Amidst the glut of Mozart albums in this anniversary year, the London Winds and Michael Collins' new CD of Mozart Serenades is a refreshing delight.
In every way, this recording of the great 'Gran Partita' for 13 wind instruments, K 361, and the 'Nacht Musique' Serenade, K 388, becomes the top recommendation, knocking away all competition with its vivacity, attention to detail and above all, its tremendous atmosphere.
Collins has had a great year, excelling in the classical repertoire as never before; his performance of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in January with the London Mozart Players remains one of the two or three best anniversary tributes to the composer I've heard so far.
Far from being mere background music composed for court occasions, this so-called 'Harmonie-Musik' (music for wind ensemble) frequently shows Mozart at his most imaginative. The potential for deploying the distinctive timbres of the oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and so on, in new ways, was rigorously explored by the composer in both of these pieces. The London Winds use a contrabassoon rather than a double bass in their performances of the 'Gran Partita', because although Mozart indicates a string bass line, the development of the contrabassoon soon afterwards meant that it replaced the double bass in the first printed edition of the work. This means that no string sound is heard; instead, the winds get to shine on their own, and the effect is wonderful.
Though both pieces on the disc are masterly, and played with finesse, the highlight has to be the 'Gran Partita'. Its seven movements cover the full strata of emotions, from joy to pain, and the formal variety is fascinating: for instance, there are two slow movements, two Minuets and a ten-minute Theme and Variations. The most familiar of these to most people will be the Adagio, which is used in the film of Amadeus when Salieri states that 'It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God'. In the London Winds' performance, one can really understand the sentiment: clarinet, oboe and bassoon excel in weaving together the complex lines of the music, and Collins keeps the tempo moving along nicely, unlike some quite turgid performances in the catalogue.
The opening Largo-Molto allegro is beautifully serene, with the clarinets excelling in the introduction, and both Minuets bounce along with a jolly character. The height of the work is the Romance, which is played with warmth and sunshine, but also poignancy. And the working out of the six variations in the penultimate movement is vividly portrayed in this architecturally-aware performance.
The Serenade in C minor, K 388, is the complete antithesis in character to this. Tortured, dark and dramatic, its touching melodies linger in the ear. The opening Allegro can certainly never have been intended to be 'background music' – its emotional journey is too arresting, especially here, under the direction of Collins. The Andante, meanwhile, represents the calm before the storm of the Minuet, whose canonic entries create a tortured, piercing texture. And the Allegro finishes the piece off with another dark, harmonically unstable movement, again performed to perfection.
This addition to the catalogue cannot be too highly recommended. Not to be missed.
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