Crazy
Dario CASTELLO (c. 1590-1644) Sonata Decima a 3 [5:28]
John ECCLES (1668-1735) I Burn, my Brain Consumes to Ashes (from Don
Quixote) [3:49]
Francesco Maria VERACINI (1690-1768) Passagallo (from Sonata
XII in D minor) [4:40]
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) E pur cosi / Piangero la Sorte
Mia (from Guilio Cesare) [5:69]
Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741) Trio Sonata XII, “La Folia”,
RV 63 [8:36]
Godfrey FINGER (1660-1730) While I with Wounding Grief (from Don
Quixote) [1:06]
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) Menuet, from Trio Sonata in
G Major, Op. 5. No. 4 [1:49]
Marco UCCELLINI (1603-1680) Sonata detta la Luciminia contenta
[3:42]
Thomas ARNE (1710-1778) To Fair Fidele’s Grassy Tomb [4:58]
Andrea FALCONIERI (1585-1656) Folias [4:07]
Alessandro STRADELLA (1639-1682) Ohime Lassa, Aria con violines
(from Susanna) [4:30]
Tobias HUME (1579-1645) Deth [5:27]
John BLOW (1649-1708) Lysander I Pursue [5:36]
Leonard COHEN (b. 1934) Suzanne [4:33]
I Furiosi (Gabrielle McLaughlin (soprano), Julia Wedman, Aisslin Nosky (violin).
Felix Deak (cello, viola da gamba), with James Johnstone (harpsichord), Stephanie
Martin (organ), Lucas Harris (theorbo, guitar))
rec. 10-12 December, 2008, Humbercrest United Church, Toronto. DDD
DORIAN SONO LUMINUS DSL 90802 [64:22]
“
Handel was considered a bit dangerous and nuts in his day … Arne was
a well-known whacko of the Baroque …Veracini was the real thing. Nuttier
than a nutloaf …”.
The sentiments and words are those of the notes (available only to download
as a pdf file at http://www.dorian.com/store/UserMods/booklets.html)
for this disc. The same notes offer the more than slightly dubious proposition
that “virtuosic writing … could only come from an at least somewhat
disturbed mind” and tell us that “Crazy is not merely a
title for his [sic] program, but a singular word that embodies the mood, tone,
and often the mental state that inspired and created the music held within”.
Couple such statements with the album cover - the four members of I Furiosi
in punk/goth outfits, with tattoos on display, and striking poses evidently
meant to convey aggression and rebellion, and the intended impression is obvious
enough. This, the signals are clear, is an irreverent approach to the baroque;
this is a street-wise group of performers who don’t embody familiar assumptions
about conservatory and concert hall manners and dress. I Furiosi’s web-site
describes them as “one of the world's most innovative Baroque ensembles” and
reminds us that their debut CD of 2005 was titled debut CD “Defiled is
my (Middle) Name”.
In truth, the performances on this CD (their second) are really not all that “innovative”,
to quote a word given prominence on the group’s website - unless programming
a song by Leonard Cohen qualifies for that epithet. But don’t let the
hype and the rather strenuous self-presentation put you off. These are well-schooled
musicians who, on the whole, work well together. Soprano Gabrielle McLaughlin
is a well-established voice teacher in Toronto, who has worked with, amongst
others, Tafelmusik and Les Violons du Roy; cellist and gamba player Felix Deak
works with Tafelmusik and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; the two violinists,
Julia Wedman and Aisslin Nosky have extensive experience with Tafelmusik (again)
and the Aradia Ensemble. All, in short, are stalwarts of the Canadian world
of early music performance. There is plenty of energy in their playing and,
yes, a pleasing absence of any sense of primness or stuffiness - and much that
is in the mainstream of the modern way of performing this music. There is much
to enjoy, in short.
From looking at videos of I Furiosi on You-Tube it is obvious that there is
an engaging theatricality to their live performances - a quality also apparent,
to some degree, in this recording. But limitations are evident too. Gabrielle
McLaughlin’s voice is sometimes rather shrill, at least as recorded here,
and she doesn’t do enough to distinguish the moods and manners of her
songs - though she has some good moments. Wedman and Nosky are impressive and
most of what is best here occurs when they are at the forefront - as in Vivaldi’s
take on La Folia and the sonata by Uccellini. Deak is to the fore, to
generally good effect, in the piece by Tobias Hume - surely no more than a
good old-fashioned English eccentric, rather than the “solitary crazed
genius” he is called here?
So, while nothing like so shocking or ‘hot’ as aspects of the presentation
suggest, this is an interesting, if slightly flawed, programme, very decently
played. Leonard Cohen’s ‘Suzanne’ makes, however, a thoroughly
unsatisfactory close to the programme - an utterly slight piece not much helped
by this arrangement.
Glyn Pursglove