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BIS

The Cello in Wartime / Isserlis, Shih

$21.99

Details

Composer
BRIDGE DEBUSSY FAURE NOVELL
Artist
Isserlis, Shih
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
Nov 03, 2017
Catalog #
BIS-2312
UPC
7318599923123

About

As the centenaries of various events of the First World War are being commemorated, we are reminded of the great battles and the large-scale suffering. To imagine what day-to-day life may have been like in the trenches in Flanders is more difficult, however, 100 years later and with no living survivors of the war to bear witness. Poems and paintings can give us some idea – but, as this disc from Steven Isserlis proves, so can music! The main, more conventional section of the programme is a selection of cello works composed around the time of the war, by composers from three of the countries involved in it: France, Britain and Austria. This is followed by something rather more unusual, however, as Isserlis exchanges his ‘Marquis de Corberon’ Stradivarius for an instrument that was once played and heard in the trenches of Ypres. Harold Triggs, the owner of this so-called ‘trench cello’, brought it with him to Flanders from England – other soldiers, on both sides of the conflict, constructed their own violins, cellos or flutes on site, from ammunition boxes, pipes and whatever else they could get hold of. These instruments thus become a highly moving testimony to every man’s need for beauty and solace and joy, even in the middle of a battlefield. With the delicate support of Connie Shih on the piano (and in fact even pianos could be found in the trenches, even if not concert grands!), Isserlis and his trench cello transport us, for a brief moment, to a trench near Ypres during a quiet spell between skirmishes, with soldiers resting, writing home, playing cards – and with the help of the music dreaming of a life elsewhere.

Tracklist 15 tracks

  1. 1 I. Prologue 04:07
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Prologue
    Duration
    04:07
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  2. 2 II. Serenade - 02:59
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Serenade -
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  3. 3 III. Finale 03:22
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Finale
    Duration
    03:22
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  4. 4 I. Allegro ben moderato 10:35
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Allegro ben moderato
    Duration
    10:35
    Composer
    Frank Bridge
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  5. 5 II. Adagio ma non troppo - Molto allegro e agitato 12:26
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Adagio ma non troppo - Molto allegro e agitato
    Duration
    12:26
    Composer
    Frank Bridge
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  6. 6 I. Allegro 05:27
    Track
    6
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    05:27
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  7. 7 II. Andante 07:05
    Track
    7
    Title
    II. Andante
    Duration
    07:05
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  8. 8 III. Finale: Allegro comodo 05:58
    Track
    8
    Title
    III. Finale: Allegro comodo
    Duration
    05:58
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  9. 9 No. 1. Massige Achtel 01:01
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 1. Massige Achtel
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Anton Webern
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  10. 10 No. 2. Sehr bewegt 00:19
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 2. Sehr bewegt
    Duration
    00:19
    Composer
    Anton Webern
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  11. 11 No. 3. Ausserst ruhig 01:29
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 3. Ausserst ruhig
    Duration
    01:29
    Composer
    Anton Webern
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  12. 12 Carnival of the Animals: XIII. Le Cygne (The Swan) (version for cello and piano) 03:35
    Track
    12
    Title
    Carnival of the Animals: XIII. Le Cygne (The Swan) (version for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:35
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  13. 13 Jerusalem (arr. for cello and piano) 02:19
    Track
    13
    Title
    Jerusalem (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    02:19
    Composer
    Hubert Parry
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  14. 14 Keep the Home Fires Burning (arr. for cello and piano) 02:02
    Track
    14
    Title
    Keep the Home Fires Burning (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Ivor Novello
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  15. 15 God Save the King (arr. for cello and piano) 00:50
    Track
    15
    Title
    God Save the King (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    00:50
    Composer
    Traditional
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih