Classical Music: Cantabile - Anthems For Viola

Cantabile - Anthems For Viola

Jonathan Harvey Chant; Ralph Vaughan Williams Romance; Bright Sheng The Stream Flows; Arnold Bax Sonata for Viola and Piano Augusta Read Thomas Song without Words* Benjamin Britten Lachrymae Reflections on a song of Dowland
* premiere recording

Jordan Bak viola & Richard Uttley Piano
Delphian DCD34317
https://www.delphianrecords.com/

We should commend Delphian for its ability to identify future talent and introduce a wealth of rarely recorded music. It’s a label that is not afraid to delve deep into different repertoires and produce brilliant soloists to capture the artistry of their instruments, which is laudable.

This disc does just that.The Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak has already achieved international acclaim for his radiant stage presence, dynamic interpretations and fearless power, and on this release, he demonstrates his various skills and stage presence in captivating performances, whether solo or joined by Richard Uttley on piano. The selected pieces truly reflect the disc's title.

Vaughan-Williams was a violist, and in this characteristically charming Romance, the lyricism and beauty are expressed.

Bright Sheng's The Stream Flows, a hauntingly beautiful solo work for viola, follows it. Although based on folk songs from southern China, there are moments when one feels the presence of RVW and many other influences. Bak conveys the intensity of the piece and communicates the story through wonderful articulation and the sequence of angular intervals—bare fourths, fifths, and octaves—that Andrew Stewart points out in his excellent notes.

We hear Bak's viola's rich, full tone in the main work, Arnold Bax's rhapsodic sonata, with wonderfully controlled accompaniments from Uttley. The opening has Uttley's fingers tinkling high on the keyboard, before we hear the deep hues of Bak's lower register; both give a striking and impressive account. They convey the drama with an engaging rhythmic energy throughout, although the agitation subsides into an intense and sensitively played end to the final movement.

The opener, Jonathan Harvey's Chant, is particularly noteworthy because Bak demonstrates his technical brilliance through his harmonic virtuosity.

Augusta Read Thomas’ Song without Words was written for the duo, and Stewart writes 'it is rich in tonal and textural nuances, which grow from the near-symbiotic, yin-yang partnership between the viola’s lyrical line and the keyboard’s limpid interjection'. It is an arresting composition, full of intensity that Bak and Uttley catch with sensitivity. Uttley’s thoughtful accompaniments in some of the complex writing are displayed with responsive perceptiveness.

The disc ends with Britten's Lacrymae Reflections on a Song of Dowland, and once again, Bak manages to showcase his instrument's timbre and tonal colours. Like so much on this disc, the considered playing with well-phrased lines, distinctive tone and technical brilliance, permeate through an assortment of delightful pieces.