Search
Special Offers
Awards
Online Payment
Visit us
Presto News - 13th June 2011Byrd’s Complete Consort Music |
 I imagine the sound of a viol consort will be fairly unfamiliar to many readers, so I’m particularly pleased to have a terrific new recording of Byrd’s complete consort music played by Phantasm to write about today. A former pupil of Thomas Tallis, William Byrd (c.1540-1623) wrote in a wide variety of styles and his significant output included masses, Latin motets, English song, keyboard music, and of course consort music. He is generally regarded as one of the great masters of European Renaissance music, and in England, the greatest composer of the Elizabethan era.  Phantasm Despite spanning nearly forty years, Byrd’s complete surviving consort music fits conveniently onto one disc. As Laurence Dreyfus points out in his interesting and well-written booklet notes, you can trace a stylistic development throughout those years – starting with pieces which used devotional hymn tunes as their starting point, going through music based on popular tunes and dances before finally writing a number of fantasias which don’t have an obvious influence but are just supremely crafted musical miniatures, full of dense counterpoint and lush sonorities. To create variety, Dreyfus opts not to present them in chronological order on this disc, but to mix them up, and so throughout the disc you are constantly switching between lighter more dance-like pieces, slower more meditational ones, and richer more emotional ones. I think this works very well. There are three types of viol used on this disc – treble, tenor and bass – and the pieces on here call for various combinations from just three instruments up to six. I frequently found it curiously hard to tell how many were actually playing here, particularly in the three-part fantasias where I found myself double and triple checking the track list to confirm that there were indeed only three people playing! Phantasm are one of the finest viol consorts in the world today, and previous recordings have won two Gramophone Awards in addition to numerous other international nominations and citations. Here you can quickly tell why they are so revered – they blend into a rich but sweet sound, tuning is faultless, while balance and ensemble sound like a single person at work. This music is beautiful and that obviously helps, but the way they create a calmness to the more sensual pieces, engage with the dance rhythms of the lighter ones, and relish the rich counterpoint of others shows a real understanding and commitment to this music. When writing this music Byrd clearly enjoyed the freedom to experiment given to him by not having to set a specific text, and Phantasm clearly enjoy playing the music just as much. You’ll probably have noticed recently that we’ve started adding a significant number of sound samples to the website – particularly for new and recent releases. I hope that for discs like this, those samples are particularly useful in order to get a real idea of what the music and performances are like. Enjoy!
|
Share
|
 Byrd: Complete Consort MusicPhantasm |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
Listen - sound samples available for this itemNew Releases13th June 2011 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Danielle de Niese: The Beauty of BaroqueDanielle de Niese (soprano), The English Concert, Harry BicketWith her third solo album, Danielle de Niese embodies the Beauty of the Baroque with an album of arias from the English, German, and Italian traditions, accompanied by the leading European Baroque orchestra, The English Concert, under Harry Bicket. Many popular arias feature, including Handel’s ‘Ombra mai fu’, and highlights from J S Bach’s Cantatas are contrasted with much loved solo songs by Purcell and Dowland. |
 Schubert: Symphony No. 9Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer"Iván Fischer's reading of Schubert's Great Symphony in C Major with the Budapest Festival Orchestra lends this glorious extrapolation of Beethovenian style an audaciously rich flavour with no loss of crispness." - The Independent, May 2011 |
 Poulenc: Concerto pour deux pianos et orchestre, Concert Champêtre & Suite FrançaiseJos van Immerseel (piano, harpsichord, conductor), Claire Chevallier (piano) & Katerina Chrobokova (harpsichord), Anima Eterna BruggeAfter exploring the universe of Ravel, Anima Eterna continues its voyage of discovery through twentieth-century French music with Francis Poulenc. In Jos van Immerseel’s view, Poulenc is one of the most significant personalities of the twentieth century, coupling immense erudition with surprising spontaneity. Not to mention the fact that Poulenc was also a particularly brilliant pianist. |
 Le Calme: Fernando Sor Late WorksWilliam Carter (guitar)World-renowned guitarist William Carter presents an appealing collection of works by Spanish guitar virtuoso and composer Fernando Sor, a much-anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed Early Works recording of 2010 (named Gramophone Editor’s Choice). |
 John Adams: Son of Chamber Symphony & String QuartetInternational Contemporary Ensemble, John Adams, St. Lawrence String QuartetJohn Adams’ Son of Chamber Symphony (2007) is performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), led by the composer, and Adams’ String Quartet (2008) is performed by the St Lawrence String Quartet, the ensemble for which the piece was written. This is the first recording of both works. |
 The Ballad SingerGerald Finley (baritone) & Julius Drake (piano)This latest release from the multi-award-winning partnership of Gerald Finley and Julius Drake features a literary and musical form which inspired the greatest voices of German Romanticism. The foremost poets and composers of the age saw the ballad as a direct link to the folk-minstrels of the past. |
 Brilliant Classics9 new releasesSome real revelations this month from Brilliant Classics, with rarities such as Jolivet songs, Stenhammer symphonies, and Schreker Orchestral and Choral music as well as proven winners such as Emma Johnson’s recordings of the Crusell Clarinet Concertos. |
 Australian Eloquence10 new releasesHighlights from the latest batch of Eloquence releases include: Wunderlich’s rare Bach recordings made for French Philips (Magnificat, Easter Oratorio, ‘Easter’ Cantata); A rare Argo LP of Mendelssohn choral music, directed by Roger Norrington, on CD for the first time; The Consort of Musicke’s astonishing survey of secular music from the Renaissance – on CD for the first time with complete annotations (notes, texts, translations); A celebration of Zubin Mehta’s 75th birthday with his recordings of the Schubert symphonies with the Israel Philharmonic, on CD internationally for the first time; A return to the catalogue of Karl Münchinger’s Creation; and Sir Adrian Boult’s two Handel recordings for Decca – Messiah and Acis and Galatea; both feature Joan Sutherland and there’s the added bonus of an arioso (‘Thy rebuke’ … ‘Behold and see’) from the Messiah sessions. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 11th June 2011 |
Building a Library - Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
 First ChoiceAnne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Thomas Quasthoff (baritone), Berlin Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado (conductor) |
Disc of the Week |
 Violin SonatasIsaac Stern & Dame Myra HessRecorded at the 14th Edinburgh International Festival, August 1960 |
Your details will be used only in accordance with our Privacy Policy. |
Copyright © 2002-13 Presto Classical Limited, all rights reserved.