The Complete Vocalion Recordings

Lionel Tertis

Paru le 2/10/06 chez Biddulph Recordings
Artistes principaux : Albert Sammons Zoia Rosovsky Lionel Tertis Ethel Hobday Frank St. Leger Frederick B. Kiddle
Genre : Musique de chambre

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Langue disponible : anglais

The name of Lionel Tertis may not be as well known as that of Pablo Casals, but what he did for his instrument -- the viola -- was similar to that what Casals did for the cello. Tertis moved the viola out of its usual context as an accompanimental instrument and helped establish it as a viable solo voice. The idea of a four-disc collection of Tertis' recordings may not have you jumping up and down just yet, but Biddulph's Lionel Tertis: The Complete Vocalion Recordings (1919-1924) nonetheless is something to write home about if your interest runs to early chamber music recordings and to performance practices among string players of the nineteenth century. On the longer chamber music recordings, violinist Albert Sammons joins Tertis and the interaction of these two players is electrically charged, even though the recordings are acoustic.
There has probably never been a collection boasting such a wealth of acoustically recorded chamber music as Lionel Tertis: The Complete Vocalion Recordings. On the first disc alone we are treated to three Mozart trios, including the "Kegelstatt," Schubert's B flat Trio, Op. 99, and the Four Bagatelles, Op. 47, of Dvorák. The Brahms F minor Viola Sonata, Op. 120/1, and Grieg's Violin Sonata No. 3 played on the viola are heard along with a Handel Trio Sonata, played on modern instruments, on disc two. The remaining discs are devoted to short encore pieces of the kind common in the 78 era, including many selections composed by Tertis' friend Fritz Kreisler and a couple written by Tertis himself.
All of the music, whether written by Handel, Brahms, or Tertis' obscure contemporary Thomas Dunhill, is played with sweeping portamenti; a rich, thick vibrato; and a generous helping of rubato -- the Mozart will make listeners deep into the string sound propagated by period instrument ensembles positively seasick. These trio performances, however, are warm, noble, and emotional, and the approach clearly amplifies much of the music rather than obscures it. The Schubert Trio as played here has a mysterious magic about it that fits hand in glove with the Schubert that we know. The Dvorák is authoritative; Dvorák himself had only been dead 15 years when this was recorded in 1922.
Vocalion was the record company belonging to the Aeolian Company of New York, maker of player pianos, piano rolls, and, for a time, phonographs. Vocalion made its bow in 1917 making hill and dale records, and switched to laterals in 1921 -- in 1924 the record label was sold to Brunswick. While Vocalion remained with its corporate parent, however, it recorded classical music in some depth, in keeping with the piano rolls they also marketed. Bowed string instruments generally didn't record well in the days of acoustical technology, yet somehow, Vocalion found a way to make acoustical chamber music recordings that sounded excellent, a feat that neither Victor nor Columbia managed to achieve.
While the recordings made by Vocalion were superior for the time, the shellac on which they were pressed is somewhat less so. Therefore, the level of surface noise is rather high throughout Lionel Tertis: The Complete Vocalion Recordings. An excellent way to deal with that is to play the disc rather loud in the most "live" room in your house or apartment, and go into another room to listen. In time, especially with the first disc, you will find yourself transported to another musical era completely unlike our own, one that is well worth knowing first hand and is certainly not coming back.

© TiVo

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The Complete Vocalion Recordings

Albert Sammons

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Piano Trio No. 4 in E Major, K. 542 (Arr. L. Tertis for Violin, Viola & Piano) (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)

I. Allegro

Albert Sammons