Haydn: Symphonies 'Le Martin', 'Le Midi', 'Le Soir' - TEC, Pinnock

Joseph Haydn
Symphonies 'Le Martin', 'Le Midi', 'Le Soir'
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 423 098-2

These symphonies are the first music Haydn wrote on his appointment, in 1761, as vice-Kapellmeister to the Esterhazy family. It was apparently his prince's idea-or so he recalled many years later-that they should describe in some sense the times of day. Haydn did not take the idea too far: you can hear a couple of sunrises in Le mat in and there is an evening storm in No. 8, but otherwise any programmatic elements are likely to be, as it were, in the ear or the imagination of the beholder. What Haydn does seem to have done is determine to show off the skills of the new band he had at his command. To judge by the music, those skills must have been considerable: the first violin has a great deal of solo work, often quite demanding, and the first cello too is much favoured; the flute, oboes, bassoon and even the double-bass have numerous prominent passages-in No. 6 there is a remarkable trio for bassoon, doublebass, viola and cello, followed by a slow movement consisting of a recitative for solo violin leading to a very beautiful, concerto-like Adagio for him with prominent flutes and cello and a concluding double cadenza. Not all the invention is distinguished; in a sense, the concertante writing militates against the kind of symphonic thinking that was always Haydn's greatest strength. Some movements, like the Andante of Le soir, are to my taste long and thin; but Haydn's sturdy humour and general good cheer are never far away.

And that side of him is finely caught in these performances. Tempos are brisk, textures light and clear (the string band is 4.4.2.2.1). Phrasing is well marked. The solo work has plenty of vitality: Simon Standage, the leader, earns special praise for his clean-limbed and often expressive violin solos, while the cello and flute (Jaap ter Linden and Lisa Beznosiuk) show particular agility. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, on the Philips disc noted above, tend to 'civilize' the music somewhat, playing it in a more traditional manner, with much vibrato and altogether smoother phrasing: some readers may find their performance falling more sweetly on the ear, but the new one, using period instruments and having a good deal less of surface polish, does give a truer notion of the special character of the music. The recorded sound is bright and clear.

S.S., Gramophone Magazine 1988

Welcome to All the Pleasures - The English Concert, Pinnock

Bach, Boyce, Haydn, Händel,
Mozart, Purcell, Scarlatti, Vivaldi
Welcome to All the Pleasures
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 437 175-2

I am thrilled that Archiv Produktion in Canada has assembled "Welcome To All The Pleasures", and happy that it includes so many personal favorites from my discography. This celebration of choral, keyboard and orchestral music on authentic instruments is a voyage filled with delicious musical pleasures and warm personal memories, for 1993 marks my fifteenth anniversary with Archiv Produktion, and the twentieth anniversary of my founding of The English Concert. My new assosiation with Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra is providing every bit as adventurous and is filled with the pleasures of rich musical rewards. So, indeed, welcome to all the pleasures!

Trevor Pinnock

Haydn: Missa in Angustiis 'Nelson Mass', Te Deum - TEC, Pinnock

Joseph Haydn
Missa in Angustiis 'Nelson Mass', Te Deum
Lott, Watkinson, Davies, Wilson-Johnson,
The English Concert and Choir, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 423 097-2

Of all the Haydn worthy of recording on original instruments, the so-called Nelson Mass surely puts forward one of the highest claims. The com poser himself called it the Missa in Angusiiis - the Mass in straitened times, or times of fear-and not until the particular dry rattle of the smaller, contemporary timpani with their hard sticks, and the pungency of these long trumpets has permeated the consciousness, can the true nervous sensibility of its unique writing perhaps be fully experienced.

Both these recordings provide stimulating perspectives on the work: Pinnock's, by far the more successful, actually supersedes both Argo versions from Hickox and Willcocks in insight, performing skill and recording quality. Presentation alone is superior: Archiv offer the fullest notes and text, include the Te Deum as well on the single disc, and take the trouble to sing in German, not Italian Latin.

It is, without doubt, the distinctive sonority which sets this performance apart: the trumpets and drums bite into the dissonance of the Kyrie and the Benedictus; there is finely pointed, near vibrato-less string playing, mordant and urgent; there is the heavy groan of the bass strings on the repeated notes of the "Qui tollis". But it is also Pinnock's tempos which bring the score into sharp focus. The Allegro-Adagio-Allegro triptych of the Gloria is set out in bold, nervously contrasted speeds, with scampering phrases bent towards the uneasy pace of each "Dona nobis". The Credo, with its bouncing rhythms, moves from a sense of affirmation as jubilant of that of The Creation, to a supple, chant-like declamation of its litany of belief.

In this, as elsewhere, it helps not a little to have a choir of young professionals. The English Concert Choir may be a little chill compared with the full-blooded singing of Hickox's London Symphony Chorus; but the balance with the instrumental forces is meticulous, the matching of inflexion minutely observed.

Pinnock's soloists have been chosen to blend and highlight the tone values of his distinctive palette. They are no specialist early music-makers, but each one has a highly intelligent grasp of phrasing and pacing: David Wilson-Johnson's "Qui tollis" combines both true bass weight and the momentum of long-breathed, elegantly taper ing phrases, while Felicity Lott hones away every trace of superfluous vibrato for her lithe, plangent Benedictus. No other team of soloists is so wellmatched; though the considerable and abiding attraction of the otherwise conservative, even precious, Willcocks performance is the presence of Sylvia Stahlman's soprano and Tom Krause's bass.

The second new version, that by Pearlman and the Boston-based Banchetto Musicale, is disappointing. The forces (not listed or described) sound smaller even than Pinnock's - too small for the texture and scale of the work, as they provide insufficient ballast for lively, eager, but essentially unstylish choral singing. There is a serious lack of balance here, too: the choir's tenors dominate and the soloists sound as if they are singing from within a glass jar. Individual performances are high on zeal and low on discipline, with a sizeable vibrato in James Maddalena's baritone providing yet another distraction in a well-meaning but illat-ease performance.

H.F., Gramophone Magazine 1988

Haydn: Concertos - Goodwin, Bennett, TEC, Trevor Pinnock

Joseph Haydn
Concertos for Oboe, Trumpet, Harpsichord
Paul Goodwin, Mark Bennett, Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert
Archiv 431 678-2

For me this reading of the Trumpet Concerto is as close to ideal as possible.

Bennett and Pinnock find a balance in this music that other interpreters invariably distort, one way or another. Maurice Andre, for all his attractive tone and phrasing, is unidiomatic as he tends to make these three movements into concert aria showpieces; Herseth and Solti, with the powerhouse Chicago Symphony, turn it into Mahler-lite; Marsalis and Leppard are overstated, the orchestral texture is opaque, and Marsalis for his part doesn't grasp the architecture of this music, distracted as he is by his concern to demonstrate his considerable virtuosity; Hardenburger and Marriner are understated (I've even thought they seem bored with the music) and miss the spirit of Haydn's sound and style; Immer and Hogwood, on period instruments, get the sytle exactly right, deliver an electrifying orchestral performance, and would be my first choice were everything not ruined in the end by Immmer's very weak tone - at times he is all but inaudible.

Bennett and Pinnock get it right. The period orchestra has the right balance and sonority; there is much more space in the texture so that all of the voices sound distinctly. Bennett, on a keyed trumpet, plays the solo part with flair and in balanced dialog with the orchestral counterpoint, and he uses the most engaging cadenzas, fills, and ornaments I've ever heard. Pinnock brings to the reading as a whole the sense of protortion, the earthiness, the rhythmic vitality that animate the Classical style, bring it to life.

I can't imagine it being done any better.

D. Jack Elliot, Amazon Customer

Haydn: 3 Violin Concertos - Standage, TEC, Pinnock

Joseph Haydn
3 Violin Concertos
Simon Standage, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 427 316-2

Purchased this CD after hearing the finale concerto on this CD on public radio. I believe these were written early in Haydn's life. They have a Baroque/Rococo feel to them. These are good pieces and superably performed by the English Concert. Simon Standage, violinist, does an exceptional job; his playing is masterful, precise, expressive, and accomplished. Haven't listen to other verisons, but sense these are hard to beat. As with all English Concert recordings, they are difficult to match. This may be the best recording of Haydn's violin concertos. Unfortunately, it is out of print; good luck finding a copy.

Amazon Customer Review

Haydn: Stabat Mater - The English Concert & Choir, Pinnock

Joseph Haydn
Stabat Mater
Rozario, Robbin, Johnson, Hauptmann,
The English Concert and Choir, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 429 733-2

At last there is a Haydn Stabat mater within easy reach. The piece is seldom performed and even more rarely recorded, and this despite the fact that it contains some of the composer's most rich and deeply felt writing. One of the few works not written to order (Prince Nikolaus Esterházy was less than keen on encouraging the sacred duties of his Kapellmeister) the Stabat mater is also one Haydn himself grew to respect highly, and Trevor Pinnock's performance makes it clear why.
The Feast of the Seven Sorrows inspired in Haydn writing of similiar length, gravity and meditative concentration as the Seven Last Words were to do some 20 years later. But the almost unrelieved sobriety of minor keys and slow turning harmonies were subtly offset by a wonderfully acute instinct for pulse, melodic shape and vocal and instrumental colour. It is these elements which Pinnock and his colleagues enjoy to the full.

There is Anthony Rolfe Johnson, for instance, ideally cast to care for the opening's long, bending lines, slightly distorted by syncopation, and to catch the breath in the "dum emisit spiritum". There is Cornelius Hauptmann, not over-characterful of voice, yet splendidly incisive in the dislocated rhythms and jagged line which expresses simultaneously the violence and the indignation at the scourging.
When it comes to the almost Handelian length and strength of Haydn's melodic line, it is Catherine Robbin and Patricia Rozario who come into their own. They, too, are cunningly cast. The energetic leaps from chest to head voice in which Haydn both expressed and manipulated response to the Virgin's grief, catch the flare at the top of Robbin's voice, especially where it tunes in to the cor anglais with which Haydn replaces the oboes in the "0 quarn tristis".

Just as her mezzo flows into the upward spiral of sympathy in "Fac me vere tecum flere", so the gummy legato of Rozario's distinctive soprano creates melismas to rival those of any oboe in the "Sancta mater" duet. Some listeners may well prefer a voice of more conventional purity and high agility in this part, but the unique tint of Rozario's soprano plays its own role in the cumulative power of the performance, and nowhere more so than in the sudden surfacing "Amen" in the final vision of Paradise.

Unequal temperament, the pungency of The English Concert's woodwind soloists, the often glaring brightness of its strings all make their mark on the work's sensibility. There are passing moments where they strive for unnecessary effect, such as in the long decrescendo over the chorus's "Gladius" which sounds over-engineered. But the strength of the chorus's inner parts, the near spiccaio kindling of the strings in hell, and the sensitivity to Haydn's high fibre string writing in this piece compensates for any passing weakness.

H., Gramophone Magazine

Trombone Concerti - Alain Trudel, Northern Sinfonia

Release Date: 06/02/1998
Label: Naxos
Catalog #: 8553831
Spars Code: DDD
Composer: Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Georg Wagenseil, Leopold Mozart, Michael Haydn
Performer: Alain Trudel
Conductor: Alain Trudel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Northern Sinfonia

Number of Discs: 1
Recorded in: Stereo
Length: 0 Hours 53 Mins.

The only pre-modern trombone concertos are from the 18th Century, and they were written for the alto, an instrument that having something of a resurgence today. Fine alto trombone recording have been made by Alain Trudel (Naxos 553831) and the duo Otmar Gaiswinkler and Walter Voglmayr (Camerata 28030).

BBC Music (4/98, p.77) - Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5) - "...Alain Trudel...adopts an appropriate `style galant' for the mainly lightweight material and...makes light work of the ornamentation which is normally such a burden to trombonists in the Classical repertoire. Among brass recordings it is unusually relaxing and elegant."

R. Rockwell from Amazon.com:
This disc collects all of the instrumental(ie concerto)music that is available for trombone. Interestingly the four composers on the CDlived at about the same time and same some location in Europe. These concerti for alto trombone are certainly not masterpieces, but they are highly enjoyable and well played by Trudel and the Northern Sinfonia. I would not recommend these to belong in every collection but if you enjoy wind concerti, the Naxos prices makes it highly affordable.

Andrew W. Saul from Amazon.com:
I first heard "classical" solo trombone music while at a music conference. It surprised me (a string player) then, and it astonishes me no less with the passing of the years. Absolutely nothing less than 5 stars is appropriate for this recording. Not only is this CD brilliantly performed, the music itself is gorgeous. Lesser-known composers and an even-lesser appreciated instrument here receive the treatment they deserve. Most highly recommended.