Bourges, L’iIe aus Monuments, V Comme dans Bach, Eine Walzer, L’Ile des
Vents; Traversées, L’ile au Printemps, See You… – Analekta AN 2 9808,
45:48 ****:
Montreal’s Claude Lamothe seems to be following in the footsteps of
other cellists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Matt Haimovitz in not allowing
himself to be restricted to the “normal” repertory of the symphony or
chamber music for his chosen instrument. He began his musical career as
a bassist but soon discovered the mysteries of the cello. He
joined I Musici de Montreal but later wanted to be more freewheeling in
his repertory and decided to electrify his cello. This led to a broader
repertory and sometimes startling effects when hearing the cello
unaccompanied.
The warm and rich timbre of the cello has been embraced by many
different composers, and now Lamothe has composed all the dozen works
on this CD which demonstrate his crossover appeal and virtuoso playing
skills. As with clarinetist Crumpler also reviewed today, Lamothe
has achieved an ensemble sound in some of the works via overdubbing –
in one case multiplying his cello by as many as 60 times! A Pleno
Sol and Tango Nocturno sound like Piazzolla tangos, accompanied by an
ensemble of cellos. V Comme dans Bach is in the style of Bach, as you
would expect. Lamothe has evidently written a series of pieces on the
theme “The Island of…” and “Printemps” is a theme by Felix Leclerc
and variations on that theme. The entire disc is a wonderful and
fresh sound and the arrangements for the multiple cellos are terrific.
– John Sunier
