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Reviews COLLECTION: Alison
Nicholls
Danielle
Perrett - © BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2001
Recital
in the presence of The High Commissioner of Malaysia and the
Secretary of State of Selangor, 1997 "superb, most moving and memorable concert.........spiritually uplifting occasion for all of us. This performance was a great privilege appreciated beyond measure" Alan
Gifford, The Listeners "The concert given by Alison Nicholls was exceptional. Rarely have I heard such exquisite playing from one so young in years. Her technical prowess, musicality, programming and polished presentation were of the highest order. She involved her audience from the outset and maintained that involvement throughout the program. I believe that Alison represents a high level of artistry for the coming generation." Guest
Artist Recital, 1996 'Alison Nicholls' marvellous performance was very much admired by everyone........ it helped to make the concert a great success.' Frank
A Flear "'Magical' is the word that springs to mind and the warmth of the music was matched only by the charisma ..." Catherine Greenwood
"A fine harp soloist" North
American premier of Donatoni's Concerto Marches II, Lincoln Center,
NYC, USA 1994 mobius reviews Arnold Bax: Chamber Music with Harp (Quintet, Trio, Viola and flute sonatas) (Naxos: 8.554507) Bax recording featured as Editor’s choice Gramophone October 2000 (Quintet for harp and strings included on cover CD) "...some glorious music played by the hugely talented chamber ensemble, mobius" "brilliant performances by the young mobius ensemble" “Mobius is a gifted young London-based ensemble comprising seven prize-winning instrumentalists from four different countries, and their scrupulously shaded, fervent playing betokens a very real empathy with this gorgeous repertoire. In both the Elegiac Trio and Harp Quintet these artists favour a more boldly etched, less delicately evanescent approach than that of the Nash Ensemble... Especially valuable here is the impassioned rendering of the marvellous Fantasy Sonata for harp and viola of 1927. Certainly, harpist Alison Nicholls (such a beguiling presence throughout) copes heroically with the daunting technical and physical demands of Bax's giddily accomplished writing (tailored for the virtuosity of the great Russian harpist, Maria Korchinska); moreover, she is splendidly partnered by violist Ashan Pillai. Likewise, the engagingly relaxed Sonata for Flute and Harp that Bax subsequently reworked into his Concerto for Seven Instruments emerges with delightful freshness, its plangent central 'Cavatina' as haunting as ever. ...Terrific value and strongly recommended." Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone "a formidable showcase for the prize-winning, multi-national talents of ...mobius" Amazon.co.uk Jean Francaix: Quintets and Piccoli Duetti (Flute & Harp) (ASV: CDDCA 1090) BBC R3 Record review "..sparkling repartee and beautiful craftsmanship" "witty dialogue and relaxed bonhomie" "deft, seemingly effortless resourcefulness illuminates the Piccoli Duetti" "Lovely, richly communicative performances one and all" "Ideal late-night listening" Amazon.co.uk review by Andrew Achenbach "In the Elegiac Trio for harp, viola, and flute, the Fantasy Sonata for viola and harp, and the Flute and Harp Sonata, the players, the instruments, and the engineering are appropriate. Pacing is flexible yet purposeful. Everything breathes naturally, like a living being responding to the events it encounters. Phrasing is outstanding. And lines are deeply expressive subtly shaded, and sustained right to the end. What gorgeous, rich tone colors violist Ashan Phillai creates! Flutist Lorna Mc-Ghee's richness, depth, and liquid style are just as striking, as are the ability of harpist Alison Nicholls to move from lead to accompanying rule without ever drawing attention to it. In fact, at some points, she makes her instrument sound as if it's another harp playing at a distance. On top of it all, engineers give the players warm, resonant, superbly balanced sound that's so natural you never have to reach for the volume control to make the softest moments as satisfying as the dynamic ones. As for the works themselves, the Trio is a deeply lyrical, substantial, and poignant response to a friend's death in the 1916 Irish revolt (and, by the way, Bax wrote it before Debussy's sonata for the same instruments had its premiere). The Fantasy, filled with superb lyricism and harmony, is a bit like Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy in that, while it is a true sonata with a formal start and finish, it has the same of spontaneity and contrasting moods that flow naturally. The Sonata for flute and harp magically takes a folk-like introduction and transforms it into substantial sonata material. The only weakness on the album is the performance of the Quintet for harp and strings. Engineers place the first violin in a space that has no ambiance, unlike the other instrument. With the excellent stereo spacing giving each player a clear spot on the spectrum, the result is that the first violin takes on an edge and a focus that seems close and unyielding and doesn't let the rest of the ensemble have its effect. Also, the first violinist doesn't have the subtlety and tonal depth of the other instruments. The performance here has more urgency than harpist Skaila Kanga and the English String Quartet's on Chandos, but the smoother sound and slower but superbly sustained Chandos performance has much more atmosphere and drama. Call this Quintet performance one with minor flaws in an otherwise superb album." - American Record Guide (Gilbert French) Jan/Feb 2001 "The British composer Arnold Bax was so enthralled with Ireland that he wrote poetry under an Irish pseudonym and incorporated Irish folk idioms into his numerous musical compositions. Undoubtedly the choice of harp as prominent instrument in his chamber music reflected the composer's predilection for Celtic elements. In a recent release by the mobius ensemble, Bax fans can revel in a novel selection of chamber music for harp, flute and strings. "In the Elegiac Trio for harp, violin and flute, an early opus written to commemorate the tragedy of the Irish Easter Rising of 1916, Bax spins melodious folk tunes into wistful impressionistic harmonies. The Trio of fine soloists from mobius's admirable retinue rises to the challenge of making musical sense out of nine minutes of highly emotionally charged music. "Harp and viola are partners in the Fantasy Sonata, written almost a decade after the Elegiac Trio. Four movements meld together with only the slightest pause in a neo-Impressionistic wash of colour and sound. Violinist Ashan Pillai performs with remarkable elan. His ability to translate the harp's astonishing range of special effects into articulated string playing is particularly noteworthy. "The least provocative of the selections presented, Bax's Quintet for harp and strings, composed at the end of the First World War, finds the composer at loose ends with his choice of instrumentation: the harp wavers between background filler material and accompanying arpeggios as the strings set forth boldly. "Fortunately, the chamber music aficionados who form mobius are convinced of the legitimacy of their mission. Thanks to them, Bax is back with a vengeance that his Irish soulmates would truly appreciate." - The Strad (Heather Kurzbauer) November 2000 "Some of the best Bax is here. In these atmospheric pieces he was able to throw off the fetters of inherited symphonic forms and allow his Celtic fantasy to pursue its own improvisatory course. The melodic writing is free and fertile. Bax's harp writing is especially poetic. Best of all is the short, moody Elegiac Trio. The Fantasy Sonata, for harp and viola, is remarkable for the way it holds the attention for well over 20 minutes; not easy with two such reticent instruments. The six musicians of Mobius play this music with feeling, imagination and energy, proof that harp music doesn't have to be all elfin and willowy." - BBC Music Magazine (Stephen Johnson), October 2000 "This beautifully executed collection of Arnold Bax's chamber music with harp provides a very timely appendix to Naxos's cycle of his symphonies - one of the most rewarding of their current projects. Through superficially none of these might seem to be a particularly profound work, the London-based group Mobius show that almost all of them contain music of great emotional intensity, especially the Elegiac Trio and the Quintet. The 1927 Fantasy Sonata for viola and harp, meanwhile, receives a performance that pushes at the expressive boundaries of such a modest medium. The ghost of Debussy hovers over that and the Sonata for flute and harp, but these bright, assertive readings reveal that there is a distinctive creative personality at work too." - The Guardian (Andrew Clements), August 25, 2000 "This is all beguiling music, whose neglect is quite puzzling. There are distinguished alternatives but none couples all together at such a competitive price." - Classic FM (Robert Layton), August, 2000
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"This collection of beautiful
French harp repertoire from the latter part of the 19th century
to the first part of the 20th century is mostly impressionist
in style with a wide colouristic palette from both the composers
and the performer. In Marcel Tournier's Au Matin there are lovely
silvery upper registers, while Alphonse Hasselmans gives us washes
of harmonic colour in his Follets. Both harpist composers, they
had an inherent grasp of the tonal possibilities of the instrument,
although one should not look to this recording for profound musical
statements and forms; this is a jewel box of mostly miniature
treasures, even from the more renowned composers featured such
as Ravel, Debussy and Fauré, the pieces by the former
two being transcriptions from piano music. Perhaps the Ravel
Menuet,as a result, is the least successful performance here
in terms of colour because one misses the piano's halo around
the sound. Tournier's mastery of harp colour is revealed in the
performance full of energy of 'La Danse Du Moujik' and 'La Voliere
magique' with its evanescently magical writing and performance.
As Nicholls describes one of the pieces in her booklet notes,
this is luxuriant harp sound 'piling layers of cream upon cream'."
"'The event was
made particularly memorable by the wonderful harp recital by
Alison Nicholls ....as always, the playing and presentation made
the performance special."