DISCS OF THE MONTHnaked, dry branches of the winter trees beingslapped together by an unforgiving wind.Theresa Tova sings each compositionwith great feeling and moody dysphoria,capturing the intent of the lyric perfectly,rendering it unnecessary to understand Yiddishto experience this eclectic musical journey.The CD is enhanced by strong performancesfrom Jane Bunnett on flute, KellyJefferson on tenor saxophone, Artie Roth onbass, the always exceptional and versatileDaniel Barnes on drums and Brian Katz (oneand the same from "Pashtes") on acousticand electric guitars."Pashtes/Simplicity" is a delight. Praguebornvocalist Lenka Lichtenberg has a lovely,confectionary, gamin-like quality. Hersoprano voice sails above and around thenotes with perfect control, weaving a luminousmystical web. She is in the midst of anamazingly diverse career, including singingas a member of the wildly successful "Sistersof Sheynville" and also performing as acantor at various functions. Brian Katz has asumptuous guitar sound, full of facile runsand lush harmonics. The material on "Pashtes"has been composed entirely by Lichtenbergand arranged by Katz, who havebeen performing and collaborating togethersince 2001. Many of the plaintive melodieson "Pashtes" have an undercurrent of pulsingLatin rhythms that seem to work symbioticallywith the poetry of the iconic PolishbornYiddish poet, Simcha Simchovitch.Like Theresa Tova, Katz and Lichtenberghave surrounded themselves with local musiciansof the highest order, including theextraordinary George Koller on bass, ErnieToller on soprano sax, the dexterous AlanHetherington on a whole mess of multiethnicpercussion and the uber-talented SashaLuminsky on accordion. Although forgedfirmly in the tradition, this recording has avery contemporary feel that will leave youuplifted and spiritually refreshed - just likea great piece of strudel and a "glass tea " .Lesley Mitchell-ClarkeShostakovich - String Quartets 3, 7 & 8St. Lawrence String QuartetEMI 3 59956 2Though Shostakovich came to the string quartetmedium relatively late in his career(1938) the resulting cycle of fifteen quartetsproved to be as astounding and powerful ashis corresponding number of symphonies.Unrestrained and intimate, the quartets forma harrowing mirror of the unimaginable tragediesand upheavals of Soviet culture in astate of continual crisis.The strong narrative element of thesehyper emotional scores is made explicit in thesuppressed sub-titles of the Third Quartet,composed in 1946 under the shadow of yetanother onslaught of Stalinist purges. TheSeventh and Eighth quartets both date from1960. The Seventh, the shortest of Shostakovich'squartets, is ostensibly an abstract work,though its often eerie quality and a veiledallusion to the composer's Fifth Symphony (atheme which moreover recurs in the Eighthquartet) suggest otherwise. The magnificentEighth, composed in an astounding three daysin the still devastated city of Dresden, is ashattering reflection on the Second WorldWar and is replete with coded autobiographicalelements, including the composer' s musicalsignature on the notes DSCH (D , E-flat,C, B).The St Lawrence Quartet's performancesare consistently powerful, tonally variegated,and impeccably moulded. The intensity ofthe playing is consistently persuasive, attimes rivalling the violent, gun-to-one's-headdesperation of the classic Borodin quartetrecordings of these works. The recordedsound is excellent throughout.Daniel FoleyConcert notes: Music Toronto presents theSt. Lawrence Quartet with pianist Wu Hanand cellist David Finckel in music by Shostakovich,Jonathan Berger and Anton Arenskyon November 28 and the Vermeer Quartetperforming Shostakovich's String QuartetNo. 8 on December 8.
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