JAVS Fall 2007

RECORDING REVIEWS

By Carlos Maria Solare

ever, an occasional "woodiness" of tone sounding perfectly appropri ate for Falla's Andalusian exhuber ance. Granados's Majas- alterna tively sorrowful and coquettish - suit the viola's voice better. The only problem I had listening to this recording is that, having grown up in Argentina, 1 have known these songs since child hood, and missed the words most of the time! Kashkashian's consis tently expressive phrasing suggests in a couple of places that she isn't thinking of the songs' text bur sees the melodic line abstractly (the evocatively illustrated booklet quotes Arnold Schonberg advocat ing precisely this!) . Ir would be nice to think that violists, goaded on by this beautiful CD, might go on on explore, say, the viola sonatas by Torrandell or Guastavino. Telemann: 12 Fantasias. Patricia McCarty, viola. Ashmont Music Ashmont 9306. Telemann's Fantasias for unaccom panied violin are less ambitious in their scope than Bach's cello Suites, ler alone his Sonatas and Parriras, bur they show an equally keen musical mind at work, with many movements that recall parallel pas sages in Bach's sets (for example the Vivace of the 0 minor Fantasia, with its echoes of cl1e Gigues in Bach's Second and Sixth Suites). On the other hand, fugal movements betray Carelli's influ ence: Telemann was a master of all

Asturiana - Songs from Spain and Argentina. Music by Falla, Granados, Guastavino, Ginastera, Montsalvatge and L6pez Buchardo. Kim Kashkasbian, viola; Robert Levin, piano. ECM 1975. There is a long tradition of tran scribing for a string instrument music intended for the human voice. August Wtlhelmj, for exam ple, arranged a number of Schubert songs (the most famous one being Avt Maria) and arias from Wagner's operas for the vio lin , and Leopold Auer's Schumann song transcriptions were champi oned by his student Jascha Heifetz. The present arrangements by Kim Kashkashian and Robert Levin were tried out by them in many performances, and work very well . The viola sometimes takes over material from the piano, and effec tive double stops are added, in the best tradition of the old-timers mentioned above. Some songs work better than others: I was much taken with Guastavino's La rosa y tl sauct (of which the com poser once authorized a violin ver sion) and Ginastera's Tristt (there is a cello version by Pierre Fournier). Falla's Canciones populam are often performed in Pawe Kocha!ski's violin arrangement, upon which the present one is based. All these songs are an inexhaustible treasure trove of tunefulness on which both players revel. Kashkashian's breadth of tonal colouring is as amazing as

Bach: Suites 1-3; Three Chorals. Jean-Marc Apap, viola; Quatuor

Terpsychordes. Zig Zag Territoires ZZT051103 .

Jean-Marc Apap was a name new ro me, and after reading this CO's liner notes I knew why: he comes from the Jazz and World Music scenes, with which I can't claim more than a nodding acquaintance ar the best of times. Apap studied at rhe Curtis Institute and is on this showing an outstanding play er, with lots of things ro say. His conception of Bach's music is unequivocally based on irs rhyth mic, dancing aspects. Couranres and Gigues breeze by, and even the slower Preludes and Sarabandes gather a momentum that gives them a sense of inevitability. Nor that anything sounds forced of hurried: it is one more side of Bach, rhe solemn Thomaskantor for once relaxing ar his local Leipzig pub. Apap has taken good notice of period per formance practice, and there are lors of resounding open strings, bariolage effects and embel lish ments. Some unexpected slurs and the odd alternative reading sur prise the listener (this one at least), bur this is an exhi larating traversal of the first three Suites. They are separated on the CD by a couple of the so-called "Leipzig" chorales, arranged for string quin ter to beautiful effect.

VOLUME 23

NUMBER 2

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