Bruno Helstroffer : Calling The Muse : CD

PICCININI: Partite Variate Sopra Quest’Aria Francese Detta L’Alemana;  Corrente VI Sopra L’Alemana: HELSTROFFER : Comme un Beffroi; Perivoli Blue ;Thanks Toumani; Clan ; Vos Luths :   KAPSBERGER : Toccata Nona ; Bergamasca ; Dans La Chambre de Mon Theorbe ; Toccata Undicessima : CASTALDI: Arpeggiata A Mio Modo : SATIE: Gnossienne No1: BACH : A Tea with Bach .

Bruno Helstroffer (theorbo);Rosemary Standley (vocalist);Jean-Luc Debattice (reader);Michel Godard (serpent);Emek Evçi (double bass).

Alpha Francia :  B07FLG9ZGP

Here is a very interesting CD, in that it has not only Baroque composers such as Piccinini and Kapsberger, but also a number of compositions by the Theorbo performer Helstroffer, as well as a piece of Erik Satie, and a Helstroffer arrangement of some Bach. Add to the fact that on a small number of tracks he gets help from four other musicians and you arrive at a set of recordings that are extremely unusual!

Of course the Theorbo is a wonderfully large instrument with a huge range from the high to the very low indeed, and so if anyone does not have any recordings played on this instrument, this is a great place to start. The opening tracks by Piccinini are a great starter to the CD, and the second piece, the Corrente VI Sopre L’Alemana is a very fast work that just shows you how good this man is on his instrument. When Helstroffer’s first piece Comme un Beffroi enters, all the musicians take part, and the music, slow and emotional, fits in really well as it does sound quite Baroque in style too! The singer Rosemary Standley has a lovely clear voice, aided by the Serpent and the Double Bass. A lovely piece! Kapsberger’s Toccata Nona is next, which for a Toccata is surprisingly Lento but then goes straight into the following piece Perivoli Blue (set in five beats) , another of Helstroffer’s which fit together really well. His next piece is Thanks Toumani which has a lovely opening where he plays across the strings creating a very bell – like sound, and although the beat is slow, the extremely fast runs he plays here, are impressively played. Castaldi’s Arpeggiata A Mio Modo is next, and is a piece I haven’t heard before. It moves quite swiftly and as some wonderful moments including very resonant bass lines, which really do show off how wonderful the Theorbo is. Satie’s Gnossienne No1 is a surprise inclusion, but actually its style of bass with a tune and chords in between, fits very well indeed on the Theorbo. Kapsberger’s Bergamasca takes the speed up a fair amount, and again is full of cross – string runs that are fun to hear. Kapsberger’s Dans La Chambre de Mon Theorbe has Jean-Luc Debattice reading something in French over the solo Theorbo, an interesting sound and quite unexpected. Helstroffer’s Clan is next which is a piece that starts slowly and really picks up pace as it progresses, and is one of the best pieces on the CD. Then comes A Tea With Bach which is a great re- thinking by Helstroffer of the great man’s music.The Toccata Undicessima of Kapsberger  has some wonderful passages whilst the final track Vos Luths from Helstroffer ,like all his other pieces is very much in the Baroque style , and so fits in beautifully with everything else.So in essence this is a very clear recording of a beautiful instrument , wonderfully played and including fabulous pieces of music , most of which you are almost certain not to have come across before.

Chris Dumigan