The Artistry of Clas Pehrsson [Import]

English Traditional (Composer), Francesco (da Milano) Canova (Composer), John Dowland (Composer), Alfonso [1] Ferrabosco (Composer), Georg Philipp Telemann (Composer), George Frederick Handel (Composer), Jacob van Eyck (Composer), Diego Ortiz (Composer), Pierre Certon (Composer), Anonymous (Composer), Guillaume de Machaut (Composer), Guillaume Dufay (Composer), Solveig Faringer (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Solveig Faringer
• Composer: English Traditional, Francesco (da Milano) Canova, John Dowland, Alfonso [1] Ferrabosco, Georg Philipp Telemann, et al.
• Audio CD (April 16, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bis
• ASIN: B000001689
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #923,536 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #79 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Virelais

Track Listings

1. Greensleeves, folk song - Clas Pehrsson/Cecilia Peijel

2. Ricercare for lute (unspecified) - Cecilia Peijel

3. Lachrimae Pavan, for keyboard or lute (from 'Lachrimae') - Clas Pehrsson/Cecilia Peijel

4. Pavan - Cecilia Peijel

5. Sonata for recorder & continuo in C major (GMM No. 56), TWV 41:C2 - Clas Pehrsson/Cecilia Peijel

6. Recorder Sonata in A minor, Op.1/4, HWV 362 - Clas Pehrsson/Cecilia Peijel

7. Work(s): Three Pieces for recorder - Clas Pehrsson

8. Work(s): Three Recercadas for recorder & alto guitar - Clas Pehrsson/Cecilia Peijel

9. Biblical Settings (4) for soprano, lute & recorder - Clas Pehrsson/Solveig Faringer/Jorgen Rorby

10. Flos filius eius - Clas Pehrsson/Solveig Faringer/Jorgen Rorby

11. Dance Song - Clas Pehrsson/Solveig Faringer/Jorgen Rorby

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars From Sopranino to Sub-Contrabass and an Alto Guitar, December 23, 2008

By 

Leslie Richford (Selsingen, Lower Saxony) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Artistry of Clas Pehrsson (Audio CD)

The Artistry of Clas Pehrsson. Clas Pehrsson plays eight different recorders. Accompaniments: Cecilia Peijel, guitar and alto guitar; Solveig Faringer, soprano (Tr. 9-11); Jörgen Rörby, lute (Tr. 9-11).
Recorded at Wik Castle, Sweden, by Robert von Bahr, in February, March and May 1979 (Tr. 1-8) and January 1974 (Tr. 9-11). Originally published on LP. This CD compilation released in 1994 as BIS CD-135. Total playing time: 65'32".

Recitals for the recorder are not for everyone (limited range, shrill high notes etc.), but this BIS re-issue has everything going for it. Take, first, the superb engineering by Robert von Bahr. Whereas recorder issues on other labels (I'm thinking particularly of some I have heard recently on ASV Gaudeamus, Hyperion and Titanic) tend to place the recorder so starkly in the foreground that it can hurt the ears, BIS have placed their two microphones at an ideal distance, capturing all the nuances of the playing, but at the same time never making the instrument sound over-present or shrill (even on the one track where Pehrsson plays a sopranino - thank God he didn't attempt to fill a whole disc with that enervating sound!). These are analogue recordings from the 70's, but the sound quality is considerably better than many a less well-engineered digital recording.

Then there is the playing. Clas Pehrsson himself is a man of great musicality, and he seems able both to reproduce recorder music with the greatest ease and to avoid attracting the limelight by any kind of showy virtuosity. He brings the music alive, lets you hear his superb range of recorders (from sopranino right down to sub-contrabass, an amazing sound!), and it is only after you have finished listening that you realize what a wonderful player you have just been listening to. The first eight tracks, recorded in 1979, were made together with guitarist Cecilia Peijel, who gets Tracks 2 and 4 as solo pieces. She plays not only a modern classical guitar, but also an alto guitar with eleven strings, tuned to G and sounding a little like a lute. The idea of accompanying pieces such as the sonatas by Telemann and Handel on a guitar may seem a little strange, but I feel that the sonic results prove that the BIS team were correct in their decision. The older pieces at the end of the disc (12th to 15th century) are accompanied by a lute, while mezzo-soprano Solveig Faringer sings either the traditional texts or just to "Ah". All in all a fascinating recital, and I can't thank BIS enough for keeping this and all their other excellent recordings available.