Buriedtreasure
Violinist Tamsin Waley-cohen introduces three cherished recordings
Buxtehude Jesu, meine Freude
Gli Angeli/stephan Macleod
Sony Classical G010001887774B
This is so out of the realm of what you’d expect from Buxtehude. It has such an incredible depth of humanity and it’s much more emotional than the music people might associate with early Baroque composers. Buxtehude is often regarded just as Bach’s teacher and not as a great composer in his own right. You can hear the influence on the great Bach masses and cantatas – pulsing strings and yearning harmonies – but he’s definitely got his own tender musical language. Hahn Songs
Various Artists Hyperion CDA67141/2
I first came to Hahn through reading Proust. The music really epitomises the Belle Époque era, and the songs themselves are so sensual, so perfumed, they’re like the musical equivalent of the Proustian madeleines. A lot of them draw on different influences or are parodies of different styles – popular music, church music – but most of them really capture Parisian life. There is just one gorgeous melody after another; wonderful harmonies. It’s just a joy to put them on and be transported. Crumb Black Angels
Kronos Quartet Nonesuch 7559792422 This is one of the seminal quartets of the last 100 years – there’s nothing else that has been written like it. The number references and the political statement he makes within it added to my admiration and love of it, but you don’t need to know any of that stuff. The quiet, delicate movements are so extraordinary and sound as if they’re coming from other worlds. It really grips the imagination and uses soundworlds in a way that are not constrained by any expectations. Every range of human emotion is in there.
Waley-cohen’s recording of works by
CPE Bach is out now on Signum Classics