The listening room

June 7, 10:29 AMSF Classical Music ExaminerScott Foglesong

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A bit on some of the recordings currently wending their way through my ears.

Igor Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale

Igor Stravinsky conducts the Columbia Chamber Ensemble in 1961 and 1967
Jeremy Irons provides the narration in 2006.
Sony/BMG

Ah, the magic of recording technology. Stravinsky and Robert Craft together prepared and recorded his L'Histoire du Soldat as a suite with the "Columbia Chamber Ensemble" -- actually a crackerjack mixed group of L.A. Philharmonic and freelancing studio players -- in 1961. That particular recording has long been available as part of the celebrated Stravinsky recordings on Columbia. (I have written a number of articles about Stravinsky's discography -- here, here, and here.)

The 1961 suite was expanded in 1967 with a four-minute set of extra material to accompany the narration that is required for the full version. That material was never released and lay in the archives until 2005.

Now, we have a complete L'Histoire du Soldat that is made up of the 1961/1967 materials together with scintillating vocals by Jeremy Irons -- who plays the roles (soldier, Devil) as well as serving as overall master of ceremonies.

Haydn: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2: The Late Sonatas

Alain Planès, piano
Harmonia Mundi

Alain Planès continues his Haydn recordings (on a modern piano) with sonatas 58, 59, 60, and 62 -- the most frequently-performed of Haydn's abundant solo piano sonatas.

I love 'em. They're thoughtful, relaxed, warm, and almost luscious in a crisp sort of way. I am currently preparing #59 (Hoboken XVI:49) in E-flat Major for a concert, and thus this recording has piqued my interest. It isn't controversial Haydn at all, but there's absolutely nothing slipshod here, nothing that hasn't been prepared with abundant care and musical intent.

Planès is not a high-drama pianist; in fact, he reminds me a bit of Sir Clifford Curzon. This album could very well disappoint those who require more voltage, but I find it eminently satisfying.

High-quality sound matches the solid musicianship of the playing. What's not to like?

Ernest Bloch: Four Episodes - Two Poems - Concertino - Suite Modale

Dalia Atlas and the Atlas Camerata Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony, and Soloists of the Israel Philharmonic
Naxos

A mixed bag of Bloch, all of it likely to be a surprise to those who think of this Swiss-American composer, former director of the San Francisco Conservatory and long-time UC Berkeley prof, as a writer of mostly Hebraic-tinged stuff. The four works date from early (1905 for "Two Poems") to late (1956 for the "Suite Modale"). There's some good clean fun to be had here -- the finale of the "Four Episodes" is a jazzy bit of chinoiserie, not altogether in the best of taste but all the more appealing as a result. The Concertino is guaranteed to provide a fine example of midcentury neo-classicism, overall Bloch's predominant style.

Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 42

Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan
BIS

Suzuki and his group continue to sail onwards in their project to record the complete Bach cantatas. (I note that series devoted to the Bach cantatas have a tendency to come to completion, unlike Haydn symphony sets which typically fizzle.)

This latest installment offers up BWV 72 "Alles nur nach Gottes Willen", BWV 32 "Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen", BWV 13 "Mein Seufzer, meine Tränen", and BWV 16 "Herr Gott, dich loben wir". I'm particularly taken with the contributions of soprano Rachel Nicholis, new to me in this album. The other vocal soloists are Suzuki regulars -- Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk, and Peter Kooij, all of whom turn in their usual fine performances; I have become in particular something of a Kooij fan over the course of these cantata recordings.

The Bach Collegium Japan plays with its expected precision and passion, and the resonant acoustic of the Shoin Women's University Chapel in Kobe adds opulent cushioning as always. High quality liner notes from Klaus Hofmann together with Suzuki's own notes on source materials enrich an already fine production. All in all, a release worthy of this continuing series.

I should mention that Vol. 43 has appeared, but I haven't heard it yet.

Phil Kline: John the Revelator, A Mass for Six Voices

Lionheart (vocals) & Ethel (string quartet)
Cantaloupe Music

John the Revelator is a rather surprising departure for Kline, a composer best known for his musical sculptures and boombox symphonies. The work consists of an Ordinary of the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Offertorium, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) together with a synthetic "Proper" of various melodies and texts.

I'm more or less convinced that John the Revelator isn't so much "concert" music as it is meant to accompany contemplative spiritual practice, along the lines of those long, nearly-static medieval organa that are so perfectly suited to long periods of meditation or prayer, but which don't do particularly well in concert halls.

The style of the sixteen short movements runs from minimalism through a kind of modernized medieval plainchant, interspersed with choral homophonic movements (such as the opening gospel-tinged "Northpoint"), and even movements of considerable complexity.

Passages of harmonic magic abound, as do amazing feats of synthesis blending a style approximating medieval organum with a distinctly tonal-modernist sensibility. Bits of sound painting enliven the canvas, such as the tritones introducing "The Snow Fell".

I'm not crazy about the abrupt endings in many of the movements -- they just end, WHAP. The most glaring of these is, believe or not, the very last movement -- the entire piece just stops suddenly and abruptly. Ending a 49-minute piece that way seems kinda, well, tacky to me.

But I'm nonetheless quite taken with John the Revelator, even with the above reservation. The recorded sound quality is superb -- full-bodied, warm, with a deep sense of space. This is an album that really takes advantage of high-quality playback equipment, should you be blessed with such.