Volume 9 Issue 3 - November 2003

a relaxing. uncomplicaJed collection.
Well executed, charming, and calm
in a way that otherwise did not
survive the 18th century."
Scarlatti/Vivaldi/ Avison
Marie-Nicole Lemieux;
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra;
Jeanne Lamon.
Analekta FL 2 3171
St~AilU,>\Tl~
*~% ·~s~
Mozart Keyboard Sonatas
K.281, K.545, K.310
Ludwig SemerJian, fortepiano
ATMA ACD22243
Now in its 25th anniversary season,
the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
continues to amaze with stylish, wellinformed,
passionate performances
ofrepertoire covering the 17th, 18th
and early 19th centuries. Their
impressive "discography" includes
dozens of recordings from outstanding
performances of Corelli, Geminiani,
Vivaldi, Handel and Bach to
later Classical and early Romantic
works of Gluck, Haydn, Mozart and
Beethoven.
This latest effort showcases the
prodigious talents of the Canadian
contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, a
prizewinner who is active in concert
halls and recording studios all over
the world, working with some of
the leading conductors and
orchestras.
This is a seductively entertaining
disc, considering that the musical
material is very thin on significance
and meaning. Lemieux performs two
extended settings of standard
religious texts: the Salve Regina of
Domenico Scarlatti and Vivaldi's solo
setting of the Stabat Mater. The
former piece is somewhat interesting
as 'a rare example of vocal music
from the master of the Italian harpsichord.
The latter is - I'm afraid - a
rather forgettable youthful exercise
and I fear the Red Priest might be
horrified to know it was still being
performed.
Like the proverbial "great actor
reading the phone book", however,
Lemieux and Tafelmusik give absolutely
outstanding performances of
these pieces. The shimmer. of the
strings, the glorious timbre of the
voice: with each changing chord tears
came to my eyes. This disc is a clinic
in the sheer art of performance and
is recommended if the buyer is
interested in surrounding him/herself
with beautiful sounds. \
Larry Beckwith
N OVEMBER 1 - D ECE MBER 7 2003
There are three Mozart Piano Sonatas
recorded here on an· original
Viennese fortepiano by Anton
Walter, 1790. Hopefully, we are,
most of us, acclimated to the sound
of a Viennese piano so that we may
judge the quality of performance and
not be so surprised at the sounds
made by such an instrument. Still,
there are important considerations
regarding historically informed performance
. .
The action is completely different
from a modem piano - an action that
does not have anywhere near the
power of the modem instrurnent, but
is very light and a great deal more
sensitive to the touch ::- with hammerheads
that are covered, not with
felt, but with layers of leather. The
strings are finer and the bass is strung
in brass wire; and not overwound
with copper.
A fortepiano has a much richer'
overtone structure than a modem
instrument, but much less "fundamental"
tone. This produces a much
brighter sound with a lot less ·bass
booming. There is nowhere to hide
with a fortepiano, the sound is clearer
and cleaner. These differences raise
many issues regarding dynamics,
phrasing, ornaments, and the use of
the sustain and moderator mechanisms.
In the case of this recording
however, the difference that is most
noticeable is not the sound of the
instrument but the interpretation of
the score.
Of the three sonatas included here
it is K. 310 that is most distinctive,
very different from any other recording,
on any piano. The tempo is
slower, but strident, emphasizing the
"martial'.' element of the work, grim,
serious. While Malcolm Bilson's
approach_(on a Walter copy) is rapid
and driving, Semerjian is almost
relentless - little variation in rhythm
or tempo. The effect is, in fact, quite
surprising, a very different sort of
Mozart.
The perf9rmances are interesting,
the piano is particularly fine. If you
are looking for a different approach