<\/p>
Phantasm<\/p>
Linn Records CKD737 57:17 mins<\/em><\/p> The biographer Roger North hailed Matthew Locke as the \u2018Ultimus Heroum\u2019, \u2018the last of the heroes\u2019, since his viol consorts are among the swansongs of the great English viol tradition. Despite his cranky and combative personality, Locke\u2019s consorts are luminous, lyrical, often playful, marrying his \u2018art and contrivance\u2019 with \u2018light and airy musick\u2019.<\/p> Phantasm\u2019s new disc makes a companion to their 2018 recording of the first two suites from The Flat Consort, which Locke dedicated to his \u2018cousin Kemble\u2019. We\u2019re now treated to the last three suites from the same collection \u2013 a trio of works which epitomise the capricious, restless, mercurial character of Locke\u2019s idiom. The disc also includes five suites from The Little Consort \u2013 convivial pieces for amateur music-making whose fleeting movements fizz and dissolve like little bonbons.<\/p> With their ever-changing affects and tempos, these consorts require alert and agile players and, in this respect, Phantasm is unrivalled. The playing here is technically flawless: lines are articulated with a remarkable lightness of touch; rhythms are balletic and buoyant, subtly animated by Elizabeth Kenny\u2019s graceful theorbo playing.<\/p> Though Locke\u2019s writing is sometimes angular and quirky, his textures are open and luminous \u2013 even his contrapuntal writing is never dense. These qualities are perfectly captured by the fine recording: the sound is airy yet intimate, and the balance between viols and theorbo is beautifully judged. The ensemble Fretwork has also recently recorded these works; their sound, by comparison, is bigger, edgier and less homogenous than Phantasm\u2019s gossamer fabric. <\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Kate Bolton-Porciatti Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 11:09 AM Phantasm Linn Records CKD737 57:17 mins The biographer Roger North hailed Matthew Locke as the \u2018Ultimus Heroum\u2019, \u2018the last of the heroes\u2019, since his viol consorts are among the swansongs of the great English viol tradition. Despite his cranky and combative personality, Locke\u2019s consorts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":39646,"template":"","categories":[1,83,19],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/locke-consorts-flat-and-sharp.jpg",900,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/locke-consorts-flat-and-sharp-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/locke-consorts-flat-and-sharp-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/locke-consorts-flat-and-sharp-768x768.jpg",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/locke-consorts-flat-and-sharp.jpg",800,800,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/locke-consorts-flat-and-sharp.jpg",900,900,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/locke-consorts-flat-and-sharp.jpg",900,900,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Kate Bolton-Porciatti Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 11:09 AM Phantasm Linn Records CKD737 57:17 mins The biographer Roger North hailed Matthew Locke as the \u2018Ultimus Heroum\u2019, \u2018the last of the heroes\u2019, since his viol consorts are among the swansongs of the great English viol tradition. Despite his cranky and combative personality, Locke\u2019s consorts…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/39645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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