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Review by Geohominid July 15, 2007 (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
Upon my bookself sits a replica statue of a harpist sitting in a throne-like chair with his (or her?) head thrown back, dating to about 2500BC. The harp is thus one of the earliest civilised instruments. Its sound still stirs something deep within us; no wonder it was the Bardic instrument of choice.
There are a surprising number of solo harp recitals in the SACD canon, and Isabelle Perrin's one is very fine indeed. She was born in France, where the harp has been developed extensively from the early 19th Century onwards, and as well as holding positions in several orchestras, she is a well-travelled recitalist. She plays a Camac harp, built by Jakez Françoise Garnier, the successor to the founder of the company, who continues to research and progress the technical and sonic properties of the instrument. A very good summary of the history of the harp is given in the booklet, and Isabelle Perrin goes on to explain her choice of this instrument, the recording of the disc and the repertoire she chose - she wanted the music to be as eclectic as possible. There are some original compositions for harp, some direct transcriptions from piano music and others taken more freely from chamber music sources. Only a few of these will be familiar to the average music-lover, so there are many real discoveries.
Her playing is simply superb, stunning in the range of tone colours she evokes from the Camac, from breathtaking soft filigree passages in the treble to sonorous chords in the rich bass. Her expressive phrasing and subtle rubato make melodies take wing, and her immaculate technique dazzles in the virtuoso pieces.
The recital opens with Hasselman's "La Source", portraying a spring with a droplet-like melody above the flow and eddy of arpeggios - the harp is particularly good at moving water music, as shown in several pieces on this disc. Next we have an engaging novelty, an aria with variations by Eberl, one of Mozart's pupils, set by the Master as an exercise, and corrected and approved by him. This was transcribed from keyboard by a Welsh harpist in the early C19th, who added a transcription of a rondo which Mozart originally wrote for a string trio. A most engaging and delightful pairing.
Another piano transcription which most people will know is the "Raindrop" prelude by Chopin, written during a storm while in Majorca with George Sand, a vacation which proved deeply emotional. One could almost believe that it was written for harp; in particular the darker central section with chords on the lower strings carries much more emotion than the piano and is very convincing indeed. Next we are treated to a Chinese traditional melody, The Flowing Stream, another evocative watery tone-poem.
Dussek is well-known to pianists, but his mother and sister were harpists, and he composed a set of three sonatas for them, of which we hear the one in C minor. There is tuneful and lucid argument in the first movement, a deeply love-lorn second movement and a glittering music box-like rondo as finale. Moving into the C20th, a remarkable piece by Salzedo, "Chanson dans la Nuit" challenges the harpist with a rich palette of techniques exploring the poetic soundworld of the harp, using nails, tapping the sound-board and many types of glissandi. It has a motoric Spanish dance rhythm underpinning it; a thrilling and evocative piece. To follow, we are given a gravely beautiful "Minstrel's adieu to his native land" by John Thomas (1836-1913), whose theme reminded me of Dido's Lament by Purcell.
Parish Alvars was much admired by Berlioz (himself a devotee of the harp) and was called by him "the Liszt of the harp". His "Serenade" is a virtuoso piece of huge technical difficulty, not the least the use of harmonics to accompany the love theme. Here Perrin displays effortlessly the surprising dynamic range of the instrument and how effective and almost orchestral it can sound.
After these fireworks we move into Respighi's Siciliana, inspired by his studies of C16th lute music and originally composed for string orchestra (Ancient Airs and Dances). The arrangement by the great harp virtuoso Marcel Grandjany uses all the harp's resources to magnificent effect.
Finally to Debussy. Penultimately Isabelle Perrin gives us her transcription of the piano Arabesque from which the disc takes its title. It sounds fully at home, an exquisite tapestry of fleetingly beautiful strands of sound.
Isabelle Perrin is joined for the last item by the strings of the Northwest Sinfonietta, Tacoma in Debussy's Danses Sacreé et Profane. I'm delighted to hear this, so rarely is it performed or recorded. I fell in love with it when Ken Russell used it in his film on Debussy in 1965 (the other thing which sticks in memory is the scene was of a naked lady with balloons slowly being rotated on a turntable in a seedy night-club!). These gently swaying and lyrical pieces make a fine ending to a most entertaining disc, a true voyage of discovery. Lovely balance between the strings and the harp.
As to the recording, there is little to say except it is DSD in stereo (no MC) and hybrid with a redbook layer. It was recorded in 2002, and seems perfect to me, not too close but with staggering detail which will test your speakers fully. The presentation, in a stitched hardback book, is immaculate, well-illustrated and documented, although in English only.
Don't miss this one; it may well not stay much longer in the catalogue.
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