Fanfare 3

*****

A fine extension of the Ruders catalog.
È RUDERS Transfigurations1. A Movable Concerto2. Concerto for Harpsichord and Symphony Orchestra3. 1Michala Petri (rec); 2Peter Navarro-Alonso (pos org); 3Mahan Esfahani (hpd); 1,2Andris Veilsmaris, 3Leif Segerstam, cond; 1,2Kremerata Baltica; 3Aarhus SO OUR RECORDINGS 8226937 (59:01) Reviewed from WAV file: 1411 kbps

It is always a treat to encounter the music of Poul Ruders. This particular disc takes its name from the recorder concerto, Transfigurations (2023), a piece of transformations. Both movements begin with similar gestures but move differently. Subtitled, “A Double Portrait for Recorder Solo and String Orchestra”. Petri plays on a variety of recorders, beginning mellow and low with the tenor recorder (Ruders has the player move tenor to soprano to alto to sopranino, and back again). There are elements of transformation about the sound of the recorder, too, heard in juxtaposition with other instruments that “color” the core sound. At times, the sound of recorder and strings seems to prefigure the organ heard later in the disc. The mystery of the first movement is palpable. Nothing is as it seems: pure pitches soon shift, consonance appears but rarely gives the rest its history promises. We know Ruders is a master composer: his ear is supreme, and he uses his timbral virtuosity to maximum effect here. The performance surely cannot be bettered: there is such intensity in the strings, caught brilliantly, and Petri is, as seemingly always, beyond criticism. Petri’s initiation of a swifter section after eight minutes in is perfectly judged, as is her halting of that captivity shortly thereafter. And Veismanis directs Kremerata Baltica with high expertise; soloist and conductor are as one, especially towards the end of the first movement. The second, “Alla breve moderato” is highly mobile, angular but non-jagged, lumbering but not clumsy. Passages with sopranino recorder result in high shards of chords; as pitch descends, so does activity, a tempo and volume diminuendo exquisitely judged here. A sudden Mahler moment surprises, leading to moments of extraordinary beauty, in which the strings seem to morph into a silvery accordion. This is a haunting, beautiful work captured in a superb recording and performance.

After that, the sound of a positive organ comes as a real contrast. The opening “Alla breve” to A Movable Concerto: Five Short Pieces for Organ and Strings (2023) is initially bright and jaunty; it is up to the strings to color, to darken, all before a lovely, but almost cheeky, final chord of rest for all. The concerto was written at the suggestion of the current soloist (Peter Navarro-Alonso, organist at Vor Freisers Kirke (Our Savior’s Church), Copenhagen. The first seems Neo-Baroque, with elements of real fun. The actual Baroque inspiration comes from Handel (one of Ruders’ formative memories is when he sang as an alto in Handel’s Saul, and specifically the insertion of an organ concerto after the interval,, performed on a positive organ and entirely in congruence with Handelian tradition. That first movement finds some of Handel’s own concerto quotes weaved in, plus an imitation of a Dutch street organ. The second movement, Largo legatissimo, is the heart of the concerto, static, beautiful, warm. Reuters’ harmonic workings are fascinating, the way he can twist that warmth into something more malevolent, then brings us back again, but changed. The combination of organ and strings is beautifully realized here by the dedicatee and Kremerata Baltica under Veismanis. The activity of the Animato is beautifully rendered, too, the lines playful, somewhat jagged and yet, Handel remains the foundation of the organ writing; a sudden, sweet-toned, lyrical violin solo seems to change the trajectory, acting as an interruptor to prepare the way for the spectral Vivace. It is with an Andante the concerto closes, the brightness extinguished, the organ ruminative, sometimes almost Gothic in its dark chord sequences and timbral changes of direction. Navarro-Alonso is light-fingered when required, but it is the mysterious ending that lingers.

I was one of three critics who reviewed this performance of the Harpsichord Concerto with Mahan Esfahani and the Aarhus Symphony under Segerstam on its previous release (Fanfare 45:6; the others were Robert Carl, and Phillip Scott). The general consensus was very positive for this short work of just shy of 21 minutes, issued then as a stand-alone download. The harpsichord ceaseless moto perpetuo counterpoints the orchestra, be their contributions rhythmic or lyric. The balance between harpsichord and orchestra remains perfect; I would be very interested to hear this in live performance (bear in mind the harpsichord is subject to “a carefully prepared and controlled electronic amplification”Any interruptions to the ongoing movement certainly make their mark. The central Andante offers a much slower moto perpetuo, against glacial strings, and there is a remarkable harpsichord-as-cimbalom moment towards the midpoint. Reuters’ compositional tools are relatively simple, which makes process readily audible but this does not imply superficial music. Far from it, Reuters’ concerto is the perfect blend of sonic approachability and profundity. The finale finds the harpsichord and orchestra combining forces as one at last; it is a movement of some play and wit that contains teh ost astonishing cadenza in which Esfahani is on fire. True, some of the more gestural moments fall flatter than on first acquaintance, but the “Dies irae” use still impresses, and the energy generated by Esfahani, Segerstam and the players remains electric. Colin Clarke, July 27, 2026
A fine extension of the Ruders catalog.
Colin Clarke