Music
The composer of Les huguenots and L’Africaine was already an accomplished master at age 26, as this first-rate recording reveals.
Any number of threads that tie these three pieces (and composers) together. But in this instance, such busywork is superfluous: the musical results – blazingly played and flawlessly recorded – speak for themselves.
For fans, this backstage concert documentary is obviously a gift. For others, it will serve as a testament to the power of a woman whose life’s work has made real world impact.
Vivaldi put this opera together using, in part, arias associated with two famous singers: the “Moorish” (i.e., half-African) Vittorio Tesi and the castrato Farinelli.
Descriptions of Anna Webber’s music might make it seem intimidating. It is not — her compositions are stirring, amusing, and delightful, particularly in the shell games they play with variety and coherence.
For local music enthusiasts of all stripes, the hometown label was a point of pride; for musicians and fans the world over, Rounder was the go-to source for music you couldn’t readily find elsewhere.
To hear this performance properly. you must do a bit more work than you might do ordinarily . . . but great art deserves such work.
This disc stands comfortably in the company of Beethoven and Bartók performances by the Emerson, Tákacs, Alban Berg, and Juilliard Quartets.
In her new album, Juliana Hatfield’s concerns are comeuppance, self-abasement, and the depravity of those who revel in the power to make decisions that can adversely affect others.
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