Volume 20 Issue 1 - September 2014

Laura RobinsonDivine Art dda 25114The countertenorAlfred Deller was bornin 1912 and I wonderif this CD had beenintended to mark hiscentenary. No matter,the disc is as welcomeas it would have beentwo years ago. Anobvious way of remembering Deller wouldhave been to reissue some of his recordingsbut the producers of the CD have hit on somethingmuch more imaginative. The recordingcommemorates not only Deller himself buttwo others who were central to the revivalof early music in the 40s and 50s: MichaelTippett and Walter Bergmann. It was Tippettwho discovered Deller in the choir stalls ofCanterbury Cathedral and who launched himin his solo career at Morley College.Bergmann had been a lawyer in Germanybut was forced to flee to England, where hestarted a new career as a music editor, harpsichordistand composer. The CD, whichfeatures two fine countertenors, JamesBowman and Robin Blaze with recorderplayers John Turner and Laura Robinson,includes John Blow’s Ode on the Death ofMr. Henry Purcell (which Deller himselfperformed and recorded) and also severalworks dedicated to Deller: Bergmann’shaunting Pastorale for countertenor andrecorder (1946) and the Three Songs forcountertenor and guitar (1973). It alsocontains Peter Racine Fricker’s Elegy, a workgiven its first performance by Deller.The recorder pieces (solo Inventions byTippett and trio sonatas by Handel andWilliam Williams) are less obviously relatedto the work of Deller but they serve to remindus that his emergence was part of the rediscoveryof early music.Hans de GrootEARLY MUSIC AND PERIOD PERFORMANCEHandel & PorporaJulie Boulianne; Clavecin en Concert; LucBeauséjourAnalekta AN 2 8764The Schulich Schoolof Music at McGillUniversity in Montrealis doing somethingright – the sheernumber of successful,outstanding graduateseclipses any otherCanadian hive of classicalmusic. Not to give too much credit to theschool (after all, Juilliard was involved too),Julie Boulianne is a born talent – a mezzoof rare beauty of voice, whose techniquematured rapidly since her debut recordingin 2006 (that album, with music by Berlioz,was nominated for a GRAMMY!). What awonderful choice of material here – the musicthat was the soundtrack of the battle royalbetween the Royal Academy of Music andthe Opera of the Nobility, between Handeland Porpora. Between 1733 and 1737, Londonaudiences were treated to a tight contest ofthe two great composers, the best castrati ofthe period and extravagantly staged operas.To be sure, both parties went over the top,losing thousands of pounds – the Opera of theNobility went bankrupt, the Royal Academynearly so, but Handel’s Atalanta turned outto be the coup de grace and Porpora leftLondon defeated. And we have been leftwith a treasure trove of music, none morerevered to this day than “Ombra mai fu” fromHandel’s Serse, delivered here by Bouliannewith a rarely heard delicacy and tenderness.Clavecin en Concert provide equally beautifulaccompaniment within a traditionally wellproducedAnalekta recording. Five out offive stars.Robert TomasSix TranscriptionsFrancis ColpronATMA ACD2 2677None of theworks on this CDwere written forthe recorder but,as Francis Colpronpoints out, in the 18thcentury composers didnot always prescribethe instruments onwhich their work should be performed.Consequently the works by Telemann, Marais,Bach and Tartini sound perfectly idiomatic. Itis true that this music often needs to be transcribed.The A minor solo sonata by Bach,for instance, has long been appropriated byrecorder players. But the baroque transverseflute went down to D and the alto recordergoes no lower than F. Consequently recorderplayers have to perform it in C minor whichmakes parts of the work very high and technicallydifficult. Needless to say, the highnotes provide no problem for Colpron.One work on this CD stands out asdifferent, the Caprice No.24 for solo violinby Paganini. The composer would neverhave imagined a performance of this workon the recorder as by 1820 (when it was firstpublished) the recorder was seen as totallyobsolete. Yet the transcription works: Colpronaptly sees it as a “translation” and he citesLiszt’s piano transcriptions of the Beethovensymphonies as an analogue.Colpron is brilliant throughout. I have oftenadmired his playing and I had the pleasure ofbeing coached by him in a recorder consortlast July. One thing I discovered then is thathis Dutch is impeccable and he will understandwhat I mean when I say that thisrecording is “uitstekend.”Hans de GrootHandel – 8 “Great” SuitesRichard EgarrHarmonia Mundi HMU 907581.82Handel – The Eight Great SuitesDanny DriverHyperion CDA68041/2Harpsichord orpiano for Handel? TwoCD collections havesimultaneously beenreleased, continuingto ask the question.Pianist Danny Driveropens the account forHyperion, his prelude(described in the sleeve notes as “ruminative”)being a thoughtful, cautious approachbefore the allemande, courante and gigue,not so far removed from their rural roots.Harpsichordist Richard Egarr is more cautiousin his courante before an excited gigue. Atthis early point, it is difficult to judge whichinstrument is the more suited.Suite 2 starts with a restful adagio followedby a highly spirited allegro, demanding forboth pianist and harpsichordist. Driver’sinterpretation would have communicated toan 18th-century harpsichord audience exactlywhat the piano still demands of its playersthree centuries on. The second adagio andallegro: fugue are a relaxing contrast. Egarrtackles with enthusiasm the first allegrowhich must be a highlight of the baroquerepertoire.And so to the contemplative Suite 3 and itsair with five gentle variations. This is thechance to take a breath and compare instruments.While much of early music was notscored for any particular instrument, onedoes wonder why a piano is selected; theharpsichord is not deficient in any way asEgarr’s glorious presto testifies. It may be thecase that harpsichords were not available inprevious decades: the piano was ready tostand in and this practice has never ceased.Suite 4 beginswith another allegro:fugue which is almosta cliché of baroquekeyboard playing. Its“hammer blows” are,in fact, more vigorouslyinterpreted byDriver’s piano playing– Egarr’s harpsichord is played with passionbut it is still overshadowed, a process repeatedwith the allemandes. There is a tendernessto both sarabandes and it is difficult to saywhich is the more sensitive.Driver’s piano-playing gives a thoughtfulnessto the Suite 5 prelude and allemandebefore its spirited courante. Egarr’s preludeand allemande are slower; perhaps that wordruminative applies to him this time round.And so to the air with five variations, theuniversally loved “Harmonious Blacksmith.”Driver is sensitive in his interpretation, Egarrmore virtuosic and more effervescent inthewholenote.com September 1, 2014 – October 7, 2014 | 69