjoy ourselves.” (Lorenzo Gatto, Julien Libeer)

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REVIEW:

They swing forwards enthusiastically in the scherzos of Opp 24 and 96 but the hearts of these readings are in the slower, more intimate music: the stillness that spreads across the centre of the finale of Op 96 is profound, and the dialogue that launches that particular sonata seems to emerge out of nowhere. This is deeply un-showy Beethoven but it’s intensely sincere and it sounds entirely new. Try it.

– Gramophone

Includes trio(s) for strings by Franz Joseph Haydn. Ensemble: Rincontro. Soloists: Pablo Valetti, Petr Skalka, Patricia Gagnon.

In 1630 a strange disease called "Tarantism" struck Italy. It was attributed to a spider's bite with alternating symptoms of exaltation and prostration. Tarantella are enchanting songs and dances meant to heal the patient by creating a state of trance.

The psalterion and plucked chords convey a magic atmosphere to this recording. The vocal trio also contributes to the charm, and above all the sensuous and captivating voice of Marco Beasley.

This recording is a manifesto from the world of one man, Jo l Grare... evoking concepts like modernism, culture, temporality, style, and improvisation with a singular vision. Percussion) forms a rich musical base to this invitation to travel, and play magnificent themes stemming from Spain, Turkey, China, and ancient music like pro-jazzmen play standards.

'72 Angels is a large-scale work for mixed choir and saxophone quartet. It is structured as seventy-two prelude-evocations and an epilogue. Each prelude sets to music one of the seventy- two names derived from an esoteric interpretation of Exodus 14:19-21. Angelic beings, spiritual guides, higher energies or messengers are a common theme throughout many belief systems in human history. My intention in 72 Angels was to focus on what the religious, spiritual, esoteric and mythological traditions of different cultures have in common. I would like to focus on what unites us through shared connections. These seventy-two evocations celebrate all angels in their multifaceted variations... My hope is that every listener or musician will adopt his or her own personal interpretation' - Lera Auerbach. The voices of the Netherlands Chamber Choir, directed by Peter Dijkstra, bring these angels to life here, accompanied by the Rasch�r Saxophone Quartet.

During the 18th century, the manufacture of harpsichords reached its climax; very soon after, a victim of changing tastes, the harpsichord abandoned its dominance to the pianoforte, seen as an incarnation of progress. Jacques Duphly, then, wrote the final pages of French harpsichord history, in works where nobility vies with eloquence. Born in 1715 (the year of Louis XIV’s death) and buried in July 1789 (just before the Revolution), he represents the perfect summary of an art form that once radiated throughrout Europe.

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DUPHLY La Forqueray. Médée . Allemandes: en do; en ré. Courante La Boucon . Rondeaux. La Millettina. La Pothoüin . Chaconne. Courante. La Vanlo. Les Grâces. La de Belombre. La Félix • Elisabeth Joyé (hpd) • ALPHA 150 (75:00)


The grandson of one celebrated organist and trained by another, following his father’s death in 1742, Duphly speedily abandoned his appointments in the same profession in his native Rouen. He moved to Paris and chose a very different musical career, concentrating exclusively upon the harpsichord and private tutoring. He proved very successful, suggesting through numerous dedications and musical portraits his relationships with the highest artistic circles and musical patrons among the upper nobility. He seems to have been especially noted for his playing. D’Aquin de Château-Lyon wrote that Duphly “has a certain light touch, and a certain gentleness, which, with the addition of ornaments, renders the character of his pieces marvelously,” and Rousseau later quoted Duphly in his Musical Dictionary on the matter of fingering: “This perfection is generally achieved by a soft, light, regular touch.” Further elaboration results in what, in hindsight, would be some of the same goals of the French piano school of the 19th century, but that’s a matter for some other review. Suffice it to say that if Rousseau isn’t just placing his words in another’s mouth (which he did on more than one occasion), then Duphly emphasized clarity, proper ornamentation, and evenness of touch, even in those works of his that included rapid scales, figurations, and arpeggiated passages.


I mention these points because Elizabeth Joyé’s performances bring them to mind. While some other fine harpsichordists, such as Skip Sempé (Paradizo 0007) and Mitzi Meyerson (MDG 6005 1068), have produced fiery and virtuosic renditions of such pieces as La Millettina and the Rameau-like La de Belombre , Joyé is more measured in pace. Yet her version of these works lacks nothing for spirit, because she doesn’t rely solely upon excitement, as Sempé does; nor does she allow lengthy pauses to hang poised in midair between pairs of furious gallops. Though it may seem a bit simplistic to observe this, Joyé substitutes the exhilaration of the music itself for the excitement of a performance that draws attention away from the music. She allows us to focus instead on the irregular thematic rhythms and on how well Duphly’s harmonic accompaniments suit them.


At more moderate tempos, the rhythmic variety and passing harmonies of the Chaconne establish themselves fully without overwhelming the amiability of the piece. La Félix struts magnificently, and the melancholy lyricism of the Courante La Boucon makes itself felt without losing the gentle, forward flow of its 6/8 beat. Les Grâces is the slowest thing on the album and the most difficult to perform in several respects, given the importance of the notes inégales and an inflected but still metrical pacing. I find that John Paul (Lyrichord 8053), in his otherwise excellent survey of Duphly’s complete harpsichord music, loses the pacing here, as he does in La Pothoüin , but Joyé finds it unerringly.


La Félix also showcases the unusually fine, deep bass of the harpsichord used on this album, which is located in the Château d’Assas. Many images, both color and black and white, are devoted to it in the liner notes; and much attention is paid in a small but fine essay to its painted interior, depicting Apollo, Pan, and Midas. However, nothing is passed along about the instrument itself, its approximate age, any previous or recent restorations, the number and size of registers, the quality of its original materials, the casing, the tuning, etc.


The sound is close and moderately dry, and attractive liner notes are provided. Definitely recommended.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

The divertissements of the French court, renowned throughout Europe, were at their height during the reign of Louis XIV (1638-1715). Earlier genres, especially the air de cour and the air de ballet, were transformed in the tragedie lyrique, introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully. Within a few decades the combined talents of Moliere and Lully, then Moliere and Charpentier, produced the comedie-ballet (a fine example is Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, the 'Turkish March' from which has remained famous to this day), while the brilliant duo formed by Quinault and Lully worked on tragedies lyriques. These genres were to leave their mark on French music for the next hundred years and influence European music as well.

Classical Music

Sergei Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto might never have seen the light of day had it not been for hypnosis: before the twenty-seve-year-old composer began work on it, he was on his last legs - financially, artistically and psychologically. Dr. Nikolay Dahl hypnotized his patient every day, whispering to him: ''You will write your concerto. You will work with great fluency. The concerto will be of excellent quality.' The creative block disappeared, and the concerto's premiere in Moscow in 1901 was a triumph for Rachmaninov, who played the solo part himself. Anna Vinnitskaya says she feels 'a spring-like atmosphere' in this work: throughout there is a sense of movement, of awakening. The music passes through the most contrasting psychological landscapes, but moves towards clarity and light. Rachmaninov composed the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in 1934, ten years before his death. Brahms, Liszt, Lutoslawski and Andrew Lloyd Webber are among the most remarkable roll call of composers inspired by Paganini's theme. The Russian pianist and the Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbanski have often played Rachmaninoff together, on every continent. The two artists, both of whom present here their third disc for Alpha, were reunited in the NDR studios in Hamburg to record this repertory that fits them like a glove.

The remarkable Baroque cellist Bruno Cocset with the ensemble he co-founded, Les Basses Reunies is joined by Italian gambist Guido Balestracci in this second volume of sonatas exploring the Baroque legacy of composer Jean Barriere. The compelling rediscovery of Barriere's works has been led by Cocset's and Les Basses Reunies' advocacy, indeed Barriere's compositions are increasingly considered seminal to both cellists and Baroque instrumental repertory. The Sonata For Pardessus features a performance of the seldom heard pardessus, pitched like a violin and held like a viol and here played by Balestracci with an exquisite touch.

14 distinct titles introduce this exciting new series uniting the finest Alpha and ZZT Baroque recordings. Discover - or rediscover - universally known works as well as world premiere recordings of rarities. Newly conducted artist interviews allow for fresh perspectives on their recordings. All releases, digipak in format with trilingual booklets, feature photographs by great (Magnum Cooperative) contemporary artists adorning the covers and a strong 'queen of colors' scheme, bringing to mind gods, kings, warriors, the devil, life, violence and death... Themes omnipresent in Baroque art!