Alison Balsom (CD review)

Alison Balsom; various accompanists and ensembles. EMI 509997 31660 2 3.

When I heard Alison Balsom's previous album, Seraph, I had to confess that I was not really up on the latest, greatest trumpet players, so I knew nothing about the British trumpet soloist. A little research helped bring me up to date on one of the instrument's leading exponents. Ms. Balsom is a multiple award winner with over half a dozen records to her credit; she was the former principal trumpet of the London Chamber Orchestra; she's a Visiting Professor of Trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. And, more important, she's a darn fine trumpet player. For her current album, titled simply Alison Balsom, the folks at her record label, EMI, have gathered together thirteen of her most-popular recordings, making an enjoyable best-of set.

The program begins with Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla's Esquala. It's a tango, of course, with a dazzling part for Ms. Balsom and an exciting way to open the show.

However, I might as well tell you now the four things I liked least about this enterprise, and they all have to do with EMI's booklet notes. First, the notes provide no details on who is accompanying Ms. Balsom on any of the tracks. In fact, there is no listing anywhere, booklet, cover, or jewel case back, of who's who. Second, there is no information on any of the composers, not even their first names. The album is all Alison Balsom, as though no one else counted or mattered. Third, there are no track timings listed anywhere, so there is no way to know how long anything lasts. And, fourth, the booklet itself folds out like a road map over a foot and a half long, making it very hard to hold, let alone read, and equally hard to fold back up. None of this is any reflection on Ms. Balcom, I'm sure, just shortsightedness (or neglect) on EMI's part.

Anyway, after Esquala we hear the Adagio from Marcello's Oboe Concerto in C minor, transcribed for piccolo trumpet. It's very sweet in every way.  After that we get even more variety: the traditional tune Shenandoah, which Ms. Balsom plays on flugelhorn with an organ accompaniment. It is quite dignified, and the deep, mellifluous sounds speak volumes about the great landscapes of America.

Next, we hear the Adagio from MacMillan's Seraph for Trumpet and String Orchestra, an angelic conversation between the trumpet and the other instruments of the orchestra. Following that is Rachmaninov's familiar Vocalise. This "song without words" is such a popular favorite, I have a disc in my collection devoted just to arrangements of it for different instruments and ensembles. Ms. Balsom's rendition is as affecting as any I've heard, even if the trumpet seems a little harsh for the piece's ethereal melodies.

And so it goes, with further works by Messiaen, Bach, Neruda, Debussy, and Lindberg. The only concerto presented in its entirety is Albinoni's Concerto after Sonata da Chiesta in D minor, a piece for oboe that Ms. Balsom transcribed for trumpet after she says she heard trumpeter Maurice Andre play it, and she fell in love with it. It gives her a chance to demonstrate her virtuosity while at the same time showing us her more warmly communicative side.

Despite EMI having recorded the tracks over a period of some ten years from 2002-2011, there is a remarkable uniformity of sound involved. All the recordings are smooth and warm, the trumpet ringing out in velvety tones. What I didn't hear, however, was any attempt at ultimate midrange transparency, much of a dynamic impact, and, except in the closing Piazzolla tango, much sense of depth to the orchestral accompaniment. These are recordings clearly meant to highlight the trumpet, placing it first and foremost in our minds. As such, it works fine.

JJP