Bardic song

A knowledgeable guitarist offering commanding performances (Akustik Gitarre)

Jens Franke is common to all three of these discs. He can also be heard solo in a release entitled “Bardic Song” (recorded 2009 and 2010) focussed on the music and arrangements of Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-56). His are mostly miniature pieces (at least here), selected from bigger sets; pleasant they certainly are if not always commanding undivided attention; that said Franke’s playing is a pleasure in itself and is distinguished by sovereign phrasing and lovely tone. There is though an attractive simplicity (in the best sense) to these vignettes and, sometimes, an involving soulfulness; and if you have ever fancied hearing hits from Verdi’s Rigoletto (not least ‘La donna è mobile’), well that moment has arrived courtesy of Mertz, not the only stage-work that he made merry with for his Opus 8 Opern-Revue, but don’t expect the elaboration of Liszt’s piano Paraphrases. There’s also a transcription of Johann Strauss II’s Annen-Polka, and re-workings of some Schubert, his Ländler, catalogued here as Opus 9 and in which the tune-smithing gets that bit more engaging. However, hats off to Franke for his dedication to the Mertz cause and also for such stylish address to music impossible to criticise but not so easy to swoon over. (Classical Source)