Page 72 - BBC Music (January 2020)
P. 72
Concerto
CONCERTO CHOICE JS Bach
Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2;
Pahud’s is a dream you Concerto in E, BWV 1053
(arr. Debretzeni); Concerto
in D minor, BWV 1052 (arr.
won’t want to wake from W Fischer
Kati Debretzeni (violin); English
Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner
Claire Jackson finds much to enjoy in this creative Sol Deo Gloria SDG732 70:15 mins
Listening to these
programme of flute concertos and other works deftly phrased,
acutely sensitive,
engagingly supple
performances
Well turned out: from Kati
Emmanuel Pahud Debretzeni and 12 members of the
is a class act English Baroque Soloists is to be
reminded how far we have come
in just a few decades regarding our
understanding of this extraordinary
music. Even as comparatively
recently as the 1960s and ’70s,
Bach’s concertos were invariably
sounded with a well-upholstered,
espressivo cantabile derived from the
19th-century tradition. It was this
bold interpretative approach that
seemed to define at the time how
all canonic masterpieces (whatever
their cultural provenance) should
sound, and which proved perhaps
the greatest obstacle to the initial
acceptance of historically-informed
practice (HIP). When played on an
appropriate scale and in a manner
closer to the kind of sounds Bach
originally envisaged, the emotional
impact of his music sounded
Dreamtime engineering achieves an awareness of the breath (ironically) to many as though it had
in some way been diminished.
Busoni: Divertimento, Op. 52; without marring the overall effect of the music. As One of the unfortunate
Mozart: Andante in C; Penderecki: Flute Concerto; is the idea behind Dreamtime, sometimes it is the ‘in tendencies of HIP on modern
Reinecke: Flute Concerto in D; Ballade, Op. 288; between’ moments that are the most revealing. instruments is to take everything
Takemitsu: I Hear the Water Dreaming Through seven movements, Penderecki’s Flute at breakneck speed, yet Debretzeni
Emmanuel Pahud (flute); Concerto (1992) flutters and flies, moving through and John Eliot Gardiner
Munich Radio Orchestra/Ivan Repušić luxurious expansion (the Andante movements) demonstrate that the music dances
Warner 9029539244 78:38 mins to repeated quaver motifs (Allegro con brio) and a more freely and engagingly at more
Emmanuel Pahud consistently virtuosic display of jumping lines, moderate tempos, with bass lines
delivers high-quality recordings The extended phrases bent notes and double tonguing kept as lithe and agile as their upper
with a twist, from a collection of are perfectly (Poco meno mosso). The Munich counterparts. And that is not all.
rarities by Carl and Franz Doppler Radio Orchestra handles the Listen to the central Andante of
(Farao) to his 2018 double-disc Solo paced by Pahud extremities in dynamics and the A minor Concerto (No. 1) and
(Warner) that layered Telemann textures well. you will hear Gardiner hold those
fantasies with 20th- and 21st-century works. Reinecke’s Concerto (1908), first recorded in 1967, magical suspended harmonies
Dreamtime is similarly creative, programming a wide is a relative newcomer to the repertoire. Both this and with radiant affection. Debretzeni
selection of concertos and concertante pieces themed his Ballade are neo-Romantic in style; the Concerto’s plays throughout with a naturalness
pastoral opening is almost filmic. Mozart’s Andante in
around different experiences of that state.
FABIEN MONTHUBERT, LISA-MARIE MAZZUCCO most obvious links to the topic, having been inspired PERFORMANCE HHHHH of the BWV 1053 harpsichord
and disarming simplicity – most
C provides the perfect ramp to Busoni’s Divertimento.
T!ru Takemitsu’s I Hear the Water Dreaming has the
notably in her skilful transcription
HHHHH
RECORDING
by the Australian Aboriginals’ concept of ancestral
concerto – that makes most
space, which has come to be referred to as ‘dreamtime’.
other recorded versions feel
Hear extracts from this recording and the rest of
Like Takemitsu’s Air, I Hear the Water Dreaming
decidedly effortful by comparison.
this month’s choices on the BBC Music Magazine
contains extended phrases; these are perfectly paced
Julian Haylock
website at www.classical-music.com
by Pahud. Here and elsewhere in the recording, the
HHHH
PERFORMANCE
74 BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE RECORDING HHHHH
