Johann Sebastian Bach Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber Jacques

Edited by Craig Zeichner
Johann Sebastian Bach
Lute Works
Stephen Stubbs, Baroque lute
ATMA Classique ACD 2 2238
55:54 minutes
The solo lute works of Johann
Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) are, as
a collection, a hodgepodge. Some
of the sources are tablatures prepared by lutenists, but Bach’s autographs are in grand staff. Of the
pieces on this recording, BWV 995 is
Bach’s 1727 transcription of the
Suite No. 5 in C minor for Unaccompanied Cello (which also exists in a
contemporary tablature); BWV 998
is a 1740
work whose
autograph
specifies
“luth ò
Cembal”;
and BWV
1001 is the
first sonata for solo violin (1720),
presented in Stephen Stubbs’s
transcription.
Stubbs wears many hats: professor at the Hochschule für Künste in
Bremen, founding director of the
ensembles Tragicomedia and Accademia d’Amore, opera director and
regular co-director (with Paul
O’Dette) of the Boston Early Music
Festival. As with O’Dette, the late
Michael Eagan, and others, one has
to wonder when Stubbs gets time to
practice the lute. Yet he clearly does,
as the current disc testifies.
The performance we get here is
less about virtuosity (although these
are difficult works) than it is about a
thoughtful presentation of complex
musical ideas. The lute used in the
recording is not identified; we are
only told that it has 14 courses
(rather than the normal 13) in order
to play contrabass Gs in the autograph of BWV 995. In this suite,
Stubbs presents an appropriately
French rendition with clean slurs and
crisp ornamentation to carry the
often quirky lines. The Prelude,
Fugue and Allegro (BWV 998) is a
bit more labored by comparison. But
don’t go away—the Sonata in G
12
minor (BWV 995) performance justifies its transcription here with its
depth of sound and clarity of line.
And violinists who like to play the
Presto at twice the speed could
profit from a listen to this version.
—Stephen Dydo
Heinrich Ignaz Franz
von Biber
Vesperae longiores
ac breviores (1693)
Yale Schola Cantorum, Simon
Carrington, conductor;
Yale Collegium Players,
Robert Mealey, violin, director
Yale Schola Cantorum
(Self-produced; available at
www.Clarionrecords.com)
59:53 minutes
It’s been a bumper crop year for
Biber (1644-1704) sacred music
recordings. We have had two disks
of his Missa Christi resurgentis
(Andrew Manze and Andrew Parrott), a recording of Requiems (Paul
McCreesh) in B and F, and now this
excellent recording of the Vesperae
longiores ac breviores of 1693,
reconstructed by musicologist
Brian Clark.
This disc is a
composite of
two live performances
given last year by the Yale Schola
Cantorum, directed by Simon Carrington. Since Biber only set the
psalms and litany for his published
Vesperae, the remaining music in
the service is by Rupert Ignaz Mayr
(1646-1712), Emperor Leopold I
(1640-1705), and Giovanni Legrenzi
(c.1620-1690).
Biber’s setting is smaller-scaled
then his grand masses and is scored
for four voices (solo and tutti), two
violins, two violas, and continuo.
Biber might have had bigger plans,
though; there is a set of manuscript
parts in the Bavarian State Museum
for wind instruments that would
have doubled the choral parts.
There are so many good things
Spring 2006 Early Music America
happening on this recording. The
repertoire is excellent; the Biber
psalm settings are all top-flight, and
the instrumental works that are
interpolated between them are well
chosen and played to perfection by
violinist Robert Mealy and a small
string ensemble. The music by the
other composers holds up, too. The
Sancta Maria by Mayr is a gem for
solo soprano and strings, and
Legrenzi’s Salve Regina provides a
grand conclusion to the service.
The performances are excellent.
It’s heartening to hear fresh, enthusiastic young voices (they are Yale
students) joyfully singing. Carrington—one of the choral world’s elite
though not known as an early music
specialist—is quite at home in this
work. His intelligent pacing, wise
sense of proportion, and remarkable
gift for getting the best from a choir
make this disc well worth acquiring.
—Craig Zeichner
Jacques Duphly
Second Livre de Pièces de
Clavecin (complete)
Byron Schenkman, harpsichord
Centaur CRC 2714
67:56 minutes
Four books of keyboard works
was Jacques Duphly’s (1715-1789)
total published output. (The third
has a violin part for some of the
pieces.) His productive life was spent
in the salons of Paris, where he was
highly regarded as a teacher of a
graceful technique that, like his
pieces, followed Jean-Philippe
Rameau’s model.
The works are character studies
and are from three to six minutes in
length. “La Félix” has been much
recorded, and for good reason; it
has a striking exploration of the
marking “Noblement” in its exploitation of the bass. Byron Schenkman
intensifies the effect by taking a
tempo slow enough to allow for rich
ornamentation and rubato. “La Victoire” and “La d’Héricourt” both
enable Schenkman to reveal his customary sparkle and speed. On the
other hand, “La Lanza,” despite its
deeper harmonic explorations, has a
difficult time justifying its exceptional
length (11 minutes).
Schenkman plays on a restored
Henri Hemsch harpsichord, and its
sound is large. The recording is
admirably clear, with no more reverb
than we
would
expect in a
room housing such an
instrument.
This is good,
because
Schenkman, in the manner of
Rameau, often revels in the power
of the bass, with a rather boomy
effect. His handling of the higher
passages is also quite strong, and in
the many instances of contrasting
extremes of high and low, the
balance is beautifully maintained.
—Stephen Dydo
Claudio Monteverdi
Scherzi musicali
Maria Cristina Kiehr, soprano;
Stephen MacLeod, bass; Concerto
Soave (Amandine Beyer, Alba Roca,
violins; Gaetano Nasillo, cello;
Monica Pustilnik, lute, guitar;
Mara Galassi, harp), Jean-Marc
Aymes, claviorganum, director
Harmonia Mundi HMC 901855
73:29 minutes
In 1607, Giulio Cesare Monteverdi published a collection of his
brother Claudio’s three-part works
for voice and instruments called
Scherzi musicali. In some ways, the
actual music
has been
overshadowed by the
Dichiaratione
(declaration)
that Giulio
included with
the music, a polemic that defended
his brother’s new style against the
criticism of the theorist Giovanni
Maria Artusi.
The Scherzi musicali were probably written before 1607 and were
intended for the Mantuan court. The
works are strophic but have instrumental ritornelli and are filled with
dance rhythms. A second set of
Scherzi musicali was published in
1632, and these works are also
strophic but, with the exception of
one piece, are not associated with
the dance. This recording features
music from both sets, as well as
some canzonette a tre voci and a
solo work from the Settimo Libro
dei Madrigali.
Claudio Monteverdi (15671643) infused these works with the
melodic splendor, rhythmic verve,
and almost preternatural gift for
vocal writing that are his hallmarks.
Soprano Maria Cristina Kiehr and
bass Stephan MacLeod blend beautifully, particularly in “De la bellezza
le dovute lodi,” but it’s the solo
voice pieces that make you lose
your breath. And while MacLeod is
an excellent singer, it’s an otherworldly experience when Kiehr
sings. Her assured vocalism and
wit make “Quel sguardo sdegnosetto” one of the high points—
her glowing top notes on the
phrase “Begl’occi all’armi” are
unforgettable.
The instrumentalists of Concerto
Soave provide sizzling accompaniment throughout. The ritornelli of
“Damigella tutta bella,” with echoes
of the shepherds’ dance from L’Orfeo, fairly jump out of the stereo
speakers. Ultimately, it’s Kiehr and
harpist Mara Galassi who will most
haunt you. In “Se i languidi miei
sguardi,” a work for solo voice
(without strict rhythmic structure)
from the Settimo Libro dei
Madrigali, singer and harpist touch
every nerve in this masterpiece.
—Craig Zeichner
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
Concertos for Fortepiano
The Mozartean Players
Classical Orchestra,
Steven Lubin, fortepiano, director
Classical Soundings CS1001
46:27 minutes
With certain pieces of music, so
many fine recordings have already
been made that a performer really
needs to bring something new to
the studio to justify yet another.
Mozart’s Concerto No. 21 is such a
piece and, happily, Steven Lubin is
such a performer. Simply playing
the work on period instruments is
not sufficient; it’s been done before.
Lubin and his ensemble bring a
lightness of sound and a rich complexity to Mozart. Superb technique
is wedded throughout to revelations
of meaning, and that’s justification
enough for both the works on this
disc.
I don’t want to slight the excellent orchestra, but it’s Lubin’s intimate mastery of the fortepiano that
makes this recording such a standout. While a
modern
piano is loud
enough to
compete
directly with
the orchestra, the
fortepiano must achieve a harmonious balance (the technical aspects
of which are handled very well
here). Lubin uses its more subtle
palette as a way to peel back the
layers of Mozart’s music, uncovering surprising abstractions in No. 14
and virtuosity even in the scalework
in the outer, robust movements of
No. 21. Even the Andante in that
concerto, one of the most oftplayed Mozart movements, sounds
fresh and tender, yet without a
trace of sentimentality.
Lubin and The Mozartean Players are among the pioneers in
bringing Mozart back to period
instruments, and his recordings of
several Mozart concertos for
Arabesque are touchstones of this
repertoire. It’s a delight to hear
the series continued on Classical
Soundings.
—Beth Adelman
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
Piano Sonatas
Andreas Staier, fortepiano
Harmonia Mundi HMC 901856
61:30 minutes
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s
three sonatas, K. 330–332, are cornerstones of the keyboardist’s art,
with recordings available by artists
of such divergent temperaments as
Vladimir Horowitz, Alicia De Larrocha, and
Alfred Brendel on the
modern
piano and
Ronald
Brautigam
(most
notably) on fortepiano. Now
fortepianist Andreas Staier weighs
in, playing a Monika May copy of a
1785 Anton Walter instrument.
Staier pushes the word count in
the liner notes when discussing
ornamentation and interpretative
freedom in these works, and the
tangible results are mixed. The most
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Early Music America Spring 2006
13
successful of the three performances is the Sonata in C Major, K. 330,
where Staier’s pacing of the opening Allegro moderato is brisk but
not hurried, allowing its warm
geniality to shine through. The
Andante cantabile second movement is tastefully ornamented but
could sing more. The closing
Allegretto drives hard and is quite
successful.
It’s in the K. 331 that Staier
fumbles. His phrasing in the opening Andante grazioso, with its
memorable set of variations, is
clipped, while the second movement Menuetto lacks wit. Staier
points out in the notes that in the
janissary music of the famous “Rondo alla turca” finale, Mozart
“...seems almost to caricature it
through stylistic exaggeration.” No
kidding. Staier over-ornaments and
shifts tempos with weird abandon—it doesn’t work and comes
off like a caricature of a caricature.
This is a less than satisfying follow-
up to Staier’s earlier superb Harmonia Mundi Mozart recital.
—Craig Zeichner
Gaspar Sanz
La Preciosa
Gordon Ferries, Baroque guitar
Delphian DCD34036
66:20 minutes
By the late 16th century, a large
body of sophisticated sacred and
secular polyphonic works had been
composed for the lute family,
including the vihuela. The guitar, on
the other hand, was associated during this time with popular music
and accompanying unsavory acts,
including strumming, drinking,
singing irreverent songs, and,
especially, dancing.
It was left to composers such as
Gaspar Sanz (1640–1710) to take
the instrument seriously enough to
write a body of music that brought
it out of the taverns and village
squares and, eventually, into the
various royal courts of Europe.
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14
Spring 2006 Early Music America
Sanz, a Spaniard, studied guitar
and lute in Naples and Rome. Troubled that there were no books available in Spanish to instruct guitar
players, he wrote Instrucción de
Música, which sets out just about
everything a guitar player would
need to know, including stringing,
fretting,
reading tablature,
strumming,
plucking,
and ornamentation.
It also
includes many pieces of music,
most based on popular dance
forms.
Gordon Ferries plays 22 of these
short tunes on a five-course (four
sets of double strings and a single
top string) Baroque guitar. He
achieves an astonishing array of
moods and emotions, from the
knotty complexity of the “Chacona”
to the tenderness of the “Preludio o
Caprichio arpeado.” His lively
strumming, especially on the “Zarabanda” and “Canarios,” really does
make the listener feel like dancing.
Ferries’s playing is at once crisp,
stylish, and fun. He moves easily
from one mood to the next, keep-
ing the texture of this program
interesting and varied. Technically,
the music has been very well
recorded, with a close, intimate
feel. This is a disc to listen to again
and again.
—Beth Adelman
Antonio Vivaldi
5 Violin Concertos
Viktoria Mullova, violin;
Il Giardino Armonico,
Giovanni Antonini, director
Onyx 4001
53:06 minutes
Continuing her recently initiated
and so far convincing foray into historical performance practice, Viktoria Mullova collaborates with Il Giardino Armonico on this disc of five
concertos by Antonio Vivaldi (16781741). The selected works form a
diverse group, including the Concerto for Four Violins in B minor,
No. 10, from the L’estro armonico,
Op. 3, as well as several with the
colorful designations “Il Grosso
Mogul,” “L’inquietudine,” and “Il
Favorito.”
The partnership between soloist
and ensemble is a highly successful
one, as the energetic, driving style
of Il Giardino Armonico nicely complements the charismatic individual-
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ity of Mullova’s playing. This chemistry is most striking in the Concerto
in D Major titled “The Unquiet
One,” a compact work given an
uninhibited, fearless performance of
six-minutes’ length that shatters
any remaining vestiges of the
stereotype of Vivaldi’s music, popularized on classical radio, as “easy
listening.”
Vivaldi’s idiosyncratic originality
also emerges fully in the Concerto
in D Major titled “The Great
Mogul,” an interesting early 18thcentury example of orientalism in
which extended, fanciful cadenzas
and recitative-like passages serve to
depict the “exotic” East.
The dubious cultural representation aside, the musical qualities of
this composition so
impressed
J.S. Bach
that he
transcribed
it as a keyboard work
(the Organ Concerto in C Major,
BWV 594), as he also did the
famous four-violin concerto (as the
Concerto for Four Harpsichords,
BWV 1065), which here receives a
seamlessly coordinated rendition by
Mullova and three members of the
ensemble joining her as soloists.
—Jen-yen Chen
COLLECTIONS
1605, Treason and Dischord:
William Byrd and the
Gunpowder Plot
The King’s Singers; Concordia
Signum Classics SIGCD061
69:21 minutes
Religious persecution and a
thwarted terrorist attack are odd
subjects for a musical program, yet
they provide the springboard for
this cleverly conceived and brilliantly
performed disc by the King’s
Singers and the viol consort Concordia. The listener is taken to England, via the music of William Byrd
(1543-1623), Peter Philips (15601628), John Dowland (1563-1626),
Thomas Weelkes (c.1576-1623),
and Richard Dering (c.1580-1630),
on November 5, 1605, the day the
Gunpowder Plot (the scheme by
Catholic dissenters to blow up Parliament) was uncovered. While
there is no direct reference in the
music to the Gunpowder Plot, three
of the composers—Byrd, Dowland,
and Philips—were Catholics. To further the conceit, Deborah Mackay
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“I cannot stop listening
to this recital . . . The playing
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shaped, and engaging.”
Christopher L. Chaffee,
American Record Guide
With Andrew Bolotowsky, David Bakamjian,
Rebecca Pechefsky, and Gregory Bynum
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Rebecca Pechefsky, harpsichord
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this music work.”
Stephen Dydo,
Early Music America
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wrote an imaginary monologue for
the notes in which Byrd “speaks” of
the plot.
Crafty concept aside, what we
have here is some familiar repertoire yielding many musical
rewards. The centerpiece is the sublime Mass for Four Voices by Byrd,
and The
King’s
Singers
deliver an
incandescent performance
that’s
among the very best available.
There’s more splendid Byrd with his
gorgeous motet “Civitas sancti tui”
and the composer’s “A Fancie,”
played by organist Sarah Baldock,
between the Kyrie and Gloria of the
Mass; it doesn’t make liturgical
sense, but it is still musically
pleasing.
It’s not all Catholic music, however; Weelkes’s anthem, “O Lord
how joyful is the King,” possibly
written to commemorate the king’s
deliverance from the plot, comes
off beautifully and showcases the
warmth and richness of the
Concordia viols.
—Craig Zeichner
Chant Wars
Sequentia,
Benjamin Bagby, director
Dialogos, Katarina Livljanic, director
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 66649-2
74:53 minutes
The subtitle that appears on the
liner notes reads, “The Carolingian
‘Globalisation’ of Medieval Plainchant.” Don’t be frightened by the
subtitle or put off by the title,
though, because Chant Wars is
snappier than either suggests. In
their live concerts and on recordings, Sequentia and Dialogos have
consistently made chant a thrilling
experience.
One aspect of the Emperor
Charlemagne’s desire to unify his
empire was the reform of the liturgy. What we have on this recording
is a snapshot of the collision, in the
9th century, of two chant traditions: those
of the cantors of the
Carolingian
emperors
and those
that were in
practice in
various European regions.
The men’s voices of Sequentia
and Dialogos are outstanding in
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Early Music America Spring 2006
15
B r a n d y w i n e
2 0 0 5
-
2 0 0 6
B a r o q u e
S e a s o n
Karen Flint, harpsichord
Laura Heimes, soprano
Eileen Grycky, flute
Elizabeth Field, violin
Douglas McNames, cello
Guests include:
John Holloway, violin
Julianne Baird, soprano
Tony Boutté, tenor
Drew Minter, countertenor
Fuma Sacra
Andrew Megill, Director
Choir in Residence at
Westminster Choir College
Concerts in Wilmington & Lewes, Delaware
For Tickets and Information: 302 / 594-1100
www.brandywinebaroque.org
D e l a w a r e ’ s
16
p r e m i e r e
Spring 2006 Early Music America
c h a m b e r
John Buckler, Handel’s House, watercolour 1839 © The Handel House Collections Trust
Music from Handel House
e n s e m b l e
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powerful vocal interpretations. Best,
however, is how amazingly well her
voice merges with the instruments,
all played
with the
utmost skill
and historical integrity
by the
members
of Barcarole. Whether in passages of recitative or airs, she navigates the vocal
lines with elegance and grace.
A must for the fan of French
Baroque vocal music, this recording
introduces a little-known but fascinating repertoire by composers
Philippe Courbois (fl.1705-1730),
Nicolas Clérambault (1676-1749),
and François Colin de Blamont
(1690-1760).
—Denise Gallo
Médée, Ariane, Circé, Héro…
les déesses outragées
Northern Lights:
Brunnemüller, Telemann,
Bach, Richter
Agnès Mellon, soprano; Barcarole
(Amélie Michel, transverse flute;
Alice Piérot, violin; Eric Bellocq,
theorbo; Kenneth Weiss,
harpsichord; Richard Boothby,
viola da gamba)
Alpha 068
68:56 minutes
As did operas of the period,
Baroque cantatas focused on the
passions and emotions of the
mythological heroes and heroines
who peopled their librettos. Generally dedicated to composers’
patrons and performed at intimate
venues at their courts, these compositions were as dramatic as theatrical works, but because they
(generally) were performed without
scenery or costumes, their effect lay
solely in the vocal interpretation of
the singer(s).
A stunning example of both the
dramatic cantata and of what surely
must be its ideal performance is this
recording by soprano Agnès Mellon
and the members of the ensemble
Barcarole. Together they have selected four early 18th-century French
cantatas, all of which feature a
scorned priestess or sorceress—
Medea, Ariadne, Hero, and Circe.
Each work gives abundant examples
of the emotional range that demonstrates the ensemble’s theme.
Mellon is perfect as each character, and just as the original singers
would have, she creates the anger
and pain these women felt with
Brooklyn Baroque (Andrew
Bolotowsky, Baroque flute;
David Bakamjian, Baroque cello;
Rebecca Pechefsky, harpsichord);
Gregory Bynum, recorder
Quill Classics 1005
71:46 minutes
This debut recording by Brooklyn Baroque presents a varied and
generous selection of mostly unfamiliar music by German composers
of the 18th
century. It
features one
gem that, by
itself, justifies
interest in
this disc: the
Solo in D
Major for Cello and Continuo by
Georg Philipp Telemann (16811767)—which is, in fact, a fourmovement sonata in the da chiesa
form of alternating fast and slow
sections. Cellist David Bakamjian
responds beautifully to the expressiveness of Telemann’s music, providing an elegant, fluid, and richly
resonant performance.
The little known Elias Brunnemüller (1690-1712), who flourished
around the turn of the 18th century, is represented by works for flute
and continuo and for solo harpsichord. The most interesting of these
is a suite in D minor for harpsichord
distinguished by an opening Toccatina that contains two separate
Continued on page 60
I F URIOSI
BAROQUE ENSEMBLE
REMAINING 2005/2006
CONCERT SCHEDULE:
January 20, 2006 Siren Tears
DEBUT RECORDING
March 31, 2006 Addicted to Love
Everything I want in a CD and more.
Calvin Presbyterian Church
26 DelisleA venue, Toronto
ifuriosi.com
!
“
June 10, 2006 Up In Smoke
“
this program, which moves from
the highly dramatic—the muscular
“Christus vincit” with its ecstatic
chant and choral response that celebrates the saints of heaven—to the
gently melodic—the Gallic antiphon
“Venite, populi.” There are also
some solo turns by Benjamin Bagby:
“A solis ortu usque ad occidua,” a
non-liturgical lament on the death
of Charlemagne, and “In convertendo dominus,” a psalm setting
that attempts to re-create the
singing of a Roman cantor at the
time of Pope Gregory.
This is hands-down one of the
most intellectually engaging and
musically rewarding chant recordings ever made, and it will appeal
as much to early music fans as it
will to devotees of such modern
Medievalists as Arvo Pärt and
John Tavener.
—Craig Zeichner
- cdbaby.com
Available in quality record stores in
Toronto and online on www.cdbaby.com
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Early Music America Spring 2006
17
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Continued from page 17
fugues. Keyboardist Rebecca Pechefsky offers an effective if occasionally stiff account of this
composition.
The disc is rounded out by two
works that point to the growing
preeminence of the galant style: the
Sonata in G minor for Flute and
Harpsichord, BWV 1020, long
attributed to J.S. Bach and now
believed to be by his son Carl
Philipp Emanuel (1714-1788), and
a sonata for flute and continuo by
the important Mannheim symphonist Franz Xaver Richter (1709-1789).
In this music of a later generation
of German composers, flutist
Andrew Bolotowsky earns high
marks for his lively, supple, and
clear-toned musicality, as does the
trio as a whole for its unified
ensemble playing and its energetic
engagement.
—Jen-yen Chen
Villancicos y Cantadas
Jennifer Ellis, soprano; Jennifer
Lane, mezzo-soprano; El Mundo
(Zachary Carrettin, Adam LaMotte,
violins; William Skeen, cello, viol;
Corey Jameson, harpsichord;
Peter Maund, percussion; Bruce
Burchmore, guitar), Richard Savino,
guitar, director
Koch International Classics
KIC-CD-7654
58:51 minutes
Popular piety in musical repertoires has been common since the
Middle Ages. Unfortunately, such
pieces are seldom recorded. This
collection, however, of Spanish
and Latin American villancicos
and cantadas of the 17th and
18th centuries, along with some
contemporary instrumental works,
attractively demonstrates their
appeal.
In the 17th century, Spanish villancicos ceased being primarily part
songs about love and became devotional songs accompanied by instrumental ensembles. Flourishing
throughout Spain’s empire, villancicos both spread Spanish culture
and absorbed musical features of
their new homes, most noticeably
popular rhythms.
Meanwhile, the Italian style of
recitative and aria that developed
during the Baroque was adopted by
Spanish and Latin American com-
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60
posers and put to the service of
devotional texts. The resulting
cantadas consisted, like their
Italian counterparts, of recitative
and da capo arias. In contrast,
villancicos remained popular in
tone with their repeated refrains
and strophes.
El Mundo—two singers and seven instrumentalists—is persuasive in
capturing the spirit of both types of
works in their selections. “Oygan
una xacarilla” blends
vivacious
rhythms and
tunes from
street songs
with a text
of praise
bright with images of light, while
the gentle “Al dormir el sol” is a lullaby for the Christ child. The florid
melodies of the cantada “Por aquel
horizonte” give sobriety and weight
to a somewhat ingenuous Christmas text, while the cascading melismas of “Ya que el sol misterioso”
enliven the poetry’s statement of
faith.
Three purely instrumental pieces
illustrate styles popular in this period as well. The folia, a theme with
variations used frequently from the
15th through the 18th centuries,
appears here as an ensemble work
by the Neapolitan composer Andrea
Falconieri (1585–1656). Two guitar
solos by the Spanish composer Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), performed
by Richard Savino, show complementary styles of music: lyrical,
melodic lines in the courtly
“Pavanas” contrast with crisp
rhythms in the more rustic
“Canarios.”
Thoroughly enjoyable, this
recording is not without flaws:
some attacks by Jennifer Lane and
Jennifer Ellis could be more precise
and exhibit clearer diction. The balance and intonation are excellent,
however, and the generally high
quality of the performances more
than makes up for a few minor
problems.
—Deborah Lawrence
Viola D’Amore
Affetti Musicali
(Marianne Rönez, viola d’amore,
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Spring 2006 Early Music America
director; Ludwig Hampe, viola
d’amore; Arno Jochem, viola da
gamba; Michael Freimuth, theorbo;
Ernst Kubitschek, harpsichord);
Monika Mauch, soprano
Winter & Winter 9100962
52:52 minutes
This marvelously quirky program
of music for viola d’amore with
strings and voice is smartly conceived and superbly performed. The
repertoire is decidedly offbeat and
features works by Anton Huberty
(c.1722-1791), Johann Caspar
Ganspeck (c.17th century), Attilio
Ariosti (1666-1729), Wilhelm
Ganspeckh (1687-1770), and a
more familiar name, Heinrich Ignaz
Franz von Biber (1644-1704).
The viola d’amore soloist is Marianne Rönez, and she is supported
by the strings, theorbo, and harpsichord of her ensemble Affetti Musicali on Biber’s Partia VII in C minor.
This is a performance
that wows
with its
vibrancy,
warmth, and
healthy
bursts of virtuosity. As on Rönez’s 1998 recording of Biber’s Rosary Sonatas
(where she was the violin soloist),
this disc showcases a superb
ensemble that deserves wider
recognition.
The music for voice and strings
is consistently delicious. “Un ruisselet bien clair,” by Huberty, is a lovely
little duet between soprano Monika
Mauch and Rönez that seduces
with its dainty melody and perfect
interplay between singer and
soloist. The folk-like quality of
Ganspeck’s Marian aria, “Maria
schönste Bluemen zirt,” is nicely
served by Mauch and company and
might stir musicians to unearth
more of this composer’s music.
Like all Winter and Winter
recordings, the sound is demonstration quality, but—also like too
many Winter and Winter recordings—the liner notes are artfully
designed but difficult to read. Small
matter; this is a sleeper recording
that will put your CD player’s repeat
button to good use.
—Craig Zeichner
,
Early Music America magazine welcomes news of recent recordings.
Please send CDs to be considered for review and pertinent information
to Craig M. Zeichner, Reviews Editor, 69 Poplar Street, Apt. 2C,
Brooklyn, NY 11201; recordings@earlymusic.org. Early Music America
cannot guarantee the inclusion of every CD sent for review. All
published reviews reflect the personal opinions of the reviewer only.
Apollo’s Fire plays Mozart
CELEBRATING MOZART’S 250th BIRTHDAY
Mozart Symphonies
No.35 in D (Haffner) • No.41 in C (Jupiter)
KOCH KIC CD 7574
Mozart Piano Concertos
with John Gibbons FORTEPIANO
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KOCH KIC CD 7575
Sorrell’s Mozart “achieves
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ORDER YOUR COPY NOW
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JEANNETTE SORRELL
(800) 314-2535 • www.apollosfire.org
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Early Music America Spring 2006
61