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)

Through the Mirror of Sound - A Journey into Wonderland or "Down the Rabbit Hole of Sound" A musical and introspective journey into "Wonderland" - a place as beautiful as it is uncanny, where the laws of nature no longer apply. Inspired by the classic Alice in Wonderland, Maddalena Del Gobbo embarks on a sonic voyage of discovery into a world where nothing is as it seems. Confusion and despair linger at every turn - and yet, hope remains. Despite all uncertainty and dramatic twists, everything ultimately falls into place, for in the end, goodness proves stronger. The program spans four centuries of music - from Tobias Hume (around 1600) to contemporary compositions - drawing a fascinating arc through time and space.

Classical Music

Carl Friedrich Abel: The Drexel Manuscript

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

Classical Music

ROMEO AND JULIET

Classical Music

Not even thirty years separated Carl Friedrich Abel’s Symphonies op. 7 from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s last three symphonies and the Jupiter finale that Johann Christian Bach would hail as a “triumph of new musical artistry” already in 1803. The genre of the symphony had quickly developed into one of the most magnificent genres for musical statements. What makes Abel’s symphonies so unique among those of his contemporaries is not their first movements in what was later known as the “sonata form” or their last movements, which without exception are formed, usually in rondo structure, by dances of folk character like fast contredanses and minuets, but rather their slow middle movements, mostly with the heading “Andante” and frequently “sempre piano” in dynamics, which speak a new and thoroughly individual musical language. Here we are referring not primarily to the examples of the style galant or empfindsamer Stil found in the Symphonies in G major and C major but to the absolutely “hymnic” movements of song character scored exclusively for strings like those in the Symphonies in B flat major and F major. Their almost “proto-Elgarian” tone has what it takes to stir human hearts!

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.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Created around the pianist Victor Abel, Ananke carries on the tradition of contemporary jazz, initiated by ground-breaking musicians such as Aka Moon and Greetings from Mercury. Stop That Train! is an album of modern jazz, with in-your-face but occasionally off-beat rhythms that support bewitching melodies played in turn intimately with fire. Well-written and structured, the music nonetheless leaves plenty of room for improvisation and inventive solos.

EVOCACION

I do not always choose to struggle with difficulties and play my full potential. I make my pieces difficult whenever I please, according to my disposition and that of my audience. It is in this concise manner that Carl Friedrich Abel characterized his performance skills, which in the life of the composer were widely recognized as a unique phenomenon. The album by Krzysztof Firius, Anna Firius, and Tomasz Pokrzywinski includes selected ABBA gambic works from the recently discovered Maltzan book collection, made public by the Polish musicologist Sonia Wronkowska.