Elaine Funaro: Chronological Order
Aliénor

A fascinating tension arises when a harpsichordist performs contemporary works, which in the case of Chronological Order involves Elaine Funaro presenting pieces by composers Thomas Donahue, Mark Janello, and Tom Robin Harris. In contrast to, say, the piano or violin, the association between the harpsichord and early music remains strong, so much so that when material is played that wasn't written during Baroque times the effect can be arresting, if not startling. That makes for an engrossing and exciting listening experience, especially when the pieces are performed with as much enthusiasm as they are here.

Funaro's known for her advocacy of new music for the harpsichord and is a familiar face at both contemporary and early music festivals around the globe. Consistent with that, she served for many years as Artistic Director of Aliénor, the American-based international competition for new harpsichord music. She's premiered many an Aliénor winner in venues around the world, from London, Amsterdam, and Rome to Sydney, Tallinn, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Her repertoire isn't limited to contemporary music, however, but spans the centuries. She's the kind of figure who would be as comfortable playing Bach as Berg.

While she often performs with orchestras and chamber ensembles, she's alone on Chronological Order, her partner her custom-made Kingston Opus #333, which has been further personalized with original artwork by North Carolina artist Lisa Creed. Seven compositions are performed, two apiece by Harris and Janello and three by Donahue. Harris's Two Movements for Solo Harpsichord introduces the album with a series of brilliant runs in “Tentatively,” a free prelude that eventually references the C-minor prelude from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and showcases the magnificent sound of Funaro's instrument. The aptly titled “With Vigor” ventures into jazzier realms with freewheeling declamations that coil and cycle obsessively. Part of Harris's larger work Music for Matins, Jubilate Deo riffs on American minimalism with rapid arpeggios and hammering chords, and even at certain moments draws a strong connecting line to early Glass.

Drawing from the Baroque concerto genre, Janello's beguiling Concerto for Two follows its rapturous, beaming “Allegro” with the hauntingly melodic “Languid Yet Somehow Relentless” and regal “Exuberant Yet Wistful.” While the concerto was written for Funaro and Rebecca Pechefsky and premiered by them in 2015, it's performed by Funaro only on this recording, which suggests multi-tracking might have been used to create the recording. Written for the harpsichordist, Janello's Prelude and Counterpoint No. 1 couples an enticingly lyrical “Prelude” with a majestic and, naturally, intensely contrapuntal partner.

Many a movement title cues a particular expectation in the listener, Donahue's Chronological Ordre a case in point. Whereas “Ordre No. 1—Pressed for Time” and “Ordre No. 3—Time Flies” barrel forth incessantly with determination and laser focus, “Ordre No. 2—For the Time Being” opts for contemplative stillness. As descriptively titled are the movements of Donahue's Five Shapes, one of the set's most memorable works. The work is, in essence, a theme and variations, with dramatic material in the short initial part refracted four different ways. The expressive first statement, “Decisive,” is precisely that, and movement titles as directly reference the rippling runs coursing through “Flowing,” as well as the respective boisterousness, obsessiveness, and authoritativeness of “Sprightly,” “Rigid,” and “Adamant.”

June 2024