Let’s
deal with top and bottom lines first. This is one of the best CDs of recorder
music that I have ever heard. Full stop. However, four things need to be said.
Firstly, that this particular instrument is not my favourite: it comes a long
way down my personal batting list which is crowned by piano and cello. I guess
that I associate it with my own excruciating attempts to play Greensleeves as a nine year old scholar.
And my contemporaries were not much better either. Secondly, I think that the tone of the
‘English flute’ is something that needs to be heard in relatively small doses.
To this end, I advise taking each of these works one by one – with small
refreshment breaks in-between. Thirdly, I have never heard of Michala Petri – I
ought to have. She is utterly brilliant. And finally, notwithstanding ‘point
one’ above, I have long regarded the legendary John Turner as being the master
of recorder music. It is rare for me to listen to any work for this instrument
that is not played or recorded by him. So this is, for me at any rate, new
territory.
The
Richard Harvey Concerto Incantato is
officially billed as a World Premiere Recording. However I have not heard the
Arnold or the Jacob before. I have
discovered that Michala Petri did record the Jacob in 1984 on Phillips Digital.
If
I am honest, I never heard of Richard Harvey either. Once again, I should have. For one thing he
contributed to Hans Zimmer’s score to the Da
Vinci Code. Born in 1953, he
graduated from the Royal College of Music in 1972. He has involved himself with many genres of
music – from medieval to rock – he had a progressive rock and folk band called
Gryphon. One point of note: his ‘modest’ web-site (Richard Harvey: Renowned Composer,
Arranger Conductor and Multi-Instrumentalist)) is very difficult to read –
white text on black!
Harvey’s
Concerto is interesting, if not totally satisfying. When I read that he was a
film-music composer, I did wonder if it would suffer from sounding like a
compilation from his film scores and to a certain extent I believe this is
true. However, the Concerto is a valid work in its own right. The listener
needs to remember that Harvey is an accomplished recorder player – and other
instruments too. His website notes that he can play some 700 different
instruments from around the world!! I would be delighted to manage just one
well.
The
Concerto Incantato was written
specifically for Michala Petri and was commissioned by Leanne Nicholls for the
City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s tenth anniversary concert.
The
sleeve notes suggest an eclectic stylistic background to the work and this is
exactly what we hear. The composer quite clearly draws extensively on his television
and film score background, although this is supplemented by his interest in
medieval music.
The
concerto is written in five movements and makes use of the full set of
recorders. The first movement is
entitled ‘Sorcery’ and I must admit does have a distinct ‘Harry Potter’ mood to
it. The orchestration fairly shimmers.
The second is entitled ‘Natura Morta’ - Still Life. Here the composer
has used the tenor recorder and has had recourse to ethnic music derived from
China and the native North-American flute. It is a thoughtful, almost static
piece of music that lulls the listener into a dream-like world. The following ‘Danza
Spiriti’ (Dance of the Sprits) destroys the reverie. This is exciting music
that chases itself around in circles. The next movement is the meditative ‘Sacra
Canzone’ featuring what the composer has called the ‘English Theme’. This leads
to the finale which once again nods to Harry Potter – ‘Incantesimi’ – Spells. This,
for me, is the least impressive part of the work. The minimalist recorder
figurations become tedious. However the music builds up to a hectic dance,
before the ‘English Theme’ is reprised. I am not sure I like the ‘medieval’
mood in parts of this movement.
In
the round this is a reasonably impressive and virtuosic work – however I hold
it to be a little unbalanced between the parts. If this is music for the ‘Harry
Potter’ generation, as billed in the liner notes then I am not quite convinced.
Malcolm
Arnold’s 1988 Concerto was composed specifically for Michala Petri. I know that
there are mixed views about the quality of this work. It is not one of my favourites from the composer’s
pen. Yet there is plenty of interest and one or two touches of the ‘old’
Arnold. I guess that I am a little
concerned that the balance of work is faulty.
There is such a difference stylistically between the complex passacaglia
of the second movement and the ‘St Trinian’ mood of the finale. And I cannot
quite weigh up the opening movement. Yet
the concerto has some interesting things. It probably[?] deserves its place in
the repertoire.
Gordon
Jacob needs no introduction to readers of these pages. However, I think it fair
to say that his music is largely underrepresented in the catalogues with only
nine CDs containing his music. This compares to 159 for Malcolm Arnold. The present
Suite was commissioned by Arnold Dolmetsch in 1957. The work has been rightly
regarded as a ‘divertissement’ rather than anything more serious. It is
presented in seven well-balanced movements. The Suite opens with a delightfully
‘pastoral’ prelude. This is followed by a lively English dance which is just
way too short. Then there is a ‘Lament’. However, this is not too depressing and
has a ‘smoochy’ feel to it rather than one of heartbreak. The string writing
here is particularly beautiful. It is the longest movement in the suite. I love
the exiting ‘Burlesca alla Rumba’ which is all sunshine. This is followed by an
epitome of English pastoral – the ‘Pavane’. Here are impressions of fields and
rivers and up-and-down dales. The penultimate movement, an ‘Introduction and
Cadenza’ is also illustrative of the landscape although this time in
valedictory mood. For me it is the heart
of the work. The finale ‘Tarantella’ is fun all the way. Jacob calls for the
soprano recorder to give brightness and sparkle to the last moments of this
Suite.
Michala
Petri has some sixty CDs listed in the Arkiv catalogue. The range of music
covered is phenomenal. From Bach to Ole Bull and from Fauré to Frederick the
Great she has recorded a huge variety of works. Noted as a child prodigy, she
began playing recorder aged three, took serious lessons at five and by 11 years
she made her concerto debut. She often played together with her mother Hanne, a
harpsichordist and her brother David, cellist as part of the Petri Trio.
Nowadays, she often gives concerts with her husband, the lutenist and
guitarist, Lars Hannibal. Both Petri and
her husband run their own record label – OUR recordings. The present disc is
one of more than a dozen released in the past eight years.
However,
it is not just Michala Petri who has given a superb performance. Jean Thorel at the helm of the City Chamber
Orchestra has contributed a sympathetic accompaniment to these three concertos.
This
is an enjoyable CD that is well played and features a diverse programme. In
spite of my reservations about the Malcolm Arnold
Concerto and the stylistic balance of the Richard Harvey I feel that it will be
essential listening for enthusiasts of recorder music. The presentation of the
disc is impressive: it looks and feels good.
The sound quality is excellent. I enjoyed the liner notes – they are
both informative and entertaining.
My
favourite work, by a long shot, is Gordon Jacob’s Suite and I will turn to this
recording to enjoy this piece on many occasions.
Track Listing:
Track Listing:
Richard HARVEY (b.1953) Concerto
Incantato (2009)
Malcolm ARNOLD (1921-2006) Concerto
for Recorder and Strings, Op.133 (1988)
Gordon JACOB (1895-1984) Suite for
Recorder and Strings (1957) Michala Petri (recorder) City Chamber Orchestra of
Hong Kong/Jean Thorel
OUR Recordings
6.220606
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