Anja Lechner: Bach, Abel, Hume
ECM New Series

Earlier recordings featuring violoncellist Anja Lechner feature her as a member of the renowned Rosamunde Quartett, but her artistry might be even better-documented on her first solo violoncello album for ECM's New Series. It's one of those recordings where the impression created by the performer rivals if not surpasses the material performed, in this case works by Tobias Hume (c. 1579-1645), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), and Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-87). It's not that the material is inferior (it assuredly isn't) or that Lechner grandstands, but rather that her playing is so compelling it captivates at every moment.

Performing works spanning two centuries, she couples short settings by Abel and Hume originally conceived for viola da gamba and newly arranged by her with renditions of the first two of the six solo suites Bach wrote for the violoncello. The works by Hume that frame the recording derive from the print edition of 1605, the collection The First Part of Ayres. As intimated by its subtitle, Captaine Hume's Musicall Humors, the Scottish composer's pieces evoke moods of various kinds, and a through-line of sorts declares itself when “A Question,” “An Answer,” and “Harke Harke” open the release. A querulous character does, in fact, inform the opening piece as Lechner circles around its theme and probes it from multiple angles. Even at this early stage on the album, her confident use of space and gesture is apparent, as it is in “An Answer” with its lower-register examinations and double-stops. Completing the trio, “Harke, Harke” separates itself from the first two in oscillating between expressive bowing and plucks.

Abel's Arpeggio in d-Moll and Adagio in d-Moll follow, the two setting an effective stage for the Bach suites. Whereas Lechner's smoothly delivered arpeggios naturally highlight the first Abel setting, the haunting second's memorable for her lyrical rendering of its sombre mood and the patience with which it's delivered. Lechner breathes vibrant new life into Bach's famous first violoncello suite, the lilting “Prélude” engrossing as always and the courtly dance movements that come after handled with as much care and feeling. There's liveliness aplenty but not so much that the formal clarity and rigour of the work are compromised. Her “Allemande” and “Sarabande” treatments are master classes in pacing and phrasing, the “Courante” and “Menuet I / II” beguiling, and the “Gigue” appealing for its animation. The second suite follows the rhapsodic ascent of its “Prélude” with a probing “Allemande,” high-intensity “Courante,” and dignified “Sarabande,” each alluring in its own way. The energized “Gigue” provides a seamless transition into the album's last section, five engaging miniatures by Hume. “Tom and Mistresse Fine” catches the ear with a delicate pizzicato intro and bowing as florid as it is elegant; “The New Cut” thrusts with rapier-like determination, while “A Pollish Ayre” exudes regal dignity.

The baroque bow rests ever so comfortably in Lechner's hand, and her command of the instrument is apparent in every authoritative gesture—how fitting that the last selection on the recording, Hume's yearning “Touch Me Lightly,” should be so titled. Adding to the impression, she executes the written material with pinpoint accuracy but is as adept at handling the improvisatory dimension. It's this that allows her to impose her indelible personal stamp on the recording, though that happens too in her articulation choices. Lechner's subtle inflections of phrasing, dynamics, and texture do much to distinguish these always nuanced interpretations.

February 2025