Soler Keyboard Concertos
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Antonio (Francisco Javier José) Soler (Ramos)
Magazine Review Date: 11/1987
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 59
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: TI-152
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(6) Conciertos de dos órganos obligados |
Antonio (Francisco Javier José) Soler (Ramos), Composer
Antonio (Francisco Javier José) Soler (Ramos), Composer Bernard Brauchli, Keyboards Esteban Elizondo, Keyboards |
Author:
Having reviewed the Soler concertos for two keyboard instruments so recently (Ex Libris CD CD6025, 9/87), I would hardly have expected a second to turn up, but it seems they belong to some esprit du temps. This time Bernard Brauchli and Esteban Elizondo experiment with different pairs of keyboards which, presumably, might have been available to Soler and his royal pupil, Prince Gabriel, at the Escorial palace. The first two concertos are performed on clavichords, Nos. 4 and 5 on two organs and Nos. 3 and 6 on organ with harpsichord.
One might have hoped this recording would have remedied some of the perceived deficiencies of the earlier one but, alas, the reputation of these works is only further obscured. The effect of using two clavichords is, to say the least, quaint. Actually, the generally percussive style of the First Concerto and much of the Second (where there are moments of delicacy) results in making the instruments sound like underwater harpsichords and calls upon none of the subtleties they could indeed offer. The next two, played on organs, reveal a lugubriousness hitherto unimaginable; by comparison the Swiss Ex Libris recording positively dances (alarmingly, the playing times are almost all significantly longer than on the earlier CD). The registration of the first movement of the Fifth Concerto is positively emphysemic. However, the most alarming effects are saved for last: here the combination of organ with harpsichord may, by separating the parts, in fact provide new musical interest but that effect is overshadowed by the organ registration which results in an overall ensemble timbre rather like a recorder and harpsichord duo. It should be added that, in spite of everything, Brauchli and Elizondo play remarkably well together.'
One might have hoped this recording would have remedied some of the perceived deficiencies of the earlier one but, alas, the reputation of these works is only further obscured. The effect of using two clavichords is, to say the least, quaint. Actually, the generally percussive style of the First Concerto and much of the Second (where there are moments of delicacy) results in making the instruments sound like underwater harpsichords and calls upon none of the subtleties they could indeed offer. The next two, played on organs, reveal a lugubriousness hitherto unimaginable; by comparison the Swiss Ex Libris recording positively dances (alarmingly, the playing times are almost all significantly longer than on the earlier CD). The registration of the first movement of the Fifth Concerto is positively emphysemic. However, the most alarming effects are saved for last: here the combination of organ with harpsichord may, by separating the parts, in fact provide new musical interest but that effect is overshadowed by the organ registration which results in an overall ensemble timbre rather like a recorder and harpsichord duo. It should be added that, in spite of everything, Brauchli and Elizondo play remarkably well together.'
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