Volume 29 Issue 2 | October & November 2023

the musical genius of

the musical genius of C.P.E. Bach and Keith Jarrett, rewarding listeners with the rare combination of brilliance from both composer and interpreter. Matthew Whitfield Michael Stimpson – Recorded Works Various Artists Various Labels (michaelstimpson.co.uk) ! In the history of music sometimes important composers’ reputations can be diminished due to mean-spiritedness, through ignorance or due to that mysterious phenomenon called neglect. The British composer Michael Stimpson’s reputation seems to have taken an unfortunate hit due to a combination of both latter reasons. This is a travesty for a composer known for lofty ideas, audacious compositions and the sheer breadth of his library of written works. Moreover, Stimpson’s work has been performed over the years by some of the finest European ensembles. To name a few: the Philharmonia Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of London Choir, the Allegri and Maggini String Quartets, and a plethora of stellar virtuoso instrumentalists and singers. It is still never too late to catch up with a composer who stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest who have put pen to staved paper. And what better occasion than to celebrate Stimpson’s 75th birthday with Recorded Works, a long-overdue 7CD compendium, each with superbly written liner notes; a box including of some of his most celebrated compositions, with inspired performances by some of the finest artists of this generation. While Stimpson belongs to our 20th/21st-century era his voice sweeps across eras like a proverbial wind across the European soundscape, gathering momentum and musical voices from the past (Berg, Webern and others come to mind) heralding a breathtaking future for contemporary British music held aloft by artists and pedagogues across disciplines – from poetry to palaeontology and anthropology. Everywhere Stimpson allows his febrile brain to be immersed into stories of extraordinary human import, then turning his attention to transforming the ideas and great narratives of phenomena, and of extraordinary people – scientists, sportsmen and artists alike – who have done extraordinary things. Using his own unique brain Stimpson has transformed the lives and works of his subjects (and their unique achievements) into a one-man museum of the art history of our time. The recordings presented in this boxed set range from works for small ensembles, featuring piano and strings, large-scale works of symphonic proportions and operatic works. One of the most remarkable aspects of Stimpson’s being able to express his art and shape his craftsmanship to such a degree is the fact that he does it all not only being – like Beethoven – profoundly deaf, but he is also practically blind like the legendary British neurologist Oliver Sacks. It would seem as if – to compensate – Stimpson’s brain has afforded him rare insights into humanity. Like both historic figures, Stimpson has turned his disability to great artistic advantage. In an extraordinary twist of fate, for instance, the composer has a finely tuned sensibility for stringed instruments enabling him to recreate such human emotions as sorrow, anguish and unfettered joy in a truly vivid manner. This ability is superbly displayed in String Quartet No 1 (Robben Island) in which Stimpson tells the story of Nelson Mandela and the collapse of apartheid. The way Stimpson overcomes hearing impairment is truly remarkable. The Dylan song cycle for baritone and harp is utterly breathtaking as Stimpson turns the dense lyricism of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ poetry into a poetic work all its own, with the highly articulated baritone voice of Roderick Williams alongside the harp of Sioned Williams. Stimpson’s gift for the epic is manifest in the rugged elegance of his opera, Jesse Owens and in the tone poem, Age of Wonders, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin. Stimpson’s shorter works: Silvered Light for choir and orchestra and the trio Reflections (elsewhere in this set) are no less seductive. Raul da Gama Evenings at the Village Gate John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy Impulse BOO3784-02 (impulserecords.com) ! One of the avatars in the transition to free jazz, multi-reedist Eric Dolphy died tragically at 36 in 1964. Besides his solo records, collaborations with Charles Mingus and John Coltrane are particularly prized. This hitherto unknown live date adds another significant session to the mere four discs available from Coltrane/Dolphy groups. Recorded without forethought in 1961 to test a new mike with the New York club’s sound system, this CD captures a typical set including Coltrane’s ostensible hit My Favourite Things, all featuring extensive improvising. The disc is doubly relevant since the configuration – Coltrane on tenor/soprano saxophones, pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones and both Art Davis and Reggie Workman on basses – was rarely recorded. Although the bassists with powerful rhythmic pumps and strums and Jones’ distinctive splatter and pops are featured on the extended Africa, crucially it’s Dolphy who gets protracted solo space. Whether its sax triple tonguing and spetrofluctuation on Africa, looping chalumeau bass clarinet patterns on Greensleeves or squealing skyscraper peeps on Favourite Things, Dolphy usually solos first. Coltrane follows with characteristic multiphonics, intense treble soprano saxophone runs, and with Tyner’s astute comping and tune elaboration and obbligatos from Dolphy, always states and restates the tunes’ characteristic vamps and head. Adding up its virtues, Evenings At The Village Gate is striking because it presents different, longer versions of Coltrane group classics, features a rarely recorded ensemble and most importantly, captures more precious instances of Dolphy’s ever-evolving skills. Ken Waxman Volume 28 Issue 6 58 Affetti Amorosi Bud Roach, tenor/ theorbo 58 Worship in a Time of Plague Capella Intima, Gallery Players of Niagara Volume 29 Issue 1 37 Portrait Ofra Harnoy & Mike Herriott 48 Volume 2 - Generational The Nimmons Tribute In This Issue 56 Iridescence Frédéric Lambert & Ali Kian Yazdanfar 57 Woven Lights Vito Palumbo What we're listening to this month: 59 Art Choral Vol.4 - Classique Ensemble ArtChoral 59 At First Light Exultate Chamber Singers 61 Anguille sous roche Les Voix humaines 62 Mozart: Piano Sonatas Vol.4 Orli Shaham 63 Lyric Pieces Sarah Silverman 64 Mahler: Symphony No. 5 Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Rafael Payare 66 Shadow & Light: Canadian Double Concertos Marc Djokic, Christina Petrowska Quilico, Sinfonia Toronto 66 A Village of Landscapes Sébastien Malette 66 Palms Upward Graham Campbell 66 David Jaeger Chamber Works for Viola Carol Gimbel, Cullan Bryant, Marina Poplavskaya 68 Density 2036 Parts VI-VIII Claire Chase 69 BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra Reynaliz Herrera; Ideas; Not Theories 69 Le Voyage Immobile / The Still Journey Denis Levaillant 70 IMMIGRANT Fuat Tuaç 78 | October & November 2023 thewholenote.com

An agency of the Government of Ontario Un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE Directed by French-Italian violinist Emmanuel Resche-Caserta Explore the rich tapestry of French and Italian baroque styles as they intertwine in perfect harmony. Oct 13–15, 2023 Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre CHORAL KALEIDOSCOPE Tafelmusik Chamber Choir & Orchestra, directed by Ivars Taurins 17th- and 18th-century European choral music— from the breathtaking originality of Monteverdi to the luminosity of Bach. Nov 17–19, 2023 Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre Full season tickets are on sale now at tafelmusik.org