Originally written for musicalcriticism.com
09 September 2009
Volumes of music that contain many different sources of handwriting
as well as short pieces written in the left-over spaces at the bottom
of pages often convey clues as to their owners and the history of their
usage. MS 38539 in the British Library is just one such volume and it
is from this interesting collection that Elizabeth Kenny has compiled her latest programme, Flying Horse.
The manuscript has a fascinating history but one which is not
easily forthcoming. For many years is was thought to be related to the
composer Matthew Locke since the cover bears the initials ML. However,
since the dating of the manuscript has disproved this theory it became
known simply as the 'ML Lutebook.' As Elizabeth Kenny explains in her
notes, it contains a few doodles of the name 'Margaret' that suggests
it was compiled for the private performance of a lady and she may have
passed it on after marriage further indicating that some of the pieces
may have been intended for 'Margaret's' lute lessons, and so a picture
begins to build. Whatever the story it is a fascinating volume and one
that charts an interesting point in musical history for lutenists, as
Kenny says 'wondering where they had collectively ended up after the
confident Golden Age of the Elizabethan lute.'
The programme begins with The Battle Galliard by Dowland which is also known as The King of Denmark's Galliard
in another source. It's a rousing piece, which Kenny plays with an
immediate and energetic style, and it is one of four Galliards on this
album including Dowland's beautifully complex A Gallyard Upon The Gallyard Before which is based upon A Gallyard By Mr Dan Bacheler and the anonymous The Battle
in which Kenny finds many textures and colours which belie the soft
nature of the lute. A collection of Pavans include three pieces by
Robert Johnstone, two of which are dark melancholy works using the
lower lute strings to great effect. The third by Johnson, in F Minor,
is a fascinating piece in which Kenny plays some elegant divisions from
Herbert Cherbury's Lutebook. Courants also appear in this programme
with their sprightly rhythms first taught by the French dancing
masters. It is easy to see why the form became such an obsession since
they are so tuneful, a quality that Kenny brings to the fore in her
playing.
Finally, the group of Tunes and Grounds is the most instantly
appealing on this album. Full of old favourites such as the delightful
John come kiss me now and other well-known pieces from the theatre like Gray's Inn Maske.
These tunes punctuate the programme with more familiar reference
points for those unfamiliar with the lute repertoire and provide a
delightfully interesting comparison with counterparts in other
collections.
Kenny is one of those exciting performers who is also an academic
in her own right. Not only is she Head of Early Music at Southampton
University and a professor of Lute at the Royal Academy of Music but
she is also a principle player with the Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment and a regular collaborator with Les Arts Florissants and
Concordia. This solo recital disc stands as a really fascinating
exploration of an important musical manuscript but is also one of the
best solo lute recordings that I have heard. Excellently programmed and
beautifully recorded it showcases Kenny's virtuosic skills and
sensitive playing without compromising the sense of intimacy that much
of this lute repertoire seems to demand. I am a little disappointed
that the booklet notes, which are otherwise excellent, did not include
details of the instrument that Kenny plays, but the amount of other
information provided on the music more than makes up for that small
oversight. This album comes highly recommended.
Elizabeth Kenny
(Hyperion CDA 67776)
Publications by Edward Breen
This blog provides a central collection of CD reviews, magazine features and academic publications.
Where possible, entries are linked to their original publication.
9 Sept 2009
Henry Purcell: The Complete Ayres for the Theatre
Originally written for musicalcriticism.com
09 September 2009
One of the really wonderful things about the anniversary industry that consumes our current music programming are the re-releases that invariably accompany the celebration of a major composer. This generous 3-CD set makes a welcome reappearance almost fifteen years after it was recorded and it is a testament to the quality of Hyperion's engineers that it has lost nothing of its original impact, sounding as fresh today as it did in the mid 90s.
A total of 34 players appear in this anthology, a bigger consort than we are usually used to with The Parley of Instruments and the music is directed from the violin by Roy Goodman who first shot to public fame as the treble soloist with King's College Choir, Cambridge in Allegri's Miserere recorded in 1963 under Sir David Willcocks. He co-founded The Parley of Instruments in 1977 with Peter Holman.
This programme, A Collection of Ayres, Compos'd for the Theatre, and upon other Occasions (1697), or Ayres for the Theatre, as it was known, was published in the inevitable flood of memorial volumes that followed the composer's death. It was the first printed collection to be comprised solely of incidental music used in the London theatres yet it doesn't present the music at it would have been heard in such establishments but rather reordered by an editor – possibly Daniel Purcell – who took great care to preserve key relationships and to include song tunes and even theatrical dances. Music that originally served a theatrical purpose, from the warning of the audience that the play was about to start to the music that came between the acts therefore migrated from the theatres into public concerts and domestic life.
One of the really fascinating parts in this anthology is the use of song-tunes by the editor in the suites for Purcell's semi-operas, Dioclesian, King Arthur, The Fairy Queen and The Indian Queen to make instrumental versions of vocal numbers. Being among the most popular songs of their day these instrumental versions would have been very popular and they reveal new dissonances that add spice not found in Purcell's original. Such is the care and skill of these arrangements however, that Peter Holman suggests in his notes that these versions may have originally been preludes or ritornelli in the original productions. Whatever their function, they make for delightful and thought-provoking listening.
The anthology presents Ayres for the Theatre complete as a publication in a form that would have been recognizable under Purcell's direction. Great care, as ever, has been taken by The Parley of Instruments to use the instrumental forces of Restoration Theatre and they have also included the appendix of pieces that were omitted from the publication. This careful musicological reconstruction combined with some truly outstanding performances make these recordings an ongoing joy for any collector. There is a great vitality in the string-playing and the continuo instruments crackle with energy even in the slower movements. Listen out too for some wonderful trumpet playing by Crispian Steele-Perkins and Stephen Keavy in the Sonata While The Sun Rises from The Fairy Queen.
This wonderful set is a most-welcome addition to this year's Purcell celebration.
The Parley of Instruments Roy Goodman (Hyperion CDS44381/3)
09 September 2009
One of the really wonderful things about the anniversary industry that consumes our current music programming are the re-releases that invariably accompany the celebration of a major composer. This generous 3-CD set makes a welcome reappearance almost fifteen years after it was recorded and it is a testament to the quality of Hyperion's engineers that it has lost nothing of its original impact, sounding as fresh today as it did in the mid 90s.
A total of 34 players appear in this anthology, a bigger consort than we are usually used to with The Parley of Instruments and the music is directed from the violin by Roy Goodman who first shot to public fame as the treble soloist with King's College Choir, Cambridge in Allegri's Miserere recorded in 1963 under Sir David Willcocks. He co-founded The Parley of Instruments in 1977 with Peter Holman.
This programme, A Collection of Ayres, Compos'd for the Theatre, and upon other Occasions (1697), or Ayres for the Theatre, as it was known, was published in the inevitable flood of memorial volumes that followed the composer's death. It was the first printed collection to be comprised solely of incidental music used in the London theatres yet it doesn't present the music at it would have been heard in such establishments but rather reordered by an editor – possibly Daniel Purcell – who took great care to preserve key relationships and to include song tunes and even theatrical dances. Music that originally served a theatrical purpose, from the warning of the audience that the play was about to start to the music that came between the acts therefore migrated from the theatres into public concerts and domestic life.
One of the really fascinating parts in this anthology is the use of song-tunes by the editor in the suites for Purcell's semi-operas, Dioclesian, King Arthur, The Fairy Queen and The Indian Queen to make instrumental versions of vocal numbers. Being among the most popular songs of their day these instrumental versions would have been very popular and they reveal new dissonances that add spice not found in Purcell's original. Such is the care and skill of these arrangements however, that Peter Holman suggests in his notes that these versions may have originally been preludes or ritornelli in the original productions. Whatever their function, they make for delightful and thought-provoking listening.
The anthology presents Ayres for the Theatre complete as a publication in a form that would have been recognizable under Purcell's direction. Great care, as ever, has been taken by The Parley of Instruments to use the instrumental forces of Restoration Theatre and they have also included the appendix of pieces that were omitted from the publication. This careful musicological reconstruction combined with some truly outstanding performances make these recordings an ongoing joy for any collector. There is a great vitality in the string-playing and the continuo instruments crackle with energy even in the slower movements. Listen out too for some wonderful trumpet playing by Crispian Steele-Perkins and Stephen Keavy in the Sonata While The Sun Rises from The Fairy Queen.
This wonderful set is a most-welcome addition to this year's Purcell celebration.
The Parley of Instruments Roy Goodman (Hyperion CDS44381/3)
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