Clark Bryan: Chopin Nocturnes

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

Chopin Nocturnes

Artist: Clark Bryan
Album: Chopin Nocturnes
Year: 2010
CD#: 49925
Canadian? Yes
Best Tracks, Disc 1: #1, #4, #7, #8, #10, #12
Best Tracks, Disc 2: #2, #3, #5, #7, #8, #10
Comments Overall: Very much the sort of music that springs to mind with the name "Chopin". Magnificently played. Several tracks are downright heartbreaking.

Disc 1
1. Op. 9 No. 1, 5:20 - Slow. Delicate. Refined. Heartbreaking. Rises somewhat halfway through. Still refined. Less heartbreaking. Becomes quiet and solemn at the very end.
2. Op. 9 No. 2, 4:04 - Begins slow. Picks up a bit. Various trills superimposed upon a slow base. Fades out slowly at the end.
3. Op. 9 No. 3, 6:24 - Begins as a very slow dance. Moves along without being fast. Delicate & refined. Slower moments and even pauses inserted throughout the piece. Some dramatic moments. Ends on a quiet note.
4. Op. 15 No. 1, 3:44 - Begins slowly. Picks up slowly. Suddenly breaks into something active and dramatic at the minuite mark. Settles down again and breaks out again. Gradually settles down again. Ends slowly and quietly.
5. Op. 15 No. 2, 3:25 - Refined. Calm. Quiet. Becomes much more robust midway through. Fades slowly out. Nearly ten seconds of silence at the end of the track.
6. Op. 15 No. 3, 4:11 - Begins slowly. Varied composition. A quiet, slow base contrasts with sudden blips of activity.
7. Op. 27 No. 1, 4:37 - Varied piece. Opens calm, quiet, low. Rises in intensity midway through. Breaks into something jaunty and cheery before deepening out again. Ends quietly, with dignity.
8. Op. 27 No. 2, 5:39 - Dignified. Restrained. Occasional quiet segments, but mostly rises throughout. Some majestic moments around the halfway mark. Calms greatly at the end.
9. Op. 32 No. 1, 4:35 - Calm and delicate. A few low moments. A few profound moments. Mostly calm and delicate. Breaks out unexpectedly at the end. Awkward ending.
10. Op. 32 No. 2, 4:42 - Begins slowly, then pauses, then begins over again more rapidly. Lively and quick. Heartwarming. Quiet ending.
11. KK 1233-1235, 2:40 - Somehow both lively and melencholy. Heartfelt. Quiet. Dignified.
12. Cantabile, 0:59 - Short, slow piece. Sad to the point of heartbreaking. Excellent if a short span of time needs to be filled.
13. Largo, 1:35 - Dignified. Very dignified. Quiet and calm.

Disc 2
1. Op. 37 No. 1, 5:30 - Slow, delicate and calm. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Becomes more deliberate midway through, but settles down again. Ends gently and slowly.
2. Op. 37 No. 2, 5:38 - Lively beginning. Determined and deliberate. Varied composition. Some heartbreaking segments. Slow ending.
3. Op. 48 No. 1, 6:07 - Slow. Heartbreaking. Becomes dramatic midway through. Remains dramatic and robust almost to the end. Quiet ending.
4. Op. 48 No. 2, 6:24 - Begins slow. Grows slowly to become a piece of great power. Rises and falls magnificently. Rises to a calming ending.
5. Op. 55 No. 1, 4:50 - Methodical beginning. Slow and pacing throughout. Melody arises out of a methodical base which reasserts itself from time to time. Cascades out of its mold at the end without being too lively. Slow ending.
6. Op. 55 No. 2, 4:56 - Slow. Melodic. Quiet and beautiful. Rises and falls in places.
7. Op. 62 No. 1, 7:11 - Strong beginning. Robust and mournful. Very powerful in places. Heartbreaking. Grows more rapid and cheerful midway through. Still rich and powerful. Settles down again. Lovely, calming ending.
8. Op. 62 No. 2, 5:32 - Begins slowly, beautifully. Very rich. Becomes more robust and powerful as it moves along. Very rich at its height. Quiet, gentle ending.
9. Op. 72 No. 1, 3:35 - Gradual opening. Rises to something clear and open. Calm. Gradual. Lovely.
10. KK 1215-1222, 3:48 - Very slow beginning. THE classic Chopin melody with an awkward prelude. Consider cuing up 0:09. Slow, but lovely. Very beautiful. Moves nicely along. Awkward moment midway through, but it smoothes itself out quickly.
11. Berceuse Op. 57, 4:49 - Beautiful. Melodic. Mostly slow, but with some more powerful moments. Very slow ending.

Website: www.aeolianhall.ca/clark.htm

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

The last time CHRW inserted a local classical C.D. into its collection was 2002, which means we were about due.

But this new C.D. has been very much worth the wait. Clark Bryan, also known as the owner of Aeolean Hall, has released a magnificent collection of Chopin’s Nocturnes. Twenty-four tracks spread over two C.D.s: the nocturnes are light, delicate, and heartbreaking. Mostly they feel lonely. Exquisitely lonely.

Imagine a vast auditorium, covered in cobwebs, lit by the odd ray of sunlight filtering in through cracks in the roof. Imagine a magnificent plastered ceiling crumbling away as great plaster leaves chip off the columns. Imagine rusting cast-iron ornaments, and red-cushioned seat covers which release a cloud of musty smoke when you sit down on them. Imagine a piano, worn with age, sitting discarded at one end of the stage, and hunched over it, forlorn, a man making love to the keyboard. Outside--it’s true--lies the flaming pop trash of the day. As age succeeds age, and Elvis, the Beatles, Billy Joel and Britney Spears each take their turn in the light, play with it a moment, and disappear. Yet something always holds you here.

That’s the power of Chopin. It’s quite different from the power of the grander romantics, of course. Beethoven’s power is something much more obvious and spectacular. Wagner’s is more spectacular still. But Chopin obliges you to stay. Serene in your heartbreak. . . Lingering. . . Mourning. . . Happy, in the end, to see this magnificence parade before you. It’s not a spell you can quite understand until you’ve been caught in it.

It’s a spell Mr. Bryan weaves magnificently.

- Reviewed by Benjamin A. Vazquez, U.E.