New Bion Tsang Album Highlights Schumann

Cover of the album being discussed (courtesy of Crossover Media)

About a month ago, Universal Music Group released the second album of the cellist Bion Tsang recorded with the Royal Scottish National Orchestral and conductor Scott Yoo. The title about the album is Cantabile and it is structured a bit like a relatively simple labyrinth. As of this writing, the album is only available for digital download, but the word is that a CD will be available later this month. At that time the Web page connected to the above hyperlink will be augmented with a link to a Web page for “physical” purchase.

At the core of the album’s structure is Robert Schumann’s Opus 129 three-movement cello concerto. It is both preceded and followed by compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: the Opus 33 “Variations on a Rococo Theme” on the “way in” and the Andante cantabile movement from the Opus 11 (first) string quartet in D major on the “way out.” The entire album is framed by Pablo Casals’ setting of the Catalan Christmas song “El cant dels ocells” (the song of the birds). The opening track presents Casals’ arrangement of the tune for cello and string orchestra. The final track is Tsang’s arrangement of Casals’ arrangement for solo cello.

I have to confess that I have encountered “El cant dels ocells” at so many recitals that I felt a bit embarrassed that had only one recording of it. Nevertheless, even a casual perusal of my library of recordings would convince anyone that I am a total sucker for cello performances. Thus, while I was certainly curious when I first learned about Tsang, it was “El cant dels ocells” that convinced me that I had to listen to this new release!

Those familiar with the “core program” of this album would probably agree with me that the overall rhetoric is a dark one. Even the carol has more than a tinge of melancholy, which may have had more to do with Casals than with its traditional roots. Still, Tsang clearly knows how to explore the “dark side” of each of the selections without turning his interpretation into a wallow in misery.