MUSIC OF THE STUARTS
Terz Trio with Andrew Rodden and Lucy Creanor (violins)
RG Recordings
As an avid reader of programme notes, I raise my glass to James R. Smith,
whose imposing 7000 word
treatise provides the finest imaginable introduction to this remarkable disc.
Comprising Russell Ballantine, Paul Devery and Calum McCart, the Terz Trio is
a Scots ensemble, whose members present this 28 item agenda both as the full
triumvirate and in various solo and duo permutations. The two guest violinists
make their appearance in the Pastorale from Corelli's Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.8.
Divided chronologically into the reigns of each Stuart monarch, the programme
treads a largely unfamiliar path, occasionally touching on home territory with
Robert Johnson's ubiquitous Almain (first track on Bream's Golden Age of English
Lute Music) and the Suite for Two Lutes by William Lawes. Worthy of particular
note is a setting of the Playford tune The Twenty-Ninth of May, celebrating
the date in 1660 when Charles II returned to London. In a much later incarnation,
this uplifting melody would re-invent itself as All Things Bright and Beautiful,
a magnificent relic from those far-off days when Anglican hymns really were
something to sing about. With suitable partisan flourish, the trio draws a historic
line upon the arrival on the English throne of William and Mary, the final part
of the disc being devoted to music from the court in exile of the figure referred
to by Smith as James III/VIII, the term Old Pretender having been rightly dismissed
at in the foot of the first page.
I have to confess I first approached the performance with some trepidation,
the prospect of an entire period innings being performed on modern instruments
failing to fire the imagination in these times of global lute excellence. My
fears proved utterly unfounded. As their collective title implies, the Terz
Trio make frequent use of the higher pitched terz guitar, a favoured combination
being two terz guitars alongside one guitar of standard pitch or lower. Believe
me, this makes all the difference, the harpsichord like timbre of the smaller
instruments providing an ideal texture for a programme ranging from Mulliner
and Hume to Corbetta and Purcell, not forgetting such worthy obscurities as
Jeremy Saville and Thoinot Arbeau (aka Jehan Tabourot), author of the dance
tutor Orchesographie from 1589. Equally impressive is the level of performance
from all concerned, in which tidy ensemble and a refreshing absence of excessive
ornamentation are the order of the day. A resonant, hall-like acoustic also
proves well suited tothe material on offer.
An inspired release that deserves every success.
Paul Fowles
Classical Guitar Magazine Dec 2004