Reviews

The works on this valuable compilation span some 52 years, from the agreeably rugged and rigorous Concert Music for strings from 1959 to the powerfully affecting September Threnody (2011). Performances are uniformly excellent and recordings of varying vintage have all come up freshly. Do investigate this very likeable collection.

Divine Art has here produced a fine retrospective of the music of David Ellis. I find that all the works are approachable, occasionally a bit challenging, but always expressive and extremely well written. This is exciting, fresh and imaginative music. The recording is excellent. The performances are all completely convincing. David Ellis has presented here a wide range of approachable, absorbing, enjoyable and sometimes thought-provoking music. I have heard nothing by Ellis, on this CD or elsewhere, that has not impressed me. He is a composer who deserves all success

A contemporary composer whose music, while not as modernist as much of the work of [Birtwistle, Maxwell Davies or Goehr] , deserves a place in the repertoire with its own focused and distinctive musical voice… a musical personality that clearly makes its presence felt right from the start. The performances are uniformly excellent bringing out the harmonic richness and rhythmic poise and subtlety abundant in all the pieces. All in all this CD is an outstanding portrait of a composer whose works deserve to be known far more widely.

I originally intended to include some brief words about this recording in Download News as a pendant to John France’s review. However I couldn’t let it go at that, if only for the sake of congratulating Divine Art yet again on rescuing a composer whose music is so undeserving of neglect.  This album deserves to receive the widest possible publicity in advancing the cause of this neglected composer.

Heart-warming music beautifully played… There is nothing lightweight about this music. It has an inner strength and vitality. There is always an interest and depth to Ellis’ compositions. This is a very enjoyable disc of music from a composer whose music should be more widely recorded. The recordings overall are extremely good and there are excellent booklet notes by the composer.

The Vale Royal Suite (2007): while it isn’t technically challenging, the writing is intelli­gent and evocative… the music is superb. His music is reserved and fairly tonal, often with long, meditative stretches… [a] pro­clivity toward calmness.

As a snapshot of the contemporary culture scene in Northern England this has some interest. Given the avant-garde dogmatism of much contemporary composing in the 1950s and 1960s, one could maybe argue that Ellis was the true radical of his time in defying any Modernist trends. His music is never less than perfectly pleasant, with many a charming evocation of place and landscape. Throughout, the playing of the various ensembles is generally very tidy. This album has been de­cently produced too, with good concise notes and bios. Given the variety of sources and vintages, the sound is also remarkably consistent and full-bodied.

What I find spellbinding about [Lynch’s] music is that it is wedded to the harpsichord in the same way that the music of the French Baroque clavecinists, personified by Couperin, was wedded to the instrument. Fashioning a program of works by Couperin and Lynch was a stroke of genius. That [Karttunen’s] playing equals her musical perspicacity, not to mention her informative and articulate album note, really pays dividends in this amazing venture to unite the voices of two composers from across a divide of three centuries. Stunning performances of stunning music, stunningly recorded. What more can I say?

An imaginative collection … one welcomes this fascinating album as an important addition to one’s music library. Assi Karttunen is the peerless interpreter… She is an ever assured yet conservative musician, neither erring on the side of caution nor overplaying the ornamentation. Her touch is definitive and her phrasing elegant. The album is handsomely packaged and designed … a musical journey well worth exploring by any lover of music for the harpsichord.

Karttunen’s playing on this disc is beyond reproach: well ordered, rhythmically flexible, and sensitive. The uncredited harpsichord is sonorous and well balanced, and has been faithfully captured by the recording engineer. Altogether, this is a refreshingly different and satisfying harpsichord recital, one that is warmly recommended.

An interesting mix of old and new which is not always a happy combination, but here is very fine and certainly well worth repeated listening. Assi Karttunen is a fine player with a great sense of colour and shading … her ornamentation is exquisite. It is refreshing to hear contemporary music which is so well attuned to the character of the harpsichord. this disc is a refreshing one, and I would certainly recommend it strongly.

This intriguing program of music for solo harpsichord makes unexpected but successful partners of Baroque France’s great François Couperin, who died in 1733, and the gifted English composer Graham Lynch, who is still very much alive. Where Karttunen really shines is in Lynch’s music for her instrument, which reflects both a panoply of stylistic influences and a well-nuanced understanding of how to compose for the harpsichord. The recorded sound is beautiful, and Karttunen’s notes offer much food for thought. The combining of old and new music can be tricky alchemy, but this experiment is a happy success.

The surface of the Lynch works abound with generous and attractive melodic writing and, even when the harmony is nicely unpredictable, the extensive use of pivot pitches always keeps the music centred. I have to say, the quality of Lynch’s writing is very much a match for that of his illustrious predecessor. Not that it’s a matter of competition, since the two styles sit very comfortably together… the performances strike me as stylish and assured. In the Lynch Karttunen plays with verve, commitment and a total grasp of the structural issues at play. A highly rewarding disk.

I was delighted, inspired and impressed by Assi Karttunen’s playing.[Couperin’s] music is imaginative, often exciting and always well-wrought. Lynch is certainly a fine composer. Application of the concept of playing François Couperin and Graham Lynch back-to-back has been highly successful. The Baroque works are full of charm and interest whilst the modern pieces are approachable, well-crafted and musically satisfying. The performance of both Couperin and Lynch is ideal.

Great music, performed on a magnificent pipe organ, by an organist at the top of his game, all captured in vividly realistic sound. In other words, an outstanding recording. I never give out stars or number ratings but if I did, this CD would get 6 out of 5 stars, or a rating of 11 out of 10. Cooman’s music is highly original and, on this recording anyway, all the pieces are as varied from one another as they are captivating. A state of the art recording so realistic you would swear you are sitting right there at the organ console. I believe Divine Art have released a benchmark recording. Recommended for everyone and definitely not to be missed by pipe organ fans.

The recital opens with the stunning Toccata Festiva. The contrasting styles and moods set forth in the first several works continue apace throughout the remainder of the CD. Cooman writes as well as anyone I know writing these days for the organ. Erik Simmons, apart from his technical proficiency, knows just which colors to extract from the instrument to effectively show­case the works heard here.

Those who know Carson Cooman’s choral style will understand the easy appeal that his music manages while seldom attracting the damning label of accessibility. This is a collection of vigorous pieces communicated through a tonal yet still personal language. Simmons plays with musical comprehension as well as the clinical precision demanded by the clear-cut, sometimes startling, sounds of the IV/85 Marcussen, which suit the music. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nice music, beautifully crafted, and perfect for the occasion. I’m very impressed with [Simmons’s] playing. The balance and finish of [the organ’s] scaling and voicing and the state of its tuning … is almost too good… Such perfection… Charming CD. You will enjoy it.

It is good to hear works for organ so sensitively written and beguiling to the ear. There are some real gems of the organ literature on this appealing recording. Erik Simmons is a fine organist who reveals all the little details and textures of these pieces. The recording is first rate. As usual with Divine Art productions, the booklet is beautifully produced with excellent booklet notes complete with organ specification.

I found the contents of this disc to be quite delightful. Among his dizzying array of activities Cooman is also an organist, and so this is very much his home ground. He obviously loves his instrument and its resources, and that shows in the results offered here… this CD is cordially recommended.