Site review by Geohominid August 9, 2009

Raimundo Penaforte is said to be "one of the most creative and captivating Brazilian musicians of his generation". As a conductor, composer and instrumentalist he has appeared at concerts in Europe, Canada, Japan, Brazil and the United States at such venues as Lincoln Centre, The White House and The Kennedy Centre. His idiom embraces classical, Latin, jazz and Brazilian folk. He has a particular interest in chamber music, having been commissioned by many soloists and groups such as the Eroica Trio, the L.A. Guitar Quartet, Metropolitan Opera trumpeter Mark Gould, organist Dorothy Papadakos and, most recently, New York Philharmonic violist Dorian Rence. Penaforte's Quarteto 3 (on this disc), commissioned by the Diller-Quaile School of Music, was premièred in New York City by its string quartet in 2003. Recently, the New York Philharmonic premièred his 'The Tortoise and the Hare' for chamber orchestra, narrator, and shadow theatre.

The present recording represents the fruits of Penaforte's recent collaboration with the very fine Netherlands Valerius Ensemble, who are mostly members of The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra. The Ensemble's pianist on this occasion is concert recitalist Francesco Schlimé, and Peneforte's programme choice was partly inspired by the pianist's presence at the sessions. Reciprocally, the members of the Ensemble were evidently galvanised by their interaction with Peneforte, who also plays percussion on several tracks. The programme itself represents some of his compositions and arrangements from the last few decades.

'Tango for Seven' (2 violins, clarinet, viola, bassoon, cello, piano) opens gruffly, even menacingly, on piano low register with a motif which recurs several times to interrupt an otherwise slinky and melodious tango. The dance transforms into a more cerebral diversion (which I found somewhat tedious), with fugato-like passages and hints of Shostakovich's drollery, swooping glissandi from the players seeming to mock what becomes a wry parody of Tango.

Badóque, according to Penaforte's personal notes on the music, refers to his daily visits during the 1990's to a well-known Hungarian Pastry Shop in New York. Clarinet, cello and piano open with a busy, splashy polytonal imitation of down-town bustle, lingering over a crepuscular and creepy middle section before returning to the city buzz. At times I was left thinking that Penaforte's style might be enjoyed more by its players than his listeners.

Arrangements of three Gershwin songs from 'Porgy and Bess' for clarinet and string quartet were jointly commissioned by the Valerius Ensemble and the Diller-Quaile Quartet of New York. The quartet-writing is inventive and affectionately played with a creamy-toned clarinet representing the voice. There is a nonchalant 'Ain't nesseccarily so', a jazzily languid 'Summertime' and 'There's a boat dats leaving for New York' is full of swinging optimism.

'Homage à Joaquin' is a fantasy on the famous theme from the second movement of Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto, originally composed for piano but with added strings in this special version to honour Schlimé. The famous tune has its note-values somewhat altered and has more piquant harmonization, but the poetic string playing supports Schlimé's lovely, eloquent playing. The fantasy drags us off to considerably anguished writing near the conclusion, but the work is interesting, if guilding the perfect lily somewhat.

Quarteto 3 is another recent commission for the Diller-Quaile Quartet. Movimento I, Lento is a sweetly nostalgic neo-Classical contemplation, Movimento II begins as a fugue (Andante moderato) which is not strict by any means and explores desolation and desperation, ending with hollow, chilly tremolandos. Movimento III does not have scored percussion but berimbau and pandiero are optional and improvised, here rhythmically interpolating the dry, detached string motifs in the movement's Piazolla-like mood.

Brahmonos is another fantasy (flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, bassoon, piano, violin, viola, cello, marimba drums, voice), this time based on a theme by Brahms. The melody in question is the ineffable one from the third movement of Brahm's Symphony 3 (Poco allegretto). I would categorise Penaforte's fantasy as Jacques Loussier goes Latin with Bach and Villa-Lobos (the floating wordless soprano voice echoing a famous one of the Bachianas Brasiliensis). It begins brightly and lyrically, becomes progressively more detached, dissonant and disturbed and reaches cacophony with speaking between the players before lapsing into comparative tranquillity again. A première recording.

As sometimes happens with Aliud, there is a 'bonus' track - on the CD layer only. 'Carinhosa' is another arrangement, this time of a classic song from 1917 (by Alfredo Filho) for clarinet with piano. "Carinhosa" means affectionate, and the arrangement goes much further, being positively sexy. It is decorated by Schlimé with fluid virtuoso flourishes on the piano. Interestingly, the acoustic here sounds somewhat hollow in comparison with the SACD layer.

While I may have reservations about some aspects of Penaforte's musical inspiration (but not about the superb performances), I have nothing but praise for the realism of Jos Boerland's production and engineering of this disc. Even after years of listening to high definition surround sound, one can still get a thrill even at the first notes of a record, and the resonant growl of Schlimé's piano in the airy Johanneskerk, Twekkelo (Netherlands) provided me with this. The recording is fairly close - no inappropriate churchiness from the acoustic - and places the instrumentalists in one's listening room most convincingly, with lively surrounds giving great front-to-back perspective. It is fascinating listening to the purity of the instrumental timbres, especially the sound of the ideally balanced string quartet, its cello having rich tone without the double-bass-like overemphasis offered in many other recordings.

Recommended for Penaforte fans of course, and for those interested in contemporary chamber music.

Copyright © 2009 John Miller and SA-CD.net