Two Concertos For Organ

Flautists tend to know that Quantz gave flute lessons to Frederick the Great and that he wrote about 300 concertos for the instrument. Only a few of these concertos have been easily accessible in print or on disc. However, in this welcome recording of five Quantz concertos, flautist Rachel Brown seems the perfect ambassador to bring a few of these unfamiliar but intriguing works back into the repertoire. Whether playing a Baroque-inspired fugue, a more ‘classically styled’ Allegro or languid slow movement, Brown’s daring expression and technical brilliance – together with the Brandenburg Consort’s focused sound and racy pace – seem intuitive. Quantz and Brown appear together again, briefly, in Concert in Sanssouci. ‘Sans souci’ means ‘without worry’, and was the name of Frederick the Great’s country house near Potsdam. A certain joie de vivre is in the air in this recreation of a typical evening’s concert chez Frederick. The Hanover Band, under Roy Goodman, plays with real spirit, although Nathalie Stutzmann’s rich contralto lends a more melancholic feel in arias by CH Graun. Although Frank de Bruine is a rather understated soloist in the CPE Bach oboe concerto, the band’s dynamic interpretations and composer’s inventiveness win through.

One of Decca/London's 2 CD sets, providing two discs for the price of one (even less, when downloaded from Amazon.com on MP3), this set is a bargain as well as a treat. It's lovely to hear from Mme. Robles in her concerted repertoire. The Handel, Boieldieu and Rodrigo concerti have hardly ever been in better hands (the Rodrigo transcription was made at the request of the Spanish harpist Nicanor Zabaleta, who played it brilliantly as well), and it's a delight hearing them again in such excellent sound.

The combination of organ and violin dates back to the Baroque era. Many of the sonatas for violin and basso continuo can be performed on the organ just as well or even more colorfully than on the harpsichord. Henri Marteau builds entirely on this tradition with his Fantasy for organ and violin op. 27, recorded here for the first time. The violin virtuoso and pedagogue, celebrated worldwide, was also a very prolific composer and, in addition to chamber music, wrote two violin concertos, a cello concerto, a symphony, an opera and several organ works, for which he was inspired by the soft romantic registers of the pneumatic organ of the time in his adopted home of Lichtenberg in Upper Franconia let.

Carmignola’s fiery and successful “Vivaldi con moto” is followed by a more subtle and traditional Bach Concerto recording, a Co-Production between Deutsche Grammophon and Deutschlandfunk. Carmignola and Concerto Koln bring new and outstanding colors into this often recorded repertoire, and their temperamental performance introduces a sparkling and thrilling interpretation of Bach’s concertos. Carmignola is a unique artist and one of today’s most charismatic and captivating violinists, prompting The Strad to say “Timing is everything, and Carmignola has the timing of Sinatra. Rubato, portamento, pauses, tight-rope showmanship.” For the Double Concerto, Carmignola is joined by Mayumi Hirasaki on the first violin.

Johann Sebastian Bach - Alison Balsom - Works For Trumpet
C. Carey / A. Ibragimova / A. Ross / M. Caudle
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 330 MB | Part. Artwork: 21 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: EMI Classics # 7243 5 58047 2 3 | Country/Year: Europe 2005
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque, Trumpet

…Balsom's tone is tighter and darker than André's, and she excels at legato playing, while remaining within an appropriate style. She is not as "punchy" as André often can be. Given her age and her educational background – she was a pupil of Håkan Hardenberger and John Wallace – she is likely to be a versatile and stylistically informed player no matter what she does. This is an impressive CD, and while it touches no deep emotional wells, it invites the listener to stay tuned!

Although George Frideric Handel is thought of as the quintessential “English” composer, we should not forget that he was born in Halle, Germany and had a similar upbringing to such contemporaries as Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach, among others. His teacher from 1692 was Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau, organist at the Marktkirche, Halle. When Zachau died in 1712, Bach was approached to become his successor in Halle, a position he declined even though a contract had been drawn up and needed only his signature. At that time Handel was well traveled and far from Halle, having spent some years in Hamburg, where he was active in the opera, then more years based in Rome, and by 1712 had already been in London for two years. Thus Handel’s career, and the music he composed, was somewhat different from that of Bach and his contemporaries in Germany. But despite the differences, the roots were the same, and Handel maintained his contacts in Germany and was fully aware of the music being performed there.

The works of Swiss composer Frank Martin don't rely on dramatic flash; they tend to seductively beguile with their profoundly intelligent sensuality. While they may never be hits on a pops concert, they reward attentive listening with their deep feeling and insight, given voice in a distinctly personal and expressive language. Polyptyque, one of the composer's final works, a concerto for violin and two small string orchestras, is made up of six images from the life of Christ, from Palm Sunday to the Ascension.