Superior Chamber Jazz

It could be said that trumpeter Enrico Rava and pianist Stefano Bollani occupy typical ECM jazz territory. I think that their form of Euro jazz remains closer to the source than some of the more new age offerings on the label, though I like much of both styles. This disk, titled The Third Man, sees Rava playing mainly slow introspective syle trumpet, sometimes literally muted but more often just muted in style. Such outbreaks of fireworks as they are come from clusters of piano playing by Bollani who also provides what percussive effects there are in the absence of a conventional rhythm section. It could be described as chamber jazz which would be fair to the musicianship but there is plenty of traditional jazz interplay and improvisation between the two players. The emotional content is also higher than imposing the term chamber jazz might imply. Late night or lazy sunny afternoon listening rather than music to leap around to but if you know what you are getting it is quietly rewarding.

Who Won ? Apollo Or Pan ?

This disk of early 17th century music from Italy is distinguished particularly by the unusual instrumentation. Titled The Contest of Apollo and Pan, it is an anthology of instrumental works by Dario Castello and contemporaries. The performers go under the name of Apollo and Pan for this disk, though I don't think that it is a regularly performing ensemble, rather musicians from various larger leading early music groups who get together on an occasional basis to perform in this guise. They comprise of violinists Tassilo Erhardt and Ben Sansom, Steven Devine on harpsichord and organ and the dulcian of Sally Holman. It is the dulcian, a forerunner of he bassoon, which lends particular distinction to many of the tracks with an individual burbling sound adding great character to the music, whether as lead instrument or part of the continuo. The pieces featured by Castello are some of the earliest examples of sonata form. Also represented are Merula, Marini, Bertoli, Buonamente, Frescobaldi ( solo harpsichord works played beautifully by Devine ), Rossi, De Rore and Turini. A very intelligently thought out programme showing the roots of much of the classical period but thoroughly enjoyable in its own right and far from being merely an academic exercise.

Recreating A Medieval Sound World

Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI rarely release a disk that is not a well thought out programme of interesting and enterprising repertoire with a lavish accompanying booklet and this is no exception. The title is Estampies & Danses Royales - Le Manuscrit du Roi circa 1270 - 1320. It is an attempt to interpet the music from this medieval document which details both courtly dance music and troubador songsfrom the south of France and all along that north western Mediterranean corridor leading from Italy into Catalonia. It is also music associated with the doomed so called heretical cultures of the Albigensians. Savall and his band are expert at capturing the atmospheric nature of this corner of early music and the dance element is contagious. The notation of the document leaves room for discussion and interpretation as to how the music should sound but as performed here, it is beguiling and surprisingly complex and this disk makes a convincing case for it.

Not In The Least Forbidding

Karlheinz Stockhausen has one of the more forbidding reputations among 20th century composers and doesn't get much radio play to encourage investigation of his work. One recent release that did garner some publicity and an attendant prom concert was the recording of the vocal work Stimmung by the Theatre Of Voices under the direction of Paul Hillier. Stimmung has the literal meaning of tuning but can also be used in the sense of tuning into one's soul. Stimme as the root syllable means voice. And the work is a purely vocal piece that features continual wordplay, some of it on spiritual themes with the names being intoned of various gods and dieties from numerous cultures. Other words chanted are days of the week in various languages. The whole offers a beguiling and intoxicating mix, hypnotic and stimulating all at the same time and not in the least a "difficult" listen. Or at least, only as difficult or challenging as the listener wishes to make it, the layers are multuple. Stockhausen doesn't seem to get lumped in with the minimalist school of composers but this piece does have that kind of repetitive feel and there are also obvious similarities to Berio's Sinfonia. The performance is committed and expert.

The Heart Of England

I didn't particularly feel it necessary to own a second disk if June Tabor's chamber folk style but ended up with this one, A Quiet Eye, because I wanted a recording of the Maggie Holland song A Place Called England and the Maggie Holland version was very difficult to obtain. It is a fine song trying to find a positive spin to this badly wounded nation and June Tabor renders a fine version along with her session musicians. The entire disk has what has been described as this chamber folk fell with tasteful jazzy and string accompaniments, largely the work of arranger and pianist Huw Warren. The songs are an eclectic selection too, including the WW2 standard I'll Be Seeing You, Richard Thompson's Waltzings's For Dreamers and even The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face alongside traditional folk songs such as The Gardener. The other standout track is the Bill Caddick song The writing Of Tipperary, segued into It's A Long Way To Tipperary itself. The effect is can be compared to that of The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by the Pogues, covering similar ground concerning WW1 and having the same devastating effect when the familiar tune comes in at the end. A contemporary version of a lieder recital.

Roots Of Spanish Guitar

I would not have thought that the technical challenges of recording solo guitar music were that great but this disk by baroque guitarist Gordon Ferries, entitled Marionas - The Guitar Music of Francisco Guerau, suffers from a very bright and over resonant church recording. The result is that it becomes wearing on the ears to listen to the whole disk at one sitting and is best dipped into and sampled in smaller doses. The other possible limitation of such a disk, that of a certain monotony and similarity in the pieces performed, is not a problem here. The music is an intoxicating mix of Spanish, dance and passion with the roots of some aspects of flamenco clearly evident and an Arabic and Sephardic influence noticeable among the more familiar baroque dance forms from northern Europe. Ferries has sublime technique and uses it in the service of the music to exploit all the timbre and expression of which the instrument is capable. The earlier caveat notwithstanding, this is an unusual and stimulating disk.

Not All Bombast !

The April edition of BBC Music magazine had a free cover disk of rarely performed Berlioz. Despite a printing error on the jewel case ( corrected within the actual magazine ) it was simple enough to discern that the first piece was the Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale, taken from a live 2009 Proms concert performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Thierry Fischer and with the highlighted solo trombone part of Donal Bannister. The lengthy first movement is a most impressive funeral march with unique use of heavy percussion emphasis. I did not previously know the piece at all and so can make no comparitive judgement on the performance but it seems a fine one to me. The Triomphale aspect of the work that is the finale appeals less to me, seeming to prefigure the pomp style of an Elgar. But it is a work I am glad to have heard. The other piece is equally substantial, Berlioz's Te Deum, also taken from a live Proms concert of 2009. The performers here are the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Susanna Malkki with notable solo contributions from organist Simon Preston and tenor Jorg Schneider. The chorus is enormous, comprising the BBC Symphony Chorus, the Crouch End Festival Chorus, the Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral and the Trinity Boy's Choir. Chorus masters were respectively Stephen Jackson, David Temple, Andrew Carwood and David Swinson. The orchestra is equally large with multiple forces in many areas and the whole seems an attempt to forge a link between sacred music and theatrical spectacle on a grand scale. Within it though are moments of calm and reflection, it is certainly not all bombast. Berlioz remains a composer with whom I am struggling to come to terms but I am finding more there gradually. I don't think I am alone on this journey for those who never "got" this composer immediately.