To be officially launched at The Independent Theatre, North Sydney on 24th August, a copy of this CD has found its way to the EMN for early evaluation.
About half of the disk’s repertoire could be considered early music, the remainder filled by 20th Century composers both alive and departed.
Considering that bass viols and viol consort form the backbone of the instrumental ensemble, surprise works include Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, Stanley Myers’ “She was Beautiful”, and John Paul Jones’ “So ell encina”. If you are already a Marais Project follower, you will be pleased to find the Chattanooga Choo Choo puffing in there too. More traditional repertoire includes the lovely Juan Aranes Chacona, Italian Ground, a Fantasy by John Bull and, of course, the music of Marin Marais.
The line-up of participants in the CD is considerable; the voices of Belinda Montgomery, Mara Kiek, Narelle Evans, Nicole Thomson and Megan Cronin. The viols are in the hands of Jennifer Eriksson, Catherine Upex, Imogen Granwal, Shaun Ng and Danny Yeadon. Additional instruments are provided by Fiona Ziegler (baroque violin), Tommie Andersson (guitars and theorbo), Alex Cronin (double harp), Jess Ciampa (percussion), and Llew Kiek (gittern). The inclusion of five women’s voices is a fair indicator that vocal repertoire is paramount and, for viols, unusual.
I am not going to dissect the disk in detail as it isn’t necessary. It is a compilation of astonishing grace, beauty and sentiment, all expertly recorded.
A disk snatching at the unexpected, but yielding captivating listening.
Review by Neville Olliffe, Early Music News (April-May 2013)
