Chopin's 4 chamber works get sumptuous treatment

GARRICK OHLSSON, PIANO, LEILA JOSEFOWICZ, VIOLIN, CARTER BREY, CELLO; "The Complete Works of Frederic Chopin, Vol. 13: Chamber Works" (Arabesque)*** 1/2

JULLIANNE BAIRD, SOPRANO, DARIN KELLY, TRUMPET, STEPHEN ALLTOP, ORGAN; "Soprano Arias with Trumpet and Organ" (Albany Records)*** 1/2

CYPRESS STRING QUARTET; "Haydn, Ravel, Shulhoff" (Cypress String Quartet)**** 1/2

Chamber music figures only slightly in Chopin's oeuvre. Of his complete works, only four fall into that category.

The four have been recorded on Garrick Ohlsson's recent CD for Arabesque, where he is joined by violinist Leila Josefowicz and cellist Carter Brey. The four works — the Cello Sonata in G minor, op. 65; the Piano Trio in G minor, op. 8; the Introduction and Polonaise Brillante, op. 8; and the Grand Duo Concertante on Themes from Meyerbeer's "Robert the Devil" — are given a sumptuous treatment at the hands of these artists.

The Cello Sonata is one of Chopin's last works. It's also one of the composer's most intensely earnest pieces, with its dark sonorities and rich textures. Ohlsson and Brey play it with a sensitivity that captures the work's warm lyricism and vibrant expressiveness.

The Piano Trio was written some 20 years before the sonata, but it's no less moody and brooding for being a youthful work. It's not unlike Brahms' two piano trios in the intensity of expression on display here. Its impassioned impulsiveness and restless energy are brought to the fore in the articulate and nuanced reading by Ohlsson, Josefowicz and Brey.

The other two pieces on the album, both for cello and piano, are flashy showpieces that allow the performers to indulge in virtuosic pyrotechnics.

• IN THE SPECIALIZED world of baroque vocal music, the figure of Julianne Baird looms large. Her crystalline soprano is remarkably suited for the florid lines that characterize vocal music in the early 18th century. Baird sings with clarity, with a voice that is light but not transparent. She captures the charm of the music eloquently.

On her album "Soprano Arias with Trumpet and Organ," she is accompanied by trumpeter Darin Kelly and organist Stephen Alltop. Kelly matches Baird's fluid lyricism with seamless playing that is equally light and virtuosic. And Alltop's playing is subtle and enhances the performances with his subdued presence.