Friday, 26 August 2016

Marais - Per la Violle et la Theorbe - Perl, Santana


Rating: 5/5

Review:
A lovely disc



I am a great admirer of the work of Hille Perl, although I haven't always liked her collaborations with Lee Santana (their recent Born To Be Mild, for example).  However, this is first-rate, I think.

These are some of Marais' gamba works with the basso continuo arranged for the theorbo.  It's a lovely combination of sounds, which Perl and Santana use to produce a very fine disc.  The overall sound is fabulous, rich and deep and there's plenty of melodic and harmonic invention here, too (as one would expect from Marais.)  Both play beautifully, with virtuosity, mutual understanding and an obvious love for what they are playing.

The result is a disc of very satisfying music which rewards careful listening, but you can also just sit back and luxuriate in the sound (beautifully recorded by DHM).  The notes are in Hille Perl's usual…er…individual style which may suit others better than it does me, but there is plenty of scholarly content too.  It's a really good disc, and one which I can recommend very warmly.

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