Classical Music

Classical Music

HUMMEL POMPA-BALDI (PIANO) PIANO SONATAS VOL. 1- SONATA OP. 2, NO. 3 IN C MAJOR; SONATA OP.13 IN E-FLAT MAJOR; SONATA OP. 20 IN F MINOR

Classical Music

MOZART FAMILY

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

"This is an immensely enjoyable and rewarding release, and one that comes with the highest recommendation. " - Jerry Dubins, Fanfare

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

“I hope you will knuckle down to a good symphony,” wrote Samuel Barber in September 1944 to his fellow composer Aaron Copland: “We deserve it of you, and your career is all set for it.” It was a strange thing to say given that Copland had already composed a variety of symphonies, albeit admittedly all more experimental than Barber might have preferred. The fourth volume in the highly acclaimed Copland series from John Wilson and the BBC Philharmonic opens with the resoundingly successful Symphony No. 3 (1944-46). The optimistic spirit of this work resonated perfectly with the euphoria of post-war America, resulting in its becoming an emblem of US nationalism. This lesser-recorded original version comes complete with the twelve bars which Bernstein later suggested cutting from the fourth movement. Three commissions complement the symphony: ‘Letter from Home’ (1944) reflects the feelings of receiving a letter from a loved one. ‘Down a Country Lane’ (originally commissioned by Life magazine as a solo piano work) is here performed in its orchestral version (1964), reimagined for a series of concerts showcasing youth orchestras. ‘Connotations’ (1962), a twelve-note serial composition premiered by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic at the inauguration of The Philharmonic Hall, complete this invigorating surround-sound album.

Nicolas de Grigny (1672-1703) died at the age of 31 without bequeathing everything his genius let hope for. Considered one of the greatest masters of the organ, de Grigny composed only one Organ Work (1699) called "Premier", consisting of a Mass and five Hymns for various Church festivals. Johann Sebastian Bach, a fervent admirer, discovered his music, during his youth and copied his entire work which would influence–as much as Buxtehude’s, then later Frescobaldi’s–his own organ work. The new release of this recording from 1992 on the historical organ of Saint-Michel-en-Thiérache pays tribute to the great organist André Isoir who died in 2016. The French organist and composer, André Isoir, studied in Paris at the École Cesar-Franck. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied with Rolande Falcinelli and received the premier prix in both organ and improvisation in 1960. He won several international organ competitions including the St Albans International Organ Festival in England in 1965, then won 3 consecutive annual prizes (Prix du Challenge) at Haarlem Competition in Holland (1966-1968). He was the first French organist to achieve this distinction in the history of the competition. André Isoir served as organist at St.-Médard from 1952 to 1957, at St.-Séverin from 1967 to 1973, and at the Abbatial Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris from 1973. As a recitalist, he became particularly well known for his performances of the works of J.S. Bach.

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REVIEW:

This is the second time Isoir has tackled the de Grigny oeuvre. These recordings were taped by Radio France at Saint-Michel-en-Thiérache in 1992. Twenty years earlier, the organist set down his interpretations for the Calliope label, using two organs – l’orgue Clicquot de la cathédrale Saint-Pierre, Poitiers and the Grand Orgue Jean Esprit Isnard de la Basilique de St Maximin la Sainte Baume. Since I have these earlier recordings, I made a head-to-head comparison. The two recordings are interpretively close, which is hardly surprising, and both adhere to very similar sounding registrations. The earlier set is more closely recorded, with some distance placed between the organ and the listener in the later version.

I am impressed by Isoir’s handling of registrations, in which he fully explores the Saint-Michel-en-Thiérache organ’s full potential. The liner notes, in French and English, give a brief history of the instrument and provide a list of its specifications. Radio France have achieved a warmer and more intimate sound than that found in the earlier set. The reissue of this 1992 cycle is a tribute to the great organist André Isoir who died in 2016.

– MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Four centuries after his birth, Johann Jacob Froberger (1616-1667) is still able to reach listeners with his moving compositions. Powerhouse composers like Bach and Mozart studied Froberger’s works, and his influence in the world of Western music cannot be overlooked. This release is the eighth installment in the Froberger series, and includes the toccatas performed on harpsichord, as well as two Elevation toccatas and an organ toccata. Motets are also performed in their world premiere recordings.

Oliva, J.C.: 4 Etudes / 3 Instantes De Amor / Sonata Transfi

Carlo Zecchi (1903-1984) studied with both Busoni and Schnabel and had a brief, but meteoric, career as a soloist, before switching in 1942 to conducting, with occasional forays into chamber music. Like his fellow Italians Michelangeli, Vidusso and Fiorentino, he possessed an immaculate technique, which gives his playing a sense of lightness and ease in even the most difficult passages. The recorded Liszt etudes are almost unrivalled in their virtuosity and in Scarlatti and Bach the evenness of his finger-work has to be heard to be believed. But he was a poet and a colorist too, as the more lyrical works of Chopin, and the Debussy Poissons d’or reveal. Sadly, Zecchi’s recorded repertoire is small and this release includes an example of every piano work he recorded on 78s. Long known as a cult pianist to a select few, it is hoped these new transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn will bring his small but priceless legacy of piano recordings to a wider audience.

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Chandos’ new exclusive collaboration with the recent Salzburg and Leeds competition winner Federico Colli is kicking off with this first volume in a unique Scarlatti series. Playing on a modern Steinway, the Italian pianist – internationally recognized for his intelligent, imaginative interpretations and impeccable technique – here explores the keyboard sonatas of Scarlatti, taking a fresh approach from a philosophical angle, by grouping the compositions into ‘chapters’ in order to reflect the many contrasts of his life and his contradictory personality. In personal liner notes Colli reveals: "I conceived a map of a journey into transcendental thought, beyond the works’ phenomenological meaning. Each chapter has a title and the individual sonatas in each chapter refer back to the permeating image of its basic idea." This album is an exceptional start to what promises to be an exciting, long-lasting partnership.

Includes work(s) by various composers, Carlos Jiménez-Mabarak. Soloist: Duane Cochran.

Includes work(s) for organ by Dietrich Buxtehude. Soloist: Hans Davidsson.

From Spain to Mexico and Brazil, the RNCM Wind Orchestra, under the conductors Clark Rundell and Mark Heron, here celebrates the strong Latin tradition of wind bands in an exhilarating programme. The album prominently features works by one of the most iconic composers for winds, the Brazilian Villa-Lobos. Their liveliness, freely changing modalities, ease of flow, and likeable sonorities are a striking compositional signature, the unusual Concerto Grosso exploring a unique sound world with concertante discussion among the four wind soloists and the wind band. Also heard are the tender wind Adagio by Rodrigo and his arrangement for band of his first major symphonic work, Per la flor del lliri blau, which in dreamily evoking the age of mediaeval tales inspired his Concierto de Aranjuez. We are brought to Mexico with a stunning work by one of the country’s most popular composers, Carlos Chávez, celebrating a range of popular national genres: the march, waltz, and song.

Classical Music

Classical Music

REVIEW:

When we last left Perceval (heard on La Nef’s earlier Dorian recording, Perceval, The Quest for the Grail Vol. 1--type Q383 in Search Reviews) he was departing from Belrepeire Castle, scene of his victorious battle and home of his beautiful, beloved lady Blancheflor, determined to return to his mother, who he had long ago left grieving and sorrowful. In this Volume 2, Perceval, sung with clear, unadorned, lyrical beauty by countertenor Daniel Taylor in perhaps his best recorded performance to date, falls into many more adventures, some quite mysterious and even surreal. His encounter with the Fisher King in the Castle of the Grail involves a bizarre processional that involves a spear dripping with blood, a candelabra, a silver platter, and, unbeknownst to Perceval, the Grail itself. The next morning, all he has seen has vanished. For years more he wanders, facing many challenges and meeting a strange and wonderful cast of characters--a maiden, an injured goose, the Hideous Damsel, and a Holy Hermit--all of whom help reveal secrets regarding his journey and of the Grail, “a thing of great sacredness that supports and fortifies life.”

If you’re not familiar with the amazing Canadian ensemble La Nef, you owe it to yourself to hear its performances, and the two discs that make up the story of Perceval and the Grail are a good place to start. What these musician/storyteller/actors have done is adapted the 12th-century texts of Chrétien de Troyes’ version of the grail story and set them to various existing and newly composed tunes, supported with original and highly effective instrumental accompaniments. In a strange way, La Nef has modernized the story and its presentation while preserving an aura of “ancientness” through use of old instruments--harp, viol, psaltery, early guitar, shawm, percussion, recorder--the ancient languages, and perfectly chosen, characterful voices. There’s an abundance of beautiful music here, and the tunes are always tastefully and imaginatively used--the British folksong “Ca’ the yowes” set to the words “Tout le jour, sa voie tint”; the clever interjection of the old English song “Brid one brere” (Bird on briar) into the scene where Perceval finds the injured goose; and the varied use of the Easter plainchant “Victimae paschali laudes” at Perceval’s Good Friday visit to the Hermit.

One of the disc’s highlights is the haunting solo and accompaniment to the Fisher King’s song of greeting, a tune adapted from a Gaelic melody. All of the voices and instrumental performances are outstanding (especially Taylor, baritone Rafik Samman, soprano Catherine Herrmann, contralto Claire Gignac, viol player Betsy MacMillan, and guitarist Sylvain Bergeron) and they’re captured in Dorian’s trademark top-notch sound. This disc and its companion volume provide two of the most delightful hours you can spend with a recording. If you like great stories, fantastic music, and a bit of medieval magic, you can’t go wrong with La Nef and Perceval.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Classical Music