Lyrita
Finzi: Cello Concerto, Clarinet Concerto / Ma, Denman, Handley
$20.99
Details
- Composer
- FINZI
- Artist
- Yo-Yo Ma, John Denman, Rpo, Npo, Vernon Handley
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Lyrita
- Released
- Mar 01, 2007
- Catalog #
- SRCD236
- UPC
- 5020926023629
About
This will look good on your shelves next to the Boult-Lyrita disc of Finzi miniatures … one of those “ah, yes” moments one sometimes gets with Finzi when everything seems so utterly right.
Though the LP has long held pride of place on one's shelves how good it is to welcome the CD remastering of Yo-Yo Ma’s Cello Concerto coupled with John Denman’s lissom performance of the Clarinet Concerto. Back in the old days the Cello Concerto stood proudly alone, all forty-one minutes of it.
It was Yo-Yo Ma’s first recording and alerted many to the sheer bigness of Finzi’s inspiration, especially those for whom bigness in Finzi had been confined to the vocal and choral works. The power of the opening movement resides in the declamatory, decidedly non-vocalised orchestral writing and its relationship with the lingering songfulness of the cello; how the orchestra, initially cool, relents to join in the narrator-hero’s limpid beauty of utterance; how Orpheus tames the implacable beasts. And almost as surprising for those who had him pegged as a miniaturist, was the frenzy of the Brahms-leaning cadenza. But the heartbeat of the work is the rapt slow movement, one of those “ah, yes” moments one sometimes gets with Finzi when everything seems so utterly right. The pastoral-pensive writing is beautifully conveyed here – I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it done better – and so too are the animating orchestral pizzicati and the verdant winds which join the cello in its journey. There’s a real narrative here, an encompassing one, faithfully and richly projected by soloist, orchestra and conductor alike. The finale is a drama of drumming pizzicati and wind solos coiling around the cello line like vines.
It’s precisely the vigorous vocality of the companion concerto that gives it such a sense of elation and verve. The clarinet’s mellifluous femininity immediately tames and quells the orchestra in much the same way that the Cello did in the later work. It’s a feature of both concertos that the solo line is vested with such power of oratory that it acts as an instrument of control. Note as well the propulsive, kinetic way that Denman and Handley manoeuvre to the end of the first movement. Apposite string weight is a feature of this performance as well and the delicate solo arabesques are met by the diaphanous orchestration. There have been a number of recommendable performances of this Concerto but in its swiftness and ease this performance still earns the highest accolades.
This will look good on your shelves next to the Boult-Lyrita disc of Finzi miniatures on SRCD239.
-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
Though the LP has long held pride of place on one's shelves how good it is to welcome the CD remastering of Yo-Yo Ma’s Cello Concerto coupled with John Denman’s lissom performance of the Clarinet Concerto. Back in the old days the Cello Concerto stood proudly alone, all forty-one minutes of it.
It was Yo-Yo Ma’s first recording and alerted many to the sheer bigness of Finzi’s inspiration, especially those for whom bigness in Finzi had been confined to the vocal and choral works. The power of the opening movement resides in the declamatory, decidedly non-vocalised orchestral writing and its relationship with the lingering songfulness of the cello; how the orchestra, initially cool, relents to join in the narrator-hero’s limpid beauty of utterance; how Orpheus tames the implacable beasts. And almost as surprising for those who had him pegged as a miniaturist, was the frenzy of the Brahms-leaning cadenza. But the heartbeat of the work is the rapt slow movement, one of those “ah, yes” moments one sometimes gets with Finzi when everything seems so utterly right. The pastoral-pensive writing is beautifully conveyed here – I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it done better – and so too are the animating orchestral pizzicati and the verdant winds which join the cello in its journey. There’s a real narrative here, an encompassing one, faithfully and richly projected by soloist, orchestra and conductor alike. The finale is a drama of drumming pizzicati and wind solos coiling around the cello line like vines.
It’s precisely the vigorous vocality of the companion concerto that gives it such a sense of elation and verve. The clarinet’s mellifluous femininity immediately tames and quells the orchestra in much the same way that the Cello did in the later work. It’s a feature of both concertos that the solo line is vested with such power of oratory that it acts as an instrument of control. Note as well the propulsive, kinetic way that Denman and Handley manoeuvre to the end of the first movement. Apposite string weight is a feature of this performance as well and the delicate solo arabesques are met by the diaphanous orchestration. There have been a number of recommendable performances of this Concerto but in its swiftness and ease this performance still earns the highest accolades.
This will look good on your shelves next to the Boult-Lyrita disc of Finzi miniatures on SRCD239.
-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
Tracklist 6 tracks
-
1 I. Allegro vigoroso 08:51
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Allegro vigoroso
- Duration
- 08:51
- Composer
- Gerald Finzi
- Performer
- John Denman
- Ensemble
- New Philharmonia Orchestra
- Conductor
- Vernon Handley
-
2 II. Adagio, ma senza rigore 11:52
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Adagio, ma senza rigore
- Duration
- 11:52
- Composer
- Gerald Finzi
- Performer
- John Denman
- Ensemble
- New Philharmonia Orchestra
- Conductor
- Vernon Handley
-
3 III. Rondo: Allegro giocoso 08:36
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Rondo: Allegro giocoso
- Duration
- 08:36
- Composer
- Gerald Finzi
- Performer
- John Denman
- Ensemble
- New Philharmonia Orchestra
- Conductor
- Vernon Handley
-
4 I. Allegro moderato 16:52
- Track
- 4
- Title
- I. Allegro moderato
- Duration
- 16:52
- Composer
- Gerald Finzi
- Performer
- Yo-Yo Ma
- Ensemble
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Conductor
- Vernon Handley
-
5 II. Andante quieto 14:38
- Track
- 5
- Title
- II. Andante quieto
- Duration
- 14:38
- Composer
- Gerald Finzi
- Performer
- Yo-Yo Ma
- Ensemble
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Conductor
- Vernon Handley
-
6 III. Rondo: Adagio - Allegro giocoso 09:36
- Track
- 6
- Title
- III. Rondo: Adagio - Allegro giocoso
- Duration
- 09:36
- Composer
- Gerald Finzi
- Performer
- Yo-Yo Ma
- Ensemble
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Conductor
- Vernon Handley