ATMA Classique is delighted to present Anguille sous roche (Something fishy!), the first recording by the latest incarnation of renowned viol duo Les Voix humaines. The new pairing consists of Mélisande Corriveau, who succeeds the duo’s co-founder Margaret Little, and Susie Napper. Corriveau and Napper have performed together for two decades as members of Les Voix humaines Consort. Both play on historic viols by London luthier, Barak Norman.
Daniel Taylor is a Canadian countertenor, one of a group that has come on the scene in recent years and given promise that soon the countertenor voice will be considered less an exotic specialty and more a generally cultivated voice type. Taylor, perhaps more than other countertenors active today, sounds as though he is engaging in a natural kind of voice production rather than channeling his voice into circuitous channels. His sound is quite awesomely smooth, little touched by vibrato or strong passion, restrained, extremely elegant, and modest in dimension – perfect, in short, for the Dowland songs and mostly smaller Purcell airs that make up the bulk of this two-CD compilation, drawn from a pair of earlier releases.
This disc finishes the Nymphs cycle, with equally stunning results. These 12 sonatas for two violas da Gamba are some of the most original and esoteric works you could ever ask for–incredibly brief, but haunting duet suites filled with gorgeous lyricism and counterpoint, and bearing the influence of German, Italian, and French composing techniques. Schenck (1660-c. 1712) may have been a Dutch court composer, but it sounds as though he heard his share of Marais; just like the better-known French composer, he showcases the singing quality and tonal range of the da Gamba with incredible effectiveness. Susie Napper and Margaret Little, members of Les Voix Humaines, deliver stirring performances on these last six sonatas.
Written sometime between 1697 and 1706, these duos for viola da gamba are a joy to listen to. Inevitably, with these dates in mind, the repertoire invites comparison with the towering influence of Marais, the eclectic Forqueray, and user-friendly Boismortier. In fact, these full-scale duos are a demanding must for the encouragement of self-sufficiency for serious gamba players. The six sonatas interweave sonatas da chiesa and da camera, infiltrate Italianate movements with accompanying dances, and seamlessly alternate melodic and harmonic functions for the two instruments.
This collection of English verse anthems and viol fantasias – there are no examples of the a cappella, highly polyphonic full anthem – comes from Montreal's vibrant early music scene and it offers a fresh version of these often-recorded classics of English choral music of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The verse anthem, written in English, was a characteristic Anglican genre, alternating between choral and solo passages and deploying the text across plain but often rather fervent lines of music. It is accompanied here, as was normal, by viols; an organ can also be used. Done right, a work like John Ward's Prayer is an endless chain (track 2) or any of the three thorny but exultant anthems by Orlando Gibbons should have the combination of piety and rich beauty that would be characteristic of Bach's music a century or more later.
With this first volume, Les Voix Humaines members Margaret Little and Susie Napper embark on a very ambitious cycle to record all of Sainte Colombe the Elder's 67 "Concerts a deux violes esgales" (concerts for two bass viols). On evidence of the first 18 offered here, the interpretations are consistently quicker and noticeably sunnier compared to the few other recordings of several of these pieces.
The popularity of the film Tous les matins du monde (All the Mornings of the World) has revived the fortunes of a shadowy composer named Sainte-Colombe, who was active in the late seventeenth century. The film was largely fictitious, but subsequent research, much of it nicely summarized in the notes to this disc, has shed light on who Sainte-Colombe might have been and has actually backed up some of the guesses made by filmmakers and by novelist Pascal Quignard, on whose book Tous les matins du monde was based.
Amongst the many discs recorded for ATMA, this duo is continuing their complete series of works for two violas da gamba by M'sieur Sainte-Colombe. Volume Two of this series, another 2-CD set, echoes the beautiful work done in Volume One, with seventeen more concerts (19-35). Again the players demonstrate a profound empathy with the marvels of the French viola da gamba repertoire. Their approach continues to feel just right, creating a fluid sensuous sound that reinforces the unearthly nature of this unique music.
The popularity of the film Tous les matins du monde (All the Mornings of the World) has revived the fortunes of the shadowy composer named Sainte-Colombe, who was active in the late seventeenth century. The film was largely fictitious, but subsequent research, much of it nicely summarized in the notes to this disc, has shed light on who Sainte-Colombe might have been, and has shown that the filmmakers, and the novelist (Pascal Quignard) who wrote the novel on which Tous les matins du monde was based, made some good guesses about him.
Finally together on disc, here are the expressive gambists of Les Voix Humaines and the eloquent breath of Baroque flutist Barthold Kuijken, accompanied by the harpsichordist Eric Milnes. In an array of works by Telemann exploring the French and Italian 'mixed style' adopted by the Germans, and the galant style, these artists perform in turn fantaisies for solo traverso, duets for two gambas, a sonata for traverso and continuo, a sonata for traverso, gamba, and continuo, and the rare instrumental combination of the two quadros for traverso, two gambas, and continuo.