Monthly Archives: June 2022

SALLY BEAMISH & JAMES CRABB – MUSICAL TALK PEASMARSH CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL 26TH JUNE 2022

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Much like the extras on a Blu-ray box set there is often much to entertain and inform in the smaller ‘side’ events at a festival. Two artists involved in this year’s festival gave this intimate presentation through informal conversation and the chance for audience questions interspersed with some delightful performances.

Sally Beamish, composer and viola player and her friend concert accordionist James Crabb seemed completely at ease as they talked together about their musical beginnings, experiences and influences. The music featured was a lovely lilting Scottish folk tune arrangement, variations on an old English tune and an arrangement of a piece by Sally Beamish originally written for a small jazz ensemble. The unlikely but beautiful pairing of viola and concert accordion worked so well, due I am sure in no small part, to the rapport between the two players as well as the sensitive approach to their respective instruments. The small but appreciative audience seemed very pleased with what they had witnessed in the tranquil environment that is St Peter & Paul church, Peasmarsh. I think we would have all liked it to go on much longer.

Stephen Page

CDs June 2022

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ZIBUOKLE MARTINAITYTE – EX TENEBRIS LUX
PAVEL GIUNTER, percussion ROKAS VAITKEVICIUS, cello
LITHUANIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, KAROLIS VARIAKOJIS, conductor
ONDINE ODE 1403-2  75’16

This is the second release from Ondine of works by Zibuokle Martinaityte, here focussing on works for strings. Born in Lithuania and now living in New York, it is possible to draw parallels in her writing with Eastern European independent thinkers Arvo Part and Henryk Gorecki. Despite the limited resources there is much variety in timbre and the slow moving, gradually unfolding music still has moments of surprise and heightened intensity. The opening piece, Nunc fluens. nunc stans., was written in 2020 as a direct response to the pandemic. The title roughly translates “the now that passes creates time; the now that remains creates eternity”. The work from which the CD takes its title was written slightly later, completed in 2021, is also written as a response to Covid -19. The final work, Sielunmaisema (“Soul-landscape, a particular place that a person carries deep in the heart and returns to often in memory”) was written in 2019 and is the longest work here. It reflects on the passing of the year, with four season-inspired movements.

UN MILAGO DE FE – A MIRACLE OF FAITH
MUSIC BY BEATRIZ BILBAO, ARIEL RAMIREZ, MARY LOU WILLIAMS
& OSVALDO GOLIJOV
BORDER CROSSING choir & instrumental ensembles
AHMED ANZALDUA, conductor
BRIDGE 9568  59’57

This is a very well thought out presentation of music of faith from Latin America. There are some really exuberant moments as well as some more reflective passages and many contrasting sounds from voices, percussion, piano and string bass. I found the whole CD quite energising and loved the blending of the now well-known Misa Criolla (-Ramirez) with Mary Lou Williams’ St Martin de Porres, two pieces by Osvaldo Golijov and the no-holds barred Fiesta de San Juan by Beatriz Bilbao which opens the CD.

JAMES KALLENBACH – ANTIGONE
The Writings of Sophie Scholl & the White Rose Movement
LORELEI ENSEMBLE
BETH WILLER, conductor
NEW FOCUS RECORDINGS FCR333  36’42

It took me a while to appreciate the concept and structure of this new choral work. Having done so I can see how well crafted it is. The blending of the ancient Greek drama – Sophocles’ Antigone with the words of Sophie Scholl, writing as a nonviolent resistance campaigner in Germany during the 2nd World War in new choral settings by James Kallembach is very effective. The voices blend very well and the whole presentation is superb. I intend now to spend more time with text and recording as well as perhaps doing a little historical research in order to gain a greater understanding of the source material and the timeless message they contain.

OPALESCENT
LOS ANGELES GUITAR QUINTET
LAGQ RECORDS LAGQ 0322  57’25

A gently arresting release of music that can transport the listener to other realms! Like the ‘thin places’ to be found in the landscape this music seems to point to more profound realities and this is reflected in many of the titles here, by a number of contemporary composers. Beginning with Andrew York’s Hidden Realm of Light and including Aerial Boundaries by Michael Hedges there are also works by Kevin Callahan, Frederic Hand and Robert Beaser. The whole. Project centres around two works by Philip Houghton – Opals and Wave Radiance. Tilman Hoppstock’s Suite Transcendent completes the programme. Beautiful.

MY LAI  – Music – JONATHAN BERGER  Libretto – HARRIET SCOTT CHESSMAN
KRONOS QUARTET
VAN-ANH VANESSA VO, t’rung, dan bau, dan tranh
RINDE ECKERT, vocalist
SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS SFW CD 40251

Written 50 years after the tragic events in Vietnam this opera looks back through the eyes of heroic American helicopter pilot, Hugh Thompson jr, who intervened to try to stop the American massacre of innocent people. as he is dying of cancer in 2005. This is a remarkable piece of music and drama, allowing the enormity and the far-reaching imact of the tragedy to be displayed. Blending traditional Vietnamese compositional styles and instrumentation with western opera as well as material from the Jewish Kaddish and the traditional spiritual My Lord, what a morning, this is a moving, deeply spiritual piece. It tells of the horror of war, the inhumanity shown to many on the one hand and the bravery and rightness of an individual who will take a stand for justice and compassion. The juxtaposition of elements of a gameshow serve as a jarring indictment of the events that took place. A fine recording and wonderful presentation with extensive booklet notes including much historical background material including a complete list of names as a memorial for each of the 504 people killed in the My Lai massacre. Profoundly moving.

SOLUS ET UNA
AMIT PELED, cello
MOUNT VERNON VIRTUOSI CELLO GANG
ALLISON FREEMAN, piano
CTM CLASSICS

The Bach cello suites have a very special spacious quality which has ensured that performers and listeners return to them again and again. It is always good to hear fresh performances as these recently recorded and released by Amit Peled. As with a number of other recent CDs in the sleeve notes there is mention of that yearning for going beyond ourselves to find something bigger, something more, the source of inspiration and resilience. The two solo (Solus) items here are the Cello Suites No 4 in E flat major and No 5 in C minor. Included after these is the Una  – a recording of Amit Peled with his cello ensemble and an arrangement for 8 cellos and piano of the Andante from Brahms’ Symphony No 3.

THE POOR BRANCH  – 19TH C GUITAR MUSIC BY IVAN KLINGER
JAMES AKERS, guitar
RESONUS RES10302  64’18

This release of premiere recordings of guitar music by Klinger (1818-1897) is lovely. There is a timeless quality to the sounds of a solo guitar and here, in original compositions and arrangements, this music, from an area now part of Ukraine, this music from a relatively obscure composer has been given new life by James Akers who seems very at home with it. An enjoyable release.

THESE DISTANCES BETWEEN US – 21st  C SONGS OF LONGING
MUSICAL SETTINGS BY BRANDWEIN, HILL, RUDMAN AND SANTORE
EMILY JAWORSKI KORIATH, mezzo, TAD KORIATH, piano
JONATHAN SANTORE & CRAIG BRANDWEIN, computer generated electronics
NAXOS 8.559908  64’52

Part of the Naxos American Classics strand this is a fascinating compilation of songs from from four contemporary American composers of texts by varied authors including Amy Lowell, John Charles McNeill, Sulpicia & Rilke. There is well developed rapport between the performers and Emily’s wider work includes specialism in electro-acoustic music for voice which is represented by the additional electronics provided by two of the composers. A welcome addition to recordings of this developing repertoire.

FERNANDO LOPES-GRACA: DIVERTIMENTO – SINFONIETA – CINCO VELHOS ROMANCES PORTUGUESES – QUATRO INVENCOES
PORTUGUESE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, BRUNO BORRALHINHO, conductor
NAXOS 8.574373  63’25

This bold, inventive music sounds fresh and invigorating in this latest release of the Portuguese composer’s work. There is much variety of orchestration and rhythm throughout. The performances of each of these four medium length pieces bring much to enjoy.

ADOLF BARJANSKY – COMPLETE PIANO WORKS  2
JULIA SEVERUS, piano
GRAND PIANO GP881 64’11

I continue to really enjoy these single composer volumes from Grand Piano. Here is mostly virtuoso music in the 2nd volume of Odessan late 19th century composer Adolf Barjansky. Writing in late romantic style, this is music written on a grand scale, much of it not for the feint-hearted as piano and performer are given a good work out in inventive music that is often lively and with much depth. Piano Sonatas 2 & 3 are linked with his Moderato.

TAKASHI YOSHIMATSU – PIANO WORKS FOR THE LEFT HAND
YUMIKO OSHIMA-RYAN, piano
NAXOS 8.579121  51’31

The world of one handed piano music is a very inspiring place indeed. It never ceases to amaze me how listening to some of this repertoire, born out of adversity, it is often impossible to tell that only one hand is being used. Here we have some very contrasting music written by contemporary Japanese composer which spans the sound reminiscent of reflective film scores to rock, blues, tango and boogie-woogie. A great set of recordings of wonderful performances of this rarefied music that deserves to be heard and recognised more widely.

TAN DUN – PIANO MUSIC
RALPH VAN RAAT, piano
NAXOS  8.570621  73’06

This is a very welcome release of music which is influenced by both Chinese and Western musical traditions, more recent musical developments and older traditions. Blue Orchid is a variation on Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. The Film Music Sonata uses the composer’s own material for the soundtrack to the film, The Banquet. The Fire and Traces together show very different approaches to composition, one being a very virtuosic piece, the other making much use of silence. Tan Dun’s tribute to his teacher, C-A-G-E (In Memory of John Cage) makes references back to the timbres of the prepared piano and the opening work Eight Memories in Watercolour is a series of miniatures based on elements of the natural world and our place within it. A lovely collection.

ALAN HOVHANESS – PIANO WORKS VOL 2
ALESSANDRA POMPILI, PIANO
DYNAMIC CDS7946  56’08

The subtitle to this volume is “Journeying over land and through space” and all the pieces here are evocations of particular places with some very distinctive sounds reflecting different traditions. The three longest works are Komachi (evoking natural sounds of Japan), the premiere recording of Greek Rhapsody No 1 and Sonata: Journey to Arcturus. Hovhaness’ orchestral music is much more widely known than his piano repertoire so it is good to have this 2nd volume available now.

SELIM PALMGREN – COMPLETE PIANO WORKS 5
JOUNI SOMERO, piano
GRAND PIANO GP908  78’07

This survey of Palmgren’s piano music continues with another release of neglected gems in a variety of styles and moods. A number of the pieces here are recorded for the first time including the opening Exotisk Marsch with its evocation of things ‘oriental’. Lots to explore and enjoy.

TREVOR DUNCAN – BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC 8
SLOVAK RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, ANDREW PENNY, conductor
NAXOS 8.555192  68’27

I have made no secret of really enjoying previous volumes of this series from Naxos. Trevor Duncan was another prolific composer of so-called light music but is known today almost exclusively for his A Little Suite, which became well-known as the the source of the theme tune for the television series Dr Finlay’s Casebook. It is included here alongside many lesser known but equally well crafted pieces where melody is always to the fore. Encore!

BORIS LYATOSHYNSKY – COMPLETE SYMPHONIES
UKRAINIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, THEODORE KUCHAR, conductor
NAXOS 8.503303 (3 CDs) 188’20

A timely release of these repackaged recordings from the 90s here we have the complete symphonies of the composer regarded as the father of 20th century Ukrainian music. In these times of war there is rightly a focus on the culture of this country. This is substantial music which was written at a time when it was often difficult to speak with an original voice. Lyatoshynsky’s work brought him into conflict with the authorities. There is much emotion and variety of colour in this music which straddles later romantic and modernist movements. An important release which reminds us of our often limited knowledge of musical geography.

SP

Eugene Onegin Opera Holland Park Young Artists Performance June 2022

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This production, like this season’s Carmen, makes imaginative use of takis’s annular set which puts the orchestra in the middle of the action. It’s a treat to see and hear some of the action only a few feet from the front rows of the audience.

At the performance, I saw, which showcased the talents of singers in Opera Holland Park Young Artists Scheme Samuel Dale Johnson – who plays the role in the main cast show – stood in as Onegin for indisposed Rory Musgrave. Johnson, tall and charismatic brings all the brash insouciance the character needs in the early scenes followed by wonderfully sung anguish and remorse at his final rejection – which is played on the very front of the ring.

Has anyone ever done passion quite like Tchaikovsky with his plaintive, plangent brass interjections? In this performance Lucy Anderson as Tatyana delivers every note and nuance in the challengingly long letter scene which she sustains with admirable control. And the repeated descending horn motif – hinting that this love letter is not going to bring happiness – hits the spot every time under Hannah von Wiehler’s clear, incisive baton. It’s a good directorial idea (Julia Burbach) to have Onegin physically on stage in mime at this point to connote what Tatyana is imagining. We see something similar in the second act when Onegin and Tatyana meet five years later and we are shown on stage what is going on in Tatyana’s head as her husband Prince Gemin (Henry Grant Kerswell – good) sings of married happiness.

Anne Elizabeth Cooper is suitably ebullient and excitable as the other sister Olga. She has the beginnings of a rich traditional contralto voice (think Ferrier or Baker) with some velvety bottom notes. She is a nice foil to the more intense Tatyana. Similarly Jack Roberts as Lenksy contrasts with Onegin especially as they quarrel at the end of the first act. He sings Lensky’s aria with both passion and precision while von Wiehler ensures we hear the woodwind shining through the texture.

The chorus sound is strong and only very occasionally, and briefly swamped by the orchestra. And every performer on stage is directed to make maximum use of the huge playing space.

In the first act the women wear simple white dresses which reminded me, off-puttingly, of nighties. I think these are meant to suggest youthful innocence because everyone is in heavy, grown up black after the interval. As a device it feels a bit clumsy – but this is a very minor gripe about a fine production and performance.

Susan Elkin

Carmen Opera Holland Park June 2022

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The world’s most popular opera feels fresh and vibrant, but free from gimmickry, under Cecilia Stinton’s direction with Lee Reynolds doing excellent work with City of London Sinfonia in the pit.

Staging anything coherently is a challenge on Opera Holland Park’s enormous, very wide stage. You have to allow extra bars to get people on and off because they have to travel so far. For this production the playing space is almost doubled (design by takis) with a sloping semi-circular thrust stage so that the orchestra is effectively encircled by the action. It adds still further to the logistic challenge but it works well and makes some of the action – especially the final scene – feel intimately immersive.

Kezia Bienek is terrific as Carmen. She sings with effortless panache and finds all the right assertive, sassy, flirtatiousness while always remaining her own woman. It’s a warmly convincing performance with, among many other fine moments, a deliciously sexy Habenera (lovely balance with the cello at the beginning).

Oliver Johnston more than matches her as the hapless, love-smitten, ultimately abusive Don José, His tenor voice is magnificent and the love aria he sings to Carmen in the tavern is beautifully, mellifluously lyrical. And yet he brings coarse, fierce passion to the final scene.

Alison Langer’s troubled frumpy Micaela is a fine foil to Carmen and her claret-rich voice delights especially in the resonant bottom notes. And Thomas Mole gets – and makes real drama out of – what is, I gather, the most widely recognised music theatre tune in the world. So somehow he has to make the Toreador song feel newly minted and he does – as his flamboyant, exhibitionist character shows off and captivates Carmen.

Lee Reynolds has slightly reduced the score but the omissions don’t show. He is a very clear conductor – mouthing every word with the singers, beaming in delight at the end of the glorious accelerando number with castanets and pizzicato strings. He allows a lot of detail to shine through. Like most people, I’ve known this music all my life but there’s a sparky horn line in the Toreador song I’d never noticed before. Once or twice he lost control of the male chorus which slipped out of synch for a few bars at the performance I saw but the juggernaut soon got back on track so it didn’t matter much.

The children’s chorus – arranged through Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School – fizzes with energy and sings with conviction. It’s good to see community involvement at this level.

Susan Elkin

IMS PRUSSIA COVE CONCERT Saturday 29th May 2022

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Emily Nebel.webp

Last night in the Tolmen Centre, Constantine, we were given a treat. A quartet of musicians attending the International Musicians Seminar [IMS] at Prussia Cove in West Cornwall came and played at the Centre as part of a short tour of West Cornwall venues.
Founded by the Hungarian violinist Sandor Vegh, this is a big year for IMS as it is their fiftieth Anniversary. Twice a year, in Spring and in Autumn, the seminars are run, offering master classes for students of music and recent graduates all over the world, as well as a chance for experienced world-class performers to work together with different musicians and to refresh and push the boundaries of their own musicality.

The quartet comprised Lesley Hatfield [violin], who is leader of the National Orchestra of Wales and a member of the Gaudier Ensemble and much more; Emily Nebel [violin] who has appeared with a large number of orchestras and Chamber groups all over Europe; David Adams [viola] who has played with a string of Chamber groups, including the Nash Ensemble, Endellion String Quartet, the Raphael Ensemble and many more; Alice Neary [cello] has been principal cellist for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and has performed with groups all over Europe and the USA. She is also a renowned pianist and has 25 CDs to her name.

The concert began with Beethoven’s String Quartet Op.18, No 3 in D major. The work is in four movements and was the first quartet Beethoven wrote.
The first movement began quietly and was full of joyous little ripples, like laughter, as if Beethoven had enjoyed exploring and playing with the potential of each instrument. The second movement started with the quiet grace of a dance in which each instrument appeared to invite the next to join and in the third movement the dance quickened and sped to a close. Huge contrasts between light dabs and strong bowing occurred in the fourth movement. Again there was a joyous feel to the piece where Beethoven had the four instruments racing up and down and overlapping as if trying to catch each other out. The whole piece was a revelation and a joy to be part of as listeners.

Next came Dvorak’s Cypresses, Nos. 9 and 11, pieces I was familiar with for the piano but not as a trio for one violin, viola and cello. In Cypresses No 9, the viola’s lovely warm tones held the opening tune which was joined gradually by the other two instruments in turn. The piece ended quietly with the viola again, this time plucking the strings. Cypresses 11 had a hurrying rhythm alternating with stiller moments. It had me imagining a busy person rushing along only to be surprised into wonder and reflection at the beauty of the view.

After the interval we were treated to another string trio by the composer from Budapest, Zoltan Kodaly. Intermezzo for String Trio demonstrated Kodaly’s love of his country’s rustic people and their folk tunes. The skipping rhythms of the peasant tunes which also inspired Kodaly’s friend, Bela Bartok, were offset by a quieter passage, full of reverence and led first by the viola before the piece picked up into the rhythms of a country dance, underpinned by the cello, softly plucking.

Next came a short piece by Bohuslav Martinu – Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola [No. 2] wittily introduced by Adams who described how Martinu’s family lived in the belfry of their local church through his childhood. No bells in this piece but instead an exploration of the colour and scope of the two instruments. A difficult piece full of sliding chromatics, arpeggios that scampered up and down and discordancies that resolved blissfully into harmony and ended peacefully, moving from deliberately being out of sync to a coming together with a series of sublime long notes.

The concert ended with Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 20, No 2 in C major. Haydn was to all intents and purposes the inventor of the string quartet. We, who are used to chamber music, often forget what a debt we owe to Haydn for the playfulness and humour of his chamber catalogue. Lesley Hatfield, who introduced this part of the programme, also told us that it was Haydn who liberated the cello from just being the bass continuo to an exploration of its range and beauty.

Indeed, the first movement, marked Moderato, starts with the voice of the cello, which then gives way to the violins. The master of surprise, the movement is full of sudden fast runs from all the instruments. The second and third movements, Cappricio, followed by the short Minuet, starts with a strong series of notes in unison. The cello introduces the quieter section through which cuts the first violin in a lament. Cello answers sympathetically but the first violin has a song to sing, through which the other three instruments render a background of sympathy and support, emphasised by repetition of those strong unison passages. Finally was the Fugue in Four Parts. After a soft, light opening was a sudden strong and loud explosion of sound as the instruments wove in and out of each other. The piece ended with a very exciting gallop to a unison finish.

There is of course nothing like seeing and hearing live music. The obvious enjoyment of the performers enhanced this experience. Whatever combination they were working in, these wonderful musicians treated us to rich contrasts of light and shade, giving life in every case to these long-dead composers, as if unearthing them and bringing them literally from darkness into light. Watching them I was struck by the physicality of the performers; their bodies danced with and curled lovingly round their instruments; each became one creature.

They were all adept at bringing out the humour of the pieces and the rapid changes of pace and volume and, in the companionable space of the Tolmen Centre, surrounded by the warmth of that wooden interior which enhances the music, they took turns introducing each piece with learning but also with a delightful informality.
Thank you IMS for a wonderful evening.

Jeni Whittaker