Enigma
Works by Rachmaninov, Schubert, Messiaen, Wolf, Ravel, Jörg Widmann and Andreas Tsiartas
Sarah Aristidou (soprano), Daniel Arkadij Gerzenberg (piano); Jörg Widmann (clarinet)
Alpha Classics ALPHA740 73:06 mins
This Mediterranean-inspired album opens with Andreas Tsiartas’s striking Lamento Turco, an increasingly imploring vocal meditation delivered with passion and imagination by Aristidou. Rachmaninov’s oversentimental Vocalise is then dispatched swiftly, before his ‘A-oo!’, a weighty song of yearning.
Not every transition works; Schubert’s warhorse ‘Der Hirt auf dem Felsen’ sounds a little frivolous after Rachmaninov, though the performance benefits from Widmann’s bright, glowing sound and an expansive, arch-Romantic approach from Aristidou (whose voice is really terrific).
Aristidou’s approach is fine in the earlier repertoire but really comes to life in newer works, including Messaien’s ‘Répétition planétaire!’ (from the cycle Harawi), depicting the music of the universe. Gerzenberg shines here, too, layering colours and textures with care and craft. The exotic improvisation ‘Enigma’ works well and does not outstay its welcome.
The move to Wolf’s setting of Mörike’s paean to an Aeolian harp is successful, not least because of the exquisitely judged piano sound. Ravel’s popular Greek song ‘Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques’ is breathtakingly intimate, hazy with sunshine. Schubert’s ‘Nachtstück’ is a touch bland and woolly but redeemed by a luminous rendition of ‘L’escalier redit, gestes du soleil’ (also from Harawi). Widmann’s substantial and otherworldly Sphinxensprüche und Rätselkanons is the perfect close.
This is intriguing and original music making. It’s a pity that they didn’t include any music by a woman, and I would have preferred a substantial liner note, rather than effusions about the mysterious infinity of life. But the performance is tremendously versatile, seductive and white-hot. Natasha Loges
