Gervase de Peyer - download (MP3 & FLAC)

“Schubert's secular choruses are among his least-known works, so a warm welcome for these charismatic performances of music beautiful enough to make you cry.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 *****

“This disc most delightfully extends the small number of Schubert's part-songs that has been recorded and these beautifully sung performances, very well recorded, capture the intimate spirit of music written primarily for friendly gatherings […] Robert Tear sings his part with lovely tone […] A contralto solo part woven into Ständchen is beautifully sung by Helen Watts […] this lovely disc gave me intense pleasure” Gramophone Magazine (Partsongs)

“Der Hirt auf dem Felsen is marvellously clean and instrumental in execution” Gramophone Magazine (Danco)

“Rarely can a case for live rather than studio performances have been made more persuasively than by the present disc, a study in contrasts if ever there was one. The Amadeus Quartet was celebrated for its homogeneity (accusations from critics of a plush or de luxe style were rare), yet this superb ensemble could easily accommodate other radically different players, and here Curzon's legendary nervous intensity is accentuated by the Amadeus, who join him in a performance of the Franck Quintet so supercharged it virtually tears itself apart. Taken from a 1960 Aldeburgh Festival concert, it eclipses all others (even Curzon's revelatory Decca disc). Curzon and his colleagues hurl themselves at music which clearly they see as hardly needing a cooling agent. How free and rhapsodic is Curzon's reply to the Amadeus's opening dramatico, and what a savage explosion of pent-up energy from all the players at 7'02"! Intonation may suffer in the finale's equestrian nightmare, but the concluding pages are overwhelming, and Curzon's darting crescendos at 3'56" and 58" are like snarls of defiance.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, that assuaging and elusive glory of the repertoire, played with all Gervase de Peyer's serenity and elegance. Yet again, the performance is essentially live, and has the sort of vitality and imaginative subtlety less easy to achieve or even countenance in the studio. And the same could be said of Cecil Aronowitz and William Pleeth, who join the Amadeus for Strauss's Prelude to Capriccio, aptly described in the notes as 'a sumptuous effusion of very late romanticism'. The recordings (1960-71) are vivid and immediate, and odd noises off only add to the sense of occasion. Finally, a word of warning; this performance of the Franck isn't for late-night listening: you'll sleep more peacefully after the Mozart.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Those who think Ireland's music is all face-to-the-wall English melancholy should try the seriously impressive Second Violin Sonata and Second Piano Trio, both wartime-inspired. Strong accounts.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2008 ***

“These whole-hearted, affectionate performances receive characteristically ripe, realistic Chandos engineering. A very rewarding set” Gramophone Magazine