Through a Glass is the world premiere recording of a series of songs by Martin Bussey, a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge. The opening work Blue Remembered Hills introduces baritone Marcus Farnsworth and pianist James Baillieu with immediacy, delving into an obscurity marked by dissonances and startling dynamics.  Through a Glass, Darkly was crafted with text from different authors. The composer’s notes tell us the work refers to the relationship between reality and dreams and is “the most ambitious musically and thematically”. The fourth song The Secret Sits breaks the flow with a trumpet that simply sticks out. The closing song in the cycle Lay Your Sleeping Head crafts brief whirlwinds of angst before resolving into the most conventional sounding progression of chords we’ve heard yet – a happy ending to an eccentric piece. Farnsworth is superb – not only for the clarity in his timbre but for allowing us to identify every word. Though he leans into every note almost theatrically, Through a Glass, Darkly shows unexpected changes in character. By contrast, The Windhover is part-challenge, part-conversation between Farnsworth and solo violin, while Garden Songs features texts written across the centuries about flowers and trees. The final song…

Alfred Schnittke’s early life, with a Jewish father, Volga German mother and a musical education in occupied Vienna, was haunted by the fears and tensions of the outsider. The ‘polystylist’ language he eventually developed, with its wild juxtapositions of the ‘banal’ and ‘refined’ and a jabbing irony that confounded Soviet apparatchiks, may thus have been a fortified wall shielding a serious avant-gardist, but he risked coming across as a composer in search of a voice.  As time passed by and regimes began to crumble, he allowed cracks to appear in that wall and offer glimpses of the vulnerable artist within. Declining health in the 1980s revealed spiritualist tendencies, most apparent in the Penitential Psalms for mixed choir a cappella, written in 1988 to commemorate the millennium of the Christianisation of Russia.  Setting poems for Lent by anonymous monks from an anthology of Old Russian texts, the principal themes are that of original sin, the wrongs of the past and the need to repent and forgive; significant sentiments as the Soviet Union was breaking apart and old scores were being settled. The work has elements of traditional Russian Orthodox Liturgical chant with syllabic declamation and hummed drones, but tight contrapuntal lines…

Imagine the archaeological thrill of tracking down musical manuscripts and finding works which have been unheard for centuries. In 2011, the Morgan Library in New York acquired a manuscript which alternates sonatas by Soler and Domenico Scarlatti (who influenced Soler’s writing deeply). Of Soler’s works in the collection, 29 were previously unknown and are recorded here for the first time. With a treasure trove of new music before him, harpsichordist Diego Ares can enjoy the interpretive freedom afforded by works without the weight of expectation. While he was composing in Spain in what is ostensibly the late Baroque, to my ears Soler’s style is more similar to that of style galant composers like CPE Bach, with an emphasis on the melodic line and musical twists aplenty. Ares’ playful style perfectly suits this music, which often breaks into a spirited flurry of semiquavers or dashes away with another fresh melody just when it is least expected.  Soler’s improvisatory compositional style is reflected in some clever programming. Ares’ notes discuss Soler’s publication of rules for improvising modulations to remote keys, and indeed Ares uses a similar method to insert a few linking passages in between sonatas. Though brief, these interludes provide just…

The Marsyas Trio’s A Triple Portrait presents the haunting chamber music of Russian composer Elena Firsova (b. 1950). Firsova, a student of Aleksandr Pirumov and (unofficially) Edison Denisov, moved from Moscow to London just before the fall of the Soviet Union. This disc is the first dedicated to her introspective, personal chamber music. The Marsyas Trio – named for the musical satyr – consists of Australian flute player Helen Vidovich, Canadian cellist Valerie Welbanks and New Zealand pianist Fei Ren. The album opens with the rich sound of Welbanks’ cello in Homage to Canisy, a work inspired by the French castle, Chateau de Canisy, where the composer visits each year, and where the work had its premiere performance in 2010. The centre-piece of the album, A Triple Portrait Op. 132 – from which the disc takes its name – was commissioned by the trio in 2012. The first movement Andante rubato is purely solo flute, the Adagio a short, eloquent trickle of piano notes and the third movement opens with cello and piano, before the flute rejoins to complete the trio. A plucked, walking bass line from the cello gives the movement a smear of blues. Vidovich and Welbanks are…

portrait of North America’s vibrant and diverse classical music culture, with works for cello, with and without piano, performed by brothers Paul and Huw Watkins. Both eminent musicians, Paul has played with the Emerson Quartet and manages a career as a conductor, while Huw is also a notable composer. Both bring technical refinement and a keen musical touch to their performances. Both Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein’s works are appealing, thanks to an attractive lyricism in the former’s case, and jazzy, eclectic beats and rhythms in that of the latter. Paul’s playing is full of passion, but also nuanced in capturing the lighter shades of both works. Elliott Carter’s Sonata for Cello and Piano was an important work for the composer, marking a crucial change away from a lyrical neoclassicism, to melodic angularity and radical rhythmic and metric invention. The pair’s performance here is as fresh and articulate as the work.  George Crumb’s Sonata for Solo Cello is an invigorating experience. The work is a masterpiece – expertly paced, passionate, with beautiful harmonic language and an authentic approach to virtuosity. It is the best demonstration of Paul’s expert musicality.  Finishing with music from Aaron Copland’s old-school American classic Billy the…

Poor old Max Bruch! First, he opted for a flat fee instead of a royalty percentage for his phenomenally successful First Violin Concerto and then persisted in trying to replicate that success – with little success. He lived beyond his creative period and was still influenced by Schumann, Mendelssohn etc. in an age when Wagner and Richard Strauss were the rage. Having said that, I’m absolutely smitten with one of the works on this CD: the A Minor Serenade, Op. 75, composed in 1899. At 36 minutes it almost outstays its welcome (Accardo and the late deeply lamented Kurt Masur on Philips are even slower) but its dreamy first movement, followed by a jaunty march (which has a meltingly lovely Trio section) a ravishing Nocturne and the Finale, which ends as serenely as the work began, make for a delightful diversion. As does the Op. 42 Romance, also in A Minor. Liebeck’s account of the G Minor Concerto is fine but unexceptional. What can there possibly be left to say about it other than his is more demure than some recent renditions? The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins sounds alert and makes this warhorse sound as freshly minted…

An Israeli violinist Barolsky has released her debut solo album, featuring some notoriously challenging works, but even from listening to the first ten seconds of any of the tracks on the album, it is obvious that she understands her own capabilities as a violinist; the technique and knowledge required to successfully perform any of these works requires true dedication to modern repertoire. Introducing the CD with Berio’s infamous Sequenza VIII, Barolsky’s intensity and connection with the work is strikingly obvious. The work itself contrasts with the composer’s other sequenzas through its more melodic approach. Barolsky conveys the work’s musicality throughout, overcoming Berio’s stereotypically “ugly” timbres while portraying a consistent agitato over the full 13 minutes. The album features some other contemporary repertoire, including works for violin and various electronic effects. Dai Fujikura’s Fluid Calligraphy was included, curiously, without the visual aid of the film for which it was scored, which might explain the slight lack of extra sparkle on this track. A personal favourite was Amos Elkana’s Reflections, which features some sort of looping. The effect came across quite convincingly, despite some slight tempo inconsistencies. Barolsky also chose to include a composition by her late father, Michael Barolsky; Prana, Sanskrit…

As Ilja Stephan writes in her informative booklet note to this exquisite new release from French period instrument ensemble L’Arpeggiata, Francesco Cavalli “rode the crest of Venetian opera’s wave”. This full-time church musician composed 40 operas on the side and made a fortune in the process (though a prudent marriage to a rich widow also helped). The programme offers up a selection of arias and instrumental works from six Cavalli’s works – L’Ormindo, Il Giasone, La Rosinda, L’Artemisia, La Didone, L’Eliogabalo and the famous La Calisto – plus instrumental works by contemporaries Kapsperger and Falconieri. As Stephan points out, “the poetic text was a literary work of art in its own right” and Cavalli was lucky to have the talents of such masters as Giovanni Francesco Busenello (who furnished Monteverdi with the libretto for L’Incoronazione di Poppea). In her usual imaginative fashion, Christina Pluhar, directing from harp or theorbo, has filled out the skeletal scores by employing a rich array of instruments including lutes, harps, psalteries, percussion and a harpsichord and chamber organ. And if sopranos Nuria Rial and Hana Blažíková dazzle with their pure, sensuous tones and expressive, lightly virtuosic declamations, recriminations and laments, cornetto player Doron David Sherwin is…

At the centre of this engaging disc is a fresh and vibrant account of Janáček’s famous Glagolitic Mass, so named because the old church Slavonic text is written in Glagolitic characters, a precursor of Cyrillic script. This new recording enhances all the reasons why this work has remained a firm favourite with audiences since its premiere in 1927. The broad and colourful orchestral canvas (including a major part for organ) is vividly conveyed by the super audio engineering. Edward Gardner and his Bergen forces convincingly project the red-blooded and often emotional response to the text with well drilled orchestral playing and evocative singing by the chorus.  Another major contribution is made by Australian Heldentenor Stuart Skelton who delivers the challenging tenor solos with unflinching confidence and surety. Skelton is well complemented by the attractive voice of American soprano, Sara Jakubiak. Mezzo Susan Bickley and bass Gábor Bretz acquit themselves in the smaller roles with distinction. Thomas Trotter deploys the Rieger organ of Bergen cathedral with finesse, especially in his quasi-Bacchanalian seventh-movement solo. Filling out the programme are the orchestral Adagio (c.1890), the Zdrávas Maria (Ave Maria) from 1904 and Otče náš (Our Father) from 1901, revised five years later. These…

This release is consistent with Hyperion’s reputation for creating warm, engaging records matched with exceptional sound. On this fourth volume, Howard Shelley tackles the Opus 35 set of Preludes and Fugues, Mendelssohn’s most substantial opus for solo piano, and pairs it with the popular fifth book of Songs Without Words. Shelley makes a strong case for these Bach-influenced studies. One listen leaves you in no doubt of his musicianship in an album executed with pristine attention to detail – his dexterity is especially on trial in the faster movements. Of particular note is the Prelude in B Minor, while the unpublished  Andante Cantabile and Presto Agitato are something else. Shelley plays with quicksilver speed and agility, but never seems to over-pump the gas. He maintains a reserved, agile, darting sound that dances up and down the keyboard with ease. In the exquisite fifth book of Songs without Words, a lesser pianist might milk phrases or revel in their sentimentality, a tendency that Shelley avoids perfectly. Instead, he marries an understanding of these wonderful Romantic phrases with the clarity that one would expect in Bach. The closing Spring Song is elegant and full of colour. This fine new recording demonstrates why…

If the prospect of a whole disc of wind quintets by Antoine Reicha – whose biggest claim to fame was his friendship with Beethoven – hardly sets pulses racing then the actuality proves more enchanting. The Thalia Ensemble performs on period instruments – no valves on Hylke Rozema’s gamey natural horn – which lifts the soundworld of Reicha’s music out from that rather antiseptic sheen I associate  (unfairly perhaps) with modern instrument wind quintets. Each of Reicha’s 24 wind quintets conforms to the standard four-movement mould as handed down from Haydn and Mozart, and revolutionised by his friend Ludvig van B. Of the two quintets on offer here, the earlier G Major Quintet, Op. 88 embeds the sound of surprise into its form most effectively. Harmonic tricks of the light and rarefied timbres are deployed to spice up the formula. Reicha’s Lento prologue stumbles into existence: a questioning opening chord catches the clarinettist mid-phrase before the music slithers chromatically towards the Allegro main event. Reicha was a flautist and his flute writing is correspondingly athletic, defined by “here’s me”. But my ear was as captivated by his bassoon parts, which dramatically break free from the ensemble, gurgling and turning like water…

Bohuslav Martinů is surely one of the most underrated composers of the 20th century. His unique brand of neoclassicism is addictive: a vivid celebration of folk dance and classical tradition, spiced with pungent harmonies and rhythmic verve. It’s a wonder his music is not performed more. Kudos then to the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, whose recent release of the composer’s two suites from his ballet Špalíček bursts onto the scene with breathtaking élan. A testament to Martinů’s innovative approach to genre, Špalíček was conceived as a hybrid work: a ballet with operatic elements. Translated as ‘Chapbook’, a collection of literary subjects in pamphlet form, Špalíček is a charming conglomeration of fairytales. Familiar characters like Puss in Boots cavort with lions, mice and sparrow hawks, while a princess is rescued (with the aid of a butterfly) by a cobbler from the grips of a terrible giant. There are magicians and mysterious shadows, enchanted castles and even a catchy waltz at Cinderella’s palace ball. And the music is just as imaginative as the stories. The vibrant orchestration shows an early 20th-century predilection for woodwind and brass, with plenty of percussion and piano punctuating the bubbly score. Martinů’s musical subjects are mostly of Bohemian…