{"id":12363,"date":"2019-03-06T14:33:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T22:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=12363"},"modified":"2020-12-31T12:07:48","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T20:07:48","slug":"recent-albums-by-raphaella-smits-nora-buschmann-and-xuefei-yang-mengla-huang-violin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/recent-albums-by-raphaella-smits-nora-buschmann-and-xuefei-yang-mengla-huang-violin\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Albums by Raphaella Smits, Nora Buschmann, and Xuefei Yang & Mengla Huang (Violin)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some weeks we take a peek at recent albums or sheet music releases. Here are three of the CDs that have come into the\u00a0Classical Guitar<\/em>\u00a0office within the past few months.<\/p>\n

You can listen to some of these on various of streaming services, but we always encourage you to support the artists by actually\u00a0buying<\/em>\u00a0anything you like! Obviously we cannot research and report every outlet or online business where these albums are sold (Amazon, for instance, has outlets in many different countries\/regions, but we generally link to the U.S. version), so check your favorite places that sell CDs and downloads, as well as your favorite streaming sites!<\/p>\n

To see links to all of our online album listings\/reviews,\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2014Blair Jackson<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ave Maria: Baroque Recital<\/strong><\/em>
\nRaphaella Smits<\/strong>
\nSoundset Recordings<\/p>\n

As most of you are no doubt aware, Raphaella Smits is not a newcomer to the Baroque repertoire; indeed among her many previous studio album releases you’ll find 2000’s Baroque Guitar Sounds<\/em> (featuring pieces by Bach and Sylvius Leopold Weiss) and 2009’s\u00a0The Eight-Stringed Bach<\/em>, both performed on eight-string guitar, as is this one. This new all-Baroque collection features two pieces each from Bach and Weiss, as well as a full suite by Henry Purcell\u00a0 and a meaty Fantasie by Georg Philipp Telemann. On those three discs, there appears to be just one repeated work: Bach’s famous Chaconne<\/em> from Violin Partita No. 2<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Because I was familiar with her Eight-Stringed Bach<\/em> version of the Chaconne (or Ciaccona)<\/em>, it’s appearance on the new album sent me back to that disc and also in search of the earlier\u00a0Baroque Guitar Sounds<\/em> interpretation, to hear how Smits’ treatment of the epic piece has changed through the years. And the most obvious difference is in the tempos. The first one comes in at a little over 12 minutes, the next at a little over 14, and the latest around 16, so she has slowed it down considerably. Is that a good thing? Well, your personal taste may vary (’twas ever thus!), but I feel like the more methodical version on this album has a certain thoughtfulness and depth that I really admire. The trademark frills and fast-fingered runs are intact and smoothly executed, but perhaps feel even more<\/em> spiritually connected to the melodically deliberate passages around them. The recording by Juan Salvador Martin at Rockaway Studios in Casteli\u00f3n, Spain, is clear and present, with the resonant “extra” strings sounding natural, without exaggeration. Frankly, this is a nice sonic upgrade from the overly reverberant, occasionally garish sound of The Eight-Stringed Bach<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The other Chaconne<\/em>\u00a0on the new album\u2014from a lute suite by Bach’s nearly exact contemporary, Weiss (he was born two years after Bach but died in the same year, 1750)\u2014is also slower than many versions, but no less effective, and it actually pairs very well with Bach’s; the two definitely share certain similarities. Where Smits’ penchant for more measured tempos works best here might be the lovely four-part Purcell Suite No. 2<\/em>, originally for harpsichord. I suspect it would be nearly impossible to play on guitar at the speedy clip of most harpsichord renderings, and this one assuredly feels right to me. (It strikes me as unusual that the piece\u00a0ends<\/em> with a sarabande!) The Telemann\u00a0Siciliana-Vivace-Allegro <\/em>from his (violin) Fantasie No. 9<\/em>\u00a0is similarly de-accelerated, but also works nicely, and has some quite-virtuosic moments that Smits handles with ease.<\/p>\n

Perhaps opening the program with the gently unfolding sounds of\u00a0Ave Maria<\/em> set the tone for the rest of this serious and meditative outing.<\/p>\n

Prelude, <\/em>BWV 846 “Ave Maria (M\u00e9ditation)”<\/em> (J.S. Bach, Gounod); Ciaconna, Suite No. 10<\/em> (Weiss); Prelude, Suite No. 2<\/em>\u00a0; Prelude,<\/em>\u00a0Almand<\/em>, Corant<\/em>, Saraband\u00a0<\/em>(Purcell);\u00a0Fantasie No. 9:<\/em>\u00a0Siciliana-Vivace-Allegro<\/em> (Telemann); Fantasie No. 9<\/em> (Weiss); Ciaconna, Partita Seconda<\/em>, BWV 1004 (J.S. Bach)<\/p>\n

This Baroque Recital<\/em> can by sampled and purchased through Soundset Recordings<\/a>\u00a0or bought from\u00a0Strings By Mail.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Streaming options are in the process of being worked out.<\/p>\n