Trio SR9 ALORS, ON DANSE?

For their second album on Naïve, the three percussionists (marimba players) of Trio SR9 have chosen to shine the light on the theme of dance, in all its rich variety throughout the history of Western classical music: from Rameau and Bach, to Debussy, Satie and Borodin.

So, shall we dance?

The first part of the album is a set of Baroque dances (Gavotte, Sarabande, Minuet, Gigue...) drawn from the legacy of various European composers. These pieces are presented in the form of a large suite, as was the tradition at the time.

Then we move on to explore Europe of the nineteenth century. A taste for exoticism and folk dance rhythms are here made even more sublime by Claude Debussy with his Tarentelle Styrienne, Béla Bartok with the Romanian Dances and Alexander Borodin with his Polovtsian Dances.

The last part of the disc is dedicated to the mysticism of dance and begins, perhaps unsurprisingly, with the Ritual Fire Dance by Manuel de Falla. It is followed by Narnchygäer, a new work for three marimbas and the first of its kind composed by François Tashdjian especially for the SR9 Trio.

Lastly, it is around the three Danse de Travers by Erik Satie that this programme is weaved. This common thread punctuates each part of the album with sweetness and melancholy.

After a highly-regarded first album, Bach on the marimba, this new programme allows us to go one step further in revealing the many riches of the marimba, the sumptuously-crafted five-octave rosewood instrument. It's via the sound of three marimbas that the Trio SR9 demonstrates its ability to develop the reputation of percussion, all in one choreographed gesture …

Marc Regnier ZAMBRA!

Since its outset at the turn of the 19th century, the six-string guitar has been an inseparable part of Spain's musical life. Although Italy and France were also prolific centers of performers, composers and builders during the early decades of the century, Spain later became the instrument's iconic country. Guitarists started accompanying flamenco singers, making the guitar an intrinsic part of the art form and positioning it as Spain's national instrument. Many concert guitarists --most notably Julián Arcas-- included it in their performances and compositions. Both flamenco and classical guitars increased their volume, quality of sound, and overall possibilities with the designs by luthier Antonio de Torres, whose construction standards have remained unchanged to this day. A long list of referents would ensue in later generations, including Francisco Tárrega, Miguel Llobet, Emilio Pujol and Andrés Segovia. Moreover, both Spanish and foreign composers evoked the sound of the guitar and the forms associated with it as an immediate reference to the Mediterranean country.

Ophélie Gaillard ALVORADA

Alvorada or the invitation to the voyage of cellist Ophélie Gaillard and her magical cello, a musical tour from Spain to Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Cuba) featuring, in particular, the composers Villa-Lobos, Granados, Piazzolla and Jobim. In an exceptional mixture of classical pieces and arrangements of the greatest themes of this intense music, the cello sings with the bandoneon, dances with the piano, guitar or percussion, and abandons itself in amorous intimacy with the voices. Alvorada immerses us in a sound universe where the feverish energy of the rhythms of this Hispanic and South-American music entrances us and from which a sensual nostalgia responds to a dizzying tango. All the senses are aroused when hearing these spellbinding songs and rhythms. The colour of the sun, from dawn to dusk, is found in the clever alternation of these enchanting, universal pieces. All the exceptional musicians (Sabine Devieilhe, Toquinho, Sandra Rumolino, Juanjo Mosalini, Rudi Flores, Emmanuel Rossfelder, Gabriel Sivak…) participating in the Alvorada voyage hypnotize and fascinate us, allowing us to accompany them at every instant in the progression of this dream proposed by Ophélie Gaillard.

Elīna Garanča ELINA

Elīna Garanča’s personal choice of her greatest tracks, released to coincide with her receiving an Echo Award (6 October) & the publication of her memoirs in December

Ten years ago she made her sensational début at the Salzburg Festival, singing the role of Annio in Mozart’s Clemenza di Tito. Since then Elīna Garanča has become one of the greatest, most sought-after mezzo-sopranos in the world. As an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, she has made four solo albums for the label, and collaborated on many CD and DVD releases.

Now, with the artist’s help, we have brought together favourite tracks from her discography – the Seguidilla and Habanera from Carmen, the Flower Duet from Lakmé (with Anna Netrebko), the Barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann and many more, including Annio’s aria from Clemenza di Tito, some of her great bel canto roles and the touching Lullaby (Nana) by de Falla.

The CD booklet includes a newly-commissioned interview with Elina, where she reflects on her career and indicates where she is headed artistically. Her complete discography is also given there.

Patricia Petibon MELANCOLÍA Spanish Arias and Songs

Spain, and its music and art, have long had a special appeal for Patricia Petibon: “From an early age I was intrigued and fascinated by Spanish culture, by the way the excessive and the subtle are inextricably linked. It glorifies emotions with pride and, at the same time, refinement. It’s a culture that comes from the earth, from the people. Everything about it appealed to me, and in my early recitals I liked to insert some Spanish songs into my American and French programmes. Then, when I went to Madrid to sing in Dialogues des Carmélites, I met the stage director Emilio Sagi, and that led to my opportunity to enter the world of zarzuela. It was Sagi who directed me in Torroba’s Luisa Fernanda in Vienna, where it was wonderful to be singing alongside Plácido Domingo. I found myself surrounded by performers from all kinds of Spanish-speaking backgrounds; they noticed how interested I was in their culture, and that’s how we made a connection, and I learned from real specialists. Spanish artists have a physical sense of the music: for them, it draws its strength from the body, and there I can’t resist making a connection with Baroque music, with dance, of course, and extreme characters – think of Médée or Armide. It also shares the same kind of quality of roughness, of rawness, and voices are used to express emotions, not just to make a lovely sound.”
“I spent a long time thinking about the programme for this disc, creating a mixture of music, and finally I settled on one unifying idea: the feeling of melancholy, which is a reflection of Spain itself. The disc is a journey through different styles, but through folk music as well, which has a strong presence on the disc. The theatrical element is very important, too, and at the centre is the character of Salud in Falla’s La vida breve. She embodies the melancholy of the title, the loss of hope. Melancholy is a balance in life, a sadness that binds us to death. Salud represents the darkest side of melancholy that tends toward tragedy. But this sort of melancholy can also depict the radiance of childhood, of joy and laughter. What I wanted to explore through this disc was the journey between these two poles.”

Leticia Moreno / Ana-María Vera SPANISH LANDSCAPES

Leticia Muñoz Moreno is a Spanish violinist. She started her music education at the early age of 3 in both violin and piano with the Suzuki Method offering her first recitals when she was just 5. In 1996 She studied six years with Zakhar Bron at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía and in Germany at Köln Musikhochschule. Later on she followed the advice of Maxim Vengerov in Saarbrücken and David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she received the highest degree ever in the history of the school for her final recital. Her last teacher was Rostropovich since 2003. By now (2005) Leticia Moreno plays on a Pietro Guarneri (1679) property of the Stradivari Society of Chicago and has programmed concerts all around the world: Austria, England, St Petersburg, Moscow with Spivakov, Italy, Poland, South America, Mexico and Spain conducting Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Vienna Symphony Orchestra to cite some examples. The Spanish Composer Francisco Lara has dedicated one composition to her: Capriccio for Leticia (2005).