I very much enjoyed the trumpet and organ record
(Pavane 7281) made by two of these same performers a couple
of years later in the same church under the name "Duo
All’Armi". From the notes to that disc I learn that
the three of them subsequently took the name "Trio All’Armi",
basing themselves presumably on the title of the second piece
here (it means "To arms!", but it is not modern Italian).
Since my comments on the excellence of the trumpeter and organist
remain (and Landeghem does not succumb to the temptation of
using over-heavy registrations when accompanying, but makes
a very positive partner nonetheless), interest centres on Marie-Noelle
Callataÿ. She has that very bright kind of high soprano
voice, using minimal vibrato yet having enough body to the sound
not to seem schoolgirlish, which blends ideally with the trumpet.
She performs a whole disc of brilliant, high-lying arias with
fine technical aplomb and very little sign of strain. My example
from Scarlatti "Si riscaldi il Tebro" is virtually
chosen at random, so even is her accomplishment . Occasionally
she could bite a little more on her words, both in Italian and
in English (she is good in both, except where in the latter
she makes "war" rhyme with "far"). However,
I do recognise that words are inclined to be a lost cause in
the upper register and she manages better than many others.
I praised the trumpet and organ record for
its varied programme, with some solo organ pieces slipped in.
Maybe something similar should have been done here, for it is
in the nature of the repertoire that the pieces are unfailingly
bright and jubilant, and almost always in D major. The very
fact that the Purcell pair are in C helps to differentiate them
from the rest, though such a beautiful sound as this would surely
stand out in any context . It is a tribute to the performers
that potential monotony is largely avoided. The closing Scarlatti
group are all splendid pieces. To sum up, the soprano-trumpet-organ
combination is a popular one and some notable names have contributed
to its discography. What the great names less readily provide
is a regularly constituted trio which have built up their repertoire
together, learnt it together and presented it in public together
over a period of time. I think this shows in the sense of corporate
character we hear on this disc. In other words, if you are looking
for a soprano, trumpet and organ disc to add to your collection
I don’t think you could do better.
Finally, this record is more than a decade
old, so where are its successors? Searching through Internet,
I see that Callataÿ has continued to build up her operatic
repertoire above all in her native Belgium. During 2002 she
is to give a number of performances of Rossini’s "Petite
Messe Solennelle" and will sing Gluck’s Eurydice alongside
Ewa Podles’s Orfeo (a step up: she sang Cupid in the Podles
recording of the work). So perhaps we will hear more of her
soon. Certainly, her singing of one of the few opportunities
this disc gives her to show her more expressive side, the middle
section of Scarlatti’s "Mio tesoro", whets the appetite
for more.
Christopher Howell
Marie-Noëlle de Callataÿ (soprano), Alain Roelant (trumpet),
Jan van Landeghem (organ) 