With their new release of a rewarding collection of songs, believed to have been compiled by Anne Boleyn, Alamire are proving to be one of our finest choirs

Following on from their first rate disc for Obsidian Records www.obsidianrecords.co.uk  entitled the Spy’s Choirbook consisting of motets from a collection held in the British Library and reviewed by me in November last year, Alamire www.alamire.co.uk  directed by David Skinner www.alamire.co.uk/david-skinner  now bring us another fascinating and rewarding collection, this time of 16^th century songs contained in a songbook believed to have been compiled by Anne Boleyn (c. 1501-1536).

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Anne Boleyn's Songbook consisted of works by some of the greatest composers of the early 16th century, including Compère, Brumel, Mouton, and Josquin as well as a number of anonymous French chansons and instrumental works for lute, harp and voice.

The best evidence that connects the songbook to Anne Boleyn is an inscription, clearly made by an early 16th century hand that says ‘Mistres ABolleyne nowe thus.’ ‘Nowe thus’ was the motto of her father. It is believed that the book was gifted to Anne by either the sister of Francis I, Marguerite d’Alencon or his mother Louise of Savoy whilst Anne was at the French court attending on Henry VIII’s sister Mary. The manuscript is now kept in the Royal College of Music in London.

Alamire open with Jean Mouton’s (c.1459-1522) Tota pulchra es bringing a rich, sonorous sound, highlighting the fine quality of the male voices of this choir.

The anonymous Venes regrets, venes tous brings the solo voice of soprano, Clare Wilkinson accompanied by lutenist Jacob Heringman. Perhaps one can imagine Anne herself singing this lovely song, sung here with great intimacy yet with this soprano’s brightly lit voice.

The whole choir enter for the anonymous Fer pietatis opem miseris mater with a quite exquisite blend of voices that takes a gentle forward flow with a lovely layering of textures, rising subtly to end.

Josquin Desprez’s (c.1450/55-1521) Stabat mater dolorosa is a major work to hear in such a songbook. Here it receives a very fine performance with subtle rises and falls and a perfect flowing tempo. The rich lower voices add a lovely texture to the whole choir as they work up some very fine textural passages before a rich, glorious Amen.

Four anonymous works follow; firstly Laudate Dominum omnes gentes that proves to be a very fine piece with some lovely weaving of musical lines before Maria Magdalena et altera Maria where the female voices of Alamire float in beautifully in the opening, slowly broadening as the whole choir joins. This is exquisite with some lovely harmonies. There is a lovely rich sonority as Forte si dulci Stigium boantem slowly opens with a nice use of vocal textures and rising through some very fine passages. The solo harp of Kirsty Whatley opens O virgo virginum soon joined by the lutenist Jacob Heringman in this lovely little instrumental piece with some delicate passages finely played.

The male voices rise up in Loyset Compère’s (c.1445-1518) Paranymphus salutat virginem growing in layers with some very fine, rich vocal textures and sonorities. Soprano Clare Wilkinson is accompanied by lutenist Jacob Heringman and harpist Kirsty Whatley for the anonymous Gentilz galans compaingnons bringing a real period flavour with a fine, distinctive instrumental sound.

There are slowly overlaid voices combining to form a wonderful sound as Antoine de Févin’s (c.1470-1511/12) very fine Tempus meum est ut revertar flows forward. The first of two of Antoine Brumel’s (c. 1460-1512/13) works given here is

Que est ista which opens slowly in the lower voices, developing in breadth with momentary pauses before growing in richness and subtly in dynamics. The male voices create a superb, rich texture with a terrific control in this gem of a performance.

Josquin Desprez’s Liber generationis brings more, fine layering of voices as this work expands in textures with a fine outpouring of sound. This choir weave through many fine passages of this, the longest work on this set, with consummate skill and beauty with some exquisitely shaped phrases.

Soprano Clare Wilkinson is joined again by lutenist Jacob Heringman to open the second CD in this set with Claudin de Sermisy’s (c.1490-1562) Jouyssance vous donneray again bringing an intimate quality with very fine vocal sounds as well as lovely diction. She is very finely accompanied with a central solo lute section.

The juxtaposition of solo and choral works on these discs adds an extra variety and impact such as here when the choir enters bringing a glorious sound in the anonymous piece Popule meus quid feci tibi. Their blend of voices is quite lovely, subtly gaining in strength and power.

Alamire move beautifully through all the little twists and turns of Mouton’s In illo tempore (Mouton), with finely shaped phrases as well as a lovely blend of textures, developing some lovely harmonies.

What a glorious, rich opening there is to Brumel’s Sicut lilium inter spinas with deep bass adding texture and weight and upper voices providing a delicious sonority. Josquin Desprez’s Praeter rerum seriem brings a remarkable, rich deep bass opening, soon layered by the rest of the choir in a quite stunning performance of this remarkable piece. The basses keep a rich presence throughout as it flows with a terrific forward thrust with some remarkably fine singing from this choir.

The final work, O Deathe rock me asleep is not from Anne Boleyn’s Songbook but has long been associated with her time in the Tower of London awaiting execution. Some have attributed the text to Anne but others argue that it could have been written by any occupant of the Tower in the 16^th century. Certainly the text is very poignant with this melancholy song given a fine performance by Clare Wilkinson sensitively accompanied by Jacob Heringman.

Alamire are proving to be one of our finest choirs. As on their last release some of the anonymous pieces prove particularly satisfying. They are beautifully recorded in the Fitzalan Chapel, Arundel Castle, Sussex, England and there is a nicely illustrated booklet including notes from David Skinner as well as full texts and English translations.

Though the total playing time for both discs is around 95 minutes this new release is available for the price of one CD.

See also: 

http://theclassicalreviewer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/alamire-and-english-cornett-and-sackbut.html

Memorable performances from Itzhak Perlman and Emanuel Ax of violin sonatas by Fauré and Strauss on Deutsche Grammophon

The great violinist Itzhak Perlman www.itzhakperlman.com celebrates his 70^th birthday this year. Amongst the many releases that will no doubt follow, including a  magnificent 25 CD box set of his complete recordings for Deutsche Grammophon www.deutschegrammophon.com  (DG 479 4708) comes a new recording with an equally legendary pianist Emanuel Ax http://emanuelax.com . This new recording of Violin Sonatas by Gabriel Fauré and Richard Strauss is Perlman’s first new solo recording in a decade.

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Emanuel Ax brings a lovely rolling flow to the opening to the Allegro molto of Fauré’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in A, Op.13 before Itzhak Perlman joins bringing his fine bright singing tone. Here are equal partners bringing a lifetime of experience and musicianship to this music. Perlman develops some intensely rich textures, never missing a nuance, with some intensely poetic moments. There is a terrific fluency and freedom from both these players particularly in the later passages, building to a really passionate climax before the decisive end.

These two artists bring a lovely atmosphere to the dreamy Andante, both showing exquisite sensitivity in this natural, intuitive partnership. That Perlman and Ax have played together on stage so frequently is so evident here. They develop a fine undulating pulse before the music rises still retaining a lovely flow with some absolutely magical moments in the coda.

They bring such life to the Allegro vivo with playing of absolute precision, energy and panache with some superb high speed passages taken at quite a pace yet retaining superb detail.  

There is a rolling flow to the Allegro quasi presto with some exquisite quieter, poetic moments where these two fine artists reveal a remarkable understanding. There are moments of great passion with a real feel for this music.

They weave the little melody in the Allegro ma non Troppo of Richard Strauss’ early romantic Sonata for Violin and Piano in E flat, Op.18 very finely. When the allegro picks up, these two bring some fine intricate, faster passages. There are some very finely handled changes of mood from poetic, quieter moments to the more dynamic. Indeed, their control of dynamics is very fine, bringing sudden flurries of excitement within the flowing romantic passages before a beautifully turned coda.

Perlman brings his lovely tone to the gently flowing Improvisation: Andante cantabile intimately accompanied by Ax. This gives the feel of two friends talking together in a companionable way as they weave some lovely moments. When the tempo picks up a little, particularly in the piano part, they subtly ratchet up the emotion. Later the music falls to some lovely, rather playful, passages for piano over which Perlman holds a lovely line. Ax here is exquisite, a very lovely section that runs right to the coda.

They bring an intense brooding to the opening of the Finale: Andante – Allegro before quickly leaping into the allegro with some vibrant, razor sharp phrases. They move ahead through some lovely long, flowing passages with some lovely intricate little phrases before rising up and moving forward to the coda. 

What a partnership these two fine musicians make. My download revealed a vivid recorded sound. This is a memorable release that should not be missed.

Marin Alsop and her forces reveal Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony to be a much finer work than it has been given credit for on a new recording for Naxos

Of all of Leonard Bernstein’s (1918-1990) works his Symphony No. 3 ‘Kaddish’ has been the least performed and most misunderstood. The symphony is dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy who was assassinated on 22^nd November 1963, just weeks before the first performance of the symphony. Written in 1963 to English texts by Bernstein and traditional Aramaic and Hebrew texts, it requires a large orchestra, a full choir, a boys' choir, a soprano soloist and a narrator. Kaddish is a mourning prayer spoken by Jews at the graveside. It is also spoken in synagogues as part of a service and in homes during a period of mourning.

The symphony was first performed to much praise in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 10, 1963, with Bernstein conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jennie Tourel (mezzo- soprano), Hanna Rovina (narrator)

The American premiere of the work took place soon afterwards on 10^th January 1964 in Boston with Charles Münch conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New England Conservatory Chorus and the Columbus Boychoir, again with Jennie Tourel (mezzo-soprano), but with Felicia Montealegre (narrator). The American reactions to the work were decidedly mixed, ranging from highly favourable to highly critical.

Marin Alsop www.marinalsop.com  studied with Bernstein and is an indefatigable champion of his music, having already made a number of successful recordings of his music for Naxos. Now for Naxos www.naxos.com she has recorded Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony with the Washington Chorus www.thewashingtonchorus.org , the Maryland State Boychoir www.marylandstateboychoir.org  and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra www.bsomusic.org with Claire Bloom (narrator) and Kelley Nassief (soprano) http://kelleynassief.com . It is coupled with Bernstein’s Missa Brevis and The Lark for which the São Paulo Symphony Choir and members of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra www.osesp.art.br/home.aspx are joined by countertenor Paulo Mestre.

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Bernstein’s Missa Brevis (1988) for mixed a cappella choir with countertenor solo and percussion takes the incidental chorus music that Bernstein composed in 1955 for an adaptation of the play by Jean Anouilh called The Lark, a concert version of which concludes this disc. The Kyrie rises quickly from a hushed opening soon pointed up by timpani. After the choir enters with an exultant Gloria it falls for countertenor Paulo Mestre to enter, soon gaining a typically Bernsteinian rhythmic forward pulse. Bells chimes are heard before the music falls and the countertenor re-enters but it is the bell chimes with choir that bring about the conclusion. There is a lovely hushed Sanctus with the countertenor singing over the choir, slowly gaining in expression and dynamics. A bell chime opens the Benedictus with the countertenor who alternates with the choir repeating Osanna in excelsis. Soon the choir moves the music forward more quickly with a peal of chimes at the end.

The choir overlay the female and male lines, to open the Agnus Dei. When the countertenor joins it is most lovely. When the Dona nobis pacem arrives, the choir leaps up singing the Agnus Dei before it quietens as the countertenor enters. A drum brings a rhythmic section to take the choir forward, suddenly halting for the countertenor to re-join. The choir joins quietly but rhythmically to reach the hushed Amen.

The São Paulo Symphony Choir prove themselves to be very fine and countertenor Paulo Mestre is a most effective soloist.

In 1977 Bernstein made changes and cuts to the narrator’s part of his Symphony No. 3 ‘Kaddish.’ Here the symphony is given in its original 1963 version. It is in three movements played without a break. There is a complete setting of the Kaddish prayer in each movement, the first troubled, the second peaceful and the third exultant.

The first movement opens with Invocation with narrator Claire Bloom entering over a hushed rumble from orchestra sound with the words ‘O, my Father; ancient, hallowed, Lonely, disappointed Father…’  bringing a real depth and character to the text. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra bring a plaintive theme over the narrator before rising dramatically after the words ‘…My Old Kaddish. Listen, Almighty…’’ before quietening to accompany and move around the narrator.

The music moves seamlessly into Kaddish 1 with the narrator continuing. Soon the choir enters with a Jewish prayer, soon picking up a fast rhythmic tempo to drive the music ahead, so typically Bernstein. There is rhythmic clapping from the choir as an air of quieter momentum appears. There are passages with a terrific forward flow and colourful and dynamic orchestration. Suddenly the narrator enters anxiously saying ‘Amen! Amen! Did you hear that Father?’ continuing over a hushed orchestral rumble. Woodwind enter before the choir re-join in a Jewish prayer.

As we are led into the Din Torah, the narrator again enters over a hardly noticeable background hum. Soon drums and percussion sound out to herald the choir humming a theme. The orchestra quietly join the percussion as the narrator leads on building in feeling as she says ‘And don’t shrug me off, as if I were playing…’  The choir vocalises when it enters around the narrator’s angry words ‘You ask for faith, where is your own?’ These are words of one who is very much questioning their own faith. There follows a dynamic, angry orchestral section full of anguish before the music falls quiet with a little woodwind section. The choir enters with brass and percussion outbursts for the Cadenza ‘Amen, amen, Amen’ in a spectacular passage rising to a tumult of overlaid choral voices into which a repentant narrator appeals ‘Forgive me Father, I was mad with fever.’

Kaddish 2 arrives where, after the narrator says ‘Be comforted. Be magnified … sanctified…’ The orchestra and women’s chorus bring a hushed Jewish prayer with soprano Kelley Nassief in an absolutely wonderful moment. There is a fine rising and falling melody before the women’s chorus gently enters, the soprano returning, rising with the orchestra through moments of strength, then tranquillity. The female voices lead gently accompanied by a harp until the narrator enters with ‘Sleep, my Father. Rest Your anger…’

The third movement opens with a Scherzo where a rhythmic, punctuated orchestral section brings many very fine orchestral details. The narrator soon enters against the lively orchestra with a text that brings back a critical, doubting element. This is an amazing Scherzo in its conception. It rises to a pitch at the words Magnified … and Sanctified…Be the great name of man!’ A sweeping, flowing, very American melody for orchestra comes in over the narrator before the choir joins and we run straight into Kaddish 3 where the narrator continues with orchestra which rises to a pitch before the narrator continues to plead ‘Believe …believe.’ The boys choir enters before the narrator joins alongside, taking us into the Finale.

After the narrator gives the words ‘The Dawn is chilly, but the dawn has come…’ the Finale brings a dramatic orchestral outburst, full of passion in some of Bernstein’s finest writing for strings. There are quieter, softer passages as a trumpet quietly leads on, woodwind joining then strings in a hushed, really lovely, melodic moment with some of Bernstein’s distinctive intervals. As the narrator re-joins she says ‘We have dreamed our Kaddish, and awakened alive’ surely a message of hope. To conclude, the music leaps into a Bernsteinian Fugue for soprano, boys’ choir and chorus, another brilliantly written section, ending with the orchestra on an affirmatory note.

Marin Alsop and her forces reveal the Kaddish Symphony to be a much finer work than it has been given credit for. One could at times believe it to be a great work. Certainly is often very moving. The large part for narrator will always limit its appeal as perhaps it does with such works as Arthur Bliss’ very fine Morning Heroes. Claire Bloom delivers the demanding texts most impressively with Alsop and her forces bringing a formidable dramatic and emotional thrust.  

Bernstein’s 1955 incidental music for an adaptation of a play by Jean Anouilh called The Lark concerns the life and death of St Joan. It is performed here in the 2012 concert version with narrator by N.G. Lew and M. Alsop by the São Paulo Symphony Choir and members of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra with countertenor Paulo Mestre.

It opens with an exultant Exaudi orationem meam, Domine for choir, continuing with some lovely melodic passages. Soon the narrator Claire Bloom enters alone, starting Joan’s story with her childhood. She is soon overtaken by the choir and clapping in a rhythmic, fast moving passage, the Spring Song before slowing at Laudate Dominum. The rhythmic choir and clapping returns for the Alleluia before soprano Kelley Nassief enters in the Court Song over the rhythmic line of the choir. The narrator continues before the chorus return for Laudate Dominum. Alleluia. There is further narration before countertenor Paulo Mestre arrives in Benedictus, alternating with the choir who gain in tempo and drama. Bells chime as the narrator tells of arrival at the Gates of Orleon. In the Soldier’s Song the choir whistle along with rhythmic drum taps before the narrator re-enters over which the chorus bring Qui tollis peccata mundi and we enter Sanctus with countertenor weaving a lovely line over the choir. The narrator makes a plea before Requiem where a subdued choir enters. The narrator alone leads to Gloria where the chorus rises up again before the countertenor joins. There is some fine choral writing here before bells chime to bring a sudden end.

This is an excellent performance all round. Sadly no text is given for the narrator’s part of Joan of Arc due to copyright but Claire Bloom, an inspired choice of narrator in both works, has such clear diction in the English text that for most this will not be a problem. 

There are full texts in English and Hebrew with English translations for the symphony and full Latin texts with English translations for the Missa Brevis. All are well recorded but the recording of Symphony No.3 is exceptionally fine.

A new disc from Metier featuring the Moores Symphony Orchestra proves an excellent way to get to know works by Thomas Fortmann, Robert Nelson and Peter Lieuwen together with a fine arrangement of Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy

A new recording from Metier www.divine-art.co.uk brings an attractive and enterprising collection of orchestral works by contemporary American composers coupled with a transcription for orchestra of Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy. All of these works are played by the Moores Symphony Orchestra www.uh.edu/class/music/orchestras  conducted by Franz Anton Krager www.uh.edu/class/music/faculty-staff/krager_f

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I had not heard of the Moores Symphony Orchestra before but they are an orchestra comprising 110+ members conducted by University of Houston Director of Orchestras, Franz Anton Krager.  As a major ensemble, the orchestra performs as a musical partner with many of the Moores School of Music’s departments and studios.  The high level of its performances has been hailed by international artists and critics alike as a student ensemble of professional quality and versatility.  They appear regularly with world-class performing artists and has been featured at several Texas Music Educators Association conventions as well as at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago.  The Moores Symphony Orchestra enjoys frequent broadcasts on KUHA Classical 91.7 and The Front Row and can be heard on compact disc on a number of other recordings.  

Membership is open, by audition, to all graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Houston.  The orchestra collaborates on a regular basis with the Moores Opera Center, Moores School Choirs, and the Houston Ballet Academy.  It is a leading ensemble in the area of new music as well as being an important repository for the standard repertoire. Many Moores Symphony Orchestra graduates have gone on to become professional level orchestra musicians, conductors and leading music educators.

The first work on this new disc is Thomas Fortmann’s www.divine-art.co.uk/composers/fortmann.htm Symphony No. 2 ‘Etruria’ Thomas Fortmann was born in Switzerland and became a successful songwriter during the 1970s. At the age of twenty six Fortmann abandoned his career as a rock musician and dedicated himself to further studies in composition and instrumentation. This period prepared the foundation for compositions such as the Pythagoras and Aion Symphonies, the oratorio Francescano, and three music plays, Sommerfrau & Winterwolf, The Cross and the Rooster and Collodis Pinocchio. In the mid 1980s he moved with his family to Tuscany, Italy where he founded the Accademia Amiata. In addition to his activities as a composer, he has also conducted at the Toscano delle Culture festival for several years.

His Symphony No. 2 is in four movements opening with a Moderato where chimes from the celeste and tubular bells appear before the strings bring a shifting dissonant melody creating a quite exquisite sound. A solo violin appears in the texture, timpani sound quietly as the lower strings bring a deep anchor to the swirling strings. Brass enter above the strings as more drama arrives and the music gains in strength. Soon timpani herald a sudden drop in tempo and dynamics to a slower, quieter passage full of atmosphere and a sense of expectation. A solo violin brings a faster, lighter section through hazy orchestral textures before moving through some passages where the lower strings adding a brooding feel. There is a fine sense of forward flow before the beautifully turned coda.

Lower wind open the Animato that goes ahead with a rhythmic theme pointed up by an array of percussion, full of rhythmic variety and colourful sounds. It moves through rhythmic, dissonant passages, becoming increasingly dramatic with swirling strings and a fine orchestration. The music eventually works up to a peak before relaxing to a quieter section where percussion are still heard before rising to the coda.

The Larghetto opens with a shifting haze of orchestral sound through which the theme can be heard, timpani keeping a rhythmic pulse. It moves through passages of very distinctive string sounds, little drooping phrases, passages of shifting harmonies, full of fine textures and sonorities creating a fine atmosphere.  The music eventually rises through a brightly lit brass passage before sinking into the quiet, hazier texture, pointed up by timpani. It rises again with side drum and brass to the coda that arrives with a quieter woodwind phrase.

Brass and percussion open the lively Andante with woodwind soon bringing a fast moving theme. The theme is quickly moved around the orchestra, rattling ahead with a myriad of percussion in a riot of variations. This is a terrific movement with occasional brass rhythms that have a jazzy nature. Later a quieter hesitant passage arrives, full of fine orchestral detail. The music soon gains a rhythmic flow with some attractive woodwind parts as it slowly increases in dynamics, moving forward, full of panache and colour towards the sudden end.

This is an attractive symphony, beautifully orchestrated.

Robert Nelson http://robertnelsonmusic.com was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1941, but grew up in the Midwest.  He began piano lessons and made his first attempts at composition while still at school later taking up the trumpet. During his senior year he began playing both trumpet and piano in local dance bands, an interest that he pursued throughout college and his professional career. He began serious composition study with Robert Beadell at the University of Nebraska, where he received his Bachelor’s degree with a major in music education and his Master of Music degree. He continued his composition studies with Ingolf Dahl and Halsey Stevens at the University of Southern California, where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree with a major in composition. In 1968, he joined the music faculty at the University of Houston, which would eventually become the Moores School of Music.  He is currently Professor Emeritus of Music Theory and Composition and co-author of five widely adopted music theory books. His interest in combining classical and jazz elements has found expression in many of his works, most prominently Up South, written for the combined Moores School of Music Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble.

Here we have his Capriccio for violin and orchestra for which the Moores Symphony Orchestra are joined by violinist, Andrzej Grabiec www.interharmony.com/Session2/Andrzej-Grabiec-violin . In the opening, the solo violin brings a theme above light swirling strings pointed up by the celeste. The music soon moves ahead with a richer orchestral sound, the soloist bringing some fine rhapsodising flourishes to this very fine melody.  Soon the music reduces to a quiet moment coloured by delicate percussion. A vibrant section arrives, punctuated by deeper orchestral phrases before moving through more flowing passages. There is a passage with a staccato, rhythmically hesitant pulse as well as a romantic passage redolent of Korngold at his most melodic, before a beautifully drawn lead up to the vibrant coda.

This is another most attractive work that is also finely orchestrated.

Peter Lieuwen www.peterlieuwen.com was born in Utrecht, The Netherlands, in 1953, and grew up in New Mexico. He studied at the University of New Mexico and the University of California, Santa Barbara with composers Scott Wilkinson, William Wood, Edward Applebaum, Emma Lou Diemer, and Peter Racine Fricker. From 1984 to 1987 he taught composition at UC Santa Barbara. Since 1988 he has been on the faculty of Texas A&M University. From 2000-2005 Lieuwen served as the inaugural head of the Department of Performance Studies at TAMU, where he is currently Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence. Many of Lieuwen’s compositions are impressions of nature and legend, infused with the kinetic rhythms of jazz and world music. His orchestral works have been introduced by orchestras around the world.

Astral Blue was written in 2006 and reflects the beauty of the natural earthly and cosmic environment. Bright, vibrant strings open with an insistent, repeated motif with brass adding the theme. The repeated motif is shared around the orchestra before lower strings add an underlying deep support. The music moves ahead with various instrumental sections taking the theme around the insistent motive. A harp brings a quieter section for woodwind, with the strings joining to bring a flowing melody. There is a fine breadth and free flow before rising up majestically.  The harp brings another quieter section for strings to which the rest of the orchestra join as they move through passages of varied orchestration keeping a forward flow until a hush comes and a slow shimmering string passage arrives with little harp detail. A flute then clarinet enters before the music rises up to drive ahead with punctuated brass to the sparkling coda.

There are some finely written instrumental passages in this lovely work.

Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy for concert band was written in 1937 for the American Bandmasters Association. Its six movements are adapted from folk songs that he had collected on a trip to Lincolnshire, England in 1905–1906. Here the Moores Symphony Orchestra plays it in an arrangement for orchestra by M. Patterson.

The opening Lisbon brings a fine rhythmically sprung tune finely coloured in this orchestration. Horkstow Grange has a slow melody with the added sonority of a brass ensemble within the orchestra, picking up something of the favour of the original version. A solo cornet adds atmosphere before rising to a fine, sonorous climax.

There is a fine atmospheric Rufford Park Poachers that rises to some fine climaxes with some lovely use of brass. The Brisk Young Sailor brings a beautifully woven arrangement before the brass open Lord Melbourne in a terrific section before the full orchestra takes the music forward with a wistful central section. Finally there is a nicely pointed rhythmic The Lost Lady Found with the folksy element pointed up by this fine arrangement.

The Moores Symphony Orchestra under Franz Anton Krager bring some fine results in these often quite challenging works. If there are moments where the strings show a lack of body and refinement, the overall performances are extremely good. 

They are very well recorded at the Moores Opera House, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA. There is a nicely produced booklet with excellent notes, composer details and photographs making this an excellent way to get to know works by these composers. 

Terry Eder’s new recording of piano works by Bartók for MSR Classics shows a thorough absorption of Bartok’s idiom making these performances very fine indeed

Pianist Terry Eder www.terryeder.com was born in Detroit of Eastern European heritage. She showed a prodigious early talent and at the age of 16 was awarded the Louise Smith Petersen Memorial Award and solo recital at the Detroit Art Institute. She was a finalist in the Detroit Piano Technician’s Guild/Detroit Symphony concerto competition.

Terry Eder studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University School of Music and, after earning her Master of Music with Distinction, won a research grant from the International Research and Exchanges Board that sponsored her year-long residency at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. There Terry Eder specialised in twentieth century piano music by Hungarian composers, working under the tutelage of Zoltán Kocsis. She went on to win the top Bartók prize in the 2008 IBLA Grand Prize and Bartók-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev competitions.

She made her New York solo recital début in 2004 at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and was later given the Artists International Outstanding Alumni Award and Distinguished Alumni-Winners Award resulting in her Lincoln Center recital debut at Alice Tully Hall in 2006 and a recital at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in 2008. She has been recognized for her outstanding performances of Beethoven and Ravel, including prizes awarded in Germany for Beethoven performances and a Ravel special mention at the 2008 IBLA Grand Prize Competition in Sicily. Terry Eder teaches in her independent studio in Manhattan.

MSR Classics www.msrcd.com has just released Terry Eder’s new recording of piano works by Bela Bartók (1881-1945) ranging from his early Op.6 Bagatelles to Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from Mikrokosmos.

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It is with the Fourteen Bagatelles, Op. 6, SZ.38 (1908; Rev. 1945) that Terry Eder opens her recital. Bagatelle No.1: Molto sostenuto has a well laid out, thoughtful opening with Bartok’s subtle dissonances creeping in before bringing well controlled tempi and dynamics in Bagatelle No. 2: Allegro giocoso. Bagatelle No. 3: Andante has a fine flow as a repeated rippling motif is overlaid by the melody whereas Bagatelle No. 4: Grave brings broad, firm chords before leading to a more thoughtful moment with the firm chords still occasionally appearing, together with discords.

There is a light, nicely sprung Bagatelle No. 5: Vivo and a Bagatelle No. 6: Lento to which this pianist brings a restrained melancholy depth. She handles the varying tempi Bagatelle No. 7: Allegretto molto capriccioso beautifully with lovely phrasing and a lovely touch in the coda. Bagatelle No. 8: Andante sostenuto again has the phrasing and subtle little dissonances beautifully done.

There are some fine rhythmic phrases in the Bagatelle No. 9: Allegretto grazioso to which Eder brings a lovely light touch before a fast Bagatelle No.10: Allegro with its constantly changing tempi and rhythms expertly handled here and leading to a very fine complex passage before the coda. Eder finds the elusive nature of Bagatelle No.11: Allegretto molto rubato and brings a real sensitivity to the subtly constructed Bagatelle No.12: Rubato with a beautifully light touch to the little rising and falling scales - a remarkably beautiful piece.  

She develops Bagatelle No.13: ‘Elle est morte’: Lento funebre beautifully, bringing some lovely harmonies before a very fine, concluding Bagatelle No.14: Valse ‘Ma mie qui danse’: Presto bringing terrific fluency to all the varying rhythms and tempi with a great coda.

 

The Two Romanian Dances, Op. 8/a, SZ.43 (1910) already show a further advance in Bartok’s style. Eder brings a fine sense of slowly developing rhythmic drive to the

Romanian Dance No. 1: Allegro Vivace, so restrained, building again from the slow section through some fine, intense passages. The Romanian Dance No. 2: Poco allegro is wonderfully skittish, this pianist providing great phrasing as it moves through its varying tempi and dissonances,  rising through some formidable passages played with terrific strength and clarity before the declamatory coda.

 

Moving forward, we come to the Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs, SZ.71 (1914-1918). They date from the war years. Bartok was rejected for military service and, in 1915, was collecting folksongs in Slovakia. This set of Hungarian Peasant Songs starts with Four Old Sorrowful Songs, firstly a beautifully expansive Rubato before a slow finely measured Andante where Eder conjures a real sense of sadness with some lovely subtle dissonances. Poco rubato is beautifully phrased and paced, bringing an intense melancholy that is picked up in the in the Andante.

Two other pieces follow, a lithe and rhythmic Scherzo (Allegro) with Eder bringing some fine textures and Ballade (Tema con variazioni) where she brings dramatic chords soon contrasted by a gentler section where she creates a lovely gentle melancholy together with some fine textures and sonorities before building some fine passages that lead to the coda.

The rest of the Hungarian Peasant Songs consist of nine Old Dance Tunes, Allegro bringing a typically spiky Bartok opening before this pianist leads us through some really fine passages. The Allegretto seems to pick up on the spiky rhythmic motif of the preceding piece, developing it into a quieter variation. Allegretto has an insistent rhythmic theme before the gentler opening of L’istesso tempo that soon develops a harder edge.

Assai moderato brings some beutifully fluent chords, an expansiveness that is lovely before a fleeting light, rhythmic Allegretto that quietly fades at the end. Eder gives a light fluent rhythmic lift to Poco più vivo – Allegretto before a faster Allegro that has beautifully controlled tempi. The Allegro - Più vivo - Poco più meno vivo makes a terrific conclusion with Eder highlighting the insistent rhythmic lines, bringing fine fluency as she moves quickly to the coda.

 

The Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op. 20, SZ.74 (1920, corrected by Peter Bartók 2002) open with a slow, sad Molto moderato to which Eder brings much pathos. The tempo picks up with the Molto capriccioso with some terrific dissonances and rhythmic variations caught so well by this pianist. There is a quizzical little opening to Lento, rubato with this pianist allowing it to develop freely before the Allegretto scherzando, to which she brings a fine rhythmic litheness.

Allegro molto brings a faster dance with an insistent motif in this very fine performance, particularly in the more complex passages, rhythmically and harmonically. There are strange faltering phrases to Allegro moderato, molto capriccioso before its sudden end. Eder brings a real beauty to the slowly unfolding

Sostenuto, rubato before concluding the set with a nicely sprung Allegro, full of rhythmic subtleties.

 

It was Bartok’s son Peter, whose name appears above as making corrections to his father’s Hungarian Peasant Songs, who provided the stimulus to write Mikrokosmos (1926, 1932-39) a collection of 153 piano pieces in six volumes. They range from the relatively simple through to the most virtuosic, thereby covering all abilities.

Terry Eder takes Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from the sixth and final volume of Mikrokosmos, SZ.107 containing some of the most complex and difficult pieces.

Mikrokosmos No.148 is fast flowing, complex and dissonant, beautifully phrased by Eder. Mikrokosmos No.149 is fast and furious rhythmic with this pianist bringing a terrific bounce and forward momentum.  The expansive yet rhythmically dancing

Mikrokosmos No.150 is full of subtle shifting harmonies, beautifully brought to life here before Mikrokosmos No.151 brings a lovely little tune that flows rapidly forward with a lovely flow, wonderfully phrased. Mikrokosmos No.152 is another fast flowing piece with varying rhythms and tempi, very finely done. A richly textured, fast and rhythmic Mikrokosmos No.153 ends this selection. Eder brings a terrific flow making this a fine conclusion to this recital. 

Terry Eder brings a fine fluency but above all rhythmic flexibility to this music. It is quite clear that she has thoroughly absorbed Bartok’s idiom making these performances very fine indeed. She is well recorded at the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, State University of New York, USA. There are excellent notes from the pianist. 

Peter Vukmirovic Stevens’ suite of six works for solo viola Feral Icons is revealed as music of great strength and invention by violist, Mara Gearman on a new release from Navona Records

Following on from Paige Stockley’s very fine performance of Peter Vukmirovic Stevens’ http://petervukmirovicstevens.com  large, five movement August Ruins for solo cello (2010-2012) comes a similarly large scale work for solo viola, Feral Icons also released by Navona Records http://navonarecords.com

NV 6008

Written for Seattle Symphony Orchestra violist, Mara Gearman www.ssopo.org/musician-profiles/mara-gearman.html , who performs it on this new disc, Feral Icons is a suite of six works for solo viola intended to capture the instrument’s rich and haunting quality.

The title track Feral Icons sets the scene for a musical journey, bringing a decisive theme full of fine, gritty textures and lovely double stopped sonorities. As it moves forward, one can hear the theme emerging from within the rich textures of the viola.

Sovereign is a slower piece, where the viola weaves a fine melody that works its way through a texture of often rich harmonies. It soon picks up a little with a rhythmic theme but soon returns to the opening tempo. Later it rises in passion before returning to the slower pace, this time with deeper, richer textures. It is another passionate passage that brings the end.  

Sanctuary brings a plaintive melody that becomes a little more passionate before textures are built in. The viola rises higher with the melody, through some richer textures, using the full tonal range of the viola and developing some terrific overlaid textures.

Ex Nihilo takes its title from the Latin phrase meaning ‘to create out of nothing.’ It opens with a repeated rhythmic staccato motif over a longer theme. The repeated theme is brought to life through a fine variation of textures. Centrally the music rises a little as the lower, richer timbres are contrasted with the upper line.  Eventually the music grows more passionate as the upper line is weaved around before the opening theme returns with the little staccato phrases. Richer textures are overlaid as we lead to the end.

The viola develops a rich theme for Bloodlines bringing some lovely lower tones and some attractive little variations of tempo. The viola rises higher in the register becoming a little anxious. The lower tone is retained as a kind of drone around which develops some terrific dissonant chords. There are some really unusual and inventive harmonies here. Later one can hear the drone like sonorities again but soon the music rises higher, becoming passionate before falling to a richer coda. At just over fourteen minutes, the longest piece in this suite, this is a tremendous tour de force by composer and soloist.

Black and Gold brings a fine flowing melody that is taken forward alternating between double stopped passages and those of a richer texture. It moves through some fine passages as it rises and falls with fine textures and sonorities often creating the effect of two voices communing in a broad landscape of sound. 

Stevens does not give us details of the exact ideas behind the titles but treated as pure music this is a very fine achievement. So much here depends on the soloist’s tonal qualities. Mara Gearman proves to be an impressive violist.  This is music of great strength and invention.

My download revealed a recording that is close but very detailed, revealing clearly the viola’s various tones and textures.

See also: 

http://theclassicalreviewer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/peter-vukmirovic-stevens-august-ruins.html

A performance to treasure from Kathryn Stott on her new recital of French works for BIS

British pianist Kathryn Stott www.kathrynstott.com was born in Lancashire and studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music. Her teachers have included Nadia Boulanger, Vlado Perlemuter and Kendall Taylor. She was a prize-winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition 1978 and is now a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and was recently made an Honorary Member.

A regular visitor to international festivals both as soloist and chamber musician, she has recently performed at the Kennedy Centre, Washington DC and the Tonhalle, Zurich as well as making a welcome return to the BBC Proms performing with the BBC Concerto Orchestra. In 2014, she also toured the UK with cellist Giovanni Sollima and performed for the first time with JP Jofre and his Hard Tango Chamber Band in New York. This year began with a highly successful tour of New Zealand and, this autumn, she will undertake an extensive solo tour of Australia before continuing her concert schedule in the Far East. 2015 also celebrates her 30 year partnership with Yo-Yo Ma.

Kathryn Stott’s repertoire is vast and includes a particular interest in contemporary music. She has had many works written especially for her and, in particular, her close musical relationship with the composer Graham Fitkin leading to seven world premieres. She is a remarkable exponent of Tango and other Latin dance music, reflected in her collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and leading South American musicians.  She has been the artistic vision behind several major festivals and concert series.

Kathryn Stott’s great affinity with piano music, particularly Fauré is well known, indeed following her Hyperion recordings of Fauré’s complete music for piano she was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Government.

Now for BIS Records www.bis.se she has recorded a recital of works by the French composers Jehan Alain, Henri Dutilleux, Maurice Ravel and Olivier Messiaen entitled Solitaires, reflecting the radiance and elegance of a solitaire or single mounted diamond and as a description of 20^th century French music.

SACD
BIS 2148

Organist and composer Jehan Alain (1911-1940) was from a musical family. His father, Albert Alain (1880–1971) was an organist, composer and organ builder who had studied with Alexandre Guilmant and Louis Vierne. His younger brother was the composer, organist and pianist Olivier Alain (1918–1994) and his youngest sister the organist Marie-Claire Alain (1926–2013). Here Kathryn Stott brings us his Prélude et fugue (1935). She brings a remarkable clarity to the opening flourishes and scales of the Prélude before the music settles to a slow steady melancholy theme. There are further flourishes before the music continues its slow forward tread. There are some very fine, lovely little details, rising more forcefully before the quiet conclusion.

There is a tonally free flowing Fugue that wanders all over the keyboard, Stott bringing a fine forward flow as well as some subtle dynamic variations.

Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013) was seemingly unaffected by many of the developments of 20^th century music, forging his own style with a lovely blend of harmony and colour. His Piano Sonata (1946-48) opens with an Allegro con moto to which Stott brings a fast, gentle forward flow with a tremendous fluency. The music builds in dramatic strength, Stott finding a fine contrast between the gentler passages and the more dramatic. There is such a wonderful freedom and, indeed, feeling of spontaneity here. The music becomes even fiercer before falling back slowly. Stott displays some powerful playing in the more intensely dramatic episodes with some thrillingly fast and fluent passages. Her playing has a fine evenness of touch with wonderful control of all the varying moods, dynamics and tempi.

There is a slow, quiet, thoughtful opening to the Lied. Assez lent where Stott finds a hauntingly beautiful, withdrawn quality. She brings a subtly steadier forward motion, providing a lovely continuous flow. The music falls to a pause before a rippling, flowing series of rising and falling scales appears, creating a lovely passage as it increases in strength before resuming a gentle flow. The music becomes even quieter as it gently makes it way forward to find its way to the hushed coda.

Forceful chords sound out with a bell like clarity in the opening of Choral et Variations, contrasted by some richer chords. As the theme is developed it quietens momentarily but the louder chords return. A fast descending scale introduces the Vivace variation with a pulsating, rhythmic theme building through some terrific passages of the variation marked Vivo with staccato chords and fast rippling passages again with a terrific freedom. Stott’s intricate touch is terrific with passages that have fine rhythmic bounce. When the third variation, Calmo, arrives it brings slower, quieter rippling phrases that move beautifully forward in a leisurely way. The music picks up for the fast rhythmic Prestissimo variation and, as the coda is reached, the bell like chords return bringing a sense of completion.

This is a tremendous sonata given a marvellous performance

Towards the end of the First World War Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was in poor health.  However his creative urge was still there and he was working a piece for piano, Le tombeau de Couperin, parts of which were later arranged into an orchestral suite. It may well be that he had already written some of the music earlier as the score is dated ‘July 1914, June-November 1917). It was intended as a tribute to Couperin and eighteenth century music in general. The original piano version is in six movements opening with Prelude. Vif . Here Kathryn Stott is impressively fast and fluent, again with a brilliant clarity as well as lovely, subtle rhythmic inflections. This is intoxicatingly played. There is a fine delicacy in the following Fugue. Allegro moderato with this pianist allowing the music to rise naturally before the quiet coda and always with a natural freedom of flow.  Stott brings a light rhythmic skip to the

Forlane Allegretto, exquisitely played with some delightfully light and delicate phrases. She brings a jewel like quality, so sensitive to Ravel’s sound world.

Rigaudon Assez vif provides a real contrast, full of life and energy with some terrific dynamic passages and a central section that brings back a quieter and slower rhythmic pace. The Menuet Allegro moderato is beautifully paced with a rather nostalgic air, Stott catching Ravel’s distinctive atmosphere perfectly before rising majestically in the central section. Again Stott’s seamless flow is impressive. With the concluding Toccata Vif Stott’s rhythmic clarity is fully in evidence. Centrally there is a lovely delicately flowing section before this pianist builds later stages formidably to lead to a terrific coda.

This is a performance to treasure.

It was towards the end of the Second World War, in 1944 that Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) wrote his Vingt Regards sur l'enfant-Jésus (Twenty Contemplations of the Infant Jesus). From this Kathryn Stott has taken the fifteenth of these pieces, Le baiser de l'enfant-Jésus (The kiss of the infant Jesus). Stott brings a hauntingly beautiful opening, finely phrased and controlled, slowly laying out Messiaen’s lovely harmonies. The music develops through some crystalline, more flowing passages before rising to a stunningly fine dramatic section, eventually finding a gently rippling coda. 

I have been lucky enough to hear a number of very fine recital discs in recent months. This must rank as one of the very best. The recording is exceptionally clear and detailed, even by BIS’ high standards. There are informative booklet notes.