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Slavic Rhapsody / Gasteren, Ciconia Consort
Brilliant Classics

Slavic Rhapsody / Gasteren, Ciconia Consort

$13.99

Details

Composer
Antonin Dvorak, Leos Janacek, Bohuslav Martinu, Bedrich Smetana, Josef Suk
Artist
Ciconia Consort
Format
CD
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Feb 03, 2023
Catalog #
BRI96737
UPC
5028421967370

About

The soul of Bohemia: familiar masterpieces and little-known gems for string ensemble by the five most famous Czech composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The affection and vigor of Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings has kept its freshness while many other works from the same era have receded into obscurity. This performance by the Ciconia Consort lends it a new lease of life: as rhythmically springy and attentive to detail as the ensembles previous, critically acclaimed explorations of the string-orchestra repertoire of France, England, the US and Germany in beautifully curated themes. Janáček’s Suite for Strings is an early work, Romantic in character and recognizably descended from the String Serenades of Dvorák and Tchaikovsky, but nonetheless characteristic of the composer’s quirky language with its adoption of Czech speech rhythms. In 1931, Martinů was also inspired by Czech folk melodies when writing his Partita as a Czech émigré in faraway Paris. However, Martinů develops these melodies in a modern style reminiscent of Béla Bartók. Without slow movements, intimacy, or a poetic character, the character of the suite as a whole is spicy, tough and extrovert: inimitably Martinů. Smetana scored his tone-picture Rybár (The Fisherman), for harmonium, harp, and strings: it is a musical ‘tableau vivant’ after Goethe’s poem Der Fischer, which describes a fisherman who is overpowered by the mysterious and magical pull of the water. The theme of Rybár and Smetana’s haunting translation into music also make it a kind of study for his evocation of the river Vltava in Ma Vlast. A little more familiar is the grave Meditation on the Hymn to St Wenceslas by Dvorák’s student and son-in-law, Josef Suk, in which the old melody is treated like a family heirloom.

REVIEW:

CD Slavic Rhapsody begins at a high level and very excitingly with Dvořák’s String Serenade, which Dick van Gasteren and his Ciconia Consort, the string orchestra from The Hague, present not as a soft-boiled egg, but as a lively and energetic piece of music.

Very expressive, and rhetorically sharpened, with powerful gestures, the fast movements of the Suite for String Orchestra by Leos Janacek are also played, while the two Adagios become effective with great sensitivity.

Suk’s Wenceslas Meditation also benefits from this dynamic, its chorale possessing a moving depth.

The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) composed his Partita Suite in 1931. It is a neoclassical work in which the underlying folk-musical tone cannot be ignored. The Chamber Orchestra from The Hague enlivens the somewhat academic form with gripping and urgent playing.

Smetana’s short portrait of a fisherman with strings, harmonium and harp closes this CD with which the Ciconia Consort celebrates its 10th anniversary.

-- Pizzicato

Tracklist 17 tracks

  1. 1 I. Moderato 04:04
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Moderato
    Duration
    04:04
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  2. 2 II. Tempo di valse 06:06
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Tempo di valse
    Duration
    06:06
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  3. 3 III. Scherzo: Vivace 05:40
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Vivace
    Duration
    05:40
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  4. 4 IV. Larghetto 05:52
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Larghetto
    Duration
    05:52
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  5. 5 V. Finale: Allegro vivace 05:48
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Finale: Allegro vivace
    Duration
    05:48
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  6. 6 I. Moderato 04:03
    Track
    6
    Title
    I. Moderato
    Duration
    04:03
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  7. 7 II. Adagio 03:56
    Track
    7
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  8. 8 III. Andante con moto 01:01
    Track
    8
    Title
    III. Andante con moto
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  9. 9 IV. Presto - Andante - Presto 02:53
    Track
    9
    Title
    IV. Presto - Andante - Presto
    Duration
    02:53
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  10. 10 V. Adagio 03:36
    Track
    10
    Title
    V. Adagio
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  11. 11 VI. Andante 03:52
    Track
    11
    Title
    VI. Andante
    Duration
    03:52
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  12. 12 Meditation on an old Bohemian Chorale, "St. Wenceslas", Op. 35a 06:19
    Track
    12
    Title
    Meditation on an old Bohemian Chorale, "St. Wenceslas", Op. 35a
    Duration
    06:19
    Composer
    Josef Suk II
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  13. 13 I. Poco allegro 03:12
    Track
    13
    Title
    I. Poco allegro
    Duration
    03:12
    Composer
    Bohuslav Martinů
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  14. 14 II. Moderato 02:57
    Track
    14
    Title
    II. Moderato
    Duration
    02:57
    Composer
    Bohuslav Martinů
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  15. 15 III. Andante moderato 02:37
    Track
    15
    Title
    III. Andante moderato
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Bohuslav Martinů
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  16. 16 IV. Poco allegretto 03:30
    Track
    16
    Title
    IV. Poco allegretto
    Duration
    03:30
    Composer
    Bohuslav Martinů
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren
  17. 17 The Fisherman (Der Fischer, Rybar) 04:18
    Track
    17
    Title
    The Fisherman (Der Fischer, Rybar)
    Duration
    04:18
    Composer
    Bedřich Smetana
    Ensemble
    Ciconia Consort
    Conductor
    Dick van Gasteren