Music to lift our spirits

Telemann: Recorder Concerto in C major, Concerto for Recorder & Bassoon in F major, Overture in G major

Few composers are more reliable at lifting one's spirits than Georg Philipp Telemann, so this is a well-timed release for a difficult time. Montreal's Arion Orchestre Baroque presents a program that's full of the felicities for which Telemann was celebrated, at least in his own time, and again in the past three or four decades. His reputation was in a major slump in the centuries in between, but thank goodness we've gotten past that dark period. Vincent Lauzer plays the flûte à bec (recorder) in a solo concerto in C major, and with Mathieu Lussier's bassoon, in a double concerto in F major, both of them in the slow-fast-slow-fast format of the sonata da chiesa. The double concerto is especially impressive. It opens with a lovely, graceful Largo that brings to mind scenes of shepherds and shepherdesses by Watteau or Fragonard. A frisky Vivace keeps a lively pace, with the two instruments taking turns to embellish themes and breathlessly add new ones. The dramatic Grave builds up some real tension, which is released in the joyful rush of the Allegro finale.

The two concertos, by the way, were recorded in November of 2019, with Mathieu Lussier, Arion's newly appointed Artistic Director, leading the orchestra. The other half of the program, the Overture in G major, dates back to 2015, with Alexander Weimann at the podium. Remarkably, Telemann wrote 200 Overtures, or Suites, of which some 125 survive. Telemann helped to develop a new multi-cultural style that synthesizes the many dances of all the countries of Europe into a pleasing blend. This largely French-flavoured piece once again is in the pastoral style, this time with oboes and bassoon, placing us in a mythic landscape that seems the perfect place to retire to from today's social isolation.

This album will be released on April 17, 2020

Christmas with subtlety and grace

Lux: Music for Christmas 

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

I've talked before about the two tendencies that enhance a Christmas album, familiarity and novelty, and this new ATMA release has them in exactly the right mix. Paul Mealor's In the Bleak Midwinter, written in 2016, is a lovely setting for choir a cappella and baritone soloist. Besides its musical merits, hearing the new version rather than the accustomed ones of Gustav Holst and Harold Darke has the effect of sending one back to Christina Rossetti's sublime original poem. The outstanding Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, under the direction of Jean-Sebastien Vallee, sings this song with subtlety and grace, but also with the fervour of a community that understands "snow on snow, snow on snow". The 1994 setting of Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen has attained classic status, and shows up fairly often in Christmas programs; again, it's beautifully sung here. Another new classic, Eric Whitacre's Lux aurumque , which gives the disc its title, sounds as good in this live performance as some top choirs. It's a tribute to Jean-Sebastien Vallee and his talented singers that the more erudite numbers co-exist so comfortably with the more traditional choir-and-organ pieces such as David Willcocks' arrangements of Once in Royal David's City and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Organist Jonathan Oldengarm plays a major role in a number of choral numbers, but also has quite a few solo numbers. He plays an impressive instrument of nearly 7,000 pipes, made in 1931 by Casavant Frères of St. Hyacinthe. His interpretation of Sigrid Karg-Elert's Choral-Improvisation on In dulci jubilo which ends the disc is quite outstanding. ATMA has put together a winner for Christmas.

This album will be released on November 17, 2017.

Sex and violence, mystery and libraries

With his Quebec City-based trio Tango Boréal Denis Plante has brought authentic tango, learned at the source in Buenos Aires, to the Great White North. His marvellous new opéra-tango is called La Bibliothèque Interdite (The Forbidden Library). It's based on the poetry, stories and life of Jorge Luis Borges, as well as the poetic tango lyrics of Enrique Santos Discépolo and Roberto Arlt.

The connection between Borges and libraries is one that runs through his whole adult life, from his early experience working in a suburban Buenos Aires public library branch to his ascension as the Director of Argentina's National Library. Borges is for me, and for many librarians like me, the modern version of St. Jerome, a patron saint of libraries and librarians. Themes of total libraries and human libraries and infinite libraries run through his writings, along with his stock company of tigers and minotaurs, mirrors and mazes, and tango. For Borges the tango was both an expression of national character and the mystery, sex and violence he loved in ancient epics and sagas, detective stories and films noirs. "The sexual nature of the tango has often been noted," Borges writes in his 1955 essay A History of the Tango, "but not so its violence."

Borges' manuscript for La Biblioteca Total, 1931 

Plante takes this heady mixture and distills it down to a one hour, one-act opera set in Buenos Aires in 1940 that's musically and dramatically vivid and atmospheric. Plante's story is of a poet working as a concierge in a mysterious library who is abducted by a character from one of his own seditious tangos. Besides Borges, this clever tale is in the tradition of both Latin American magic realists as well as French and Italian experimental writers such as Raymond Queneau, Georges Perec, Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino. The music is, of course, well in hand, with Plante's bandonéon, the guitar and charango of David Jacques and Ian Simpson's bass. The other key to its success is the singer, actor and activist Sébastien Ricard, whose performance in the lead role here is quite stunning. This is so much more than a mere parody of Carlos Gardel, but an authentic re-creation of the classic genre in a modern, global context. The anti-Fascist message in the work is much more than mere history, but has a chilling relevance in the world of today, sadly including even something as close to home as the massacre in Quebec City's Sainte-Foy neighborhood on January 29, 2017.

Illuminating paintings with music

This is a sampler disc of recent pieces from the ATMA Classique catalogue, with a twist, which is due on February 10, 2017. In a partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal sixteen tracks were chosen to illuminate paintings chosen to represent the international collection in this excellent art gallery. Here is The Annunciation by Bernat Martorell:

and the commentary from the liner booklet:

The John Dunstable piece chosen to go with the Martorell is Quam pulchra es, from the 2008 CD Canticum Canticorum by Les Voix Baroques:


This project shows the wide variety of music in the ATMA catalogue: from Renaissance masters through Chopin to Piazzolla, and the great depth of top quality paintings in the Fine Art Museum's collection. The ATMA artists are impressive; they include Les Boreades, Quatour Franz Joseph, l'Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin and many others. I was surprised at first that there were no Canadian paintings chosen, but I suppose the Museum wanted to focus on their international collection, which is impressive. This is an excellent project that will reward focussed listening and viewing.

Fine Christmas music from Montreal

The Montreal-based Arion Orchestre Baroque, led by Alexander Weimann provides an authentic 18th century German Christmas celebration in this excellent new disc from ATMA Classique (due November 4, 2016). With a relatively small (26 player) orchestra and five vocal soloists doubling as the choir, you'd expect a small-scale, intimate performance, but there's also plenty of pomp and exultation to go with the quiet, personal story of a young girl and an angel. Here's the scene at the spectacular Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal at Arion's December 5, 2015 concert (from the album booklet; photograph by Jean Guimond). The album was recorded a few days later at  Église Saint-Augustin, Mirabel.

There are two other things special about this recording. The first is the inclusion of the four laudes, Christmas hymns interpolated into an earlier version of the Magnificat that are rarely included in performance or recordings. The second is the marvellous Christmas Day Cantata by Johann Kuhlau, which is really quite beautiful, and which deserves much more attention in people's Christmas playlists. This disc will certainly feature in mine!

Old favourites at Christmas

If there's one classical CD I've listened to more than any other in the past decade, it's this one with Les Violons du Roy under their founder, Bernard Labadie. Or rather, it's the original of this new reissue by ATMA Classique, first released by Dorian Sono Luminus in 1993. The reissue is due out on November 4, 2016. In some ways it's easier to review a brand new disc I've never heard before than a cherished one that has its MP3 files worn down by constant listening. It's hard to be objective about something I know so well. Perhaps a new version, even by the same group, might be more stylish. After all, the art and science of Historically Information Performance moves ahead every year. But surely there's something to be said, especially at Christmas time, for dearly loved tradition. This is simply the best selection of Baroque pastoral music, which goes best with snow falling on Christmas Eve.

This tweet is six years old!

My favourite Xmas CD this year: Les Violons du Roy, Christmas Symphonies, Lalande, Pezel, +more @Sono__Luminus - listening @NaxosMusicLib

— Dean Villa-Frey (@villa_lobos) December 18, 2010

Quartets from an important Canadian modernist

2016 is the centennial year for a number of composers, notably Alberto Ginastera and Milton Babbitt. I hadn't heard anything about celebrations for Jean Papineau-Couture, who was born in Montreal on November 12, 1916, until this new ATMA Classique disc came along. It's an important release from 

the Quatuor Molinari, who I know from their excellent Kurtag, Gubaidulina and Schnittke albums for ATMA.

Papineau-Couture studied with Quincy Porter at the New England Conservatory, and then with (you guessed it!) Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Boulanger connected him with Stravinsky, and the two got along well. There's a 1944-45 photo in the liner notes of Papineau-Couture and his wife with the Stravinskys and Boulanger at Feather Hill Ranch, Montecito, California. You can hear Stravinsky's influence and the sound of modernist Paris in P-C's 1st Quartet from 1953. By the time of his second quartet in 1967 he's still resisting the siren sound of 12-tone music, but he's definitely moving in that direction. Incidentally, the piece was written in celebration of Canada's Centennial and Boulanger's 80th birthday. The most advanced work in that regard is the string trio Slanò from 1973, which has a complex, experimental sound. Both the 3rd quartet from 1996 and the 4th quartet, unfinished at his death in 2000, have a spare sound, and hearken back to early music. This is a valuable release (coming November 4, 2016). For more information on this appealing composer, visit the Papineau-Couture page at the indispensable Canadian Music Centre website.

A unique sound-world

I'm a bit late to the party here. Everyone is talking about Peter-Anthony Togni's new opera Isis and Osiris, which recently had its premiere in Toronto.  I'm hoping a CD, or better yet, a DVD/Blu-ray, will be forthcoming. This disc of Responsio was released by the excellent Canadian label ATMA Classique last September, but somehow I missed it. It was nominated for a 2016 Juno award (Canada's version of the Grammys).

The sound-world of Peter-Anthony Togni's Responsio is completely unique. The great 14th century masterpiece Messe de Nostre Dame by Guillaume de Machaut is completely enveloped in the 21st century sound of a composer emerging as one of Canada's greats. A perfectly-integrated quartet of great solo voices - Suzie LeBlanc, Andrea Ludwig, Charles Daniels and John Potter - is likewise surrounded by the amazing sounds that emerge from Jeff Reilly's bass clarinet. Here's an instrument that we didn't know we were missing! Reilly, by the way, doubles as producer on the disc, and nails the technical aspects of the recording while doing exactly the same musically.



When I first listened to this music I imagined the musicians in the beautiful space pictured on the CD cover: the Cathedral at Reims, where Machaut probably composed his Messe, some time around 1365. The recording was actually made at the Eglise St. Bernard, on the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores in lovely Nova Scotia. I really regret missing visiting this church on our Maritimes trip last summer. We should have taken Highway 1 instead of the faster 101 between Weymouth and Yarmouth!

You can get a feel for that space in this excellent promotional video:



One of my favourite musical trends relating to what we used to call Early Music is the interaction between old and new music. I agree with Stephen Hough, in his recent blog post at The Telegraph: we needn't apologize for presenting classic musical works. But:

If our concert halls are like museums for music that doesn't mean we should just unthinkingly trundle out the same pieces every season. We might need to hang or light a painting better, display it alongside something different, rethink our education programmes, explain its beauty and significance more imaginatively, send it to the restorers.

We absolutely have to take every opportunity to make those connections between old and new. This might involve programming old and new music on the same program or recording, or it might be an organic re-mix like this thoughtful, vital work, which I believe will be seen as an important Canadian composition for a long, long time.

And speaking of museums, if I hurry with this review, I can provide some useful information to Montrealers. The original cast will be performing Responsio at one of my favourite museums in the world, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on April 20, 2016. Wish I could be there!

Dynamism and variety

The new ATMA disc of Vivaldi concertos, to be released on Amazon on March 11, 2016, reminds us what an amazing composer Vivaldi was. I've been exploring the composer's operas and sacred music lately, and it was nice to get back to this well-chosen disc of orchestral music, with all of its dynamism and variety. There's often something dumb about a clever aphorism, and there's no dumber aphorism than Stravinsky's line (or was it Dallapiccola's?), that Vivaldi didn't write 500 concertos, but one concerto 500 times. "Very interesting," you say, like Arte Johnson in Laugh-In, "but stupid."

Some of the concertos chosen by associate conductor Mathieu Lussier are very familiar, and listening to the two concertos from the great series L'Estro Armonico, op. 3 you can see why these have been "greatest hit" material since Vivaldi's time. Indeed, I've known and loved these pieces since I first heard them on an Archiv LP in the late 60s. Mixing in more obscure pieces like the Sinfonia from the opera La Verità in Cimento brings in the opera-house excitement and anticipation of a great overture. And there are plenty of opportunities for excellent solos: oboes, bassoon, trumpets, horns and violins all have their chance to shine.

This is Mathieu Lussier's second disc in charge during the convalescence of founding conductor Bernard Labadie following his extended cancer treatment. I know Lussier best as a bassoonist and composer, and he brings soloist and compositional skills to bear in these controlled but exciting, inventive readings with the excellent Quebec musicians. I look forward to more discs from this group under Lussier and Labadie, and trust that the repertoire will be as well-chosen. And, of course, we're all pulling for a complete recovery for Maestro Labadie. 

This is fun: video from the recording session:

Here's my old LP, which was released in 1967. Archiv LPs were expensive! I treasured this disc.

Special music from Venice

From May 13, 2014:

The Montreal-based early music group Pallade Musica recorded their first disc, of Venetian music by the transitional composers Castello, Merula and Legrenzi, in September 2013. It’s a winner in every way. The repertoire chosen is historically important, as the new expressive musical language of the Baroque began to replace the more learned polyphony of the High Renaissance. The canzoni and sonate by Giovanni Legrenzi, Dario Castello and Tarquinio Merula represent a balance of emotion and intellect, and the four talented performers of Pallade Musica walk that tightrope with grace and power, and apparent ease. This rewarding disc recalls a special time in the private life of that most special city, Venice.

For fans only

From June 21, 2013:

Quebec lyric tenor Marc Hervieux has a strong, strong voice, and I admired his musicianship on two opera recital discs he's recorded for ATMA. The repertoire in this new disc "Mes plaisirs" isn't to my taste, but the voice is certainly still there, and is enthusiastically applauded by the audience at the Grand Theatre de Quebec. There's not a lot of variety in the arrangements of these "favourite" songs, by Simon Leclerc, and Hervieux is singing full-bore for much of the time. Beautiful tone, plenty of volume, holding power: Hervieux has those in abundance. But he doesn't have a chance to show his full range; of colour, of drama, of simple volume. This "cross-over" disc is for fans, or those who don't want too much taste or nuance to get in the way of dramatic cresendos and crashing climaxes.

Sociable music with charm and character

From August 22, 2011:

I know Mathieu Lussier as a bassoonist, especially in Latin American and Baroque repertoire, but he's also an accomplished composer. This new CD from ATMA Classique shows this accomplishment, and also highlights his range and broad appeal.

All of these works feature music for wind instruments, and are presented by Pentaedre, the wide-ranging and progressive wind chamber group based in Montreal. Lussier's music is accessible and colourful, often marked by playfulness and sentiment. It shows the influence of French composers of the 20th century such as Milhaud, Francaix, & Poulenc, and of Latin American composers like Piazzolla and Villa-Lobos. Most important, though, is the general "folkloric" feel of the music. There is something timeless about the often simple melodies from which Lussier builds these well-constructed pieces. This music is crafted for use in the manner of the sociable Baroque musician rather than the Romantic artist writing for posterity in his lonely attic. Lussier knows these instruments well - flute, clarinet, oboe d'amour, horn, and saxophone, as well as bassoon. The performers (from Pentaedre, as well as guest artists) play with character, charm and virtuosity. He also writes interesting music for the pianist to play. These are not always merely accompaniments, and Louise Lessard plays her parts with musicality, wit and grace.

The final work on the CD is a major chamber work for wind quintet and contrabassoon. The Sextuor, op. 19, is evocative music, courtly, grave, phantastical and wistful. This piece deserves to be taken up by wind ensembles around the world.

Superb Adams and Glass from Canada

From October 20, 2010:

Composer John Adams has called the two piano pieces China Gates and Phrygian Gates "my opus ones,... my first coherent statements in a new language". Written in 1977 and 1978, they have a theoretical framework as complex as Schoenberg's or Bach's, but they sound completely organic, as if produced by some natural process.

Adams calls Phrygian Gates "a behemoth of sorts". The work requires a pianist gifted with significant technical abilities, in much the same way as Liszt's B minor Sonata or Villa-Lobos's Rudepoema. Such skills are on display in David Jalbert's fine new recording from Canada's ATMA label. He has the dexterity to manage Adams' separate-hand waves (a much more complicated and more musical version of patting your head and rubbing your stomach), and he can turn on a dime when Adams abruptly shifts modes, as a gate (analogous to logic gates in computers) changes its state. As well, he has the stamina to dilineate Adams' architecture built from long arches of sound. China Gates uses similar ideas but is much less complex. It has a delicacy that the larger piece doesn't have, and Jalbert brings out plenty of beauty from this simplicity.

The Orphee Suite by Philip Glass was transcribed for piano by Paul Barnes, based on Glass's 1991 chamber opera, which was inspired by the great 1950 film by Jean Cocteau. Jalbert's version of this dramatic music is preferable to Barnes' own recording, released on Orange Mountain in 2003. It seems to me more incisive, less sentimental. As well, the ATMA disc has exceptional sound.

David Jalbert's 2008 recording of the Shostakovitch Preludes and Fugues is a favourite of mine. It was, quite rightly, very well received, and this new disc should bring similar praise.

Tangos in an ice storm

From September 30, 2010:

Opposites attract. That's one explanation for the odd connections between the music of Latin America and music enthusiasts in subarctic places. Tropical music of all kinds has had an amazing uptake in Scandanavia, for example, and the music of Villa-Lobos looms large in chilly Alberta. And one of the world's greatest Bandoneon performers & composers makes his home in Quebec.

Denis Plante's original compositions use traditional forms in original ways. Plante is described as "a spiritual son of Astor Piazzolla", and from start to finish the new disc Tango Boreal bears this out. The elements of jazz and Baroque music that Piazzolla melded to traditional tango to create "Nuevo Tango" are important parts of Plante's musical upbringing. The Argentine roots of this music are clear, but I'm thinking as well that Plante sometimes incorporates folk traditions closer to his Quebec home.

Plante's interesting and enlightening liner notes mention that his first tango compositions were written at the time of the famous Ice Storm that hit Quebec in 1998. That brings this world-spanning music into focus.

Denis Plante's playing, on an ancient and very special instrument akin to the one played by Piazzolla himself, is completely assured, and ably supported by guitarist David Jacques and bassist Ian Simpson.