Plucked Genius - Christina Pluhar

My recent obsession with a Monteverdi recital disc on Virgin Classics, "Teatro d'Amore," focused originally on the work of Philippe Jaroussky, the astonishing male sopranist (sometimes labelled countertenor) who is one of the solo and ensemble singers on that great recording.  But as I listened again and again, and compared the performances to other, more conventional, recordings of this repertory, I came to focus on the work of Christina Pluhar, the director of the instrumental ensemble L'Arpeggiata, whose work is central to the success of the disc.

Pluhar takes a refreshing approach to this repertory, emphasizing its roots in dance rhythms and embracing the opportunity for sonic "color" provided by the old instruments of the period when they are played with vigor and without inhibition.  I decided to explore her work further.  Pluhar and ensemble have produced a series of estimable recordings for the French independent label, Alpha.  Alpha recordings are physical works of art in addition to their musical qualities, presenting very high quality reproductions of period art on their covers, sumptuous packaging (which I must dismantle, alas, to accommodate the large binders in which I house my CD collection), and detailed notes which, unfortunately, are sometimes less than fully informative about the provenance of some of the music, as they tend to speak more generally about the repertory than specifically about every piece on the recording.

But, setting aside these issues of physical presentation, Pluhar's recordings for Alpha have proven to be quite extraordinary.  Some are centered around the work of a particular composer, others around a particular genre.  They are all put together with the utmost imagination, to provide contrasting moods and build their tension with some relaxation towards the end.  They are best heard as a unified program, although individual numbers and favorites can be sampled and repeated with pleasure.

The strong points that I've noted in the Virgin Classics Monteverdi album are all present in the Alpha albums devoted to music of Stefano Landi and Giovanni Kapsberger - marvelously fluid and rhythmically alive instrumental work, full of color and life, and solo singing that combines the communicative sensibility of pop music with a keen appreciation of period style and a willingness to improvise in order to bring contemporary life to ancient verses and melodies.  In other words, Pluhar understands that one of the important functions of music is to ENTERTAIN, at the same time seeking to engage the emotions.  And she understands that period music must be performed with imagination, not the stilted literalism that has too often afflicted the performance of what is usually called "early music".  (Early music is obviously a relative term.  To the young virtuosi of today, Shostakovich might be considered "early music", but the term generally refers to music composed during the Baroque period or earlier.  Monteverdi is late Renaissance-Early Baroque.  Some have sought to extend the early music label into the 19th century by performing music of that time on instruments (or copies of instruments) of that period, such as the "original instruments" Beethoven symphony cycles by such as Norrington, Hogwood, Gardiner....) Trying to come up with a comparison to other performers, the one that comes to mind first is Jordi Savall with his various period instrument ensembles, but Pluhar goes him one better with the spirit of improvisation that hovers over all her work.

Some of the most exciting recordings by Pluhar and her group are those devised thematically rather than by composer, particularly the album devoted to The Tarantella and the marvelous album of dance music called "All' Improvviso."   But then, I think you can't go wrong with any Pluhar recording I've heard so far.  The woman is an absolute genius at putting together the elements of a recorded musical program, and her own work on the harp and the theorbo, used mainly as continuo instruments, is of the highest order.

For information about her work and her group, see www.arpeggiata.com.  There are plenty of Pluhar performance clips on youtube. And do seek out her recordings.

Comments

[Art Leonard]

In addition to the recordings mentioned above, while browsing at J&R Music in Manhattan yesterday, I came across a CD of solo madrigals and arias by Caccini, sung by the magnificent tenor Stephan Van Dyck with Christina Pluhar at the head of an unnamed ensemble. Her influence on the performances is clear; the disc fits right in stylistically with the other CDs mentioned above. Caccini was a contemporary of Monteverdi, perhaps not on CM's exalted level as a tunesmith, but brilliant nonetheless, and the disc, on the Musica Ficta label, is worth seeking out for anybody interested in this repertory, Pluhar's work, or discovering another fine singer!