Search - Bull, Hantai :: Doctor Bull's Good Night

BULLISH ON BULL, or, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

Melvyn M. Sobel | Freeport (Long Island), New York | 07/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Clavecinist Pierre Hantai has collected here a goodly roundabout of keyboard works by Elizabethan, John Bull (c. 1562-1628), and has recorded same in the most exceptionally full and vivid manner. Bull, whose popularity seems sustained solely by his Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, but even so, not dramatically, may gain new followers with the diverse and inventive pieces offered on this Astree CD. Bull's life, seemingly riddled by riddles, intrigue, secrets and scandals, is aptly reflected in Hantai's choice of compositions. The widest range of emotions is offered, as well as technical aplomb. Most haunting are Bull's Musica Britannica series, featuring the angst-laden "In nomine" sequences (Nos. 4, 5, 9 and 12) and the "Fantasias" (Nos. 10 and 15), followed by the wonderful, deeply pensive Chromatic pavan, and the Pavan fantastic, nearly seven minute treatises on melancholia. However, not all Bull is heavy weather. Hantai intersperses the recital with upbeat dances: galliards, almans, and "toys." Fetching and attractive, too, is the composer's own "Doctor Bull's goodnight"--- a clever vanity piece if ever there was one! With a recording whose intimacy and clarity are exceptional, and with playing equally as rich and rewarding, John Bull comes very much alive.[Running time: 74:19]"

In this case, A lot of Bull means a lot of enjoyment

Maggie Boleyn | 10/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection presents a wonderful cross section of the range of John Bull's work. Nearly everything he wrote required extreme dexterity of both hands. Pierre Hantai is certainly up to the challenge and performs all of these difficult pieces with great skill. John Bull was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, and at her death in 1603, he fell upon hard times. The CD's brochure maddenly alludes to "a serious scandal" in 1613, forcing a secret and hurried departure from England with no further elaboration. Thanks. Well, at any rate, the songs clearly reflect the turbulent times in which Bull found himself. The music has a wonderful late Renaissance/early Baroque quality and is a delight to listen to."