CD review – Parisian music from Finland

“Paris” – Once you read the title, you already know something you already know: Another album slits a botanical garden with classic short pieces with the name of the culinary.

But appearances can be deceiving. Perhaps the reason for the title was the fact that American violinist Hillary Hahn recorded the album with Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France. The tribute to the Baguette and the Eiffel Tower cannot be heard here.

But an attractive program. Han, famous for her pure tone of voice, takes off into bold land and puts herself at the service of Sergey Prokofjo, Ernst Chosun and Enuguhani Rautavara. Enuguhani who? Finn was considered a chameleon of contemporary music, writing simple trios on paper, but he was also a tough pioneer. Mikko Frank, the president of Radio Paris Philharmonic, himself a Finn and his fellow countryman, requested music for an orchestra and a solo violin. At the composer’s funeral in 2016, Frank was surprised when two sketches of the vocals surfaced soon after and may have been suitable for his band. A student from Rautavaara has completed the coordination.

What does this look like? Like two sprawling meditations sliding smoothly through different keys and sometimes sailing in the breeze of impressionism – mysterious poetry.

However, other contributions to the album are more substantial, on the one hand, Procofiev’s first violin concerto: unexpectedly soft and melodious compared to his work on the piano, the engraved clips here offer a development area specifically designed for Han. Another real discovery is the “Poème” of the orchestra and violin by Ernst Choson: the French, whose bicycle was hit hard against the wall due to a lack of brakes in 1899, merged the sound of longing and the brilliance of the romantic violin concerto with magic. Richard Wagner’s music colors, sweet, hot, trendy and airy as part of Salzburger Nockerln.

Sonya Yoncheva’s new album looks a little strange. It is called “rebirth” and it shows the Bulgarian woman in a white dress on the wall smelling the flowers. Detail esoteric enlightenment? No, but a first class original voice. Correct: This baroque song’s flower harvest lacks a common thread, and every number is not true for the fact that the accompanying Cappella Mediterranea is playful and mysterious. However, Yoncheva overcame her being a baroque singer with certain advantages – especially in many of the stories on the album. It starts with a glassy tone that gradually gives way to the powerful voice of Verdi-Soprano Yuncheva as the feeling increases. Sadness lament turns into self-empowerment singing, especially sadness upon hearing the tunes of José Marín and Leonardo García Alarcon. Bitter Appearance: ABBA’s song “Like An Angel Passing Through My Room,” discreetly arranged and initially a small note associated with the final duo of “Rosenkavalier”.