On the basis of technique alone, cellist Henrik Dam Thomsen’s pairing of the Kodály Sonata and Britten First Suite outshines Oren Shevlin’s similar coupling on BIS. Thomsen’s seemingly endless bow arm allows for remarkable control of long sustained lines, especially in the Britten Suite’s canto interludes and the Kodály Sonata’s central movement (taken at a slower tempo than usual). Likewise, rapid double-stops and quick changes back and forth from arco to pizzicato are effortlessly executed. If anything, Thomsen’s playing is beautiful to a fault.
You’ll get a stronger sense of the Kodály Sonata’s improvisatory flow and primal urgency from the more incisive, dynamically charged readings by Yuli Turovsky (also on Chandos) and Miklós Perényi (his recent digital recording on Hungaroton). The Britten might also have gained from sharper rhythmic characterization in the Fuga and the Marcia. Compared to Truls Mørk’s bracing abandon in the Moto Perpetuo finale, Thomsen’s equally clear yet slower account sounds relatively inhibited. No qualms, however, concerning Thomsen’s elegant reading of the tiny Tema-Sacher from the last year of Britten’s life. Chandos’ warm and vivid engineering serves both cellist and repertoire to perfection.
