All is not quite as it seems here. I was expecting standard
violin-and-piano performances of this repertoire but that’s not the
intention of Sebastian See-Schierenberg who has enlisted pianist Sophia
Lisovskaya and guitarist Ramon Ruiz to construct a most unusual, quite short
recital.
Falla offers the violinistic focus but there is, inevitably, a twist. Some
accompaniments are conventionally assigned to Lisovskaya but others are
given to Ruiz, who also hoarsely sings
Nana which was a song his
grandmother sang as a lullaby.
Canción is accompanied variously by
both instruments. The rationale for this is to vest a greater flamenco
quotient into the reading but don’t be alarmed by the timing of 9:41; no,
this isn’t some massive extrapolation and quasi-improvisation on the song,
it’s a mistake. It should be 1:47. See-Schierenberg plays quite attractively
throughout but is tempted into some overwrought phrasing in
Polo,
which overbalances the expressive temper of the cycle. He is similarly a bit
over-emotive in
Asturiana and throaty in
Jota where in
addition to the piano we can hear some guitar chording. So, not unalloyed
joy, but different.
One can appreciate the violinist’s husky lower register in a welcome
arrangement of Montsalvatge’s
Canción de Cuna Para Dormier a un
Negrito, but maybe the Granados could be a touch lighter in texture. He
also performs the fiendish arrangement by Ruggiero Ricci of Tárrega’s
Recuerdos de la Alhambra. If he’d taken it faster the lower
voicings would not have sounded quite so motoric and predictable but it’s a
brave fiddler who attempts the thing at all. Ricci was taped playing it in
concert a couple of times, though I’ve never heard his performance. There’s
an equally effective arrangement by English violinist Philip Newman, which
he was taped playing in a coruscating, not always totally tidy
performance.
Campiña Andaluza is a guitar solo and most attractively played
before what the violinist honestly describes as ‘work in progress’ –
Piazzolla’s
Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas. Playing behind the bridge
to get a really scratchy sound and playing with gritty rhythm shows he is
thinking about the most effective presentation of the music. Ending with a
passionate and romantically beautiful piano performance of
Invierno
Porteno ends the disc in a particularly warm glow – albeit the
recording is a touch close and dry.
So, much to ponder, pro and contra, but at least there is a sense of real
communicative spirit at work here.
Jonathan Woolf
