A Tale Of Two Cellos Naxos 8.573251
Good original music for two cellos is quite rare to find and over the years arrangements have greatly enriched the classical repertoire. In this recording internationally celebrated cellist Julian Lloyd Webber has taken music from Monteverdi to Arvo Pärt – much of it originally written for two voices – and adapted it to the medium of two cellos and accompanying piano, sometimes including other instrumentation. These unique arrangements, which he performs with his wife Jiaxin Lloyd Webber, allow their cello voices to blend together as they explore music of lyricism, quiet melancholy and tuneful energy.
Review:
The UK’s best-known cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber is joined by his wife,
Jiaxin, in his arrangements of beautiful melodies for two cellos and piano. From
the popular sounds of Greensleeves, as used by Roger Quilter in My Lady, to
Monteverdi’s seldom heard Interrotte speranze he has created a disc of
relaxation bathed in the gorgeous sounds produced by the cellists and
Julian’s long standing accompanist, John Lenehan. Picking out my favourite
tracks, the format works perfectly for the Prelude to Shostakovich’s The
Gadfly, and with together with Catrin Finch’s harp turns
Pergolesi’s Dolorosa into one of those haunting sounds so beloved of
today’s composers. There is particularly a pleasing moment when they are
joined by the fifteen-year-old ‘2012 BBC Young Musician of the Year’, Laura
van der Heijden in Holst’s Hymn to the Dawn. Bringing the selection into
modern times, the disc ends with Arvo Part’s Estonian Lullaby. An essential
disc for relaxing moments.
David Denton, David's Review Corner