Violin Concertos by Black Composers. Meude-Monpas: Violin Concerto No. 4; Saint-Georges: Violin Concerto in A major; White: Violin Concerto in F-sharp minor; Coleridge-Taylor: Romance in G. Rachel Barton, violin; Encore Chamber Orchestra; Daniel Hege, conductor (Cedille)
Rachel Barton unearths some interesting repertoire in her second release for the Chicago-based Cedille label, this disc exploring violin concertante works written by black composers of the 18th and 19th Centuries. The two graceful classical-era violin concertos by Meude-Monpas and Saint-Georges are worth rediscovery, offering music of great charm and Mozarten elegance, rendered with sensitivity and stylish bravura by Barton. While the all-purpose stormy Romanticism of Joseph White’s concerto is somewhat less individual, Barton brings out the melancholy of Coleridge-Taylor’s “Romance” nicely.
