Volume 8 Issue 3 - November 2002

LeBlanc, but it is the

LeBlanc, but it is the four duets that make this disc so compelling. They include some of Handel's most passionate vocal writing. The joyful Caro! Bella! and Scherzano sul tuo volto sparkle with stylish ornaments and phrasing, while in the heartbreaking lo t 'abbraccio the vocal lines interweave to create entrancing harmonies. Taylor and LeBlanc are ideally matched. Strikingly different in timbre, though close in tessitura, their voices blend magnificently. LeBlanc shapes each note and phrase beautifully, suggesting layers of meaning. In the coloratura passages she is refreshingly light, bright and focused. Taylor is masterful at creating psychological portraits, and constantly reminds us, with his richly expressive tone and breathtaking long lines, that, in Handel, love is never what it seems. Pamela Marg/es Concert notes: Suzie LeBlanc gives a recital with Stephen Stubbs and Alexander Weimann for The Toronto Consort ·on Nov. 8 & 9. Daniel Taylor sings works by Tave11er and Hatzis with The Elmer lseler Singers, Amadeus Choir and Tafelmusik under conductor Lydia Adams at St. Michael's Cathedral on Tuesday, November 19. December 6 at 7:30 Taylor is featured in the Elmer lse(er Singers' production of Handel's Messiah at St. James' Cathedral. LeBlanc sings with Red Priest on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 8:00 at the Glenn Gould Studio. Taylor and LeBlanc peiform in Bach's Mass in b minor with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir under conductor Noel Edison on April 18 at St. James' Cathedral. "double-stop" on stringed instruments and get some harmony, but not on wind instruments. It requires great skill on the baroque flute to do the required bouncing around between melodic lines to get a real polyphonic effect. Barthold Kuijken, using four different period instruments in this recording, is a player who can do this and more. The Bach Solo pour la flute traversiere, BWV 1013 is familiar in style. Broken chords, alternating melodic lines ("fake polyphony"), and chords written into the themes are the devices, but it's all wonderful music that emerges from the compositional trickery. Bach was probably in fluenced by the orchestra at the Oresden, court where the ·famous French flautist, Buffardin, was resident along with his young student, Quaniz. Perhaps that is why BWV 1013 has a French title in the manuscript. Another member of the Dresden court was the great lutenist, Leopold Weiss. Following on a precedent set by Quantz, Kuijken has arranged a suite of Weiss' lute pieces for solo flute . The other tracks include: Vivaldi - Springtime (arranged for flute solo by Jean-Jacques "Back-to-Nature" Rousseau!); C.P.E. Bach - three movements: Poco adagio (mysterious), Allegro (sounds like dad), and Allegro (almost romantic);. three pieces by Hotteterre and finally, a funfilled set of variations on a charmingly pastoral theme by Fisher. Den Ciul Concert note: Baroque Music Beside the Grange presents Barthold Kuijken in a gala solo recital at Trinity-St. Paul's on November 10, at 7:30. to the dark Erlkonig, composed in Lemieux; John Tessier; the same year. Both of these sym- NathanBerg phonies contrast a melody and lyri- La Chapelle de Quebec; cism reminiscent of Mozart, with Les Violons du Roy; the more tumultuous passages found Bernard Labadie in the symphonies of Beethoven. For Dorian DOR-90310 example, in Symphony No.3 in D major, the winds and horns begin a lively jaunt, which is then taken up robustly by the strings. Similarly, in Symphony No.2 in Bb major, the music begins with sounds reminiscent of birds in the forest, but quickly turns to a thunderous allegro vivace. Th,e second movements of these two symphonies are sweet and tuneful: in the second symphony set as theme anci variations, in the third light as air dance rhythms. While I am always a bit leery of "re-fin- · both the third movements are titled ished" Mozart Requiem scores. I "minuets", they have the peasant- have gotten quite used to the tradilike qualities of the land I er, sand- tional Siissmayr completion. Howwiching trio sections light and me- ever, this one, by Robert D. Levin, Jodie. In both finales , Pinchas is the most fnteresting of the lot. By Zukerman takes the reins of an or- a ciose study of Siissmayr's owi1 chestra that flies along at a brilliant works and Siissmayr's other Mozart and breath-taking pace. completions his compositional quirks Also featured on this CD is have been identified and replaced another y·outhful Schubert compo- with cadences more typical of sition: the Rondo in A major for violin Mozart. Sections of Mozart's Mass and orchestra. Zukerman performs in C-minor were used as guides. The this bright, exuberant and playful result still sounds quite familiar to piece beautifully, with solid those of us who have heard and sung accompaniment from this classical- this work many times. sized orchestra. Delightful, melodic, This is a live recording but the baland joyful music to take sweet ance between the various vocal and pleasure in! instrumental sections is excellent. Dianne Wells What comes through is the intensity of the uncut, unedited, straight Concert note: Pinchas Zukerman through - beginning to end.,emotional and the NACO peiform Schubert's impact that makes this performance Symphony No.3, Beethoven's Violin astonishing. The date was 20 Septeq1- Concerto and a new work for violin ber 2001 and it is clear that the cragand orchestra by Gary Kulesha at edy of Sep(ember 11th was a pow- Roy Thomson Hall on November 20. erful influence here. The soloists: Karina Gauvin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, John Mozart: Requiem, K.626 Revised and completed by Robert D. Levin Karina Gauvin; Marie-Nicole Tessier, and Nathan Berg are all at their best. The La Chapelle de Quebec is substantial without any heaviness (aided by the lighter or~ Solo pour la flute traversiere Barthold Kuijken Accent ACC 20144 Baroque composers had a remarkable ability to write polyphony for a solo voiced, melodic. instrument. The best known examples of this are, of course, the unaccompanied sonatas and partitas of J.S. Bach for violin and his suites for 'cello. One can 52 Schubert - Zukerman National Arts Centre Orchestra; Pinchas Zukerman CBC SMCD 5221 At the age of eighteen, Franz Schubert composed the two symphonies on this disc. This repertoire gives us the impression of a happy and carefree young lad, quite in contrast www.thewholenote.com / Arbiter Artifact Attacca Bridge CRI Donemus Metier Mode Montaigne NM Classics New Albion New World Tall Poppies

··-···----····-···-·······--···- ····· ···-··--·----··[-----·-·-·--------- chestratiqn). Bernard Labadie and Les Violons du Roy prove once again that they rank with the best anywhere. There is another rec_ording of the Le1 vi~ revision with Martin Pearlman s Boston Baroque (Telarc CD- 80410). The Les Violons performance is more subtle, more sensitive and clearer. My biggest problem with this work is that performances tend to get muddy. Labadie has wonderful concrol oyer the ensemble. from delicate to intense. This is a remarkable performance of a familiar work in a new revision that keeps its roots in the past ·and gives us solace in the present. , Den Ciul Concert note: Bernard Labadie conducts the Toronto Symphony in an all-Mozart program with baritone Russell Braun at Roy Thomson Hall on November 21 and 23 and at the George Weston Recital Hall on the afternoon of November 24. Nmth 44 Vocal Ensemble presents A Remembrance Day Concert including Mozart's Requiem with Marjorie Sparks, Linda Maguire, Albert Greer and Trevor Bowes at Runnymede United Church Nov. 9. Fritz Kreisler James Ehnes; Eduard Laurel Analekta Fleur de lys FL 23159 Fritz Kreisler was one of the greatest violinists of the twentieth century, and he wrote these delightful works to provide repertoire for his hugely popular recitals. When he died in 1962~ he left many extraordin.ary rec.ordings which testify to the sophisticated style that Menuhin described as "subtle emphasis, innuendo, dropped hints". Canadian violinist James Ehnes brings his own considerabl!'!·elegance to these much-recorded works. He has a full arsenal of colourful bowstrokes and a thrilling range of vibrato. His subtle touch gives an unaffected naturalness to the dazzling technical demands. Above all, he has the glowing sound. that Kreisler treasured. Ehnes is incisive in the fearsome cadenza of Kreisler's arrangement of Tartini's The Devil's Trill, and smooth in the lyrical double stops of Caprice viennois. He includes original compositions like the inuch loved and often recorded, Liebesfreud and Liebesleid, as well as works written "in the style of' various baroque composers. He comes up with a few unusual items, inducting the thrilling ;,md, for Kreisler (who didn't have much use fot modernism), harmonically adventurous Recitative and Scherzo for violin solo. In homage to Kreisler's own abilities as a pianist, -he includes his own performance of Petite Valse for piano solo. .Eduard Laurel provides very fine piano accompaniment. Booklet notes by the ubiquitous Jacques-Andre Houle' are excellent, and Analekta's sound is clear and focused. Pamela Margles Vlolons du mon d~ v i 0 I i n 8 0 r t b ~ LU 6 p I d . p US .WOl" S DY , M?rrico~e, Chopin, Hqlst,.Pbpper, Dompierre, 11We1ss./T~iele, ~ru,beck, Wiren, Kreisler,, $arasate. ..., Dubeau s weH -dnll.e~ ba~d p!ayed with agiljty, power, a nicely weighted sound and a fierce JOY m the doin9 ... 11 · > ~-------___:_ __._:L::o:.::.s:.:!.A~hg~e~les TJmes, USA LISZT . Trmiscriptions ~ 13ach, (Wagner ~ Concert notes: James Ehnes perwbe~usir aTqamber 217 Danforth Ave. (416) 406-1641 Newand Used Classical and Jazz CDs . ·(l':. . ((/• 1 ' Sheet Music, t; - · Strings, Reeds .() . Gifts and · ) ~ c'u Giff Ceilificates ~J. ~ Used Books '.'Al~ in L~fe~re the hero. (..:l Lefevre gave us as aµthQritative, !gnit~d, stylish and thought-through a performance as one can magme." · · . . Los Angeles Times, USA ece1ve information about new releases: journal@arialekta.com ~~ ~~~/o.PPMt•nt mus1cactlon Canada ~~:;:~H· IGN-Pa•lsno so-2019 Quebec gg www.thewholenote.com 53