I am not usually partial
to trumpet music in large doses; however
in this case the choice of repertoire
attracted me. In his booklet note Watson,
Head of Brass at the Royal Academy of
Music, tells of his belief in the trumpet’s
ability to carry a melodic line and
stir passions. I am used to stirring
orchestral brass holding a tune, so
a reduction in scale struck me as not
that hard to get to grips with, providing
the execution proved to be more than
just technical excellence and academic
correctness.
The Hindemith sonata
is at once upbeat and somewhat dry,
typical of the composer’s style. Both
instruments have nice presence and a
sense of interplay is maintained, with
Watson reducing his line down to a pianissimo
without overt thinning of the tone.
The final movement ‘trauermusik’ brings
out the best of these qualities. The
finely judged performance prevents the
music from becoming overly bleak, yet
maintains a sense of tension throughout
despite the finely wrought trumpet line.
Indeed, as with Enescu’s writing (see
later) one is impressed by the piano
part; other composers might have been
tempted to let the trumpet have all
the glory.
By way of contrast,
Martinů’s
sonatine proves a lively jazzy piece,
which lightens the mood, with - yet
again - a sizeable load carried by the
piano. Against this, Watson’s finely
strung and subtly inflected solo line
is thrown. And then Ravel - on the trumpet?
Well, I wouldn’t have thought
it a natural marriage, but Watson proves
somewhat persuasive. The performance
sees the mood darken slightly with the
work being inward looking. He writes
of using it as a prelude to the Enescu;
in my view not necessary, but certainly
passable in this capacity. Ravel though
is more than capable of being his own
person.
If the Ravel is inward
then the Enescu is a glance towards
the eternal, encapsulated in barely
six minutes. Légende has several
previous recordings, and both those
on EMI by John Wallace (the one to hunt
down if you can) and Hakan Hardenberger,
capture key aspects of the work. If
Watson does not match either it is not
for want of trying. Wallace proves more
‘timeless’ in his view, Hardenberger
has a shade more character in the playing
than Watson. Yet his is a decent account,
coping well with the flutter-tongue
passages and the seamless legato. The
piano part is a glory in itself, and
more than competently played. However,
whatever Enescu’s enigmatic Légende
is, I am not totally made to believe
in it.
Then two composers
I had never heard of before: Hansen
and Pilss. I suspect unless you are
a brass aficionado this might be the
case with you too. To be honest, I found
both of mild interest; the playing was
pleasing enough and, as far as I could
tell, competent. I found the lift in
spirits and mood that the Hansen provided
some relief from the generally sombre
tone that wove throughout the majority
of this disc.
For me, despite obviously
competent performances this was a pleasing
rather than seminal release that might
be revisited occasionally; though trumpet
lovers may find it of more lasting value.
Evan Dickerson
for
details 
James Watson (trumpet) 
