Unfailingly enjoyable music, performance and recording.

The Avison Ensemble continue to do proud the composer whose name they bear. Having recorded his Opp. 3 and 4 (Naxos 8.557905-6 – see review) and Op.6 Concertos (Naxos 8.557553-4 – see Jonathan Woolf’s review and Johan van Veen’s review), Concerti after Geminiani (Divine Art DDA21210 – see review), the Op.9 and Op.10 Concerti Grossi (DDA21211) and his Concerti Grossi after D Scarlatti (DDA21213), they now turn their attention to the Op.1 Trio Sonatas and the Op.8 Keyboard Sonatas with accompaniments. I’m on record as offering high praise to DDA21211 – see review – and DDA21213 – see review – and Jonathan Woolf was also lavish in his praise for DDA21213 – see review.

The works on the new set may not reach quite the heights of the Concertos after Geminiani and Scarlatti – go for those two sets first – but they are by no means negligible: unfailingly tuneful and well-constructed. The Op.1 pieces may well have had their origin as exercises when Avison was being tutored by Geminiani; if so, they are the work of a very competent and inspired pupil, by no means a slavish imitator of his mentor. Even when he adapted the keyboard works of Geminiani and Scarlatti, Avison did much more than merely orchestrate their music, just as Geminiani had done in orchestrating the music of his own mentor, Corelli.

The Op.1 Sonatas are advertised on their title page (reproduced in the well-documented Divine Art booklet) as ‘for two violins and a bass’. This makes them, in effect, Trio Sonatas in the manner of Corelli – indeed, they all follow the four-movement pattern of Corelli’s Sonate da chiesa, slow-fast-slow-fast, though it is unlikely that they were intended for church performance. The ‘bass’ is performed here on the cello and chest organ, making for a very full sound. I’m on record as preferring the cleaner sound of violin and harpsichord, without cello, in Corelli’s Op.5 Sonatas (Naxos 8.557799 – see review) but the fuller sound works well in Avison’s Op.1, making the music sound much closer to the Concerti Grossi on the Ensemble’s other recordings.

The Op.1 Sonatas are in a form transmitted from Corelli via Geminiani. By the date of the Op.8 Sonatas, however, the music of Rameau was becoming influential in England and Avison specifically mentions ‘Scarlatti, Rameau and Carlo-Bach’ (i.e. CPE Bach) alongside Geminiani in his ‘Advertisement’ for the set. The notes in the booklet very reasonably speculate that Avison knew Rameau’s Pièces de clavecin en concerts: he certainly praises the French composer for his ‘spirited Science’. Once again, however, whatever the degree of Rameau’s influence, Avison is no slavish imitator. I hear the influence of Scarlatti and, perhaps, even a foretaste of Boccherini in Sonata No.3 (trs.6-7).

The title page of Op.8 (again, reproduced in the booklet) described the works as ‘for the harpsichord with accompanyments for two violins and a violoncello’ and he specified that the string parts ‘being intended for Assistants only ... ought no where to overpower the Harpsichord.’ This brings me to my one reservation concerning the new recording. Whatever Avison’s intentions – reinforced by the fact that the harpsichord part is capable of being performed alone – the ‘Assistant’ strings do sometimes prove intrusive on the recording. This may well be an inherent problem in the music itself rather than one to be laid at the door of the performers or the engineers. Without suggesting that multi-miking or other trickery should have been employed, I should have thought it possible for the harpsichord part to be brought out more fully on a recording.

It’s a minor criticism and it didn’t spoil my enjoyment unduly. Otherwise I have nothing but praise for everything on these CDs. Music, performance and recording – preferably with a slight volume reduction from your normal setting – all contribute to a most enjoyable experience and the booklet is a model of its kind. As on the earlier recordings, there are no rough edges to the sound of the period instruments employed; this is early music without tears. I look forward now to the appearance of the Op.5 and Op.7 sonatas.

-- Brian Wilson, ClassicsToday.com

AVISON Harpsichord Sonatas, opp. 5 & 7 • Avison Ens • DIVINE ART 21215 (2 CDs: 111:09)


When I started the first cut in this set, it immediately sounded wrong. The Avison Ensemble was applying both extensive French Baroque instrumental ornamentation, and notes inégales , much after the manner of Couperin’s observation about French composers: “We write music differently from the way we play it … the Italians, on the other hand, observe the exact value of the notes in composing their music.” But as the selection progressed, it became apparent that Avison was deliberately writing in the French manner, and one that was already old-fashioned at the time of these works’ composition, too. After doing some research, I discovered that this change in manner could be dated to the early 1750s, when Avison had presented the public with Rameau’s Pièces de Clavecin en concert in his Newcastle concerts. That influence carried across to his own “harpsichord sonatas” of op. 5 (1756) and op. 7 (1760), where the accompaniment, as with Rameau, rises to the point of taking an active, equal part in the proceedings. It can’t be said that Avison pursued the intricate part-writing of the Frenchman, or possessed his great dramatic gifts (which appeared in chamber music, as well as in cantatas, motets, and operas), but he discovered a melodic-harmonic vein of charm that does, indeed, honor the man whose “science” he so greatly admired in the written advertisement to one of his later collections.


As to the performances by the Avison Ensemble, they are worthy of the music they play, being both suavely urbane and stylistically astute. The numerous figurations they apply are well chosen, and properly more common in slow movements than fast ones. A broad, reasonable range of tempos is selected throughout. Technically, there’s nothing to challenge these musicians, although the sound of the recording seems a trifle distant and over-reverberant. It’s not a major factor interfering with enjoyment, however. Definitely recommended.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

Includes work(s) by Charles Avison. Ensemble: The Avison Ensemble. Conductor: Pavlo Beznosiuk.

Vyacheslav Artyomov is considered by many to be Russia’s greatest living composer. After the fall of the Soviet regime his music has travelled the world to great acclaim. It is deep, ultimately spiritual and brilliantly crafted, with influences from the Russian symphonic tradition colored by Mahler, Scriabin, Honegger and Messiaen to name a few – but melded into a unique voice. The Requiem, together with his massive Symphony cycles, was the work which brought enormous acclaim to Artyomov both in Russia and in the USA. It was the first Requiem to be written by a Russian and the first to be performed in the former USSR. Dedicated ‘to the Martyrs of Long-Suffering Russia’ it is a true masterpiece in which several parts of the mass are given treatments very different from the ‘norm’. Exciting, moving and bristling with power and passion, this is a Requiem to stand alongside the established great Requiems of the past. The performers are those who gave the Moscow premiere, and give a stunning performance.

Vyacheslav Artyomov is considered by many to be Russia’s greatest living composer. After the fall of the Soviet regime his music has travelled the world to great acclaim. It is deep, ultimately spiritual and brilliantly crafted, with influences from the Russian symphonic tradition colored by Mahler, Honegger and Messiaen to name a few- but melded into a unique voice. This is one of a pair of related albums and contains a Symphony which is the second of his gigantic symphonic tetralogy “Symphony of the Way,” commissioned by Mstislav Rostropovich to whose memory the release is dedicated. The symphony is accompanied by another major work, Ave Atque Vale for percussion and orchestra, and the much more traditional Ave, Crux Alba- a setting of the Hymn of the Knights of Malta. The conductor, Ashkenazy, needs no introduction, being one of the most lauded and accomplished figures in music today. Overall, this is a disc of high importance in the symphonic repertoire. These are all world premiere recordings.

Vyacheslav Artyomov is considered by many to be Russia’s greatest living composer. Since the fall of the Soviet regime his music has travelled the world to great acclaim. It is deep, ultimately spiritual and brilliantly crafted, with influences from the Russian symphonic tradition colored by Mahler, Scriabin, Honegger and Messiaen to name a few – but melded into a unique voice. The Divine Art Artyomov Retrospective is a mix of new recordings and former Melodiya releases. It continues with the 7th album containing two works for percussion ensemble and one orchestral – all typifying Artymov’s true genius as a truly individual composer who can make thoroughly modern music listenable and demanding further regular hearings. Mark Pekarsky leads the first percussion ensemble established in Russia and still the foremost group in that country. Russian-American conductor Virko Baley directs the superb Moscow Philharmonic.

Burkard Schliessmann is a unique interpreter, never afraid to find a new expression and always searching for the heart of the music and the composer’s inspiration, whether in the Romantic world or that of J.S.Bach. Among other awards, Schliessmann won three silver medals at the Global Music Awards 2017 for his Divine Art Chopin album, and has been awarded the Goethe-Plakette by the city of Frankfurt. This recording of the Goldberg Variations was originally released in 2007 and was highly acclaimed: “ambitious and really spectacular” (AllMusic); “thoughtfully simple, always finely worked out” (FonoForum); Critics Choice 2008 (American Record Guide); Recording of the Month (MusicWeb International).

Sir John Manduell (1928-2017) was a pivotal figure in British music – as composer, BBC producer, first principal of the Northern Royal College of Music and founder of the European Opera Centre. Beloved and revered by musicians, yet someone whose name is shamefully little known outside the music and broadcasting professions. This album is a sequel to ‘Songs for Sir John’ (DDA 25210) which in tribute to Sir John presented works by 16 composers from more than one generation. On this new album we present music by Sir John himself, and by William Alwyn, Michael Berkeley, Adam Gorb and Richard Stoker, all well crafted works which will give great enjoyment as well as perhaps inspiring musicians to add them to their repertoire. Even without the Manduell connection this is a wonderfully constructed program of new chamber and vocal music. The performers, like Sir John, are based in and around Manchester, England, which is a dynamic ‘hotspot’ for fine musical creativity.

Review

Sir John Manduell (1928-2017), composer and academic, crucially the first Principal of Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music, is still much loved and revered. So much so that this is the second tribute disc from The Divine Art. The composers featured are very much part of the Manchester scene.

Adam Gorb’s Aria for Sir John is a touchingly melodic little piece for recorder and string quartet. Next comes a sequence of pieces by Manduell himself. After an edgily haunting and reserved Elegy for string quartet there’s a trippingly complex Recitative and Aria in similar language, The Trois Chansons are for soprano and piano. Here, Manduell responds with natural melodic pliancy to the texts. These are indeed early works of his and this explains the less relentless and even straightforward melodic style. Of the three, ‘D’un vanneur de blé aux vents’ was also set, at about the same age, as Manduell by Lennox Berkeley, in 1925, Young men’s songs then - sung here by Rachel Speirs. She has lyric instincts and operatic powers in reserve and the latter are certainly engaged by ‘À sa dame malade’.

The short Bell Birds from Nelson is for John Turner’s solo recorders (treble and descant) . It was written for the 70^th birthday of a composer little recalled, Anthony Gilbert. Its trills and chirps bespeak a virtuoso piece evidently well prepared.

Nocturne and Scherzo is for clarinet and string trio and was completed as a dedication piece to Alun Hoddinott in 1967. It adheres to Manduell’s style as in the Elegy and Recitative and Aria. There’s fear afoot in the sinister Nocturne.

In like style there’s the passingly brief and cheeky Tom's Twinkle for recorder and piano. The title prepares you for the score’s brevity. It was written in memory of calligrapher, artist and frankly lyrical composer Tom Pitfield. Michael Berkeley’s A Dark Waltz for recorder and string quartet is a thoughtful piece and escapes any suggestion of the waltz having intoxication; but then it was written in memory of Sir John. It is most adroitly short and with a touching poignancy.
 
William Alwyn’s Five Songs from 'Songs of Innocence' are polished little Blake settings for soprano and string quartet and comfortably join the delectable output of Geoffrey Bush and Adrian Cruft from many years later. These songs are from May 1931. David Matthews is to be thanked for making these songs a practical performing entity. Apparently, the score is hard to read. There is something of Britten in the strikingly humorous ‘bounce’ of ‘Laughing Song’. The five end with the thoughtful ‘Nurse’s Song’. All credit to Alwyn for concluding the sequence with a down beat and a shiver.

Richard Stoker’s Memento Mary Magdalene is a lament for Mary for recorder and string quartet. Stoker deserves credit for following such an unexpected subject. The music sinks like a stiletto under the skin and is most moving. Surely, it is time for more Stoker including his operas Therèse Raquin and Johnson Preserv’d, the symphonies, concert overtures and three each string quartets and violin sonatas. Here is a most fastidious composer who yet seeks out the listener’s heart. With Manduell he was a fellow Berkeley pupil.

The styles here range from severe to sweet but without the juiciest succulence. The notes in the CD booklet, which is neatly and legibly laid out, are all in English only and are extensive. Sung texts are there, but in the case of Sir John’s songs, are not translated into English. The booklet also includes a set of recollections of Sir John from Bryan Fox, Kent Nagano and Linda Merrick.

--MusicWeb International (Rob Barnett)

Violetta Fialko is an exceptionally talented Ukrainian pianist, who has been signed by Divine Art for her commercial recording debut, as winner of the 2021 Ciccolini Prize for Pianists, a new international competition which had to be held ‘virtually’ due to the Covid pandemic. At the time of writing this, Violetta is living in a part of Ukraine which has so far not been desecrated, having been evacuated from her home town. The audio masters arrived from the studio in Kyiv only days before the Russian attack, for which we are thankful, and we do not yet know if the studio still exists. Leaving the war aside, we have a brilliantly talented pianist who has chosen a varied and highly virtuosic program of Russian Romantic classics (though Prokofiev, to give him his due, was born in Ukraine). Violetta was born in 1997 into a family of musicians. She began to attend music school at the age of 5, and at 9 entered the Lysenko Specialized Music School in Kyiv, graduating with top honors in 2016 and entering the Kyiv Conservatory. She won many prizes, culminating in the 2021 Ciccolini Prize which has led to this album being made. She worked (until the current war began) as a teacher of piano performance and music theory, and is also a volunteer and program host on the Evangelical Radio station ‘Emmanuel’. We commend this album as the debut of a fantastic pianist and also in support of her home country and peace and freedom everywhere.

The Six Suites for Solo Cello by J.S. Bach, composed around 1720, are generally regarded as the first and greatest masterpieces ever written for the instrument. Their scope is vast and ingenious. Although most of the time, only one note is played, occasional chords and masterful melodies imply harmony and counterpoint. The Suites have been performed and recorded countless times over the last 100 years, with a variety of interpretative approaches. These approaches, until recently, could often be rather academic and formal, as it used to be thought that baroque music was mostly about form. The present cellist takes a radically opposing approach, one which is inspirational and which infuses the works with vitality and spirit.

Marina Tarasova is a world-renowned cellist with many recordings to her name for Musical Concepts and Northern Flowers among other labels, and this is her first recording for Divine Art. She has won international competitions in Prague, Florence and Paris and has a wide repertoire covering works of composers from the 17th century to the 20th century.

Helen Habershon is both an accomplished performer and also an inspired composer of music which often evokes nature, or human emotions and sensibilities. Her first two albums have been highly praised and were Album of the Month and Album of the Week on Classic FM (UK) respectively. Her album ‘Found in Winter’, released in 2019, has been aired by Classic FM ever since. Helen had an established performing career until a serious injury led her to turn to composing, but she is now once again able to perform. Here she teams up with the successful pianist and arranger John Lenehan, who has appeared on over 70 recordings including several solo albums for Sony. It follows their March 2022 release ‘Found in Dreams’ – a collection of romantic lighter pieces, where Helen and John offer a wonderfully diverse collection of repertoire. This includes beautiful arrangements of some of their favorite pieces; a couple of short movements from the Brahms and Finzi works played in full on the new album, and some delightful new compositions of their own. As grand master of the high Romantic era, Brahms and his first Clarinet Sonata need no introduction. Here, that work is partnered by two songs and two of his Intermezzi, all arranged by John Lenehan for clarinet and piano. As counterpoint we have the Five Bagatelles by Gerald Finzi, a composer in the English post-Romantic pastoral tradition (with Vaughan Williams, Delius etc). Written in 1940 they are simply enchanting, delightful pieces – perhaps not in the modernist fashion of the day but which will prove enduring despite the composer calling them ‘only trifles’.

Works from three different musical eras seemingly unconnected - but in the mind of Pianist Stephen Beville very linked - hence the album title - as inspired by Visions and Ventures: Bach always a visionary musically and guided by his religious faith; Beethoven venturing into Romanticism with revolutionary ideas and optimism for a better world; Prokofiev caught up in the unrest in pre-revolutionary Russia, sketching pieces to escape the political turmoil - at least in his imagination. The Visions Fugitives come from a composer in his mid-twenties, just graduated and full of musical confidence, and are typically Prokofievian while some contain radical modernist elements. The Beethoven Sonata is likewise the work of a young 26-year old. It is full of playful invention and optimism and is perhaps one his most appealing works. Stephen Beville was acclaimed in 2010 as 'one of the most talented young musicians to emerge from the UK'. (Frankfurter Neue Press). His interpretations have been compared to Arrau, Rubinstein and Ax. Rock-solid technique and virtuosity while avoiding showmanship have informed his playing from student days at the Junior Royal Academy in London from age 11, tutoring from the great Peter Katin, and postgraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in England and the Hochschule f�r Music in Karlsruhe. He has performed in many international festivals. As well as a firm grounding in classical and 20th century repertoire, Stephen Beville is also a busy composer, his works having been performed by several leading new-music ensembles.

Jenny Q Chai is a phenomenon... a pianist of incredible talent, at home in core repertoire and a champion and noted interpreter of 20th century and contemporary works, as well as working to develop new interactive music score software and teaching in China and the USA. She founded and manages the Face Art Institute, a Shanghai-based body devoted to international exchange of music and musicians and served on the board of Ear to Mind, the contemporary music organization in New York. Her other work as well as her concert schedule is too extensive to be listed here; she is currently based both in Shanghai and in California where she is a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley. The New Yorker described Jenny as "A pianist whose dazzling facility is matched by her deep musicality". On top of all that she also projects a modern and liberated self image. Jenny has a special connection with Robert Schumann, whose work she learned from her esteemed first teacher at the Curtis Institute, the late Seymour Lipkin, with whom she studied from the ages of 12 to 19. She has a special love for Kreisleriana which she says never grows old but ' lives inside of you'. Hence the title, "Songs of Love". This album which presents Kreisleriana together with two movements by Bach and Ives is Jenny's tribute to Seymour Lipkin who she calls 'my music grandpa'. It is also a very fine recital by a superbly talented musician who is gathering fans like a rock star.

Jonathan Östlund is a Swedish composer who has recently been living in London and is now in Romania. He has manifested an avid interest for music from an early age and has pursued his passion with a BA and MA in Composition at the Luleå Tekniska Universitet, in Sweden. He has studied under the artistic guidance of Prof. Rolf Martinsson, Prof. Jan Sandström and Prof. Sverker Jullander, among others, and has so far completed almost 100 works, including several orchestral pieces and concertos for both violin and piano, and has been awarded many prizes in international competitions. This is Divine Art’s third album devoted to Östlund. It is similar to the previous albums in that it features orchestral, instrumental and chamber music with inspiration from nature and also showing the skills of the composer in various genres. Fine young musicians have been hand-picked to perform, alongside the excellent Moscow Bow Tie Orchestra. Östlund’s music is very accessible and tonal and often full of wit and humor, and always atmospheric.

Belgian violinist, conductor and composer Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931) has been recognized as one of the greatest violin virtuosos of the 19th and early 20th centuries; regarded as the “King of the Violin” by Nathan Milstein, his legacy has inspired generations of musicians. Ysaÿe was also a composer whose works feature revolutionary modern violin technique, unique expressive devices, profound musicality and harmonic originality, which eventually served as the bridge between the era of the Romantic virtuoso and contemporary music. It is odd, then, to realise that many of his works remain unknown, unpublished and unrecorded. This album presents for the first time several works for violin and piano ranging from 1885 to 1924, and a previously unknown Violin Concerto in G minor from 1910, which was orchestrated by Sabin Pautza.

Romanian violinist Sherban Lupu is internationally known; he studied in London with Yehudi Menuhin and other leading teachers and has a very busy career. He is accompanied here by the bright young pianist Henri Bonamy (who was Professor of Piano in Seoul, Korea and now teaches in Munich) and the fine orchestra of Liepāja, Latvia. The conductor is Paul Mann, who has made a name recently with many recordings for Toccata Classics.