Great review! Thanks for sharing.
The guitar Madeira plays is not the modern guitar. It is a predecessor instrument from the first half of the 19th Century with a very different sound. It features a delicate, light, and resonant sound that sometimes evokes earlier instruments, such as lutes and baroque guitars, but at other times points to characteristics of the modern guitar which developed after it.
These are arrangements, but seem to hold quite true to the core of the composition. As stated in the accompanying booklet:
"Abrahamsen’s transcription, written for the Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen, certainly allows more of that light-hearted side to come through. Its emphasis is on clarity. As in that arrangement, Abrahamsen neither adds nor composes; only edits and pares away. Nielsen’s double winds are cut almost in half and his ten brass reduced to a trio of horn, trumpet and trombone. The three percussionists (essential for the symphony’s most characteristic passages) are retained, but the strings are trimmed to the one instrument per part arrangement typical of the contemporary sinfonietta line-up.
“Finally, the bassoon, which plays an almost concertante role in Nielsen’s score, sees a lot of its music given to the less stentorian combination of cello and double bass. In place of the missing wind and brass, Abrahamsen substitutes piano and harmonium which, alongside an almost complete removal of octave doubling, has profound effects on the work’s texture and timbre. Everything becomes lighter and a little more bell-like, from the staccato vamping of the first movement to the pinging accents added to the fugue subject of the third (more influences from the Baroque!), while the harmonium adds a carnivalesque touch.”
It’s a pure delight!
And once again, I am both enchanted by the engineering quality of the recording and frustrated the Linn’s continuing insistence on locking in at an original recording resolution of 192k.
My second download (Vol. 10) of the Brunetti symphonies cycle being issued by the Camerata Antonio Soler is another winner confirming to me the great value of making known to modern audiences, the very high level work of this previously neglected composer.
Based on this and Vol. 8 I can attest that the performances and recording quality are 1st rate.
Brunetti’s symphonies are highly rewarding to get to know and I’m eager to hear more.
Happy cake day Rushton! And thanks for the great album reviews! You are “helping” me spend money!
Echoes of Budapest, a homage to three friends, The Hague String Trio. Cobra Records 2025 (DXD, DSD256, Stereo, Binaural, MCh) Album HERE
Another excellent release from The Hague String Trio in a recording by Tom Peeters, Cobra Records. All early 20th Century compositions by Pál Hermann, Zoltán Székely, and Géza Frid - “three young Hungarian-Jewish composers whose lives and friendship unfolded against a backdrop of turbulent and unsettled times.” Available in DXD, DSD256, Stereo, Binaural, MCh.
I will write a review, but it will be another 2-weeks or so before it is posted. This is a an excellent new release by a Trio I have greatly valued over the past 15-20 years. Tom’s recordings are always terrific, and he delivers another great one here.
The clavichord is an interesting instrument to hear. Not quite a harpsichord but still with plucked strings. And quite easy to haul around. These compositions come a manuscript held in the Jesuit Mission of Chiquitos, Bolivia, circa 1746, some anonymous and some by well known composers of the period. A fascinating album.
An unexpected delight. I’ve listened to albums from the Rudersal Chamber Players in the past and always enjoyed their performances. I had no idea what to expect with this. But it is very nice! These are chamber works by two composers, Elena Firsova (b. 1950) and Dmitri Smirnov (1948-2020), who met and fell in love while studying at the Moscow Conservatoire. Smirnov and Firsova’s music was heard in ”unofficial” concerts outside the USSR — outside the control and permission of the Union of Soviet Composers. Their music was decidedly not of a style condoned. And their denunciation in 1979 led to severely restricted opportunities. With the futures of their children to consider, they — like so many of their fellow free-thinking composers — made the difficult decision to leave their native Russia. They moved to England in 1991 and settled in St Albans, north of London.
The earliest work on this album was composed in 1991, the others date from 2018-2023. They are challenging, modern compositions. I thoroughly enjoyed them, and was challenged by them in all the best ways.
I’m fond of contemporary Scandinavian music and this latest from Anna Thorvaldsdottir is another fine one from her. It is unique in my listening experience because it was recorded live in one take in a performance venue that uses Myer Sound’s Constellation sound reinforcement system. From what I read, this system takes the advanced control of sound heard by performers and the audience even beyond that of Holoplot’s system used in the Las Vegas Sphere. There’s no loss of realistic instrumental timbre that I can hear and there’s definitely unusual clarity in each instruments recorded voice. Bandcamp has a high res version for sale but the CD I bought is quite fine sounding as well. The electronically generated stygian bass frequencies in the opening movement will definitely tell you if everything in your listening space is well secured!
I’ve posted today at Positive Feedback reviews of several of the albums you’ve seen in my recent posts. Hope something here will be of interest:
Michael Tilson Thomas makes a wonderful recording of the 9th. This one is up for a first listen here…
Among the most diverse compositions in my collection. There is a mood in here to match anything!
Cantus Arcticus, known commonly as the Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, is a 3-part orchestral work by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara that incorporates recordings of birds.
That’s one of my favorite cds. I have several versions of Cantus Arcticus and that’s the most played version.