New York Philharmonic (Leonard Bernstein) – Symphonie Fantastique (Berlioz) (1968)

The Symphonie fantastique is a symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It is one of the most famous Romantic works for orchestra. The official title of the piece is Episode de la Vie d’un Artiste (An Episode in the Life of an Artist), but it is always called by its subtitle Symphonie Fantastique which means Fantasy Symphony. The “Fantasy” refers to the story that is described by the music. (Fantasy Symphony is a better translation than Fantastic Symphony because fantastique is not like the modern meaning of the English word fantastic).

The symphony lasts about 45 minutes and is divided into 5 movements. Berlioz himself wrote down the story that the music describes, just as Beethoven had done with his Sixth Symphony. Berlioz’s work is about a young artist. In the music the young artist is represented by a tune. This tune is often heard during the symphony. That is why it is called an “idée fixe”, which means a “fixed idea”, i.e. an idea that keeps coming again and again. An idée fixe is what Wagner would have called a leitmotif (a tune which is always used to describe a particular person or thing in a piece of music). The first performance took place at the Paris Conservatoire in December 1830. Berlioz made several changes to the music between 1831 and 1845.

The symphony is played by an orchestra consisting of 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets (1st doubling E-flat clarinet), 4 bassoons, 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 2 cornets, 3 trombones, 2 ophicleides (originally one ophicleide and one serpent), 2 pairs of timpani, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, bells in C and G, 2 harps, and strings.

The symphony is an example of programme music because it describes something apart from the music. In this case it describes a story. This is what the composer wrote:

First movement: A young artist was deeply in love with a girl who did not love him. He felt so desperately sad that he tried to poison himself with opium. He did not take enough to kill him. It just made him fall into a deep sleep. In this sleep he imagined all sorts of things. His beloved came to him in a dream. She changes into a musical theme (the idée fixe) which he just cannot forget. He imagines her love and his tender feelings for her.

Second movement: He meets her at a ball. Everyone is dancing. He finds his beloved among the crowd.

Third movement: In the country he hears two shepherds who call to one another on their pipes. The trees sway gently in the wind. The young artist starts to feel happier. Then he sees his beloved again. He starts to worry that she may not want him any more. The shepherd music starts again, but it is only one of the shepherds playing. The sun sets. Far away a thunderstorm is heard.

The fourth movement: He dreams that he has killed his beloved in a fit of anger. He is now being taken to the scaffold where he will have his head chopped off. A march is played as he is taken away. For a moment he thinks of his beloved again, then the axe falls and he is executed.

The fifth movement: The artist is at the Witches’ Sabbath. There are lots of ghosts and monsters around who have come to watch him being buried. His beloved is heard, but her tune now sounds horrible. She has come to the Sabbath. She joins the witches and they dance while the funeral music is heard.

The first movement: Rêveries – Passions (Daydreams – Passions)
The first movement has a slow introduction. The tune heard on the violins is already nearly like the idée fixe. The idée fixe is heard in its full form when the music goes into the fast section. It is played by the violins and solo flute. The rhythm that the lower string instruments play underneath is very agitated. The form of the movement is not much like the traditional sonata form. Berlioz was more interested in the idée fixe which keeps haunting the young artist all the way through.

The second movement: Un bal (A ball)
The ball (i.e. a party with dancing) is represented in the music by a lively waltz. The two harps make it sound very graceful. Twice the waltz is interrupted by the idée fixe.

The third movement: Scène aux champs (Scene in the country)
The two shepherds who are playing to one another are represented by a cor anglais (sitting in the orchestra) and an oboe which is played offstage so that it sounds distant. Then the main gentle countryside theme is heard on solo flute and violins. The idée fixe returns in the middle of the movement. The sound of distant thunder at the end of the movement is played by four timpani.

The fourth movement: Marche au supplice (March to the scaffold)
The movement starts with timpani rumbling and horns starting up the march theme. Then the cellos and double basses start the march in its full form, soon taken over by the violins. Just before he is executed there is a short repetition of the idée fixe on a solo clarinet, then the axe falls (a loud chord) and his head falls into the basket (one plucked note passed from the violins, through the violas, cellos and then double basses).

The fifth movement: Songe d’une nuit de sabbat (Dream of a witches’ Sabbath)
The idée fixe has now become a “vulgar dance tune”, it is played on the E-flat clarinet. There are lots of effects, including ghostly col legno playing in the strings, the bubbling of the witches’ cauldron played by the wind instruments. As the dance reaches a climax we hear the Dies Irae (Day of Judgement) melody together with the Ronde du Sabbat (Sabbath Round) which is a wild fugue.

Harriet Smithson
In 1827 Berlioz went to a performance of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. It was played in English by a theatre group from England. Berlioz fell in love with Irish actress Harriet Smithson who played the part of Ophelia, He did not actually meet her, he just saw her acting on stage, but he sent her lots of love letters, but she left Paris without meeting him. He then wrote his Symphonie Fantastique. He then wrote the symphony to describe his love for her and his unhappiness because she was not interested in him. When Harriet heard the symphony two years after it was first performed, she realized that it was a symphony about her. She eventually met Berlioz and they were married on 3 October 1833. For several years the marriage was happy, although they did not speak one another’s language. However, after nine years they separated. (wikipedia)

Shit happens …

Pretty spooky stuff. And it’s spooky because those sounds you’re hearing come from the first psychedelic symphony in history, the first musical description ever made of a trip, written one hundred thirty odd years before the Beatles, way back in 1830 by the brilliant French composer Hector Berlioz (That’s Berlioz: the Z is pronounced). He called it Symphonie Fantastique, or “fantastic symphony,” and fantastic it is, in every sense of the word, including psychedelic. And that’s not just my own idea: It’s a fact, because Berlioz himself tells us so. Just listen to these first two sentences of his own program note that he wrote describing the symphony.

Doesn’t sound very different from modern days, does it? And we have every reason to suspect that the morbid young musician Berlioz is talking about is none other than Hector himself. He certainly did have fits of lovesick despair we’re told, and he was a creature of wild imagination–wild enough to have these visions and fantasies without taking a dose of anything. His opium was simply his genius, which could transform these grotesque fantasies into music. Now listen to the next sentence of that same program-note: “Even the beloved one, herself, [the one who’s made him lovesick] has become for him a melody, like a fixed idea which he hears everywhere, always returning.” Unquote. A fixed idea–remember that, in French — idée fixe, in other words, an obsession. You all know what an obsession is, it’s something that takes hold of your mind and won’t let go. Well, in this symphony the obsession is Berlioz’s beloved, she who has made him so desperately lovesick. She haunts the symphony; wherever the music goes, she keeps intruding and interrupting, returning in endless forms and shapes. (Leonard Bernstein)

Personnel:
New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein

Tracklist:
01. Rêveries – Passions (Daydreams – Passions) 13.14
02. Un bal (A Ball) 6.11
03. Scène aux champs (Scene In The Country) 15.03
04. Marche au supplice (March To The Scaffold) 7.03
05. Songe d’une nuit de sabbat (Dream Of A Witches’ Sabbath) 9.42

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A German release:

More from Leonartd Bernstein in this blog:

The official website:

Kenny Clarke, Arnold Goldberg & Al Collins – Spotlight On Percussion (1955)

A real unique album:

This album is a demonstration of classical & jazz percussion instruments & styles by Arnold Goldberg (classical) & Kenny Clarke (jazz).

One of the hardest-to-find drum records ever made! Recorded for the classical Vox label in 1955, Spotlight on Percussion is narrated by Al Jazzbo Collins, who explains just about every percussion instrument in existence, and each of these instruments are demonstrated by classical percussionist Arnold Goldberg.

The certifiable highlight is an extended solo by the father of modern drumming, Kenny Clarke.

This is likely the only drum solo of any length recorded by Klook, and you’ll be astounded by it. Engineering credit, by the way, goes to someone listed as Dr. Rudolph Van Gelder. A must have for anyone interested in drums. (jazzlegends.com)

Indeed: a really interesting album (it also tells the story of percussion instruments in classical music) … After listening to this album, you simply know a lot more about this wonderful world of drums and percussion. And the accompanying booklet is just great !

I wish there were more albums about the individual instruments of music.

Personnel:
Kenny Clarke (drums on 03. – 05.)
Arnold Goldberg (percussion on 01. + 02.)
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Al “Jazzbo” Collins (narrator)

Tracklist
01. Timpani – Snare Drum – Tenor Drum – Bass Drum – Tom-Tom 7.45
02. Xylophone – Marimba – Vivraphone – Glockinspiel – Orchestral Chimes – Parsifal Chimes 8.09
03. Crotales – Cymbals – Gong – Triangle – Castanets – Tambourines – Ratchet – Whip – Claves – Maracas – Gourd – Tubos – Conga – Drum – Bongo Drums – Timballi – Cow Bell 3.58
4. Anchords Away – Metamorphoses On Themes By Weber – Latin American Section 6.58
05. Jazz 9.33

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Canadian Brass & The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra – Celebration (2003)

The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpets Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. As of 2018, Daellenbach is the sole original member in the group, with the other members being trumpeters Caleb Hudson and Chris Coletti, hornist Jeff Nelsen and trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos.

The group is known for the use of humor in their live performances, and an irreverent attitude that includes their signature attire of formal black suits with white running shoes. They have performed internationally and have recorded more than 130 CDs and DVDs. They have commissioned, performed, and recorded hundreds of transcriptions and original works for brass quintet. Canadian Brass has a library of more than 600 compositions and arrangements specially written for them.

The quintet was named the “one of the most popular brass ensembles in the world” in 2015 by The Washington Post. They have appeared on all the major North American TV networks, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, CBS Sunday Morning and Hunan TV in China.

The Canadian Brass originally included “ensemble” in its name, but in 1971, the Hamilton Philharmonic’s then-music director Betty Webster suggested that the quintet should be officially named the Canadian Brass.

Canadian Brass made its American debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 1975. A significant international visit was made in 1977 when they were sent to mainland China as a cultural exchange between Canada and China.[2] The ensemble was chosen and sent on this cultural mission by then-Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. They are now remembered in China as the first Western musicians allowed into China after the Cultural Revolution had suppressed Western art and music.

In 1979, the Canadian Brass became the first chamber ensemble to solo the MAIN stage at Carnegie Hall. As The New York Times reported, their sold-out performance “clearly establishes the Canadian Brass as a main-stage attraction.” In addition to their heavy international touring schedule for nearly 50 years, and their extensive recording catalog, they have been on the Billboard charts in each decade of their existence, recording for RCA Records, BMG, Columbia Records, SONY, Philips Decca, Steinway Label and Opening Day Entertainment occupying virtually all the spots open to brass players. As of 2018, the Canadian Brass recordings have been released by Toronto-based Opening Day Entertainment Group (ODEG), headed by the Daellenbachs.

The first recordings the Brass created were for the CBC radio transcription service, including their very first major concert in Toronto the summer of 1971. Record producer Eleanor Sniderman discovered the group and put the group on its first commercial LPs in 1973 and 1974, which then attracted major artist management in New York City. In 1977, the same year the Brass represented North America in the People’s Republic of China, a live radio broadcast on WQXR was heard by multi-Grammy award-winning producer Jay Saks, who was impressed, and brought the group to the prestigious RCA Red Seal label. The ensemble was then scouted by CBS records, soon to be Sony, where they recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony brass players, establishing a repertoire that is now standard for expanded brass ensembles.

When the group’s former manager, Costa Pilavachi, assumed the post of “Head of A&R” at Philips Records in the Netherlands, he lured the Brass to his new label, establishing a new European presence for the group. In 1992, the Brass returned to RCA, releasing fourteen albums in eight years, including Bach’s Goldberg Variations, for which the group won a German Echo award.

Stuart Laughton founded Opening Day in 1993, as a recording company specializing in Canadian performers and compositions (five JUNO nominations and a win resulted). By 2003 Laughton was seeking a partner for the heavy work load, and in talks with Chuck Daellenbach agreed to share, then relinquish control. Daellenbach extended the scope of the company, creating Opening Day Entertainment Group and entering into partnership with producer Trey Mills later that year. Mills signed over to Mary Beth Daellenbach in December, 2007. Opening Day Entertainment Group remains an independent recording label now directed by Mary Beth Daellenbach. As of 2014 ODEG has released over 70 CDs for artists in a variety of genres. (wikipedia)

The durable Canadian Brass has been among the quickest of small groups to jump on the bandwagon of releasing its own music; various discs have shown that the group’s ability to forge a distinctive and seamless combination of classical, jazz, and pop numbers is unimpeded by the appearance of a host of competing groups on the scene. The same stylistic mixture is evident on the present Celebration disc, ostensibly a celebration of Canadian-Polish friendship. While that friendship is undoubtedly lasting and deeply rewarding, the budget prices at which good Eastern European orchestras tend to come these days might have played a role in the planning of the project as well. Be that as it may, this isn’t one of the more successful releases of the current Canadian Brass set — even in spite of the fact that it focuses on the combination of brass quintet and orchestra — virtually an original Canadian Brass innovation. The centerpiece is a new composition by Lukas Foss, also entitled Celebration.

The idea of the work is a good one; like others by Foss, it grafts subtle abstract effects onto easy-on-the-ears neo-Classic concepts. Here, in the outer movements, Foss explores the ways the brass quintet reorients the listener’s perceptions of the basic musical material when it repeats that material in a straightforward concerto structure. But the work depends on the kind of peppy syncopations that are common in Foss and in a great deal of other neo-Classic music, and the Warsaw Philharmonic’s renderings of these are unenthusiastic. The same problem plagues the segment of the program devoted to Duke Ellington (tracks 8-11). The three Beatles pieces included (tracks 5-7) have a different problem — limp swing rhythms that distort the melodies and bring to mind nothing so much as Lawrence Welk’s attempt to get with the rock revolution in the 1960s. Nothing the Canadian Brass does is without exciting features, and here those exciting features include the all-out slow introduction to Come Together and a straightforward Fats Waller medley. The door is open, however, for a younger group to attempt a more refined version of the ideas here. (by James Manheim)

To hear the Canadian Brass tell it, the ensemble was — and I quote — hijacked by the Canadian Embassy (in Warsaw, Poland) to add culture to a Team Canada delegation" in January 1999. Bearing in mind the Canadian Brass approach to everything its members do, I am inclined to believe their version is a bit heavy on hyperbole.

Still, whether planned in just a few hours, as the ensemble claims, or the result of slightly more structured planning, the resulting concert was a triumphant, ceremonious affair marking the first visit to Poland by a Canadian Prime Minister. This live recording was cut from that very concert.

What sets this recording apart from so many others that have preceded it is the group's collaboration with The Warsaw Philharmonic. The concert itself marked the world premiere of a three-movement piece for orchestra and a brass quintet titled "Celebration" by the German-born American composer Lukas Foss. And while the entire work is lovely, it is the last movement, the "March" in which the Canadian Brass truly shine, laying the groundwork for the remainder of the program.

In a three-song tribute to The Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the group interjects whimsy and irreverence into these otherwise respectful arrangements of Penny Lane, Blackbird& Come Together. From the applause that follows, it is clear the audience truly appreciated their efforts.

The remainder of the disc features long-time collaborator Luther Hendersons arrangements of works by Duke Ellington and Fats Waller, which have been modified only minimally to accommodate the full orchestra. Of course, no concert is complete without the Canadian Brass beloved traditional encore, a medley of When the Saints Come Marching and Handels Halleluiah Chorus, which will leave you laughing, singing and clapping along. (Musical Heritage Society)

Recorded live at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, Poland, 24th January 1999

Personnel:
Christopher Cooper (french horn)
Charles Daellenbach (tuba)
Jens Lindemann (trumpet)
Ronald Romm (trumpet)
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The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Krzesimir Debski

Tracklist:
01. Little Fugue In G Minor (Bach) 3.49
02. Celebration (Foss)
02.1. Fanfare 5.19
02.2. Choral 5.24
02.3. March 5.22
03. McCartney & Lennon Tribute:
03.1. Penny Lane 3.16
03.2. Blackbird 3.55
03.3. Come Together 4.22
04. Classical Duke
04.1. Harlem Sunday Morning (Ellington/Dawson) 5.16
04.2. Cotton Tail (Ellington) 3.28
04.3. Sophisticated Lady (Ellington/Mills) 3.41
04.4. It Don’t Mean A Thing (Ellington) 4.02
05. Mostly “Fats”
05.1. Lookin’ Good, Feelin’ Bad (Waller) 2.19
05.2. Handful Of Keys (Waller) 2.59
06. When The Saints (Traditional) / Hallelujah (Händel) 4.32

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More from the Canadia Brass in this blog:

The official website:

Gwilym Simcock & Yuri Goloubev – Reverie At Schloss Elmau (2014)

Two great musicians:

Gwilym Simcock (born 24 February 1981) is a Welsh pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music. He was chosen as one of the 1000 Most Influential People in London by the Evening Standard. He was featured on the front cover of the August 2007 issue of the UK’s Jazzwise magazine.

Simcock was born in Bangor, Gwynedd. At the age of eleven he attained the highest marks in the country for his Associated Board on both piano and French horn.

He studied classical piano, French horn, and composition at Chetham’s School, Manchester, where he was introduced to jazz by pianist and teacher Les Chisnall and bassist and teacher Steve Berry. He studied jazz piano at The Royal Academy of Music, London with John Taylor, Nikki Iles, Nick Weldon, and Geoff Keezer. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and won the “Principal’s Prize” for outstanding achievement. At the Royal Academy of Music he studied with Milton Mermikides. (wikipedia)

Yuri Goloubev (born 27 July 1972) is a jazz musician, composer and double bass player.[1] He switched to jazz in 2004 after over a dozen years as a bass player in classical orchestras, and has achieved success in jazz also as a performer with “perfect pitch, flawless execution and an improviser’s imagination”. He is also praised for his arco playing Ian Patterson, writing in All About Jazz wrote “There are few better exponents of arco, and his tone has the warm resonance of a cello.”

Gwilym Simcock felt released from the unbending rigours of a classical-piano schooling by the discovery of jazz in his teens, but he has never abandoned its inspirations – and in this duo with the remarkable Russian double-bass virtuoso Yuri Goloubev, he has a partner who shares his love of 19th-century Romanticism, and with whom he shares perfect pitch, flawless execution and an improviser’s imagination.

Recorded at Act Records’ favourite Alpine location, Duo Art shimmers and dances with European art-music references, which surface in the elegant themes (Goloubev’s nods to Schumann and Brahms are particularly unambiguous), the liquid movement of Simcock’s improv phrasing, and Goloubev’s astonishingly light-touch lyricism and cello-like purity.

The Russian’s fast pizzicato improvisation on his own trancelike Lost Romance is breathtaking. Simcock’s Shades of Pleasure opens at a playful skip but shifts mood between reflectiveness and sprinting intensity, the fast-moving Antics finds both players revelling in the driving momentum while never missing a step, and the lively Flow draws the bassist into a floating high-register tone so pristine as to be almost eerie. The prevailing lyrical elegance doesn’t hamper the improv attack of either participant, though the set might be a little over-pristine and melodically orthodox for hardcore jazzers. (by John Fordham)

Recorded at Schloss Elmau, March 13, 2013

Personnel:
Yuri Goloubev (bass)
Gwilym Simcock (piano)

Tracklist:
01. Pastoral (Simcock) 8.15
02. Lost Romance (Goloubev) 7.03
03. Shades Of Pleasure (Simcock) 7.04
04. Antics (Simcock) 4.09
05. A Joy Forever (Simcock) 6.15
06. Non-Schumann Lied (Goloubev) 8.27
07. Flow (Simcock) 5.49
08. Vain Song (Goloubev) 7.15
09. Reverie (Bottesini) 7.06

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More from Gwilym Simcock in this blog:

The official Gwilym Simcock website:

More from Yuri Goloubev in this blog:

The official Yuri Goloubev website:

Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra – Baroque clarinet concertos by Vivaldi, Telemann and Molter (ca. 1968)

Without Klaus Preis, this orchestra would not have been possible:

German harpsichordist, producer, co-founder and director of the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra.

He was born on 14 October 1926 and died on 14 September 2014.

And this is how the orchestra introduced itself on its website, which has since been deleted:

The Heidelberger Kammerorchester (= HKO) was created in 1960 from a musician circle around Klaus Preis. Since then the HKO has played regularly in concerts in all continents (more than 90 countries). The orchestra is characterised in particular by the fact that it works without recourse to of public means.

The repertoire of the HKO includes mainly compositions from the 18th Century. Beside the popular works of J.S. Bach (Brandenburg Concerts) and Antonio Vivaldi (The 4 Seasons) the orchestra performs works of W.A. Mozart and particularly of Georg Philipp Telemann.

Besides also less well-known composers are considered, like Henry Purcell, Tomaso Albinoni, Johann Pachelbel, Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Arcangelo Corelli, Henricus Albicastro, William Boyce, Johan Helmich Roman, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Benedetto Marcello, Jean Marie Leclair and many others.

The concerts take place mainly in Germany, Switzerland and France. A big Spain tour and England/Ireland tour are organized annually. In addition they have appeared overseas (USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, Caribbean Islands of the Pacific Ocean, Israel, Malta, in countries of Africa and South America).

On this album they dedicate themselves to some clarinet concertos of baroque music.

Further information about this instrument and the individual recordings can be found below.

Anyone who – like me – knows how to love and appreciate baroque music will be delighted with this album … even if you can occasionally hear that this Vinly-rip has been around for a few decades.

By the way, the label “Da Camera Magna” still exists today as a very lively sub-label at

Personnel:
Heidelberger Kammerorchestra under the direction of Klaus Preis
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Andreas Bonifert (clarinet)
Gerhard Hermann (oboe)
Dieter Klöcker (clarinet)
Gernot Schmalfuß (oboe)

Dieter Klöcker & Gernot Schmalfuß:

Tracklist:

Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto C-Dur Für 2 Oboen, 2 Klarinetten, Streicher und Cembalo:
01. Larghetto 4.07
02. Allegro 1.54
03. Largo 2.52
04. Allegro molto 5.39

Johann Melchior Molter: Konzert G-Dur für D-Klarinette und Orchester:
05. Moderato 5.01
06. Adagio 2.16
07. Allegro 4.07

Georg Philipp Telemann: Concerto D-Moll gür 2 Klarinetten und Orchester:
08. Largo 3.30
09. Allegro 2.24
10. Adagio 2.32
11. Allegro 3.26

Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto C-Dur für 2 Oboen, 2 Klarinetten, Streicher und Cembalo
12. Larghetto 3.26
13. Allegro 1.48
14. Largo + Allegro 3.38

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Philippe Herreweghe – Easter Oratorio (Bach) (1995)

The Easter Oratorio (German: Oster-Oratorium), BWV 249, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, beginning with Kommt, eilet und laufet (“Come, hasten and run”). Bach composed it in Leipzig and first performed it on 1 April 1725.

The first version of the work was completed as a cantata for Easter Sunday in Leipzig on 1 April 1725, then under the title Kommt, gehet und eilet. It was named “oratorio” and given the new title only in a version revised in 1738. In a later version in the 1740s the third movement was expanded from a duet to a four-part chorus. The work is based on a secular cantata, the so-called Shepherd Cantata Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen, BWV 249a, which is now lost, although the libretto survives. Its author is Picander who is also likely the author of the oratorio’s text. The work is opened by two instrumental movements that are probably taken from a concerto of the Köthen period. It seems possible that the third movement is based on the concerto’s finale.

Unlike the Christmas Oratorio, the Easter Oratorio has no narrator but has four characters assigned to the four voice parts: Simon Peter (tenor) and John the Apostle (bass), appearing in the first duet hurrying to Jesus’ grave and finding it empty, meeting there Mary Magdalene (alto) and “the other Mary”, Mary Jacobe (soprano). The choir was present only in the final movement until a later performance in the 1740s when the opening duet was set partly for four voices. The music is festively scored for three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, oboe d’amore, bassoon, two recorders, transverse flute, two violins, viola and continuo.

The oratorio opens with two contrasting instrumental movements, an Allegro concerto grosso of the full orchestra with solo sections for trumpets, violins and oboes, and an Adagio oboe melody over “Seufzer” motifs (sighs) in the strings (in 3rd version, solo instrument is a Flute).

The first duet of the disciples was set for chorus in a later version, the middle section remaining a duet. Many runs illustrate the movement toward the grave.

Saget, saget mir geschwinde, the aria of Mary Magdalene, is based on words from the Song of Songs, asking where to find the beloved, without whom she is “ganz verwaiset und betrübt” (completely orphaned and desolate), set in the middle section as Adagio, different from the original. The words are close to those opening Part Two of the St Matthew Passion.

The final movement in two contrasting sections resembles the Sanctus composed for Christmas 1724 and later part of the Mass in B minor. (wikipedia)

Not everyone may like it … for me this is another breathtaking example of the greatness of this Johann Seastian Bach: supple and at the same time uplifting music, just listen to this “Sinfonia”.

But despite all my joy at this now truly fascinating music, the fact remains … religion is the opium of the people (Karl Marx)

Personnel:

Collegium Vocals:
Alto:
Beat Duddeck – Betty van den Berghe – Martin van der Zeijst – Steve Dugardin
Bass:
Frits Vanhulle – Jan Depuydt – Paul van den Berghe – Pieter Coene – Robert Van Der Vinne
Soprano:
Annelies Coene – Dominique Verkinderen – Hedwige Cardoen – Lut van de Velde
Tenor Vocals;
André Cats – Joost van der Linden – Joël Suhubiette – Koen Laukens
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Peter Kooy (Bass solist)
Barbara Schlick (Sopran soloist)
James Taylor (Tenor soloist)
Kai Wessel (Alto solist)
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Patrick Beuckels (flute)
Jonathan Cable (bass)
Benedict Hoffnung (timbales)
Philippe Miqueu (bassoon)
Herman Stinders (organ)
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Violine:
Adrian Chamorro – Andreas Preuss – Daniel Deuter – Paul Lindenauer – Robert Diggens – Veronica Schepping – Florian Deuter
Viola :
Andreas Gerhardus – Martin Kelly
Cello:
Ageet Zweistra – Harm-Jan Schwitters
Oboe:
Marcel Ponseele – Taka Kitazato
Blockflöte:
Bart Coen – Koen Dieltiens
Trompete:
Leif Bengtsson – Per Olov Lindeke – Susan Williams

Musikalische Leitung: Philippe Herreweghe
Konzertmeister: Florian Deuter

Tracklist:

Oster-Oratorium: „Kommt, eilet und laufet“, BWV 249;
01. Sinfonia 4.09
02. Adagio 3.28
03. Chorus: Kommt, eilet und laufet 5.10
04. Recitativo, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Basso: O kalter Männer Sinn 1.05
05. Aria, Soprano: Seele, deine Spezereien 9.29
06. Recitativo, Alto, Tenor, Basso: Hier ist die Gruft 0.49
07. Aria, Tenor: Sanfte soll mein Todeskummer 7.41
08. Recitativo, Alto: Indessen seufzen wir 1.00
09. Aria, Soprano & Alto: Saget, saget mir geschwinde 6.12
10. Recitativo, Basso: Wir sind erfreut 0.39
11. Chorus: Preis und Dank 2.33

Kantate „Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen“ BWV 66:
12. Chorus, Alto, Basso, Chorus: Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen 9.43
13. Recitativo, Basso: Es bricht das Grab 0.35
14. Aria, Basso: Lassen dem Höchstein rin Danklied erschallen 5.58
15. Recitativo, Alto & Tenor: Bei Jesu Leben freudig sein 5.58
16. Aria, Alto & Basso: Ich fürchte zwar / Ich fürchte nicht 8.49
17. Alleluja ! Des solln wir alle froh sein 0.52

Music: Johann Sebastian Bach

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Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster.

Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from Renaissance to early Romantic classical music. He specialises in Baroque music, with a particular focus on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Herreweghe was born in Ghent as the first of three children to Edward Raymond Frans (1919–2006) and Elza Maria Augusta Herreweghe (née van Herrewege; 1919–1976). He received his first piano lessons from his mother.

In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin’s accompanist, was his piano teacher.

In 1970, Herreweghe founded the Collegium Vocale Gent with a group of fellow students. Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt took notice of his musical approach and invited him and the Collegium Vocale Gent to join them in their recordings of the complete Bach cantatas.

Herreweghe’s approach to Baroque music was soon drawing praise and in 1977 he founded another ensemble in Paris, La Chapelle Royale, to perform the music of the French Golden Age, Campra, Lully, Charpentier, Delalande, Dumont, Gille. From 1982 to 2002 he was artistic director of the Académies Musicales de Saintes.

During this period, Herreweghe started several other groups and ensembles with whom he made historically appropriate and well-thought-out interpretations of repertoire stretching from the Renaissance to contemporary music. They include the Ensemble Vocal Européen, specialised in Renaissance polyphony, and the Orchestre des Champs Élysées, founded in 1991 with the aim of playing Classical and Romantic repertoire on original instruments.

Since 2009, Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent have been actively working on the development of a large European-level symphonic choir, at the invitation of the prestigious Accademia Chigiana in Siena and since 2011 with the support of the European Union’s Cultural Programme.

For some time Herreweghe has been active performing the great symphonic works, from Beethoven to Gustav Mahler. He has been principal conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic since 1997.

As a guest conductor, Herreweghe has conducted a number of well-known orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Dutch Broadcasting Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic. He was artistic director of the Festival of Saintes and was permanent guest conductor of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic from 2008 to 2013.

Herreweghe is principally known as a conductor of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is regarded by leading Bach scholars today as a founding father of the Baroque authentic practice, original-instrument movement and one of record label Harmonia Mundi’s most prolific recording artists, with over 60 albums to his name.

He is married to Ageet Zweistra. (wikipedia)

Baroque Orchestra of Munich & The Music Seminars of Schlägl – St. Matthew Passion (1730) (Telemann) (1986)

Georg Philipp Telemann (14 March] 1681 – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving oeuvre.

Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time, and he was compared favourably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather and namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, and to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally.

Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family’s wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually settled on a career in music. He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, and Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of that city’s five main churches. While Telemann’s career prospered, his personal life was always troubled: his first wife died less than two years after their marriage, and his second wife had extramarital affairs and accumulated a large gambling debt before leaving him. As part of his duties, he wrote a considerable amount of music for educating organists under his direction. This includes 48 chorale preludes and 20 small fugues (modal fugues) to accompany his chorale harmonisations for 500 hymns. His music incorporates French, Italian, and German national styles, and he was at times even influenced by Polish popular music. He remained at the forefront of all new musical tendencies, and his music stands as an important link between the late Baroque and early Classical styles. The Telemann Museum in Hamburg is dedicated to him. (wikipedia)

Between 1716 and 1767, Georg Philipp Telemann wrote a series of Passions, musical compositions reflecting on Christ’s Passion – the physical, spiritual and mental suffering of Jesus from the hours prior to his trial through to his crucifixion. The works were written for performance in German churches in the days before Easter. A prolific composer, Telemann wrote over 40 Passions for the churches of Hamburg alone, of which 22 have survived according to the present state of research. He also wrote several Passion oratorios. Unlike the Passions intended for liturgical performance, they were not closely set to the literal text of the Gospels.(wikipedia)

Here we hear his 2nd St Matthew Passion from 1730

Georg Philipp Telemann wrote a total of 46 Passions, of which the St Matthew Passion recorded here is one of the most beautiful in its treatment of the choruses and arias. It was composed in 1730 and demonstrates the composer’s particularly illustrative style of writing. The two-part structure of the choruses together with the orchestral writing proves to be an extremely skilful composition with simple means.

The chorales are intended for congregational singing. In Telemann’s St Matthew Passion, the events of the Passion are turned into a joyful depiction of the dramatic events as the joy of redemption. (jpc.de)

What a wonderful piece of music !

Personnel:
Berthold Brandstetter (Baritone)
Harumichi Fujiwara (Tenor)
Christine Füssl (Sopran)
Martin Klietmann (Tenor)
Andreas Ledeba (Bass)
Friederich Ofner (Bass)
Gertraud Wurzinger (Sopran)
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Barbara Hook (harpsichord)
Ingemar Melchersson (organ)
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Baroque Orchestra of Munich conducted by Rupert Gottfried Frieberger
The Music Seminars of Schlägl

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Choral: Wenn meine Sünd’ mich kranken 1.07
02. Rezitariv: Und es begab sich 1.07
03. Chor: Ja nicht auf das Fest 0.56
04. Rezitativ: Da nun Jesus war 0.33
05. Chor: Wozu dienet dieser Unrat 1.05
06. Rezitativ: Da das Jesus merkte 2.18
07. Arie: Höchst nsel’ges Unterfangen 4.39
08. Rezitativ: Aber am ersten Tage 0.13
09. Chor: Wo willt Du 0.21
10. Rezitatiiv: Er sprach: gehet hin 1.40
11. Chor: Herr, bin ich’s? 0.11
12. Rezitativ: Er antwortete und sprach 3.24
13. Arie: Ach Heiland, wie nahret 5.22
14. Choral: Ach, wie hungert mein Gemüte 1.09
15. Rezitativ: Und da sie den Lobgesang 3.59
16. Soliloquio: Bis in den Tod 1.52
17. Choral: Was ist doch wohl die Ursach 0.42
18. Arie: Meine wehmutvolle Seele 3.27
19. Choral: Du Nacht voll Angst 1.03
20. Rezitativ: Und ging hin ein wenig 4.34
21. Arie: Was ist das Schmeicheln 5.47
22. Rezitativ: Jesus aber sprach zu ihm 4.29
23. Soliloquio: Dein Mund, ach ew’ges Wort 0:46
24. Rezitativ: Und der Hohepreister 1.30
25. Chor: Er ist des Todes schuldig! 0.25
26. Reziativ: Da speieten sie aus 0.13
27. Chor: Weissage uns, Christus 0.26
28. Arie: Schlage doch, Himmel! 2.37
29. Rezitativ: Petrus aber sass draussen 1.20
30. Chor: Wahrlich, du bist auch einer 0.48
31. Rezitativ: Da hub er an 1.17
32. Duett: Ich lege mich in dein Erbarmen 5.32

CD 2:
01. Rezitativ: Des Morgens aber 1.11
02. Chor: Was gehet uns das an 0.35
03. Furioso: Ach wehe, wehe mir 1.24
04. Rezitativ: Und er warf die Silberlinge 1.26
05. Choral: Ich kann’s mit meinen Sinnen 0.39
06. Rezitativ: Auf das Fest aber 1.57
07. Chor: Barrabam! 0.15
08. Arie mit Chor: So geht es 3.57
09. Rezitativ: Pilatus sprach zu ihnen 0.17
10. Chor: Lass ihn kreuzigen! 0.21
11. Rezitativ: Der Landpfleger sagte 0.16
12. Chor: Lass ihn kreuzigen! 0.21
13. Rezitativ: Da aber Pilatus sahe 0.38
14. Chor: Sein Blut komme über uns 0.28
15. Rezitativ: Da gab er ihnen Barrabam 0.20
16. Arie: Lass Dich Bitt’re Traenen Netzen 5:44
17. Rezitativ: Da nahmen die Kriegsknechte 0.40
18. Chor: Gegrüsset seist du, Judenkonig 0.34
19. Rezitativ: Und speiten ihn an 2.45
20. Chor: Der du den Tempel Gottes 0.50
21. Rezitativ: Desleichen auch 0.12
22. Chor: Andern hat er geholfen 1.08
23. Rezitariv: Desgleichen Taten auch 1.41
24. Arie: Gott ruft selbst: Mein Gott 4.44
25. Rezitativ: Etliche aber, die da Stunden 0.08
26. Chor: Er rufet den Elias 0.19
27. Rezitativ: Und alsbald lief einer 0.17
28. Chor: Halt, lasst sehen, ob Elias komme 0.18
29. Rezitativ: Aber Jesus schrie abermal 0.31
30. Choral: O grosse Not, Gott’s Sohn ist tot 0.37
31. Arie mit Chor: Frohlocket, hochbetrübte 5.51
32. Rezitativ: Und siehe da, der Vorhang 0.56
33. Chor: Wahrlich, dieser ist Gottes Sohn 0.52
34. Chor: Es stimmen der göttlichen Lehre 2.54
35. Rezitativ: Nicht das allein 1.48
36. Choral: O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid 0.35
37. Arie: So ruhe sanft in deiner Kammer 4.05
38. Choral: Nun wir danken dir von Herzen 1.07

Music + lyrics: Georg Philipp Telemann

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More from Georg Philipp Telemann in this blog:

The English Concert (Trevor Pinnock) – Music For The Royal Fireworks + Concerti A Due Cori (Händel) (1985)

George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel’s music forms one of the peaks of the “high baroque” style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music. He is consistently recognized as one of the greatest composers of his age.

Handel started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera. In 1737, he had a physical breakdown, changed direction creatively, and addressed the middle class and made a transition to English choral works. After his success with Messiah (1742), he never composed an Italian opera again. His orchestral Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks remain steadfastly popular. One of his four coronation anthems, Zadok the Priest, has been performed at every British coronation since 1727. Almost blind, he died in 1759, a respected and rich man, and was given a state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Handel composed more than forty opere serie over a period of more than thirty years. Since the late 1960s, interest in Handel’s music has grown. The musicologist Winton Dean wrote that “Handel was not only a great composer; he was a dramatic genius of the first order.”[9] His music was admired by Classical-era composers, especially Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. (wikipedia)

The Music for the Royal Fireworks (HWV 351) is a suite in D major for wind instruments composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London’s Green Park on 27 April 1749. The music celebrates the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) in 1748. The work was very popular when first performed and following Handel’s death.
Rehearsal and final production

During the preparations, Handel and John Montagu, Duke of Montagu, the Master-General of the Ordnance and the officer responsible for the Royal Fireworks, had an argument about adding violins. The duke made clear to Handel that King George had a preference for only martial instruments (winds and percussion), and hoped there would be “no fiddles”.

Handel omitted the string instruments against his will. Also, against Handel’s will, there was a full rehearsal of the music in Vauxhall Gardens and not in Green Park. On 21 April 1749 an audience, claimed to be over twelve thousand people, each paying two shillings and six pence (half a crown) rushed to get there, causing a three-hour traffic jam of carriages on London Bridge, the only vehicular route to the area south of the river.

Six days later, on 27 April, the musicians performed in a specially constructed building designed by Servandoni, a theatre designer, assisted by four Italians. Andrea Casali and Andrea Soldi designed the decorations. The fireworks themselves were devised and controlled by Gaetano Ruggieri and Giuseppe Sarti, both from Bologna. Charles Frederick was the controller, captain Thomas Desaguliers was the chief fire master. The display was not as successful as the music itself: the weather was rainy, causing many misfires, and in the middle of the show the right pavilion caught fire. Also, a woman’s clothes were set on fire by a stray rocket and other fireworks burned two soldiers and blinded a third. Yet another soldier had his hand blown off during an earlier rehearsal for the 101 cannons which were used during the event. (wikipedia)

In 1747 and 1748, Handel then wrote three concerti a due cori in which he actually divided the orchestra into three parts, namely two wind choirs and a string choir with basso continuo. For the most part, these concertos are not independent compositions, but were arranged by Handel from choruses from the oratorios Esther, Belshazzar, Semele and Messiah and played as inter-act music in his oratorio performances. (wikipedia)

These compositions were played by The English Concerto:

The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener has been orchestra leader (concertmaster) since September 2007.

Trevor David Pinnock CBE (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor.

He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and directed from the keyboard for over 30 years in baroque and classical music. He is a former artistic director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and founded The Classical Band in New York.

Since his resignation from The English Concert in 2003, Pinnock has continued his career as a conductor, appearing with major orchestras and opera companies around the world. He has also performed and recorded as a harpsichordist in solo and chamber music and conducted and otherwise trained student groups at conservatoires. Trevor Pinnock won a Gramophone Award for his recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos with the European Brandenburg Ensemble, an occasional orchestra formed to mark his 60th birthday. (wikipedia)

There can be no doubt at all that these recordings are simply great!

Personnel:
The English Concert conducted by Trevor Pinnock
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Trevor Pinnock (harpsichord)

Tracklist:

Music For The Royal Fireworks, HWV 351:
01. Ouverture (Adagio – Allegro – Lentement – Allegro) 7.20
02. Bourrée 1.37
03. La Paix 4.10
04. La Réjouissance 2.09
05. Menuet I 1.29
06. Menuet II 1.41

Concerto A Due Cori (For Two Wind Ensembles And Strings) No. 2 In F Major, HWV 333:
07. Pomposo 1.46
08. Allegro 2.10
09. A Tempo Giusto 2.50
10. Largo 2.25
11. Allegro Ma Non Troppo 4.04
12. A Tempo Ordinario 3.35

Concerto A Due Cori No. 3 In F Major (“Concerto In Judas Maccabaeus”), HWV 334:
13. Ouverture 1.53
14. Allegro 3.06
15. Allegro Ma Non Troppo 3.17
16. Adagio 1.21
17. Andante Larghetto 4.02
B9 6. Allegro 4.38

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The labels from the German vinyl edition:

Canadian Brass – The Essential Canadian Brass (1991)

The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpets Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. As of 2018, Daellenbach is the sole original member in the group, with the other members being trumpeters Caleb Hudson and Chris Coletti, hornist Jeff Nelsen and trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos.

The group is known for the use of humor in their live performances, and an irreverent attitude that includes their signature attire of formal black suits with white running shoes. They have performed internationally and have recorded more than 130 CDs and DVDs. They have commissioned, performed, and recorded hundreds of transcriptions and original works for brass quintet. Canadian Brass has a library of more than 600 compositions and arrangements specially written for them.

The quintet was named the “one of the most popular brass ensembles in the world” in 2015 by The Washington Post. They have appeared on all the major North American TV networks, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, CBS Sunday Morning and Hunan TV in China.

The Canadian Brass originally included “ensemble” in its name, but in 1971, the Hamilton Philharmonic’s then-music director Betty Webster suggested that the quintet should be officially named the Canadian Brass.

Canadian Brass made its American debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 1975. A significant international visit was made in 1977 when they were sent to mainland China as a cultural exchange between Canada and China.[2] The ensemble was chosen and sent on this cultural mission by then-Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. They are now remembered in China as the first Western musicians allowed into China after the Cultural Revolution had suppressed Western art and music.

In 1979, the Canadian Brass became the first chamber ensemble to solo the MAIN stage at Carnegie Hall. As The New York Times reported, their sold-out performance “clearly establishes the Canadian Brass as a main-stage attraction.” In addition to their heavy international touring schedule for nearly 50 years, and their extensive recording catalog, they have been on the Billboard charts in each decade of their existence, recording for RCA Records, BMG, Columbia Records, SONY, Philips Decca, Steinway Label and Opening Day Entertainment occupying virtually all the spots open to brass players. As of 2018, the Canadian Brass recordings have been released by Toronto-based Opening Day Entertainment Group (ODEG), headed by the Daellenbachs.

The first recordings the Brass created were for the CBC radio transcription service, including their very first major concert in Toronto the summer of 1971. Record producer Eleanor Sniderman discovered the group and put the group on its first commercial LPs in 1973 and 1974, which then attracted major artist management in New York City. In 1977, the same year the Brass represented North America in the People’s Republic of China, a live radio broadcast on WQXR was heard by multi-Grammy award-winning producer Jay Saks, who was impressed, and brought the group to the prestigious RCA Red Seal label. The ensemble was then scouted by CBS records, soon to be Sony, where they recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony brass players, establishing a repertoire that is now standard for expanded brass ensembles.

When the group’s former manager, Costa Pilavachi, assumed the post of “Head of A&R” at Philips Records in the Netherlands, he lured the Brass to his new label, establishing a new European presence for the group. In 1992, the Brass returned to RCA, releasing fourteen albums in eight years, including Bach’s Goldberg Variations, for which the group won a German Echo award.

Stuart Laughton founded Opening Day in 1993, as a recording company specializing in Canadian performers and compositions (five JUNO nominations and a win resulted). By 2003 Laughton was seeking a partner for the heavy work load, and in talks with Chuck Daellenbach agreed to share, then relinquish control. Daellenbach extended the scope of the company, creating Opening Day Entertainment Group and entering into partnership with producer Trey Mills later that year. Mills signed over to Mary Beth Daellenbach in December, 2007. Opening Day Entertainment Group remains an independent recording label now directed by Mary Beth Daellenbach. As of 2014 ODEG has released over 70 CDs for artists in a variety of genres. (wikipedia)

And here´s their “The Essential Canadian Brass” album. Many people believe that the album is a compilation, but that´s wrong!

Recorded in 1991, this recording features several of the Canadian Brass arrangements that have become iconic along with a few rarely recorded gems.

So, this is a “Best Of” album,very refreshingly recorded.
And the musicians had fun with these recordings and they also enjoyed presenting different styles of music (from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to W.C. Handy)
And they also presented the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach in very different variations (Be-Bop, Blues, Dixie)

And on “The Saints’ Hallelujah” they combine the old Traditional song with phrases from Händels “Hallelujah” !!!

It’s just great fun!

Personnel:
Charles Daellenbach (tuba)
John Grady (organ)
Frederic Mills (trumpet)
Graeme Page (french horn)
Ronald Romm (trumpet)
Eugene Watts (trombone)

Tracklist:
01. Zarathustra Fanfare (Also sprach Zarathustra) (Strauss) 1.27
02. Concerto For Two Trumpets In C : 1. Allegro (Vivaldi) 3.06
03. Concerto For Two Trumpets In C : 2. Largo (Vivaldio) 0.54
04. Concerto For Two Trumpets In C : 3. Allegro (Vivaldi) 3:11
05. Canzone Prima A 5 (Gabrieli) 2.23
06. Turkish Rondo (Rondo Alla Turca) (Mozart) 2.36
07. Fugue In G Minor (“Little”) (Bach) 3.29
08. Beale Street Blues (Handy) 3.41
09. Largo Al Factotum (Rossini) 5.30
10. Theme, Interludes And Re-variations (Mozart/Henderson) 7.38
11. The Flight Of The Tuba Bee (Rimski-Korsakov) 1.26
12. La Virgen De La Macarena (Traditional) 3.10
13. Cannon Song (Weill) 2.05
14. Amazing Grace (Traditional) 4.14
15. Tuba Tiger Rag (Edards) 5.06
16. Toccata And Fugue In D Minor (Bach) 8.36
17. The Well-tampered Bach : Be-bop Bach (Bach) 2.08
18. The Well-tampered Bach : Blue Bach (Bach) 2.33
19. The Well-tampered Bach : Dixie Bach (Bach) 1.54
20. Canon (Pachelbel) 4.58
21. The Saints’ Hallelujah (Traditional/Händel) 4.15

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More from the Canadian Brass ensemble:

The official website:

Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach – Flute Concertos & Symphonies (Frederick II.) (1985)

Frederick II (German: Friedrich II.; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Silesian wars, his reorganisation of the Prussian Army, the First Partition of Poland, and his patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment. Frederick was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, declaring himself King of Prussia after annexing Royal Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772. Prussia greatly increased its territories and became a major military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great (German: Friedrich der Große) and was nicknamed “Old Fritz” (German: der Alte Fritz). (wikipedia)

Born in Berlin in 1712, Frederick demonstrated an early interest and talent in music and French literature that created strife with his stern father. The “barracks King” did not appreciate the artistic leanings of his son. His instructions to Frederick’s tutors were that the Crown Prince should be trained for a hard life with its requisite distaste for laziness, “one of the greatest of all vices.”1 In addition, the Crown Prince must deny himself “operas, comedies, and other follies of the laity.”2 Therefore Frederick’s musical pursuits were accomplished with the aid of his mother and against the wishes of his father, who disapprovingly called his son “a flutist and a poet.”

Throughout the period before his accession, Frederick developed his musical abilities. In 1728 he began studying flute with Johann Joachim Quantz and thus started a musical association that was to continue until Quantz’s death in 1773. At his residences in Ruppin and Rheinsberg he employed a group of musicians that was to form the nucleus of his musical establishment when he ascended the throne.

When Frederick became King in 1740, he expanded the group of musicians to fifty. They included C. P. E. Bach as first cembalist, Karl Heinrich Graun as Kapellmeister, Johann Fredrich Agricola as court composer, Franz and Joseph Benda as violinists, Johann Gottlieb Graun as concertmaster, and Johann Joachim Quantz as chamber musician and flutist. There were also chorus members, dancers, costumers, designers, and librettists for the Court Opera. The new opera house opened in 1742, and two opere serie were produced each Carnival season. The King also maintained evening concerts at his residence, Sans-Souci, near Potsdam. The composer and soloist was always Quantz or the King. Usually the performing group was comprised of eight or nine musicians, including the soloist, a keyboard player, a string quartet, double bass, and bassoonist.

The picture is supposed to show Johann Sebastian Bach and Frederick II:

Frederick was greatly involved in the activities of the musicians in his employment. He wrote the complete libretti for the operas Montezuma (1755) and Silla (1753), and for parts of I fratelli nemici (1756) and Merope (1756). As a composer, Frederick was active until the beginning of the Seven Years’ War.6

After the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), the musical life in Berlin was not revitalized. Nichelmann left Frederick’s circle in 1756 and C. P. E. Bach left in 1767. From 1756 through 1764 no operas were staged, and after 1764 all productions were of previously written works. Frederick’s own compositional work ceased as well, and as he aged, he lost his proficiency as a flute performer.7 He died at Sans Souci in 1780. (symposium.music.org)

And this album is a fine example of the truly beautiful baroque music that Frederick composed.

It´s time to discover this more or less unknown composer !

Personnel:
Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach conducted by Hartmut Haenchen
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Manfred Friedrich (flute)
Reinhart Vogel (harpsichord

Tracklist:

Sinfonie für Streichorchester und Basso Continuo G-Dur:
01. Allegro 2.24
02. Andante 5.35
03. Presto 2.45

Konzert für Flöte, Streichorchester und Basso Continuo G-Dur:
04. Allegro 10.01
05. Cantabile 8.35
06. Allegro Assai 6.22

Konzert für Flöte, Streichorchester und Basso Continuo C-Dur:
07. Allegro 4.45
08. Grave 5.10
09. Allegro Assai 4.21

Sinfonie für zwei Flöten, zwei Oboen, zwei Hörner, Streichorchester und Basso Continuo D-Dur:
10. Allegro Assai 3.28
11. Andante (Espressivo) 4.31
12. Scherzando 2.52

Music: Frederick II

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