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Bezaly, Charlston, Medlam - Handel, Bach, Telemann: Sonatas For Flute (2008)

Posted By: peotuvave
Bezaly, Charlston, Medlam - Handel, Bach, Telemann: Sonatas For Flute (2008)

Bezaly, Charlston, Medlam - Handel, Bach, Telemann: Sonatas For Flute (2008)
EAC Rip | Flac (Image + cue + log) | 1 CD | Full Scans | 376 MB
Genre: Classical | Label: Bis | Catalog Number: 1689

Sharon Bezaly has demonstrated her great gifts as a flutist on a number of recordings on BIS ranging from the concertos written for her by renowned contemporary composers, including Sofia Gubaidulina and Kalevi Aho, to the classic staples of the flute literature such as Mozart’s concertos and flute quartets. Along the way there has been a wealth of imaginatively programmed recital discs, focusing on the great flute sonatas as well as the French flute tradition.

On this disc, Bezaly visits the period in which the flute became established as a solo instrument in its own right. It was only in the eighteenth century that wind players began to specialize on flute rather than oboe or recorder and composers started writing specifically for it. This disc reflects these exciting developments in musical taste with a programme of six sonatas for flute and harpsichord, with and without the support of a bass instrument.

Bezaly has chosen to perform with London Baroque members Charles Medlam and Terence Charlston. The result is a highly enjoyable disc, which marries together the golden tones of Bezaly’s modern flute with the stylistic expertise of two of the most experienced musicians in the field of historical performance.

Composer: George Frideric Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann
Performer: Sharon Bezaly, Charles Medlam, Terence Charlston

Reviews: If you are a woman, you will know what I mean. You know that friend of yours, who is slick, elegant, shapely, eats like a shark but never gets fat, looks gorgeous in any style of clothing, from the hippie patchwork skirt to the Armani suit? And who is so nice that you cannot even get mad at her? Well, Sharon Bezaly is the musical equivalent of that character. She has amazing technique, enticing tone, uncanny breathing capacity, and nothing—absolutely nothing—seems too hard for her. Having written a profile of this fabulous performer for Fanfare a while ago, I have heard almost everything she has recorded so far, and must confess my awe at her rare talent and the sheer genius of being able to “wear” any style without looking (well, sounding) uncomfortable in it. She is particularly good at making contemporary music palatable to the average listener and attractive to other flutists, a very noteworthy feat, indeed.


So the release of her CD containing exclusively Baroque music could not help but pique my interest. Of all the composers Bezaly has recorded so far, the only ones about whose interpretations I had mixed feelings were the Baroque ones. She apparently feels that they are the ones who present her with perhaps the hardest musical challenges, and this recording is proof (if proof were needed) that she does not shy away from challenges.


As one can imagine, the Bezaly hallmarks are all there: the absolutely riveting technical prowess, the liquid tone, the impeccable intonation, the clear tonguing, and the natural gift for phrasing. The choice of pieces is first-rate, and Bezaly had the intelligence to surround herself with two of the very best specialists in early music today, harpsichordist Charles Medlam and gambist Terence Charlston, members of the group “London Baroque.” The ensemble is tight and admirable in every way, with the three musicians moving together as if they had but one soul. The six sonatas flow easily and enchant the ear, and Bezaly even tries her hand at ornamenting, with passable results.


If there is something amiss, it is exactly the excessive smoothness of the playing that turns each sonata into an undisturbed, flowing river of sound. These pieces have more drama than one could initially suspect, more terseness and intensity. The performance is almost too pretty, too behaved, too—well, too perfect. The ever-present vibrato is another reason for the excessive regularity of sound that doesn’t quite work for this repertoire. Also, appoggiaturas and main notes are always too even, so the “leaning” effect frequently described as sighs ends up being more ornamental than gestural. Sometimes the tempos are chosen with an ear more attuned to create an aura of liveliness and virtuosity than to stress the dance character of the movement (as in the third movement in the B-Minor Sonata by Handel, played strikingly prestíssimo ). And frequently, passages that should be an effort to the flutist (such as the chromaticisms and large intervals of the Bach sonatas, which are quite hard to produce on a Baroque instrument) lose poignancy when played with total ease and assuredness. A final gripe: circular breathing is an impressive technical device, but should be used sparingly. In the case of Baroque music, it simply is not necessary. It is not the flutist who needs the breaths, but the listener. Like poetry that demands punctuation, the writing of the period, with the shorter phrase-lengths that are so characteristic (even in Bach), suffer, rather than gain, from an uninterrupted rendition.


Granted, these are all minute details that only a Baroque instrument freak like me would mention. I am walking a very thin line here, risking the same politically incorrect stance as the one incurred by Emperor Joseph II when he complained to Mozart that his music contained “too many notes.” But it is exactly my utmost respect for this excellent artist that obliges me to give my sincere opinion. Finally, the weird cover art, tasteless title (“Barocking Together”? Please!), and non-matching photographs of the artists—couldn’t anyone have taken a decent picture of the three of them together, during a rehearsal?—do not do justice to the contents of the CD or to the interpreters’ undeniable charm, and will certainly keep many listeners at bay. The CD is still beautiful, and a must for any modern flutist or any lover of this repertoire.


Our Editor always asks us to give our readers alternate choices of recordings when writing a review. In this case, comparisons are difficult, since no one has recorded quite the same repertoire. But considering that Bach comprises the bulk of the CD, you might want to check out two radically different releases. On the modern flute, but also accompanied by Baroque specialists, flutist Philippa Davies (with Maggie Cole on the harpsichord and Alison McGillivray on the cello) has recently recorded a gentle sample of Bach (Avie 2101). And if you want to hear a grittier version of Bach on the traverso, my choice is still the highly personal performances by Ashley Solomon, with the same excellent Terence Charlston on the harpsichord (Channel15798).

Tracklisting:

1. Flute Sonata in B minor (Op.1/9b), HWV 367b: 1. Largo
2. Flute Sonata in B minor (Op.1/9b), HWV 367b: 2. Vivace
3. Flute Sonata in B minor (Op.1/9b), HWV 367b: 3. Andante
4. Flute Sonata in B minor (Op.1/9b), HWV 367b: 4. Presto
5. Flute Sonata in B minor (Op.1/9b), HWV 367b: 5. Adagio
6. Flute Sonata in B minor (Op.1/9b), HWV 367b: 6. Alla breve
7. Flute Sonata in B minor (Op.1/9b), HWV 367b: 7. A tempo di Minuet
8. Sonata for flute & continuo in E minor, BWV 1034: 1. Adagio ma non tanto
9. Sonata for flute & continuo in E minor, BWV 1034: 2. Allegro
10. Sonata for flute & continuo in E minor, BWV 1034: 3. Andante
11. Sonata for flute & continuo in E minor, BWV 1034: 4. Allegro
12. Sonata for flute & keyboard in A major, BWV 1032: 1. Vivace
13. Sonata for flute & keyboard in A major, BWV 1032: 2. Largo e dolce
14. Sonata for flute & keyboard in A major, BWV 1032: 3. Allegro
15. Sonata for flute & continuo in E major, BWV 1035: 1. Adagio ma non tanto
16. Sonata for flute & continuo in E major, BWV 1035: 2. Allegro
17. Sonata for flute & continuo in E major, BWV 1035: 3. Siciliano
18. Sonata for flute & continuo in E major, BWV 1035: 4. Allegro assai
19. Sonata for flute & keyboard in E flat major, BWV 1031: 1. Allegro moderato
20. Sonata for flute & keyboard in E flat major, BWV 1031: 2. Siciliano
21. Sonata for flute & keyboard in E flat major, BWV 1031: 3. Allegro
22. Sonata for recorder & continuo in F major (GMM No. 1), TWV 41:F2: 1. Vivace
23. Sonata for recorder & continuo in F major (GMM No. 1), TWV 41:F2: 2. Largo
24. Sonata for recorder & continuo in F major (GMM No. 1), TWV 41:F2: 3. Allegro

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 18. December 2014, 18:07

Sharon Bezaly, Terence Charlston, Charles Medlam / Barocking Together

Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRRW GWA-4164B Adapter: 5 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 102
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 896 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\FLAC\FLAC.EXE
Additional command line options : -V -8 %source%


TOC of the extracted CD

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11 | 22:48.16 | 4:37.07 | 102616 | 123397
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13 | 32:34.43 | 2:47.74 | 146593 | 159191
14 | 35:22.42 | 4:26.27 | 159192 | 179168
15 | 39:48.69 | 2:16.54 | 179169 | 189422
16 | 42:05.48 | 2:55.23 | 189423 | 202570
17 | 45:00.71 | 3:08.00 | 202571 | 216670
18 | 48:08.71 | 3:12.60 | 216671 | 231130
19 | 51:21.56 | 3:35.32 | 231131 | 247287
20 | 54:57.13 | 2:09.20 | 247288 | 256982
21 | 57:06.33 | 4:43.57 | 256983 | 278264
22 | 61:50.15 | 2:10.64 | 278265 | 288078
23 | 64:01.04 | 1:32.32 | 288079 | 295010
24 | 65:33.36 | 2:12.39 | 295011 | 304949


Range status and errors

Selected range

Filename D:\temp\Music\BIS-CD-1689 - Barocking Together - Sharon Bezaly, London Baroque\Barocking Together.wav

Peak level 83.9 %
Extraction speed 3.1 X
Range quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 56C820CA
Copy CRC 56C820CA
Copy OK

No errors occurred


AccurateRip summary

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