Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Includes work(s) by various composers. Soloist: Jacob Heringman.

REVIEWS:

An irresistible discovery, winningly championed by a new orchestra...The resurgence of interest in the music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor reaches another milestone with this long-overdue first recording of his Violin Concerto...Abetted by polished and passionate playing from the recently formed Johannesburg PO under its British-born chief Michael Hankinson, Philippe Graffin triumphantly demonstrates what an effective, endearing work it is...The choice of Dvořák’s concerto as a coupling would no doubt have pleased Coleridge-Taylor; the Czech master was his favourite composer. Again, there’s no missing the wholehearted commitment of all involved...Graffin plays with such vibrant character and imagination, and the whole venture radiates such a life-affirming spontaneity and joy in music-making that any relative drawbacks dwindle into insignificance. An enjoyable momento of what was clearly a special project, then, but it’s primarily for the Coleridge-Taylor that you should snap up this delightful issue.

-- Gramophone (Andrew Achenbach)

"This is an exquisite concerto, though it may require repeated audition before it begins to weave its magic. Once in your soul, however, it will steal your heart with its exceptional craftsmanship and long and flowing melodic lines. Sooner or later, you will be wondering where this concerto has been and why it has not been recorded previously.

The Dvořák concerto, penned almost three decades before the Coleridge-Taylor, proves an ideal companion, as it too was championed in America by Maud Powell and progresses through darkness to light...by virtue of these virile and undeniably persuasive performances, Graffin and the Johannesburg Philharmonic establish themselves as staunch and compelling advocates for both works. The music is propelled by fervent, inspired, and imaginative interpretations; it also sells itself by way of exceptionally competent but not necessarily ingenious construction that holds up well under continual scrutiny. Unquestionably, this is an impressive release for all concerned and one hopes it is a herald of things to come."

-- Fanfare (Michael Carter)

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

This selection was recorded at Raveningham Church, Raveningham, Norfolk, England and St. Mary-at-Hill Church. London, England.

Pastoral tableau and earthly delights are on display in this vibrant and varied selection of Vivaldi’s arias and concertos for mixed forces. Vivaldi in Arcadia, the follow-up recording to Adrian Chandler’s Avie debut, Per Monsieur Pisendel (AV 0018), features the expanded forces of his ensemble La Serenissima, with the stunning string soloists engaging in a contest of style and beauty. The sparkling soprano of Mhairi Lawson, a member of English National Opera, joins them for arias from Dorilla in Tempe.

Adrian Chandler’s passionate explorations of Vivaldi’s music have led to numerous critically acclaimed performances, including the UK premieres of several of the Red Priest’s stage works.

This release ably serves two purposes—to display the virtues of the new Caivillé-Coll-style Goll organ recently installed in St. Martin’s Church, Memmingen, and to showcase the talents of organist Jane Parker-Smith. The repertoire has been selected for its accessibility and its potential for virtuoso display. Composers Marcel Lanquetuit (1894–1985), Joseph Boulnois (1884–1918), Henri Mulet (1878–1967), and Joseph Jongen (1873–1953) are squarely in the Franco-Belgian tradition of Franck, Widor, and Vierne. Jeanne Demessieux (1921–1968), a student of Marcel Dupré, enters the world of Messiaen, and English composers Percy Whitlock (1903–1946) and York Bowen (1884–1961) present a parallel English ecclesiastical tradition, while German composer Wilhelm Middelschulte (1863–1943) is in the Bach-Busoni orb. This selection allows Jane Parker-Smith to show, at one extreme, her prowess in a series of pastel-colored works requiring sustained slow tempos and concomitantly revealing registrations (Boulnois’s Choral in F??Minor, Mulet’s Rosace), and, at the other, her ability to tackle the large-scale Lisztian utterances of Jongen’s Sonata eroica and Middelschulte’s stunning Passacaglia.

The success of an organ recording depends both on the prowess of the performer and on the interface between the instrument and its surrounding space. In this case, it is a felicitous marriage. The results are warm, transparent, and, where need be, highly resonant without blurring any details. The quality of the recording rivals that of the Loft label’s best production.

The advent of the CD freed organ recordings of the limitations imposed by the LP tape to disc transfer. A 16 Herz C organ pedal could not be cut at all, let alone at a realistic level. Only its upper harmonics had to suffice. Early organ CDs reveled in their ability to produce woofer-damaging lower frequencies at the expense of any realistic musical balance. Bit by bit, however, musical intelligence finally prevailed, and here it is eloquently made manifest.
Jane Parker-Smith studied at the Royal College of Music in London. She subsequently took instruction with Jean Langlais in Paris. Her performances have the clarity and guisto tempi of those of Keven Boyer and Christopher Herrick. In her readings, she successfully balances the demands for exactitude and linear coherence with that of her need to actually interpret (pardon my split infinitive) these largely post-Romantic pieces. In other words, to personalize them and thus make them really communicate with the contemporary listener. Her success is striking and immediately made manifest in track 1, Marcel Lanquetuit’s Toccata, a kinder and gentler version of the Toccata that closes Widor’s Organ Symphony No. 5.

Igor Stravinsky, an excellent writer for wind instruments once said of the organ, and I paraphrase: “It’s unnatural . . . it never breathes.” Here Jane Parker-Smith makes it breathe. That this is only Volume 1 delights me. I hope that she will continue to explore these still largely musicological byways and illuminate them as beautifully as she has done here.
Preaching to the converted has never been particularly satisfying to me. The result in this case is an illuminating, and in terms of repertoire, essential recording that will delight aficionados, but, most important, will appeal to those just discovering this literature. Full organ specs are provided. If you haven’t gotten the message by now, this one is most warmly recommended.
--William Zagorski, FANFARE

"Attentive, loving, sophisticated accounts of the ultimate peak of the trio sonata genre.
With their boldness of invention, their expressive range and their extraordinary variety of three-part textures, Handel’s six Op 2 sonatas represent to my mind the ultimate peak of the trio sonata as a genre. Yet for some time there has been no complete recording of the set in the catalogue. Monica Huggett and her colleagues fill the gap admirably. These are polished and sophisticated performances, with much exquisitely turned detail, precisely echoed between the two violinists, who play as if identical twins. There is a great deal of subtle timing, graceful shaping...and delicately moulded detail...you won’t often hear this music more attentively, more lovingly played."
- Stanley Sadie, GRAMOPHONE

Cellist Phoebe Carrai performed with period-instrument ensemble Musica Antiqua Köln from 1983 to 1993, arguably the group's eclectic heyday. Carrai's spirit of adventure apparently hasn't waned in the meantime, given her curious and often unique interpretations of these familiar Bach suites. Her rendering of the opening Prelude of the First suite is inordinately broad and spacious, her subtle easing into the first note of each phrase giving the entire movement an inevitable flow and continuity. The fourth-movement Sarabande receives a similar slow, probing treatment akin to that of Jaap ter Linden (Harmonia Mundi). In contrast, Carrai's rendering of the Second suite's Courante is swift and expertly articulated, rivaling the speed and accuracy of Wispelwey (Channel) and Dieltiens (Accent) as well as modern-instrument virtuosos Navarra (Calliope) and Starker (Mercury).


At times Carrai's unconventional stylistic differences have a tendency to border on mannerism. For example, in the final Gigue of the Second suite, where Carrai's weighty, disproportionate emphasis on certain individual lines imbues the movement with an unusual lugubrious elegance, her forebearance also undermines the dance. Further, Carrai's occasional stresses on the introductory notes of the Fourth-suite Prelude simply sound bizarre. Likewise Carrai's uncharacteristically dreamy, evenly tempered renderings of the Sixth suite's two Gavottes (fast duple-meter folk dances) are among the slowest ever. Compared to my period-instrument reference performance by Anner Bylsma (Sony SEON), who sensibly completes this same movement in less than three minutes, Carrai's 4:37 is a bit of a stretch.


Avie's richly resonant sound complements Carrai's full-bodied performances. John Lutterman's informed notes are a joy to read. While not recommendable as a first choice among the many recordings of Bach's Suites, Carrai's highly personal and yes, distinguished performances nonetheless offer a genuine point of view--which is more than can be said for many less imaginative accounts that currently clutter the catalog.
--John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Classical Music