Recent Releases No. 75 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune L87 (arr. David Walter); Violin Sonata in G minor L148; Sonata for flute, viola and harp L145; Cello Sonata in D minor L144; String Quartet in G minor L91. The Nash Ensemble. Hyperion CDA68463

 

Those classical music fans who are familiar with previous recordings by the venerable British chamber collective known as the Nash Ensemble have no doubt come to expect quality work from the group. The Nash is the resident Chamber Ensemble at London’s famous Wigmore Hall, where every year since 1979 it has presented a series devoted to exploring the many different nooks and crannies of the chamber music catalog. Current members of the Ensemble include Philippa Davies, flute; Gareth Hulse, oboe; Richard Hosford, clarinet; John McDougall, bassoon; Richard Watkins, horn; Benjamin Nabarro, violin; Jonathan Stone, violin; Lawrence Power, viola; Adrian Brendel, cello; Graham Mitchell, double bass; Lucy Wakeford, harp; and Richard Benjafield, percussion. Here, the British group presents French music and does so quite persuasively. This generously filled disc (77+ minutes) opens with a delightfully transparent arrangement – not too thin, not too thick – of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune for the combination of string quintet, wind quintet, and crotales (small tuned cymbals). Although the remainder of the program might be of music that many fans of Debussy might already have in their collection, the quality of the performances, the quality of the engineering, the quality of the liner notes, and the particularly noteworthy version of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune combine to make this highly recommendable release.

 

Knaifel: Chapter Eight. Canticum Canticorum for cathedral, choirs, and cello – 1. Stanza I-VII 2. Stanza VIII-XXII 3. Stanza XXIII-XXXII. Patrick Demenga, cello; State Choir Latvija; Riga Cathedral Boys Choir; Youth Choir Kamer; Andres Mustonen, conductor. ECM New Series 2637 485 9853

Alexander Knaifel (1943-2024) was born in 1943 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, but grew up in St Petersburg. He studied with Rostropovich and his relationship with him remained close until the great cellist’s death. He was born into a Jewish family, but was also attracted by the Orthodox church and Buddhism; he has spoken of seeking to convey something of the heart of faith by "speaking in a low voice, hoping to hear a voice within oneself.” Although some critics have found echoes of Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, and Henryck Górecki in Knaifel’s quest for beauty, he has a style that is entirely his own, with its own expressive power. Of his personal quest for beauty, Knaifel once observed: "The sounds are, for me, signs of the existence of beauty. Beauty is the most important thing for me – it is energy, unrepeatable.” There is abundant beauty to be found in Chapter Eight, but it is beauty of a subtle sort. Knaifel considered the acoustic environment in which the piece would be played – a cathedral – to be instrumental in producing the sound he envisioned. Although the listing in the header above of three choirs and a cello soloist might give the impression that this is going to be some sort of sonic spectacular, with soaring vocal soloists, complex contrapuntal choral lines, and virtuosic flights of fancy from the cello, the music is restrained, contemplative, yet powerful in its own way. Rostropovich said of Chapter Eight, “It is amazing with what a deep sense of beauty this composition for church, choruses, and cello is imbued.” The performance on this album was recorded in Lucerne’s Jesuitenkirche, built in the Baroque era, and long renowned for its exceptional acoustic properties. With that beautiful sound faithfully captured by the ECM engineering team, this is a release to be treasured.

 

Live Concert Report: Stanley Clarke

 

I recently attended a show featuring the legendary bassist Stanley Clarke (b. 1951), a virtuoso on both the electric and acoustic bass. Music fans of a certain age may recall that Clarke first gained exposure in the 1970s as the bass player with the jazz fusion group Return to Forever, which along with Clarke featured the late Chick Corea on keyboards, Al DiMeola on guitar, and Lenny White on drums. He has since gone on to make many recordings as a leader and has toured the world with many bands that he has assembled over the years. On this night in Cincinnati, in a venue where my son and I had purchased front-row center seats, the band Clarke led onto the stage included Cameron Graves, piano, synths; Emilio Modeste, saxophone; Evan Garr, violin; and Jeremiah Collier, drums.  Clarke opened the show on acoustic bass (amplified), after announcing to the crowd that he and his band were going to begin by“warming up.” They immediately launched into a high-energy fusion number, with Collier whacking the daylights out of his drumkit and Clarke laying down lightning fast and powerful riffs on his bass. And so it went through the evening, Clarke and Collier laying down the bottom (Clarke occasionally picking up the electric bass), with some flashy solos being traded among the violin, saxophone and keyboard. Collier on drums deserves special notice, for he was simply amazing – energetic, emphatic, but never overbearing. He and Clarke had an amazing musical rapport, driving the music along from the bottom up.

 

As the show ended, I screwed up my courage and shouted, “Hey Stanley!” to the man on the stage who stood no more than ten feet from me. To my surprise, he walked over to me, and I quickly told him I had seen him 50 years ago with Return to Forever in Salt Lake City. And that he was one of my musical heroes. He gave me a quick smile, stuck out his hand and gave me a firm handshake, then quickly turned away to exit the stage with his bandmates. I was thrilled! What makes this little episode strange is that while I was shaking the hand of one of my all-time hero bass players, I was wearing my Jack Casady t-shirt, Jack Casady being one of my all-time hero bass players (Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna). Stranger yet, in 1970, while dating the young woman who is now my wife, we attended a Jefferson Airplane concert at the old Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. Before the show, a few of the band members wandered over to the boundary of the seated area, and I was able to shake hands with my hero, Jack Casady. Like a giddy teenager, all I could think to say was, “I really dig your music.” Well, little did I dream that 55 years later I would be wearing a t-shirt with his likeness on it as I shook the hand of another of my bass player heroes. Life can be can take some strange and delightful turns...