Reviews of classical CDs

Ginastera: The Complete String Quartets Nos. 1-3. The Enso Quartet, Lucy Shelton, soprano – Naxos 8.570780 (74 minutes).

Alberto Ginastera was born in Buenos Aires in 1916 to parents of Catalan and Italian descent. His love of music was apparent at an early age, and in 1936 not only did he enter the National Conservatory, but also his orchestral suite from the ballet Pamambi was given its premiere to great critical acclaim.

The composer was appointed to a number of important academic posts, but his public views on civil liberties came under severe scrutiny by the Peron regime, and as a result he had to move to the United States between 1945 and 1947, taking the opportunity to study with the famous Aaron Copland.

In 1948 he returned to Argentina and remained there till 1971, when he separated from his first wife and married the Argentine cellist Aurora Natolo. In this same year he moved to Europe and settled in Geneva, where he remained till the end of his life in 1983.

Ginastera’s output is prolific and varied, and comprises four operas, several concertos and orchestral works, choral and solo vocal pieces, a wide range of chamber and instrumental compositions, 11 film scores and incidental music for six dramas. This recording focuses on his three superb string quartets written in 1948, 1958 and 1973 respectively.

Ginastera developed his art over the years into a profound synthesis of national and contemporary styles. His language evolved from the vivid nationalism of his early works into a musical voice that was modernistic yet constantly evoked the roots of his cultural identity.

These three highly individual and impressive pieces abound in energy and expressiveness, and the rhythms and sounds of his native Argentina are at the fore of each quartet. In his unique Third, a solo soprano, fully integrated into the quartet texture, sings texts by Juan Ramon Jimenez, Federico Garcia Lorca and Rafael Alberti, creating an intensely coloured canvas of words and music.

The Enso Quartet and Lucy Shelton give unerring performances full of Latin passion and technical brilliance, and the disc never outstays its duration. This is unusual chamber repertoire that has the stamp of genius written all over it.

Scott: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2; Sonata Melodica. Clare Howick, violin, Sophia Rahman, piano – Naxos 8.572290 (74 minutes).

Born in Oxton, Lancashire, on September 27, 1879, Cyril Scott is among the most wide-ranging composers to come out of Britain during the latter part of the 19th century and most of the 20th (he died in 1970).

Showing musical talent at an early age, he was sent to study in Frankfurt in 1895, where he took part in the informed gathering of British musicians later known as the Frankfurt Group. Returning to Liverpool in 1898, Scott embarked on a three-pronged career: that of teacher, pianist and composer.

The Heroic Suite and First Symphony were two of his first large-scale pieces and both were well received, setting him off on a successful journey that was to see his works performed all over Britain and on the continent as well, particularly in Germany, where he managed to secure a publishing deal for his orchestral compositions.

During the 1920s Scott became drawn to Indian philosophy, about which he was to write a number of pioneering books and articles. By the outbreak of World War II, however, the harmonic basis of his music, once compared to Debussy and Scriabin, had been eclipsed, and in 1944 he took the sad decision to cease composing (do Rossini and Sibelius come to mind?), but, unlike these two giants, he decided to carry on.

Subsequent works included operas, oratorios and a fourth symphony, together with concertos for piano and oboe and a number of duo and ensemble works.

When Scott died on December 31, 1970, he was rather more respected than played, but recordings of his piano concertos during the 1970s helped set in motion a revival that was to gain momentum over subsequent decades.

Today many of his compositions are available on CD, particularly on the Chandos and Dutton labels.

The violin sonatas on this issue form an important part of Scott’s chamber music, and all three reflect the composer’s harmonic and structural mastery. The capricious and ruminative First ranks among the most convincing of his earlier large-scale creations, while the Sonata Melodica, although more relaxed, is equally quixotic.

The Third is one of the most inventive and forward-looking pieces of his later years.

Both soloists have this music under their skin, and performances are consistently passionate and intense. This is an invaluable addition to the Scott discography, in excellent sound, but rather lean notes.

Tavener: Ex Maria Virgine and other sacred pieces. Choir of Clare College, Cambridge conducted by Timothy Brown, James McVinnie, organ – Naxos 8.572168 (64 minutes).

Born in 1944, Sir John Tavener is one of the most imaginative and sought after British composers of this age. Some of his earliest compositions fell under the spell of the late works of Stravinsky, and from this preoccupation there emerged a voice that is still constantly growing in spiritual awareness.

His first success was the 1968 flamboyant biblical fantasy The Whale, which was followed by several large-scale works during the 1970s, such as Ultimos Ritos, Celtic Requiem and his opera St Therese, which confirmed Tavener’s strong spiritual leanings.

In 1977 he renounced his Presbyterian beliefs and embraced the Russian Orthodox Church. From then on his music became increasingly mystical and meditative, discarding earlier complexities for contemplative beauty.

The Protecting Veil and Song for Athene became huge musical and commercial successes.

Since 2001 Tavener has broadened his spiritual aspirations, and influenced by the Swiss philosopher and mystic Frithjof Schuon, he adopted the universalist view that all religions are equally valid.

In some of his recent undertakings the composer has also added Hinduism, Islam and Sufism to his growing list of influences.

The Christmas sequence Ex Maria Virgine, composed in 2005, is a wedding gift for, and dedicated to, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles on their wedding.

But beyond this, Tavener’s real inspiration is the Virgin Mary. He comments: “I have set both familiar and less well-known texts and linked them with an expanding and contrasting phrase Ex Maria Virgine to refer to Mary the Mother of God – the Eternal Feminine – and should be sung with great radiance and femininity.”

The other five, mainly a cappella works reveal Tavener’s tender response to poetic texts that also praise the Virgin Mary and exalt the mystery of the birth of Jesus.

Although all these miniatures are simple and unspectacular, there are many moments of serene reflection and solemn prayer, and Tavener’s inner craving for the Divine can be shared with translucent sincerity.

This peach of a choral disc is sumptuously sung and brilliantly recorded.

These CDs were made available for review by D’Amato Record Shop of 98/99 St John Street, Valletta.