Take in the vibrant colors of flutes and strings in this new album devoted to two somewhat rebel representatives of the German late baroque, Telemann and Quantz. Disobeying their parents in order to persevere in music, they were also able to distance themselves from certain burdens of the past to propose fresh and galant music. The spirited playing of flutists Claire Guimond and Alexa Raine-Wright, as well as the warm tone of violist Jean-Louis Blouin will more than do justice to these charming and lively works. Arion Baroque Orchestra Founded in 1981 in Montreal, Arion Baroque Orchestra is now a cornerstone in the world of early music on period instruments in Quebec and Canada. The clarity and freshness of Arion’s interpretations have been remarked upon since its first concerts; the delicacy of its readings of well-chosen and varied works has never wavered in more than 30 years. Constant attention to detail has earned the orchestra, led by the enlightened artistic vision of flutist Claire Guimond, a place among the most renowned early music ensembles in North America and throughout the world. The Orchestra offers a prestigious Montreal concert Series at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Bourgie Concert Hall featuring more than twenty musicians and with the participation of internationally renowned guest conductors. Arion has hosted such celebrated conductors as Stefano Montanari, Jaap ter Linden, Monica Huggett, Christophe Rousset, Barthold Kuijken, Rachel Podger and Elizabeth Wallfisch, to name just a few. Arion has been awarded many prizes and grants and tours regularly in the United States, Mexico, Europe and Japan, as well as Quebec and Canada.
This release offers one potential answer to a particular question: what happens to a musical performance when it is directed towards the bringing-to-life of a story? In this case, that story is the iconic one of Orpheus and Eurydice, realized in eight different ways by eight different composers of the past. Multiple prizewinning harpsichordist Mark Edwards—whose interpretations challenge the usual boundaries between musical text and act—performs works that, if they don’t explicitly refer to the Orphic narrative allying music, death, and rebirth, surely cast some light on it and are in turn illuminated by it. Mark Edwards reveals himself a lucid and inspired performer, following the hero as he descends, like him accomplishing wonders along the way through his art. First prize winner in the 2012 Musica Antiqua Bruges International Harpsichord Competition, Canadian harpsichordist and organist Mark Edwards (b. 1986) is recognized for his captivating performances, bringing the listener “to new and unpredictable regions, using all of the resources of his instrument, [...] of his virtuosity, and of his imagination” (La Libre Belgique).
In this recording, the performers have created various ensemble combinations featuring the instruments Francois Chauvon (1710-40) specifies, thus giving rise to interesting contrasts of timbre and texture. These musicians bring passion and a taste for discovery of chamber music; and are undisputedly among the best players in North America of their respective instruments in the filed of Early Music.
To use that word from the 1980s, this disc features "dynamite" performances of four works by the second surviving son of J.S. and Maria Barbara Bach. Born in 1714, Emanuel Bach's life and career spanned the age of Haydn, Mozart, and even a young Beethoven, and his music, which only recently has been given a deserved respect for its independence and often audacious originality, stands as both a tribute to his father's influence and a proclamation of a new age, not only of style but of the composer's role in determining it.
There are many fine recordings of C.P.E. Bach's works in the catalog--the symphonies on Harmonia Mundi by the Hungarian group Concerto Armonico Budapest and the keyboard concerto series from Finnish period-instrument ensemble Opus X on BIS are standouts; but certainly that list must also include this release from Montréal-based baroque orchestra Arion, whose renditions of these two concertos and two symphonies get everything right--that is, they fully realize the substantial drama and emotional range inherent in these works while delivering some of the crispest, gutsiest performances you'll hear, capitalizing on the sandy timbres of the period strings, the flute's warm, wood-fired resonance, and the at-once bright and full-bodied subtlety and power of the harpsichord.
If you've not experienced C.P.E. Bach's music before, well, you've been missing some of the best music of the 18th century--but you can begin your discovery right here, and you'll certainly be surprised at, well, the surprises that Bach throws at you: the abrupt shifts of mood, of tempo, of harmony; the seamless transitions from movement to movement in the symphonies; the absolutely captivating way he builds his material to climaxes and then pulls the rug out and begins again. The slow movements of the two concertos are masterpieces of the "genre"--this Bach cannot be accused of not knowing just how to write a heart-tugging tune, or how to set it for maximum effect--and affect. And the fast movements are uniformly, irresistibly moving--in every sense of the word. There simply isn't a dull moment here, and, dare I say it?--this flute concerto isn't just well written and expertly performed--but it is really exciting!
But much of the credit here must go to the terrific playing by everyone concerned--the last movement of the flute concerto (the final track on the disc) leaves you happily breathless, delighting in the expressive technique and truly spectacular ensemble work--and hopefully with renewed (or new) appreciation for the creations of this often underrated Bach. The musicians were fortunate to have a recording team whose artistry matched their own. Don't miss this one.
Rebel: Les Plaisirs Champetres, Etc / Cuiller, Arion
Early-music.com
CD · 1 disc
$18.99Apr 28, 2009
REBEL La Terpsichore. Les caractères de la danse. Caprice. Les plaisirs champêtres. La fantaisie. Les élémens • Daniel Cuiller, cond; Arion (period instruments) • early-music.com 7765 (63:00)
Recordings of Jean-Féry Rebel’s Les élémens have been appearing with increasing frequency of late. Three showed up on my desk last year, for a total of five in print. Only one of these, however, moved beyond the composer’s most thematically distinctive ballet to give us a broader sample of his art: the conductorless Pratum Integrum Orchestra on Caro Mitis 52005, in an unfortunately stiff, monochrome series of readings that did these technically proficient musicians little credit. A release of Rebel’s Les caractères de la danse by Bernardini/Harmony of Nations (Raumklang 2704) was considerably better, though the rest of the album was devoted to a range of Baroque composers. The disc under review is the first to compete directly with the PIO in an all-Rebel concert, with only one difference of content between the two: Boutade on the earlier album is replaced here by La Terpsichore.
The first of Rebel’s ballets, Caprice, was composed in 1711 for the celebrated danseuse seule of the Paris Opera, Françoise Prévost. (They collaborated repeatedly. So did their children, for Rebel’s son, the composer François, and La Prévost’s daughter, Anne, married in 1733.) It was a very short work, under four minutes in performance, skillfully employing a playful imitation of the Flamenco folk style. It was also experimental in its way, as an attempt to divorce dance on the official stage from the larger, literarily driven plot concerns of comic and tragic opera. Within a few years, the efforts of Rebel and other composers bore fruit, leading to the creation of a new, recognized art form: the ballet-pantomime or ballet d’action, in which a narrative and its emotional context were conveyed through dance steps, gestures, costuming, and music. At the other end of the time scale from Caprice stands Rebel’s final work, the well-known Les élémens, a 23-minute ballet composed when he was over 70, and a depiction of the elemental world defined by Empedocles—air, fire, water, and earth—forming out of chaos. Between these, the most interesting is Les caractères de la danse, an uninterrupted, kaleidoscopic series of 14 short dances that deliberately emphasizes its joints through regular shifts in rhythm, tempo, texture, meter, and orchestral color. If Les élémens hadn’t grabbed musical attention with its introductory depiction of primordial Chaos as an octave-based tonal cluster, I suspect we’d have heard from Les caractères a lot sooner than we have. It is the finer of the two works, more rhythmically and thematically inventive, and more harmonically daring overall.
A comparison of this version of Les caractères with Bernardini/Harmony of Nations reveals some interesting distinctions in approach. Bernardini pursues slower tempos in slow dances, and faster tempos in fast ones, than does Cuiller. He also accents rhythms more aggressively. There is no lack of well-defined rhythms in Cuiller’s performances, but there is a slightly stolid, non-theatrical air about the proceedings, despite some superb playing by Arion. On the other hand, though of approximately the same ensemble size—20 members—Arion has the richer, more full-bodied sound. Harmony of Nations, with fewer winds but one more violinist and violist, produces a lighter, narrower tone. This accounts at least in part for the greater range of orchestral color Arion evokes in its performances, from the delicacy of the Sarabande in Les caractères to the frenetic brightness of the Tamborin from La fantaisie, to the pungent horns of the Loure marked “La chasse” in Les élémens.
If you want just Les caractères, then, the matter is a tossup between Bernardini and Cuiller, though I incline slightly to the latter. For Les élémens, I still prefer Gaigg/L’Orfeo Baroque O (Phoenix Edition 110; reviewed in Fanfare 32:3). Their playing is crisp, and rich in character. But if you want a very good version on one album of more Rebel than just these two ballets, the only good choice is Cuiller. It’s a very good choice indeed; and despite minor reservations, I have no hesitancy in recommending it for both the playing and the music.
Telemann: 6 Concertos For Flute And Harpsichord Tv 42 / Guimond, Beausejour
Early-music.com
CD · 1 disc
$18.99Feb 24, 2009
TELEMANN Flute Concertos: in D, TWV 42:D6; in g, TWV 42:g2; in A, TWV 42:A3; in e, TWV 42:e3; in b, TWV 42:h1; in a, TWV 42:a2 • Claire Guimond (Baroque fl); Luc Beauséjour (hpd) (period instruments) • EARLY-MUSIC.COM 7755 (72: 19)
The six works recorded here were published in Hamburg around 1715–20 with the title Six Concerts and Six Suites for Harpsichord and Flute, or for Harpsichord, Flute and Cello, or for Violin, Flute and Cello or Basso Continuo, or for Harpsichord, Violin, Flute, and Cello. This was obviously an attempt to market these works to as wide an audience as possible. Guimond and Beauséjour contend that Telemann’s original intention was to compose these works for harpsichord and flute, which is the way they are performed here. The flute and harpsichord engage as two equal voices. The “concertos” or “concerts” of the title do not imply a work for solo instrument and orchestra. Rather, they are more closely related to the trio sonata, written in the sonata da chiesa style of four movements, slow-fast-slow-fast.
These six works display Telemann’s ability to write genial, attractive music, though it must be admitted they are not among the most compelling compositions to flow from Telemann’s ready pen. Guimond plays with grace and has good control of her instrument. Beauséjour provides excellent support.
These concertos are not available elsewhere as a group; I only found one concerto otherwise available. This is certainly not an essential purchase, but it makes for pleasant listening.
HAYDN Symphonies: No. 41 in C; No. 49 in f, “La passione”; No. 44 in e, “Trauer” • Gary Cooper, cond; Arion Baroque O (period instruments) • EARLY MUSIC 7769 (70:22)
Opening the shrink-wrap, I think, “Oh, no; not another ensemble doing Haydn symphonies. Two minutes later I am whooping with glee. How is it possible that performances of Haydn symphonies keep getting better and better? If there were any doubt that 15 period instruments can raise the roof, this CD settles it. The Montreal ensemble, led by Gary Cooper (yup) from the harpsichord, plays with staggering virtuosity and winning panache; there is a delicious crunch to its f attacks and an appealing buzz to its sf. Arion has a horn-player (or two!) who outdoes even Anthony Halstead on the natural horn, and its period oboes are unusually warm and solid, free of squeals or honks. Cooper uses an (authenticated) alternate version of the score of the C-Major Symphony: in place of the trumpets, normal horns, and timpani listed in the published score—used by Max Goberman, Derek Solomons, and Thomas Fey—it features a pair of high horns in C-alt, in addition to the normal oboes and strings, plus a solo transverse flute in the Andante. The fanfares in the opening Allegro con spirito are far more exciting on these horns than on trumpets; this is a wonderful performance throughout, one that reveals various lacks and excesses in the other three recordings. Cooper takes both repeats in sonata-form movements, but not the second one in the Andante or those in the Menuet da capo.
Cooper’s readings of the minor-key symphonies are sensitive and beautifully played, but he downplays their Sturm-und-Drang character. Violins in “La passione” are effectively damped to reduce their sheen. Cooper, like Solomons, plays both repeats in the opening Adagio, but Fey, who does not play the second repeat, achieves greater power and depth with much slower tempos and longer rests. It’s difficult to believe that Fey’s strings, with their aching tang, are not gut. As I reported in Fanfare 30: 3, Fey nearly equals the classic Scherchen performance, which is blemished by messy execution and poor monaural sound. In “La passione,” Fey’s artistry triumphs over Solomons’s and Cooper’s political correctness.
The laurels revert to Cooper in the E-Minor Symphony. His opening Allegro con brio bursts with an unmatched vitality; his Presto finale is fast and furious, but just enough slower than Fey’s (31:5) to avoid the sense of panic that creeps in there. Neither performance suggests the spirit of mourning implied by the symphony’s title (for that one must return to Scherchen), but Arion’s playing is so spectacular that I prefer its “Trauer” to all others. Cooper’s Montrealers also produce richer tone than Fey’s Heidelbergers, due in part to the gorgeous recorded sound captured in Quebec’s Saint-Augustin de Mirabel.
Many recent discs of Haydn symphonies have included one superior performance along with one or two lesser outings, which makes for a lot of duplication in one’s collection. At least Cooper hits two out of three.
Corrette: Symphonies Des Noëls, Concertos Comiques / Arion, Et Al
Early-music.com
CD · 1 disc
$18.99Nov 18, 2008
CORRETTE Symphonies des noëls: No. 2 in D; No. 4 in D; No. 5 in a; No. 6 in A. Concertos comiques: No. 4, “Le quadrille”; No. 7; No. 19, “La Turque”; No. 24; No. 25, “Les sauvages et la Furstemberg” • Arion (period instruments) • EARLY-MUSIC.COM 7768 (67:32)
What a delightful disc this is! These examples of light, humorous music still amuse us nearly 300 years after they were written. Michel Corrette may have been more important for his work in fields other than composition. He published 15 methods to instruct students in all of the common instruments. He was active as a publisher of his own works and the music of others. But he also was very active as a composer of, among other things, cantatas, ballets, motets, organ pieces, harpsichord sonatas, and symphonies. He was the first composer in France to compose concertos for wind instruments and for organ.
Today Corrette is probably best remembered for his 25 Concertos comiques, published between 1733 and 1760. The concertos are based on well-known songs and popular tunes. Corrette performed these delightful works during the intermissions of performances of the Opéra-comique at the St. Laurent and St. Germain fairs. The Symphonies des noëls are suites of variations based on popular noëls, which are “profane airs, dance tunes, drinking songs, and New Year’s pieces” according to one description. The melodies are immensely pleasing, and Corrette’s variations testify to his enjoyment in working with them.
The music is performed by seven members of the Canadian period-instrument group Arion. Their tempos are lively but not rushed. The performers are obviously very talented and expert.
This recording was issued on the Atma label in 1999; it does not seem to have been reviewed in Fanfare. Two of the Noëls and Concerto comique No. 25 are available elsewhere, but there is no other collection that allows us to hear so many of these splendid works. I cannot imagine anyone whose spirits would not be lifted immediately on hearing this disc. My only regret is that Arion did not follow up with recordings of the other works from these two collections. Highly recommended.
Tutti Flauti - Telemann: Flute And Recorder Concertos / Linden, Arion, Et Al
Early-music.com
CD · 1 disc
$18.99Nov 18, 2008
TELEMANN Concertos grosso: in e, TWV 53:e 1; in b, TWV 53:h 1; Concertos: in a, TWV 52:a 1; in F, TWV 51:F 1; in B?, TWV 52:B 1; in e, TWV 52:e 1 • Jaap ter Linden, cond; Matthias Maute (rcr); Sophie Larivière (rcr); Claire Guimond (Baroque fl); Mika Putterman (Baroque fl); Arion (period instruments) • early-music.com 7763 (73:27)
The biggest problem with the present CD is that, although I received it only a short while ago, it is actually a 2004 release that was re-released in 2008. Does that really constitute a problem? To you, dear reader, not at all. But to me, it does, because it means that I may not be able to choose it for my next Want List. And it certainly deserves that distinction. This CD is extraordinary in many ways, starting with the absolutely perfect choice of works. Granted, Telemann concertos are more or less foolproof, and it takes a pretty bad musician to ruin any piece by this composer. But even so, among all the delicious Telemann concertos available, these are some of the most scrumptious. Furthermore, they are served to the listener on a silver plate, with the best of sauces, and cooked by the best chefs.
The long, spectacular, cadenza by Matthias Maute in the Concerto for recorder (TWV 51:F 1) would be enough to raise the disc to Want List status, but it is only a bonus to a firework performance. If you thought that the recorder is a shrill, piercing whistle that could never be considered a real instrument (and I will say this quietly: you are not alone!) you will have to reconsider. Even in the highest notes, up there in the third register, Maute manages to sing and make music, to have a ball with the phrases while displaying the utmost degree of virtuosity.
The enthralling flute and recorder Concerto (TWV 52:e 1) is a perennial favorite: since the flute/recorder combination was extremely rare in the Baroque, this Concerto is one of the few instances where both instruments can interact, and has become a proving ground for all early-music ensembles that feature both wind instruments—that is, most of the existing groups in activity today. Even so, the present version will find few rivals in the recording market. Both Maute and Claire Guimond play with assurance and joy, and respond to each other with simultaneous precision and liberty, a rare combination. Intonation—usually a big concern in this work, especially in the slow movement in the difficult key of E Major—seems to present no challenge to this fine group of musicians.
I just spent a paragraph to speak of one concerto, and used more adjectives than I usually do in a whole review. Frankly, this would be the case of every concerto included in the disc, if I were to comment on each one separately. Both Sophie Larivière and Mika Putterman manage to match their formidable colleagues in talent and tone quality, and so the whole disc flows easily, and seems to end too soon. I will be quite direct: simply put, this is one of the best flute CDs that I have heard in quite a while, and it belongs in every library and collection.
