Gonzalo Noque's recordings continue to mesmerize and delight me. I'm sitting at the moment just stunned having listened to a preview copy in DSD128 of the coming release of J.S. Bach's Complete Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV1014-1019, with Andoni Mercero (violin) and Alfonso Sebastian (harpsichord). My need to share something about this recording compels me to the computer, even knowing I'll have to wait for the release of the DSD256 files to finalize my thoughts and finalize this review.
So, knowing that publication of this review will have to wait a month until the album is released, I decided to add comments about a few additional albums from Eudora Records. Thus, I offer to you four albums about which I've not written previously. All are worthy of your attention.
- Bach's Complete Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord - Andoni Mercero and Alfonso Sebastian
- Fernando Sor: Guitar Sonatas - Ricardo Gàllen
- Tuhú, a tribute to Villa-Lobos and those influenced by him - Gaëlle Solal
- Bach Suites for Solo Cello, on guitar - Petrit Çeku
J.S. Bach Complete Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, Andoni Mercero and Alfonso Sebastian. Eudora Records 2022 (Pure DSD256) HERE
This is a truly remarkable album. As I listen to the Pure DSD256 final release of this album, I think it may be the best sounding recording of multiple instruments that I have yet heard from Gonzalo Noqué. And he has created many superb recordings. This recording superbly balances the violin and harpsichord in the acoustic space. It is completely transparent, capturing every nuance of timbre, texture, resonance, and attack. The acoustic environment in which this is recorded (the Iglesia de San Miguel, Daroca, Zaragoza, Spain) has beautiful reverberation and air that does not muddy or overwhelm these delicate instruments. And Gonzalo's microphone placement captures detail while balancing this lovely natural acoustic environment.
The recording is simply jewel-like in its transparent beauty.
And, no, you will not have to inure yourself to the sound of a harpsichord. So many people have a decidedly mistaken impression of the sound of a harpsichord when heard live. The harpsichord here is a lovely instrument, with delicacy, texture, and a rich woodiness to its sound. If you've not enjoyed the recorded sound of a harpsichord in other recordings, you should really give this recording a chance. It will likely seduce you, as it does me. Alfonso Sebastian plays his instrument with vast technical skill, but also with grace, nuance, delicacy and a sweetness of tone that is not so frequently enjoyed.
Andoni Mercero's violin is similarly lovely to hear. It is a seventeenth century instrument by an unknown maker, yet just listen to it and you will know why he plays it. It has a full, sweet tone. And Mercero plays it will with loving attention to pulling out all of the sweetness and rich harmonic overtones that this instrument delivers. His playing is fluid, rhythmically varied, nuanced. He plays with a joy that is infectious.
The shared joy of these two performers in the playing of the various sonatas on this album makes the program fly by. This is not treadle-pumping Bach. This is joyous Bach--full of life, full of invention, ever flowing with ideas.
One might think that listening to six sonatas in a row would be tedious. It is not something I normally recommend to myself to do. But here, I started listening and I simply did not want to stop. The music in these six sonatas is so well played, so varied in intonation and interpretation, and so varied by Bach in his original compositions, that they simply flow progressively along. I suspect I will come back to savor one or another sonata individually, but I found the entire album one to enjoy all in a go as I listened today.
CD Choice in the UK says, "It’s hard to imagine these imperishable pieces given more persuasive advocacy than by Mercero and Sebastian, who find every nuance in the music, greatly aided by the sympathetic surround sound recording granted them by the Eudora label. Even those resistant to the pieces may find themselves converted by this disc…"
I agree. Very highly recommended!
Recordings sessions, Iglesia de San Miguel, Daroca, Zaragoza, Spain
Andoni Mercero and Alfonso Sebastian - I hope to hear them together in some other recordings from Eudora.
Fernando Sor: Guitar Sonatas, Ricardo Gallén. Eudora Records 2014 (Pure DSD256) HERE
Catalan composer Fernando Sor (1778 - 1839) was the master of the sonata form. Musical ideas simply flowed out from him. Here Spanish guitarist Ricardo Gallén gives us a master's class in guitar performance featuring four works by Sor in sonata form for solo guitar over an immersive 74:58 minutes of total engagement.
Ricardo Gallén similarly allows the music to simply pour out of him. With grace, flexibility, nuance, and extraordinary sympathy, his performances of these sonatas are a pure delight. He makes excellent use of dynamic shading to add meaning the Sor's phrases, bringing clarity, expressive range, and greater understanding of the depths of these compositions. There is a huge sensibility to the musical flow, nothing is purely decorative, nothing is simply a flourish to demonstrate technique and virtuosity (although plenty clearly abounds). This is music-making at its finest, with layers of sensibility.
And all of this is enhanced by the wonderful sound captured by recording engineer Gonzalo Noqué. The recording captures the open natural acoustic of the recording space with nice airiness but without excess reverberation. The sound of Gallén's guitar is captured in delicate, sensitive detail. The brush and pluck and strum and resonance of the strings is readily heard, as is the rounded woody resonance of the guitar body, but without any hyper-detail as sometimes found in lesser recordings. Highly recommended.
Ricardo Gallén, from the recording session
Tuhú, a tribute to Villa-Lobos and those influenced by him, Gaëlle Solal. Eudora Records 2020 (Pure DSD256) HERE
I admit to being under a rock sometimes, because I'd not listened to this recording until now. And now everyone has heard and enthused over it. Well, even late to the party, I'll join in.
In case you are wondering, "Tuhu" is Heitor Villa-Lobos’ nickname. French virtuosa guitarist Gaëlle Solal created this album following a return from Brazil. It is comprised of compositions by Villa-Lobos and works by others influenced by or related to Villa-Lobos. Apart from the Frenchman Dyens, all composers are Brazilian. Thus, it might be considered an anthology of Brazilian guitar music.
This is a wonderful recording of delightful Villa-Lobos works alternating with delicate and exuberant compositions of Pixinguinha, Nazareth, Jobim and Dyens. Solal brings out the beauty of these compositions more than the "fire" often attributed to Latin-American guitar playing. Her playing is sensitive and virtuosic as she gives us "a gem that merges Brazilian folk with Classical music into a unique, passionate album." (liner notes) Listen for the very end of "Pixinguinha" (track 2)—what a delightful final, very delicate string pluck with which to end. Her entire performance is filled with delicate touches like this.
Enjoy this YouTube video introduction to get some idea of whether is album is for you. It certainly has been for me!
Bach Suites for Solo Cello, on guitar, Petrit Çeku. Eudora Records 2016 (Pure DSD256) HERE
As aptly demonstrated in this recording, Petrit Çeku is a gifted guitarist. He plays fluidly, graciously, and elegantly, with perfect control over subtle dynamic shading. This wonderful music, written by J.S. Bach originally for solo cello, has seen many very successful arrangements for other instruments. This performance by Petrit Çeku ranks among the very best (of many) that I've heard.
His guitar sounds wonderfully well in the superb acoustics of the 13th Century Spanish church of San Francisco in Àvila, Spain. This is a venue Gonzalo Noqué has used in many of his recordings for good reason. As a listener, Gonzalo has positioned us at a respectful distance from the performer. Some recordings place the sound field so close to the guitar, that one feels as if one's head is being pushed into the sound hole of the body of the guitar. Thankfully, not so here.
Instead, one hears a lovely balance of detail balanced in the natural acoustic of the venue, enjoying both the direct sound of the guitar and the subtle acoustic reflections of the walls of the church. This subtle detail of the acoustic environment is fragile; it is often the first thing lost in the recording process. Gonzalo's pure DSD recording preserves this delicate information for us to savor.
First prizewinner of the prestigious Parkening International Guitar Competition (2012) and Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition (2007), Petrit Çeku (b.1985) is regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of his generation. His exquisite sensibility and expressiveness have attracted and engaged audiences worldwide.
Petrit Çeku in recording session.
