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World music CD DVD shop and Classic distribution
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ID: CC2018
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Opera Collection
Subcollection: Oboe
The 24-page full colour CD booklet has a 6,000 word programme note in English
with full details of each item, setting it in its operatic and historical context.
There are biographies of all the players and many photographs.
Emily Pailthorpe (the youngest winner of the Gillet International oboe competition) joins Elaine Douvas (Principle Oboe of the Met Opera Orch.) to give an oboist’s-eye-view of opera.
Introduction by Emily Pailthorpe:
This is a CD for lovers of opera and lovers of the oboe alike. Indeed it is often the vocal quality of the oboe to which listeners and players are drawn. Whether reaching out from the pit orchestra in accompaniment, or taking centre stage for a chamber work, playing the oboe does feel like singing. Portrayed here are some of the great oboe moments in opera (Fidelio, Meistersinger) as well as many that we always wanted to stand up and sing ourselves! (For example the 'Queen of the Night' aria from Mozart's Magic Flute, the Duo from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.) Both the Diva and the gracious accompanist appear here - often swapping seamlessly from one role to the other.
My own love affair with opera grew when I was a student at The Juilliard School in New York, and my teacher Elaine Douvas gave me standing passes to come and hear the productions at the New York Metropolitan Opera, where she was principal oboe. It is a great pleasure to collaborate on this CD with her and her colleagues from the Met, and also to highlight the opera connection of players from the London CONCHORD Ensemble. Daniel Pailthorpe was principal flute at English National Opera for ten years and Andrea de Flammineis is principal bassoon at the Royal Opera House. I think that in this recording the operatic experience of all these players shines through. |
| 21.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CHRCD001_2
CDs: 2
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Chamber Ensemble
This double-disc set brought both a record label and a composer new to my ears. Thuille, who lived until 1907, was from the Tyrol and a close friend on and off of Richard Strauss. He was a pupil of Rheinberger and as a pedagogue among his own students were Ernest Bloch and Hermann Abendroth. He was a prolific though rather conservative composer and for a time was known for his operas. However, his small fame now lies mainly with his chamber music, as well as a piano concerto and a symphony. His book on harmony was a standard for many years and constitutes his standing in some musical circles.
All four of these chamber works are absolutely gorgeous, full of lovely melody and an almost ecstatic beauty. Thuille’s influences in the Sextet may recall Brahms or even Wagner at various points. There aren’t many good works for wind quintet and piano, and this one should be heard much more frequently. The French horn is very predominant, as it is in much of Richard Strauss’ music. The piano is also given an important role that sometimes expands to almost piano concerto proportions. The Larghetto second movement of the four is especially lovely, with an autumnal sort of sound that reminds one of Brahms. The Vivace finale is a speedy summing-up of the sextet, with already-heard thematic material going from instrument to instrument, and with a good humor thruout.
In the more conservative Trio one may hear influences of Borodin or Franck. Though it has some passages suffused with sorrow, the prevailing mood - especially by the fourth movement finale - is one of joy and good feeling. The two Piano Quintets were composed 21 years apart, the G minor being the early one, dating from 1880. It has a cyclic design in its three short movements, with a prayer-like central slow movement sounding like Brahms. The 1901 Piano Quintet Op. 20 is regarded as the best-known of all of Thuille’s chamber works. Almost 45 minutes in length, it balances a rather traditional approach with plenty of post-Wagnerian chromaticism. Thruout the four-movement work one hears influences of a Richard Strauss-like waltz feeling. The Adagio second movement begins with a chorale-like passage which may remind listeners of Bruckner, as it builds to a massive architectural central climax. The finale brings together some of the previous themes in a hymn-like setting, similar to many of Thuille’s works of this period.
The performances on both CDs are first rate, as are the sonics. This is one of the most enjoyable chamber music collections I have heard in years.
- John Sunier |
| 25.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CHRCD010
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Chamber Music
Subcollection: Chamber Ensemble
The London Conchord Ensemble are joined on this disc by the baritone William Dazeley, presenting a seductive collection of fascinating chamber works and songs written by three major 20th Century French chamber music composers.Sensual and intimate, these works epitomise these works epitomise the music of early 20th-century France, with their fluid lines and unusual textures, sensitively captured here by Conchord.
Though born in Berlin, Charles Loeffler claimed to hail from Alsace, so strongly did he identify with the French aesthetic. His Five Songs set poetry by French poets Baudelaire and Verlaine, and his musical style recalls Franck, Chausson and Debussy. Add to this a Russian sense of instrumental colour, and the result is a fascinating concoction of expressive and of expressive and evocative musical elements. Pierné's Sonata Da Camera is reminiscent of Debussy's seminal Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp in its poignant colours and intricatetextures, while Duruflé's Prélude Recitatif et Variations reveals a different style from that of his Variations reveals a different style from that of his famous Requiem in writing that recalls Ravel.
Throughout this disc, Conchord plays with an effortless grace and flair, a finesse that perfectly, a finesse that perfectly communicates this exquisite selection of music. |
| 15.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CHRCD014
CDs: 2
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Piano
Champs Hill Records is proud to re-release this double-disc set of Bach's chamber concertos - including Brandenburg concertos 2, 4, and 5 - recorded in the intimate & refreshing atmosphere of the Music Room at Champs Hill.
These inspiring works are performed here by internationally recognised young soloists and chamber musicians the London Conchord Ensemble on modern instruments and with piano.
Daniel Pailthorpe has also arranged two of Bach's best known chorales - Sheep may safely graze, and Jesu, joy of Man's desiring; delightfully performed in this new chamber version.
Classic FM magazine described the sound as “refreshing” with Gramophone praising the “awareness of period style” and saying of the original Quartz release "... If you want stylish Bach orchestral music on modern instruments. |
| 25.00 eur Buy |
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