Biber - Requiem Gabrieli Consort & Players; Paul McCreesh Archiv Produktion 00289 474 7142 Poer natus in Bethlehem. Alleluia! Elmer lseler Singers; LvdiaAdams c·BC Records MVCO 1165 Concert ote: The Elmt:r lseler Singers perform Handel's Messiah on December 3 at Metropolitan Uni1ed. They will also perform a frt:e noon hourconcen 1ha1 is bound 10 include seasonal fare at Roy Thomson I lall on December 7. realm of spiri1.) e1 have wi1h very uifferenl focuses. One represems 1ht: olu tradilions sung by young 'oic.:t:s. 1he 01her offers a mixiure of modern and anciem m) siicl\m. The 11rt. "Heaven! \'oices .. lea· ture Choral Amhems sung w11h purit) and grace by The Boys of King' Collctge Choir. Cambridge. let.I by Su:phen Cleobury. Selections on offer an: by Mendelsohn. Franck. Faure and 01hers reprcst:nt· ing fairl) \landard repenoirt:. 20th· centur r1ece\ b) Pairick Hat.lie) and John lrdanu. Tht: lx.i) s !P' e a \IUlllllng [lCrlorma11ce. Our other disc features works by John T;l\ener sung by Polyphony directed b) S1ephtn Lay1on. In his offering. Tavemr has departed somewhat Imm Grtek Orthodoxinspircu '' ork.ure u that 1he comfort or 1radition live on, on lht: 01ht:r hand wi1h Tavencr'i. work, ii is i?ood 10 sec sp1rilual demems of mny regions no1 uni> finding common ground, but melding imo a multi-faceted glimpse ot tht: ht:avt:nly realms. 76 Dia1111e Wells When young people l>lUd} music hiswry. 1he) learn 1ha1 the Renais· ''ctra ·• startt:d 111 1600. as if some· one !lipped as .. itch and 1he whole in1rica1e s1yle ot writing and per· forming mu"c \ . \as changt:t.I overnight. For 1he paM 10 years the )Oung Engli'>h comlucwr and cdhst Paul Mc:Crce\h ha\ been rein· '1gora1ing the early music "sct:ne" wi1h perl'ormanci: tha1 examine what is acM1lly a long transition period in lhc laic 16th and early 171h cemuries, involving radicals and conserva1ives. nt:w and old performing traditwns and musical forms. This nc\ recording b) hi Gabrieli Consort leaiurt:' 1wo mass St:llings by 1he highl) imagin . a1ivc and inventive compocr Heinrich Biber, one of which '>ClS lht: 1radltional Requiem or Mass of the Dead. Though wrillcn in the la1e I 71h cemur) in Salzburg. this is music remimscclll of lht: master polyphonis1s of 1he late 16th centu· ry as well as hringing 10 mind 1he grand choral music of cnmempornries such as Schull ant.I Buxtehuue. McCreesh mal.e performance decisions baed on extensive research. acwmpanying the vocal parts with combina1ions of strings, organ and 'ackbul'>. In addi1ion 10 Biber's worki., !here art: instru· mental pieces by his collt:agues Georg Muffa1 and fohann Ht:inrich Schmelzer includeu. as well as two profound mott:ls by the grea1 Orlanuo Lasso. It's all performed with breathiaking passion, precision and skill. One of 1hc main solo participants on the CD is the young Canadian high 1enor Daniel Auchincloss. who was 1rained al the University of Toronto and has lived and worked in and around London, England for the pa t several years. /,,arry Beckwith Does the world need ano1her Chrisimas CD'? If the CD is the sance -t:ra •· t:nt.led and the Baroque Elmer lseler Singers' . . Put:r Na- 1us in Bethlehem, Alleluia!" my answer is a resounding Yes! On it the lseler Singers perform carols by Canadian compost:rs commissionl.'d for 1he recording - four orig· inal compositions . an arrangt:ment of the Huron Carol and eleven new arrangemt:ms of carols from the .. 1582 collection . Piae Camiones'" by lht: Swedish monk, Thcodoricus Peirus of Nyland. Published in England in 1853, its timeless mel· odies have permeated tlle church music ol the English-speaking world. According 10 Ken Winters' informa1ive lint:r notes lhc only work on 1he program no1 commissioned by 1he Singers is I lealey Willan ' s miniaiure mastt:rpiecc, Resonet in laudibus, also from .. . Piae Cantiones .. Each carol is a highly individual exploration of musical beauty. Exquisi1e dissonanct:s propel Eleanor Daley's harmonizaiion or Ave Maris Stella: Eric Robertson asionishes with his symphonic vision of Puer Nntus in Bethlehem; Derek Holman's modal counlt:r· poi111 10 1he syncopaiions of Gaudete bursts with energy; Donald Patriquin's folk song 1rea1mt:111 of Puer Nobis Nasci111r is fresh and unexpected; Peter Togni's arrange· mt:nt of Corde Nat us - Of the Fa· tiler's love begotten moves wi1h deft assurance from 1wo-pan simplicity to a grand multiphonic con· eluding Amen. The Elmer lseler Singers con· ducied by Lydia Adams. and 1he instrumentalists who join them in several pieces, are as good as 1he music: their tlawless intonation, rhythmic vitality and grea1 sensi· tivity to the expressive power of phrasing, communicate sublime religious feeling much needed in 1his distressed lime. WWW. rtHWHOLENOH.COM Allan Pulker A Hanukka Celebration: Traditional Songs and Original Settings Cantors Moshe Haschcl and Simon Spiro; Carolina Chamber Chorale; University of Cincinnati Wind SymphOn); New London Children's Choir, Ronald Corp, conductor; Schola Hebraeica and Coro Hebraeico, Neil Levin, Director; Southern Chorale, Timothy Koch, director Naxos/Milken Archive 8.559-'10 Jewish Voices in the New World Hazzan Ira Rohde, Schola Hebraeica, The New London Children's Choir, Neil Levin, conductor Naxos/Milken Archive 8.559411 Hanukka is ont: of the annual Jewish festivals that celebra1e key his· torical/liturgical events or the earth's cycles. II marks a viciorious guerilla movement against 1he Grt:co-Syrian Empire's desecraiion of 1ht: Tt:mple and violent supprt:s· sion of the Jewish religion. Jewish musicians have had 2139 years 10 get the celebralion right. and indeed 1hey have. Naxos/Milkcn 's Hanukka disk is a gem among the 29 Jewish music gems issued 10 date. Twelvt: Hanukkah composi1ions. da1ing from the Rt:naissance to lhe present, are performt:d impeccably. Dr. Neil Levin, Milken's Artistic director . provides 18 pages of real liner noies. Standout tracks involve his Schola Hebraeica, and Zavcl Zil· DECEMBER t 2004 • FEBRUARY 7 2005
hcn·s Yiddish an song seuing of a poem by .. lhe pool of lhe swealshop. ·· Morris Rosenfeld. On ·Jewish Voices". Levin conducts the 17-18lh cemury Wes1ern Sephardic Jiturg} lhal was sung at Ne" York's Spanish and Portuguese S}nagogue, the continent's oldest. Identical music resonated in Canada's first synagogue. also a Spanish and Portuguese congrega- 11on. founded in Montreal in 1768. Hanukkah geld indt!Cd. Phil Eltrensaft EARLY MUSIC AND PERIOD INSTRUMENT Also included in 1he program are 1wo Baroque offerings by B.oismonier and Dorne I. which are somewhat incongruous and have a less beau1iful recorded sound. Bui these questions aside. this is still a most pleasant listening experience. and 1 look forward to funher recordings of this group. Alison Melville Les Sept Sauts - Baroque Chamber Music at the Stuttgart Court Ensemble Caprice; Matthias Maute ATMA Baroque ACD2 2344 Proporcions to the minim Trio Viaggio Coviello Classics 20204 Founded in 1999. Trio Viaggioconsists of three young women who studied lhe recorder toge1her in Bremen. Their goal in founding their ensemble was 10 rediscover ensemhlt: music for lhe ins1rument and ··to revive it in a colourful, lively way. Their program on lhis. 1hc:ir debul CD, fealures a dc:ligh1- ful program of c:arlier repertoire, - including music by Du fay, Dunstable, Baldwin, lkvin, Tye, Ruffo, Isaac and others, mos1 of which is performed wilh a well-balanced, well-in-LUne and beautiful instrumental sound, and with obvious enthusiasm. Particularly enjoyable are the works by Bononia and Tye, and the two versions each of la Martinelfa and Browning make for in1eres1ing comparisons. Trio Viaggio 's interpretation of their chosen program is musical, thoughtful and impressively auentive to detail. and they play very well as an ensemble. However, I would rather that the rhythmic and metric nexibili1y of this music were 1reated as such, rather than as syncopation, and that the phrasing and articulation more closely resembled lhe vocal nature of pieces such as Dufay's splendid Vergi11e be/la and lhe Benedictus by Isaac. This new CD recording caprures the atmosphere of chamber music making at the Sruugart Court. Srudy has shown that the music here was significantly influenced by the notable art and cullure of France and Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The original two-voice sketches of the eigh, Co11trada11se parisie1111es and the Balleni di Venezia, provide ample material for this ensemble's creative talents. In particular, the "piccolo" rwitterings of nimble-fingered virtuoso Mauhias Maute cheerfully animate Le Poivre and Les Sep1 Saws of the contradanses. As to be expected, lhe more formal Balleui. intended for professional dancers, were not always toe-rapping settings. but throughout these dances, there were both elements of courtly elegance and bacchanalian revelry. The five movements of Sebastiano Bodino's Trio Sonata E flat major are miniature gems. Theodor Schwanzkopffs Chaco1111e, an ever-popular form, kindly does not strain one's endurance of repetitions, particularly with Lhe added embellishments. At times, Maute's expressive pitch-bending solo recorder work challenges the ear's tolerance for tuning, but still his musical intentions are clear, and one can be truly thankful for having been introduced to a previously long-lost repertoire. Matthias Maute, who founded the ensemble in.Germany in 1986, DECEMBER i 2004 - FURUARY 7 2005
