Piquant melodic fragments one second, furious double-stopping the next, the rough- voiced mixed up with the ethereal: that's the arresting substance of Jonathan Harvey's Chant. Happily, Bak's command of his instrument isn't remotely diminished when the musical language is more conventional. Vaughan Williams's early Romance might be pallid at first, but the height of passion is still reached; while the 27 minutes of Arnold Bax's Sonata, premiered by Tertis in 1922, inexorably lead us from Celtic melancholy to bumptious vigour and back again, with extra energy deriving from the constant interplay between Baks's viola and Richard Uttley's incisive piano. The two make a wonderful team, and are further blessed by the warm acoustic afforded by Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirk ... The rest of the 'anthems' in this collection traditionally showcase the viola's gifts for projecting the plaintive and rueful ... it's left to Britten's Dowland-inspired Lachrymae, written for Primrose, to shower us with magic, right from the opening bars of limpid arpeggios, shivery tremblings and John Dowland's solemn melody crawling along at the piano's lower end. With music- making as succulent as this, who needs jollification anyway?

★ ★ ★ ★

"The viola, middle voice of the string family, has had the advocacy of several virtuosic exponents over the past century, from pioneers such as William Primrose and Lionel Tertis in the past, to Lawrence Power and Tabea Zimmermann now. A new generation is coming forward with confidence. Jamaican-American Jordan Bak, already a recipient of many awards, is at the forefront. As the title suggests, his Cantabile: Anthems for Viola, with the British pianist Richard Uttley, emphasises the instrument’s singing qualities. The range of works, from Vaughan Williams to Jonathan Harvey, Augusta Read and Bright Sheng, creates an album of arresting variety. The most substantial works are Arnold Bax’s Sonata, a showcase for the expressive powers of this duo, and Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae – in which the ghost of the Elizabethan John Dowland hovers"

"We should commend Delphian for its ability to identify future talent and introduce a wealth of rarely recorded music. It’s a label that is not afraid to delve deep into different repertoires and produce brilliant soloists to capture the artistry of their instruments, which is laudable. This disc does just that ... on this release, Jordan Bak demonstrates his various skills and stage presence in captivating performances, whether solo or joined by Richard Uttley on piano. The selected pieces truly reflect the disc's title ... We hear Bak's viola's rich, full tone in the main work, Arnold Bax's rhapsodic sonata, with wonderfully controlled accompaniments from Uttley. The opening has Uttley's fingers tinkling high on the keyboard, before we hear the deep hues of Bak's lower register; both give a striking and impressive account. They convey the drama with an engaging rhythmic energy throughout, although the agitation subsides into an intense and sensitively played end to the final movement. The opener, Jonathan Harvey's Chant, is particularly noteworthy because Bak demonstrates his technical brilliance through his harmonic virtuosity ... The disc ends with Britten's Lacrymae Reflections on a Song of Dowland, and once again, Bak manages to showcase his instrument's timbre and tonal colours. Like so much on this disc, the considered playing with well-phrased lines, distinctive tone and technical brilliance, permeate through an assortment of delightful pieces"

The promise of Bak's 2022 recording debut is fully realised on this new release, which opens with a work for solo viola: Chant by the late British composer Jonathan Harvey. It’s an evocative piece with demanding double-stopping and a persistent drone effect offset by some tricky upper passage work. Bak offers a thoroughly convincing account of a work that calls for razor-sharp precision and considerable nerve ...Vaughan Williams’ lyrical Romanza provides immediate relief as well as introducing sympathetic pianist Richard Uttley into the mix. Both players are thoroughly inside the idiom here with Bak delivering an ardent, songful account of the melodic line over Uttley’s gently rocking accompaniment.There’s further contrast with The Stream Flows by Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng ... Bak, whose line is intended to evoke a female singer comparing her absent lover to bright moonlight, captures the work’s wistful lyricism, bending and shaping the phrases to create an evocative picture of loneliness and love.

The Bax sonata – at nearly 30 minutes, a meaty, challenging work – forms the beating heart of the program ...Channelling his inner Irishman, Bak digs into the first movement’s folk-like themes, alternating between a misty, keening quality that summons the heart into the mouth and lively sections that exude an infectious, dancing energy. Uttley’s spirited pianism spurs his partner on to feats of melodic dexterity. The central movement is all demonic fire and brilliance, the jigging second subject bringing Bak’s virtuosic side to the fore. The darkling finale finds both musicians turning inwards to squeeze the last ounce of poetry from the music’s Celtic moodiness ...The lyrical loveliness of Augusta Read Thomas’s Song Without Words forms a bridge to the grand finale, a pitch-perfect account of Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae. The latter, a set of reflections on a theme by Dowland that only reveal their origin in the final iteration, can prove intractable, but not here. Bak’s dramatist’s ear conjures a wide range of filigree colours as well as considerable technical wizardry to hold the attention throughout. The finale opens with a rush of adrenalin before both players plunge into the lingering stillness of Dowland’s melancholy melody ...Warmly recorded in natural sound, Cantabile is another winner from an artist well worth getting to know'

EDITOR'S CHOICE

'Bak and Uttley playing with conviction and warmth ... the liner notes are excellent, as is the sound quality. With more than 67 minutes of interesting viola music, this new Delphian release should have great appeal to fans of quality chamber music'

CLASSICAL CANDOR
read the full review here