Zelenka: Missa Circumcisionis, ZWV 11; Missa Corporis Domini, ZWV 3. Václav Luks; Collegium 1704 and Collegium Vocale 1704. Accent ACC24416.
Jan Dismas Zelenka's music is still one of the best-kept secrets of the Baroque repertoire. The recipient of some tough breaks, including seeing composers of inferior talent leap-frog him at the Dresden court, he nonetheless produced some of the tangiest works of his time. While this includes entries in multiple genres, his choral-orchestral masses stand pre-eminent. The three greatest of these – the Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis, the Missa Dei Patris, and the Missa Dei Filii – were composed in the 1730s and hold their own in any similar company. (Yes, I absolutely meant that.) The two masses on this recording date from earlier. While they do not achieve the lofty heights of these others, they are punchily attractive and already start experimenting with the cyclic motives and choruses that distinguish the late masterpieces. I'm not sure that Václav Luks and his cohorts beat the available competition in every respect. (Adam Viktora and the Ensemble Inégal, for example, deliver perhaps a more expressive account of the Missa Circumcisionis on NIBIRU 01782231.) But this is nonetheless an excellent choice that should please nearly everyone. I'd like to think it's just a matter of time before Zelenka finally comes into his own in the concert hall. Meanwhile, I'm pleased to see his discography growing apace with one fine disc after another. Verdict: Highly Recommended.
Walton: Orb and Sceptre; Symphonies Nos. 1-2. Kazuki Yamada, conductor; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Deutsche Grammophon 4868227.
I've noticed something in the British classical music press: they get very excited and sometimes over-praise whenever someone non-British records one of their beloved own works. That's what's happened here. Yamada supposedly brings a new sensibility to this music, a sharp ear for orchestral sonority, and a refusal to "wallow" in the First Symphony (see Bachtrack and others.) Okay, granted. But we could honestly use a bit more wallowing. What this First is missing, especially in the first movement, is that earnestness and desperation which come through in any good performance. For instance when a secondary idea re-enters in the high strings over the march-like brass following Rehearsal 33 we need it to be devastating. We need things to wallow in that emotional exhaustion, not meander in like C3PO on Hoth. (A good benchmark here is Andrew Litton and the Bournemouth Symphony: London 4434502.) Walton 2 finds Yamada and the CBSO in fine form, with admirable precision and bright colors. Which is telling because this symphony, while deftly crafted, is bereft of soul. Whatever was in Walton for his white-hot earlier works had left him by the time he composed No. 2. You can take or leave this Orb and Sceptre. Verdict: Recommended for the Second Symphony...if you're really a fan.
Einaudi: Solo Piano. Decca 8823913.
The music of Ludovico Einaudi presents something of a challenge for me as a critic. I know, I know: some of you are asking how this music can possibly be construed as challenging. But this lies at the heart of a problem for someone who rails against classical music snobbery as much as I do – what are the boundaries between art music and other music? How pedestrian does something have to be before I'll no longer defend it as art? I honestly don't know. In some ways this album is a good sounding board for my dilemma: it presents both new pieces and old ones from across Einaudi's career. So it's an ideal sampling upon which to stake my opinion of both recording and composer. If I'm honest, a lot of this stuff sounds to me like a teenage girl banging out poppish songs on the clunky church basement piano. Or it reminds me of background music to an animal help commercial: "With your donation, other dogs like Fluffy can find good homes." Does this make it bad? No. And the good part is, I don't have to worry about categories after all. My criteria don't change: does it contain something that speaks to me? That's ultimately all I care about. Here on this disc, I can point to selections where I liked the repetitious melodies or turns of phrase enough to listen again. They were Melodia Africana III, Memory One, and Jay. I invite you to listen and see if you liked more than these, or even not as many. If it's a case of the former, enjoy them all you want. And don't let snotty critics like me tell you you're wrong for doing so...or for considering it "classical." Verdict: Recommended.
Finnish Works for Violin and Orchestra (by Englund, Fougstedt, Haapalainen, Merikanto, Palmgren, and Raitio). Linda Hedlund, violinist; József Hárs, conductor; La Tempesta Orchestra. Naxos 8.579185.
Welp, here's another one of those compilation discs where the most likable item is a two-minute bon-bon at the end. That would be Einar Englund's "Romance" from his music for the Finnish comedy film Omena putoaa (1952). Everything else is frankly forgettable. Some of these composers are more than capable of producing the occasional gem. But even Selim Palmgren, who apart from Englund is probably the best of them, shows up squarely in pedestrian mode with his Op. 104 Concert Fantasy. That's the first item on the disc, and consistent in quality with nearly everything that follows. I could sit here and give you a tedious rundown of each piece, but what's the point? The best I can say is that every track is mercifully modest in length, so you get only a manageable dose of a different mediocrity each time. Certain listeners might be more excited about all of this than I am, but for everyone else I'll simply suggest buying the Englund track and leaving it at that. Verdict: Indifferent.
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