Stravaganze consonanti

 If ever an album could be said to bridge the worlds of baroque and jazz Stravaganze consonanti is it. Violin player and ‘concertmaster’ Stefano Montanari guides a good sized ensemble through the works of Purcell, Dufay, Trabaci and others including wind player Gianluigi Trovesi who adds the jazz element with piccolo clarinet, alto clarinet and alto saxophone. It’s an unlikely yet highly entertaining proposition that makes music from the 15th, 17th and 21st centuries seem related in totally unexpected ways. The rasp of original string instruments provides a baroque feel yet the melodies and beats could be from our day and age.

The band consists of Stefano Rossi: second violin; Claudio Andriani: viola; Francesco Galligioni: violoncello; Luca Bandini: double bass; Emiliano Rodolfi: first oboe; Pryska Comploi: second oboe; Alberto Guerra: bassoon, dulciana; Riccardo Balbinutti: percussion; Ivano Zanenghi: archlute; Valeria Montanari: harpsichord; Fulvio Maras: percussion, and electronics.

The first pieces are interpretations of works by Henry Purcell and the first two are very short but thrilling with it, ‘The Witches Dance’ is full baroque grandeur that appears to segue into Vivaldi in its last few bars then stops abruptly after a mere minute and a half. ‘Dissolvenze convergenti’ is even shorter and features a Gershwin-esque horn that evolves into something that could be Eric Dolphy, it barely breaks the minute mark. ‘Consonanze stravaganti’ by Trabaci is more of a requiem and quite subdued by the standards thus far, it’s a beautiful lament that is given more time to be expressed but doesn’t overrun its welcome. ‘For a While’ features the lovely timbre of Trovesi’s bassoon which is joined by saxophone, strings, harpsichord and archlute with horn and violin duetting to produce the closest thing to blues that such a pairing could achieve.

Dufay’s ‘Kyrie I’ is a touch austere after this but Trovesi’s take on ‘L’ometto disarmato’ brings in a modern feel with percussion and strings where you would expect drums and keyboards today with a lovely clarinet lead. This switches to a harpsichord beat with horns jumping in and out of the soundstage with short blasts of joy, it could almost be an arrangement of something mainstream from the last few decades such is the familiarity of the melody, at least it could before it resorts to its baroque roots and revisits the delighted honking theme developed earlier. Latterly the piccolo clarinet joins the fray and introduces the final stanza of this the longest piece in a collection that’s full of surprises.

The sound quality is as you would expect of ECM, super silent backgrounds and rich, three dimensional acoustics which really make the most of the broad tonal and dynamic range on offer from the gathering of musicians. Image depth is particularly strong with a huge natural room acoustic.

Purcell’s ‘Dido’s Lament “When I am laid in Earth”’ is a beauty, introduced by the archlute with one of Trovesi’s horns at centre stage. Falconieri’s ‘La suave melodia’ strikes a change with plucked bass and ‘Karaib’s Berger’ introduces Fulvio Maras’ gong-like Hang drum. This is a lovely tune whose origins are hard to spot. The percussion continues into ‘De vous abandoner’ with alto clarinet giving it a middle eastern tone. In an unforgiving system the highlighting of the various wind instruments can be a bit strong so it’s a relief when ‘Mille regretz’ by Josquin Desprez comes in with strings alone on the penultimate track.

Stravaganze consonanti ends on a high with Trovesi’s ‘Bergheim’ which is introduced by marshal drums and the smallest clarinet and develops into a dance with distinct pop accents, it wouldn’t have sounded out of place in Bridgerton.

This is a charming and joy filled release that should appeal to both fans of both classical and contemporary acoustic music, or at least those who are looking for music with a little bit of piquancy and a spring in its step.

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