The treasure hunter Elinor Frey, renowned cellist from Montreal, ventures here into more familiar territory than usual. Indeed, the concertos of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach are now well established in the repertoire, unlike the very little-known works of Vandini, Dall\u2019abaco, Baur, Fior\u00e8, and many others that the artist has passionately unveiled to us over the years. It is therefore permissible to play the game of comparisons, which some colleagues have already done elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note that Elinor Frey is accompanied by the ensemble Accademia De\u2019 Dissonanti, based in Montreal and comprising many excellent musicians from the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three concertos navigate the aesthetics of the empfindsamer Stil<\/em> (sensitive style) which, in the 18th century, helped pave the way for Romanticism, with Sturm und Drang<\/em> (storm and passion). We are talking here about contrasting dynamics that evoke more directly than in the Baroque certain emotions, states of mind, and twists of situations that could be described as more authentically human. That being said, do not look for the emotional explosions of the following century. The approach remains tinged with elegance, with a few frankly gallant episodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frey adopts lively tempos, without abruptness. It is through these that she demonstrates an ultra-precise, chiselled technique that impresses. Bravo for the bursts of florid, sharp notes, supported in their clarity by the relative economy of the means chosen to support them (at most seven or eight instrumentalists). Some commentators have expressed their hesitation regarding this choice of sonic sparseness, preferring, for example, Truls Mork and the Violons du Roy in the same program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n