|
|
World music CD DVD shop and Classic distribution
|
|
|
|
|
ID: CC2017
CDs: 1
Type: CD
|
Kolektion: InstrumentalSubkolektion: Oboe
The 52-page CD booklet (DVD-size) has a 20,000 word programme note in English, including performance considerations for each movement. Britten's compositional sketches are reproduced in the booklet.
There are many illustrations.
This recording sets out to provide a complete overview of Benjamin Britten’s masterpiece for solo oboe, Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Op 49. Not only is this work unique in the oboe repertoire but it is also one of the most distinctive examples of solo single-line instrumental writing from any age. It is hoped that performers, listeners, students and teachers will find it a useful resource for the understanding or preparation of such a wonderful work. The Metamorphoses is, though, complex in vision and detail and there is much to discover about the work. From its enigmatic title and colourful movements to its remarkable instrumental writing and technical demands on the player, it holds a certain mystique and can even be baffling to understand. This recording has based itself on an investigation of the literary and artistic background that lies behind the work’s creation, at the primary written sources in its composition and to suggest the reasons for Britten’s interest in writing such a work. In addition, these notes will offer performance suggestions based on Britten’s own remarks on the work, views and performances of players from its dedicatee, Joy Boughton, onwards and the shared experience of teachers and aficionados. My performances on this CD take all the original and subsequent evidence into account. They do not aspire to be definitive in any way but they do seek to be as true to Britten’s intentions as possible. Joy Boughton’s 1952 recording is an important source for all aspects of interpretation, and other recordings by artists whose playing Britten knew, including Sarah Francis, Janet Craxton and Heinz Holliger, are valuable sources. Evidence that Britten was very keen on accuracy to what he wrote influences this interpretation, but there is also an acceptance that Britten’s own views on the work may have changed over time as he came into contact with performers. Perhaps most significantly, this recording presents for the first time the sketch from Britten’s pocket diary in March 1951, most of the material from his manuscript sources, and the original Boughton recording as a point of reference. To complete this study of the work, a recent recording by Nicholas Daniel provides a third performance for comparison.
1. General
Introduction
Background
A work for unaccompanied oboe
Literary influences
Ovid
The visual arts
2. Sources and Interpretations
The printed edition
Metronome marks
The Krebs letter
CD tracks 1-6: George Caird's performance:
Pan (1:48), Phaeton (1:29), Niobe (2:26),
Bacchus (1:53), Narcissus (3:04), Arethusa (2:49)
CD track 7: The Diary Sketch (1:52)
CD tracks 8-29: Performances by George Caird
from the Composition Sketch and Fair Copy
CD tracks 30-35: Joy Boughton's 1952
performance: Pan (2:09), Phaeton (1:30),
Bacchus (2:02), Niobe (2:16),
Narcissus (2:26), Arethusa (2:53)
CD tracks 36-41: Nicholas Daniel:
Pan (2:20), Phaeton (1:20), Niobe (2:36),
Bacchus (1:38), Narcissus (3:12), Arethusa (2:42)
Biographies
3. References
Bibliography
Discography
Picture references |
| 21.00 eur Buy |
|
ID: CC2009
CDs: 1
Type: CD
|
Subkolektion: Oboe
George Caird (oboe) with
Simon Blendis (violin), Louise Williams (viola), Jane Salmon (cello), Alison Dods (violin 2 in Maconchy, Gow), David Adams (violin 2 in Bliss)
The CD booklet contains a 2,500-word article by George Caird on the music in English, French and German.
There are more photos of the performers and the recording session.
This recording brings together five remarkable works for oboe and strings written between 1926 and 1946 and representing an English renaissance for the oboe as a chamber music instrument. It is a period which is musically very rich and diverse, with English composers showing new influences from Europe and America. The range and expression across these works is striking and is a tribute to the artistry of the oboist Léon Goossens, who is the dedicatee of three of the works and who taught the dedicatees of certainly one and possibly both of the other two. He was also the player behind two other important works by Bax and Finzi. These magnificent seven works, it can be argued, established a repertoire for oboe quartets and quintets and did much to promote the oboe as a chamber music instrument.
Goossens’ exquisite playing was characterised by a distinctive and sensitive sound, beautiful phrasing, a wide dynamic and tonal range and great rhythmic vitality. His collaboration with Sir Arnold Bax produced the first significant work for oboe and strings, the Quintet written in 1922 and recorded by Goossens with the International Quartet in 1924 (featured on Oboe Classics CC2005). Bax’s music, with its pastoral and elegiac qualities together with a strong Irish influence leant itself superbly to Goossens’ playing and this work must surely be partly responsible for the works on this recording. copyright George Caird 2004 |
| 21.00 eur Buy |
|
|
