Pietro Antonio Locatelli – il virtuoso, il poeta
Isabelle Faust vln.
Giovanni Antonini dir.
Il Giardino Armonico
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902398 (CD)
Like his great contemporary Vivaldi, Locatelli was a virtuoso violinist, with a healthy competition existing between the two. These collected concertos certainly serve to display the composer’s capabilities on his chosen instrument, a show-case for technical as well as musical virtuosity. The solo parts are often breathtakingly challenging, but it’s a challenge that Faust eagerly embraces, enthusiastically supported by Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini. The result is as beautiful as it is engaging, as impressive as it is beguiling.
Faust’s control and technique is astonishing, Antonini’s accompaniment perfectly judged and weighted. There’s obvious warmth to the relationship, while the band play with the sort of focussed purpose and energy that grows from mutual respect. Rhythm, phrasing and ensemble are deft and sure footed, with explicit shape and dramatic dynamic contrasts. All told it’s a recording that’s as revealing of a system’s musical coherence and temporal integrity as it is captivating to listen to. Get the system right and this music soars. But more than that, the exposed solo parts are an acid test of a system’s ability to scale and project concentrated musical energy across its broad mid-band and upper registers, its ability to capture air and space. Where many ‘review’ discs rely on a single track or passage, there isn’t a track on this album that won’t tell you whether you are heading in the right direction, or how far you’ve still got to go. From it’s utterly natural pacing to its startling solo interjections, it’s a joy from start to finish.
Womack&Womack
Conscience
4th Way/Island Records 209 139 (LP) 259 139 (CD)
This one’s easy. Does it groove? There’sgreat songs, a ton of detail, beautifully layered arrangements, brilliantly nuanced vocal performances and a tight, tight band – all captured by Chris Blackwell at the legendary Compass Point. If this doesn’t groove, you’ve definitely got a problem.
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Woodland Studios
ACNY-2416LP – 2416 (CD)
Welch and Rawlings are understated (but highly respected) stars of country music, rooted in Blue Grass but spreading ever outward in terms of style and influence. Just listen to Welch’s reception on Down From The Mountain (The Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? concert album), lauded by no lesser lights than Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris, new country and old…
So, country music royalty, the material shouldn’t be (and isn’t) in question. The quiet, intimate recording, captured at their own Woodland Sound Studios is quietly intimate, mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound and cut in-house by Rawlings, is beautifully pressed on quiet, 180g vinyl. But what makes this album an indispensable set-up and review tool is the sheer musical integrity of the performance. The close harmonies, honed over years are so close as to be all but indistinguishable on many systems. Is there a finer guitarist than David Rawlings playing at present? His beautifully sculpted lines blend perfectly with the voices, bringing even greater depth and feeling to these deeply affecting songs. It’s this emotional connection and expressive range that the system needs to release, reaching beyond sound and into meaning and intent. Few other artists and recordings capture such poignant emotional power, few performers achieve such intensity or chemistry in their playing and singing. It’s a quality that first appeared on the seminal album, Time (The Revelator) a long-time reference. It reaches a new apogee here.
