Joaquín Rodrigo – Concierto De Aranjuez

Recorded at the Concert Hall of the CSSR Philharmonic, Košice, from 11th to 16th of Novembre 1988

About this work:
The Concierto de Aranjuez is a composition for classical guitar and orchestra by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is probably Rodrigo’s best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the twentieth century. The Concierto de Aranjuez was inspired by the gardens at Palacio Real de Aranjuez, the spring resort palace and gardens built by Philip II in the last half of the 16th century and rebuilt in the middle of the 18th century by Ferdinand VI. The work attempts to transport the listener to another place and time through the evocation of the sounds of nature. According to the composer, the first movement is “animated by a rhythmic spirit and vigour without either of the two themes… interrupting its relentless pace”; the second movement “represents a dialogue between guitar and solo instruments (cor anglais, bassoon, oboe, horn etc.)”; and the last movement “recalls a courtly dance in which the combination of double and triple time maintains a taut tempo right to the closing bar.” He described the concerto itself as capturing “the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains” in the gardens of Aranjuez. Rodrigo and his wife Victoria stayed silent for many years about the inspiration for the second movement, and thus the popular belief grew that was inspired by the bombing of Guernica in 1937. In her autobiography, Victoria eventually declared that it was both an evocation of the happy days of their honeymoon and a response to Rodrigo’s devastation at the miscarriage of their first pregnancy. It was composed in 1939 in Paris. Rodrigo dedicated the Concierto de Aranjuez to Regino Sainz de la Maza. Rodrigo, blind since age three, was a pianist. He did not play the guitar, yet he still managed to capture the spirit of the guitar in Spain.

The Artists:
CSSR State Philharmonic of Košice
Peter Breiner: conductor
Gerald García: guitar

Track List:
01. Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez (Allegro con Spirito) (6:33)
02. Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio) (10:56)
03. Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez (Allegro Gentile) (5:51)
04. Albeniz: Zambra Granadina (5:10)
05. Granados: Zapateado (from Cantos) (7:10)
06. Granados: Spanish Dance No. 2 (5:41)
07. Granados: Spanish Dance No. 8 (4:29)
08. Granados: Spanish Dance No. 6 (5:48)
09. Granados: Spanish Dance No. 11 (8:20)
10. Albeniz: Asturias (5:04)
11. Falla: Spanish Pieces (Aragonesa No. 1) (3:42)

Stereo, DDD, mp3 (320 kbps), 173.55 Mb, 68:44 minutes. Full info & covers included.
Part1 — Part2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – String Quintets K.406 & K.516

Recorded at the Unitarian Church, Budapest, from 14th to 17h of February, 1994.

About these works:
Mozart’s String Quintet in C minor, K 406 is the composer’s own arrangement of a Wind Serenade, K. 388, for two oboes, clarinets, horns and bassoon, written in 1782 at the end of July, shortly after the completion of the Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio). It is mentioned by Mozart in a letter to his father on 27th July in that year, described as Nacht Musique but is not in the form or mood of a Serenade. The later arrangement was presumably designed to be advertised with the Quintels K. 515 and 516 on 2nd, 5th and 9th April 1788 in the Wiener Zeitung, where they are announced as schön und korrekt geschrieben, to be had from Johann Michael Puchberg, the textile-merchant and fellow freemason of Mozart, to whom he had lent various sums of money. The advertised quintets, available on subscription, represented an effort by Mozart to repay Puchberg. The failure of this attempt can be seen from a second advertisement in the Wiener Zeitung on 25th June, extending the subscription period to 1st January 1789. Publication by Artaria followed in 1789 and 1790, with the third of the quintets, K 406, appearing in 1792 after the composer’s death. The C minor Quintet, like Mozart’s other string quintets scored for two violins, two violas and cello, opens with a strong statement of the key on the ascending notes of the C minor tonic chord, with a softer answering syncopated phrase The second subject, in E flat major, is announced by the first violin, then joined by the first viola. Marked rhythms conclude the exposition, which is then repeated, followed by the central development, at first entrusted to violas and cello. There is a pause before the return of the first subject in recapitulation, with the second subject now transposed into C minor and varied to suit its new harmonic context. A gentle E flat melody opens the Andante, a first violin aria, in which the second violin joins in duet. The principal theme makes a hesitant re-appearance, followed by the secondary material, now transposed to end in E flat. The C minor Menuetto in canone uses the imitative device of canon in various ways, at first when the cello imitates the first violin and later briefly between first and second violin and more substantially between violins and violas, followed by the cello. The Trio, in C major, is in inverted canon, the first violin imitating the second with an inversion of the theme and the cello the first viola, while the second viola remains silent. The final Allegro is a set of variations, the first strongly marked in rhythm, followed by a version of the theme in triplets from the first violin. Syncopation characterizes the next variation, leading to a version that allows the cello a running part. Violas and cello open an E flat major variation, answered by the violins The first viola springs into activity in the next treatment of the material, followed by the cello, and a solemn passage of suspensions leads to the return of the theme, now in a cheerful C major. The Quintet in G minor, K. 516, bears the date 16th May 1787 and was written either before or during the composition of Don Giovanni, the period of the final illness of Mozart’s father, who died in Salzburg on 28th May. It is the most heartfelt of the string quintets, with an immediate poignancy in the principal theme, heard initially from the first violin, accompanied by second violin and first viola and then from the first viola, accompanied by the second viola and cello. The descending notes of the cello, echoing those of the first violin, lead to a second subject that goes some way towards dispelling the air of melancholy. This is transformed into the tragic in the development and again on its re-appearance in the recapitulation. The principal theme dominates the coda, as instrument after instrument enters in imitation. The Minuet sustains the mood, its melodic line broken by heavy chords. The Trio, in G major, offers a measure of contrast. The E flat major Adagio starts with a muted statement of the principal theme in music of great beauty, from which tragedy is never far away and soon makes its overt appearance. There is delight in the descending violin figure, answered by the first viola over a syncopated accompaniment, before the return of the first theme. The key of G minor returns in the Adagio introduction to the last movement in music of infinite sadness, leading to the G major Allegro, with its delicate and sprightly theme, intervening between episodes in which still the occasional shadow falls.

The Artists:
Éder Quartet
Jenos Selmeczi: violin
Peter Szts: violin
Sndor Papp: viola
Gyorgy Eder: cello
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János Fehérvári: 2nd viola

Track List:
1. String Quintet KV 406 – I – Allegro (7:55)
2. String Quintet KV 406 – II – Andante (4:34)
3. String Quintet KV 406 – III – Menuetto (4:28)
4. String Quintet KV 406 – IV – Allegro (6:07)
5. String Quintet KV 516 – I – Allegro (10:09)
6. String Quintet KV 516 – II – Menuetto (5:23)
7. String Quintet KV 516 – III – Adagio ma non troppo (7:35)
8. String Quintet KV 516 – IV – Adagio – Allegro (10:12)

Stereo, DDD, mp3 (320 kbps), 136.99 Mb, 56:01 minutes. Info & covers included.

Part1 — Part2

Maurice Duruflé – Sacred Choral & Organ Works Vol.2

Recorded at the Eglise Saint Antoine des Qinze-Vingts in June & October 1994.

About these works:
In 1928, Maurice Duruflé entered Paul Dukas’ composition class at the Paris Conservatoire. He seems to have learned there the proud, ingrown habit of self-criticism, and that one’s music must be very good indeed to be made public. Dukas was notorious for destroying ambitious works — almost consigned to the flames, the superbly glowing La Péri survives to give a measure of the music that perished; this limited his catalog to a scant 12 published works, albeit they included an opera, a symphony, a piano sonata, and variation set, and the phenomenally popular L’Apprenti sorcier which are among the towering works of French music.
Duruflé, on the other hand, was primarily an organist and church musician, and his sphere of activity was far more limited. But within that sphere he achieved a unique utterance in a handful of suavely radiant works which loom as more enduring than bronze. Because both men composed urbane requiems rife with tidings of comfort and repose, Duruflé has been taken as a sort of poor cousin of Fauré. But where the latter employed modal coloring and a suggestion of chant, Duruflé absorbed Gregorian melody as a second nature, and its long-breathed, supple phrasing informs an otherwise smartly up-to-date idiom with an enchanting aura of timelessness.
This is nowhere truer than in the Messe “Cum jubilo,” especially in light of the blithely serene Kyrie. But in the Gloria — playing a bit over five minutes, the longest of the mass’ five succinct sections — the chant-inspired central baritone solo (“Qui tollis”) is flanked by jubilant affirmations which could almost be by the Poulenc of Les Mamelles de Tiresias, and quite disarming in their juxtaposition. The Sanctus opens on a glowing mystical note, rises to a solemn paean of praise (“Hosanna in excelsis”), and retreats as if in awe. A baritone solo intones the very brief Benedictus with comforting assurance, to questioning interjections from the organ. And in the Agnus Dei, the music seems to hover, abashed before the central mystery, yet lingering.
As he did for his requiem, Duruflé left three scorings for the “Cum jubilo” Mass. There are versions for large orchestra, small orchestra, and organ — all of which retain the original’s unusual vocal forces: a chorus of baritones in unison, with baritone solo. Dedicated to Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, the work received its premiere at the Salle Pleyel, Paris on December 18, 1966, with Camille Maurane taking the solo, the Stéphane Caillat Choir, and the Lamoureux Orchestra led by Jean-Baptiste Marie.

The “Prelude, Adagio et Choral varié sur le thème du “Veni Creator”, Op. 4 highlights his long love for Gregorian chant, a love he shared with his teacher Charles Tounemire. As in all of his organ works, this piece makes extreme technical demands on the performer. The prelude, marked Allegro, ma non troppo consists of running triplets derived from the Veni creator melody. The orchestral flavor of this movement is derived from changes in manual and tone color. This leads into a brief Lento, quasi recitative which links the prelude to the Adagio. The texture is much more placid and chordal in this movement but the theme is still very clearly delineated. As the movement progresses, it becomes more agitated as layers are added to the registration. The movement closes with the full organ. A quick resolution leads to the final movement. This last movement consists of a theme and four variations based on the Veni creator melody. The variations are canonic in nature. The first variation pits a fragment of the melody in the soprano line against the full theme in the bass. The second variation, marked pianissimo, is a brief respite for the player (this section is for manuals only) before entering the third variation which is once again a canon between the soprano and bass voices. The final variation opens with a rapid figuration reminiscent of the first movement and ends with full organ.

Suite, Op. 5 represents one of the high points in the composer’s substantial output for the organ. As with his other works for the instrument, it makes considerable demands on the player. The first movement, a Prelude in E flat minor, is constructed as a large arch. It opens with a funereal theme that exploits the organ’s darkest, most brooding colors. As the movement progresses, the brighter organ stops slowly overcome the darkness of the opening until the grand sound of the full instrument bursts forth. From this great expanse of sound, Duruflé gradually returns to the contemplative mood of the opening.
The second movement is a graceful Sicilienne. The plaintive theme is isolated in various solo stops, accompanied by an eighth note figuration; these episodes alternate with a chordal texture played on string stops. The final Toccata, one of the most difficult pieces in the organ literature, is a sonic whirlwind that eschews the sort of consistent pattern of fast notes that characterizes many French organ toccatas; rather, it unfolds in a more improvisatory spirit.

The Artists:
Orchestre de la Cité & Ensemble Vocal Michel Piquemal
Michel Piquemal: conductor
Marc Vieillefon: violin
Eric Lebrun: organ
Didier Henry: baritone

Track List:
01. Messe “Cum Jubilo” Op.11 – I. Kyrie (3:12)
02. Messe “Cum Jubilo” Op.11 – II. Gloria (5:02)
03. Messe “Cum Jubilo” Op.11 – III. Sanctus (3:32)
04. Messe “Cum Jubilo” Op.11 – IV. Benedictus (2:19)
05. Messe “Cum Jubilo” Op.11 – V. Agnus Dei (4:35)
06. Prélude, Adagio Et Choral Varié Sur Le “Veni Creator” – I. Prelude (7:53)
07. Prélude, Adagio Et Choral Varié Sur Le “Veni Creator” – II. Adagio (6:28)
08. Prélude, Adagio Et Choral Varié Sur Le “Veni Creator” – III. Choral varié (8:46)
09. Suite Pour Orgue Op.5 – I. Prélude (Lento) (7:55)
10. Suite Pour Orgue Op.5 – II. Sicilienne (Allegro moderato) (6:09)
11. Suite Pour Orgue Op.5 – III. Toccata (Allegro ma non troppo) (7:32)

Stereo, DDD, mp3 (320 kbps), 62:30 minutes, 155,45 Mb. Covers & info included.
Part1 — Part2

Johann Sebastian Bach – The Well-Tempered Clavier

Recorded in 1994

About these works:
The Well-Tempered Clavier (Das Wohltemperirte Clavier  in the original German title), BWV 846–893, is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. He first gave the title to a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, dated 1722, composed “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study.” Bach later compiled a second book of the same kind, dated 1742, but titled it only “Twenty-four Preludes and Fugues.” The two works are now usually considered to comprise The Well-Tempered Clavier and are referred to respectively as Books I and II. The Well-Tempered Clavier is generally regarded as one of the most influential works in the history of Western classical music.
The first book was compiled in the year 1722 during Bach’s appointment in Köthen; the second book followed it 22 years later in 1744 while he was in Leipzig. Both were widely circulated in manuscript, but printed copies were not made until 1801, by three publishers almost simultaneously in Bonn, Leipzig and Zurich. Bach’s style went out of favour in the time around his death, and most music in the early Classical period had neither contrapuntal complexity nor a great variety of keys. But with the maturing of the Classical style in the 1770s the Well-Tempered Clavier began to influence the course of musical history, with Haydn  and Mozart studying the work closely. Each book contains twenty-four pairs of preludes and fugues. The first pair is in C major, the second in C minor, the third in C-sharp major, the fourth in C-sharp minor, and so on. The rising chromatic pattern continues until every key has been represented, finishing with a B-minor fugue. Bach recycled some of the preludes and fugues from earlier sources: the 1720 Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, for instance, contains versions of eleven of the preludes. The C-sharp major prelude and fugue in book one was originally in C major – Bach added a key signature of seven sharps and adjusted some accidentals to convert it to the required key. The far-reaching influence of Bach’s music is evident in that the fugue subject in Mozart’s Prelude and Fugue in C Major K. 394 is isomorphic to that of the A-flat major Fugue in Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier. This pattern is found also in the C-Major fugue subject of Book II. Another similar theme is the third movement fugue subject in the Concerto for Two Harpsichords, BWV 1061. Bach’s title suggests that he had written for a (12-note) well-tempered tuning system in which all keys sounded in tune (also known as “circular temperament”). The opposing system in Bach’s day was meantone temperament in which keys with many accidentals sound out of tune. (See also musical tuning). It is sometimes assumed that Bach intended equal temperament, the standard modern keyboard tuning which became popular after Bach’s death, but modern scholars suggest instead a form of well temperament. There is debate whether Bach meant a range of similar temperaments, perhaps even altered slightly in practice from piece to piece, or a single specific “well-tempered” solution for all purposes.
Musically, the structural regularities of the Well-Tempered Clavier encompass an extraordinarily wide range of styles, more so than most pieces in the literature. The Preludes are formally free, although many individual numbers exhibit typical Baroque melodic forms, often coupled to an extended free coda (e.g. Book I preludes in C minor, D Major, and B-flat major). Each fugue is marked with the number of voices, from two to five. Most are three- and four-voiced fugues. The fugues employ a full range of contrapuntal devices (fugal exposition, thematic inversion, stretto, etc), but are generally more compact than Bach’s fugues for organ. The best-known piece from either book is the first prelude of Book I, a simple progression of arpeggiated chords. The technical simplicity of this C Major prelude has made it one of the most commonly studied piano pieces for students completing their introductory training. This prelude also served as the basis for the Ave Maria of Charles Gounod.
During much of the 20th century it was assumed that Bach wanted equal temperament, which had been described by theorists and musicians for at least a century before Bach’s birth. However, research has continued into various unequal systems contemporary with Bach’s career. Accounts of Bach’s own tuning practice are few and inexact. The two most cited sources are Forkel, Bach’s first biographer, and Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, who received information from Bach’s sons and pupils, and Johann Kirnberger, one of those pupils. Forkel reports that Bach tuned his own harpsichords and clavichords and found other people’s tunings unsatisfactory; his own allowed him to play in all keys and to modulate into distant keys almost without the listeners noticing it. Marpurg and Kirnberger, in the course of a heated debate, appear to agree that Bach required all the major thirds to be sharper than pure—which is in any case virtually a prerequisite for any temperament to be good in all keys. Johann Georg Neidhardt, writing in 1724 and 1732, described a range of unequal and near-equal temperaments (as well as equal temperament itself), which can be successfully used to perform some of Bach’s music, and were later praised by some of Bach’s pupils and associates. J.S. Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach himself published a rather vague tuning method which was close to but still not equal temperament: having only “most of” the fifths tempered, without saying which ones or by how much. Since 1950 there have been many other proposals and many performances of the work in different and unequal tunings, some derived from historical sources, some by modern authors. Whatever their provenances, these schemes all promote the existence of subtly different musical characters in different keys, due to the sizes of their intervals. However, they disagree as to what key receives what character.

Lenö Landó: piano

Book I.I Track List:
01. No. 1 In C Major, Bwv 846 (4:22)
02. No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 847 (2:56)
03. No. 3 In C Sharp Major, Bwv 848 (3:31)
04. No. 4 In C Sharp Minor, Bwv 849 (7:28)
05. No. 5 In D Major, Bwv 850 (2:59)
06. No. 6 In D Minor, Bwv 851 (3:13)
07. No. 7 In E Flat Major, Bwv 852 (6:26)
08. No. 8 In E Flat Minor – D Sharp Minor, Bwv 853 (8:25)
09. No. 9 In E Major, Bwv 854 (2:34)
10. No. 10 In E Minor, Bwv 855 (3:42)
11. No. 11 In F Major, Bwv 856 (2:11)
12. No. 12 In F Minor, Bwv 857 (7:07)

Part1 — Part2

Book I.II track list:
01. No. 13 in F Sharp Major, Bwv 858 (3:49)
02. No. 14 in F Sharp Minor, Bwv 859 (3:31)
03. No. 15 in G Major, Bwv 860 (3:37)
04. No. 16 in G Minor, Bwv 861 (3:25)
05. No. 17 in A Flat Major, Bwv 862 (3:47)
06. No. 18 in G Sharp Minor, Bwv 863 (4:24)
07. No. 19 in A Major, Bwv 864 (3:31)
08. No. 20 in A Minor, Bwv 865 (6:09)
09. No. 21 in B Flat Major, Bwv 866 (3:13)
10. No. 22 in B Flat Minor, Bwv 867 (5:12)
11. No. 23 in B Major, Bwv 868 (3:14)
12. No. 24 in B Minor, Bwv 869 (11:35)

Part1 — Part2

Book II.I track list:
01. No. 1 in C Major, Bwv 870 (4:09)
02. No. 2 in C Minor, Bwv 871 (4:13)
03. No. 3 C-sharp Major, Bwv 872 (3:45)
04. No. 4 in C-sharp Minor, Bwv 873 (6:25)
05. No. 5 in D Major, Bwv 874 (7:52)
06. No. 6 in D Minor, Bwv 875 (3:36)
07. No. 7 in E-flat Major, Bwv 876 (4:27)
08. No. 8 in E-sharp Minor, Bwv 877 (7:16)
09. No. 9 in E Major, Bwv 878 (7:18)
10. No. 10 in E Minor, Bwv 879 (7:22)
11. No. 11 in F Major, Bwv 880 (4:43)
12. No. 12 in F Minor, Bwv 881 (5:47)

Part1 — Part2

Book II.II track list:
01. No. 13 in F-sharp Major, BWV 882 (5:00)
02. No. 14 in F-sharp Minor, BWV 883 (8:34)
03. No. 15 in G Major, BWV 884 (3:46)
04. No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 885 (5:51)
05. No. 17 in A-flat Major, BWV 886 (5:34)
06. No. 18 in G-sharp Minor, BWV 887 (8:31)
07. No. 19 in A Major, BWV 888 (2:48)
08. No. 20 in A Minor, BWV 889 (7:36)
09. No. 21 in B-flat Major, BWV 890 (9:16)
10. No. 22 in B-flat Minor, BWV 891 (7:47)
11. No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892 (5:44)
12. No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893 (4:26)

Part1 — Part2

stereo, DDD, mp3 (320 kbps), 597.26 Mb, 252:07 minutes. Covers included.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Le Nozze Di Figaro

Recorded in Berlin in 1968.

About this opera:
Whatever the merits of sets made since, this one is ensured a revered place in the pantheon of Figaro recordings. Made in 1968, when Bohm was enjoying an Indian summer, it was based on a production by Sellner at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin and indeed the production was supervised by Sellner. Since its premiere under Bohm in 1963, he had led many revivals including some performances with this cast, around the time the recording was made, which surely accounts for this sense of a true ensemble felt all round and of a thought-through interpretation. The crisp, clear, yet spacious recording, seldom matched on more recent versions, only enhances the authority and warmth of the reading. Bohm radiates the wisdom of his years of attendance on the score without any slackening of his rhythmic grip or his demand for precision of execution. It was also part of Bohm’s genius to weld a heterogenous cast into a convincing whole. No need at this stretch of time to commend the singers individually; each has complete command vocally and dramatically of his or her role though one must just mention Janowitz’s dignified yet lively Countess and Mathis’s animated, alluring Susanna.

The Artists:
Chor Und Orchestra Der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Karl Böhm: conductor
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Dietrich FIscher-Dieskau: Il Comte Di Almaviva
Gundula Janowitz: La Contessa Di Almaviva
Edith Mathis: Sussana
Herman Prey: Figaro
Tatiana Troyanos: Cherubino
Patricia Johnson: Marcellina
Martin Vantin: Don Curzio

Track List:
cd1:
01. Overture (4:14)
02. Act 1, Duetto – Cinque…dieci…venti….trenta… (3:25)
03. Duettino – Se a caso madama la notte ti chiama (4:07)
04. Cavatina – Bravo, signor padrone! (4:27)
05. Aria – La vendetta, oh, la vendetta (3:55)
06. Duettino – Via, resti servita, madama brillante (4:00)
07. Aria – Non so piu cosa son, cosa faccio (6:19)
08. Terzetto – Cosa sento! tosto andante (5:21)
09. Coro – Giovanti liete, fiori spargente (4:37)
10. Aria – Non piu andrai, farfallone amoroso (3:52)
11. Act 2, Cavatina – Porgi, amor (8:47)
12. Canzona – Voi che sapete (4:05)
13. Aria – Venite…inginocchiatevi (3:13)
cd2:
01. Recitativo – Quante buffonerie! (3:28)
02. Terzetto – Susanna, or via, sortite (4:08)
03. Duettino – Aprite, presto, aprite (2:32)
04. Finale – Esci, ormai, garzon malnato (7:54)
05. Signori, di fuori son già i suonatori (9:12)
06. Voi signor, che giusto siete (4:03)
07. Recitativo – Che imbarazzo è mai questo (2:25)
08. Duetto – Crudel! perchè finora farmi languir cosi? (3:30)
09. Recitativo ad Aria – Hai gia vinta la causa! – Vedrò, mentr’io sospiro (6:46)
10. Sestetto – Riconosci in questo amplesso (6:24)
11. Recitativo ed Aria – E Susanna non vien! – Dove sono i bei momenti (7:36)
12. Duettino – Su l’aria / Che soave zeffiretto (3:54)
cd3:
1. Coro – Ricevete, o padroncina (3:35)
2. Finale – Ecco la marcia… andiamo (6:16)
3. Act 4, Cavatina – L’ho perduta (3:56)
4. Aria – Il capro e la capretta (5:28)
5. Aria – In quegli anni in cui val poco (4:04)
6. Recitativa ed Aria – Tutto e disposto – Aprite un po’ quegli occhi (5:01)
7. Recitativo ed Aria – Giunse alfin il momento – Deh vieni, non tardar (5:32)
8. Finale – Pian pianin le andrò più presso (11:35)
9. Gente,gente, all’armi, all’armi (5:07)

Stereo, ADD, mp3 (30 kbps CBR), 421.86 Mb, 173:12 minutes. Full info, synosis & covers included.
Part1 — Part2 — Part3 — Part4 — Part5

George Frideric Händel – Samson

Recorded at the Musikverein, Vienna, May 1992

About this work:
Samson (HWV 57) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. It was based on a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton, who based it on Milton’s Samson Agonistes, which in turn was based on the figure Samson in Chapter 16 of the Book of Judges. Samson is considered one of Handel’s finest dramatic works. The premiere was given in London on 18 February 1743. It was a great success, leading to a total of seven performances in its first season, the most in a single season of any of his oratorios. Samson retained its popularity throughout Handel’s lifetime and has never fallen entirely out of favor since. The well-known arias “Let the bright Seraphim” (for soprano) and “Total eclipse” (for tenor) are often performed separately in concert. Samson is usually performed as an oratorio in concert form, but on occasions has also been staged as an opera.

The Artists:
Concentus Musicus Wien
Nikolaus Harnoncourt: conductor
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Arnold Schoenberg Chor
Erwin Ortner: chorus master
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Anthony Rolfe Johnson: Samson
Roberta Alexander: Dalila
Jochen Kowalski: Micah
Anton Scharinger: Manoa
Alastair Miles: Harapha

Track List:
cd1:
01. Symphony { Georg Friedrich Händel 1685-1759 } (5:28)
02. Menuet (2:58)
03. Chorus of Philistines: Awake the trumpet’s lofty sound (2:03)
04. Philistine Woman: Ye men of Gaza, hither bring (3:54)
05. Chorus of Philistines: Awake the trumpet’s lofty sound (1:13)
06. Samson(Air): Torments, alas! are not confined (5:57)
07. Micah (Air): O mirror of our fickle state (4:01)
08. Samson (Air): Total eclipse! no sun, no moon, all dark (3:27)
09. Micah (Accompagnato): Since light so necessary is to life (1:19)
10. horus of Israelites: O first created beam! (4:54)
11. Manoa (Rec): Oh miserable change! is this the man (0:54)
12. Manoa (Acc): The good we wish for, often proves our banes (1:09)
13. Manoa (Air): Thy glorious deeds inspir’d my tongue (4:17)
14. Samson (Acc): My genial spirits droop, my hopes are flat (1:19)
15. Micah (Air): Then long Eternity shall greet your bliss (0:54)
16. Chorus of Israelites: Then round about the starry throne (2:30)
17. Manoa (Rec): Trust yet in God! Thy father’s timely care (0:57)
18. Micah (Air): Return, oh God of hosts! (3:49)
19. Chorus of Israelites:To dust his glory they would tread (5:25)
20. Attendant to Dalila: With plaintive notes and am’rous moan (6:20)
21. Samson (Air): Your charms to ruin led the way (3:49)
22. Dalila,Vergin (Duet): My (Her) faith and truth, oh Samson, prove (4:44)
23. Chorus of Virgins: Her faith and truth, oh Samson, prove (1:11)
24. Dalila (Air): To fleeting pleasures make your court (1:37)
25. Chorus of Virgins: Her faith and truth, oh Samson, prove (1:18)
cd2:
01. Samson, Dalila (Rec.): N’er think of that! (1:16)
02. Dalila, Samson (Duet): Traitor (Traitress) to love! I’ll sue (hear) no more (2:18)
03. Chorus of Israelites: To man God’s universal law (4:19)
04. Harapha (Air): Honour and arms scorn such a foe (5:18)
05. Samson, Harapha (Duet): Go, baffled coward, go / Presume not on thy God (3:05)
06. Chorus of Israelites: Hear, Jacob’s God, Jehovah, hear! (3:15)
07. Philistine (Air): To song and dance we give the day (1:23)
08. Chorus of Philistines: To song and dance we give the day (2:06)
09. Chorus of Israelites and Philistines: Fix’d in his everlasting seat (2:54)
10. Micah (Rec.): More trouble is behind: for Harapha (1:27)
11. Harapha (Air): Presuming slave, to move their wrath (2:56)
12. Chorus of Israelites: With thunder arm’d, great God, arise! (4:23)
13. Samson (Accompagnato): Jehovah’s Glory known! (0:30)
14. Samson (Air): Thus when the sun from’s wat’ry bed (4:03)
15. Micah (Accompagnato): With might endued above the suns of men (0:32)
16. Micah (Air): The Holy One of Israel be thy guide (1:26)
17. Chorus of Israelites: To fame immortal go (1:20)
18. Philistine (Air): Great Dagon has subdued our foe (1:55)
19. Chorus of Philistines: Great Dagon has subdued our foe (2:23)
20. Manoa (Air): How willing my paternal love (2:49)
21. A Symphony of horror and confusion (0:23)
22. Chorus of Philistines: Hear us, our God, oh hear our cry! (3:08)
23. Micah (Air): Ye sons of Israel, now lament (2:03)
24. Chorus of Israelites: Weep, Israel, weep a louder strain (1:11)
25. A Dead March (3:42)
26. Chorus of Israelites: Glorious hero, may thy grave (5:13)
27. Israelitish woman(Air): Let the bright Seraphim in burning row (3:13)
28. Chorus of Israelites: Let their celestial concerts all unite (3:18)

Stereo, DDD, mp3 (320 kbps CBR), 366.45 Mb, 147:44 minutes. Full info, synopsis & covers included.
Part1 — Part2 — Part3 — Part4

Música para Vihuela III. Alonso Mudarra: Tres Libros De Música En Cifras Para Vihuela

Recorded in November 1991.

About these works:
The “Vihuela de mano” is a somewhat mysterious instrument. It evolved in Spain alongside the lute which it replaced at the begining of the 16th century and from which it differed in its guitar-like flat back and waisted shape. Alonso de Mudarra was a sixteenth century Spanish composer and vihuelist known for his songs and his numerous innovations in the field of instrumental music. He lived in relative luxury throughout his life. His upbringing and education were in the ducal household in Guadalajara. Duke Iñigo López de Mendoza (1493-1566), a highly cultured man and fine lutenist, may have been a mentor to the young de Mudarra, influencing him toward study of the vihuela. De Mudarra was eventually considered one of the best vihuelaplayers in Seville. With de Mendoza, he’s believed to have traveled to Italy in 1529 in the retinue of Charles V. Soon after his return, he was ordained a priest, and then took a canonry at the Seville Cathedral on the October 18, 1546. Aside from creating his considerable output of music, for the rest of his life de Mudarra played an important role in the affairs of the cathedral. He did such things as deal with the composers commissioned to produce music for feast-days, hired performers, and negotiated the purchase and installation of a new organ. Later he was in charge of all the cathedral’s monetary disbursements. As a sign of the kind of man de Mudarra might have been, despite his social privilege his will stated that upon his death (which came in 1580) all of his possessions were to be sold and the money given to the poor. de Mudarra’s major publication was Tres libros de musica en cifras para vihuela (Three Books of Music in Tablature for Vihuela, 1546). The range of genres and styles suggest that it’s a comprehensive sample of what he’d composed up to that point in his life. It contains 77 works and introduces numerous innovations. There are intabulations of motets and mass sections by Flemish composers, the earliest known pieces for modern guitar, a piece for harp or organ notated in a 14-line tablature system of de Mudarra’s invention, and suites of pieces grouped by mode. His preferred instrumental genre was the fantasia, of which Tres libros contains 27 true examples, while many of the other works draw on fantasia techniques. But above all it’s for his exquisite songs for vihuela and voice that de Mudarra is remembered. Subtle and economical of means, they’re rightly considered the finest Spanish songs of his century.
The sixteenth century Spanish courts supported a thriving tradition of composer-performers on a number of musical instruments: vihuela, organ, and harp. By the time Alonso de Mudarra, canon of the Cathedral of Seville, published his Tres libros de musica en cifras para vihuela (Three books of music in tablature for the vihuela, 1546), the tradition was already well underway. Other early volumes include those of Luis de Milán (Valencia, 1536), Luis de Narváez (Valladolid, 1538), Enríquez de Valderrábano (Valladolid, 1547), Diego Pisador (Salamanca, 1552), and Miguel de Fuenllana (Seville, 1553). Each volume offered to the players’ market a large compilation of solos, dance tunes, improvisations, and songs, and advertised both the musician and his patron. Mudarra thus took pains to introduce into the 77 pieces contained in his Tres libros de musica certain innovations: the first music ever published for guitar, some bolder chromaticism alongside more traditional fantasias and variations, and a new system for organ or harp tablature. At the same time, he demonstrated his mastery of all known vihuela genres in more traditional compositions, such as this pavan and galliard pair. While this pavan and galliard share the same mode and some melodic similarities, they are not necessarily unique in doing so (though Mudarra did experiment with suites for vihuela among the other pieces in the publication). Rather, they represent a more traditional pairing of courtly dances, for which numerous Spanish composers wrote music (and from which the Elizabethan English learned the fashion). Consonant with his tradition, Mudarra even suggests a noble dedicatee for the pair: the unidentified “Alexander” of the pavan’s subtitle. Also completely within the tradition, the opening pavan strides forth in a stately duple meter; this was the court’s entry dance, a processional that might need strong accents and repeated sections. Yet though Mudarra includes the strong duple accents, he imposes over them an equally strong pattern of three measures per harmony, with eight such groups. The second dance expected is the galliard, a more lively triple-meter dance. Mudarra complies, and his galliard shares mode and overall harmonic character, clear-cut phrase structure, and even some melodic motives and textural alternations (fast ornamentation and thick chords). Cleverly, the composer also returns to the rhythmic complexity of the pavan: the galliard contains larger cross-rhythms that preserve the hints of ambiguity between duple and triple meter.

The Performer:
Hopkinson Smith: vihuela de mano (Joël van Lemp, Boston)

Track List:
01. Pavana de Alexandre, Gallarda (3:44)
02. Primer Tono (7:24)
03. Fantasía fácil (2:11)
04. Segundo Tono (1:52)
05. Una Pavana (3:15)
06. Fantasía para desenbolver las manos (1:23)
07. Tercero Tono (5:21)
08. Fantasía (2:59)
09. Fantasía de pasos largos para desenbolver las manos (1:21)
10. Quarto Tono (2:17)
11. Conde Claros en doze maneras (1:58)
12. Tiento del Quinto Tono (0:49)
13. Fantasía de pasos para desenbolver las manos (1:13)
14. Fantasía fácil (2:24)
15. Sexto Tono (3:43)
16. Romanesca o Guárdame las vacas (2:58)
17. Séptimo Tono (3:35)
18. Fantasía fácil (1:58)
19. Octavo Tono (2:49)
20. Fantasía que contrahaze la harpa en la manera de Ludovico (1:56)
21. Una Pavana (2:11)
22. Fantasía del quarto tono (2:47)
23. Romanesca o Guárdame las vacas (1:47)
24. Fantasía del primer tono (1:28)
25. Fantasía del quinto tono (1:42)

Stereo, DDD. mp3 (320 kbps), 159.11 Mb, 65:05 minutes. Full info & covers included.
Part1 — Part2

Música de Vihuela II. Luís de Narvaéz: Los Seis Libros Del Delfín De Música

Recorded in September 1988

About this works:
The “Vihuela de mano” is a somewhat mysterious instrument. It evolved in Spain alongside the lute which it replaced at the begining of the 16th century and from which it differed in its guitar-like flat back and waisted shape. Narváez was a Spanish composer active during the second quarter of the sixteenth century. The Seys Libros del Delphin de Música was a large collection of his works for vihuela solo, published in 1538. It contains a selection of the vihuela music types of the day, including quasi-improvisatory fantasias, vihuela versions of multipart vocal pieces (many from outside Spain), sets of variations, and more. The popularity of the pieces the book contained is evident both from their wide distribution (they were reprinted as far afield as northern Europe, in versions for the more common lute) and from the presence in Spain of arrangements of them for keyboard instruments.

The Performer:
Hopkinson Smith: vihuela de mano (Joël van Lemp, Boston)

Track List:
01. Fantasia del Quarto Tono (3:15)
02. Una Baxa de Contra Punto (1:15)
03. Fantasia del Segundo Tono (3:21)
04. Fantasia del quarto tono (3:35)
05. La cancion del Emperador (3:04)
06. Je veulx laysser melancolie de ricafort (1:50)
07. Fantasia del septimo tono sobre ut re mi mi (4:10)
08. Siete Diferencias de guarda me las vacas (6:09)
09. Fantasia del primer tono (2:55)
10. Fantasia del Octavo Tono (3:03)
11. Sanctus de la missa de Faysanregres de Josquin (3:18)
12. Fantasia del sesto tono sobre fa ut mi re (3:32)
13. Fantasia del quinto tono (2:04)
14. Seys diferencias del hyno de nuestra senoza (7:44)
15. Sanctus de la missa d’Ercules dux ferarie de Josquin (3:22)
16. Fantasia del Primer tono (1:16)
17. Una cancion de Gombert (2:13)
18. Fantasia de primer tono (2) (1:05)
19. Cum sancto Spiritu de la missa de la fuga de Josquin (2:16)
20. Fantasia del Tercero tono (3:04)
21. Veynte y dos diferencias de Conde claros (2:59)

Stereo, ADD, mp3 (320 kps CBR), 161.05 Mb, 65:30 minutes. Full info & covers included.
Part1 — Part2

Música de Vihuela I. Luís de Milán: El Maestro

Recorded between 1986 and 1989.

About theese works:
The “Vihuela de mano” is a somewhat mysterious instrument. It evolved in Spain alongside the lute which it replaced at the begining of the 16th century and from which it differed in its auitar-like flat back and waisted shape. “El Maestro”, printed in 1536, opened up a flourishing series of publications that wre to continue for the rest of the century.
It was in Valencia that Luís de Milán published in 1536 a work entitled “Libro de Música de Vihuela, El Maestro”. In the same year there appeared in Venice, Milan and Nuremberg important lute tablatures by Francesco de Milano, Castelonio and Hans Neusidler. Lu´çis de Milán was certainly influenced by his predecesor Castiglione. By 1535 he had already published a book of parlour games entitled “El Juego del Mandar”, but his most important work remains “El Maestro” which was one of the first of the instrumental tablatures printed in the Iberian peninsula. With this work, Luís de Milán appears as both a composer and pedagogue: this was the first collection of music for vihuela and at the same time a source of technical and theoretical information. The vihuela rivals the lute in its ability to move the listener even without the support of words.

The performer:
Hopkinson Smith: vihuela de mano (Joël van Lemp, Boston)

Track List:
01. Tonos 1 & 2- Fantasía XIII (1:53)
02. Tonos 1 & 2- Pavana I (1:18)
03. Tonos 1 & 2- Tento I (7:39)
04. Tonos 1 & 2- Fantasía XI (3:17)
05. Tonos 1 & 2- Fantasía X (2:18)
06. Tonos 3 & 4- Fantasía XII (2:35)
07. Tonos 3 & 4- Fantasía VIII (2:09)
08. Tonos 3 & 4- Tento II (5:39)
09. Tonos 5 & 6- Fantasía XVI (2:52)
10. Tonos 5 & 6- Pavana III (2:05)
11. Tonos 5 & 6- Fantasía XV (3:37)
12. Tonos 7 & 8- Fantasía XVIII (3:11)
13. Tonos 7 & 8- Pavana IV (1:53)
14. Tonos 7 & 8- Pavana V (1:21)
15. Tonos 7 & 8- Fantasía XXII (2:51)
16. Tonos 7 & 8- Tento IV (5:57)

Stereo, AAD, mp3 (320 kbps CBR), 122.41 Mb, 50:35 minutes. Info & covers included.
Part1 — Part2

Various Artists – The Russian Opera Experience

Published in 1997

About this works:
This recording presentes a fine selection of operas from the most famous russian composers of the 20th century. From Rimsky-Korsakov to Glinka trough Rachmaninov and Mussorgsky, the operas presented here rank among the most famous compositions of russian operas, all of them performed by the most prestigious former East Germany & Bulgarian orchestras and singers. A good opportunity to get familiar with the russian operas.

The Artists:
Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin – Michail Jurowsky (1 & 6)
Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – Stoyan Angelov (2 & 7)
Kölner Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester – Alexander Lazarew (3, 4 & 5)
Sofia National Opera Chorus & Orchestra – Dimiter Manolov (8)
Plovdic Philharmonic Orchestra – Rouslan Raychev (9,10 & 11)
Sofia National Opera Orchestra – Atanas Margaritov (12 & 13)
Sofia National Opera Orchestra – Ivan Marinov (14,15 & 26)

Track List:
01. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Snegurochka – Tanz der Spielleute (3:41)
02. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Schneeflöckchen – Blumenchor (4:48)
03. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Mainacht – He! Burschen (2:04)
04. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Mainacht – Ukrainische Nacht (2:42)
05. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Mainacht – Chor der Nixen (4:27)
06. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Das Märchen vom Zaren Saltan – Opernsuite op 57 (4:50)
07. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Die Boyarin Vera Sheloga – Wiegenlied (4:18)
08. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Der goldene Hahn – König Dodons Tod (7:48)
09. Serge Rachmaninov / Aleko – Tanz der Männer (4:49)
10. Serge Rachmaninov / Aleko – Chor der Zigeuner (2:57)
11. Serge Rachmaninov / Aleko – Cavatine des Aleko (5:51)
12. Modest Mussorgsky / Khovanshchina – Tanz der persischen Sklaven (6:52)
13. Modest Mussorgsky / Khovanshchina – Weissagung der Marfa (4:57)
14. Mikhail I. Glinka / Ivan Susanin – Polonaise (4:29)
15. Mikhail I. Glinka / Ivan Susanin – Rezitativ und Arie (5:23)
16. Mikhail I. Glinka / Ivan Susanin – Finale (3:59)

Stereo, ADD-DD, mp3 (320 kbps), 171.95 Mb, 73:55 minutes. Covers & info included.
Part1 — Part2