Broken Consort Part 1 / Tripla Concordia

Matthew Locke's six suites from Part I of his Broken Consort collection are graceful and melodically attractive music. Although the composer scored them specifically for string consort and theorbo, they are here offered by the four musicians of the American-based Wayward Sisters playing on baroque violin, recorder, cello and theorbo. Although they are not literally sisters, and only three-quarters of them are female, they are still a very fine ensemble delivering skilful and musicianly playing with ideal choices of tempo throughout.Locke's six suites from the First Part of his Broken Consort collection are all in the consistent format of Fantazie, Courante, Ayre and Saraband. The Fantazie movements are the more extended, in several sections with especially beautiful fugato passages. The dances are full of attractive melodies, and the Sarabands are more lively than the usual stately tradition of this dance would suggest. Two suites from the multi-composer Tripla Concordia collection which open and conclude the disc, in G major and E minor respectively, are contrasting and more extended works in the then-fashionable French style. These, too, are extremely enjoyable music full of fine melodies.The only problem with the present disc is the competition, in the form of a beautiful two-disc recording of both parts of Locke's Broken Consort collection. This is played to perfection by the Locke Consort, moreover in the composer's original scoring for strings and theorbo. The present version, from Wayward Sisters, with its prominent recorder part standing out very prominently against the strings, is a different matter. It is very enjoyable to listen to, but to me the dominance of that instrument – no matter how beautifully played, which it is – detracts (and distracts the listener) from the more subtle effects of the composer's part-writing.Booklet notes are very good; recorded sound is good too, as long as you accept that it doesn't attempt to rectify the balance between recorder and strings. I am very glad to have both recordings; moreover, the present one does include the Tripla Concordia Suite in E minor which is not present in the Locke Consort's two-disc set. But, ultimately, the latter bring more weight and depth to Locke's very fine music, and so they would be my first choice.

Wayward Sisters (from Shakespeare's Weird Sisters in Macbeth, scored by Locke) fill in a small part of the missing repertoire of instrumental music by this well-known English composer. Locke was Henry Purcell's first teacher and famous as both a composer and a musical theoretician. Locke is far less performed and appreciated in the US, and I hope this first elegant and expressive recording will introduce his inventiveness and mastery of composition for instrumental ensemble to a wider audience. One can imagine he would have approved of a broken consort performing his works and especially of this debut recording by the young and energetic members of this new quartet.

Matthew Locke's six suites from Part I of his Broken Consort collection are graceful and melodically attractive music. Although the composer scored them specifically for string consort and theorbo, they are here offered by the four musicians of the American-based Wayward Sisters playing on baroque violin, recorder, cello and theorbo. Although they are not literally sisters, and only three-quarters of them are female, they are still a very fine ensemble delivering skilful and musicianly playing with ideal choices of tempo throughout.Locke's six suites from the First Part of his Broken Consort collection are all in the consistent format of Fantazie, Courante, Ayre and Saraband. The Fantazie movements are the more extended, in several sections with especially beautiful fugato passages. The dances are full of attractive melodies, and the Sarabands are more lively than the usual stately tradition of this dance would suggest. Two suites from the multi-composer Tripla Concordia collection which open and conclude the disc, in G major and E minor respectively, are contrasting and more extended works in the then-fashionable French style. These, too, are extremely enjoyable music full of fine melodies.The only problem with the present disc is the competition, in the form of a beautiful two-disc recording of both parts of Locke's Broken Consort collection. This is played to perfection by the Locke Consort, moreover in the composer's original scoring for strings and theorbo. The present version, from Wayward Sisters, with its prominent recorder part standing out very prominently against the strings, is a different matter. It is very enjoyable to listen to, but to me the dominance of that instrument – no matter how beautifully played, which it is – detracts (and distracts the listener) from the more subtle effects of the composer's part-writing.Booklet notes are very good; recorded sound is good too, as long as you accept that it doesn't attempt to rectify the balance between recorder and strings. I am very glad to have both recordings; moreover, the present one does include the Tripla Concordia Suite in E minor which is not present in the Locke Consort's two-disc set. But, ultimately, the latter bring more weight and depth to Locke's very fine music, and so they would be my first choice.

Produkt wurde verschenkt und machte Freude.