This month's recommendations for classical music fans

RECOMMENDED NEW CLASSICAL MUSIC


Chaconnes and Fantasias: Music of Britten and Purcell by Emerson String Quartet

‘At first glance, you might think Purcell and Britten have nothing in common bar their English origin. However, when you dig deeper you find that Britten was somewhat of a fanboy of Purcell and frequently looked to his predecessor (by over 200 years) for inspiration. With this in mind, the American Emerson String Quartet paired these two composers and their most closely aligned works on this new album.

Using Britten’s own performing score of the Purcell Chacony, there are so many similarities bet ween the two composers, it’s quite startling on a first listen of the album. Britten looked to this work, Chacony in particular (performed as the first track on this album) to inspire the last movement of his String Quartet No 2. However, Britten’s use of the Chaconne form (a consistent repeated pattern throughout a movement) has been updated and tweaked to reflect the modern ideas of rhythm and form. These are the type of works that are worth listening to, studying with a score and returning to again to understand the full impact of the composer’s ideas.

This is the first recording for the Emerson String Quartet on the Decca Gold label and also with their new cellist, Paul Watkins. Each of these musicians are highly accomplished performers in their own right, but the question that’s always important in chamber music is: do they play well together? In music like this, however, it’s not quite that simple. With each part being quite soloistic in style, they must make their own voices clear – and in this, they excel. Somehow they blend their tone colours, while maintaining their autonomy in each of their musical phrasings, to create an interesting and eminently repeatable recording.’

Kate Rockstrom


À Madame: Divertissement pour Adélaïde by Olivier Baumont and Julien Chauvin

‘2017 is the year for music from the court of Versailles. First there was La Harpe Reine, then Henriette: The Princess of the Viol, and now À Madame: Divertissement pour Adélaïde. I’m not complaining – the repertoire is, quite literally, music to my ears. For À Madame violinist Julien Chauvin and harpsichordist Olivier Baumont present compositions associated with and dedicated to Princess Marie Adélaïde of France, sister of gambist Henriette. The recording, which took place at Versailles, is luscious and energetic, and the natural acoustic creates the feeling of a live – as opposed to studio – recording. Further, the relaxed interaction between musicians captures the intimacy of a chamber performance.

To evoke the Versailles atmosphere, chimes from Madame Victoire’s drawing-room clock bookend the recording, and carillons from Louis-Joseph’s clock marks the halfway point. Chauvin and Baumont, on eighteenth-century instruments, take turns performing individually and as an ensemble. Claude Balbastre’s Aria Gratioso is a lovely standout for its legato violin melody over the undulating arpeggiated harpsichord accompaniment. Also stunning is Jean-Pierre Guignon’s two-violin arrangement of Rameau’s Les Sauvages, but the second violinist is neither named nor credited on the CD. À Madame is a welcome addition to the flourishing collection of Versailles-inspired recordings.’

Alexandra Mathew


Bel Canto: The Voice of the Viola by Antoine Tamestit & Cedric Tiberghien

‘The butt of musicians’ jokes, the viola is often overlooked as a solo instrument. Not quite as high as a violin, and nowhere near as low as the cello, the viola’s most common function is to pad out harmonies or provide accompaniment. But in the right hands, the viola has an exquisitely mellow, unusual timbre. In Bel Canto: The Voice of the Viola, violist Antoine Tamestit and pianist Cédric Tiberghien redress the balance, performing beauties from the wealth of nineteenth-century French repertoire. French Romanticism represents an important watershed in the instrument’s history. In 1848, a specialised viola program was introduced at the Paris Conservatoire.

Although a violinist by trade, Franco–Belgian composer Henri Vieuxtemps possessed a penchant for the viola, and his compositions for the instrument feature. The final Capriccio for solo viola is almost Bachian in style, with its harmonic language and frequent use of double stops, but the beautiful, lugubrious melody is undeniably French, and emphasises the unique sonorities of the viola. Tamestit’s interpretation of all repertoire presented here is virtuosic and expressive, matched equally by Tiberghien.

A wonderful and unusual chamber music recital disc.’

Alexandra Mathew


CLASSICAL SPECIALS IN JUNE


Magdalena Kožená: Monteverdi by Magdalena Kozena, La Cetra and Andrea Marcon

$12.95 (), only while stocks last

‘Kožená uses violent accents, straight tones and extreme dynamics to great effect yet retains plangent vulnerability … The disc’s highlight is Kožená’s aggressive and virtuosic rendition of the great scena Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda.’ – Opera News


Schumann: Works for Piano and Orchestra by Jan Lisiecki and Antonio Pappano

$12.95 (), only while stocks last

‘This Polish-Canadian pianist may be just 20, but his account of the concerto’s opening movement is judicious, suggesting a coiled energy beneath the surface tenderness, and taking advantage of the music’s intermittent licence to dream; his touch has a chaste beauty, with no hint of histrionics.’ – BBC Music Magazine