William Lawes, Complete Music for Solo Lyra Viol (Harmonia Mundi)If you ever wondered who had the best job in the world, wonder a bit more if it might be Richard Boothby, who is Professor of Viola da Gamba at the Royal College of Music. Among other things, he also formed Fretwork, so he hasn't done too badly.
William Lawes, heroic enough to be the subject of poems by Geoffrey Hill,
died in 1645, aged just 43, inpetuously rushing into battle at the siege of Chester
and was a friend of Robert Herrick. But, having died 40 years before Bach was born, one can't help but think that these short pieces, mostly dances, are not unlike the Cello Suites. None of them quite approach three minutes in length and they don't appear to be grouped into suites but one gets all the same idea of inventive formality subordinating vigour to rigorous effect even if not quite to the same depth of exploration.
I think I owe all of this fascination with the cello's mournful, lyrical, humane ancestors to Jordi Savall and the soundtrack to the film, Tous les Matins du Monde. Depardieu is Marin Marais, trying to find out what music is from the grieving St. Colombe. How potent esoteric music is. One phrase in the Couperin Lecons de Tenebres and I have more such music on CD than I have of Beethoven symphonies.
The tone of the viol used by Boothby, made in Charles II's time, is resonant and rich, recorded in what is clearly a fine acoustic in the RCM.
I am glad to have found out about music in the 1970's when exemplars of the avant garde, the likes of Bowie and then punk rock blew away othodoxies and made one keen to explore not just anything but just about everything. I'm glad it led to things like this.
