96 GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 gramophone.co.uk
tooobviouslylinkedtothefactthatthe
composerwasinahurrytofinishthe
scorebeforehediedin1968.Leifscould
beverysophisticated,let’snotforget,even
ifhewasconsciouslytryingtoavoid
metropolitan,Europeansheenhere.
Speakingofwhich,theIceland
SymphonyOrchestra(augmentedby
plentyofnaturalpercussion)channelthe
earthinessandedginessthatusedtobea
morecentralelementofitssoundbefore
theopeningoftheHarpaConcertHall
(whichthepreviousinstalmentpre-dates),
whiletheScholaCantorumandsoloistslet
youhearwhatastrugglethisconstantly
angularwritingis,buttothrillingeffect:
theyareevocativewhensinging,speaking,
shoutingandyodelling.Likeabarbecue,
you’remissingoutifyou’venever
experiencedthis,evenifitturnsout
nottobeyourparticularflagonofmead.
AndrewMellor
Lully
Deprofundis,LWV62.Diesirae,LWV64/i.
TeDeum,LWV55
SophieJunker,JudithvanWanroijsopsMatthias
Vidal,CyrilAuvitycountertensThibautLenaerts
tenAlainBuetbassNamurChamberChoir;
MillenniumOrchestra;CappellaMediterranea/
LeonardoGarcíaAlarcón
AlphaFALPHA444(83’• DDD• T/t)
Thesethree
ceremonial
grandmotetswere
includedinLully’s
publicationofassortedMotetsàdeuxchoeurs
delaChapelleduRoy(1684)buthadbeen
writtenfordifferentoccasionsovera
numberofyears.TheTeDeumwasfirst
performedonSeptember9,1677,inthe
chapelatFontainebleautocelebratethe
baptismofthecomposer’sowneldestson–
whosegodparentswereLouisXIVand
QueenMarie-Thérèse.Sixyearslater,
theDiesiraeandDeprofundiswereboth
performedatthefuneralofMarie-
ThérèseattheabbeyofSaint-Denison
September1,1683,althoughDeprofundis
hadalreadybeenusedaspartofthetests
forthenewsous-maîtresoftheroyalchapel
afewmonthsearlier.
RecordedinthechapelatVersailles,
thesethreeworksaredirectedbyLeonardo
GarcíaAlarcónwithvivacityandbold
colours.TheNamurChamberChoirare
full-bloodedindynamicillustrationsof
theDayofJudgement(Diesirae),extrovert
invocationsofpraise(TeDeum)and
contouredemotionalcontrastsdepicting
thedepthsofdespair(Deprofundis).The
choirfunctionintandemwiththe
‘petitchoeur’ofsixassertivesoloists–
contributionsfromhightenorsCyril
AuvityandMatthiasVidalandbassAlain
Buetareparticularlyeloquent.Double
theorbocontinuoplayersoftenoverplay
anddominatewhenaccompanyingthe
soloists,andtherebyclutterthetexture
inpassagesthatmighthaveconveyed
catharticserenity.TheMillennium
Orchestradisplaycrispswagger,
sentimentalexpressiveness,articulate
violins,fruityoboesandbassoons,and
splendidtrumpetsandthuddingtimpani,
asthepiecesvariouslydemand.
Notwithstandingmomentaryover-baked
mannerisms,Alarcón’sinterpretationsare
azestyalternativetothefinelyjudged
accountsbyLeConcertSpiritueland
HerveNiquet.DavidVickers
Selectedcomparison:
Niquet(NAXO) 8 554397/8(oas)or 8503229Martinsson
IchdenkeDein...,Op 100 a. IntoEternity,Op 103 a.
OpeningSounds,Op94.Tourdeforce,Op 95
aLisaLarssonsop
MalmöSymphonyOrchestra/ PaulMägi
BISFÍBIS2323(67’• DDD/DSD)Unlessonehappens
tobedealingwith
WolfgangRihm,
KaijaSaariahoor
SteveReich,it’sdifficulttosuppress
thesurgeofscepticismthatswiftly
accompaniesanopeningstatementona
CDbookletproclaimingthecomposerin
questiontobean‘internationallyregarded’
leadingfigure.RolfMartinsson–whohe?
Myhastilyconductedresearchyieldedvery
littleabouthiminGroveMusicOnline(or
DieMusikinGeschichteundGegenwart,the
German-languageequivalent).Tobefair,
thefullstatementinthebookletnotes
referstoMartinsson(b1956)as‘oneof
Sweden’sleadingcomposers’.However,
onestrugglestofindanythingamongthe
fourworkspresentedherethatwillelevate
Martinsson’smusicbeyondnationalor
regionalsignificance.
ThereisnodoubtingMartinsson’sgift
asanorchestrator.Hisabilitytocontrol,
combineandblendinstrumentalcolours
imaginativelyandcreativelyisevident
throughout.Thefanfare-likeOpening
Sounds,recallingthecomposer’searlier
concertovertureOpenMind,springsinto
actionwithbold-as-brasstrumpets,busy,
scurryingstringsandmoreharpglissandos
thanyou’llhearinaMetro-Goldwyn-
Mayermovieintro.Tourdeforce,withitsthunderous,percussion-heavyopening,is
fullofrawpoweranddramaticpresence.
Martinssonalsohasagiftfortext-setting,
asheardintheintenselyexpressiveInto
Eternity,whichfeaturesLisaLarsson’s
impressivelyhauntingsopranovoice.And
theorchestralsong-cycleIchdenkeDein...
isboundtogetherthroughthesubtleuseof
thematicinterplayanddevelopment.Yet,
despiteflashesoforiginality,Martinsson’s
musicremainsforthemostpartcaughtin
themusicalgesturesandclichésnotso
muchofthelastfindesièclebutoftheone
thatcamebeforeit.
OneofMartinsson’steachers,Brian
Ferneyhough,wouldsurelyqualifyasan
‘internationallyleading’figure,yetfrom
theevidencecontainedonthisrecording
anytraceoftheEnglishcomposer’s
influencevanishedalongtimeago.
Likemanycomposersofhisgeneration,
Martinsson’sriteofpassageinvolvedfirst
embracingthenexpungingthespectreof
modernismandatonality;butifthenet
resultisakindofwatered-downneo-
RomanticismconsistingofthreepartsJohn
WilliamsouttakesfromAttackoftheClones,
towhichhasbeenaddedonepartRichard
Strauss’sFourLastSongs,thengiveme
Ferneyhoughanyday.PwyllapSiônObrecht
AnonymousMariazart,vonedlerArt
BusnoisFortunadesperataObrechtMissa
Fortunadesperata.MissaMariazart
BeautyFarm
FraBernardoFbFB1905157(94’• DDD• T/t)The Fra Bernado label
is certainly fulfilling its
mission statement
to cover ‘white spots
on the map of early music’ with this new
release from Beauty Farm. Obrecht is
quite under-represented on disc and so this
recording of his Missa Fortuna desperata and
Missa Maria zart is much-needed. Less
clear is the mission statement of Beauty
Farm themselves: their biography claims
they were founded out of ‘a kind of despair
about the break in the interpretation of
this music which took place in the 1980s’.
I admired the rich tone of this vocal
ensemble on their debut disc (11/15) but
it didn’t then, and doesn’t now, strike me
as breaking new ground. Nor do they have
much in common with the mainly choral
accounts of Obrecht pre-1980.
To consider this, let’s compare three
recordings of Missa Maria zart. This hour-
long cyclic Mass is one of the biggest of the
Renaissance, a surprising feat at odds withVOCAL REVIEWS