Wednesday 29 December 2021

2021 in record reviews

On DSCH: Shostakovich, Stevenson - Igor Levit - SONY

This year's list is slightly longer than usual, perhaps in part because there have been so many terrific and interesting discs, but also because we have listened to rather more discs than usual. My record of the year has to be Igor Levit's imaginative and technically brilliant On DSCH combining Ronald Stevenson's Passacaglia with Dmitri Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues.

Two discs are in categories all of their own, The Call showcases six young artists from Momentum, Barbara Hannigan's project supporting younger artists at a time when opportunities have been at a premium, whilst Songs of Isolation from Helen Charlston, Michael Craddock and Alexander Soares reflected 2020 in songs written specially for the project.

Handel has done well this year, with Bridget Cunningham exploring the great harpsichord suites and La Nuova Musica focusing on Handel's virtuoso instrumentalists (and giving us some terrific singing too). Other Early Music highlights include Soleil Noir, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro's voyage around the art of Monteverdi's first Orfeo, Tara Erraught, Irish Baroque Orchestra and Peter Whelan recaptured some of the magic of superstar castrato Tenducci, and the choir of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal brought late 17th century English composer Pelham Humfrey into focus.

Les Talens Lyriques continued their exploration of Salieri's operas with his first, Armida, and another particular highlight has to be the first fully professional recording of the unaccountably neglected John Eccles' Semele. 

The Pelleas Ensemble's debut disc gave us a series of unexpected juxtapositions in music for flute, viola and harp, whilst the string quintet Wooden Elephant returned to the music of Radiohead with unexpected results. Anneke Scott and Steven Devine took Beethoven's Horn Sonata as a starting point for an imaginative recital of music by his contemporaries. Onyx Brass joined forces with friends to record Richard Strauss' challenging and wonderful Festmusik, and Peter Cigleris explored unaccountably neglected mid-Century clarinet concertos with Ben Palmer and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. 

The choir Sansara returned to the music of Marco Galvani for their striking second album, whilst Vox Luminis and Freiburg Barockconsort gave us an intimate account of Biber's Requiem.

Pianist/composer Adam Swayne focused on a significant anniversary, 9/11, with a remarkable piano recital, and Martin Jones began his survey of Elizabeth Lutyens' piano music with a disc that made you wonder why you hadn't heard this music before.

Vocal recitals have been a particular delight, perhaps reflecting 2020 in the way that bringing a pianist and a singer together in the recording studio was easier than a whole orchestra. Reflecting the continuing rediscovery of 20th century Scottish music suggested by Levit's recital, there was a disc of Erik Chisholm's songs from Iain Burnside and friends that put the composer in a new light, whilst Scottish music of an earlier age was the focus of  Maria Valdmaa and Mikko Perkola's Aberdene 1662 based on the only book of secular music published in Scotland in the 17th century. And still with the Scots theme, the Maxwell Quartet combined vivid accounts of Haydn's London quartets with Scots traditional tunes.

Karen Cargill and Simon Lepper gave us a terrific recital of French song, and Elizabeth Llewllyn's debut disc (also with Lepper) explored the long-neglected songs of Samuel Coleridge Taylor. Gareth Brynmor John and William Vann gave us a very adult exploration of childhood, whilst Ashley Riches and Joseph Middleton brought seriousness and humour to A Musical Zoo. James Newby (also with Joseph Middleton) made a stunning debut with a recital centred on Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte.

Soloists for John Eccles’ Semele, pictured at the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, 2019, ahead of performance. From left to right: Bethany Horak-Hallett (Cupid), [Dave Rowell (recording engineer)], William Wallace (Athamas), Héloïse Bernard (Iris), Helen Charlston (Juno), Aoife Miskelly (Ino), Jonathan Brown (Cadmus), Jolyon Loy (Apollo), James Rhoads (3rd Priest, 2nd Augur), Anna Dennis (Semele) - (Photo Luke Koch de Gooreynd)
Soloists for John Eccles’ Semele, pictured at the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, 2019, ahead of performance. From left to right: Bethany Horak-Hallett (Cupid), [Dave Rowell (recording engineer)], William Wallace (Athamas), Héloïse Bernard (Iris), Helen Charlston (Juno), Aoife Miskelly (Ino), Jonathan Brown (Cadmus), Jolyon Loy (Apollo), James Rhoads (3rd Priest, 2nd Augur), Anna Dennis (Semele) - (Photo Luke Koch de Gooreynd)

  • Record of the year - On DSCH: Igor Levit combines large-scale works by two two highly independent, creative minds, the Russian Dmitri Shostakovich and the Lancastrian-born Scot Ronald Stevenson on Sony Classical
  • Special mentionThe Call: six young artists showcased in the first recital disc from Momentum on Stone Records
  • Special mentionA musical microcosm of 2020: Isolation Songbook from Helen Charlston, Michael Craddock and Alexander Soares on Delphian
  • Celebrating the 300th anniversary of their publication in 1720, Bridget Cunningham records Handel's Eight Great Harpsichord Suites on Signum
  • Virtuoso instrumental focus: in Handel's Unsung Heroes, David Bates and La Nuova Musica highlight Handel's brilliant instrumental solos in his arias on Pentatone
  • Memorials to the unimaginable: Adam Swayne's 9/11:20 on Coviello
  • To enter this music is to enter a different world, one that you wonder why you never discovered it earlier: Martin Jones plays Elisabeth Lutyens' piano music on Resonus Classics
  • Fleur de mon âme: Karen Cargill and Simon Lepper in a terrific recital of 19th and 20th century French song on LINN
  • Light and shade: In Soleil Noir, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro takes us on a voyage around the art of Francesco Rasi, the first Orfeo in Monteverdi's opera on Naive
  • Rooted in Scottish soil: an exploration of the songs by Scotland's woefully ignored son, Erik Chisholm on Delphian
  • Three characters in a room: Nature and the Imagination from the Pelléas Ensemble in Debussy, Rameau, Richard Rodney Bennett, Benjamin Graves, Gershwin on LINN
  • LANDSCAPES, KNIVES & GLUERadiohead’s Kid A Recycled from string quintet Wooden Elephant on Backlash Music
  • Invisible cities: Sansara and Tom Herring explore the striking contemporary polyphony of Marco Galvani for their second album for Resonus
  • Festmusik: The gorgeous textures of Richard Strauss writing for brass stand out on this disc from Onyx Brass and friends on Chandos inspired by a family cache of letters
  • Heart and Hereafter: Elizabeth Llewellyn and Simon Lepper's exploration of the songs of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor on Orchid Classics
  • Thoughtful and imaginative: The Children's Hour sees Gareth Brymor John and William Vann taking a very adult view of childhood on Champs Hill
  • Rediscovered: British Clarinet Concertos by Susan Spain-Dunk, Elizabeth Maconchy, Rudolph Dolmetsch, Peter Wishart from Peter Cigleris, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Ben Palmer on Signum
  • A castrato in Ireland: Tara Erraught, Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra recapture some of the magic of superstar castrato Tenducci on LINN
  • Beyond Beethoven: Anneke Scott and Steven Devine explore how other composers followed the example of Beethoven's horn sonata with works exploiting the abilities of the natural horn on Resonus
  • An intimate and private piece: Heinrich Biber's Requiem in a superb new account from Vox Luminis and Freiburg Barockconsort on Alpha
  • Ashley Riches and Joseph Middleton's delightfully wide-ranging recital, A Musical Zoo on Chandos
  • I wonder as I wander: James Newby in a stunning debut recital with Joseph Middleton on BIS
  • Exploring Antonio Salieri's early inspirations with Les Talens Lyriques' recording of his first opera seria, Armida on Aparté
  • After Purcell and before Handel: a delightful new recording of John Eccles' Semele from the Academy of Ancient Music does full justice to this unjustly neglected work
  • Influence at Court: the sacred music of Pelham Humfrey explored in a new disc from the choir of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal on Delphian
  • A beguiling disc: Aberdene 1662 from Maria Valdmaa and Mikko Perkola on ERP explores songs from the only book of secular music published in Scotland in the 17th century
  • If Haydn went to Scotland: the Maxwell Quartet continues its exploration of Haydn's London Quartets alongside 18th century Scots traditional tunes on LINN

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