Jazz
Bruce Clarke
12 products
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SHAKE THAT BOOGIE: LIVE IN BREMEN 1989
$19.08CDMADE IN GERMANY MUSI
May 08, 2026MDIG20212.2 -
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SHAKE THAT BOOGIE: LIVE IN BREMEN 1989
SONATAS & STRING QUARTETS
Wolff: Complete Music for Violin & Piano
Feldman: The Northern Shore
Greene: Overtures / Clarke, Baroque Band
This group can play notes with the best baroque bands, but throughout the six Overtures in Seven Parts (strings, plus harpsichord, flute, and oboe) and the two additional overtures (from the opera Phoebe and from Greene’s Ode to St. Cecilia’s Day) these musicians and their director show particular and welcome concern for expressive nuance and articulation that gives the performances a dynamic presence that’s far more satisfying to listeners than renditions that may be “proper” but fall far short of demanding a repeat.
The program’s producers opted to supplement/complement the recital with three selections from Greene’s Lessons for the Harpsichord, performed with his usual panache and absolute stylistic authority by David Schrader. My only suggestion would have been to intersperse the solo harpsichord works among the overtures rather than group them in one block–but having these pieces on the same disc as the orchestral works makes for nice variety as well as giving listeners exposure to another area of Greene’s rarely-heard music. I looked everywhere for information about Schrader’s harpsichord–an instrument whose disposition makes an impressive sound, but also has a certain character that organists and early-music keyboardists know can add a dimension to the music and the performance that goes beyond the mere designation “harpsichord” or “organ”. Whatever its provenance, Schrader’s instrument has a very pleasing, intimate quality, timbrally on the bright side and evenly voiced across registers.
And whatever may have prompted the producers and players on this recording to make a program of Maurice Greene’s instrumental music–the vast majority of the existing CD catalog contains choral works–we baroque music lovers can do no less than celebrate and enjoy the chance to hear–and hear again–these undeservedly obscure solo and orchestral pieces, most of them entirely new to the catalog. Strongly recommended.
– David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com
Wallace: Maritana
Clarke: Mysteries of the Horizon / Grimethorpe Colliery Band
Nigel Clarke has always been fascinated by virtuosity and timbre- it is the brass band genre that has lent itself most to his passion for musical athleticism. ‘Dial ‘H’ for Hitchcock’ is an imaginary film score in the film noir vein, complete with classic and chilling sound effects, while the heroic, brooding and violent ‘Swift Severn’s Flood’ was inspired by a line from Shakespeare. Cornet concerto ‘Mysteries of the Horizon’ examines the atmosphere of paintings by Rene Magritte, and ‘Earthrise’ celebrates one of the most iconic photographs in history and the drama of the Apollo 8 mission.
Biber: Mensa Sonora, Battalia / Clarke, Baroque Band
REVIEW:
Since the demise of The City Musick some 16 years ago, Chicago has been without a period-instrument orchestra. Plenty of smaller chamber groups have been trying to fill the void, but it’s not quite the same as having a full-sized period orchestra that can tackle the larger works. Many metropolitan areas in North America can boast of having a Baroque orchestra—San Francisco, Boston, New York, Seattle, Cleveland, Toronto, Montreal. For a great city like Chicago to go without is unthinkable. The formation of the Baroque Band in 2007 was therefore something of an event and grounds for celebration. That this took place on the cusp of a severe economic downturn is even more remarkable. The present CD is the group’s debut recording, and shows it to consist of a nicely rounded 5-4-3-2-1 plus harpsichord, a healthy size by any standard. My thanks to Jim Ginsberg and his enterprising Cedille label for affording us non-Chicagoans the chance to examine the group for the first time.
In the press release to the CD, Baroque violinist and founder Gary Clarke speculates that this may be the first time the six suites of Biber’s Mensa sonora have been recorded using full orchestra, and he may be right. My past favorite, and the Baroque Band’s chief competition, is the version by Musica Antiqua Köln and Reinhard Goebel (Archiv 423701, nla). Naturally, one cannot expect the same sort of individualistic chamber-music approach from an orchestral performance, but within the context of a larger group, the Baroque Band plays with admirable style and precision. A minor quibble has to do with the omnipresent and very prominent harpsichord continuo. Well played as it is by David Schrader, the occasional inclusion of a theorbo or chamber organ would have provided some much-needed variety.
The featured work is the famous Battalia à 10 (subtitled “for violin, strings, and basso continuo in D Major” in the booklet), and its history on record is traceable to the classic premiere recording by Concentus Musicus from 1966. That LP, which contained several other works of Biber as well as music of Muffat, was rereleased on CD in the early ’90s as part of the Collectio Argentea series (Archiv 437081, nla). It’s fascinating to compare the two period-instrument performance styles of 1966 and 2010. Back then, violinist Alice Harnoncourt played with a very sweet, vibrato-y sound, but also with great authority and presence. Here, Gary Clarke is equally authoritative, but his sound is straighter and ultimately more apropos than Harnoncourt’s. Compared to the ultra-polished but somewhat laid-back Concentus Musicus, the Baroque Band is a well-drilled regiment, clearly in command of the music. It plays with greater energy and really digs into the Bartók pizzicati in “Die Schlacht.” The players ham it up delightfully in the Lamento movement, a perfect depiction of a bunch of drunken soldiers. The “fife and drum” movement is memorable—for once, the parchment-wrapped double bass really sounds like a drum. Of the several versions that have appeared over the years, including MAK’s, the Baroque Band’s is the most successful in capturing the spirit of this unusual and innovative music.
My main complaint about the CD is that there isn’t enough of it! A timing of 56 minutes is pretty skimpy these days—it would have been easy to add another couple of works by Biber, the Pauern Kirchenfahrt , perhaps, or the Sonata representativa . The recorded sound is first-rate, and Gary Clarke’s notes afford a good introduction to the music. An excellent, urgently recommended debut disc.
FANFARE: Christopher Brodersen
Biber's Mensa Sonora ("Sonorous Table") doesn't get as much play as some of his more virtuosic violin works, but it contains splendid music nonetheless. By any standard this is an excellent performance for a period-instrument group, largely because director Garry Clarke made the smart decision to use a larger-size ensemble rather than having the music played one to a part. In his booklet notes Clarke offers all kinds of ridiculous "historical" reasons supporting this decision, and it's sad that today it is unacceptable for period-instrument performers to offer the one reason that we know would have been as valid in the composer's own time as it is in ours: the music sounds better this way.
Mensa Sonora consists of six parts (called "Pars" appropriately enough), each containing from five to seven brief movements. These range from delicate arias and sarabandes to the vigorous and rhythmically inventive second Balletto from Pars II, and including a couple of imposing Chaconnes (in Pars III and VI). A larger ensemble gives more weight and sonority (that's "Sonora", right?) to the big moments, and a richer but still intimate sound to the lighter ones. Sure, there's the usual minimization of vibrato, which is wrong, but with multiple players it matters less than usual, and to his credit Clarke permits them none of that whiny squeezing of notes that so many period ensembles deploy to the point of mannerism in lyrical passages.
The Battalia makes a substantial bonus. Clarke and his company really play up the battle scene, and the drunken soldiers make a jolly cacophony. Only the final lament of the dying doesn't quite work--it seems to me that it should be simply touching and played more or less straight, without the lachrymose chromaticism exaggerated quite so much. Of course, this is very much a matter of taste. As usual with this label, the engineering is superbly natural and well-balanced. A fine disc that all fans of Baroque music will want to consider.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
HEAVY HITTIN' WEST COAST HARP
