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Igor
STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)
Suite from L’Histoire du Soldat (1918) [15:36] Ken BENSHOOF (b.1933) A Whimsical Solution (1996) [14:38] Craig COREY (b.1948) Sanctuary (2000) [14:31] Bela BARTŇK (1881-1945) Contrasts (1938) [17:47]
Alaska Pro
Musica (Mark Wolbers (clarinet) Walter Olivares (violin);
Timothy Smith (piano))
rec. University of Alaska, Anchorage, Fine Arts Building
Recital Hall, 2007 (exact dates not given) MSR
CLASSICS MS1230 [62:33]
The
first thing which impresses about the opening moments of
CD is the immediacy and brilliance of the recording. Stravinsky’s Suite
from L’Histoire du Soldat,
one of the composer’s money-making spin-offs from a piece
which proved to have surprising difficulty in making headway
in its early years. Removing the music from the text was
one of the moves which caused rifts between Stravinsky and
his collaborator C.F. Ramuz, but it was the libretto of the
piece which had caused the strongest criticism, so the composer’s
desire to give the music a life beyond the theatre was understandable. Alaska
Pro Musica give the five movements plenty of gusty grit
and rhythmic drive. Walter Olivares’ violin is the star,
and it provides the necessary quasi-vocal effects which bring
much of the music to life, muttering and singing often almost
to itself as the other instruments accompany and commentate.
A Whimsical Solution by Ken Benshoof was commissioned by this trio, and as you
might expect receives a sensitive performance. There are
four fairly short movements, each with a ‘whimsical’ title: Simple,
which has lyrical charm as well as atmosphere and some drama; Snappy,
which has some Messiaen-like octaves within a swinging rhythmic
idiom, followed up by walking bass lines in the piano and
improvisatory melodies in the other soloists. Quirky is
more sparing in its distribution of notes, creating a bleaker
landscape, but still one with a certain amount of emotional
warmth and approachability. This moves straight on into another
jazzy number called Ramblin’, full of little Charleston
ostinati, and finishing this attractive work on a positive
up-beat into which elements of the other movements are worked.
Craig Coray’s Sanctuary was also premiered by Alaska
Pro Musica. The title interweaves ‘a musical homage
to wild places’ with the concept of sanctuary as a place
of refuge, and in the family unit in a similar sense – the
personalities of the composer’s wife and two daughters
playing their part in the character of the music. This
is more introspective in nature to Benshoof’s work, and
even the more animated sections have that sense of enclosed
space appropriate to the title and themes. The music can
be lyrical, having a strong harmonic sense, but despite
the ostinato rhythms the second movement, Flowing,
is pretty static. The last movement, Still, also
does pretty much what it says on the tin. This is nicely
atmospheric music, but ultimately lacking a little too
much in content and true substance to be genuinely memorable.
Béla Bartók’s Contrasts was written in 1938 for clarinettist
Benny Goodman and violinist Joseph Szigeti. They performed
the work with Bartók at the piano, and their 1940 mono recording
has to be one of the all-time treasures of recorded music.
Alaska Pro Musica makes a fairly good job of recreating some
of the Hungarian character in the music, although the rhythmic
emphases and inbuilt freedoms are somewhat sketchily portrayed
or as good as lost here and there. This is a tricky piece
to bring off effectively, and I admire this trio for programming
it on this disc. The second movement, Relaxation has
a good atmospheric feel to it, and the drive in the final Fast
Dance is well done, with clarinettist Mark Wolbers sounding
close to Mr. Goodman on occasion. If you hear this recording
and like the music I would however gently steer you in the
direction of Sony’s ‘Bartók plays Bartók’ CD; if you can
find it: my copy is on a 1986 CBS LP ‘Benny Goodman Collector’s
Edition.’
Comparing the Stravinsky to the rest of the works on this
disc would seem to indicate different recording sessions – certainly
the piano sounds rather more spongy in the latter, which
is a shame, but not disastrously noticeable. The stereo imaging
in the Bartók also seems a little narrower than with the
other pieces for some reason, with the clarinet more recessed
in the balance. Never mind, this is an interesting programme,
and certainly worth investigating. The Stravinsky performance
and recording is a real gem, the two newcomers are worthy
additions, if somewhat dwarfed by the bookends of two giants
of the 20th century.
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