Volume 8 Issue 9 - June 2003

DISC VERIES
THE WHOLENOTE'S CD FORUM
D/SCoveries is a CD review section
designed to complement and enhance
our pre-eminent coverage of
Toronto's live classical, jazz and new
music concert scene, featuring reviews
by WholeNote columnists and
independent contributors. CDs are
considered for review iri the following
categories:
1. "Concert prep" - CDs, new or
otherwise, which tie in with events
being featured in the current issue of
tl1e magazine. Many discs in the other
categories also relate to upcoming
events as noted;
2. "New and Recent Releases" -
newly released CDs relevant to our
magazine's coverage of the music
CONCERT PREP:
Marjan Mozetich -
Affairs of the Heart
Juliette Kang; Nora Bumanis
& Julia Shaw; CBC Vancouver
Orchestra; Mal'.io Bernardi
CBC Records SMCD 5200
scene;
The liner notes to this album suggest
3. "Worth repeating" - CDs new- that among Marjan Mozetich's ccil.­
ly re-issued, or previously released leagues; composing music which
but $till generally available, deemed aspires to touch people on a purely
particularly noteworthy by a mem- emotional level is considered as
ber of our edit°: rial panel; anachronistic as sporting a top hat and
4• "lndie list"_ Small label and in- spats. A musical palette restricted to
d · d 1 CD ft " tu consonant intervals, incantatiorial
epen ent re ease s, o en 1ea r- h hm d h 'bl h
· incf "dual · th r yt s an compre ens1 e ar-
:ng 1
!VI • s or groups active on e . monic progressions have lead others
oca music scene.
to place Marjan Mozetich among the
5. "Disc(s) of the month" - Discs monotonous minimalists. In fact, he
of special interest, often with a par- is closest in spirit to the fervent erotticular
connection to the month's con- icism ofTcha.ikovsky.
cert activities or editorial focus. Gentle and constantly undulating,
his music creeps in and out on little
We think DISCoveries is a logical
cat's feet. Indeed, the first two works
and exciting extension to The
of this album flow so effortlessly into
WholeNote's coverage of the Toronto
music scene. We welcome your
each other that they may as well be
one piece. Affairs of the Heart is a
feedback and invite submissions.
passionate concerto for violin and
Catalogues, review copies of CDs
string orchestra sensitively performed
by the young Juliette Kang.
and comments should be sent to: The
WholeNote, 60 Bellevue Avenue,
Toronto ON MST 2N4. We also we!-
The evocative Postcards from the Sky
for string . orchestra follows quite
come your input via our website,
www .thewholenote.com. nicely as an appendix.
David Olds
Editor, DISCoveries
RECORDS
LIMITED
The Passion of Angels is a remarkable
double concerto featuring harpists
Nora Bumanis and Julia Shaw.
This paean to "longing, desire and
ecstasy" makes the comparison with
Tchaikovsky explicit with a quotation
from his "Pathetique" symphony.
There are exceptional splashes of
colour in Mozetlch's writing for full
orchestra that are reminiscent of the
American exuberance of John Adams'
works. Mario Bernardi provides
a highly sympathetic interpreta.tion
ofp-iese works, and the recorded
sound is first rate.
Daniel Foley
Concert note: Michael Sweeney will
give the premiere performance of
Mozetich 's Concerto for Bassoon &
Strings with Mayumi Seiler and the
Seiler Strings Chamber Orchestra in
the Via Salzburg series at Glenn
Gould Studio on June 6.
Seven Last Words of Christ
Ottawa Chamber Music Society
Andrew Dawes, Julian Armour et al
CMS Classics CMS-560201
As a string quartet? Apparently so,
and this is just one of four different
settings that also include orchestral,
choral, and solo piano. Haydn produced
ihis version right after his original
orchestral score, commissioned
for a Lenten service in the Cathedral
of Cadiz.
Benefiting from the fine acoustics
of Ottawa's Christ Church Cathedral
this recording is well balanced and
remarkably clean. Artistically, it
offers a rare glimpse of how Haydn,
"father" of the string quartet form,
used the ensemble in service of a
sacred program.
The players assembled for this
project by the Ottawa Chamber
Music Society faced two major hurdles:
sustaining a 64-minute work in
which all the movements except the
last one .are slow, and projecting an
interpretation that reaches beyond the
sombre boundaries of the Seven Last
Words.
The quartet: Andrew Dawes,
Manuela Milani, Guylaine Lemaire
and Julian Armour offer a performance
of satisfying depth and agility.
They allow Haydn's masterful quartet
writing to guide them through chame
leon-1 i ke harmonic shadings,
rhythmic pulses and pizzicato passages
that frequently tempt one to forget
the Lenten theme. Perhaps
McLuhan had a point about the "me-,
dium" being the "message"?
CMS Classics is a new Canadian
label with just two recordings to date.
Their first CD, Schubert's C Major
Quintet, was a critical success. This
disc offers the promise of a superb
catalogue. Chamber music lovers
will want more - and soon.
Alex Baran
Concert Note: The 10th Ottawa ·
Chamber Music Festival runs from
July 26 to August 9, check
www.chamberfest.com for fall details.
NEW RELEASES
Vivaldi - La Stravaganza
Rachel Podger; Arte Dei Suonatori
Channel Classics CCS SA 19503
It had to happen eventually! Ever
since the 1960's, pioneers such as
Nikolaus Harnoncourt and a host of
English specialists, have brought
performances on "period instrum.ents
'.'into the mainstream. Canada's
own Tafelmusik and groups like
the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
in San Francisco have flown the
flag in North America. In recent
yearS·il new generation of perform-
MCP
Music Creation and Production Services
•editing •mixing •mastering
•composition • orc~estration
Pro Tools I Logic .A.udio Digital Suite
Timothy Sullivan, Mus.Doc.
Expertise, Intelligence and Musicality
Competitive Rates visit: www.classXdiscs.com
(416) 923-9215 timothy@clossXdiscs.com
52 www.thewholenote.com June 1 - July 7 2003