Locke - Consorts Flat and Sharp

£14.49

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Label: Linn

Cat No: CKD737

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Chamber

Release Date: 26th January 2024

Works

Locke, Matthew

The Flatt Consort

» Suite no.3 in D minor

» Suite no.4 in B flat major

» Suite no.5 in A minor-major

The Little Consort (10 Suites)

» Suite no.6 in F major

» Suite no.7 in G minor-major

» Suite no.8 in A minor

» Suite no.9 in B flat major

» Suite no.10 in D minor-major

Artists

Phantasm
Elizabeth Kenny (theorbo)

Works

Locke, Matthew

The Flatt Consort

» Suite no.3 in D minor

» Suite no.4 in B flat major

» Suite no.5 in A minor-major

The Little Consort (10 Suites)

» Suite no.6 in F major

» Suite no.7 in G minor-major

» Suite no.8 in A minor

» Suite no.9 in B flat major

» Suite no.10 in D minor-major

Artists

Phantasm
Elizabeth Kenny (theorbo)

About

In this recording, the expert violists of Phantasm return to the unconventional yet brilliant polyphonist Matthew Locke. Under the guidance of Laurence Dreyfus, Phantasm presents the second half of Locke’s Little Consort, composed for treble, tenor and bass viol, and pairs it with three suites from the Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble whose unusual grouping comprises treble and two bass viols. Both sets are accompanied by a chordal bass instrument, in this instance the leading theorbo player Elizabeth Kenny. Locke’s experimental, not to say libertarian, impulse pervades the works, and yet the composer remains grounded in the traditional ethos of strict counterpoint, standing as one of the last champions of the once treasured great polyphonic tradition. More than 400 years later, his music remains as fresh as ever.

Sound/Video

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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.5 In A minor/A major: 1. Fantazie
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.5 In A minor/A major: 2. Galliard
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.5 In A minor/A major: 3. Fantazie
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.5 In A minor/A major: 4. Saraband
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The Little Consort: Suite No.10 in D minor/D major: 1. Pavan
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The Little Consort: Suite No.10 in D minor/D major: 2. Ayre
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The Little Consort: Suite No.10 in D minor/D major: 3. Courante
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The Little Consort: Suite No.10 in D minor/D major: 4. Saraband
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The Little Consort: Suite No.7 in G minor/G major: 1. Pavan
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The Little Consort: Suite No.7 in G minor/G major: 2. Ayre
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The Little Consort: Suite No.7 in G minor/G major: 3. Courante
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The Little Consort: Suite No.7 in G minor/G major: 4. Saraband
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The Little Consort: Suite No.9 in B flat major: 1. Pavan
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The Little Consort: Suite No.9 in B flat major: 2. Ayre
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The Little Consort: Suite No.9 in B flat major: 3. Courante
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The Little Consort: Suite No.9 in B flat major: 4. Saraband
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.3 in D minor: 1. Fantazie
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.3 in D minor: 2. Courante
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.3 in D minor: 3. Fantazie
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.3 in D minor: 4. Saraband
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The Little Consort: Suite No.8 in A minor: 1. Pavan
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The Little Consort: Suite No.8 in A minor: 2. Ayre
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The Little Consort: Suite No.8 in A minor: 3. Courante
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The Little Consort: Suite No.8 in A minor: 4. Saraband
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The Little Consort: Suite No.6 in F major: 1. Pavan
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The Little Consort: Suite No.6 in F major: 2. Ayre
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The Little Consort: Suite No.6 in F major: 3. Courante
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The Little Consort: Suite No.6 in F major: 4. Saraband
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.4 in B flat major: 1. Fantazie
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.4 in B flat major: 2. Galliard
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.4 in B flat major: 3. Fantazie
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The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble: Suite No.4 in B flat major: 4. Saraband

Europadisc Review

After his younger successor Henry Purcell, Matthew Locke (c.1621/3–1677) has strong claims to being the leading English composer of the 17th century. He composed in all the major genres of the day, from keyboard music to sacred choral works and music for the theatre (including the semi-opera Psyche of 1675). Trained in his native Exeter under the guidance of Edward Gibbons (eldest brother of Orlando), he was possibly among those who accompanied Charles I to France in 1646, and it was probably at this time that he converted to Catholicism. During Cromwell’s Commonwealth Locke was active in Herefordshire, and by the late 1650s he was based in London, consolidating his position as the leading composer of the day. After the 1660 Restoration he gained several positions at court, although – thanks to his Catholicism – not in the church. During the Great Plague of 1665–66 he was active in Oxford, before returning to London for his final decade.

Locke’s character is a fascinating one: fundamentally conservative and notoriously prickly – as vividly illustrated by his vituperative published debate with Thomas Salmon over the latter’s proposals to reform music notation – he nevertheless composed music of bold, often startling contrapuntal lines and astonishing harmonic shifts. The tension at the heart of this truculent conservatism is perhaps best illustrated by the consort music that forms the heart of Locke’s oeuvre, much of it dating from the Commonwealth years when public music making was curtailed and domestic performance became increasingly important. The viol consort chiefly favoured by Locke was already anachronistic, and the succession of movements – for instance, in the series of suites that make up The Little Consort – is frequently unvarying. Yet the music itself is full of surprises that make it extraordinarily rewarding to both play and listen to.

Following their disc of Locke entitled ‘For Lovers of Consort Music’ – one of our Top Ten discs of 2018 – the viol consort Phantasm return to the composer with another recording on the Linn label, and it’s every bit as absorbing as that earlier release. Alongside the second half of The Little Consort – five suites scored for treble, tenor and bass viol – they include the remaining three suites from The Flat Consort (the first two of which featured on the 2018 recording). Composed ‘for my cousin Kemble’ (probably a viol-playing cousin of Locke’s wife), these three suites – only two of which are in the ‘flat’ keys alluded to in the title – are scored for the unusual combination of a treble and two bass viols. This gives them a gravity and depth of sonority which is both enhanced and mediated by the presence here of a theorbo continuo (played by Phantasm’s frequent collaborator, Elizabeth Kenny).

The three four-movement suites from The Flat Consort alternate Fantazies with various dance movements: a Galliard or Courante, but always ending with a Saraband (more upbeat in tempo than its later Baroque form). The Fantazies themselves preface faster fugal sections with slow introductions, and the Sarabands close with a more measured peroration marked ‘Conclude thus’, thereby imparting a welcome variety of moods. Most compelling of all is the B flat major Suite which concludes the disc, opening in gorgeous euphony, and with an introspective central section to its second Fantazie, while the splendidly poised closing Saraband incorporates two strict canons in a display of effortless contrapuntal mastery.

The suites from The Little Consort are technically less demanding (they were composed for the choristers at Exeter Cathedral), but are no less beguiling. Progressing from slow to faster movements, they are cast in the invariable sequence Pavan–Ayre–Courante–Saraband. The closing movements are toe-tappingly infectious in these marvellous performances, and the playing perfectly complements the extraordinary variety of invention by which Locke invests this conservative template with bubbling life. Recorded with an ideal combination of focus and warmth in St Andrew’s Church, Toddington, and with excellent booklet notes by the group’s director Laurence Dreyfus, this disc is an hour of pure pleasure, a worthy successor to their 2018 album. All lovers of chamber music should hear it without fail!

Reviews

Locke’s questing harmonies and imaginative contrapuntal writing, heard at their peak in the third Suite, fill every bar with interest.

Financial Times

Our ears may not be attuned to Locke’s radicalism, but the more you listen, the more his stylistic adventures draw you in. ... You won’t hear this music done better. Fiona Maddocks

The Observer 28 January 2024

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Locke - Consorts Flat and Sharp

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Despatch Information

Contents

Works

Artists

Works

Artists

About

Sound/Video

Paused

Europadisc Review

Reviews