Early Music on Record Review

[Nick Armstrong]

Saturday 19th Jan

11.35am Disc of the Week
Bach: Cantatas BWV.170 & BWV.35, etc
Le Banquet Céleste, Damien Guillon (countertenor & director)

[doversoul1]

Thank you Caliban for the pointer.

This must e the CD:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Zigzag/ZZT305

..and incidentally, the director Damien Guillon must be (I did not quite catch the name then) the French countertenor whose Dowland impressed Tess Knighton with the not-like-the Deller school performance.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/john-dowland-lute-songs-mw0002112568

… and here is Damien Guillon singing Erbarme dich:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZb7FcP84CM

I look forward very must to hearing what Andrew will tell us about the CD.

[BBMmk2]

Have to have alook about their Dowland cd too!

[MickyD]

Thanks, doversoul, for the link to Erbarme dich....I hadn't heard this performance before. It certainly is one of the most beautiful renditions I've heard of this piece.

[ardcarp]

Thanks, doversoul, for the link to Erbarme dich

Thanks from me too. Superb. I was slightly distracted by the odd stares of the non-playing musician behind him! But equally beguiled by the superb violinist...and her playing.

[Nick Armstrong]

What a FANTASTIC counter-tenor Damien Guillon is !!!

I need to catch up with the Dowland review, to hear a bit more of what he can do.

The first movement of BWV170 was a match - perhaps more than a match - any day for the Scholl version I know best

[ardcarp]

Yes indeed, Calibs, and I was fairly blown away by Banquet Celeste. In the first movement especially, it was the very best of Baroque playing; clear, carefully expressive, but not overdone.

My grasp of German is only gleaned through singing a lot of it, mainly Bach, but I'm always intrigued by the 'ch' sound, e.g. 'nicht' or 'nisht'. I've been asked to do it both ways. Damien tended towards the 'nisht', and I wonder if any scholar out there would care to comment?

Returning to today's programme, I thought the 'Ebeneezer Prout' fugue was technically assured, but I found myself holding my breath throughout and had to do a bit of deep exhaling after it finished!

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes indeed, Calibs, and I was fairly blown away by Banquet Celeste. In the first movement especially, it was the very best of Baroque playing; clear, carefully expressive, but not overdone.

My grasp of German is only gleaned through singing a lot of it, mainly Bach, but I'm always intrigued by the 'ch' sound, e.g. 'nicht' or 'nisht'. I've been asked to do it both ways. Damien tended towards the 'nisht', and I wonder if any scholar out there would care to comment?

Returning to today's programme, I thought the 'Ebeneezer Prout' fugue was technically assured, but I found myself holding my breath throughout and had to do a bit of deep exhaling after it finished!

Yes.... and the third para of my #6 was intended to include the band. Great stuff

[doversoul1]

…mmmm... I don’t know. I found Damien Guillon singing rather laboured and was almost overpowered by the instruments. There were many beautiful bits but his voice in general, I found too distinctly falsetto-ish which makes my throat tight (not emotionally but physically), and his singing sounded much the same throughout this quite long piece. To me (or maybe it was my radio receiver's fault), Guillon did not ring out as I like the alto countertenor to be in Bach. Time Iestyn Davies recorded Bach Cantata.

[ardcarp]

Dovers,

I think his style is to produce a very pure head-voice sound. It certainly isn't a 'James Bowman' voice. I guess he feels the music speaks for itself and doesn't need too many emotional tweaks. I too did wonder about the recorded balance...voice could have been slightly more to the fore...but then again, perhaps he sees the vocal line as part of the texture. In the second 'mov't' ....the one with the bass line played by a piccolo cello (?) or maybe a viola (?)....I thought the organ part would have been better without the 4' Prinzipal sound...just a flute would have sufficed.

However I was listening on a glorified ghetto-blaster and maybe better kit would have told a different story.

[Pegleg]

I tend to agree with doversoul. Some beautiful playing here, but I quickly tired of listening to Damien Guillon who I found "all top end and rather samey" in the end. On the other hand I could listen to "Le Banquet Céleste" playing Bach all day long.

I grateful for the youtube ref as it lead me to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXWrZC4htSU, one to watch nearer to Easter.

If you like Damien Guillon, you might enjoy this: http://youtu.be/FgPKaFtTDKA BWV 82 Ich habe genug in two parts.

I can't help making a comparison with Andreas Scholl's & Philippe Herreweghe BWV 170. I don't know what kind of magic pikie dust he sprinkles over Bach, but his interpretations to my ears are never overly austere or sober and always conjure up a reverential emotional beauty.

On the subject of Bach, I wonder if anyone else has watched any of the Bach-Stiftung youtube vids : http://www.youtube.com/user/Bachstiftung?feature=watch and would care to offer an opinion of these performances.

[doversoul1]

ardcarp
I agree with you entirely about Guillon’s intention not being James Bowman, let alone any other current crop of helden-type, and by ‘ringing out’ I meant clear rather than loud. Actually, I was thinking about Robin Blaze in that particular Bach (I can’t remember which, I’m afraid) as well as Iestyn Davies. But it may have been something to do with the balance that made me think that the singing was laboured.

Still, it is good to see (hear) another countertenor being approved of on CD Review.

Pegleg

I could listen to "Le Banquet Céleste" playing Bach all day long.

So could I.

[Pegleg]

P.S Would some kind soul take pity on an ignorant sod and give me some idea of what all this countertenor "head voice" v. "chest voice" thing is about.

[doversoul1]

P.S Would some kind soul take pity on an ignorant sod and give me some idea of what all this countertenor "head voice" v. "chest voice" thing is about.

I feel rather presumptuous to answer this knowing that a whole army of voice specialists inhabit this Forum but I think you could say that head voice is another way of saying falsetto, and chest voice is the normal range of male voice.

[Nick Armstrong]

Dovers,

I think his style is to produce a very pure head-voice sound. It certainly isn't a 'James Bowman' voice. I guess he feels the music speaks for itself and doesn't need too many emotional tweaks.

I think that's what appealed to me on first listening. Having said that, I can imagine that maybe the 'extras' that dover and pegleg missed might indeed be found lacking if I listened repeatedly to his performance.

What we can say with common agreement I think is that he is "one to watch" as they say. I'd welcome the chance to hear him live.