18 - Wednesday, January 22, 1992 — North Shore News Nay Guitar/harpsichord duo lack dynamics Guitar And Harpsichord Chandos CD #CHAN 8937 Norbert Kraft - guitar Bonnie Silver - harpsichord Selections (as arranged by the artists): A. Vivaldi - Concerto for Lute, 2 Violins and b.c. }. Haydn - Cuartet in D major, Op.2, No.2 L. Boccherini - Guitar Quintet in D major j. Rodrigo - Fantasia para un gentilhombre Abe Lincoln coined his most famous bon mot: “You BELIEVE it was just after buying this particular CD that can like some of the music all of the time, and all of the music some of the time, but you can’t like all of the music all of the time.” And thank God it was Lincoln who said it because heaping any- thing but unconditional praise on these particular artists and, indeed, composers, is sure to garner nothing but an all-expense-paid trip to Siberia for even the most - humble of critics.” Which is not to say that this is a particularly unpleasant or poorly constructed collection, rather, there is a problem in that both uitar and harpsichord lack a suf- ficient range of dynamic and tex- ture for the pieces presented here — particularly when the two in- struments are played in tandem. Still, Kraft and Silver have made a valiant effort to overcome this weakness through their carefully ’ crafted arrangements. ‘The particularly thin rendition of the Vivaldi that opens the re- cording, however, accurately warns us of the anorexic sounds to come — the more so for anyone By Ross McDenald Contributing Writer The Haydn that follows only - serves to confirm the suspician that this combination just isn’: go- ing to work, though the subse- ~ quent Boccherini and Rodrigo are increasingly more appropriate to the chosen instrumentation. This is particularly true of the closing Rodrigo which benefits from some very curious but enter- taining adaptations. Being the only 20th century composition undoubtedly helps as - its heartier material can better stand the stringy treatment. We should remember, however, in Kraft and Silver's defence, that this type of finagling is a perfectly legitimate practice. - -, Only in the 20th’ century do we find the pueriie phenomenon of published without any pre- prescribed or with only “recommended’”’ instrumenta- tion so that — copyright laws be- ing what they were — the originals were arbitrarily twisted to suit any given performer's taste or talent. The problem with that, as you can imagine, was that the resulting mutations were often, at best, un- sympathetic or else the original would be altered into an almost unrecognizable form. Kraft and Silver haven’t gone quite that far but more’s the pity because, if they had, they might . have created entirely new works that could be enjoyed without the too familiar originals always reminding us of what could have been. The origina! character of each, piece remains a shadowy presence here so it becomes a matter of personal taste as to whether the result is an improvement. This makes the decision on whether to actually buy this re- cording problematic, hinging as it does on the idiomatics of your own aural sensibilities. | might be tempted to add this recording to my collection if } didn’t have plenty of this light touch already represented by many Baroque and early Classical compositions that don’t require such transpositional rhinoplasty. Background music — yes, but for room-filling entertainment or a genuine hard listen you definitely. need some bass (I was sorely" tempted to round things out by’... - blowing into an empty beer bot- tle). : ‘ . 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