Charivari Agreable
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Reviews The Virtuoso Godfather SIGCD086 Esperar, sentir,morir SIGCD069 Kah-Ming Ng's booklet note, a model of scholarly clarity and information, describes Charivari Agreable's programme as 'a random sampling by... musicians gripped by the beauty and romance of Spanish baroque monody'. Their conviction shines through the performance, from a haunting opening duet over a sequence spiralling ever-downward, to a lively, if largely nonsensical, dialogue about building a road for the Magi at Epiphany. But two numbers raise this disc way above others of the kind. They rediscover the performer's role in the compositional process, one a song-fragment, expanded and improvised upon by Sanabras and Ng, the other Ng's re-composition of a 'Canaries', a dance from the Canary islands. Both arise from such total immersion in and understanding of the style that we are transported across the centuries to 'new' music of the Spanish Baroque. The process is revelatory, as is the musical outcome. George Pratt BBC Music Magazine January 2006 Performance: ***** [outstanding] Sounbd: ***** [outstanding] Harmonia Caelestis SIGCD049 Tallis IX SIGCD042 The versatile trio of instrumentalists who form the core of Charivari Agréable treat us here to their own particular take on an Elizabethan tribute to the passing of a queen. Listening to this CD is very much like enjoying a private concert and it's a privilege indeed to be able to revisit the dawn of the 17th century in their company. How do they achieve this sense of intimacy? Each of the players clearly enjoys being a soloist and yet all have taken trouble to arrange music to play with one another. 'Is that a good idea?', you may ask. The answer is deceptively simple: chamber musicians have always arrange music for private occasions according to their resources, yet when it comes to preserving it on CD, they (or their recording company) are suddenly reticent. Charivari Agréable, exceptionally, have always been adventurous; they have gone their own way. And, if the results have at times been mixed, they have at least learned from their experiments. They are all knowledgeable as well as skilled, and well equipped to offer the musical experience that is largely beyond the purview of the listening public. The sound engineering is superb as well. One combination of instruments that may surprise and will surely delight listeners is that of the lute and keyboard. We are accustomed to hearing them together as continuo instruments, but when heard as a duo, sharing both the melodic and harmonic roles, they sound remarkably different and fresh. Kah-Ming Ng and Lynda Sayce have arranged the Dowland (though to have been originally intended for three lutes), the Johnson medley (which survives in both solo lute and solo keyboard versions) and Robinson's Twenty Waies upon the Bells (originally for two lutes). In Allison's Knell, Ng takes charge of parts originally intended for flute, bass viol, cittern and bandora on the organ while Susanne Heinrich takes the treble viol part and Sayce the lute. Heinrich opens the CD with her skilful treble playing in Johnson's lively and infectiously jolly (if somewhat repetitive) dump, known as The Queen's Treble; listeners will also warm to her wistful rendition of Robin is to the Greenwood gone. Elsewhere, in the Tobias Hume selections, she plays the bass viol with considerable style and sensitivity. An engaging disc. Gramophone, 11/02 Modus Phantasticus SIGCD041 Sacred Songs of Sorrow SIGCD018 The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book SIGCD009 Outstanding in every respect. This is an inspired concept, played with the exuberance and commitment which presupposes technical mastery of the highest order. BBC Music Magazine The testimonial button is inactive.
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Discography
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Charivari Agréable is recognized as 'one of the classiest baroque bands' (The Observer), whose 'musical intuitions are always captivating' (Goldberg).
'Charivari Agréable is one of the most versatile Early Music groups around at the moment. 'Under its benign director, Kah-Ming Ng, it appears to be infinitely adaptable, finding musicians who can fit into any of its many and varied programmes' (International Record Review).
The group has been hailed for its 'thinking musicians who treat music of the past more creatively' via their arrangements of music, 'based on a greater knowledge of the historical and social contexts for the music'. They represent 'a new and very exciting phase of the early music revival, one that enriches the existing repertory and can bring us ever closer to the spirit of the original music' (Gramophone).
The ensemble specializes in the ingenious use of period instruments to produce 'ravishing sonorities and full-bodied textures' (Gramophone) with 'their powerful cohesion, warm sound, and their eloquent authority' (Diapason). The group has 'carved something of a niche for itself in imaginative and well-thought-out programming'; 'its work is the fruit of both scholarly research and charismatic musicianship, a combination that puts it at the forefront of period-instrument ensembles' (BBC Music Magazine). With a chronological remit spanning epochs from the Renaissance to the early classical, the ensemble appears in many guises, from a continuo band (accompanying the recitals of such artists as Emma Kirkby, John Holloway and Simon Standage), a viol consort, and an Elizabethan mixed consort, to a baroque orchestra and many other surprising - yet historical - combinations.
Charivari Agréable (trans. 'pleasant tumult', from Saint-Lambert's 1707 treatise on accompaniment) was formed at the University of Oxford in 1993, and within the year became prize-winners of an international Early Music Network (UK) competition, made its debut at the Wigmore Hall, and recorded the first of many subsequent live concerts for the BBC, including Radio 3's 'In tune', 'Music Restor'd', and 'The Early Music Show'. Charivari Agréable has since recorded for New York's WNYC, and many other European radio stations, including the European Broadcasting Union.
Their CD of French baroque viol chamber music entitled 'The Sultan & the Phoenix' won the Diapason d'Or. The same viols' recording of viol consort music on the CD The Complete Works of Tallis vol. IX was named the Gramophone Editor's Choice. The group's recording of poignant German sacred cantatas for Holy Week entitled 'Sacred Songs of Sorrow' was voted The Best CD of the Year by International Record Review, while their transcriptions from the 'The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book' were selected for Classic FM's Christmas Choice and named Outstanding CD of the Month by BBC Music Magazine; their disc of early English devotional music 'The Oxford Psalms' was one of MusicWeb International's Recordings of the Year 2007.
Apart from hosting an annual summer festival of early music in Oxford, the ensemble regularly expands into Oxford's resident period-instrument orchestra, Charivari Agréable Simfonie. The orchestra has on-going collaborations with some forty vocal groups - choral societies and professional choirs alike - all over the UK, and has been conducted by many musicians of renown, including Sir Charles Mackerras. The ensemble has appeared at all prominent venues in London, including Buckingham Palace; recent and forthcoming engagements include major festivals in the UK, and tours to Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, South East Asia, Turkey, and the USA.
Charivari Agreable's web profile was last updated 13th Nov 2008
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