Poul Ruders avoids categorizations in Volume 15

What I like best about Poul Ruders is that he's his own man. Ruders picks and chooses from all the various contemporary compositional trends. 

He mixes and matches them, all in service of the idea he wants to express. And Ruders makes it all sound not only cohesive but logical -- as if it simply couldn't be any other way.

This release features three important works; Ruders' third piano concerto, a work for orchestra, and a work for dual keyboards. 

Ruders is far from the first composer to write a set of variations on a theme by Paganini. His 2014 Piano Concerto No. 3. Ruders deconstructs the theme in a variety of ways. But no matter how small the fragments, the music retains its cohesiveness. Most theme and variations works seem to continually stop and start as one variation ends and another begins. 

 avoids that by making the variations fluid and (if I'm hearing correctly), overlapping. The works have the forward motion and energy of a concerto. The music seems to keep moving, building to extended climaxes. Anne-Marie McDermot performs with exceptional precision and verve. Her phrasing brings out relationships between the sections.

Poul Ruder's Cembal d'Amore references the past on several levels. The title refers to a Baroque instrument that had double sets of strings. Ruder's work also features a double set of strings -- one in a harpsichord and the other in a piano. 

The music itself also references the Baroque. But Ruder's isn't bound by the past. This work mixes neo-classical elements in with contemporary tonal (and sometimes non-tonal) ideas to create a heady little dance suite that could exist in no other time. The piano duo Quattro Mani brings this music to life. I was especially impressed at how balanced the sound was between the two instruments. A concert grand piano can easily overwhelm a harpsichord. Not so here. The two instruments sounded like equals. And that takes a lot of skill.

The Kafkapriccio is an orchestral suite from Ruder's opera "Kafka's Trial." Kafka held a distorted lens up to society. It's fitting that this music do the same. Ruder takes familiar musical tropes from the circus and stage and creates something new and fresh. And as unsettled as Kafka's characters. The Odense Symphony Orchestra, directed by Andreas Delfs keeps the energy level high. They also manage to inject an element of sarcasm and irony into the score that just makes it even better.  

Poul Ruders Edition: volume 15
Piano Concerto No. 3, "Paganini Variations"
Cembal d'Amore, Second Book
Kafkapriccio
Anne-Marie McDermott; Quattro Mani; Odensesymfoniorkester; Benjamin Schwartz, Andreas Delfs, conductors
Bridge Records 9531

 

Morton Feldman - For John Cage

"For John Cage" is one of the seven musical portraits Morton Feldman composed for friends. And it's the third issued by Bridge Records. 

"For John Cage" doesn't quote any of Cage's music, but Feldman perfectly captures his aesthetic, I think. This 71-minute piece draws the listener in, and heightens their awareness of the ambient sounds -- and silences -- around them. 

This has to be a difficult work to perform. The entire piece is played at piano or pianissimo. The piano (one stave only) and violin have equal weight. Often both instruments are playing the same motifs, but not exactly.

The piano's half-pedal slightly smears its notes, while the violin's are cleanly articulated. Rhythms are slightly mismatched. The precise notes of the piano grind against microtonal inflections of those same pitches on the violin.

All of these differences though are quite subtle. The soft volume throughout encourages attentive listening -- and that's when those differences become apparent.

Erik Carlson and Aleck Karis deliver a tremendous performance. It takes extraordinary control to play softly for so long. And to do so expressively even more so.

This music reveals something new with every listen. And the more carefully you listen, the greater the rewards.

Morton Feldman, Vol. 6
For John Cage
Erik Carlson, violin; Aleck Karis, piano
Bridge Records 9498

Sarah Connolly shines in Arthur Bliss cantatas

This outstanding release presents three relatively late works by Arthur Bliss. At the time, they were considered a little old-fashioned. Heard now, though, I think they show the originality of Bliss' vision -- and his skill at orchestral writing. 

Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly shines in "The Enchantress" and "Mary of Magdala." Her voice can sound warm, with rich honeyed tones. Or it can have a steely edge to it, projecting a menacing strength. 

That wide range of technique is put to the test with "The Enchantress." Bliss wrote the work for Kathleen Ferrier, "in admiration of her singing." It played to all of Ferrier's vocal and dramatic strengths. And from the sound of this performance, Connolly's as well. 

"Mary of Magdala" is also dramatic, but of a more subtle nature. Mary Magdalene is grieving at Jesus' open tomb when the gardener talks to her. As she converses with him, she slowly realizes that it's actually Jesus, and her grief turns to overwhelming joy. 

Connolly presents the initial emotions of Mary with restraint (compared with those in "The Enchantress"). And while that loosens as the work progresses, Connolly remains focused. She presents Mary's joy as spiritual rather than visceral.

Also included is Bliss' commission for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, "Meditations on a Theme by John Blow." The theme was a setting of Psalm 23. Each meditation uses a different passage, making this work a study in contrasts. 

Andrew Davis leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in some fine performances. This is an SACD release. If you choose to purchase a digital version, opt for the highest resolution you can. The fine details of Sarah Connolly's singing --especially in "The Enchantress" should not be missed. 

Arthur Bliss: Mary of Magdala
The Enchantress; Meditations on a Theme by John Blow
Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano; James Platt, bass
BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Andrew Davis, conductor
Chandos CHSA 5242
SACD