Philip Glass had slipped
off my radar of late, that is until I popped the five discs included
in Philip on Film (Nonesuch 79660-2) into the CD player last
weekend. The genius of this often maligned composer came rushing out
of the woven glass-and-kevlar speakers in an exhilarating whirlwind
of string-driven sound—well, OK, the cut was "The Storm,"
from the 1999 soundtrack to filmmaker Tod Browning's Dracula (performed
by the Kronos Quartet). But that's only one of the surprises that lay
in wait on this quite remarkable collection of modern film music.
It's easy to dismiss Glass—who
the Rough Guide to Classical Music has hailed as "the most
famous and financially successful serious composer alive"—and
the subtle charm of his work. Too modern. Too American. Too minimalist.
Too many arpeggios. Too commercial. There is, after all, an almost mechanical
quality to his music: In a nod toward Andy Warhol's factory (in which
the legendary pop artist employed assistants to churn out his famous
prints), Glass is credited as the first composer to use production-line
techniques and electronic sampling to hasten his composition projects.
And then there are all those gosh darned arpeggios.
Yet, on track after track,
Glass' filmworks—extended mini-opuses that buck the stilted brevity
that marks most movie scores—absolutely fill the room with gorgeous
melodies and lush soundscapes. The five CDs—devoted to Koyaanisqatsi;
Powaqqatsi; Dracula; selections from La Belle Et La Béte;
and music from Anima Mundi, Kundun, Mishima, The Secret Agent, The
Thin Blue Line, plus new scores for The Man in the Bath and
Diaspora, and an unreleased recording of Façades—barely
scratch the surface of Glass' film oeuvre, which has ranged from A
Brief History of Time to The Truman Show.
And if you don't think that
Glass—a Juilliard-trained violinist—has a real love of and
talent for writing stirring compositions for authentic stringed instruments,
give a listen to the wistful melodies on the three selections from The
Secret Agent (from Christopher Hampton's little known 1996 thriller
about political terrorism) performed here with great sensitivity by
the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Philip Glass? Reconsider
him.
Tango
Brasileiro: 20th Century Brazilian Classics;
Cello Trio: Marcio Carneiro, Peter Dauelberg, and Matias de Oliveira
Pinto, cellos. (Piranha 1578)
Two Brazilians and a German
walk into a recording studio . . . hey, no joke, in a world saturated
with tango music, this is one of the best. Velvety tones? The Brazilian-German
Cello Trio have those in spades. Elegant, lyrical melodies? Uh-huh.
A flair for the dance? This trio hasn't lost that either. Just fin-de-siecle
salon music (waltzes and tangos) from Ernesto Nazareth (originator of
the Brazilian tango and some argue of the tango itself), Heitor Villa-Lobos,
and Jaimie M. Zenamon—no tricks, no gimmicks. (Oh and by the way,
the two Germans live in Brazil, the Brazilian lives in Germany—no
joke.)
—Greg
Cahill
Tchaikovsky;
St. Lawrence String Quartet: Geoff Nuttal and Larry Shiffman, violins,
Lesley Robertson, viola, Marina Hoover, cello. (EMI Classics 7243 5
57144 2 8)
Four Canadians went to Stanford
. . . Oh, all right, we’ve used that setup already. Although the
St. Lawrence quartet, now ensemble in residence at Stanford University,
began playing together in Toronto in 1989, this is only its second recording.
The first, released to much acclaim in 1999, featured Schumann's first
and third quartets. This disc includes Tchaikovsky's first and third.
(Hmmm, do I see a pattern?) The playing is cohesive, expressive, and
first rate. The players deliver the stately themes of the Quartet in
D Major (Op. 11) with elegance and style. Russian folk song and dance
influences are deftly interposed with a dour funereal sensibility in
the Quartet in E Flat Minor (Op. 30). Both are masterful works, masterfully
played.
—Elisa
M. Welch
Stéphane
Grappelli: Live at the Cambridge Folk Festival;
Stéphane Grappelli, violin, with the Martin Taylor trio, and
the Diz Disley Trio. (Fuel 2000 302 061 059 2)
This disc remained in the
rotation on my five-disc player for quite some time before I heard enough
of Stéphane Grappelli’s fiddling (not that I'd ever tire
of it). But somehow I kept wandering within earshot during one of the
longer guitar solos, well played by Martin Taylor (at the 1983 festival)
or Diz Disley (at the 1973 event). I kept wondering, "Where the
heck is Stéphane?" Once I sat down and concentrated on this
recording, though, it became evident that he was certainly there, in
the whimsically misleading intros, the delightful opening theme statements,
and the solos, peppered with sprightly harmonic musings. The recording
quality is a bit dicey on the 1973 concert, technology being what it
was, and Diz Disley had the peculiar habit of scatting along with himself
on his solos. Also, on the 1983 concert, one tune is misidentified on
the liner notes: The track listed as "I'm in the Mood for Love"
is, in fact, a Django Reinhardt composition called "Are You in
the Mood?" ("I’m sure you are!" Grappelli quips.)
Indeed, and it’s a joy to listen.
—Elisa
M. Welch
Vivaldi:
Stabat Mater, Nisi Dominus, Longe mala; David
Daniels, countertenor, Europa Galante (with Fabio Biondi, violin, viola
d’amore, Lorenzo Colitto, violin, Ernesto Braucher, viola, Maurizio
Naddeo, cello, Sergio Ciomei, organ, Francisco Jose Montero, violone,
Ugo Nastrucci, theorbo), Fabio Biondi, conductor. (Virgin Veritas 7243.5.45474.2.3)
The latest in a series of
stunning Baroque recordings by music director Fabio Biondi, a fine period
violinist, unites acclaimed interpreters of Baroque music Europa Galante
(all on period instruments) with American countertenor David Daniels
for a trio of exceptionally beautiful sacred works. The result is a
sublime rendering of the composer’s plaintive Stabat Mater
(possibly Vivaldi's first sacred work, commissioned in 1711 for the
Feast of Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary), Nisi Dominus, and
Longe mala, umbrae, terrores. The three works were performed
during Vivaldi's lifetime by either castrati, female contraltos, or
countertenors. Daniels, known for the natural, sensual quality of his
vocals, displays an especially lyrical, sometimes unearthly voice that
lends these works considerable power. The warmly colored pieces also
feature some quite demanding string parts. Liner note writer Toussaint
Loviko aptly describes the Cum dederit delictis suis somnum of
the Nisi Dominus as "a hypnotic siciliana in which the voice
floats over a bed of strange sonorities, the high strings being veiled
by piombi, or lead mutes, and thrown into relief by the suppression
of the lower strings." The effect, he rightly adds, is more "an
evocation of a vale of tears than a serene prayer."
—Greg
Cahill
Airs
Baroque Francais, Patricia Petibon, soprano,
Les Folies Françoises, Patrick Cohën, music director. (Virgin
Veritas 24354-54812)
On the secular side and
just in time for spring comes this seductive collection of French arias,
an idiom that got its start in 1673 with Jean-Baptiste Lully and librettist
Philippe Quinault's Cadmus et Hermione. French opera soon developed
a distinctive recitative style, but failed to silence critics for centuries
who charged that the language of love is unsuited to melody. Say what
you will, this marvelously expressive collection bristles with energy
as angelic soprano Patricia Petibon lends her crystal clear voice to
works by Lully, Rameau, Charpentier, and Grandval, all set admirably
to accompaniment by the period-instrument-equipped Baroque orchestra
Les Folies Françoises under the baton of violinist Patrick Cohën.
An interesting diversion for Baroque music fans. Caveat emptor: While
strings dominate these arrangements, Les Folies Françoises gets
a lot of mileage out of just a pair of trumpets. Still, it's easy to
fall under the sprightly Petibon's spell. And, hey, it’s spring—put
those heavy Wagner CDs back on the shelf.
—Greg
Cahill
The
"Big Tiger" Roars Again (part 2);
Benny Martin, fiddle, eight-string fiddle, guitar; John Hartford, fiddle,
banjo; Buddy Spicher, fiddle, viola; Ricky Skaggs, fiddle; and many
others. (OMS Records OMS 25080)
This one is a bit, er, strange,
but it grows on you. Benny Martin was a big man, a country music legend,
a successful songwriter and performer, and one of John Hartford's heroes.
(Both gentlemen passed away last year.) This disc features nine songs
sung by Benny and an impressive roster of guest artists: Hartford, Crystal
Gayle, Alison Krauss, and Kitty Wells (uncredited in the liner notes,
but her name appears on a sticker added to the box and there's no mistaking
her voice). Benny Martin's own singing is, well, also rather distinctive.
And a little weird. He has a deep, gravelly, soulful voice, replete
with well-placed high-pitched yelps that defy description. His fiddling
also pushes several envelopes: At times he falls back on the same riffs
a bit too frequently, but then he'll rip out a fascinating flurry of
tones, particularly on the eight-string fiddle, that'll knock your socks
off. Two instrumental tracks, one with the Reno brothers and another
with Ricky Skaggs, complete this intriguing sampler. Good fun!
—Elisa
M. Welch
Bach:
7 Harpsichord Concertos with the Triple Concerto
(BMV 1044); Richard Egarr, harpsichord, the Academy of Ancient Music
with director and violinist Andrew Manze. (Harmonia Mundi 907283.84)
The award-winning duo of
Richard Egarr and Andrew Manze reunites for a vivacious display of Bach
at his most Baroque and one could argue at both his most ornate and
his most melodic. The centerpiece is the awesome Triple Concerto in
A Minor for flute, violin, and harpsichord, featuring a dizzying Allegro
fueled by a flurry of harpsichord notes, an elegant Adagio ma non
tanto e dolce marked by an intricate slow dance interweaving the
three solo instruments, and closing with a Tempo di alla breve
that pulsates with sensuality. Manze and Egarr—simply one of the
richest partnerships in classical music.
—Greg
Cahill
Johannes
Brahms; Eroica Trio: Adela Peña, violin,
Sara Sant’Ambrogio, violoncello, Erika Nickrenz, piano. (Angel
Records CDC 7243 57199 2 8)
The Eroica Trio's latest
release demonstrates the players' firm command of the Romantic idiom.
The disc features Brahms' first two piano trios, No. 1 in B Major (Op.
8) and No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87, and two shorter piano works arranged
for trio by cellist Sant'Ambrogio: Hungarian Dance No. 6 and the well-known
Wiegenleid (Lullaby). The string playing is appropriately lush, and
all three players make excellent use of dynamics, especially in the
low rumblings that percolate upward in the B Major's third movement.
The Hungarian Dance is a fun flashy little showpiece, nicely contrasted
by the serene if perhaps overplayed Wiegenlied. The recording is full
of emotion and well worth a listen.
—Elisa
M. Welch
