Rameau - Pieces de clavecin - Frisch

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A lovely disc

This is a lovely disc, which I am glad to see reissued.

Rameau's music is extremely enjoyable; the suites presented here are varied and interesting with a fine array of melodic and harmonic invention.  I have always found Rameau to be a very enjoyable listen, and Céline Frisch brings out the best in him.  She is thoughtful or energetic as appropriate and her technique is excellent so that she rises to the technical challenges easily.  The overall sound is wonderful, I think.  Originally recorded by Alpha, the harpsichord is deep and rich in tone and captured beautifully so that it's s thrilling sound throughout.

I have very fine recordings of Rameau by the likes of Christophe Rousset and Angela Hewitt, and this disc by Frisch is their equal in my view – which is really saying something.  As a selection of Rameau's keyboard work, you can't go wrong here and I can recommend it very warmly.

Bach - Trios - Ma, Thile, Meyer

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Slightly disappointing

I was expecting to love this disc  It is Bach played in slightly unusual arrangements by three towering virtuosi whose individual recordings of Bach I have enjoyed very much, so it sounded as though I couldn't go wrong.  Sadly, although a brief burst is enjoyable, I find the whole thing rather disappointing.

It goes without saying that this is fantastic music and that Thile, Ma and Meyer are all outstanding musicians.  It's just that the combination of mandolin, cello and double bass doesn't quite work for me I this music; it would be terrific to hear a movement as a concert encore, say, but a whole disc of it gets a bit much.  All three are having a great time with the music which is often a real boost to a performance, but here it spills over into the slightly comic rather than quirkily unusual which manages to make Bach's music sound just a little trivial.

This is all personal feeling, of course, and others may not agree at all.  Certainly it's brilliant playing throughout and it's excellently recorded, but this disc didn't really work for me and I can only give it a very qualified recommendation.

Guerrero - Missa Surge propera etc - Sydney Chamber Choir/Noone

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Rather disappointing

I love much of Michael Noone's work, but I'm afraid this isn't one of his best recordings,

Guerrero's music is very fine, with a rich, distinctively Spanish feel.  It lends itself very well to Noone's approach which mixes voices with contemporary instruments.  His fabulous recording of Guerrero's Requiem from 1999 adopts the same approach and remains a real favourite of mine.   The motets recorded here have much of the same quality but sadly, for me the same can't be said of the Mass.  The voices seem to lack the blend and balance they need; there is little cohesion in the choral sound and too often individual voices dominate inappropriately.  As a result the music loses much of its beauty and spiritual power and I found it a disappointment.

I am sorry to be critical of a musician whom I admire greatly, but this didn't do much for me and I'll be sticking to The Tallis Scholars' excellent recording of this mass.

Bach - The Partitas - Egarr

Rating: 5/5

Review :
An excellent recording

This is another excellent recording from Richard Egarr, who is now well established as one of the world's leading harpsichord players.

Bach's keyboard Partitas contain some truly wonderful, inventive writing.  In his extremely detailed notes, Egarr dissects the pieces and shows the extraordinary patterns and symbolism contained within them.  Whether or not you accept all of the numerology, it makes fascinating reading and illuminates this extraordinary music which, whatever complex architecture may underpin it, sounds completely natural when played and is a delight to listen to.

Egarr plays it beautifully.  He catches the essential pulse of Bach, dances where he ought to and gives us real clarity of individual lines while blending the whole into a lovely, balanced overall sound.  I already have very, very fine recordings of these works by Angela Hewitt and Murray Perahia on the piano and by Trevor Pinnock and Christophe Rousset on the harpsichord, but I am very glad to have this, too and I expect it to become just as well-loved.

The recording is very good, capturing the rich sound of Egarr's harpsichord very well, and the presentation is attractive.  This is an excellent set all round, and I can recommend it very warmly.

Roma Aeterna - Masses by Palestrina and Victoria - New York Polyphony

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good disc

I like New York Polyphony's work; this is another good recording by them, although I have some personal reservations about it.

The two major works here are Palestrina's famous Missa Papae Marcelli and Victoria's Missa O Quam Gloriosam.   I think this recording of the Palestrina works very well; New York Polyphony have quite a spare, haunting sound which I find slightly reminiscent of The Hillard Ensemble, and they bring a new and welcome intimacy to the Missa Papae Marcelli.  There have been many fine recordings of it.  For example, I have loved The Tallis Scholars' classic account since I first heard it soon after it was released in 1980 for its engagement with the text and control of mood, its wonderful clarity of line and its huge, almost Wall Of Sound impact in places.  This is quite different yet shares the qualities of clarity and engagement while being much smaller and more intimate in approach.  It's a lovely take on a much-recorded work.

I donn't think the Victoria works quite so well.  For me, Victoria needs a full, rich sound for the music to really speak, and this felt slightly emotionless to me.  I am sure others may disagree, but I don't find this nearly as satisfying as the Palestrina.

Nonetheless, this is a good disc by a fine ensemble.  The recorded sound is excellent in a lovely acoustic with just the right amount of resonance for me, and I can recommend it with only slight personal reservations.

Delalande - Sacred Works - Herreweghe

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Rather disappointing

I'm afraid I found this rather disappointing.  I tried it because Philippe Herreweghe's work is always worth listening to, but the music itself didn't do much for me.

Naturally, the performances are excellent.  Herreweghe has assembled a fine cast of singers and musicians who do a very good job, but Delalande's music itself  just seems a little ordinary to me.  There's nothing wrong with it as such, but it really didn't hold enough harmonic or melodic interest to kee me listening for any length of time and, frankly, I got a little bored after a while.

His is just a personal view, of course, with which you may disagree, but for me this is a laudable project to record less well-known music but it's not a disc I'll be listening to often.

Bach - Sonatas & Partitas for Violin - Busch

Rating: 5/5

Review: 
Excellent

I think this is an excellent set.  I already have a number of recordings of the Sonatas and Partitas, including some quite brilliant interpretations by the likes of Isabelle Faust, Rachel Podger and Viktoria Mullova, but I think Christine Busch's recording stands with the best of them.

The music, of course, is sublime.  These are quite magnificent works which test the instrument and its player to extremes, and in the process produce some quite extraordinarily expressive and moving music.  Christine Busch is certainly equal to the technical challenge; her intonation is rock solid, she has a lovely tone and she makes these sometimes incredibly difficult pieces sound simple and natural.  Her interpretation is absolutely terrific, I think.  There is an elegance and grace running through this recording which never loses any of the intellectual weight or emotional impact, and the essential pulse of Bach beats throughout.  Busch is equally at home in the slow, tortured depths of the mighty Chaconne from the D minor Partita and in the quicker, more obviously dancing movements like the closing Allegro assai of the C major Sonata. 

The whole things simply glows, I think, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the excellence throughout.  The recorded sound is lovely with just the right degree of reverberation, and it's a really fine set all round.  Very warmly recommended.