Reviews

There is enough similarity among most of the cycles to make this disc a treat for aficionados of folksong-based art song and interpretations in general, and 20th-century British music in particular. Listeners who enjoy the chance to be immersed in this nation’s folk material and this compositional time period will be more than pleased by the disc

Shaw proves to have a very ‘natural’ tone and vocal manner; a way of conveying the folk-like directness and simplicity that he brings to his interpretations of these songs. His tenor has a distinctive and attractive tonal quality, and he sings with a directness and honesty that are by turns charming and moving. More than enough reasons to buy this lovely disc.

Edward Cowie is one of the most instinctively and naturally talented people I know of. Delicately scored for just two instruments, this music typifies Cowie’s approach. Clarinetist Anna Hashimoto really gets into the spirit of the music, doing her best to make her instrument “speak” like a bird. As a tour-de-force for the musicians involved I highly recommend it.

The remarkably poised, evocative Where the Wood Thrush Forever Sings is Edward Cowie’s third “epic cycle” of bird portraits. Clarinettist Anna Hashimoto and pianist Roderick Chadwick give a performance that is subtle, nuanced and always creative and revelatory. The duo are clearly committed to Cowie’s visionary, numinous achievement. The ideal recording enhances the recital.

Simon Mold’s ‘Passiontide’ is a masterpiece. It’s a strikingly accessible work that explores a range of emotions with a sure feel for word-setting and an irrepressible tunefulness capable of gravitas, poignancy and lingering beauty.

For modern music, this mostly sounds traditional. An enjoyable and interesting album with plenty of variation and not so modern that it will frighten easily-startled listeners.

Very good and anyone who wants an hour-and-a-half of relaxing and witty music should give it a try. Most of the music is melodic and tuneful. The tone ranges from gentle to the almost dance-able and on to the blues – everything from trad English folk to Braveheart-style Celtic whimsy/music. It’s not po-faced or serious, just some entertainment laid on for your delectation by skilled players.

Kurt Weill created a revolutionary kind of opera of sharp social satire. A collection of mostly less well-known songs drawn from decadent Berlin in the 30s, delivered by a world-weary vocal that is ideally suited for this.

A warmly produced and intimate-sounding collection of selections from Bach’s keyboard compositions. Phillips makes no sacrifices of rigor in his interpretations, which are both emotionally rich and stylistically thoughtful — a program that gently feeds the soul.

Mold takes the performers and listeners on a moving Passiontide journey, The music is accessible and would make a lovely alternative to the Stainer and Maunder pieces… The real stars of the show are the nine singers of the Knighton Consort who gave performances of maturity and sensitivity.

An imaginative programme, made up of many of the most attractive shorter American choral masterpieces. The Alban Singers sing expressively. Copland’s delicious I bought me a cat is done neatly, and makes an entertaining final track.

[Dinescu] knows how to formulate her musical ideas with sharpness, and her inventiveness seems to unfold almost without limit. She always opens up broad emotional possibilities, which also manifest themselves in technical playing requirements as well as creative freedom. In Irina Muresanu, Violeta Dinescu has found an ideal and devoted interpreter. Muresanu succeeds admirably, intensively and effectively presenting all the possibilities of the works and the violin playing.
[“Supersonic” recording award]

This fascinating recital explores a wide range of music set against the background of Classical mythology. Zoe Samsarelou plays enthusiastically, and reveals considerable depth of interpretation and technical expertise. The recording is clear and bright. It is a recital to savour slowly.

All [the pieces] are witty and expertly crafted… Superb playing by pianist Matthew Mills, for whom Hughes composed many of the pieces.

The performances by Roderick Chadwick, a gifted pianist, are lucid, wildly colorful, and a bit understated when need be. One couldn’t ask for a more compelling, authoritative performance… the realistic recording captures every nuance.

Quite a few pieces grabbed me. All works are played with skill and feeling by pianist Antony Gray.

A recording of immense scope and abundant musical richness. Samsarelou’s assured command of the material is readily apparent. She deserves credit also for fashioning a set-list whose range reflects scholarship and imagination in equal measure.

The set organises itself with great naturalness… all of it sung with perfectly balanced reverence and delight by Alban Voices., to whom there is no cliché more applicable than ‘national treasures’.

The [Beck] pieces are haunting, perhaps resonant with echoes of disembodied fragments of Romantic works. Passionate, urgent dynamism, and muscular energy are characteristic of [Martino’s] music: varied and fantastical in mood, richly ‘orchestrated’ in piano texture. [Debussy’s] own very free, quasi-improvisatory approach to performing his music, and an in-depth study of the unconventional vocabulary of the Images, inform Iman’s performance of [Images].

[Iman] displays a remarkable appreciation of Debussy’s music which I really enjoyed, allowing me to hear these well-known pieces afresh. Jenny Beck’s ‘Stand Still Here’ provides an extraordinary contrast. Iman is able to achieve a wonderful sense of spontaneity and improvisation: notes linger, vibrate, shimmer and fade. It’s a deeply absorbing interlude.  Iman gives a masterful performance of this collection of pieces [by Martino] which combine virtuosity and expression, improvisation and structure, making them the perfect complement to Debussy.