Topic: Love can transpose things bass and viol to form and dignity.

[Mandryka]

This is, I think, the release of a previously hard to find early CD by well known and well loved consort Spirit of Gambo. The recording is mostly dedicated to music by Johan Schenck, which is not my cup of tea at the moment, despite its evident virtue of melodiousness.

So what a surprise to discover it contains three short pieces by a composer completely new to me, Christian Herwich. He doesn't even have a wikipedia entry, so I guess I can be forgiven for never having come across him before. Born 1609, died 52 years later, the fact that he comes from a couple of generations before Schenck is obvious from the music, which in my opinion calls to mind the contrapuntal, expressive music of his peer Dietrich Stoeffken.  Soeffken is, on the basis of Jonathan Durnford's recording, IMO one of the major masters of viol music.

So what else is there by Herr Herwich? Not much. There's a concerto on a Rembrandt themed CD by Musica Amphion, but it seemed a bit uninteresting to me. But there's also a piece taken on a sort of lute on this CD by Hamburg Ratsmusik, and it is very very very very beautiful.



It's a concert recording, and it sounds as though it may be worth giving a listen.

This is why you need streaming, by the way. I personally would have been disappointed if I'd have forked out real dosh for all that Schenck on the Spirit of Gambo CD, but I'm thrilled they introduced me to this fabulous, if obscure, composer. And it's through searching Qobuz databases that I found the lute piece.

[Mandryka]

                    


You may have come across the name Roberto Gini for his recordings with Tactus -- Monteverdi and other Italians. But he also has a contract with Olive Music, for whom he has made three viol recordings, and really, I think they're all absolutely fabulous (apart maybe for the Lawes, who is a blind spot for me mostly) -- nuanced, eloquent, calm, expressive. In short, the acme of good taste.

He has also recorded this, unless it's the same as the other Farina recording. Has anyone heard it?

[Mandryka]

Lawes's music is never the same, each movement of each one of these suites is distinctive -- sometimes polyphonic, sometimes simply lyrical, occasionally canons, and every now and then sudden and unexpected ruptures in the flow, and strange dissonances.  What Fretwork do here is always fresh, light, tender and sweet. A joy to hear when you're in the mood I think. It has taken me years and years to open up to Lawes's consort music, but today, with this recording, it has finally happened.

[Mandryka]

There are many good recordings of the Purcell fantasias. This one from Harnoncourt dates from the mid 1960s, it has a warm sound which for me is reminiscent of the sound of LPs, that’s probably silly, but it’s true. The ensemble is very much à voix égales, rather than à voix fondues (just made that expression up) - and that contrapuntal approach to these quartets, sextets and septets suits me. No viol is principal, all voices are equally important. But what may well be the really distinctive thing about Harnoncourt’s performances is the sense of joy, more joy than melancholy I think, and the sense of easy going pleasure in making the music blossom. This makes the playing congenial to hear, despite the austerity and the complexity of the music.  These fantasias are at the very end of the centuries long tradition of viol consort music in England, and for once it may well be true that the best is the last (or first with Christopher Tye, let’s not go there.) A lovely recording IMO.

[Mandryka]

An new Demachy recording from Jonathan Dunford, on Qobuz and similar platforms.  It seems fabulous to me this Sunday evening, it’s caught my imagination much more than his earlier recording pictured below, I’ll try to give both more attention soon.



 

[Mandryka]

 A really impressive piece of music on this new recording of music by Demachy by Thomas Dunford, the second suite, in G minor, dark. Bach level impressiveness.  Once again I’m reminded of the quality of solo viol music, which presumable was an inspiration for baroque solo cello music.