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Dutton is primarily known for its first-rate refurbishment's of older recordings
but this issue shows it is also excellent work in the "first recording" field
as well. In short this is a delightful disc. Hubert Parry's Sonata in A is
early by his standards, dating from 1879 and not published until 1883, but
it has a most appealing breadth and not a little of Parry's characteristic
grand manner. The middle movement, the shortest of the three, is perhaps
the works high point, its lyricism beautifully sustained. Hurlstone (the
CD cover carelessly misspells his name) died in 1906 at the age of 30, a
great loss to British music on the strength of this Sonata, not to mention
other significant works. In four movements, its writer is gloriously fluent
for both cello and piano, though never superficial, even if there is less
sadness in the Adagio Lamentoso than we might expect. Harty's two pairs of
pieces, Romance and Scherzo, Opus 8 and Waldesstille and
Schmetterling (Butterflies), both appeared early in his output and
were intended for W.H. Squire. The latter pair, from 1907, four years after
Romance and Scherzo are rather the better, Waldesstille more
subtle than the Romance, Schmetterling more concise and more individual
than the Scherzo but all are worth reviving. In Andrew Fuller they
- and the Parry and Hurlstone sonatas, too - find an excellent advocate,
clean and lyrical in tone, and the very experienced Michael Dussek is a
thoughtful, responsive accomplice. The recording is predictably fine; I have
had much pleasure from this CD and invite other to share it.
Reviewer
Phil Scowcroft
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Reviewer
Phil Scowcroft
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Andrew Fuller (cello), Michael Dussek (piano)
