I have to confess, I love harp recitals, and I can’t imagine a more gorgeously played or recorded one than this. Okay, I suppose that Yolanda Kondonassis had to include the transcription of Musetta’s Waltz for its popularity value, and it still works better the way Puccini originally wrote it, but the three other transcriptions–Lecuona’s Malagueña, Fauré’s Après un rêve, and Debussy’s Valse Romantique–all sound splendid, and the original pieces (there’s much more good harp music out there than you might think) are stupendous.
Best, and longest, is the quarter-hour Variations sur un theme dans le style ancien by Carlos Salzedo, a delightful romp through several centuries of music culminating in a thrilling cadenza. Marcel Grandjany’s Rhapsodie joins classic pieces by Saint-Saëns (Fantasie) and Pierné (Impromptu-Caprice) to offer a veritable clinic on the art of playing the modern harp. Kondonassis projects all of this music with consummate taste, virtuosity, liquid tone, and none of the “twang” that sometimes afflicts harp recitals much as squeaking fingers moving across the frets disturbs so many guitar performances.
Telarc’s stereo sonics are state-of-the-art, but heard in truly discrete SACD multichannel format, we’re in another world entirely. The instrument’s tone takes on a roundness and resonance largely missing from the stereo edition, with no bothersome and unnatural rear-speaker presence. All you get is a superior sense of the instrument ideally placed in a flattering room acoustic, and what a rich sound this is!
In case you haven’t seen or heard a modern harp up close, forget images of cute little angels and tinkling little strings. The real instrument is a multi-pedaled behemoth more like the sounding board of a grand piano tilted vertically–and it makes a huge sound, one that Telarc has captured with devastating impact. In sum: this represents a fine artistic statement on its own terms and a glorious demonstration of the new technology, a perfect release in every respect.
