Lavinia Meijer (harp)
Unfolding Lines
rec. 2004, Maria Minor Church, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Reviewed as lossless download
Sony Classical G010005651893M [68]
From what I can glean from the press release – there is no booklet – this 2004 recording was self-released by Dutch harpist Lavinia Meijer, and has now been licensed to, and remastered by Sony for digital-only release.
Solo harp is not something I listen to very often (hardly at all, if truth be told), but I did already have another album by Meijer in my collection, that of works by Philip Glass (review). While it is some time since I’ve listened to it, I do remember enjoying it. The works presented on Unfolding Lines are some of my favourite music, but on the modern piano. Hearing it in the rather more delicate soundworld of the harp was going to be interesting.
I was pleased to see that Meijer chose to perform the pairs of preludes and fugues, rather than cherry-picking. She begins with the most famous of all, the C Major from Book 1, and it is a perfect choice, an ideal match for the harp. Indeed, all five are excellent, with the F sharp from Book 1 possibly the best.
I was particularly interested in the Scarlatti sonatas, because they are infused with Spanish guitar traditions, and the connection with the harp is obvious. After the success of the Bach, I admit to being somewhat disappointed, because it was all a bit pretty – superbly played without question – but lacking variety. Even though four of the nine sonatas chosen are marked as Allegro, it felt as though everything merged into a single oversweet melange.
The Handel Theme and Variations is not an arrangement, nor is it definitely by Handel. I have the same work played by Marisa Robles on a Decca album of harp concertos, and Meijer’s tone is warm and richer than that of Robles.
In his review of Meijer’s Glass album, Brian Reinhart described her playing (and arrangements) as “trance-like”, “meditative” and good for “late night listening”. Short of breaking Roget’s Thesaurus, I can’t come up with better adjectives to describe this album, which predated the Glass by around a decade. It is so mesmerisingly relaxing that Johann Goldberg could have dialled it up on his baroque-era Spotify to help the insomniac Count von Keyserlingk. The sound quality is very good.
While I loved the Bach, I couldn’t say the same about the Scarlatti. Even with the former, I couldn’t claim to have paid strict and close attention the whole time, but it was all beautifully relaxing at a time when the news of the world is anything but. Certain medications bear the warnings: don’t use heavy machinery or drive a vehicle whilst taking them. This recording should perhaps come with something similar.
David Barker
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Contents
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 846
Prelude and Fugue in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848
Prelude and Fugue in F Minor, BWV 881
Prelude and Fugue in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858
Prelude and Fugue in E Major, BWV 878
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in F Major, K 446
Sonata in E Major, K 380
Sonata in A Major, K 208
Sonata in A Major, K 209
Sonata in A Major, K 113
Sonata in D Minor, K 213
Sonata in F Major, K 276
Sonata in F Minor, K 466
Sonata in F Major, K 44
Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Tema con variazione
