Herb Reichert
Mascara Quartet: Barco NegroPolona Udovic, vocal, violin; Timi Krajnc, guitar; Matjaz BoZo Banovic, bandone¢n; Mitja Rezman, bass guitar; Vid Usenicnik, percussion; Bozo Banovic, Peter Urek, Sasa Bastallec, arr.
Sazas Biem VVE LP 001 (LP). 2017. AAA. TT: 43:03 Imagine Argentine tango, Portuguese fado, and Latin milonga, all wrapped in artful musical extrapolations—from Slovenia. Picture the tall, enchanting presence of Polona Udovic doing her best to channel the sorrowful spirit of renowned fadista Amália Rodrigues singing "Barco Negro." Then imagine all this heartache, death, and dark soul captured in an exquisite all-analog recording made with no cuts or editing. The Mascara Quartet just turned on the tape and poured it all out. The sound and performances are fresh and warm, steeped in late-night contradanza. This disc satisfies on both the musical and sonic levels.
Transcending Continents & Memories: Medieval Europe Meets Traditional Chinese Meets Avante-GardLien Peiju, pipa; Jean-Lou Descamps, hardingfele; Christophe Deslignes, organetto; Thierry Gomer, percussion
MA Recordings M091A (CD). 2016. Todd Garfinkle, prod., eng., ed. DDD. TT: 47:00
Kalman Rubinson
Unheard: CD Premieres with Music from the Interwar PeriodErich Itor Kahn: Fragment eines unvollendeten; Hans Walter Süsskind: Rechenschaft über uns, Vier Lieder; Josef Matthias Hauer: Zweites Streichquartett op.28; Louis Gruenberg: Vier Indiskretionen für Quartett Op.20.
Ebony Quartet, Barbara Kozelji (mezzo), Daniel Reuss (narrator)
Channel Classics DSD256-5CH download (https://channelclassics.nativedsd.com/albums/40517-unheard). Also available on CD as Channel Classics 40517. 2017. Werner Herbers, prod.; Jared Sacks, eng. DDD. TT: 1:08:36 In the years after the 1st World War, much of European music expresses the relief from the terrors of war and seeks madly to find joy. However, those expressions are curdled by a disturbing premonition of the unavoidable terrors yet to come because the war to end all wars wasn't. This deeply emotional recording confronts these mixed feelings and its centerpiece, Süsskind's "Rechenschaft über uns," (an accounting or reckoning for us) addresses them directly. Its voice-over-quartet uses an eerie Sprechstimme to present both intense happiness and dread. The rest of the music is similarly unsettling from the first "Fragment" by Kahn that ends midphrase through the last but not concluding "Indiscretions for Quartet" by Gruenberg.
Sibelius Piano Trio, Volumes 1&2Diego Schissi: Nene; David S. Lefkowitz: Ruminations; Jean Sibelius: Korppoo Trio in D (JS 209), Havträsk Trio in a (JS 207), Lovisa Trio in C (JS 208); Lotta Wennäkoski: Päärme; Kaija Saariaho: Je sens un deuxième coeur.
Sibelius Piano Trio
Yarlung DSD256-5CH download (https://yarlungrecords.nativedsd.com/albums/YAR54763DSD-sibelius-piano-… , https://yarlungrecords.nativedsd.com/albums/YAR54765DSD-sibelius-piano-…). Also available on 2 CDs as YAR52638. 2016. Bob Attiyeh, prods; Tom Caulfield, eng. DDD. TT: 1:55.00 In the months since I downloaded this album, it is probably the one I most return to. First off, I love Sibelius and, although I did not know these three piano trios before, I find them romantically engaging. The performances brim with vigor and elan. Second, they are interspersed with and complemented by 4 additional works of quite different temperament such that listening to the entire program a varied experience and bears repeating. Schissi's Nene is a contemporary suite of evocative moments and Lefkowitz's Ruminations is more moody but dance-like and these recorded premieres serve as excellent appetizers for the Korppoo Trio. Wennäkoski's and Saariaho's contributions are more bracingly modern and impassioned that provide refreshing contrast to Sibelius' more traditional trios.
Rob Schryer
Gord Downie: Introduce YerselfArts & Crafts Productions A+C 144 (CD). 2017. Kevin Drew, prod.; Nyles Spencer, eng. DDD? TT: 73:19 Released posthumously, Introduce Yerself was recorded in haste as Gord Downie, frontman for Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, was dying of brain cancer. But rather than sound rushed or half-baked, the album's sparsely arranged songs, most recorded in first takes, brim with vitality and honesty. Devoid of artifice, this music connects on a profound, visceral level, as Downie reminisces about the people who marked his life: "You were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen," and "The Bruins kept us tight." You get the sense that Downie isn't just singing—he's savoring every moment. The result is a masterpiece of minimalist swansong.
LCD Soundsystem: American DreamDFA/Columbia 88985456102 (CD). 2017. James Murphy, prod.; Al Doyle, David Jones, Riley MacIntyre, Raymond Richards, Korey Richey, Matt Shaw, engs. DDD.? TT: 68:38 American Dream had me at its lead single, "Call the Police"—a propulsive, seven-minute guitar-synth-drums romp across a fatalistic landscape: "We all know this is nothing, this is nowhere," sings James Murphy, who spends most of the album seeming to lament middle age: "I'm not dangerous now the way I used to be, I'm just too old for it" (from "Change Yr Mind"). Still, Murphy's nuanced sing-talk style suits the music, a percussion-rich blend of rock, pop, and electronica that can be dazzling to hear, if a bit emotionally cold. Not a note on this album sounds like an afterthought.
Jason Victor Serinus
Terry Riley: Four Four Three: Music of Terry RileyIn C, Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector
Ragazze Quartet, Kapok, Slagwerk Den Haag
Channel Classics 37816 (SACD/CD). 2015. Jared Sacks, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 57:13
Philippe Jaroussky: The Händel AlbumArias from: Amadigi di Gaula; Ezio; Flavio, Rè di Longobardi; Giustino; Imeneo; Radamisto; Riccardo Primo; Serse; Siroe, Rè di Persia; Tolomeo
Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor; Ensemble Artaserse
Warner Classics 564134 (CD). 2017. Alain Lanceron, prod.; étienne Collard, prod., ed.; Michelle Pierre, eng., mix. DDD. TT: 71:58 Some of the most exquisite singing on record, from a countertenor who can convey innocence, pathos, heartbreak, constancy, anger, vengeance, and fury in equal measure. Jaroussky's coloratura technique is astounding, his long-breathed legato lines a miracle, and his consistent beauty of tone masterful. The music itself, mostly from rarely performed operas by the greatest German-English composer of his era, is unusually expressive and frequently moving. Ensemble Artaserse, a 20-player period ensemble, offers splendid support. All lovers of voices owe it to themselves to hear this recording, on CD or as a 24/96 download.
David Sokol
The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine ManColumbia/Legacy CK 64845 (CD). 1965/1996. Terry Melcher, orig. prod.; Bob Irwin, reissue prod.; Vic Anesini, reissue eng. AAD? TT: 45:41 With a synthesis of the trailblazing sounds of the Beatles and Bob Dylan, the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man"—first the song, then the album—hit like a burst of lightning from the heavens in 1965. And with it, folk-rock had an enduring gold standard. On this, their major-label debut, Roger (still Jim back then) McGuinn and company—a stellar band also including future all-stars Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman—had a knack for picking and writing glorious songs, most just two or three minutes long, three of them plucked from Another Side of Bob Dylan and enriched. Pete Seeger and Jackie DeShannon contributed others, as did singer Clark, whose poignant "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" and "Here Without You" helped define folk-rock.
Mary Chapin Carpenter: Come On Come OnColumbia CK 48881 (CD). 1992. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Steve Buckingham, John Jennings, prods.; Bob Dawson, Marshall Morgan, Denny Purcell, engs. ADD. TT: 49:49 Very little on country radio in 1992 sounded like Mary Chapin Carpenter and her mix of folk, rock, and country. Which makes it all the more remarkable that this, her groundbreaking fourth album, spent nearly four years (!) on the charts, and landed seven songs high on Billboard's hit parade of Country Singles. Two of the biggest hits here tackle yearning (a cover of Lucinda Williams's "Passionate Kisses") and falling desperately out of love ("He Thinks He'll Keep Her"), and throughout, there's a sublime optimism in her poetry ("I take my chances / forgiveness doesn't come with a debt") and in her gorgeous, underrated singing. She's joined by some stellar players, including keyboardists Matt Rollings, Jon Carroll, and Benmont Tench, as well as the then-ascending Indigo Girls and Shawn Colvin. Twenty-five years later, Carpenter remains a joy to see in concert, where she still draws a healthy slice of her repertoire from this timeless album.
John Swenson
Hampton Grease Band: Music to EatColumbia/Legacy C2K 67483 (2 CDs). 1971/1996. Hampton Grease Band, Tom McNamee, prods.; David Baker, prod., eng.; Tim Geelan, eng. ADD. TT: 88:37 Col. Bruce Hampton blew my mind with this album, and went on to influence a couple of generations of New South alt-rockers via his astonishing body of work and tribal hegemony over the coming-of-age jamband circus known as the H.O.R.D.E. tour. The avant-garde singer, dadaist performer, sideshow magician, zen gambler, and spiritual leader shows all his cards in this tour-de-force two-disc debut of music designed to expel the unworthy and enthrall the curious, much as did Zappa's and Sun Ra's outfits of the same era: the early 1970s. The late Hampton is the frontman here, with dual guitarists Glen Phillips and Harold Kelling, bassist Mike Holbrook, and percussionist Jerry Fields providing the Captain Beefheart-meets-Pink Floyd-on-speed soundtrack to his dangerous visions. Phillips is one of the more creative guitarists of this very innovative generation. The sessions were recorded at Georgia's legendary Studio One.
The Bottle Rockets: Songs of SahmBloodshot BS-086 (CD). 2001. Bottle Rockets, prods.; Lou Whitney, prod., eng. DDD? TT: 47:10
