UHF No 70 (Net).indd - Ultra High Fidelity Magazine

Mendelssohn: Complete Works for
Cello and Piano
Elizabeth Dolin/Bernadene Blaha
Analekta FL 2 3166
Lessard: Felix Mendolssohn occupies a
considerable place on the musical scene
of 19 th Century Germany. He was a
pianist, organist, violinist, recitalist,
conductor, composer, pedagogue, and
co-founder, with Schumann, of a music
conservatory of enviable reputation.
And he left a large number of admirable
works, such as the ones included on
this CD. To put them on show, here are
extraordinarily talented cellist and pianist,
possessing a perfect understanding
of the master’s very soul.
From the fi rst notes of the Allegro
vivace of the Sonata No. 2 in D Major,
op. 58, from 1843, we are overcome by
the sheer beauty of the melody and the
energetic rhythm of the musicians. After
an Allegretto scherzando, the Adagio opens
with a series of piano arpeggios, to which
the cello adds its warm but troubling
tone, giving way to the piano which picks
up the melody. The sonata ends with a
lively Moto allegro e vivace, whose cello
ostinato made me think of The Flight of
the Bumblebee. Further along we come to
the Variations concertantes, op. 17, which
Mendelssohn composed when he was 20.
It contains nine themes, in which cello
and piano alternate in the spotlight,
ending in an Assai tranquillo. Next there
is a Lied of rare tenderness in a somewhat
melancholic vein…just the thing to listen
to at the end of the day when you and a
Record Reviews
loved one exchange whispers rather than
words.
A second sonata, the Opus 45, in B
Flat Major this time, ends this musical
session of exceptional quality.
I always like to recall that it is to
Mendelssohn that we owe the rediscovery
of the works of Johann Sebastian
Bach, whose reputation as an organist
had so eclipsed Bach the composer that
his works were hardly ever played.
Nota del Sol
Similia
Analekta AN 2 9817
Lessard: From their fi rst album, Cantabile
(UHF No. 64), the twin Labrie
sisters, fl utist Nadia and guitarist Annie,
won over their audience. The pieces on
this, their second CD, includes some
of the most beautiful music from the
contemporary composers of South
America.
From the celebrated Argentine
guitarist and composer Maximo Diego
Pujol come two selections, the Suite
Buenos Aires and Dos aires candombreros.
The opening section, the first four
tracks, brings us to various picturesque
corners of the city, each with its local
color and special accent. The Palermo
section takes us into a romantic dream
with a heady tune. We would stay there
gladly, but we take a detour into the old
San Telmo quarter, with its cafés and
by Reine Lessard,
and Gerard Rejskind
public markets, where we are engulfed by
the exuberant joie de vivre well evoked
by a short but astonishing percussion
passage. In Microcentro, our next listening
point, an exquisite duo recreates the
atmosphere of downtown. There is no
better music to appreciate the virtuosity
of the two musicians, and the perfect
osmosis that unites them. The suite ends
with a reprise of Palermo and a frantic
fi nale.
The second Pujol piece opens with
Nubes de Buenos. Brought to Argentina by
Black slaves from Africa, the candombe
is a dance with rapid tempo and a
well-syncopated rhythm, with highly
romantic fl ute passages. The playing is
fi ery.
There are excerpts from Celso Machado’s
Musiques populaires brésiliennes,
with delicious rhythms and melodies.
Between then comes a lascivious Tango
by Eric Marchelie, which opens with an
air on the fl ute that develops with fervor
and passion to the energetic accompaniment
of the guitar.
But without a doubt the pièce de
résistance is Histoire du Tango, with four
pieces by Astor Piazzola: Bordel 1900,
gay, catching, almost insolent, a touch
disreputable; Café 1930, dreamy and
tender; Night Club 1950, recalling the
rise of the tango to ballroom status; and
Concert d’aujourd’hui, a hybrid product of
two infl uences elevating the tango to the
classical level.
A guitar that goes to our head by its
formidable sound and virtuosity, subtle
rubato full of tenderness to touch our
senses, melodies that run through our
minds despite us, and two accomplished
musicians playing with matchless virtuosity
and sensitivity, as well as a verve
which plunges us into a joyous session,
from which we emerge all too soon to a
duller reality.
The recording was done in the old
Saint-Augustin de Mirabel stone church,
north of Montreal, which for several
years has been used by Analekta for some
of its best recordings. The sound, from
Analekta’s usual engineer. Carl Talbot,
is impeccable.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 63
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