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Parker-Smith's reputation has been based on her love of big romantic sounds and her ability to manage them, and this CD is no exception - an interesting program, excellently performed and recorded.

Jane Parker-Smith’s earlier recordings in this series have been generally well-received: Volume 1 on AV0034 – see review and review; Volume 2 on AV2144 – see review. On this new recording, as on the earlier volumes, she performs an interesting mix of the fairly familiar and the unfamiliar, from the English, French, German and other European traditions, this time on the organ of St Gudula in Rhede, a fine modern instrument, with full specification and illustrations included in the excellent booklet.

I hadn’t encountered Wiedermann (tr.1), Landmann (tr.2) or Gárdonyi (tr.6) before, but I’m pleased to have heard their music on this CD. The Landmann Variations on a Theme of Handel (tr.2), a demanding piece which brings out the glories of the organ to fine effect, deserve to be part of the regular repertoire. At 15:36, this is the longest item here, but it never outstays its welcome. The Bairstow (tr.3) and Parry (tr.4), on the other hand, are staple fare, at any rate for Anglophone organists; though we tend to associate such music with the Willis style of organ, they, too, suit the versatile Rhede organ.

Zsolt Gárdonyi’s Grand Chœur (tr.6) is a particularly interesting work; it might well have come from the pen of Widor or Vierne, by which I don’t mean to imply that it sounds derivative – in fact, it’s an impressive piece which also deserves to be part of the repertoire, though it’s surprising to hear a contemporary composer writing in a comparatively old-fashioned idiom.

I’m never sure why organists feel the need to perform transcriptions of orchestral music when there is such a wide and varied repertoire for their instrument, so I could have done without the Liszt Orpheus (tr.5) in favour of another piece from the English or French tradition. Oddly enough, in this transcription by Jean Guillou the opening of the music sounds like an original organ piece by Guillou himself or early Messiaen, so the track proves to be not as unwelcome as I had imagined, especially as Parker-Smith gets some lovely growly sounds out of the organ. By the end of the work I was even beginning to prefer this transcription to the original.

The Cochereau transcription (tr.8), on the other hand, is very well worth having: this is not a transcription of an orchestral piece but a very effective realisation by Jeremy Filsell from Cochereau’s own improvised 1974 recording of his Scherzo symphonique. Not for nothing was Cochereau dubbed the organist’s organist and this piece rounds off the recital very effectively.

Parker-Smith’s performances throughout are thoroughly idiomatic and the recording captures the full range of the organ very well. As early as her first recording, aged 23 (for Music for Pleasure on the Westminster Cathedral Organ, an LP which sold for 71p!) her reputation has been based on her love of big romantic sounds and her ability to manage them, and the new CD is no exception. She’s recorded for several labels since then, notably recently for Avie; I must catch up with the earlier Avie volumes which I missed. Her reputation alone will probably sell this new recording; those who buy it on the strength of that reputation will not be disappointed.

I’ve been very impressed with a number of recent Avie issues, notably Trevor Pinnock’s Brandenburgs (AV2119 – see review and review, and my survey of Bach Downloads) and Imogen Cooper’s Mozart (Piano Concertos 24 and 25, AV2175 – see review and my March, 2009, Download Roundup); this new organ recital joins their ranks.

This is an interesting programme, excellently performed and recorded and well presented, as were the earlier volumes. At 77:04, the CD is well filled, too.

-- Brian Wilson, MusicWeb International

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Bach, J.S.: Orchestral Suites for A Young Prince (Including

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Live at the Angel Orensanz Center for the Arts in New York City.

Bonus: Craig Smith and Christopher Lydon in Conversation with Russell Sherman

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It is interesting to see what uses musical amateurs of Handel’s day made of his scores, and the singing by Nicki Kennedy is excellent.

HANDEL Cantatas: So Pleasing the Pain Is. 1,2 With Roving and with Ranging. 1,2 To Lonely Shades 1,2 & • Nicki Kennedy (sop); 1 Sally Bruce-Payne (alt); 2 The Brook Street Band (period instruments) • AVIE 2153 (2 CDs: 118:57 Text and Translation)

& HANDEL Songs: 1 An answer to Collin’s complaint. Dear Adonis, beauty’s treasure. The forsaken nymph. I like the am’rous youth. Love’s but the frailty of the mind. ’Twas when the seas were roaring. Transporting joy

This recording is titled “Handel’s English Cantatas.” The three works consist of 13 arias and three duets from three Handel operas, Giulio Cesare, Ottone , and Flavio , with new English texts and arranged for two violins and basso continuo . The arrangements have been attributed to Handel, but this claim is very doubtful. The form of each work, a series of arias ending with a duet, without linking recitative, is otherwise unknown in Handel, and there is no evidence that Handel had any part in putting these works together. The notes to this recording make as good a case as can be made for Handel’s involvement, but I remain unconvinced. The works themselves make enjoyable listening, since the music is taken from three of Handel’s best operas, and it is interesting to see what uses musical amateurs of Handel’s day made of his scores.

The performances are generally enjoyable. Nicki Kennedy is the more pleasing of the two soloists. Sally Bruce-Payne has a large voice that does not sound like it is always completely under her control, and she has an annoying habit of giving a very strong accent to some words; for example, in So Pleasing the Pain Is her overstress produces too strong an emphasis on some syllables. Fortunately, she manages to control this tendency most of the time. The Brook Street Band, consisting of two violins, cello, and harpsichord, plays expertly, and one hardly misses the full orchestra for which these works were originally written.

According to the catalog of Handel’s works in the New Grove , these three cantatas were arranged for different voices than those assigned to them here: So Pleasing the Pain Is for tenor and baritone, With Roving and with Ranging for soprano and baritone, and To Lonely Shades for soprano and tenor. The notes are silent on the arrangements made for this recording.

There are two English cantatas that are accepted as legitimate. Look Down, Harmonious Saint , a single recitative and aria, is not included here but can be found as a supplement to Robert King’s recording of Acis and Galatea . The second, Venus and Adonis , survives in fragmentary form as two arias with harpsichord accompaniment. Those two arias, Dear Adonis, beauty’s treasure and Transporting joy , are included here in a group of seven songs. Many songs have been attributed to Handel. A few years ago, Somm released a recording of all of the songs of unquestioned attribution. Four of them are included here, though one ( An answer to Collin’s complaint ) is performed in a harpsichord arrangement. The forsaken nymph and the two arias from Venus and Adonis are recording premieres. All are excellently sung by Nicki Kennedy.

The three newly recorded items make this recording a must for dedicated Handelians, and the three English cantatas make interesting listening.

FANFARE: Ron Salemi

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Includes work(s) by various composers.

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REVIEW:

This CD has been given the title “The French Connection,” but it has nothing to do with the 1971 film in which Gene Hackman plays a New York City police detective trying to figure out where all the heroin is coming from. Instead, the title is an allusion to the increasing interest that French and Italian composers (and music lovers in general) had in each other’s music during the 1720s and 1730s. Vivaldi was an important player in this virtual exchange program, and supplied music—either new or recycled—for French patrons and printers. Even music intended for domestic use sometimes spoke with a French accent, as it were, during this period. Try the opening of RV 211 (probably composed as an operatic entr’acte) and you’ll immediately hear, in the dotted rhythms and swooping flourishes, an example of Vivaldi “speaking French.” This CD, then, is a varied compilation of works that fit into one of the above categories. As usual, one is impressed with Vivaldi’s fecundity and flexibility.

Adrian Chandler’s booklet notes are in two parts. The first is a discussion of Vivaldi’s impact on French music, and vice-versa. The second is “A note on the performance—a musician’s perspective.” This is a really terrific bit of musicology that even a layman should be able to get into. For example, in two of the so-called “Paris” concertos, a theorbo is used in the continuo, but in the fifth concerto, it is replaced with a guitar. Why, you might ask? Chandler argues that this concerto appears to have been specifically composed for a French audience and is the most typically French in style; therefore, it makes sense to use a guitar, which apparently was uncommon in Italian orchestral music at that time. Chandler also explains the two fragments included on this CD—concertos lacking one or more movements. Schubert’s “Unfinished” is, after all, a fragment, too, argues Chandler. I don’t think either of these fragments rises to Schubert’s level (or Bruckner’s Ninth!), but I agree with Chandler that works shouldn’t be ignored just because they are incomplete.

At first I thought that these performances were going to be too aggressive, but fortunately that is not the case, at least for the most part. The playing is lively (but not rushed) and very well articulated, and the fast movements have an appealing bounce. The musicians seem to be having fun. The slow movements sing nicely, without too much sweetness. La Serenissima was founded in 1994 and has recorded several discs for Avie. I am sorry to have missed them until now, but I hope to make up for that. Flutist Bircher and bassoonist Whelan are members of the ensemble. Whelan is particularly delightful to hear as he burbles through Vivaldi’s busier passages. His bassoon, a modern copy of an old Venetian instrument, even sounds a little like a saxophone at times, and to my ears, that only adds to the fun.

The recording is rich and brilliant, but not everyone will like how it brings the soloists so well into the foreground.

FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

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

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