Beck: Symphonies Op.3 3-5 - La Stagione Frankfurt, Schneider

Franz Ignaz Beck
Symphonies Op.3 Nos. 3-5
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider
CPO 777 390-2

Schneider makes the symphonies of full pelvic discontinuity, making music full of sudden change of expression, the volume and tone, the listener so that electrified every motive, every orchestra beat, every melody followed. That this music sound so sophisticated, in the rhythm so infectious and the expression can be so upsetting that they compare with Mozart or Beethoven, no need to fear, proves La Stagione Frankfurt. Sound: clear, wide dynamic contrasts, clear outlines.

Google translation of a review in the german magazine FonoForum. Read the original review in german here.

Beck: Symphonies Op.3 1,2&6 - La Stagione Frankfurt, Schneider

Franz Ignaz Beck
Symphonies Op.3 Nos. 1, 2 & 6, Overture "La mort d'Orphee"
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider
CPO 777 034-2

Listeners who enjoy the symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn surely will admire these works, composed by Haydn's lesser-known contemporary Franz Ignaz Beck. Like Haydn's, Beck's symphonies consistently display a clever use of harmony, rhythmic flexibility, and most importantly, a wealth of melodic imagination. However, unlike Haydn (at least as evinced by the three works offered here), Beck never draws on the past for inspiration, eschewing any reference or allusion to galant convention. Quite the opposite in fact, since Beck's fiery outer movements, played with exceptional panache by La Stagione Frankfurt, more often than not sound as if the composer is anticipating the charged romanticism of Beethoven.

The lighter inner movements also demonstrate Beck's exceptional creativity and technical skill. The broad sweeping gestures of the third-movement Minuetto of the Symphony in B-flat major are regularly (and often humorously) punctuated by various combinations of soloists from each of the orchestral sections. The delicate nobility that characterizes the pensive second-movement Andante grazioso of the Symphony in F major as well displays a familiarity if not mastery of symphonic form on par with any of Beck's contemporaries.

CPO's sound is well balanced and clearly detailed. While conductor Michael Schneider's informative and entertaining notes make a very strong case for rescuing Franz Beck from obscurity, the orchestra's expert performances under his leadership make an even stronger one. Highly recommended.

John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 1-3 - English Concert, Pinnock

Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-2-3
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 410 500-2

On Shakespeare's sceptered isle the approach to Bach has remained fairly consistent among period specialists. Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert were among the first to digitally record the Brandenburgs on period instruments, and their 1982 readings have remained staples of the catalog. Animated, though still very English in their wholesomeness and avoidance of color, these accounts feature predictably good work from violinist Simon Standage and such stalwarts as flutist Lisa Beznosiuk and the ubiquitous Mr. Pinnock. They also boast excellent sound (the venue was Henry Wood Hall), even if the harpsichord in Concerto No. 5 is so prominent as to be dis-concerting.

Ted Libbey, Amazon.com

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 4-6 - English Concert, Pinnock

Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 4-5-6
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 410 501-2

On Shakespeare's sceptered isle the approach to Bach has remained fairly consistent among period specialists. Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert were among the first to digitally record the Brandenburgs on period instruments, and their 1982 readings have remained staples of the catalog. Animated, though still very English in their wholesomeness and avoidance of color, these accounts feature predictably good work from violinist Simon Standage and such stalwarts as flutist Lisa Beznosiuk and the ubiquitous Mr. Pinnock. They also boast excellent sound (the venue was Henry Wood Hall), even if the harpsichord in Concerto No. 5 is so prominent as to be dis-concerting.

Ted Libbey, Amazon.com

Bach: St. John Passion - CNCO, Collegium Novum, Higginbottom

Johann Sebastian Bach
St. John Passion
The Choir of New College Oxford, Collegium Novum, Edward Higginbottom
Naxos 8.557296.97

Gramophone Magazine: Editor's Choice - June 2003

A natural and unforced reading within a 'living' musico-liturgical context. When you hear the St. John F4uArn ominous first chorus of Bach's St John Passion sung and played like this, liturgical ritual and visceral human drama make for an unusually intense experi_ ence. The bass line pulsates, the boys articulate the words with supreme clarity and the steady speed provides the movement with just the right length - a consideration too often neglected.

Recorded in New College, Oxford, the resident choristers, choral scholars and lay clerks appear to be entirely at ease with the special juxtaposition of quicksilver action and warm reflection which Bach demands in his choruses and chorales. One can too easily overplay the importance of 'environment' at the expense of plain musical inspiration, but Edward Higginbottom delivers a palpable sense of narrative, unfussy, as if habit lies at the root of its being. This, I suppose, is what gives New College its most 'authentic' correlation with the church-university context of Leipzig in Bach's day: a practising foundation undertaking its duties within rich ecclesiastical and academic traditions.

Yet there is nothing 'academic' in the word's less complimentary meaning. Just hear the searing choral chromaticisms as Christ is brought before Caiaphas, the startlingly urgent declamations as the crowd bays for blood (`Wir haben em n Gesetz' — 'we have a law' — is spat out in petty vindictiveness) or the distraught tenderness of James Bowman in 'Es ist vollbracht'.

To reinforce in-house practices and a timeless ethos, Higginbottom has selected a varied group of soloists who, over the decades, have emerged from the ranks of the choir. The Evangelist is the established tenor James Gilchrist, whose alert and straightforward singing makes his performance utterly believable. Of the current generation of choristers, Joe Littlewood reminds us that English choirboys can sing German music beautifully and convey the emotional essence of the text with maturity and purpose. His `Ich folge' is a delight.

There is the odd strain in Matthew Beale's testing tenor arias but a pleasing timbre, as indeed there is in John Bernays' proud but unblustering Christus. The odd wrinkle in the production is almost a relief: this is music making asking for rather more than the kind of studio spit and polish which renders the whole rather less than the sum of the parts.

Higginbottom has nevertheless considered his options meticulously (such as a small wiry string group for Tilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen') and there is no single 'tableau' or vignette within whose effect on the overall dramatic climate has not been calculated. If there is a general tendency, it is to allow the music to speak in its own time within a relaxed beat. The rest is instinct, experience and letting what will be, be. In such light comes this refreshing and captivating new interpretation. Needless to say, exceptional value is an added bonus.

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Gramophone Magazine

Arne: Four Symphonies - Cantilena, Adrian Shepherd

Thomas Augustine Arne
Four Symphonies
Cantilena, Adrian Shepherd
Chandos CHAN 8403

Thomas Arne (1710-1778), an English contemporary of Handel,is not a well-remembered composer. A number of years younger than Handel, he lived in London at the same time, and thereffore lived to a certain extent in the shadow of the older master. Today Arne is remembered, if at all, as the composer of Rule Brittania (which came from his masque Alfred) and for a popular arrangement of God Save the King. If one considered only these two compositions, one might suspect that Arne composed only jingoistic, popular works. Nothing could be further from the truth as Arne composed a number of oratorios and masques as well as numerous popular songs. In his quest to be regarded as a serious composer, he composed a number of symphonies of which the four on this recording have been preserved, having been originally published in 1767.

These are short, 3 movement symphonies written in an older, pre-Haydn style. The movements of No. 1 in C major are allegro-andante-allegro. No. 2 in F major has as its movements presto-andantina-moderato allegro. No. 3 in E flat major is written as andante e piu-larghetto-tempo di minuetto. No. 4 is moderato-larghetto-vivace. The symphonies are short ranging in length from 8:31 for No. 1 to 14:11 for No. 4. The fast movements of all symphonies have driving melodies - most have complex orchestration variously involving strings, woodwinds, horns, and/or flutes. The slow movements are emotional and gentle. The style of music varies from baroque to early classical. The symphonies show development from simpler affairs (1 and 2) to more developed and complex works (3 and 4). Symphony No. 3 reminds me melodically of Handel in several places. The other 3 symphonies are more original, especially No. 4 where the use of horns playing melodies intertwined with those of the woodwinds and strings is captivating.

The symphonies on this CD had been forgotten for about 200 years until re-published/discovered in 1973. We are fortunate that Chandos has seen to record these small masterpieces. The Cantilena, a small Scottish orchestra under the direction of Adrian Shepard, provides an excellent performance. This recording dating from 1985, is digital with full bright and clear sound.

The symphonies on this recording provide us with music of London of the mid-1700's by a composer other than Handel. They are examples of lovely early symphonies. In his day, Arne was very popular and this CD shows us why.

R. Broardhead - Amazon Customer Review

Bach: Orgelwerke 'Toccaten & Fugen' - Ton Koopman

Johann Sebastian Bach
Toccaten & Fugen
Ton Koopman
Archiv 410 999-2

After years of listening to plodding unimaginative endlessly legato French and American styles of ruining Bach's organ music (trust me here I had such an organ professor in college who positively stifled organ music with his hideous Dupre edition) - music barely able to breathe, it's refreshing to hear someone who can use staccato, marcato and ornamentation and play with panache and passion, and give this grand music the grand sound and life it deserves. So what about odd trills and a dropped pedal. Go back to Karl Richter, Marie Claire Alain or E. Power Biggs if you want to hear some flubs, and even Peter Hurford on occasion - a far more imaginative player than most but still far short of Koopman - misses a few. Ignore the review below this one, buy this disk, and give any other performance of these pieces a comparison with any other celebrated organist and you'll hear what I mean. Compare only Koopman's elegantly ornamented interpretation of the Adagio from the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue, and you'll immediately hear it. I rather suspect the reviewer below is one of those who prefers gigantic Moron Block and Tackle choir performances of the B Minor Mass, horrid modern strings scraping away, Boesendorffer imperial grands pounding out the continuo, voices pitched and warbling just this side of hysteria and wading through the work like the Wehrmacht through Russian mud. Give us a break.

Joseph P Farrell, Amazon Customer Review