|
Reviewer: James
A. Altena
As Brian
Robins, Bertil van Boer, and I have all previously reviewed in these pages
the life and work of John Jenkins (1592–1678) in some detail, I will cut to
the chase here. This is now the third complete set of the fantasias for
four-part viol consort to appear. The premiere version was released on
Thorofon in 1986 by the Kölner Viol Consort; a rival version did not appear
until 2015, when Stradivarius issued a disc by the Accademia Strumentale
Italiana, which won a ringing endorsement from van Boer in 38:6. (The 2011
Musica Ficta release by The Spirit of Gambo, reviewed by Christopher
Brodersen in 35:5, omits Fantasias 1, 4, 10, and 17). Now we have this new
compilation by the estimable Fretwork ensemble, which adds two Pavans to
what is advertised as the “complete four-part consort music” of the
composer. Interestingly, the three consorts all adopt different line-ups of
instruments. The Kölner forces use one each of a treble, alto, tenor, and
bass viol; the Accademia employs one alto and two bass viols plus a violone;
Fretwork adopts three treble and one bass viol (with two ensemble members
alternating on one treble part). Obviously, one accordingly gets lighter or
darker tonal coloration from these different ranges of instruments, so that
and/or the desire to have the two pavans will likely determine one’s
preference here. (All three releases are about the same price, as this
two-CD set is selling for the prince of a single CD.) I would immediately
rule the Kölner group on Thorofon out of contention for having an
unpleasantly scratchy tone (Tom Moore also criticized that disc in 15:2).
Between the Accademia Strumentale Italiana and Fretwork the choice is a
tough one, as both quartets are highly accomplished; while as a performaner
of low brasswind instruments in my youth I have a strong predilection for
the darker coloration of the Italian players, I can also see why some might
find them to be more weighty and opaque, especially since their tempos are
also almost always slightly slower and their recording acoustic is more
reverberant. The Accademia also takes more interpretive chances in ways that
may either strike one as imaginative or idiosyncratic, such as playing the
opening of Fantasia No. 7 pizzicato instead of bowed (a choice I find quite
arresting). In any case, with either option you are a winner, and viol
consort fanciers may well wish to acquire both. Warmly recommended.
Fermer la fenêtre/Close window
|
