{"id":6763,"date":"2022-02-24T18:19:48","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T18:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=6763"},"modified":"2022-02-24T18:20:34","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T18:20:34","slug":"cds-february-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=6763","title":{"rendered":"CDs FEBRUARY 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

DOVE-WEIR-MARTIN \u2013 CHORAL WORKS<\/span><\/p>\n

CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY<\/span>
\n JAMES O\u2019DONNELL, Conductor<\/span>
\n PETER HOLDER, organ<\/span>
\n HYPERION CDA68350 70\u201916<\/span><\/p>\n

This release presents a polished selection of liturgical choral works from three contemporary British composers. Much of the music here has been commissioned by the Abbey and so there is a particular affinity in this recording of these musicians in this place. The first two composers are well established figures in the contemporary choral repertoire. Matthew Martin may be less familiar and it is good to have his Westminster Service<\/em> with other settings alongside Dove\u2019s Missa Brevis<\/em> and further anthems by him and Judith Weir.<\/p>\n

BRITISH MUSIC FOR STRINGS III \u2013 BRITISH WOMEN COMPOSERS<\/span>
\n SUDWESTDEUTSCHES KAMMERORCHESTER PFORZHEIM<\/span>
\n DOUGLAS BOSTOCK, conductor<\/span>
\n CPO 555 457-2 63\u201952<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a very welcome recording of music for strings from British women whose lives spanned the latter part of the 19th and complete 20th centuries. It is good to see more music by both composers who may have fallen into the \u2018neglected\u2019 category on two counts \u2013 country of birth and gender. All of this music was unknown to me and very enjoyable. The longest work here, Ethel Smyth\u2019s Suite for Strings Op 1A,<\/em> opens the CD. The other more familiar name, Ruth Gipps, closes it with the wonderfully titled Gringlemire Garden: An impression for string orchestra. Lament<\/em> and a Suite<\/em> by Susan Spain-Dunk are included together with Constance Warren\u2019s Heather Hill.<\/em> A fascinating disk.<\/p>\n

ASTOR PIAZZOLLA<\/span>
\n ESCUALO5<\/span>
\n BIS-2605 75\u201910<\/span><\/p>\n

The release of a new recording of music by Piazzolla is, in my opinion, always a very welcome occurrence. Here we have passionate performances from the ensemble Esucalo5 which consists of violin, accorion, guitar, piano and double bass. Alongside the more familiar and extensive Tango Suite<\/em> and Histoire du Tango<\/em> is another longer piece Contrabajisimo<\/em> (unknown to me) and a number of shorter pieces. A lovely production.<\/p>\n

GEORGE CRUMB \u2013 METAMORPHOSES, BOOKS I & II<\/span>
\n MARCANTONIO BARONE, piano<\/span>
\n BRIDGE 9551 75\u201959<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes a release becomes more topical for a sad reason. With the recent death of George Crumb at 92 years this is a case in point. The composer continued to push musical boundaries until the end of his life as can be seen in this pairing of his two books of Metamorphoses<\/em> (after celebrated paintings) for amplified piano, written between 2015 and 2020. This is definitely a CD of immersive music which also serves as a poignant marker of the end of George Crumb\u2019s life of musical innovation.<\/p>\n

AMY BEACH \u2013 COMPLETE WORKS FOR PIANO DUO<\/span>
\n GENOVA & DIMITROV PIANO DUO<\/span>
\n CPO 555 453-2 63\u201951<\/span><\/p>\n

Amy Beach is another composer who is receiving more attention after a long period of obscurity. This is a delightful disc of music brought to life with the seamless pairing of pianists Genova & Dimitrov. The expanded sound world of either the piano duet or duo allows for deeper, richer sonorities and virtuosic interplay. Here we hear both in a programme of four collected pieces. Variations on Balkan Themes for 2 pianos<\/em> opens and together with Suite for 2 pianos<\/em> founded upon old Irish melodies<\/em> make up over half of the CD. They are complemented by Three pieces for piano four-hands and Summer Dreams for piano four-hands<\/em>. Little known music that should be heard and enjoyed.<\/p>\n

ERNEST MOERAN \u2013 CHAMBER MUSIC<\/span>
\n FIDELIO TRIO<\/span>
\n RESONUS RES10296 66\u201927<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a very enjoyable programme of fine performances by the Fidelio Trio. Opening with Sonata for violin & piano in E minor<\/em> and then the Sonata for two violins.<\/em> The CD concludes with the Piano Trio in D major<\/em>. Much of this music is spirited and extrovert but for me it is the exquisite introverted Prelude for Cello & Piano<\/em>, the latest work (1943) here that really spoke to me.<\/p>\n

EKMALIAN \u2013 PIANO WORKS<\/span>
\n MIKAEL AYRAPETYAN, piano<\/span>
\n GRAND PIANO GP894 75\u201950<\/span><\/p>\n

This music was unknown to me and listening to it was fascinating. Armenian composer, Ekmalian, was a great influence in his home country. He composed the setting of the Divine Liturgy<\/em> still in use by the Armenian Church. Here a major part of the recording is taken up by an arrangement of the liturgy. There are also a number of pieces inspired by Armenian folk song together with a Nocturne<\/em> and Song without words<\/em>. Some of this music seems to pre-empt the sparser, meditative piano music of the late 20th century, despite the composer dying in 1905. Played by a fellow countryman, this is a lovely welcome release.<\/p>\n

ERIC NATHAN \u2013 MISSING WORDS<\/span>
\n BOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT<\/span>
\n AMERICAN BRASS QUINTET<\/span>
\n INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE<\/span>
\n NEAVE TRIO<\/span>
\n HUB NEW MUSIC and soloists<\/span>
\n NEW FOCUS RECORDINGS FCR314 84\u201910<\/span><\/p>\n

A fascinating and engaging project this is an instrumental re-imagining of selected words from Ben Schott\u2019s book Schottenfreude<\/em> which itself is an inventive dictionary of imaginary German words. The author says, \u201cSchottenfreude<\/em> exists because when English is exhausted, we turn to German. Missing Words<\/em> exists because when words are exhausted we turn to music\u201d Arranged in six groups over two discs the musical representations are made in a wide variety of styles by an assembly of talented new music performers. The first word of Missing Words VI (Witzbeharrsamkeit)<\/em> particularly caught my ear, harking back to a very well-known German composer! I shall return to this CD to enjoy both the music and the original words and may now be inspired to seek out the book from which they are derived.<\/p>\n

GRAZYNA BACEWICZ \u2013 PIANO WORKS<\/span>
\n PETER JABLONSKI, piano<\/span>
\n ONDINE ODE 1399-2<\/span><\/p>\n

A programme of \u2018big\u2019 piano music makes for very enjoyable listening. There are some quieter moments but much of this is powerful stuff! 10 Concert Etudes<\/em> and 2 Etudes on Double Notes<\/em> sit alongside Piano Sonatas 1 & 2<\/em> and the opening Concert Krakowiak<\/em>. This is a wonderful release with commited performances of beautiful music from this talented composer who is slowly receiving more recognition beyond her native Poland.<\/p>\n

SOFIA GUBAIDULINA \u2013 ORCHESTRAL MUSIC<\/span>
\n RADIO-PHILHARMONIE HANNOVER DES NDR<\/span>
\n JOHANNES KALITZKE, BERNHARD KLEE, conductors<\/span>
\n CPO 999 164-2 57\u201942<\/span><\/p>\n

The longest work here, Pro e contra<\/em>, is also the most recent (1989). Concodanza<\/em> and Fairytale Poem\/Marchenbild<\/em>, two works from 1971 complete the CD. This release is a welcome addition to available recordings of this significant 20th\/21st century composer. Born in Tartarstan, then part of Soviet Russia, Gubaidulina\u2019s music often serves as an expression of her innermost spirituality. Like Bacewicz her music is becoming more widely known across the world and she is being recognised as an influential composer with an individual voice across different genres.<\/p>\n

WILLIAM BYRD \u2013 KEYBOARD MUSIC<\/span>
\n FRIEDERIKE CHYLEK, harpsichord<\/span>
\n OEHMS OC1724 57\u201902<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a lovely recital by a German performer who specialises in English keyboard music from the 16th and 17th centuries. This programme includes some well known titles opening with The Earl of Oxford\u2019s March<\/em> and Sellinger\u2019s Round<\/em>. It is good to have these fresh recordings in this no-nonsense presentation.<\/p>\n

BACH \u2013 CANTATAS 35 & 169<\/span>
\n IESTYN DAVIES, countertenor<\/span>
\n TOM FOSTER, organ<\/span>
\n ARCANGELO<\/span>
\n JONATHAN COHEN, conductor<\/span>
\n HYPERION CDA68375 65\u201912<\/span><\/p>\n

This excellent CD pairs two of three solo cantatas probably written by Bach with a specifically gifted boy alto in mind. Gott soll allein mein Herze haben<\/em> is here together with Geist und Seele wird verwirret<\/em>. In these recordings countertenor Iestyn Davies takes them on with particularly pleasing results. Whilst the sound of a countertenor is not to everyone\u2019s taste it cannot be disputed that Davies\u2019 sound is remarkable and incredibly pure. Arcangelo and organist Tom Foster bring appropriate vitality and gentle underscoring to the vocal line throughout. Together with the cantatas are two short pieces from Bach\u2019s influencers Schutz and Buxtehude.<\/p>\n

ERIC COATES \u2013 BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC 4<\/span>
\n SLOVAK RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA<\/span>
\n ANDREW PENNY, conductor<\/span>
\n NAXOS 8.555194 62\u201958<\/span><\/p>\n

The gentle stream of releases in this series of British Light Music continues to bring much pleasure. Whilst some of this music is very familiar (By the sleepy lagoon<\/em>) and, perhaps to amateur pianists, the Four Ways Suite<\/em>, there is much here that is unfamiliar and deserving of a fresh airing. Amongst these lovely recordings is the charming Springtime Suite,<\/em> surprising Saxo-Rhapsody<\/em> (with Kenneth Edge on saxophone) and two spirited marches The Eighth Army<\/em> and High Flight.<\/em><\/p>\n

NIKOLAI KAPUSTIN \u2013 BLUEPRINT: PIANO MUSIC FOR JAZZ TRIO<\/span>
\n FRANK DUPREE, piano JAKOB KRUPP, bass
\n<\/span>MEINHARD \u2018OBI\u2019 JENNE, drums<\/span>
\n CAPRICCIO C5439 68\u201909<\/span><\/p>\n

I have only fairly recently discovered Kasputin and what I have heard so far I have greatly enjoyed. His ability to cross musical boundaries and to fuse aspects of the jazz and \u2018classical\u2019 worlds was second to none. Here we have a wonderful new CD of music based around the composer\u2019s main instrument here sympathetically enhanced by the addition of bass and drums. How sadly ironic that I am writing this on the day that Russia has launched attacks on Ukraine, the homeland of the composer, whose music remained relatively unknown through much of his lifetime due to the politics of where he grew up.<\/p>\n

SP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DOVE-WEIR-MARTIN \u2013 CHORAL WORKS CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY JAMES O\u2019DONNELL, Conductor PETER HOLDER, organ HYPERION CDA68350 70\u201916 This release presents a polished selection of liturgical choral works from three contemporary British composers. Much of the music here has been commissioned … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6763"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6763"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6769,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6763\/revisions\/6769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}