Recordings > Choral and Song
BURGON:
Merciless Beauty, Viola and Cello Concertos
Connolly; Dukes (viola), Knight (cello), City of London Sinfonia, Gamba. English texts. Chandos Chan 10592
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British composer Geoffrey Burgon (b. 1941) composed his song cycle Merciless Beauty in 1996–97 for countertenor James Bowman, who co-commissioned the work. Bowman recorded the piece in 1999 on an ASV collection of Burgon's music, with the composer conducting (reviewed by this writer in the April 2000 online edition of OPERA NEWS). For the present recording, Burgon, curious as to what a different timbre might provide, asked mezzo Sarah Connolly to perform the songs. They actually work better when sung by a mezzo, or at least by Connolly, whose voice is lushly beautiful but also clear and expressive. The liner notes to the original ASV recording stated that Burgon was inspired by the "pure, 'instrumental' sound" of Bowman's voice, which did in fact blend in with the instrumental textures in a euphonious way. But this is a song cycle, with interesting texts (mostly by British author/poet Kit Wright, plus one by Blake and two anonymous) that are well worth hearing, and they have been well set by Burgon. Thus, it's much better to have the voice out front and the words more intelligible. This may be more a comment on the mixing and heavy reverb of the earlier recording than on the difference between countertenor and mezzo, but for whichever reason, Connolly's version is a more effective presentation of the work. The music is mournful and introspective yet vital, with cycling hints of minimalism driven along by well-paced development and harmonic freshness. These moving songs are well worth hearing: they're easy to listen to and no doubt gratifying to perform. It's good to have this second recording, and not only because the first one is out of print.
Burgon, who is best known for his film and television scores (The Chronicles of Narnia, Brideshead Revisited), also demonstrates authentic flair for purely instrumental music, the examples here being the Viola Concerto and the Cello Concerto, both in their premiere recordings. The viola piece, subtitled "Ghosts of the Dance," evolves from the image of a dance marathon contest during the Depression. It's fun to trace the progress through three jazzy dances until only one couple is left standing, although the cymbal hits in the outer movements become distracting, and the second-movement tango slightly overstays its welcome. The darkly idiomatic cello concerto is noir-ish, restless and fully engaging. The composer says he didn't notice the cinematic influences in the piece until he finished writing it, but they seem readily apparent. 
JOSHUA ROSENBLUM
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