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GRAMOPHONE (03/2004)
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Alia Vox
AV9832
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7619986098326
Reviewer: Fabrice Fitch
The spotlight falls on Ferrabosco the Younger but does he merit the attention?
A few months back I reviewed a Rose Consort recording devoted to the viol music of the two Alfonso Ferraboscos, father and son (CPO, 10/03). It was an enjoyable and accomplished offering in which the musical personalities of the two men were nicely contrasted. Considered as a contest, the younger made the better impression, so a disc devoted to his efforts alone was an attractive proposition.
That promise may yet hold true, but on this recording it’s not quite kept. The problem is not so much with the quality of the performance, though there are times when the tone of the treble strains itself to the point of thinness. (I made the same criticism of the Rose Consort, but here it obtrudes more noticeably.) The opening Dovehouse Pavan and Almaine go very well (and what lovely pieces they are), but when deprived of continuo the loss in the ensemble’s sonority is noticeable.
But the greater contrast with the Rose Consort’s recital is in the programme. Though a slicker composer than his father, Ferrabosco the Younger’s music benefits from being presented in a contrasting environment. On its own, it sounds a bit samey, and has not quite the character to sustain an hour’s listening. What’s here is very enjoyable, but the Rose Consort also included several works, missing here, that offered something more substantial than the gentle waft of this selection of works. Enthusiasts of this repertoire will want this new recording, but if I had to choose between Savall and the Roses, I’d pick the latter.
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