Our little "Secret": Pietra Montecorvino is wheezing, Alexey Borisov is making noise

The end of winter brought music fans unexpected discoveries in the field of classics, new jazz, and new readings of the classics of Russian rock. However, about everything in order — Izvestia tells about the most interesting music albums in February.

"The Secret"

Big Beat 1983

Although it would be more accurate to call the Secret beat quartet a "beat duet" in recent years - strictly speaking, it now consists of Maxim Leonidov and Nikolai Fomenko - for old fans who remember "Christina's Name Day" and "My Love on the Fifth Floor", this release will be an occasion for nostalgic joy. The 14 tracks included in it have never been officially released before, although they were written at the dawn of the band's existence. Experts, of course, will point out that some of the songs are taken from the very first magnetoalbum of the band "You and Me" (released in the same 1983, included in the album's title), others could be heard on Leonidov's solo albums, and "Twist" and "Arina-Ballerina" were released as bonus tracks on the Secret compilations. Nevertheless, this is how all these artifacts of the St. Petersburg Beatlemans' youth were collected and recorded for the first time.

The material itself, of course, defines a slightly ironic approach — after all, the authors and performers have long been no romantic boys from Leningrad courtyards. But still, listening to "Sneakers" or "Rita", it is difficult to resist both a smile and a feeling of returning youth — both to the listener and to the venerable masters themselves, who have clearly shed the burden of years and business obligations.

Pietra Montecorvino

Stu cielo è blu

Barbara D'Alessandro, a native of Naples, who took on the equally sonorous pseudonym Pietra Montecorvino at the dawn of her career in the 1980s (in honor of the Puglia town of Pietromontecorvino - we probably would have had some kind of Nora Fominskaya as an analogue), remains one of the hidden treasures of the Italian stage. However, it would not be entirely correct to classify this fury with the deep voice of Tom Waits and a love for the most unexpected arrangements and collaborations as a light genre. Her regular producer (and husband for several decades now) Eugenio Bennato is a famous popularizer of Neapolitan musical culture, combining traditional sound with modernity.

On Pietra's 11th solo album, however, there was more room for modernity — from the playful reworking of the guerrilla anthem Bella ciao and the stadium rock E damme stu sole to Isola, as if composed for an unfulfilled project by David Bowie and referring to academic minimalism of the title ballad (the name of which, by the way, translates as "This sky is Blue"). A good option for the first acquaintance with the work of this amazing singer.

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The most interesting music albums of January

Emilie-Claire Barlow

La Plus Belle Saison

Emily-Claire Barlow is a Canadian jazz vocalist, arranger and producer, whose name has long been associated with elegant, intelligent vocal music. During her more than 25-year career, she has released numerous albums, gaining recognition among jazz fans both at home and abroad, and won Félix Awards and two JUNO Awards. Barlow expertly interprets other people's songs and carefully selects her own, as evidenced by her 15th studio album, a kind of declaration of love for the Francophone stage of her native Quebec.

Recorded in Montreal in collaboration with pianist and arranger Francois Richard, the project includes 11 tracks, each of which reinterprets classic songs in a new, fresh sound. Among the most memorable moments are the light swing Dans les rues de Québec, the charming Les deux printemps and the soulful Le vent m'appelle par mon prénom, which demonstrate how traditional songs take on a new lease of life performed by the singer.

Alexey Borisov/The Modificators

Amanita Moskovia

The project of Alexei Borisov, patriarch of the Russian industrial and noise scene, and the duo The Modifiers, which has been running in Samizdat for a long time and has finally become officially available (Pavel Zhagun and Andrey Kotenev are no less legendary in their field), is known to the wider public as the producer of The Moral Code and the author of the lyrics of Orbakaite's hits, Nikolayev, "Roots" and a dozen more Russian pop stars).

Seven psychedelic tracks recorded live during several improvisational sessions include synthesizer ambient passages, electronically reconstructed field recordings, sounds extracted by Zhagun from strange devices and broken industrial rhythms characteristic of Borisov's work after "Night Avenue". The name ("Moscow Fly Agaric") refers the understanding listener to both the Moscow conceptualists and the famous "Leninist" media virus by Sergei Kuryokhin.

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Andrey Malykh, Elena Platitsyna

"Mozart: Six Duets for two flutes, Op. 75"

Op. 75 is perhaps the most mysterious work of Mozart for the listener. The fact is that he himself has never seen these notes — there is no such number in the original catalog editions of the great crown's work. "Seventy—fifth" is the fruit of the publishing practice of the 19th century: a compilation of arrangements from violin sonatas and piano trios, converted for two flutes. There were many such "pseudo-opuses" produced at that time, and they served for the home music of an enlightened public (the flute was then perhaps the most common and certainly more accessible instrument for an amateur than a grand piano or a piano). In the twentieth century, despite the constant interest in Mozart's legacy, Op. 75 remained without the attention of performers and producers — and finally, the first studio recording.

Nizhny Novgorod flutists Andrey Malykh and Elena Platitsyna create a sense of lively dialogue by deftly and organically translating orchestral and chamber motifs into two chamber instruments. The abundance of imitations, character changes, soft rhythms and sharp accents are arranged in such a way that the listener easily forgets about the apocryphal origin of the material. At the same time, despite the well-known "museum-like" nature of this music, it can be safely recommended to those for whom the classics are still something distant and mysterious.