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FRANÇOIS COUPERIN: Leçons de Ténèbres; DE BROSSARD: Trio Sonatas; Stabat Mater – Lucy Crowe & Elizabeth Watts, sops./ La Nuova Musica/ David Bates – Harmonia mundi/PIAS

FRANÇOIS COUPERIN: Leçons de Ténèbres; DE BROSSARD: Trio Sonatas; Stabat Mater – Lucy Crowe & Elizabeth Watts, sops./ La Nuova Musica/ David Bates – Harmonia mundi/PIAS

by | Oct 4, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

FRANÇOIS COUPERIN: Leçons de Ténèbres; SÉBASTIEN DE BROSSARD: Trio Sonatas; Stabat Mater – Lucy Crowe and Elizabeth Watts, sopranos/ La Nuova Musica/ David Bates – Harmonia mundi/PIAS HMU 807659, 70:20 (9-9-16) *****: Francois Couperin vs. Jean-Phillipe Rameau. Strange to think that François Couperin, harpsichordist to Louis XIV, and Rameau, the other great French harpsichordist of the time, may never have met. It would have been an interesting meeting; their music is so different, Couperin’s more delicate, more filigreed, perfumed, reflective, splendid, whereas Rameau’s was like that too, but definitely more drop-dead brilliant. For decades, Couperin lived as the more important of the two, more relevant to the original-instrument discoveries of our modern age that were spearheaded by keyboard players and instrumentalists in general, but recently as opera from all periods has become huge international business, Couperin eclipsed the younger virtuoso, in large part part if not primarily due to the spectacular pomp and circumstance of the big moments, the irresistibly catchy nature of his dance tunes, and the melting beauty of his romance. For decades, Fr. Couperin lived as the more important of the two to our modern age, but recently he has been eclipsed the younger virtuoso, in large part part […]

LIEUWEN: Concertos Volume II = Slovak Nat. Sym. Orch. /Franz Krager and Texas Musical Festival Orch./ Krager – MRS Classics

LIEUWEN: Concertos Volume II = Slovak Nat. Sym. Orch. /Franz Krager and Texas Musical Festival Orch./ Krager – MRS Classics

by | Jul 23, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

LIEUWEN: Concertos Volume II = Concerto for Cello and Orchestra; Romance for Violin, Cello and Orchestra; Vivace for String Orchestra; Concerto for Piano, Marimba and Orchestra – Slovak Nat. Sym. Orch. /Franz Krager and Texas Musical Festival Orch./ Krager – MRS Classics MSR 1582 (4/14/16) TT: 1:03:57 [Distr. by Albany] ****: Contemporary music fans will feel at home with Lieuwen’s lovely compositions. My colleague Steven Ritter has previously reviewed Peter Lieuwen’s other MSR Classics disc, which comprises volume 1. He wished for more, and this disc is volume 2, entitled Concertos. As Steven Ritter noted, Lieuwen’s work is hard to characterize. I hear music that sounds like Gade, and some of the American contemporary masters, but the fact is Lieuwen’s sound is unique and compelling. Driving rhythms, thoughtful music, and some lovely dynamics make his music worth more than passing notice. The first work on the disc is a fine listen. It’s the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, written in 2012. The concerto was written for cellist Nicholas Jones, who performs it here. The first movement is massively dynamic, while the second movement is played broadly and more melancholy at the outset. I have mixed options about the recording. The […]

American Friends (1993)

American Friends (1993)

by | Jul 10, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

American Friends (1993)   Cast: Michael Palin, Alfred Molina Director: Tristram Powell Producers: Patrick Cassavetti and Steve Abbott Screenplay: Michael Palin
 Studio: MGM (2/16/16)
 Video: for 16:9 screens Audio: PCM Stereo
 Language: English, no subtitles
 All regions 
Length: 96:00
 Rating: ***1/2 “And now, for something completely different.” I couldn’t resist the analogy. It is doubtful that Michael Palin (and John Cleese, et al) will ever shake off their renown from the iconic British comedy from the 1970s, Monty Python’s Flying Circus; and nor should they, brilliant as it was. This very soft, quiet and lightly amusing story, written by and starring Michael Palin, is one of the few times he has gone out and tried to do some largely ‘serious’ acting. For the most part, it succeeds, on the strength of Palin’s measured but quirky performance as a buttoned up college professor. Palin is the Reverend Francis Ashby, a fairly stodgy professor at St. John’s College Oxford, who goes off on a walking holiday in Switzerland. While high up in the Swiss Alps, Ashby comes across two American women: Caroline Hartley and her beautiful eighteen-year-old ward, Elinor. He begins to find the company of the women a welcome change from […]

The Michael Blum Quartet – Chasin’ Oscar – A Tribute To Oscar Peterson – Michael Blum Music

The Michael Blum Quartet – Chasin’ Oscar – A Tribute To Oscar Peterson – Michael Blum Music

by | Jun 19, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

The Michael Blum Quartet – Chasin’ Oscar – A Tribute To Oscar Peterson – Michael Blum Music, 46:32 ***:  A well-meaning divertimento. (Michael Blum – guitar and vocals; Jim Stinnett – bass; Brad Smith – piano; Dom Moio – drums) There is an old proverb which states: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery“. That being said, it would be impossible to exaggerate Michael Blum’s dedication to these words, as he has taken a number of Oscar’s pieces, and learned his piano solos note for note by ear, to be played on the guitar. Anyone who has listened to Oscar understands what a daunting challenge that would be, as there was not a note that Oscar did not like. The result is the album Chasin’ Oscar A Tribute To Oscar Peterson which is a diverting exposition and musical exploration. While this is a clever musical feat, the question should be asked to what end? And if a listener wanted to hear such playing, why not go to the original Oscar Peterson material and listen to the master himself? However the more reasonable explanation is that Blum loved the music and was fascinated by the unbridled technique of the originator. Beginning […]