Georg Philipp Telemann – Paris Quartets Nr.1-6

Georg Philipp Telemann – Pariser Quartette Nr.1-6

About the Work:
Six quartets for flute and continuo were composed by Telemann [1681-1767] as early as 1730 in Germany and achieved enough success to be “pirated” and printed in 1736, without his knowledge, by the unscrupulous French publisher Le Clerk. Undaunted, the increasingly popular Telemann “refurbished” the works during a brief sojourn in Paris in 1738, re-titled them the “Nouveaux quatuors en six suites a une flute traaversiere, un violon, une basse de viole ou violoncelle et basse,” vastly more impressive, and proceeded to publish them himself. The impetus to improve his lot obviously forced the composer to stretch the boundaries of his creative abilities, as well. The six “Paris Quartets,” as they have been nicknamed, are pinnacles not only of Telemann’s oeuvre, but also of the entire Baroque chamber repertoire.
The bi-centennial anniversary in 1967 of Telemann’s death, launched by record companies such as Telefunken and Nonesuch, sparked an incredibly overdue renaissance of the composer’s neglected output. Music heretofore unheard came before an omnivorous classical public, of which I was one. And such music! Grand productions (Tafelmusik, Water Music, Overtures), glorious concertos for almost every instrumental combination, and a vast assortment of chamber works, most notably the “Paris Quartets.” I would expect that the Quattro Amsterdam two-LP version of these works (with Bruggen, Schroder, Bylsma and Leonhardt) was the introduction for the majority of us, and it was elucidating. These performances, which have since been transferred to a mid-priced “twofer” on Teldec, have remained without competition; that is, until the arrival of this beguiling new bargain set with Hazelzet, Huggett and the ensemble Sonnerie. Did I say, “bargain”? With playing as attuned, charming and intimate as this, and with music as attractive, melodious and seductive, this set is a bonafide steal. There is no easier, nor alluring way to come to know Telemann’s chamber works, than through his endearing, perky, warm and memorable “Paris Quartets.”

Track List:
01. G1: I Grave-Allegro-Grave-Allegro (2:49)
02. G1: II Largo (0:41)
03. G1: III Presto (2:29)
04. G1: IV Largo (0:34)
05. G1: V Allegro (3:38)
06. D1: I Allegro (3:29)
07. D1: II Affettuoso (3:29)
08. D1: III Vivace (3:41)
09. A1: I Soave (3:27)
10. A1: II Allegro (2:02)
11. A1: III Andante (3:44)
12. A1: IV Vivace (2:24)
13. g1: I Andante (3:03)
14. g1: II Allegro (2:32)
15. g1: III Largo (2:42)
16. g1: IV Allegro (2:43)
17. e1: I Prélude-Vitement (1:35)
18. e1: II Rigaudon (2:30)
19. e1: III Air (3:01)
20. e1: IV Réplique (2:35)
21. e1: V Menuet I (2:04)
22. e1: VI Menuet Il (3:26)
23. e1: VII Gigue (2:56)
24. h1: I Prélude-Gaiement (1:19)
25. h1: II Air-Modérément (2:26)
26. h1: III Réjouissance (1:52)
27. h1: IV Courante (2:02)
28. h1: V Passepied (2:07)

The Artists:

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 71:20 minutes. Covers & info included.
Part1 —–   Part2

Niccolò Piccinni – Iphigénie En Tauride

Niccolò Piccinni – Iphigénie En Tauride
Recorded live in Bari, Italy, between the 6th and the 10th of December, 1986
(First world recording)

About the Opera:
Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigeneia in Tauris) is a tragédie lyrique in four acts by Niccolò Piccinni, which was first performed at the Académie royale de musique (the Paris Opéra) on January 23, 1781. The opera’s libretto, by Alphonse du Congé Dubreuil, is based on a play of the same name by Claude Guimond de la Touche, although the ultimate source was the tragedy Iphigeneia in Tauris by Euripides. This opera marked the climax of the quarrel between the supporters of Piccinni and those of Christoph Willibald Gluck. Piccinni had been brought to Paris in the mid-1770s as a rival to the German composer, who had already had great success with his operas there. Arguments about the respective merits of their heroes raged between “Gluckists” and “Piccinnists”, although the composers themselves showed less enthusiasm for the fight. When Gluck learned that Piccinni was setting the same libretto to Roland as he was, he abandoned work on his score. For his part, Piccinni was an admirer of Gluck’s music and was reluctant to challenge him.  Nevertheless, in 1778 the director of the Paris Opéra, De Vismes du Valgay, finally succeeded in arranging a direct confrontation when he persuaded both composers to write an opera on the same story, but not the same libretto: Iphigénie en Tauride. Piccinni accepted on condition that his version was staged first. In the event, problems with the quality of the libretto (and, possibly, backstage political manoeuvrings) meant that Gluck’s opera was the first to receive its premiere in May, 1779. Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride was immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece. The success of his rival caused Piccinni to delay his own opera even further and it was not until a year and a half later that it was finally presented to a Parisian audience. The reaction was lukewarm, although a revival in 1785 was received more favourably.

Track List:
cd1
01. Ouverture (7:32)
02. Act 1 (Scene I) – “O jour fatal!” (2:01)
03. Act 1 (Scene II) – “Jeune et belle princesse!” (1:28)
04. Act 1 (Scene II) – “Pour adoucir mes maux” (1:57)
05. Act 1 (Scene II) – “Diane! Suspends ton courroux” (2:01)
06. Act 1 (Scene III) – “A mes peines sensible” (1:28)
07. Act 1 (Scene III) – “A la triste clarte” (2:01)
08. Act 1 (Scene III) – “Mais tout-a-coup le Ciel est sans nuage” (3:29)
09. Act 1 (Scene IV) – “De Diane en ce jour” (1:21)
10. Act 1 (Scene V) – “Mon Peuple, qui me croit heureux” (2:30)
11. Act 1 (Scene V) – “Quelle epaisse vapeur” (3:41)
12. Act 1 (Scene VI) – “Les Dieux ne sont point courrouces” (0:51)
13. Act 1 (Scene VI) – “Vous nous envoyez des victimes” (3:40)
14. Act 2 (Scene I) – “O sort funeste!” (3:49)
15. Act 2 (Scene II) – “Quel moment pour mon coeur sensible!” (4:11)
16. Act 2 (Scene II) – “Fais eclater la foudre” (1:58)
17. Act 2 (Scene III) – “Arretez, rendez-vous, ennemis de nos Dieux!” (2:42)
18. Act 2 (Scene IV) – “Dieux tout-puissants!” (4:00)
cd2
01. “Ah! barbare Thoas!” (5:38)
02. “Etrangers, que je plains” (2:50)
03. “Son fils… il a venge son pere.” (0:43)
04. “Qu’est devenu ce fils?” (0:53)
05. “Eh! Que reste-ti-il donc… ?” (2:05)
06. “O jour fatal!” (2:58)
07. “Au trepas tous les deux… ” (1:19)
08. “O moment cher a ma tendresse!” (0:44)
09. “Cruel! et tu dis que tu m’aimes?” (4:04)
10. “Je t’aime plus que moi” (2:31)
11. “Non, ne l’espere pas… ” (1:07)
12. “Mon coeur se fie a votre zele” (3:08)
13. “Si mon coeur ressent leurs alarmes” (5:59)
14. “On va conduire ici la victime innocente.” (4:30)
15. “Pour votre mort en ces lieux tout s’apprete” (3:27)
16. “Quel bonheur!” (2:13)
17. V) – “Que vois-je!” (2:04)
18. VII) – “Ah! pour nous le Ciel de declare” (2:17)
19. IX) – “J’abolis a jamais l’usage” (1:22)
20. IX) – “Quittez cet horrible rivage” (3:20)

The Artists:

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 103:52 minutes
Covers, info & synopsis included.

Part1 —–  Part2 —–  Part3

Christoph Willibald Gluck – Iphigénie En Aulide

Christoph Willibald Gluck – Iphigénie En Aulide

About the Opera:
This is the only available recording of a neglected masterpiece, Gluck’s first “Iphigenie” opera, (there was a recording by Riccardo Muti, a few years back, which is now deleted) premiered in Paris in 1774, five years before his greatest work, “Iphigenie en Tauride”. Though “Iphigenie en Aulide” doesn’t have the concentrated force of the later opera, it is still very moving and contains much beautiful music. It was the first of Gluck’s six operas to be written for the French stage and while it certainly forms part of his mission to reform the old, seemingly undramatic style of Baroque opera, it also owes a great deal to the tradition of `tragedie lyrique’, and listeners familiar with Rameau or Leclair will be at home here – Gluck’s work, like theirs, is built up from a mosaic of short arias, choruses and dances, with plenty of opportunity for big setpiece scenes.

Gluck’s other opera on the theme, “Iphigenie en Tauride”, uses an alternative version of the myth where Iphigenia vanishes at the moment of sacrifice and is taken off by the goddess Diana to serve as her priestess in the desolate, far distant region of Tauris on the Black Sea, until she is rescued, years later, by her long-lost brother, Orestes.

Track List:
cd1
01. Ouverture (6:23)
02. Acte I – Scene 1. “Diane Impitoyable” (1:26)
03. Acte I – Scene 1. Air. “Brillant Auteur de la Lumiere” (2:25)
04. Acte I – Scene 2. Choeur. “C’est Trop Faire de Resistance” (1:27)
05. Acte I – Scene 2. “D’une Sainte Terrreur” (2:19)
06. Acte I – Scene 2. Choeur “Nommez-Nous la Victime” (0:57)
07. Acte I – Scene 3. “Vous Voyez Leur Fureur Extreme” (0:45)
08. Acte I – Scene 3. Air. “Peuvent-Ils Ordonner?” (2:06)
09. Acte I – Scene 3. “Vous Oseriez Etre Parjure?” (1:10)
10. Acte I – Scene 4. Air. “au Faite Des Grandeurs” (1:43)
11. Acte I – Scene 4. “Dieux Cruels!” (0:24)
12. Acte I – Scene 4. Choeur. “Que D’attraits!” (3:22)
13. Acte I – Scene 5. Air. “Que J’aime a Voir Ces Hommages Flatteurs” (1:04)
14. Acte I – Scene 5. “Demeurez Dans Ces Lieux” (0:23)
15. Acte I – Scene 5. Choeur. “Non, Jamais” (2:38)
16. Acte I – Scene 5. Air “Les Voeux Dont ce Peuple M’honore” (1:05)
17. Acte I – Scene 5. Air (Mouvement de Passepied) (0:45)
18. Acte I – Scene 6. “Allez, il Faut Venger Notre Gloire Offensee” (1:14)
19. Acte I – Scene 6. Air. “Armez-Vous D’un Noble Courage” (1:27)
20. Acte I – Scene 7. “L’ai-je Bien Entendu?” (0:34)
21. Acte I – Scene 7. Air. “Helas! Mon Coeur Sensible!” (2:51)
22. Acte I – Scene 8. “en Croirai-je Mes Yeux?” (1:37)
23. Acte I – Scene 8. Air. “Iphigenie, Helas!” (1:00)
24. Acte I – Scene 8. “S’il Est Vrai” (0:21)
25. Acte I – Scene 8. Air. “Cruelle, Non Jamais” (2:43)
26. Acte I – Scene 8. “Mon Trouble, Mes Soupcnons” (0:36)
27. Acte I – Scene 8. Duo. “ne Doutez Jamais de ma Flamme” (3:50)
28. Acte II – Scene 1. Choeur. “Rassurez-Vous, Belle Princesse” (2:29)
29. Acte II – Scene 1. Air. “Par la Crainte et Par L’esperance” (2:28)
30. Acte II – Scene 2. “ma Fille, Votre Hymen S’apprete” (0:52)
31. Acte II – Scene 3. Marche (1:00)
32. Acte II – Scene 3. “Rival de ma Valeur” (0:33)
33. Acte II – Scene 3. “Chantez, Celebrez Votre Reine” (2:37)
34. Acte II – Scene 3. Air. “Achille Est Couronne” (1:06)
35. Acte II – Scene 3. “Ami Sensible, Ennemi Redoutable” (0:56)
36. Acte II – Scene 3. Air Gai (Danse) (0:45)
37. Acte II – Scene 3. Passacaille (Ballet) (7:19)
cd2
01. Scene 3. Choeur. “Les Filles de Lesbos” (2:00)
02. Scene 3. Air Pour Les Esclaves (3:58)
03. Scene 3. Quatuor. “Jamais a Tes Autels” (1:12)
04. Scene 4. “Princesse, Pardonez” (1:39)
05. Scene 4. Air. “Par un Pere Cruel” (4:15)
06. Scene 4. “Reiner, Rassurez-Vous” (0:36)
07. Scene 4. Trio. “C’est Mon Pere, Seigneur” (3:08)
08. Scene 5. “Suis-Moi, Patrocle” (1:33)
09. Scene 6. “je le Vois” (2:27)
10. Scene 6. Duo. “de Votre Audace Temeraire” (1:01)
11. Scene 7. “tu Decides Son Sort” (5:12)
12. Scene 7. Air. “o Toi, L’objet le Plus Aimable” (4:18)
13. Scene 1 &2. Choeur. “Non, Non, Nous ne Souffrirons Pas” (1:25)
14. Scene 3. “Princesse, Suivez-Moi” (1:07)
15. Scene 3. Air. “il Faut, de Mon Destin” (1:42)
16. Scene 3. “et Vous M’aimez” (0:40)
17. Scene 3. “Adieu: Conservez Dans Votre Ame” (3:12)
18. Scene 3. “Sans Vous, Achille Pourrait Vivre?” (0:41)
19. Scene 3. Air. “Calchas, D’un Trait Mortel Perce” (1:18)
20. Scene 4. “Cruel! il Fuit” (0:29)
21. Scene 5. “Osez Mettre le Comble” (1:20)
22. Scene 5. Air. “Adieu, Vivez Pour Oreste” (1:30)
23. Scene 5. “Vous Entendez Les Cris” (1:01)
24. Scene 6. “Dieux Puissants Que J’atteste” (2:34)
25. Scene 6. Air. “Jupiter, Lance la Foudre” (1:38)
26. Scene 6,7,8. Choeur. “Puissante Deite” (3:48)
27. Scene 9. Descente de Diane “Votre Zele Des Dieux a Flechi la Colere” (1:36)
28. Scene 9. “Adorez la Clemence” (1:30)
29. Scene 9. Quatuor. “Mon Coeur ne Saurait Contenir” (2:21)
30. Scene 9. Choeur “Jusque Aux Voutes Etherees (1:47)
31. Scene 9. Passacaille (2:44)
32. Scene 9. Choeur “Partons, Volons a la Victoire” (1:53)

The Artists:

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 2 hours 12 minutes
Covers, info & synopsis included.

Part1 —–  Part2 —–  Part3 —–  Part4

Johann Sebastian Bach – Six Sonatas For Violin And Harpsichord

Johann Sebastian Bach – Six Sonatas For Violin And Harpsichord

About the work:
Missing Bach’s sonatas and partitas is like missing the Art of Fugue or the Passions:  it means loosing one of the pillars of the whole classical music. Bach is ground to all his successors in all fields: he wrote everything for any instrument and one can find Bachian fugues in Beethoven and Rachmaninov, the Bach’s Ciaccona, BWV 1004, in Mendelssohn’s violin concerto, Bach’s contrapunctum in Schumann’s symphonies… Bach is everywhere at any time, but unfortunately not many music lovers are aware of that!. These six sonatas are part of a huge set of sonatas and partitas for any kind of instrument: they summarise well all that work and therefore must be known entirely. Their “standard” structure can be described as follow: 1.A slow graceful first movement; 2.A fast movement; 3.A slow, deep and sweet piece; 4.A bursting out and lively fast movement. There is however an evident exception in the last sonata, further considered. Please do not think these pieces are minor, just because they have been written for a few instruments (there are pieces of Bach played by a single violin, cello or flute): instead they are soaked of Bach’s magnitude and the monumentality of a Passion is “concentrated” in these pieces. On the contrary, it seems that the less instruments he composed for, the higher the accuracy of his compositions: the typical example is in the partitas for solo violin, in which a single melodic line entirely describes the deep sensitivity of the greatest composer of all times.
Generally speaking, in all sonatas defined as “for harpsichord and…”, the harpsichord is dominant; this does not amaze, because Bach was the first great composer to give the keyboard instrument a solo part, where the piece is for more than one instrument (the 5th Brandenburg Concerto is the solo-keyboard christening in an orchestral work). Up to then, the harpsichord had been used only as a “complementary” instrument, leading the rhythmical part of the bass or accompanying (through simple chords) another instrument which led the melodic part. There are a lot of examples for it in Bach’s sonatas for Flute (violin) and figured bass.

Track List:
cd1
01. moll BWV 1014, 1. Satz Adagio (3:22)
02. moll BWV 1014, 2. Satz Allegro (3:15)
03. moll BWV 1014, 3. Satz Andante (2:20)
04. moll BWV 1014, 4. Satz Allegro (3:38)
05. Dur BWV 1015, 1. Satz Dolce (2:27)
06. Dur BWV 1015, 2. Satz Allegro (3:11)
07. Dur BWV 1015, 3. Satz Andante un poco (2:30)
08. Dur BWV 1015, 4. Satz Presto (4:58)
09. Dur BWV 1016, 1. Satz Adagio (3:42)
10. Dur BWV 1016, 2. Satz Allegro (3:24)
11. Dur BWV 1016, 3. Satz Adagio ma non tanto (3:51)
12. Dur BWV 1016, 4. Satz Allegro (4:06)
13. Dur BWV 1021, 1. Satz Adagio (3:09)
14. Dur BWV 1021, 2. Satz Vivace (1:06)
15. Dur BWV 1021, 3. Satz Largo (2:01)
16. Dur BWV 1021, 4. Satz Presto (1:51)
cd2
01. moll BWV 1017, 1. Satz Alla sicililiana (4:01)
02. moll BWV 1017, 2. Satz Allegro (5:21)
03. moll BWV 1017, 3. Satz Adagio ma poco (2:49)
04. moll BWV 1017, 4. Satz Allegro assai (5:00)
05. moll BWV 1018, 1. Satz ohne Satzbezeichnung (5:56)
06. moll BWV 1018, 2. Satz ohne Satzbezeichnung (5:17)
07. moll BWV 1018, 3. Satz Adagio (2:15)
08. moll BWV 1018, 4. Satz Vivace (2:53)
09. Dur BWV 1019, 1. Satz Molto allegro (3:41)
10. Dur BWV 1019, 2. Satz Largo (1:26)
11. Dur BWV 1019, 3. Satz ohne Satzbezeichnung (5:38)
12. Dur BWV 1019, 4. Satz Adagio (2:37)
13. Dur BWV 1019, 5. Satz Allegro assai (3:50)
14. moll BMV 1023, 1. Satz ohne Satzbezeichnung (0:57)
15. moll BMV 1023, 2. Satz Adagio ma non troppo (2:43)
16. moll BMV 1023, 3. Satz Allemanda (4:06)
17. moll BMV 1023, 4. Satz Gigue (3:38)

Players:
Benjamin Schmid: violin
Anthony Spiri: harpsichord
Sebastian Hess: cello (on tracks 13-16 in cd1)

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 111:16 minutes. Covers & info included.

Part1 —–   Part2 —–   Part3

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Ascanio In Alba

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Ascanio In Alba
Recorded in Paris between 16th and 24th of September, 1990

About the Opera:
Ascanio in Alba, KV 111, is an Italian pastoral opera in two acts written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1771, Based on the play by Count Claudio Nicolo Stampa with libretto by Giuseppe Parini. Mozart was 15 years old when this opera was first performed in Milan at the Teatro Regio Ducal on October 17, 1771.

Track List:
cd1
01. Overture (3:38)
02. Act 1, Scene 1 – Andante grazioso, che ballano le Grazie (1:24)
03. Act 1, Scene 1 – Coro de geni e grazie: Di te più amabile (2:21)
04. Act 1, Scene 1 – Recitativo: Geni, grazie ed amori (2:42)
05. Act 1, Scene 1 – Aria: L’ombre de’rami tuoi (4:49)
06. Act 1, Scene 1 – Recitativo: Ma la ninfa gentil (4:47)
07. Act 1, Scene 1 – Coro di geni e grazie: Di te più amabile (1:20)
08. Act 1, Scene 2 – Recitativo: Perchè tacer degg’io? (4:53)
09. Act 1, Scene 2 – Aria: Cara, lontano ancora (4:56)
10. Act 1, Scene 3 – Coro di pastori: Venga, de’sommi eroi (1:34)
11. Act 1, Scene 3 – Recitativo: Ma qual canto risona? (1:11)
12. Act 1, Scene 3 – Coro di pastori: Venga, de’sommi eroi (1:29)
13. Act 1, Scene 3 – Recitativo: Ma tu, chi sei (1:52)
14. Act 1, Scene 3 – Aria: Se il labbro più non dice (3:31)
15. Act 1, Scene 3 – Recitativo: Quanto soavi al core (1:54)
16. Act 1, Scene 4 – Coro di pastori e pastorello o ninfo, e ballo: Hai de Diana il core (3:58)
17. Act 1, Scene 4 – Recitativo: Oh generosa Diva (0:49)
18. Act 1, Scene 4 – Coro de pastori: Venga, de sommi eroi (1:35)
19. Act 1, Scene 4 – Recitativo: Di propria man la Dea (0:59)
20. Act 1, Scene 4 – Coro de pastori: Venga, de’sommi eroi (1:31)
21. Act 1, Scene 4 – Recitativo: Oh mia gloria (0:32)
22. Act 1, Scene 4 – Aria: Per la gioia in questo seno (5:06)
23. Act 1, Scene 4 – Recitativo: Misera! che farò? (2:27)
24. Act 1, Scene 4 – Cavatina: Si, ma d’un altro amore (2:15)
25. Act 1, Scene 4 – Recitativo: Ah no, Silvia t’inganni (3:28)
26. Act 1, Scene 4 – Aria: Come è felice stato (4:19)
27. Act 1, Scene 4 – Recitativo: Silvia, mira, che il sole (1:08)
28. Act 1, Scene 4 – Coro di pastori: Venga, venga, de’sommi eroi (1:33)
29. Act 1, Scene 5 – Recitativo: Cielo! che vidi mai? (1:02)
30. Act 1, Scene 5 – Aria: Ah di sì nobil alma (4:09)
31. Act 1, Scene 5 – Recitativo: Un’altra prova (1:46)
cd2
01. Aria: Al chiaror di que’bei rai (3:50)
02. Coro di geni e grazie: Di te più amabile (1:30)
03. Recitativo: Star lontana non so (1:45)
04. Aria: Spiega il desio, le piume (7:14)
05. Coro di pastorelle: Già l’ore sen volano (1:27)
06. Recitativo: Cerco di loco in loco (8:36)
07. Aria: Dal tuo gentil sembiante (10:35)
08. Recitativo: Ahimè! Che veggio mai? (0:58)
09. Aria: Al mio ben mi veggio avanti (4:22)
10. Recitativo: Ferma, aspetta (3:48)
11. Aria: Infelici affetti miei (4:42)
12. Recitativo: Anima grande (0:15)
13. Coro di pastorell: Che strano evento (0:27)
14. Recitativo: Ahi la crudel come scoccato dardo (0:51)
15. Aira: Torna mio bene, ascolta (3:49)
16. Coro di pastori: Venga, venga, de’sommi eroi (1:36)
17. Recitativo: Che strana meraviglia (0:33)
18. Aria: Sento, che il cor mi dice (4:21)
19. Recitativo: Si, padre (0:31)
20. Coro di pastori, e ninfe o pastorelle: Scendi celeste Venere (1:20)
21. Recitativo: Ma s’allontani almen (1:03)
22. Coro di pastori e pastorelle: No, non possiamo vivere (1:19)
23. Recitativo: Ecco, ingombran l’altare (0:15)
24. Coro do pastori, e ninfe o pastorelle: Scendi celeste Venere (1:18)
25. Recitativo: Invoca, o figlia (1:08)
26. Terzetto: Ah caro sposo, oh dio! (5:00)
27. Recitativo: Eccovi al fin (1:46)
28. Piccola pate del terzetto precedente: Che bel piacer io sento (1:33)
29. Recitativo: Ah chi nodi più forti (1:38)
30. Coro ultimo di geni ,grazie ,pastori e ninfe: Alma Dea, tutto il mondo governa (1:34)

The Artists:

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 2 hours 38 minutes
Covers, info & synopsis included.

Part1 —–  Part2 —–  Part3 —–  Part4

Gaetano Donizetti – Maria Stuarda

Gaetano Donizetti – Maria Stuarda
Recorded in 1976

About the Opera:
Maria Stuarda (Mary Stuart) is a tragic opera, tragedia lirica, in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Friedrich von Schiller’s 1800 play Maria Stuart. It received its premiere on December 30, 1835 at La Scala, Milan.
The subject is based on the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart) and her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. The king banned performances of the opera, and Donizetti responded by removing large segments of the score for use in a different work, Buondelmonte.  However, Maria Malibran (a famous mezzo-soprano who often sang soprano parts) forced a premiere at La Scala and ignored the censoring revisions, but a ban by the city was enforced. Realizing the impossibility of a run in Italy, a London premiere was planned, but Malibran’s death at the age of 28 in 1836 cancelled the project. Except for several productions of the Buondelmonte version, the work was neglected until 1958 when a production in Bergamo, Donizetti’s hometown, brought the original work into popularity. The premiere in England was held on March 1, 1966. When forced to simplify part of the music for the original Elisabetta, Donizetti scribbled on the margin “But it’s ugly!”, and further on refused a change, writing “Do it, and may you live for a hundred years!

Track List:
cd1
01. Introduzione …Qui s´attenda, ell`è vicina (3:26)
02. Si, voul di Francia il Rege (1:20)
03. (Ah! quando all`ara scorgemi…) (2:53)
04. In tal giorno di contendo (1:26)
05. Ah! dal cielo discenda un raggio (3:22)
06. Fra voi perché non veggio il Conte? (1:30)
07. Hai nelle giostre, o Talbot, chiesto di me? (1:53)
08. Questa imago, questo foglio (6:17)
09. Sei tu confuso? (3:57)
10. Si! Era d`amor I`immagine (4:46)
11. (Sul crin la rivale la man mi stendea…) (2:18)
12. Allenta il piè, Regina (3:08)
13. O nube! che lieve per I`aria ti aggiri (4:00)
14. Nella pace del mestro riposo (2:46)
15. Ah! non m’inganna la gioia! (1:46)
16. Da tuuti abbandonata (4:52)
17. Ah! Se il mio cor tremò giammai (2:09)
18. qual loco è questo? (2:15)
19. (E´sempre la stessa) (2:28)
20. deh! I´accogli…Morta al mondo, e morta al trono (7:50)
21. Va! preparati, furente (1:55)
cd2
01. E pensi? e tardi? (3:17)
02. Quella vita a me funesta (4:40)
03. Ah, deh! per pietà sospendi (3:12)
04. D´una sorella, o barbara (1:29)
05. Vanne, indegno: t’appare nel volto (1:26)
06. La perfida insultarmi volea nel mio sepolcro (3:47)
07. O mio buon Talbot! (4:30)
08. Quando di luce rosea (6:00)
09. Lascia contenta al carcere (2:19)
10. Vedeste?…Vedemmo (5:34)
11. Anna!…Qui più sommessi favellate (4:16)
12. Deh! Tu di un umile preghiera il suono (3:49)
13. O colpo!…E’ già vicino del tuo morrir I’istante (1:31)
14. D”un cor che muore reca il perdono (3:38)
15. Giunge il Conte (1:59)
16. Ah! de un giorno da queste ritorte (4:46)

The Artists:

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 2 hours 2 minutes
Covers, info & synopsis included.

Part1 —–   Part2 —–   Part3

Joseph Haydn – Armida (Eszterházy opera cycle)

Joseph Haydn – Armida (Eszterházy cycle)
Recorded in Switzerland on September 1978

About the Opera:
Armida is an opera in three acts by Joseph Haydn, set to a libretto based upon Torquato Tasso’s poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) and written duringhis services for the Eszterházy family. The first performance was 26 February 1784 and it went on to receive 54 performances from 1784 to 1788 at the Esterháza Court Theatre. During the composer’s lifetime it was also performed in Bratislava, Budapest, Turin and Vienna. Haydn himself regarded Armida as his finest opera. Armida then disappeared from the general operatic repertoire, and in the 20th century was revived in 1968 in a concert rendition in Cologne, and later a production in Bern.
Karl Geiringer has commented on how Haydn adopted the “principles and methods” of Christoph Willibald Gluck in this opera, and how the opera’s overture alone encapsulates the opera’s plot in purely instrumental terms. Haydn’s opera contains occasional echoes of Sarti’s Giulio Sabino, played at Esterháza in 1783.

Track List:
cd1
01. Sinfonia (5:53)
02. Atto primo: Recitativo: Amici, il fiero Marte (0:40)
03. Atto primo: Aria: Vado a pugnar contento (5:16)
04. Atto primo: Recitativo: Armida, ebben, che pensi? (1:08)
05. Atto primo: Aria: Se dal suo braccio oppresso (3:40)
06. Atto primo: Recitativo accompagnato: Parti Rinaldo: ed ebbe core Armida (2:56)
07. Atto primo: Aria: Se pietade avete, oh Numi (6:59)
08. Atto primo: Marcia (1:18)
09. Atto primo: Recitativo accompagnato: Valorosi compagni, nuovi perigli (1:48)
10. Atto primo: Aria: Dove son? Che miro intorno? (5:37)
11. Atto primo: Recitativo: Ah, si scenda per poco (1:39)
12. Atto primo: Aria: Se tu seguir vuoi (3:56)
13. Atto primo: Recitativo: Armida, ah vieni, e vedi (3:34)
14. Atto primo: Recitativo accompagnato: Oh amico, Oh mio rossor! (3:49)
15. Atto primo: Duetto: Cara, sarò fedele (10:33)
16. Atto primo: Recitativo: Odi, e serba il segreto (1:11)
17. Atto primo: Aria: Tu mi sprezzi, e mi deridi (3:23)
18. Atto primo: Recitativo: No, non mi pento (0:58)
19. Atto primo: Aria: Ah, si plachi il fiero Nume (4:30)
cd2
01. Atto secondo: Recitativo: Va, pur folle (1:49)
02. Atto secondo: Aria: Teco lo guida al campo (4:10)
03. Atto secondo: Recitativo: Ben simulati io credo (3:32)
04. Atto secondo: Recitativo accompagnato: Armida…Oh affanno! (4:49)
05. Atto secondo: Aria: Cara, è vero, io son tiranno (6:27)
06. Atto secondo: Recitativo accompagnato: Barbaro! E ardisci ancor (2:17)
07. Atto secondo: Aria: Odio, furor, dispeto (2:12)
08. Atto secondo: Recitativo: Eccoti alfin, Rinaldo, reso (1:00)
09. Atto secondo: Aria: Prence amato, in questo amplesso (3:12)
10. Atto secondo: Recitativo: Ansioso già mi vedi (1:48)
11. Atto secondo: Terzetto: Partirò, ma pensa, ingrato (6:51)
12. Atto terzo: Recitativo accompagnato: Questa dunqu’è la selva? (6:30)
13. Atto terzo: Aria: Torna pure al caro bene (4:33)
14. Atto terzo: Recitativo accompagnato: Qual tumulto d’idee m’eccita in seno (1:05)
15. Atto terzo: Aria: Ah, non ferir: t’arrresta (4:53)
16. Atto terzo: Recitativo accompagnato: Che inopportuno incontro! (5:22)
17. Atto terzo: Aria: Dei pietosi, in tal cimento (3:58)
18. Atto terzo: Marcia (1:17)
19. Atto terzo: Recitativo: Fermate: Utile sia breve dimora (1:26)
20. Atto terzo: Finale: Astri che in ciel splendete (3:10)

The Artists:

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 2 hours 28 minutes
Covers, info & synopsis included.

Part1 —–  Part2 —–  Part3 —–  Part4

Gabriel Fauré – Piano Quartets I & II

Gabriel Fauré – Piano Quartets
Recorded on 25-26 February, 1985

About the work:
There are three great chamber music composers from the second half of the 19th century: Brahms, Dvorák, and Fauré. Of the three, Fauré is by far the least well known, even in France. French music in the 19th century was almost entirely centered on opera and ballet, and while Fauré did make at least one contribution to the operatic stage (Penelope), he was far more involved in composing chamber music and songs. The two piano quartets are both extremely fine works, beautifully crafted, and full of warmly Romantic melody. This disc was one of the first by non-French performers to make the case for Fauré as a truly great composer of chamber music, and it still sounds very impressive.

Track List:
1. Quartet 1 I Allegro molto moderato (9:20)
2. Quartet 1 II Scherzo (Allegro vivo) (5:11)
3. Quartet 1 III Adagio (7:10)
4. Quartet 1 IV Allegro molto (7:56)
5. Quartet 2 I Allegro molto moderato (10:51)
6. Quartet 2 II Allegro molto (3:24)
7. Quartet 2 III Adagio non troppo (10:21)
8. Quartet 2 IV Allegro molto (7:55)

The Artists (Domus Quartet):
Susan Tomes: piano
Krysia Osostowicz: violin
Robin Ireland: viola
Timothy Hugh: cello

The piano quartet Domus was formed in 1979 at Sandor Vegh’s International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove in Cornwall. The original members were Susan Tomes, Krysia Osostowicz, Robin Ireland (viola) and Timothy Hugh (cello). Domus first made its reputation performing in its own portable concert hall, which also gave the group its name – a white geodesic dome seating two hundred. Playing in this magical and intimate setting, Domus’s committed yet informal presentation won them an enthusiastic following, and they appeared at venues in remote places throughout the world, from Italian hilltops and German parks to Australian city squares. Through their open rehearsals, discussion groups and workshops, Domus’s characteristic performance style evolved through its close relationship with its audiences, and greatly enhanced the accessibility and understanding of the repertoire. However, the group’s ever-increasing following eventually outgrew the dome and drew them back into the conventional concert hall and to the recording studio. Domus’s first recording, of the two Fauré Piano Quartets, was made for Hyperion in 1985 and won a Gramophone Award for the best chamber music recording of the year. The disc also won a German Record Critics’ Prize and was accorded the rarely bestowed `Evénement Exceptionelle’ by the French journal, Télérama. That recording was followed in 1988 by the two Dvorak Piano Quartets, opp 23 and 87, which also received glowing reviews.

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 62:08 minutes, Covers & info included.
Part1 —–   Part2

George Bizet – Carmen

George Bizet – Carmen

About the Opera:

Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845,itself influenced by the narrative poem “The Gypsies” (1824) by Pushkin. Mérimée had read the poem in Russian by 1840 and translated it into French in 1852.The opera premiered at the Opéra Comique of Paris on 3 March 1875, but its opening run was denounced by the majority ofcritics. It was almost withdrawn after its fourth or fifth performance, and although this was avoided, ultimately having 48 performances in the first year, it did little to bolster sagging receipts at the Opéra Comique. Near the end of this run, the theatre was giving tickets away in order to stimulate attendance. Bizet died on 3 June 1875, never knowing how popular Carmen would become. In October 1875 it was produced in Vienna, to critical and popular success, which began its path to worldwide popularity. It was not staged again at the Opéra Comique until 1883. Bizet’s final opera not only transformed the opera-comique genre that had been static for half a century, it virtually killed it. Within a few years, the traditional distinction between opera (serious, heroic and declamatory) and opera-comique (light-hearted, bourgeois and conversational with spoken dialogue) disappeared. Moreover, Carmen nourished a movement that was to win both celebrity and notoriety first in Italy and then elsewhere: the cult of realism known as verismo. The early death of Bizet and the negligence of his immediate heirs and publisher led, as with most of Bizet’s operas, to major textual problems for which scholars and performers only began to find solutions since the 1960s.

Synopsis:

Act 1

A square in Seville. On the right a cigarette factory, on the left a guard house, with a bridge at the back. Moralès and the soldiers are on guard, (“Sur la place, chacun passe”). Micaëla appears seeking Don José, a corporal, but is told by Moralès that he is not yet on duty, so why does not she stay and wait with them? She runs away saying that she will return later. Zuniga and José arrive with the new guard, imitated by a crowd of street-children (“Avec la garde montante”). A bell sounds and the cigarette girls emerge from the factory, greeted by young men who have gathered (“La cloche a sonné”). Finally Carmen appears, and all the men ask her when she will love them (“Quand je vous aimerai?”). She replies that she loves the man who does not love her in the famous Habanera (“L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”). When they plead for her to choose a lover from among them, (“Carmen! sur tes pas, nous nous pressons tous!”) she tears a bunch of cassia from her bodice and throws it at Don José, who has been ignoring her, before going back into the factory with the others. José is annoyed by her insolence. Micaëla returns and gives him a letter – and a kiss – from his mother (“Parle-moi de ma mère!”). José longingly thinks of his home, and reading the letter sees that his mother wants him to return and get married. Micaëla is embarrassed and leaves, but Don José declares that he will marry her. As soon as she leaves, screams are heard from the factory and the women run out, singing chaotically (“Au secours! Au secours!”). Don José and Zuniga find that Carmen has been fighting with another woman, and slashed her face with a knife. Zuniga asks Carmen if she has anything to say, but she replies impudently with a song (“Tra la la”). Zuniga instructs José to guard her while he writes out the warrant for prison. The women go back into the factory and the soldiers to the guardhouse. To escape, Carmen seduces José with a Seguidilla (“Près des remparts de Séville”) about an evening she will spend with her next lover who is “only a corporal”; José gives in and unties her hands.  Zuniga returns, and Carmen allows herself to be led away but turns, pushes José to the ground, and as laughing cigarette girls surround Zuniga, she escapes.
Act 2

Evening at Lillas Pastia’s inn, tables scattered around; officers and gypsies relaxing after dinner. It is two months later. Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès sing and dance (“Les tringles des sistres tintaient”). Lillas Pastia is trying to get rid of the officers, so Zuniga invites Carmen and her friends to come with him to the theatre, but she can only think of José, who was demoted and has been in jail since letting her escape, and was released the day before. The sound of a procession hailing Escamillo passes by outside, and the toreador is invited in (“Vivat, vivat le Toréro”). Escamillo sings the Toreador song (“Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre”), and flirts with Carmen, but Carmen tells him that for the time being he need not dream of being hers. When everyone except Carmen, Frasquita and Mercédès have left, the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado arrive and tell the girls of their plans to dispose of the contraband they have smuggled via Gibraltar (Quintet: “Nous avons en tête une affaire”). Carmen refuses to accompany them, saying to their amazement that she is in love. As José’s voice is heard (“Halte là!”), Dancaïre tells Carmen she must try to get Don José to join them. Alone together, José returns a gold coin Carmen had sent him in jail and she orders fruit and wine to be brought. Carmen vexes him with stories of her dancing for the officers but then dances with castanets for him alone (“Je vais danser en votre honneur…Lalala”). During her song the sound of bugles is heard calling the soldiers back to barracks. Carmen’s temper flares when José says he must leave, but he makes her listen by producing the flower she threw at him, which he kept while he was in prison and is proof of his love (the Flower Song – “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”). Carmen is unmoved and asks him to join her gipsy life if he really loves her (“Non, tu ne m’aime pas”). Her picture of a life of freedom tempts him but he finally refuses saying he will never be a deserter. He begins to leave when Zuniga enters hoping to find Carmen. Don José draws his sword on his superior officer, but before they can fight the smugglers burst in and disarm both of them. Zuniga is made a prisoner (“Bel officier”) and José has no alternative but to flee with Carmen (“Suis-nous à travers la campagne”).
Act 3

A wild and deserted rocky place at night. The smugglers along with Carmen and José are travelling with the contraband (“Écoute, écoute, compagnons”), but Carmen has tired of José, and does not conceal this, taunting him to return to his village. Carmen, Frasquita and Mercédès read the cards (“Mêlons! Coupons!”): Frasquita and Mercédès foresee love and romance, wealth and luxury; but Carmen’s cards foretell death for both her and José (“En vain pour éviter les réponses amères”). The smugglers ask the girls to come and charm the customs officers (“Quant au douanier, c’est notre affaire”) and everyone goes off, leaving the jealous José to guard the goods. Micaëla arrives with a guide seeking José. She sends the guide away and vows to take Don José away from Carmen (“Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante”). She sees José firing a gun, and hides in the rocks. It was Escamillo whom José had fired at, but when he arrives José welcomes him, until he says he is infatuated with Carmen and tells José the story of her affair with a soldier, not realising José is that soldier. José challenges Escamillo to a knife-fight, but Escamillo fights defensively, infuriating José. They start again and José finds himself at the mercy of Escamillo who releases him, saying his trade is killing bulls, not men. The third time they fight Escamillo’s knife breaks, but he is saved by the return of the smugglers and Carmen (“Holà, holà José”). Escamillo leaves, but invites Carmen and the smugglers to his next bullfight in Seville. Remendado finds Micaëla hiding, and she tells José that his mother wishes to see him. Carmen mocks him and at first he refuses to go (“Non, je ne partirai pas!”), until Micaëla tells him that his mother is dying. Vowing that he will return to Carmen, he goes. As he is leaving, Escamillo is heard singing in the distance. Carmen rushes to the sound of his voice, but José bars her way.
Act 4

A square in front of the arena at Seville: the day of a bull-fight; bustling activity. It is the day of the contest to which Escamillo invited the smugglers. The square is full of people, with merchants and gipsies selling their wares (“À deux cuartos!”). Zuniga, Frasquita and Mercédès are among the crowd and the girls tell Zuniga that Carmen is now with Escamillo. The crowd and children sing and cheer on the procession as the cuadrilla arrive (“Les voici! voici la quadrille”). Carmen and Escamillo are greeted by the crowds and express their love, Carmen adding that she had never loved one so much (“Si tu m’aimes, Carmen”). After Escamillo has gone into the fight, Frasquita warns Carmen that José is in the crowd (“Carmen! Prends garde!), but Carmen scorns their fears. Before she can enter the arena she is confronted by the desperate José (“C’est toi! C’est moi!”). He begs her to return his love and start a new life with him far away. She calmly replies that she loves him no longer and will not give way – free she was born and free she will die. Cheers are heard from the bull-ring and Carmen tries to enter, but José bars her way. He asks her one last time to come back, but she scornfully throws back the ring that he gave to her (“Cette bague, autrefois”). He stabs her (“Eh bien, damnée”) and as Escamillo is acclaimed in the arena she dies.  DonJosé kneels in despair beside her. The spectators flock out of the arena and find José (“Ah! Carmen! ma Carmen adorée!”), confessing his guilt over her dead body.

Track List:

The Artists:

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 108:57 minutes
Covers & info included.

Part1 —–   Part2 —–   Part3 —–   Part4

Leonardo Leo – Complete Cello Conciertos

Leonardo Leo – Cello Conciertos

About the Work:
Better known for his vocal works than his instrumental contributions, Leonardo Leo nonetheless left us with a number of highly enjoyable and musically significant instrumental works. This two-disc Brilliant Classics set features his “Six Cello Concertos,” a definite oddity at the same time as the cello was very rarely used as a solo instrument. Leo’s six concertos are substantially more virtuosic than the concertos of Vivaldi and are arguably the most significant works for the medium before Boccherini entered the scene several decades later. They were written at the request of the Duke of Madalon, who, given the difficulty of Leo’s writing, must have been a markedly gifted amateur cellist. This album features cellist Julius Berger, who has not only devoted a substantial portion of his discography to the performance of “early” works for his instrument, but has been musicologically active in the discovery of unknown compositions. His playing is a reflection of his passion and academic insights. Pristinely in tune and totally effortless, Berger grabs the listener’s attention from the first note and doesn’t let it go until the end of the set. Even the most demanding double-stop passages or passagework in the higher ranges of the instrument are tossed off with pleasing accuracy and even playfulness. Brilliant’s sound quality is a bit echoic, but offers a pleasing balance between soloist and orchestra.

Track List:
cd1
01. 1 Andantino grazioso (3:36)
02. 2 Con bravura (2:41)
03. 3 Larghetto con poco moto (4:56)
04. 4 Fuga (2:48)
05. 5 Allegro di molto (1:52)
06. 1 Andante grazioso (2:44)
07. 2 Presto (2:12)
08. 3 Larghetto (5:47)
09. 4 Allegro (2:07)
10. 1 Andantino grazioso (3:30)
11. 2 Allegro (2:46)
12. 3 Larghetto a mezza voce (4:08)
13. 4 Allegro (3:15)
14. 1 Andante grazioso (4:24)
15. 2 Allegro (3:23)
16. 3 Largo e gustoso (5:30)
17. 4 Allegro (3:00)
cd2
01. 1 Andante piacevole (3:42)
02. 2 Allegro (3:59)
03. 3 Larghetto e gustoso (5:52)
04. 4 Allegro (5:00)
05. 1 Andante grazioso (4:08)
06. 2 Con spirito (3:29)
07. 3 Amoroso (4:55)
08. 4 Allegro (3:33)
09. 1 Maestoso (3:41)
10. 2 Fuga (Allegro) (2:29)
11. 3 Larghetto (4:31)
12. 4 Allegro (2:37)

The Artists:

mp3, 320 kbps, cd ripping, 106:35 minutes
Covers, info included.

D1Part1 —–  D1Part2 —–   D2Part1 —–  D2Part2