Kaori Uemura YUU

 

YUU

 

Christian-Pierre La Marca CELLO 360

 

CELLO 360

 

David Greilsammer LABYRINTH

 

LABYRINTH

 

Tabea Debus / Jonathan Rees / Alex McCartney OHRWURM

OHRWURM

Cavatina Duo FOLIAS AND FANTASIAS

FOLIAS AND FANTASIAS

Stéphanie d’Oustrac / Ensemble Amarillis / Héloïse Gaillard PORTRAITS DE LA FOLIE

PORTRAITS DE LA FOLIE

Marie van Rhijn MARIN MARAIS Dans les jardins d'Eurytus

                                                  DANS LES JARDINS D'EURYTUS

Luca Pianca / Il Suonar Parlante Orchestra / Vittorio Ghielmi LE SECRET DE MONSIEUR MARAIS

                                               LE SECRET DE MONSIEUR MARAIS

Mélisande Corriveau / Eric Milnes MARIN MARAIS Badinages

                                                                     BADINAGES

Thomas Dunford / Jean Rondeau BARRICADES

                                                                  BARRICADES

Johanna Rose HISTOIRES D'UN ANGE

One of the most peculiar features of the arts in the lavish Versailles court of the Sun King was his conservatism. His instrumental music produced a series of dances during decades, the so-called suites, of unchangeable composition, barely reminding us of old rhythms like the gallarda or the pavana which made room for novelties such as the gigue or the sarabande, installed from then on for future decades. 

The gambist Marin Marais, referred to as the angel for his delecacy in comparison to the devil Forqueray, played a central role in that little but great world of short melodic stories, charming subtleties, delicate ornaments and changing repertoire - Changes that made everything remain the same. Surely De Visée, a musician like Marais from the Sun King's own chamber, accompanied him dozens of times on the theorbo and the guitar.Our concert, a close visit to that court environment, will take the form of a large suite, initiated by a prelude in improvised style, followed by exotic pieces of a - merely apparent - goût étranger, truly as familiar as the allemande or the rondeau. To finish, like the great operas of Lully, there will be a series of imposed variations such as the chaconne and the folia, that will bring us echoes of that majestic, albeit intimate and decadent world which reached its maximum brilliance on the eve of its extinction.

Lucie Horsch / Academy of Ancient Music BAROQUE JOURNEY

The astonishing 19-year-old Dutch recorder player Lucie Horsch returns to takes us on a journey around Baroque Europe, showcasing the most virtuosic music from her native Netherlands, as well as Germany, Italy, France, Spain and England.

Highlights from the album include Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Bach’s Badinerie and the world premiere recording of a concerto by Jacques-Christophe Naudot and Dido’s Lament by Purcell.

For her second album, Lucie is joined by the Academy of Ancient Music who are making their first DECCA recording in over 20 years!

Duo Cardellino DOUBLE JEU

The origin of duo Cardellino, two passionate twin sisters from an early age through music and the desire to play together. 

Curious to discover the abundant repertoire of the duo, they explore the original pieces and write many inedit transcriptions. 
Now soloists in two prestigious French orchestras, they are wanting to develop the Cardellino duo's activity on a regional, national and international level. 
The rich and complementary sounds of flute and cello have already charmed a wide audience at various concerts and festivals: 
Salle de l'esplanade à l'Arsenal de Metz, église de Vézelise, Festival Off Kultur à l'Autre Canal à Nancy, Salle Europa à Montigny-les-Metz, Chapelle Saint-Brieuc, Festival “Musiques’halles” de Dijon, Festival “Les Musicales” de Fontaine-lès-Dijon, Atelier Marcel Hastir à Bruxelles, Griselles, Château de Champlitte, Eglise de Saint-Apollinaire.
The Cardellino duo holds a chamber music diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Brussels

Fantasticus SONNERIE & OTHER PORTRAITS

This is a most delightful recital of early-18th-century French Baroque chamber music. The works have been carefully chosen and comprise solos as well as trios. Although some of the works will be relatively unfamiliar to listeners (particularly the Dornel and Francoeur), there are still more of similar calibre waiting to be recorded. This single CD-length programme – only available as a download – could thus easily be added to, an observation prompted by the high standard of playing heard here.

Fantasticus was formed specifically to explore the excesses, shall we say, inherent in the Baroque style and present in some of the chamber music of the late 17th and 18th centuries, as well as to experiment with the limits of associated performing practices. Each member of the trio is a polished period player. Their performances are confident, stylish, beautifully articulated and convey a sense of genuine rapport. This is only their second release, so we have much to look forward to.

All of the composers represented here were equally well known as fine performers in their day. They held posts at the Paris Opéra and at the courts of Louis XIV and XV. The intimate scale of the music on this disc belongs to the salons where French aristocrats indulged themselves and their friends with private performances of virtuoso works, music that was nearly always new and had a certain edge.

Originally a literary genre, portraiture in music was subsequently explored by composers such as Couperin, Marais and Rameau. This recording includes three portraits of the Forqueray family: the Dornel Sonata undoubtedly celebrates Antoine’s penchant for playing Italian violin sonatas on the viol; the Rameau seems more likely to portray Antoine’s son and collaborator; and the mesmerising Duphly most certainly personifies the harpsichordist Marie-Rose Dubois, who was married to the son, Jean-Baptiste-Antoine. Definitely a collector’s item. (Julie Anne Sadie / Gramophone)

Emmanuel Pahud SOLO

Interweaving the Baroque era and the 20th and 21st centuries, the newest addition to Emmanuel Pahud's Warner Classics catalogue is an imaginative 2-CD collection of music for unaccompanied flute. Among the composers are Telemann, Nielsen, Honegger, Varèse, Berio, Takemitsu, Pärt, Pintscher and Widmann. "Most of the pieces are about exploring new paths," says Pahud. "The power of this music often lies in the contrast between a simple line and the most refined complexities, between a note so quiet as to be barely perceptible and the loudest, most extreme notes playable on the instrument."

Il Giardino d’Amore / Natalia Kawalek CANTATES ET PETITS MACARONS

On a quiet summer afternoon, with the living room door half open, through the doorway comes a smell of perfume, muffled laughter from the courtesans and the sweet sounds of the violin virtuoso…

Delicious music of the XVIII century Paris salon.

This CD contains masterpieces of the best masters of french baroque secular cantata which were : Montéclair, Rameau, Clerambault, and fantastic instrumental chamber music of the genious Couperin, and Marais. This combination of composers, and choice of the repertoir gives very colourful, divers, and exciting program. With the works of Clérambault, Montéclair and Rameau, the French Cantata reached a kind of apogee, pushing the limits of its theatricality and becoming increasingly more operatic. On one hand, these composers borrow the varied pace, exuberance and quick modulations from the Italian style, on the other hand, they expand the instrumental parts, using trumpets, horns, violins and even timpani, which far from being a mere accompaniment to the story. Marin Marais was one of the first to introduce trio compositions, typically used by the Italians, into France. His famous Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont de Paris (Bells of St. Genevieve in the Hills of Paris) is an amazing example of virtuosity on the viola da gamba. François Couperin, less engaged with cantata writing than his contemporaries is one of the most important chamber music composers of the French Baroque, in which he reaches an artistic peak with Le Gouts Reunis, and L’Apothéose de Corelli.

Hille Perl / Marthe Perl ELEMENTS

Greek philosophers in the pre-Christian era considered the four elements to be the basic components of life on earth; there was only the occasional argument if water or air should be considered to be the primordeal matter. The alchemists of the late middle ages and the early modern era placed the tenet of the four elements to be of crucial importance; physicians used it to characterize types of patients and astronomers discovered that celestial bodies are in corresponding constellations to the elements on this planet. Finally the Christian dogma also picked up on the elements and used them as characteristics of the four archangels.

Popular belief had a vast abundance of spirits who animated the world, there weresubterranean gnomes who populated the woodlands, fickle sylphs who whispered in the shrubbery, every well was inhabited by alluring undines, and salamanders could brave even the fiercest and hottest fires.

Is the mythological knowledge of these existential components of any significance to 21st century cosmopolitans?
Our answer to this question would be a very decidedly positive: why, of course!

Precisely at this moment, as the world seems to become unhinged on all levels,  we need more than ever the universal knowledge of the real and spiritual dimensions of the four elements, of their creative powers and their destructive energy, their interdependency and their sacred nucleus.
With this album we intended to contribute to this global challenge - and we are using music, being our language, our means of communication to enunciate the all-embracing love and kindness we have for the world- hoping to be received kindly and lovingly.

FIRE : Fire is a symbol of all-consuming love, it stands for burning passion and the comforting warmth of friendship.
And whether it be a devastating blaze or the consoling warmth of a burning wood-stove on a frosty winter’s morning….Fire is nourishing and protecting us, but it can also be a merciless destroyer - hence we are challenged to practice humility, caution and mindfulness.
A little thematic prelude by Marthe Perl initiates the contemplation of this element. We took the liberty to pick from the rich treasure of traditional Irish melodies to depict several aspects of real flames: a flag of fire to indicate the direction of movement, a fire in the mountain, maybe it is threatening the forest or a village, and an old woman who sits by the fire, sipping her tea. Then Soler’s Fandango fell into our hands: famous as a piece for harpsichord we found it quite suitable to carve out different aspects of persistent fervor and the burning passion for a theme on two bass viols.

EARTH: earth is our soil, the humus which grows our food, the life-giving furrow. We are made of earth, as all living things, and when all is said and done we return to earth, to become dust again and tobecome the origin of new life. The element earth symbolizes the circular flow of the years and the representation of growth, decay and resurrection embedded within.
Marthe’s Earth-Prelude opens this chapter, then another Irish tune about a boggy ground. Another Ground music are the Folia-related variations by Mr. Farinell, ere we turn to a funeral music for two viols : the ‚Tombeau pour M. de Meliton‘ who was a friend and patron of the great Marin Marais. 

WATER: the water-theme. Sister-element of the earth, allegorically depicting that our life is in flow, everchanging and in constant motion, like a river that in the end shall be released into the ocean, whose infinitude makes us small human beings feel humble and lost. Water is the emotional element: we shed tears of joy and sorrow. And - just like fire - water has a huge potential for destruction: it can wash away anything that thwarts its path.
The aspect of sorrow, of lamenting and of teares is our predominant theme in this set. ‚Hume’s Lamentation‘ follows Marthe’s initial Prelude and then the Lachrimaeby Sumarte for one viol is supplemented by Marthe’s arrangement of the famous Dowland-piece. 

AIR- air is respiration! God breathes life into us, when we first appear on earth, and finally we will take our dying breath and be gone. Air is a symbol for movement, for wind and whirl, for effortlessness and creativity.  But also for the damaging power of tempests and hurricanes. Marais’ ‚Bourrasque‘ isthe presentation of a storm, then we consider together with Thomas Ford how the air has changed - or the melody. Bagpipes are very windy instruments, and in the wild goose-chase we hastily cut through the air with our bows. Finally we describe a game of badminton which apparently the noble people of Versailles already knew and played.

A pensive Andante by Francis Poulenc from his Sonata for two clarinets is our farewell music on this CD. We believe, Poulenc could have meant it to be played with two viols, if only he had known the instrument.

Fire, Earth, Water and Air: four Elements - four different physical conditions of our planet - and of our selves. We believe it to be worthwhile togive special consideration to these ingredients of life, in these times of a growing  elemental imbalance in the world.

This concertis an invitation to give way to a musical contemplation of the complexities of the world, the ingredients of life,  and to encourage a general mindfulness. (Hille Perl, Winkelsett  2014)

Barbara Kortmann INNER LIGHTS Chamber Music for Flute

For me, “inner lights” are the inner forces of being alive. They accompany us during carefree moments of joy, lead us along paths through uncertainty, and help us so we do not lose our inner clarity. Each of the works on this CD has been a special “inner light” for me over the past years. I heard the Vivaldi concertos for the first time when I was a child, performed by Sir James Galway. Both the works and Galway’s incomparable flute playing, which I have deeply admired since, awakened my love for the flute and strengthened my desire to eventually become a musician myself. For this reason I wish to dedicate the two con - certos to Sir James and his wife, Lady Jeanne Galway. I would like to thank them: for their guidance as flutists and as human beings, and for their warmth and joy of living that they shared with me over the last few years. They have been a source of wonderful enrichment in my life.

Marin Marais’ Folies d’Espagne and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Musical Offering are both works that played a special role during my studies. I am performing them on this CD in remembrance of a period that was not always easy, demanded quite a bit from my “inner lights,” but in looking back, also made me stronger and had a decisive influence on my whole being. Today I am grateful for this.

Bach’s Sonata in G minor was my first Bach sonata. I was full of curiosity and excitement when I discovered it as a fifteen-year-old, and through it I learned to love Baroque music. It is the “inner light” of my beginnings as a flutist. The two Handel arias I arranged are my “inner lights” of here and now. When I play them, I am totally with myself —happy and content in the being of the moment. I look back at my life up until now, always accompanied by the power of music which has never left me, and am at the same time full of openness and enthusiasm toward everything that awaits me in the future. (Barbara Kortmann)

Maddalena Del Gobbo / Michele Carreca / Ewald Donhoffer / Christoph Prendl HENRIETTE THE PRINCESS OF THE VIOL

Maddalena was born in Italy and started studying music at a very early age. At the age of four, she began learning the piano and gradually added the cello and singing to her musical repertoire. Years later, at the age of 13, her musical talent brought her to Vienna, where she studied the cello at the “Konservatorium Wien”. She first came in contact with the viola da gamba when she entered a record shop in the heart of Vienna and was mesmerized by an enchanting sound she would never forget.

She still finished her studies as a cellist, received a MA and performed in many concert halls as a soloist and chamber musician. All this time, she never forgot the viol and secretly honed her skills until, one day, she decided to make the viol her focal point and to dedicate her life to baroque music.

Charity work is very important for Maddalena. She is founding president of the “Juvenilia Club Wien”, which supports several charity organizations and advocates women rights all over the world."

Maddalena also supports the “Sterntalerhof”. This is a non-profit organization, which offers help and a place to stay for terminally ill children and their families, to spend the last part of their life in a dignified way, supported by therapists, specially trained therapy horses and surrounded by nature.

Maddalena plays here together with Ewald Donhoffer (harpsichord) Christoph Prendl (Viola da Gamba) and Michele Carreca (theorbo). 

Henriette was a daughter of the King of France, Louis XV, and was a great viola da gamba virtuoso. It´s a recording of french music of the first half of the 18th century by composers as Marin Marais, Caix d`Hervelois and Jean Baptiste Forqueray. Join Maddalena and discover this musical homage to the princess of the viol, Henriette of France.

Marie van Rhijn MARIN MARAIS Dans les jardins d'Eurytus

Marie van Rhijn's 2016 album on the Evidence label is a collection of brilliant harpsichord pieces arranged from the tragédie en musique, Alcide, a collaboration by Marin Marais and Louis Lully, son of the composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. Marais was most famous as a composer of viol music, which became enormously popular in the court of Louis XIV, though he is not known to have composed any works for the harpsichord, so these keyboard transcriptions of his operatic music might be a bit unexpected. Consisting of airs and dances, such as the courante, the sarabande, the menuet, and the passepied, most of the pieces here consist of two lines with elaborate ornamentation and are quite suitable to the keyboard. Van Rhijn is a virtuoso of the harpsichord, as well as an authority on vocal music of the French Baroque, so her lively performances convey something of the drama and florid lyricism of the original work, infused with a personal flair that makes her playing fascinating. In addition to the pieces from Alcide, van Rhijn also plays harpsichord adaptations of the Suite in B minor for viol da gamba, including the "Tombeau pour Monsieur de Lully," which rounds out the program with more familiar music by Marais. Highly recommended. (Blair Sanderson)