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 he Scholars
Baroque Ensemble are a vocal and period instrument group. Every
member is a baroque specialist, and the group plays without the
guidance of a conductor. They do, however, have David van Asch
acting as Artistic Coordinator, who also doubles as lead bass
singer. The other three primary members are countertenor Angus
Davidson, tenor Robin Doveton, and the sole female Soprano Kym Amps.
They take the important parts for their respective voice types and
hire additional singers to fill in the other parts depending on the
projects they undertake. The group's trademark is the use of the
minimum number of players and singers to a part, often bringing it
down to one player a part, to achieve maximum clarity and vitality.
This way of playing, according to their official biography, is a
common practice in the 7th and 18th century.
The Scholars
Baroque Ensemble has recorded numerous recordings for Naxos. Apart
from these two releases being reviewed, they have also made CDs of
Monteverdi's1610 Vespers, Bach's St. John's Passion, Handel's Acis
and Galetea and a much underrated recording of the first version
of Messiah. All singers participate in the choruses and take their
turns as soloists. Their voices are uniformly clear, blending with
each other well and firm enough to take on difficult solo parts.
 In
the wake of the severe recession facing the classical
industry, and with many major
labels cutting back on their classical departments, Purcell's Dido
and Aeneas seems to be just about the only opera that still enjoys
new releases regularly. Listening to the numerous recordings through
the years, one can hear the changes that have developed in the field
of Baroque playing since and before the period instrument revival in
the mid 70s. Most recently, we had the pleasure of hearing Emanuelle
Haim's energetic interpretation with superstar mezzo Susan Graham
and the British tenor Ian Bostridge in the lead parts. Looking at
the Dido catalogue, you can find just about every type of recording
there is: period instruments VS modern instruments, mezzo Dido VS
soprano Dido, lyrical singers VS dramatic ones (even Wagnerian
Kirsten Flagstad had a stab at the part!),. The role of Dido, the
ill-fated Queen of Carthage, has also been a vehicle for a number of
superstars: Janet Baker, Jessye Norman, Marilyn Horne, Emma Kirkby,
and a great number of acclaimed artistes have claimed the role as
theirs. (above, Henry Purcell)
The lasting appeal
of the classic Dido's Lament no doubt played a big part in its
popularity, and there is also a great deal of good music: starting
with the stormy overture, the work is also filled with many catchy
dances, and many beautiful songs such as Belinda's Persue My
Conquest Love, the comic scenes with the witches, and the Sailor's
Come Away Fellow Sailors. It amazes me how Purcell managed to cram
such an epic storyline in the span of less than 50 minutes, but I
guess in this age of Attention Deficit Syndrome, perhaps composers
should take this as a challenge instead of following the examples of
long-drawn 5 hour epics.
 The performance
here is a fine one, though it reveals no new aspects of the work.
Act I was quite well done, except that the many instrumental dances
were a little still and did not quite capture the spirit of the
works. This is especially true for the Guitar Chaconne, which comes
right after the infectious Persue My conquest Love. The performance
managed to destroy the happy mood created by the song by slowing
down significantly and playing sloppily. However, Kym Amps (left) as Dido
and Anna Crookes as Belinda knew their parts well and their many
exchanges were well played. Ironically, Artistic Coordinator David
van Asch as Aeneas turns out to be the disapointing member of the
group. He is frequently singing without much thought, not willing to
invest in the emotional aspect of his character, and refuses to
bring his voice to anything louder than a forte. He does
display some good soft singing though, with beautiful floating high
notes.
Standards in act II lapsed a little. Most noticably the inclusion of
a slow 'Sailors' Dance' in the middle of the Witches scene. Not only
did it not contribute to the dramatic situation, it also broke the
dramatic struture and musical flow of the scene. I have heard many
recordings of Dido and this is the first time I have heard this
excerpt being played. The tense instrumentation that accompanies
'Oft She Visits This Lone Mountain' was played like Richard
Clayderman style background muzak. David van Asch acts like a
wimp in 'Behold My Bending Spear'. At least he makes up for it in
the final scene with the Spirit (played by Angus Davidson),
displaying some lovely soft singing.
However, the
excellent playing in the Act III makes up for whatever shortfalls
that came before. Starting with the playful spirit of Robin Doveton
as the Sailor's 'Come Away Fellow Sailors', the energetic playing
continued to the Witches Scene, where
Sarah Connolly, Ghislaine Morgan, Anna
Crookes as the Sorceress and the two witches respectively led a
campily evil performance.The act and opera ended with Kym Amps'
suitably affecting Dido's Lament. Paying great attention to the
words and musical nuances, she gave a performance that rivals the
work's best. The CD finally ends with the Cupids' chorus, featuring
the beautiful harmony of the group's singing talents.
Performance-wise, I would rate this CD 3 out of 5. A fine
performance, with fine singing and playing, that does justice to the
piece. For a truly radical interpretation, I would suggest you check
out the aforementioned CD by
Emmanuelle Haim on Virgin
Classics (Virgin Classics 5456042). However, if you are looking for a recording on budget
price, performed on period instruments, this release by Naxos is as
good as it gets.
 The Fairy Queen, on the other hand, is at best a work that interests
mostly baroque practitioners. Hence good recordings are few, and
tend to be very pricey. On budget price, there are only two to
choose from: Benjamin Britten's heavy handed and outdated version on
Decca (a great genius in every aspect but for this CD), and this
faithfully authentic one on Naxos.
Contrary to what its title suggests, The Fairy Queen is not about
flamboyant 'female impersonators'. Just like another Purcell work,
The Indian Queen, is NOT a pean to Kumar (that would be Mozart's
Queen Of The Night). Instead, the music here was composed as
individual masques and incidental music for the play loosely based
on Shakespeare's A Mid-Summer Night's Dream. David van Asch, in the
album notes, writes that: "the music for The Fairy Queen is clearly
separated from the action of the play. The music contains no parts
for singing actors and the singers take no part in the play... The
Scholars Baroque Ensemble, therefore, choose to start with the
Overture and then present (only) the music which is an integral part
part of each masque. All instrumental music related only to the play
has been put together at the end of the 2nd CD as an Appendix."
This way of playing had many advantages, mostly so that listeners
can follow the action without getting lost in excessive
instrumental passages, beautiful as they may be. By removing the
excess fat, each scene and masque is clearly separated and
categorized. Despite having heard many recordings by numerous
more-established artistes, I can finally make out the 5 masques that
are each self-contained little skits, and not a mish-mash of music
and scenes without any dramatic relevance to an overall plot.
However, the First Musick Prelude, the energetic number that usually
starts a Fairy Queen performance, has been lipo-ed off and dumped in
the appendix. Still, it is a great recording for new comers, and
will no doubt answer many questions to old-timers who are still
confused (as I was before).
The music here is typical of Purcell's genius. Sad numbers
interspersed with funny moments, such as fairies pinching a Drunken
Poet for some crime, and a hilarious drag scene for bass and
countertenor. My favourite part though, is Titana's Act III solo 'If
Love's A Sweet Passion'. Bittersweet verses coupled with a sad
melody that make a beautifully heartrending song.
Performance wise, the ensemble stays on the safe side, which is not
really a bad thing. Purcell's music here, at times side-splittingly
funny, at times melancholic, is faithfully brought out by the
various soloists. Adrian Peacock is a very civilized Drunken Poet, a
bad start to the proceedings, but things get better from there:
Diane Atherton as Night showed off some beautiful head tones. Robin
Doveton's lyric tenor, though showing a little strain in the upper
passages, possesses a fine lyric voice that is warm and bright.
Angus Davidson's full countertenor is wonderful, though he had some
difficulty with the low notes in the Coridon and Mopsa duet (the
aforementioned drag scene). David van Asch, so wooden as Aeneas,
redeems himself by pulling off Coridon's part with a hilariously
exaggerated cockney accent.
The star of the proceedings here, as in the Dido CD, is lead soprano Kym Amps. Here, she takes on numerous long and difficult arias, and
sings them with supple technical ability. She knows her music well,
ornaments liberally but never intrusively, and plays her characters
affectingly. From the upbeat numbers, such as A Nymph in Act III, to
the sad ones, like Act V's The Plaint, she shows off a big musical
and dramatic range, and passed with flying colours.
Many of the choruses were done with only one singer to a part, and
the clarity of the music benefits greatly. In fact, their principle
of 'minimalism' resulted in clearer choral and orchestral tone
colours overall, so much so that I heard many musical nuances and
effects that I have never noticed before. This comes at a small
price though, for their playing suffered some loss in dynamism that
other recordings, such as the one by Les Arts Florrisants under
William Christie, place such importance on.
Still, it's a worthy performance
deserving its place in the catalog. For this opera, different groups
have brought different things into their work, some varying greatly
on tempi, size of forces, etc. The Scholars Baroque Ensemble has a
good version and though some of the parts could have been better, it
is a recording that deserves a listen. Plus it is simply cheaper
than the rest. 4 out of 5 stars!
In Singapore, Naxos CDs may be bought most cheaply from Sing Music
at #02-75 Lucky Plaza. Call Doris for help at (+65)62358960. They
also take multiple orders and can supply Hyperion and many other
small labels. 10% discount if you mention The Flying Inkpot.
Readers' Comments
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365:
12.12.1998 © Chia Han-Leon
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