David Leisner: Charms to Soothe
Azica Records

A David Leisner release has the potential to be many things, be it a reimagining of Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin for baritone and guitar (Bright Shiny Things, 2023) or a collection of vocal chamber music such as Letter to the World (Azica Records, 2023). It might also be Charms to Soothe, a beguiling set of nineteenth-century classical guitar works performed by Leisner, who, in addition to be a well-respected musician and composer is also a highly regarded educator and writer. He's the author of Playing with Ease (Oxford University Press) and a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music. If ever someone merited the label multi-faceted, it's him.

Leisner's performed works by David Del Tredici, Virgil Thomson, and Philip Glass but also ones by figures less familiar to the general public. The latter applies in the case of Charms to Soothe when it features rare works by Johann Kaspar Mertz, Fernando Sor, Mauro Guiliani, Leonard Schulz, and Giulio Regondi. Whereas those by Sor and Guiliani retain their place in the guitar repertoire, ones by others are comparatively less established and thus should benefit from their inclusion on the release. Regardless, that all are Leisner favourites comes through vividly in the performances, each one of the fourteen distinguished by attention to detail, thoughtful consideration of pacing, and clear affection for the music.

Setting a serene mood for the recording is the lovely second piece from Mertz's Nocturne, op. 4. Marked “Andantino - Allegro con brio,” the material glides in like the gentlest of breezes in its introductory section before leaping to attention for its livelier second. Though he was born in Vienna, Schulz spent most of his career in London and saw only a few of his compositions published during his lifetime. Leisner performs three etudes from the composer's harmonious 12 Studies, Op. 40, the G major sixth a reflective and dreamy affair, the D major eighth a study in enchantment, and the A major ninth a spirited, folk-inflected charmer. Similar to Schulz, the Swiss guitarist Regondi was largely London-based and is represented on the album by two etudes, the lustrous D minor sixth and alluringly romantic G major eighth.

Giuliani is accounted for by selections from Giulianate, op. 148 that Leisner assembled into an unofficial sonata comprising allegro, scherzo, slow movement, and rondo. The sparkling scene-setter “La Risoluzione” is followed by an enticing “Scherzo” and solemn “La Melanconia” before “Il Sentimentale” resolves the Giuliani mini-set upliftingly. Meanwhile, Sor's E major twenty-third etude (from op. 31) unfolds in a contemplative swoon; the second, the E minor eleventh (from op. 6) engages with a graceful lilt. Mertz returns at album's end with two pieces from Bardenklänge, op. 13, the tender “Lied ohne Worte” and smile-inducing “Mazurka.”

September 2024