.... 1101sccw \ DISCOVERIES, WHOLENOTE'S CD FORUM DISCoveriesfeatures a mixture of new and recent recordings provided by the record producers and distributors along iyith interesting gems unearthed by our eclectic team of reviewers . and timely repeats of earlier notices that relate to current concert events. In October, examples of this latter category include CDs by two British Columbian groups - the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and Musica lntima - who, together, will make their Glenn Gould Studio debut on October 28. Jaz;z, singer Theresa Tova will also make a stop at the Top 0' the Senator on October 19 on her way from Festival Vivace in Michigan to dates in Holland and France. EARLY, CLASSICAL and CONTEMPORARY MUSIC Essential Tallis Scholars ' The Tallis Scholars; Peter Phillips Gimell CDGIM 201 nationality or historical pronunciation, one cannot overlook their innate musicality, which brings us a gene,rous (over 2 1/2 hours of music) and excellent introduction to Renaissance sacred music sung by the finest exponents of this repertoire. Frank Nakashima; Haydn Concertos Pacific Baroque Orchestra Marc Destrube, Leader and Violin Soloist Ah!1a ACD2 2287 While in mosrissues classicatmusic (in its various guises) receives the lion's share of attention in these pages, this month jaz;z, has really come into its own. I ./i.nd particularly interesting the preponderance of jaz;z, guitarists in what seems to be a bumper crop this season, including our three "Discs of the Month". I also find it curious that while only one disc is devoted to his music, three revie.ws mention one of my favourite larger-than-life jaz;z, characters, Fats Waller. Among the nine jazz titles covered you 'IL notice several familiar labels like Concord and Canadian success story Sackvillf!, but also worthy of note is an active newcomer from Quebec, Effendi, and several independent releases. Of course this is an important part of our mandate at DISCoveries - to bring your attention to local and Canadian artists and artistic endeavours that might otherwise go unnoticed. We welcome your feedback and invite submissions. Catalogues, review copies of CDs and comments should be sent to: WholeNote, Suite 503 - 720 Bathurst St. Toronto ON M5S 2R4. We also welcome your input via our website, www.thewholenote.com. David Olds Editor, DISCoveries This 2-CD collection celebrates the 30th annive,rsary of the Tallis ' Scholars and is a weritable .. goldmine of Renaisfance ·choral polyphony. The beautifully-recorded Miserere mei by Allegri, the contrasting 8-part ·sonorities of Victoria's Ave Maria a'nd C.recquillor;i' s Pater peccavi, Josquin's masterful Praeter rerum seriem, the austere simplicity of Isaac's Tota pulchra es, the smoothly-shafJed phrases ofEgo flos campi by Clemens non Papa, and the almost-Baroque quality of Lassus' Alma fedemptoris mqter and Salve Regina offer' mo'Te musical satisfactiori than most of us could ask for or im'.agine. . There is also Brumel's extraordinary Gloria in 12 parts', from the "Missa et ecce terrae motus", which is definitely one of the most remarkable compqsifions of all time. Sheppard's Media vita must certainly be the most substantial composition of early 16th century England. It achieves incredible dramatic expression through extreme vocal .range and the music's fabulously .rich sonority and complexity. While the Tallis Scholars do not attempt to make distinctions of The violin concertos of Joseph Haydn - along with those of contemporary Jean-Marie Leclair - are unjustly overlooked gems of the genre. They combine the wjt and simple charm of mµsic of the mid to late 18th century, with a spontaneously viituosic spirit. The new cp of Haydn concertos from Pacific Baroque Orchestra, on original instruments, features the talents ofv.iolinist Marc Destrube, the founder of the orchestra. His bold and daring sofo playing recommends this disc. In the three concertos, all written in the early l,760s, the solo violin ·weaves in and out of the string orchestra textur,e, at times joining the stream, then playing elaborate variations on the thematic material. As Ron Rabin points out in the informative liner notes, there are definite connections between these pieces and Haydn's early sinfonia concertante symphonies ("Le Midi"' and "Le Matin"). The solo pe.rformances on the disc are poised RECORDS LIMITED MIKROKOSMOS 314 Churchill Ave Toronto, Onta.rlo MZ,R_ 1.E7 Canada Tel: . (1) '416-ZZ4-1956 Fax: (1) 416-224-2964 www.mikrokosmos.com We buy your classical LP collection (classical, such as Beethov,en, Mozart, Stockhausen) we traveJ1 . '~i')~where f o 'r good collection 52 www.thewholenote.com October 1 - November 7 2003
and polished. My one criticism·is of a certain lack of attention tQ detail in the orchestral pjayipg.The wonder of the music qf ,H.aydn 'i~ in the details and, to my .eat; lh~ trills, turns and.other ci.lrly:cue~ ar~ played in a lacklustre fashio,n; robbing the m.u~ic of it.s sheef!. :Ill, the end, tho.ugh, Destrube's.playing carries the day afid makes a strong .argument for a more frequent in~ clusion of these pieces on concert programs - less· Ifr~ch, '.rti-o(.~ Haydn! · _ ,· Larry Beckwith (originally published in December 2002)' Concert.•Note: Marc Destrube and t~e Pacific Baroque Orchestra join forces with Musica lntima to perform at Glenn Gould Studio in the OnStage series Tuesday October 28 at 8:00. The conceri includes music of Part and Sisask, Bach, Morloch and Vivaldi. Invocation Muska Iritima ATMA ACD 22284. has excellent intonation, agility and eri~erilble: I was especially taken ~it~ the bright, s~immering effect in Nystedfs 0 Crux used to heighten the text · '~more radiant than t~estars;· ~ · · · . . _. - ' Dianne Wells ·. /. ·:· . (exre~.te~ from a review · . originally published in . , April 2002) Concert 'Note: Musi ca Inti ma jo,i~s : the, '. facific Baroque Orchestra at Glenn Gould Studio qi(.'{J-
