Tudor Church Music As It Was Meant to Be Heard

This is a release with a very specific program. It's English church music from the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.  The subtitle narrows the focus -- "The Easter Liturgy of the Church of England." 

Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. But a few elements transferred over to the new church. Some of the music -- written by English composers, of course -- made the cut. 

The new Church of England wanted music with English, rather than Latin, texts. And composers obliged. This release has works both sung in Latin and in English.

The lineup of composers doesn't disappoint. Included are William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Tomkins, Thomas Tallis, and Thomas Weekles. Lesser luminaries are also represented, like John Redford, William Munday, and Robert Whyte.

The London Ambrosian Singers is an SATB choir. Missing are the male choirboys that give English choral music its distinctive sound. That's not a problem. These are very good performances. 

The singers have a very loose ensemble sound. That's not to say they're sloppy -- they're not. But the various lines seem to have a little give to them as they interact.

If you're looking to explore Tudor church music, this is a good place to start. If you're well-familiar with it but would like a different perspective, give this a listen.

Tudor Church Music
The London Ambrosian Singers; John McCarthy, director
TUDOR CD 7210

Myriam Barbaux-Cohen Delivers with Mel Bonis

French pianist Myriam Barbaux-Cohen took a different path than many of her colleagues. Most concert pianists begin their recording career with standard repertoire. Depending on their strengths, they record Chopin,  Beethoven,  Schubert, etc.

Not Barbaux-Cohen. She debuted with the music of Enrique Granados. And her sophomore release is even more adventuresome. It's a collection of works by Mel Bonis. 

Bonis was a French pianist and composer active in the Belle Epoque. She was a classmate of Debussy at the Conservatoire. A forced marriage sidetracked her career, but she returned to music in the 1910s. 

Bonis wrote in an Impressionist style similar to Debussy's. I say similar. Because Bonis drew inspiration from the same sources as Debussy without mimicking his work. 

If you love Debussy and Ravel, add this release to your collection. Bonis had her own ideas of Impressionism and her creations have a lush, fluid sound to them. 

Barbaux-Cohen is in top form. She understands Bonis' aesthetic. Her touch is light, and her use of the pedal is sparing but strategic. The music just seems to glow at times.

And Barbaux-Cohen's performance benefits from her C. Bechstein sponsorship. The iC. Bechstein D282 concert grand piano she plays has a rich, full tone. And it's impeccably recorded. 

This release is available on SACD. If you prefer digital download to SACD, then get the highest-resolution files available. The beauty of this music -- and the performance -- is in the details.

Mel Bonis: Memoires d'une Femme
Myriam Barbaux-Cohen, piano
Ars Produktion 
SACD release

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalMexico Week 4

The Classics a Day team decided to turn a holiday -- Cinco de Mayo -- into a month-long celebration. Mexico has a rich classical music tradition. It dates back to the early 1600s when Spanish -- and very soon native-born -- composers began writing music for church services. And today Mexico has a thriving classical music community. Even if we're not aware of it here in the States.

Mexico has four centuries of classical music to choose from. Here are my selections for the fourth week of #ClassicalMexico.

05/22/23 Julián Carrillo Trujillo (1875–1965): Symphony No. 2 in C major

In the 1920s Trujillo developed a microtonal system he called the "Thirteenth Sound." This symphony from 1905 reflects his skill with traditional key systems.

05/23/23 Manuel María Ponce (1882–1948): Ropsodia Mexicana No. 1

Ponce a child prodigy, who began his career as a concert pianist while still young. He spent several years in Europe studying composition. His style incorporates popular Mexican music within classical forms.

0/5/24/23 Candelario Huízar (1883–1970): Pueblerinas

Huízar composed four symphonies that were well-received. But his greatest successes were his tone poems. "Pueblerians" is the second of his three tone poems, written in 1931.

05/25/23 José Pablo Moncayo (1912-1958): Huapango

Moncayo was a major force in 20th C. Mexican music. He was a composer, teacher, pianist, percussionist, and conductor. His works celebrate Mexico's cultural heritage in the framework of classical music.

05/26/23 Carlos Chávez (1899–1978): Valses Intimos

Chavez was one of the most important Mexican composers of the 20th Century. His early pieces (like this one) were for piano. He soon expanded into other forms, writing symphonies, chamber and choral music, and an opera.

Armenian Cello Concertos Benefit from Native Performers

Yes, in many ways classical music is universal. A French orchestra, with a Japanese conductor and a Brazilian pianist, can deliver an exciting performance of a German piano concerto.

But something special happens when the music of a composer is played by an orchestra of their native country. Especially if it's led by a fellow countryman and features a native soloist. A shared cultural subtext rises to the surface. 

These musicians "get" what the composer is doing in a way that non-natives can't. And as a result, the music seems to take on a different character -- a more authentic character, if you will. 

That's exactly what I heard with "Armenian Cello Concertos." 

The soloist is Armenian-born Alexander Chausian. The orchestra is the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra. And the album was recorded in the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

The bona fides are there -- and so are the performances. I always thought of Khachaturian as a Soviet composer, who wrote in the state-approved neo-Romantic style. But his 1946 Cello Concerto sounds quite different here. 

Chausian plays with a rich, mellow sound. And he expressively bends and slurs pitches. It gives the music a Slavic folk-like quality. And one that's quite removed from the Russian classical style. 

Arno Babajanian wrote his Cello Concerto for  Mstislav Rostropovich. Rostropovich premiered it in 1962, and it was an instant success. Babajanian's Armenian influences aren't as obvious as Khachaturian's. But there are occasional turns and harmonies that have folk roots. 

French composer Michel Petrossian is of Armenian origins. He may be slightly removed from his roots. But his 2021 "8:4 concerto for cello and orchestra" references Mout Ararat, an important symbol in Armenian folklore. The music draws on both Armenian secular and sacred music traditions. 

All three works are worthy of attention. Heard together, they provide insight into the culture these composers share.

Armenian Cello Concertos
Alexander Chaushian, cello
Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra; Eduard Topchjan, conductor
BIS 2648 

Album for Lute a Rare Find

Dr. Werner  Wolffheim was one of the pre-eminent collectors of music manuscripts. He gathered over 15,000 original works and publications dating back centuries.  

In 1929 Wolffheim liquidated his music collection. And in the process, a hidden treasure emerged.  

One of the volumes that came up for auction was the "Album for the Lute." It contained works for the Baroque lute, the majority written in the mid-1600s. And many of these pieces are only found in this collection.

This recording delivers twenty world premiere recordings from that collection. Most are anonymous. A few are credited. Some such as Ennemond Gaultier and Easias Reusner were lutenists. But there's also a work by Johann Heinrich Schmelzer. 

By the early 1700s, the lute had greatly expanded in scope. It grew from a 7-course instrument (14 strings) to 11 (22 strings).  Bernhard Hofstotter plays on the instrument the music was written for: an 11-course Baroque lute.  

Hofstotter navigates around this complex instrument with ease. I appreciated how clean the performances were. In other genres, fingers sliding across strings are part of the musical expression. In classical music, it's a distraction, but something that can still happen on occasion. 

Hofstotter never falters. Every note sounds clean and clear. No slides, no extraneous sound. That purity of tone added to my enjoyment of these works. Some of them have very thick textures. Being able to hear every note made a huge difference. 

A fascinating collection, and one I'm glad I heard. Recommended. 

Album for the Lute
Bernhard Hofstotter, baroque lute
TYXart TXA22172