12/06/2020
American Records Guide on Corina Marti 's Winter!
This collection of late 15th Century music is derived from three manuscripts: the Lochamer Liederbuch (including both songs and keyboard works), the so-called Glogauer (or Zagan) partbooks, and most of the selections are from the Buxheim Orgelbuch, an extensive collection of exercises, improvisation formulas, works based on chant, and elaborate arrangements of contemporary popular songs by composers such as Dufay and Binchois. The title given this recording, "Winter", is taken from an anonymous German song, 'Der Winter will hin wichen' (Winter will fade away), which is copied three times in the Buxheim book with different elaborate ornamentations. The selections on this recording bring out the talents of Corina Marti, whose skills as a virtuoso on both recorder and keyboards are evident—especially an early version of the harpsichord, the clavisimbalum. In many of the selections, she has appropriated the most elaborate upper parts in the Buxheim book for recorder with the other parts performed by Nishiyama on harp and Helou on the small organetto. In the arrangements for the three instrumentalists from the polyphonic compositions in the Glogauer partbooks, Corti, on recorder, often adds extensive ornamentation in the style found the contemporary keyboard works. I would first recommend recordings of this repertoire that are perhaps more faithful to the original sources, such as Joseph Payne's selections from the Buxheim book (Naxos 553466-8), though he uses modern organs, Ton Koopman (Astrée 7743), and especially Joseph Kelemen (J/A 2011: 248), or the selections from the Glogauer partbooks recorded by the Clemencic Consort (N/D 2012: 255) or Dulce Melos (M/A 2013: 219). While those would be my first preferences, there is much to recommend this new release, especially the elegant interpretations by Marti on the clavisimbalum. BREWER
