Jalbert; Bach; Pärt; Vasks: Violin Concertos / Batjer, Kahane, LACO
Details
- Composer
- BACH JALBERT PART VASKS
- Artist
- Batjer, Kahane
- Format
- SACD
- Label
- BIS
- Released
- Aug 02, 2019
- Catalog #
- BIS-2309
- UPC
- 7318599923093
About
Making their first appearance on BIS, Margaret Batjer and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) cross great distances in both time and space in this programme of concertante violin works. The disc opens with a Violin Concerto by the American composer Pierre Jalbert (b. 1967), whose music has been described as ‘rich in instrumental color and harmonically engaging’. Composed in 2017, the 26-minute concerto was a commission from the orchestra and here makes its first recorded appearance. The next work takes us to 18th-century Germany, where Johann Sebastian Bach had been busy studying the concertos of his Italian colleagues, and especially Vivaldi. His Concerto in A minor is thought to have been composed around 1730, at a time when Bach had freed himself from his models, producing works richer in both texture and sentiment. For the second half of the programme we return to our own time, travelling northwards to the Baltic countries, as Bach is followed by one of his great admirers in modern music, the Estonian composer Arvo Part (b. 1935). Margaret Batjer and the orchestra offer us their performance of what is probably Part’s most famous piece, Fratres from 1977. Originally written for chamber ensemble ‘without fixed instrumentation’, it soon became a modern classic and exists in numerous versions. The one heard here, for violin, string orchestra and percussion, was made by the composer in 1992. The closing Lonely Angel is by Part’s slightly younger colleague Peteris Vasks (b. 1946) from Latvia. Reworked from a movement for string quartet, the piece was inspired by a particular image: ‘I saw an angel, flying over the world; the angel looks at the world’s condition with grieving eyes, but an almost imperceptible, loving touch of the angel’s wings brings comfort…’
Tracklist 7 tracks
-
1 I. Soulful, mysterious - Scherzando 14:20
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Soulful, mysterious - Scherzando
- Duration
- 14:20
- Composer
- Pierre Jalbert
- Performer
- Margaret Batjer
- Ensemble
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
- Conductor
- Jeffrey Kahane
-
2 II. With great energy 11:50
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. With great energy
- Duration
- 11:50
- Composer
- Pierre Jalbert
- Performer
- Margaret Batjer
- Ensemble
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
- Conductor
- Jeffrey Kahane
-
3 I. Allegro 03:32
- Track
- 3
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 03:32
- Composer
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Performer
- Margaret Batjer
- Ensemble
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
- Conductor
- Jeffrey Kahane
-
4 II. Andante 05:57
- Track
- 4
- Title
- II. Andante
- Duration
- 05:57
- Composer
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Performer
- Margaret Batjer
- Ensemble
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
- Conductor
- Jeffrey Kahane
-
5 III. Allegro assai 03:40
- Track
- 5
- Title
- III. Allegro assai
- Duration
- 03:40
- Composer
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Performer
- Margaret Batjer
- Ensemble
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
- Conductor
- Jeffrey Kahane
-
6 Fratres (version for violin, strings and percussion) 10:13
- Track
- 6
- Title
- Fratres (version for violin, strings and percussion)
- Duration
- 10:13
- Composer
- Arvo Pärt
- Performer
- Margaret Batjer
- Ensemble
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
- Conductor
- Jeffrey Kahane
-
7 Vientuļais Eņģelis (Lonely Angel) 12:51
- Track
- 7
- Title
- Vientuļais Eņģelis (Lonely Angel)
- Duration
- 12:51
- Composer
- Pēteris Vasks
- Performer
- Margaret Batjer
- Ensemble
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
- Conductor
- Jeffrey Kahane