Tommy Mesa (cello)
17(67)
Yoon Lee (piano)
rec. 2024, Oktaven Studio, Mt Vernon, USA
Reviewed as lossless download
Azica ACD71390 [46]

To satisfy your curiosity at the start, 1767 is the year that Cuban-American cellist Tommy Mesa’s instrument a – Gagliano – was made, and, according to the press release, the brackets around 67 refer to the current social media fad expression “six-seven”.

It would seem to be a rule that all cello recitals have to include The Swan, and also any recital in the last five or so years, regardless of instrument, has to include a work by Florence Price. Those rules satisfied, the rest of this rather short album is certainly not your standard fare. Massenet’s Méditation is more usually heard in its violin version, but this cello arrangement is equally lovely. Brazilian composer Marlos Nobre’s name didn’t ring any bells, but hisPoema III did seem familiar, perhaps in the context of a filmscore, though Googling didn’t bring up any such connection. The other pieces all had their merits, but suffered from a lack of variety. The final work, for solo cello, by Syrian composer Kinan Azmeh, seems to be a dirge, a thought borne out by the title, and at almost six minutes, is a tough way to round out the programme.

This is Mesa’s ninth recording (though some were as contributor, rather than main soloist), and the majority of the pieces being contemporary works. Thus, 17(67) is one of his more mainstream offerings. It is also his third release with pianist Yoon Lee. There is much to be enjoyed in their playing, and the cello sounds glorious.

However, there are significant problems with the recording. Firstly, and I’ve already alluded to this, there is little variation in tempo; only Lecuona’s La Comparsa is other than slow, and even then only just. Similarly, the pieces are almost exclusively introspective and quiet, again with the marginal exception of the Lecuona. From the fourth track (Price) to the tenth (Bloch), there is an almost unbroken sequence of quietly reflective music with barely a change in dynamics. The album was apparently released on Valentine’s Day 2026, so some might see the bittersweet melodies and gentle rhythms as appropriate. However, one is not going to be listening to it only with one’s loved one on Valentine’s Day.

But being “too beautiful” is not the main problem with the recording – it is the recording itself. Despite Mesa, in the essentially pointless booklet, thanking the sound engineer for his “masterful” work, there is an endless stream of gasps and sniffs, which must be Mesa’s as they coincide with the cello bowing. He has been far too closely miked, and in the few instances where the piano has the stage to itself, it is suffering from the same problem: it sounds over-resonant, and it is possible to hear the mechanism in action. This is Glenn Gould-level extraneous noise, and is distracting to the point of irritation. If one was to listen to this in the background (on Valentine’s Day with one’s loved one), it would not be apparent, but if one is listening to this seriously as a recital (which the quality of playing warrants), then it is a major problem.

At this stage, there seems to be no means of purchasing this recording, only streaming it through one of the normal platforms. That being so, the short run time is not important. Mesa’s instrument, celebrated in the title, warrants that celebration, and he plays very well, but the two flaws that I have described do significantly detract from the pleasure.

David Barker

Contents
Camille Saint-Saëns – The Swan
Jocelyn Morlock – Halcyon
Jules Massenet – Méditation from the opera “Thaïs”
Ernesto Lecuona – La Comparsa (arr. Tommy Mesa)
Florence Price – Deserted Garden (arr. Tommy Mesa)
Francisco Braga – Anoitecendo
Andrea Casarrubios – Mensajes del Agua
Marlos Nobre – Poema III
Jennifer Higdon – Nocturne
Ernest Bloch – From Jewish Life: Prayer
Kinan Azmeh – A Sad Morning Every Morning

Availability
Streaming through the major platforms