Limelight — May 2017

BritishTonePoemsVol1
MusicbyAlwyn,Bantock,
Gurney, Vaughan Williams et al
BBCNationalOrchestra of Wales/
Rumon Gamba
CHANDOS CHAN 10939

★★★★✩

A beautiful traversal of tonal
and nostalgic musical by-ways

Imustconfesstobeing“conflicted“
aboutthisadmittedlyfineCD
from Chandos – conflicted
because, while marketing is not
essentiallypartofmyremit,Ican’t
helpbutwonderwhoactually
buys this sort of repertoire. Like
virtually everything Chandos
produces, the sound, content,
playing, conducting, presentation
andlinernotesareexcellentbut,
nevertheless, is there a limit to
howmanyCDsofmainlymusicby
relatively obscure composers the
market can absorb? It’s certainly not
meanttobelittleRumonGamba
and his fine band. That said, this
release could be called Ecstatic
SolitudeorFiftyShadesofHome
Counties Pastoral Reveries.
Allthescoresarelovely,tonal
andmostlygentleandcomeinto
the highest category of 20th-
centurymusicforpeoplewho
thinktheydon’tlike20th-century
music. All the more admirable
assomewascomposedlong
after Schoenberg’s launch into
atonality andTheRiteofSpring.
My favourite moments were,
in no particular order, Frederic
Austin’sSpringin its entirety,
the Elgariannobilmentemarch
inthetragicIvorGurney’sA
Gloucester Rhapsody(yes,Iknow
Gloucestershire isn’t, strictly
speaking,intheHomeCounties)
and the dramatic passages in the
splendidly named Sir Granville
Bantock’sThe Witch of Atlas.I
also lovedThe Solentby Vaughan
Williams, the only well-known
composer included.GK

Colin Matthews

Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto

No 2, Cortege

Leila Josefowiczv,AnssiKarttunen

vc/Knussen, Chailly et al

NMC NMCD227

★★★★★

Alovinglycuratedandrecorded

triptych by a senior Brit master

Perhaps undervalued outside the

UK, Colin Matthews holds an

importantpositionasacomposer

and pedagogue at home and this

excellentdisconNMC,thelabel

devotedtoBritishcompositionthat

he launched, provides a triptych

of beautifully constructed works

composedbetween1998and2010.

Amusicalamenuensisofsorts

totheBrittenestate,Matthews

has continued to create within a

modernist framework works of a

grave yet touching beauty which

bring togeher French harmonies

withasoundworldsomewhat

similar to that of the late Hans

WernerHenze.Andsuchisthe

depth of ideas encountered here,

that with these three works, we

have a perfect introduction to this

composer as well as a means of

celebrating his 70th birthday.

All three works are commissions

for important musicians and

orchestras –theCelloConcertofor

Rostropovich, the Violin Concerto

isheardinaBBCbroadcastfrom

the Proms, whilstCortegeis taken

up by the Concertgebouw and

Riccardo Chailly. Of the three

worksencounteredhere,itisthe

two movement Violin Concerto,

which is also the finest and the

most most virtuosic.Cortegeis

similarly of darkened textures and

colours though not necessarily

funereal in nature. Whilst it

wouldbenicetoheartheoriginal

dedicateeintheCelloConcerto,all

of the musicians in this excellent

recordingmakethisacelebration

indeed.Brett Allen-Bayes

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au MAY 2017LIMELIGHT 75

REVIEWSO

AnygoodnewrecordingofThe Four Seasonsshould always be

welcomed. This one by Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber

Orchestraismorethangood:it’soutstanding.Listeningtothese

dramatic, historically-informed performances, one is immediately

struckbyhowVivaldi’sprefatorysonnetsandmusicalsound-

paintingcanbecomenotmereevocationsofnaturalphenomena

butstartingpointsfordeliberate,andfarmoreexciting,

abstractionswhichfindtheirlociinpureemotion.Especiallytobe

welcomed is Hope’s fluent, abundant decoration of the melodic

line,particularlyintheslowermovements,whichisechoedbythe

marvellously imaginative continuo section’s own elaborations.

Offeringabracingnewtakeonaclassicisonething;providing

anewcontextforitissomethingelse.Andthatsomethingelse

maywellbewhatultimatelyattractsyou.Therehavebeenmyriad

responses from various composers to Vivaldi’s original, such as

Kalman Cseki’sAlpha, Apocalypse and Armageddonand Oliver

Davis’ settings of Vivaldi’s sonnets,AnnoandAnno Epilogue.Here

wehavesomethingdifferent:apre-existingornewly-composed

workassignedtoeachmonthoftheyear,withaccompanying

artwork – paintings or drawings – that is beautifully reproduced in

the recording’s booklet along with copious notes by Hope.

SotheyearkicksoffwithyoungcomposerNilsFrahm’s

“melancholic”Ambre,whichFrahmandHopethoughtmight

work with Caio Fonseca’s muted, abstractFifth Street.There

follow such evocative conjunctions as Rameau’sDanse des

SauvagesandOl’Fritz’scolourfulportraitofFredericktheGreat;

Max Richter’sSpringfromRecomposedand Dirk Dzimirsky’s

hyperrealistDrawnFaceVI;ChillyGonzales’Les doutes d’aoûtand

Dénesh Ghyczy’sWandering Mind;andBach’ssublimeariaBete

aber auch dabei,featuringsopranoAnna Lucia Richter.Theeffect

is quite magical, and sends you back to Vivaldi’s original with

fresh ears and a grateful soul.Will Yeoman

For Seasons

MusicbyVivaldi,Bach,AphexTwinetal

Daniel Hope,v, Zurich Chamber Orchestra

DG 4796922 8

★★★★

Hopespringseternalinabrand

new take on a hoary old classic