RECORDING OF THE MONTH RECORDING OF THE MONTH BARGAIN OF THE MONTH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony Oboe Concerto £11 post free World-wide RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3 £12 post free World-wide CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY RACHMANINOV TRios 2CDs £16 post free World-wide

Buy through MusicWeb for £10.00 postage paid World-wide. Immediate delivery You may prefer to pay by Sterling cheque to avoid PayPal. Contactfor details Purchase button

Joseph Bodin de BOISMORTIER (1689-1755) Sonatas for two bassoons and continuo: no.1 in E minor, op.50 [7:55]; no.3 in G, op.26 [7:35]; no.1 in D minor, op.40 [6:24]; no.5 in G minor, op.26 [7:20]; no.3 in D minor, op.14 [10:41]; no.2 in G, op.50 [10:39]; no.5 in G minor, op.40 [5:58]; no.6 in C, op.14 [8:31]; no.2 in A minor, op.26 [6:33]; Rondeau in A minor, op.40 [1:58]; Chaconne in A, op.66 [3:05] Musica Franca: (Mathieu Lussier (solo bassoon); Nadina Mackie Jackson (bassoon); Fraser Jackson (contrabassoon); Sylvain Bergeron (theorbo); Richard Paré (harpsichord and organ)) rec. 17-19 May 2005, St.Anne’s Anglican Church, Toronto. DDD MSR CLASSICS MS 1170 [75:15]

I suppose this disc comes, strictly speaking, into the "special interest" category. But to restrict it to bassoon-nuts or Baroque anoraks would be a sad mistake, for this is, in its way, a quite extraordinary recording. The music first: Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (crazy name, crazy guy) was a hugely successful and, eventually, wealthy Parisian composer from the first half of the 18th century. The works enshrined on this disc were dedicated to a distinguished cellist of the day, Labbé; but Boismortier definitely intended that many of his pieces could be performed on several different instruments (thereby no doubt enhancing potential sales!). There’s no doubt that, as bassoonist Mathieu Lussier points out in his note on the composer, these sonatas suit the character of the bassoon perfectly. Despite their modesty, they comprise perfectly formed movements in many different rhythms, tempi and styles, making for delightful listening. The performances are stunning. Lussier, though an undemonstrative player, performs some almost unbelievable stunts, nonchalantly pulling off lengthy passages of rapid fingering and/or tonguing that require the very heights of virtuosity. He is joined by Nadina Mackie Jackson, a player of comparable quality, and possessed of a particularly beautiful singing tone. These two carol together in the most utterly beguiling way. A sequence of works like this could easily become monotonous – that danger would exist if these were trio sonatas for strings, or whatever else. However, Musica Franca avoid that by varying the ensemble subtly; the addition of a contrabassoon here, a theorbo (bass lute) there, sometimes organ, sometimes harpsichord, so that the ear is caressed rather than bored. The standard of intonation is uncannily good, resulting in many really gorgeous textures. And last but not least, these bassoonists have taken the trouble to silence their key-work, so that we are mercifully spared the clanking and slapping sounds that too often accompany bassoon recordings. I urge you to try this – delightful music played with consummate skill, and recorded to perfection. Gwyn Parry-Jones   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Return to Index

Reviews from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.