COPLAND NORTHINGTON COMP. SOLO PIANO WORKS, VOL. 2

Featuring performances from Grammy-winning soprano Susan Narucki with New York's acclaimed Talea Ensemble, Poems of Sheer Nothingness presents world premiere recordings of vocal music by American composer Aaron Helgeson, introducing two new works that combine ancient poetry with music of the here and now. The first, "Poems of sheer nothingness," presents a song cycle commissioned by Narucki based on the poetry of early French troubadours and sung in their original Occitan, a beautiful yet almost forgotten romance language now revived in five intimate chamber settings for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. The second, "Notes on a page (of Sappho)," offers a musical reincarnation for soprano and eleven instruments of poetic fragments by provocative and erotic Greek poet Sappho in an English translation by Canadian poet Anne Carson. Both works feature archaic song texts whose once-florid music is now lost, leaving Helgeson's surreal and evocative sonic imagination and Narucki's subtly expressive voice to fill in the gaps made by the decay of time and memory. The result is a collection of vocal music that simultaneously once was, and could be again.

From Sea to Sea' is an a cappella song cycle made up of thirteen musical settings of celebrated Canadian poems. In composing this work, I have selected one poem per province/territory of Canada - each poem written by a writer native to the region - and have set this text to music. Featured poets include such highly regarded and award-winning poets as Gwendolyn MacEwen, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Robert Service, and Shane Koyczan. I have received permission and endorsement from all poets and/or their legal estates. These pieces explore the range and versatility of the human voice and cover a wide range of musical genres ranging from contemporary classical choral, to lively folk melodies - from driving bebop vocalese, to minimalistic soundscapes.

SZYMANOWSKI: Nocturne / CHOPIN: Nocturnes / WIENIAWSKI: Capr

Strange how fashion moves on. It has left any piece for solo instrument and orchestra having the effrontery to call itself anything other than concerto in the wasteland. Such pieces now have a life on CD alone except for the rarest concert exceptions and competitions (and then usually in a version with piano). So be it. Though it is strange that when the public is more easily captivated by the 3 minute sound-byte that these shorter pieces are not more popular in concert.

These bon-bons are dispatched with affectionate zest by Rosand who plays them for every subtle turn and dexterous twist and every gramme of neon excitement. He is in total rapport with his orchestra and conductor. The recordings are all excellent given their twenty years worn lightly except for the harsh Berliox Reverie et Caprice.

The Northern sun and moon play in brilliantly poetic limelight over the Sibelius Humoresques. I learnt these utterly lovable pieces from this recording when it was issued with a recording of Nielsen's Symphony No. 6 on Turnabout LP. These are the distilled quintessence of Sibelian temperament - romance in all its cool lunar intensity. The benign Tchaikovsky Serenade is done with meditative reserve. The brash edge on the solo violin in the Berlioz piece compromises what is otherwise a sentimentally doleful performance. The Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso has been well done by many violinists (Ulf Hoelscher is one of my favourite recordings - EMI). Rosand turns in an exotic performance - accented balletically and not short on crackling energy bursts. In the case of the rather revolutionary Chausson Poème I have recently heard the Vadim Repin version on Teldec and prefer the richer air brought about through the plusher modern EMI recording. The Chausson is a terribly neglected work forward-looking, meditative, with touches of Delius. Hearing the Rosand again I am torn. Rosand seems to put his all into this music and it pays in dividends of eloquence. The Ravel Tzigane I first heard during the early 1970s on a Philips Universo LP played by Arthur Grumiaux - a most affecting performance more effective, I thought, in its fanciful introspection than in the flyaway acrobatics. Rosand is good in both.

The second disc breaks the mould by including a work which calls itself 'concerto'. Saint-Saens' Third is a true warhorse having been much recorded by all and sundry amongst the violinistic brethren. The three Saint-Saens concertos have charm, Beethovenian gravitas (from the violin concerto, that is) and some flashy witchery but they lack the exoticism of the Caprice Andalou (would that Rosand would tackle that work!), the Havanaise, and the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. Rosand matches the requirements of this work most beautifully but I do not find this concerto the most involving of pieces at the best of times lacking the very melodic distinction that marks out his second piano concerto and third symphony. It always strikes me as a work that is going through the romantic motions.

The Havanaise is a different matter altogether and while I have fond memories and great affection for the Leonid Kogan version Rosand is all quiet grace, restful smiles, sprinting brilliance, sparks flying everywhere. Next time Class Fm (or its equivalent elsewhere ) wants to try a soupçon of soothing music which has true character they should reach for this track. A recording and performance to count alongside the best. You will want to play it again and again.

From Havanaise it is a natural progression to move to Lalo's once ubiquitous Symphonie Espagnole. With its glaring Brahmsianisms, stock Spanishry, deep reserve of charm and mercurial mood changes it is a work still capable with small effort of winning friends. I wonder what would have happened if Lalo had just called it a concerto. By the way the Rhapsodie Norvégienne is also well worth seeking out. I remember it being coupled with the Martinon recording of the Namouna suites and making quite a splash. The Repin on Teldec is a richer recording but for the same price you can have Rosand and almost three times as much music as the Teldec offers.

There is some stunning playing on offer here: stunning both in the depths of expression and in spark-striking pyrotechnics. Recommended.

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Classical Music

Palestinian-born musician Marwan Abado has resided in Vienna for nearly forty years. The album “Longa Vienna” emerges just before his reflective gaze at these decades. “Longa” denotes an oriental musical form introduced to the Ottoman Empire from Romania by the Roma people around the mid-18th century. Originally a fast-paced dance music signaling the conclusion of a concert, Arab musicians and composers within the Ottoman Empire embraced and further developed this form as a part of the Arab instrumental music tradition. “Longa Vienna” serves as a musical odyssey through Vienna – the cultural crucible of the city becomes audible, resonating with the vibrant life of the urban landscape, imbued with colorful, poetic, and intricately woven musical narratives. The contemporary Viennese sound, as interpreted by Marwan Abado on oud and vocals, Maciej Golebiowski on clarinets, Arnulf Lindner on bass guitar, Peter Rosmanith on percussion, with Syrian singer Dima Orsho as a guest, captivates listeners with its rich tapestry of melodies and rhythms.

ABBA FOREVER: The Winner Takes It All is the multi-Gold Award-winning, definitive up-to-date telling of the ABBA story with all four members of the band in interviews and special sequences filmed with them, rare archive, and a feast of ABBA songs. It starts with their pre-Abba careers, then the inside story of how they conquered Eurovision (first in Swedish, then in English), and then how they've continued to conquer the world several times over. We see them in performance and even going into the sound studio to discover how the ABBA sound was created. We also explore Mamma Mia!, the stage hit, onstage and backstage. With Benny Andersson, Bj�rn Ulvaeus, Agnetha F�ltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Other guests include Bono (in interview and with U2 playing Dancing Queen onstage with Benny and Bj�rn), Donny Osmond, Barbara Dickson, Neil Sedaka, ABBA music engineer and wizard Michael Tretow (in interview and at the mixing board!), producer Pete Waterman, broadcaster Paul Gambaccini and more. ABBA and the guests illuminate how the songs came about, how they evolved, and what makes them so incredibly good. Songs include: Mamma Mia! Dancing Queen Super Trouper Waterloo SOS Fernando Ring Ring Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) Does Your Mother Know Knowing Me, Knowing You The Winner Takes It All Thank You For The Music The Day Before You Came I Know Him So Well (from 'Chess') Money Money Money

Claudio Abbado conducts the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela with Anna Prohaska in works by Prokofiev, Berg, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky.

CLAUDIO ABBADO
and the SIMÓN BOLÍVAR YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF VENEZUELA
LUCERNE FESTIVAL AT EASTER 2010

Sergey Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20

Alban Berg: Lulu-Suite

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, Act II: Ach! Ich fühl's, es ist verschwunden

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, "Pathetique"

Anna Prohaska, soprano
Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Recorded live at the Concert Hall of the Culture and Convention Center, Lucerne, 18-19 March 2010.

Five years after first conducting the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra in their Venezuelan home, Claudio Abbado continues his commitment to this stunning ensemble in this first joint audiovisual concert recording. Prokofiev’s extrovert Scythian Suite is a gift for the boundless energy of these young players, while the intricacy and anguish of Berg’s Lulu-Suite are an Abbado speciality, with soprano Anna Prohaska, in her Lucerne Festival debut, singing the heroine’s dazzling statement of self-justification. The concert ends with an impassioned account of Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique, his final symphony, one of the most moving works in music history.

"Abbado ... draws everything from this orchestra - and everything this marvel requires is there." -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"...a sound that, even in the dazzling glare of the brass, kept its razor-sharp edge and precise outlines. And so left room for incredible colours to emerge..." -- Zentralschweiz am Sonntag

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 112 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

ABBEY ROAD: A CAPELLA

Classical Music

The music of Iranian composer Behzad Abdi fuses dastgāh (the Iranian modal system) with Western classical forms. He wrote Iran’s first national opera, Rumi (Naxos 8.660424-25), and Hafez also exemplifies his approach to the medium. The opera’s subject is the great Persian poet and mystic Hafez, whose sonnets and poetry are still widely read across the Persian-speaking world today. Behrouz Gharibpour’s libretto traces the poet’s tribulations, memories of keeping his poems from being destroyed by a despotic government, and subsequent exile. Abdi’s polytonal technique serves to reflect the unique concepts of Hafez’s 14th-century poetry with passion, lyricism and power.

Behzad Abdi's opera Rumi fuses traditional dastgah (the Iranian modal system) and the Persian Sama dance with Western classical music, and can be considered the first national opera of Iran. The libretto was written and conceived by the renowned Iranian theatre director and puppeteer, Behrouz Gharibpour, based on the life and writings of the 13th-century Persian scholar, poet, theologian and mystic, Jalal al-Din Rumi. The legendary story of Shams and Rumi is one of the most significant tales in the history of Iranian mystical literature and is brought vividly to life by the award-winning composer's exotic, lyrical and at times intensely dramatic score. Behzad Abdi (b. 1973) studied the setar and Iranian traditional music with Masoud Shoari and Mohsen Nafar and Western classical music with Liudmila Yurina and Vadim Juravitsky at the Tchaikovsky Academy in Ukraine. Abdi is the first composer to write Iranian opera. He is also a composer of film soundtracks and has won two awards at the Fajr International Iranian Film Festival, among others.

ABEL GANCE'S NAPOLEON

Exquisite Delight awaits the listener on Viktor Töpelmann’s new solo album with viol music by Carl Friedrich Abel, Franz Xaver Hammer und Andreas Lidl. Virtuoso Allegros, sentimental Adagios and dancing Minuets come to life in Viktor Töpelmann’s interpretation of sonatas and solo music from this last bloom of viol music in the late 18th century. He plays an original bass viol by Barak Norman (London 1722) and he is accompanied by the cellist Gerhart Darmstadt.

Awarded a Diapason Découverte, André Lislevand’s debut album Forqueray Unchained (Arcana A486, 2021) celebrated one of moments of greatest splendor for the viola da gamba: that of the ancien régime in France. In this repertoire, the young musician proved to be "absolutely on top of his game and not afraid to explore the extremes of his instrument’s aesthetic world, though without ever losing touch with le bon goût" (Early Music Review). The same youthful freshness and energy can be found in his second album, though here he explores the German repertoire of the central decades of the 18th century, a period that witnessed the gradual decline of the instrument, but was still capable of expressing unexpected treasures and developing an idiom that often seems to anticipate the years to come.

In the program are sonatas for gamba and basso continuo (C.P.E. Bach’s WQ 136 and C.F. Abel’s B93 in A minor), Telemann's Fantasia XI for solo viol, two pieces by Abel from the Drexel Manuscript, and finally, the lesser-known Suite BWV 1025 by J.S. Bach, presented here in a version for viola da gamba and concertante lute. Also featured and playing a vital role in this project are the Duncumb brothers, two extraordinary chamber musicians: Emil on the fortepiano and Jadran, who played on the debut album, on the lute.

Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787) was born in Köthen, a small German city, where his father, Christian Ferdinand Abel, had worked for years as the principal viola da gamba and cello player in the court orchestra. In 1723 Abel senior became director of the orchestra, when the previous director, Johann Sebastian Bach, moved to Leipzig. The young Abel later boarded at St. Thomas School, Leipzig, where he was taught by Bach. On Bach's recommendation in 1748 he was able to join Johann Adolph Hasse's court orchestra at Dresden, where he remained for fifteen years. After that he went to England and became chamber-musician to Queen Charlotte. In 1762, Johann Christian Bach, the eleventh son of J.S. Bach, joined him in London, and the friendship between him and Abel led, in 1764 or 1765, to the establishment of the famous Bach-Abel concerts, England's first subscription concerts. In those concerts, many celebrated guest artists appeared, and many works of Haydn received their first English performance. Abel was one of the last and greatest virtuosos on the viola da gamba, an instrument whose popularity quickly declined towards the end of the 18th century. This new recording presents The Six Sonatas for viola da gamba and B.C., written to attract enthusiastic amateurs of relatively modest ability: pleasing and attractive music, indulging in charming cantabile melodies. Marco Casonato is one of Italy’s foremost players of the viola da gamba. His discography includes Dowland’s Lachrimae (for Brilliant Classics), Luigi Rossi’s Orfeo and Monteverdi’s Vespers (Glossa). He plays a copy of a Jacob Steiner six-stringed viol. “As one of the best professional players in Italy on the lute and theorbo.’ Jakob Lindberg.” Massimo Marchese plays the theorbo, he successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics works by Joachim van den Hove and De Visée.

There are many reasons to consider Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787) one of history's most unique musicians. He was a gambist, a player of an instrument long associated with an aristocracy that was then at the height of it's decadence. But today he would be labelled "avantgarde" as one who embraced the newest musical styles and indeed genres, playing a key role in the development of the symphony. This album opens with the Symphony in C from his Opus 10 set of six symphonies. Featuring an instrumentation of two oboes, two horns, two violins, viola and basso, the score has all the hallmarks of the era's symphonic music. Abel's only vocal work of note is the aria "Frena le belle" which he contributed to the pastiche opera Sifare. So inspiring is the music, it is regrettable that Abel did not find greater repute in the vocal repertoire. Abel's updated catalogue (AbelWV, publ. Gunter von Zadow, 2023) includes 420 works, of which 29 are concertos for solo instruments. These follow the typical pattern, with three movements (first and third played fast in the home key, the second more slowly in a separate albeit related key) starting and ending in orchestral ritornellos, which are also interposed between each solo. That notwithstanding, the Flute Concerto in E minor has a very particular structure consisting of three movements all in minor keys. The viola section was reconstructed by Wolfgang Kostujak. The Harpsichord Concerto in D Guntersberg, 2022) derives from a manuscript produced by two unidentified copyists. This score, bearing an Italian title without reference to the pianoforte, suggests it was composed while Abel was still in Germany. Of the numerous concertos Abel himself performed as solo gambist during his life in London, tragically, none remain. The two on this album (Guntersberg) therefore merit some explanation. The Concerto in A comes to us from an unfinished manuscript by an unknown copyist, with no mention of the work's composer, but a comprehensive analysis of the music has led Thomas Fritzsch to attribute it to Abel. Kostujak has reconstructed the parts for first and second violins, viola, and a few passages for basso. The Concerto in G is none other than the Cello Concerto in B flat, in turn the same as the Flute Concerto in C. Such repurposing of works is not exceptional in Abel's catalogue, and a detailed analysis provides ample evidence that this was intended for viola da gamba in the original version. Other information: - Booklet in English contains liner notes by the director, Alejandro Marias, and profiles of the soloists and the ensemble - The Spanish liner notes are available for download at www. Brilliantclassics. com

Includes work(s) for viola da gamba by Karl Friedrich Abel. Soloist: Rainer Zipperling.

Classical Music

Carl Friedrich Abel was one of the few composers to be painted by a famous painter. Two portraits of the composer, done by Thomas Gainsborough, are preserved. This shows his status as one of the foremost composers of his day. This release features his Sonatas and Trios from the Ledenburg Collection. Many of these works are receiving their world premiere recording with this release. Thomas Fritzsch is one of the finest gambists of our day. Joining him on period instruments are pianist Michael Schonheit, violinist Eva Salonen, and cellist Katharina Holzhey.

Classical Music

The two great musical dynasties of central Germany, the Bachs and the Abels, were closely entwined. Carl Friedrich Abel, the greatest of his clan, was a pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig and the friend and business partner of Bach’s youngest son, Johann Christian in London. Abel’s output of symphonies comprises over forty works, most of which were published in sets of six, the standard number for publications of sonatas, chamber works and concertos in the eighteenth century. A concert in his time would have a range of compositions by several composers and it is more likely that only one symphony would be played in a single evening. The present day listener should not feel guilty for indulging in these fine works one by one or out of sequence. They are rich and delicate, and should be savored individually. Die Kolner Akademie is a unique ensemble based in Cologne which performs music of the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries on period instruments with world renowned guest soloists.They have receieved the highest acclaim for their outstanding performances at major festivals all over the world, many of which were broadcast live and filmed for television.

The music in this album sings and dances, in Abel’s “colorful blend of styles that serve the emotional nature of each work to bracing and poignant effect” (Gramophone). It further clarifies why Abel is “one of the most interesting figures in American contemporary music” (Pizzicato). Composer Mark Abel has been based in California for the past three decades. Abel’s idiom eludes easy pigeon-holing. It includes chamber music and vocal works, whose contours extend from art song to larger forms with orchestra to a 103-minute chamber opera, Home Is a Harbor. This is Mark’s fifth release on Delos. The incomparable David Shifrin begins the program with Intuition’s Dance, a combination of frolic and dreamy ruminations in which he is joined by pianist Carol Rosenberger. (This is the first time Shifrin and Rosenberger have recorded together since their memorable albums in 1984!) Next comes the remarkable Hila Plitmann singing the powerfully moving Four Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva — the first-ever setting of Tsvetaeva’s poetry in English translation. She is joined by Rosenberger and English hornist Sarah Beck. Colorful and haunting, The Elastic Hours are brought to life with virtuosity by Sabrina-Vivian Höpcker and Dominic Cheli. This is Sabrina’s first Delos recording since her success with the Brahms Hungarian Dances in 2018 (DE 3558). In the richly lyrical Clarinet Trio, Shifrin and Rosenberger are joined by Fred Sherry for a musical journey beginning with “The Unfolding,” moving to “Taking Flight,” and finally ending with a peaceful and tender “In Good Time.”

Carl Friedrich Abel: The Drexel Manuscript

Carl Friedrich Abel was known in 18th-century London as the greatest gamba player of his day. Having been taught in Leipzig by JS Bach, Abel later worked closely with 'the London Bach', Johann Christian, and his own music shares a quality of liminal fantasy with that of his friend, poised as they were (in retrospect) on the threshold of the Baroque and Classical eras. Having moved to London for good in 1759, Abel soon attracted the admiration of the greatest English portraitist of the day, Thomas Gainsborough. The artist painted the composer, and played the gamba himself. It may well be that Abel wrote this collection of quasi-improvised solo works towards the end of his life with Gainsborough in mind. At any rate, the 'Drexel' nomenclature arose only once the manuscript of the pieces found it's way into the hands of the philanthropist Joseph William Drexel in 1877. As Alejandro Marias remarks in his booklet essay for this remarkable new recording, the manuscript asks more questions than it supplies answers. 'Why did he compile them, for whom, why in that order, did he ever play any of these scores, or was it an attempt to capture what inspiration had led him to improvise the night before?' For Marias, the collection is nonetheless 'one of the most important works in viola da gamba literature. It represents the last great viola da gamba player's most intimate moments, where he found the formal and stylistic freedom to express his deepest emotions, using his virtuosity to put it at the service of the music and not to make a mere technical display, however difficult some of these pieces may be. Recording it is one of the greatest challenges a viola da gamba player can face.' This album of the Drexel Manuscript makes a fine sequel to the previous collection of Abel's music led by Marias on Brilliant Classics, 'Between Two Worlds' (97437), which attracted great critical enthusiasm: 'The gamba playing by Alejandro Marias is superb, with a clear tone and sonorous depth... There is surely more to come, and I for one will look forward to further releases.' (Fanfare)

From the middle of the sixteenth century the reputation for excellence of the composers of Northern Germany was well established. Given dynamism by commercial exchanges thanks to the bustling activity of the port of Hamburg notably, the cities of the Hanseatic League welcomed many foreign workers, their customs inspiring the artistes of the Germanic tradition. At the end of the seventeenth century, Hamburg was a free city sheltered from war, a refuge for artistes and for great fortunes. It was then the most cosmopolitan city in Germany and its population included a great number of merchants, bankers, diplomats and senators, so many men who were rich and who had the time necessary for enjoying music and for encouraging this flourishing art. As close friends, Johann Adam Reinken, Dietrich Buxtehude – both admired by Bach – and Johann Theile belonged to the circle of contrapuntists of Northern Germany, finding inspiration, however, in the monodic stile nuovo of Italy, championing the idea that music should be at the service of the drama. This musical circle, both professional and friendly, met frequently at Abendmusiken, or musical evenings, created in 1646 in Lübeck by Franz Tunder, organist of the Marienkirche who was to be succeeded by Buxtehude. Organists, great improvisors, the music of the four composers of this programme often comprises suites of short movements in each of which occur identical or related harmonic and melodic elements, characteristics of improvisation and peculiar to the stylus phantasticus, a musical movement dear to composers of this period. For their second album for muso, the Ensemble Stravaganza returns to its favorite repertory to offer a release that is virtuosic, lyrical, richly sonorous and colorful, and is performed with astonishing naturalness.

Includes work(s) by various composers. Ensemble: St. George's Chapel Choir, Windsor Castle. Conductor: Timothy Byram-Wigfield.