20th Century Music for solo
flute
Salvatore Sciarrino - "Hermes" (1984)
James Dillon - "Sgothan" (1984)
Jesus Rueda - "Suspiria" (1988)
Isang Yun - "Sori" (1988)
Gyorgy Kurtag - "Doloroso" (1992)
Stefano Gervasoni - "Ravine" (2000)
Brian Ferneyhough - "Carceri d'Invenzione IIb"
(1984)
Claude Debussy - "Syrinx" (1913)
played by Mario Caroli
SvaNa SVN001
[76 mins]
SvaNa
14
A propitious debut for a brilliant flautist who specialises in contemporary
'cutting edge' repertoire, and equally one for a new CD label which deserves
to be watched
(www.svana.com).
The music chosen comprises important pieces that have become established
as contemporary classics, and two very new ones dedicated to this player.
A similar programme made a great impression given by
Mario Caroli at last year's
Strasbourg Festival at
the Italian Institute, despite that proving to be an incongruous and unsuitable
venue, so harsh a reflective space that it was necessary to seek protection
against the ear-splitting, laser-sharp sounds unleashed by a modern gold
flute in its highest flights.
All is well, however, with the same music recorded in the carefully selected
ideal acoustic of the ancient Romanesque San Pietro al Monte at Civate,
which transformed the remembered experience into pain-free delight. For once,
live music-making is definitely trumped by recorded, and I cannot think of
another flute CD which catches all the qualities of a fine modern instrument
(Muramatsu Gold 9KCC Heavy) more exactly.
It was recorded 'quasi-live' during one day in a prolonged session, with
minimal treatment and the sounds of the surroundings preserved. Caroli played
for nine hours 'with apparently no effort and very few breaks, completely
alone in an ancient place more than a thousand years old', as described in
Federico Cabitza's graphic account of the day's work. He was located
mainly in the apse, later down in the crypt when the rain and wind became
excessive.
The given order works well for aficionados who are used to instrumental
extremes. For others, exploring some of these composers for the first time,
it might be well to begin at the end, with Debussy's Syrinx,
a seminal piece that opened new perspectives upon the instrument's potentialities
and the course of the century - Mario Caroli feels that everything which
he displays in this journey started with Syrinx. Next, perhaps, enjoy
Kurtag's tiny Doloroso 'on the ridge of silence, soft tones
driven to the extremes' and sample Isang Yun's Sori, inspired
by Buddhist vocal music, with melodic fluidity and intensity widths, expressive
glissandi & portamenti leading to a meditation, 'as if withdrawn into
itself', as described by Mario Caroli in characteristically graphic if
idiosyncratic English.
Sciarrino, master of pianissimo, specified that his
Hermes should be performed in 'the most echoing places' and he exploits
the sounds of the keys themselves without breath. Stefano Garvasoni's
Ravine, with false octaves and multi-phonics, is enhanced by 'the
subterranean and disquieting acoustics of the crypt that the spirit of the
piece itself seems to require' (Federico Cabitza). Dillon's
Sgothan (clouds) involves microtones and singing whilst playing and
Ferneyhough's Carceri d'Invenzione IIb is extreme in its scope,
though seldom requiring the 'new techniques' which are explored by several
of the other composers.
Recommended unreservedly and this will be one to come back to when playing
the 'best in category' game towards the end of the year.
P Grahame Woolf
