My review of Andrew Staniland’s highly experimental The Laws of Nature is now available at La Scena Musicale.
The Laws of Nature
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Category Archives: CD Review
Joyce DiDonato is Dido
My review of Il Pomo d’Oro’s CD of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Joyce DiDonato as the Queen of Carthage is now available at La Scena Musicale.
Utopia, Limited
I was curious about Scottish Opera’s new recording of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Utopia, Limited because it’s a G&S I’ve not heard before. It’s a late work and was less successful than its better known predecessors. The plot concerns an island in the “South Seas” where the king is so taken with all things English that he sends his daughter to Cambridge and has her return with a bevy of English worthies including Captain Joseph Corcoran KCB. Eventually the king enacts all kinds of reforms including turning the entire population into limited liability companies. They revolt but the day is saved by Princess Zara pointing out that with party government all the reforms will inevitably be repealed after the next election. Continue reading
Varied recital disk from Connolly and Middleton
Dame Sarah Connolly and Joseph Middleton have teamed up for another interesting recital album. It’s quite varied. It starts with Chausson’s La Poème de l’amour et de la mer which is actually two songs with a piano interlude. It’s very fin de siècle chanson with the piano line rather more interesting than the vocal line but pretty decent stuff, if a bit emotionally overwrought.
Barber’s Three Songs Op.10 are quite well known, especially the last; “I hear an army”. They are dark and dramatic and suit Connolly’s voice very well. Next is the often heard Debussy piece Trois Chansons de Bilitis which purports to be settings of translations of actual Sapphic texts but which sound exactly like a 19th century Frenchman would imagine a Sapphic text to be; i.e languorous. Nicely done though. Next we come to a pair of declamatory songs by Copland; “The world feels dusty” and “I’ve heard an organ talk sometimes”. Definitely a welcome change of pace. Continue reading
Contemporary chamber music from Ukraine
Unbroken is a CD of chamber music by contemporary Ukrainian composers played by Canadian-Ukrainian violinist Viktoria Grynenko and friends. My review is now available on the La Scena Musicale website.
Strauss’ Salome with Malin Byström
My review of Chandos’ SACD release of Strauss’ Salome with Malin Byström in the title role and Edward Gardner conducting is now available on the La Scena Musicale website. Terrific conducting and great work by the recording engineers.
MISSING on CD
My review of the CD of Brian Current and Marie Clements’ opera MISSING; about murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls is now published at La Scena Musicale. This is going to be performed at Toronto Summer Music next month.
Cassandre
My review of the CD recording of Bernard Foccroulle and Matthew Jocelyn’s new opera Cassandre is now up at La Scena Musicale. It’s one of the best new operas I’ve come across recently.
Le Roi d’Ys
My review of the Bru Zane recording of Lalo’s Le Roi d’Ys is featured in the latest issue of La Scena Musicale.
Kafka Fragments
Gyorgy Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments of 1986 is a pretty weird piece. It sets forty short fragments (anything from less than a minute to maybe six and a half) from Kafka’s diaries and journals for soprano and violin, which is unusual enough. But it’s the range of techniques involved for both musicians which i think contributes to why people want to perform them and some people at least to listen to them.
Just about every technique fior violin, short of smashing it, is called for; very rapid staccato phrases, pizzicato, percussive effects of various kinds etc. The vocal part is perhaps even more varied; singing (but with crazy intervals and very high notes), Sprechstimme, speaking, whispering, chattering, screaming ad more. Each fragment basically deals with an emotion (mostly negative!) and is set accordingly so the emotional range is pretty much as wide as the range of techniques. Continue reading
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