New this month on OUR Recordings is Mahan Esfahani’s incredible performance of Poul Ruders’ 2020 ‘Harpsichord Concerto’ with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam. (OK. I think I know what a digital EP is...)
The first movement ‘Avanti risoluto’ is filmic and almost
tender in its careful but inevitable escalation. There is an oddly yet entirely
pleasing synthetic quality, engendered by the amplification of orchestral
instruments. It is in this manner that the blend of sound is achieved. The effect itself is, of course, unique. And very distant from any historic mould in familiarity with Baroque works by Vivaldi, for example. The otherworldly mesh of strings and brass is strange but wonderous indeed; a mellow foil to the sparkly and spiky solo. The next movement ‘Andante’ is a
touch more romantic (with a small ‘r’) although Modernist and spacey. Single notes
on each beat cut in and out of the complex soundscape. At
close, this solo ‘line’ inverts, reaching deeper, before rebuilding to
chordal strikes.
The final movement ‘Vivace Martellato alla breve’ comprises an extraordinary attack of chords – but with a simultaneous ‘light’ touch. Again, related to the manipulation of orchestral volume. Impossible to conjecture its achievement, outside any intimate knowledge of the harpsichord. Aural threads; several layers of texture; between the solo and orchestral instruments, intertwine. The compositional variation, in constant flux, brings lesser-heard voices such as castanets to the fore. The overall effect is whirring, trammelling, and somehow trainlike. Each mechanism seems to smash and then meld to the non-closure... to the heart of everything new.
Messiaen Åstrand (vln); Teyssier (cl); Dam Thomsen (vlc); Salo (pno) OUR Recordings (2022) Written in 1941 whilst incarnated as a POW, Olivier Messiaen’s ‘Quatuor pour la fin du Temps’ (‘Quartet for the End of Time’) shines for ever due its impelling creative insight and resultant beauty. Never more so on a sonically radiant recording from the un-monikered ensemble of Christina Åstrand (violin), Johnny Teyssier (clarinet), Henrik Dam Thomsen (cello), and Per Salo (piano). To be released on May 13th on OUR Recordings. The work opens with ‘Crystal liturgy,’ enticing, delicate, and gently rhythmic with its repetitive birdcalls. The next movement, ‘Vocalise…’ involves the strike of piano chords in varied tonal balance, interweaving between the melodic lines. There is a surprising jump of style near close as if switching to a new movement already. Which is the clarinet solo ‘Abyss of birds.’ A palatte of nature, and of Grieg, it retains a mystery of achievement; compositionally and in ...
New on Willowhayne Records is ‘The King’s Alchemist – British String Trios’ performed by the Eblana String Trio comprising Lucy Nolan on viola, Jonathan Martindale on violin, and Peggy Nolan on cello. First is Finzi’s ‘Prelude and Fugue’. The piece is gently contemporary, melodic and familiar, in debt as it is to Bach (though to this listener hinting towards Handel). The strings are soulful, yearning, plaintive. ‘Prelude’ is led by a repetitive melancholic air which near close takes on slightly more force. ‘Fugue’ offers deeper tones sensitively related by the performers. The high sweep of the violin echoes what it is underpinned by. The aspect of forcefulness mounts in a masterfully restrained execution, maintaining resonance and balance. Second is a world premiere recording of Hugh Wood’s ‘Ithaka.’ Eblana’s almost-breathy playing complements aspects of airiness, to further open a range of timbres. The explorative and engaging nature of the piece, if at phases lacking consistency, pre...
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