FOERSTER Violin Concertos Ivan Ženatý – violin,
BBC Symphony Orchestra / Jirí Belohlávek Supraphon Records SU 39612 CD
PALLADIANS Devil's Trill Rodolfo Richter – violin; Susanne Heinrich - viola da gamba; Silas Standage – harpsichord; William Carter - archlute &
baroque guitar
Linn Records CKD 292 CD/SACD Hybrid
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Works: Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 88 (1910-1911)
Concerto No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, Op. 104 (1925-1926)
The Times called it a “superbly played concert:” Ivan Ženatý and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted
by Jirí Belohlavek performed Foerster’s first violin concerto at London’s Barbican Hall in December, 2007.
The concerto was written at the urging of Czech violin virtuoso Jan Kubelík, the dedicatee of the work, and
the soloist who premiered it in Chicago in 1910. The second concerto, recorded in the studio, is a
somewhat neglected part of the solo repertoire, not being a work for the presentation of superficial violin
virtuosity. Ženatý, however, succeeds in delving beneath the piece’s surface and uncovering its
introverted beauty for the audience. Thus these pieces appear together for the first time ever on this
album, produced in cooperation with BBC Radio 3.
The combination of Foerster’s music with a soloist and conductor of this calibre could be called a truly
fortunate constellation. Belohlávek is a conductor of worldwide reknown whose years of musical activity
have earned him the position of a specialist in the Czech symphonic and operatic repertoire. Under his
guidance, the London orchestra rings with the tones, colors and ardor traditionally associated with Czech
ensembles, while Ženatý’s playing is characterized as always by passion and virtuosity in the service of the
composition.
The unique first recording of Foerster’s complete violin concertos in a spectacular performance by Ivan
Ženatý and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jirí Belohlávek.
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Works: Giuseppe Tartini: Sonata in G minor ‘The Devil’s Trill’;
Sonata in G minor, Op.1 No.10 ‘Didone abbandonata’;
Sonata in E minor, Op.1 No.5: Largo;
Sonata in A major, Op.1 No.13 ‘Pastorale’;
Grave in D minor; Francesco
Maria Veracini: Sonata in A major, Op.1 No.7
A brand new recording by Palladians features programmatic sonatas by Tartini, including the famous Devil’s Trill Sonata (inspired by a dream in which he made a pact with the Devil). Also included is a sonata by Veracini, whose
skilful playing was a great influence on the young Tartini.
Famed throughout Europe as a pre-eminent virtuoso, Tartini was a private, secretive man, only revealing his
true character through secret codes in his manuscripts. Tartini’s programmatic sonatas ('Didone Abandonata' and ‘The Devil's Trill’ - a deservedly celebrated
masterpiece) display his intense pictorial inward gaze that sets him apart from his many Italian colleagues. Veracini’s legendary virtuosity (which led Tartini to temporarily withdraw into solitudinous practice) created a
storm of success in England and led to the popular toast 'One God, One King, and One Veracini!'
Palladians is firmly established on the international stage as one of the very best chamber groups performing
baroque repertoire. Constant critical acclaim, a reputation for dashing, intelligent musicianship and a warm,
spontaneous on-stage manner has led this virtuoso ensemble to give numerous concert and radio
performances in the UK Palladians are five times winners of the prestigious Diapason d'Or Award, (1993, 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2000) and
has twice had albums named Gramophone "Editor's Choice".
“The Devil’s Trill” maintains Palladians best qualities; formidable musicianship, impeccable playing and stylish
arrangements, whilst fully exploiting the freedom and range of expression that its new line-up allows.
“A group whose quick-witted inventiveness and almost supernatural internal rapport never fail to delight.” Gramophone Magazine
TARTINI Solo Violin Sonata & Violin & Soprano Chiara Banchini, violin
Patrizia Bovi, soprano Zig-Zag Territiores ZZT 080502 CD
Garden Of Early Delights Pamela Thorby (recorders) Andrew
Lawrence-King (harps and psaltery)
Linn Records CKD 291 CD/SACD Hybrid
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Works: 1 Anonyme, « Lieto ti prendo e poi » (Aria del Tasso) 1’58
Giuseppe Tartini, Sonate XVII en Ré Maj / D Maj / D Dur
2 Andante cantabile « Di se senti » 3’33 - 3 Allegro assai 2’21- 4 Aria del Tasso 1’12- 5 Furlana
2’12
6 Anonyme « Depon Clorinda le sue spoglie inteste » 1’11
Giuseppe Tartini , Sonate XXIV en Ré Maj / D Maj / D Dur
7 Andante cantabile « Care dell’idol mio » 4’05 - 8 Allegro assai 3’46- 9 Aria cantabile « Alla
stagion novella » 2’46-
10 Presto « Amico il fato, guidami in porto » 2’01- 11 « Amico il fato » 2’13
Giuseppe Tartini Sonate XIII en si min / b min / h moll
12 Andante « Quanto mai felici siete » 4’48- 13 Allegro assai 2’16- 14 Giga,allegro affettuoso 3’07
15 Anonyme « Intanto Erminia fra l’ombrose piante » 1’56
Giuseppe Tartini Sonate (Brainard A3 ) en la min / a min / a moll
16 Cantabile 1’55- 17 Allegro 1’48- 18 Allegro 3’28 - 19 Giga 2’03- 20 Tema con variazioni 10’49
21 Paolo Rolli, « Solitario bosco ombroso » 1’03
Giuseppe Tartini, Sonate II en si min / b min / h moll
22 Siciliana 2’15 - 23 Allegro 1’53 - 24 Allegro affettuoso 1’37
25 Giuseppe Tartini, « Solitario bosco ombroso » 2’29
Chiara Banchini has never concealed her admiration for Giuseppe Tartini. The musical, intellectual
and aesthetic care she has lavished on this recording is ample proof of her devotion to his music.
• Tartini developed a genuine system of thought founded on Nature - physical phenomena
perceptible by our senses and determined by mathematical rules. He did not seek to imitate the
natural world through its sounds and other outward manifestations, but aimed at aesthetic
concepts of much greater sophistication and coherence, through the use of folksongs (notably
those of the gondoliers with their references to Tasso and Ariosto), compositional techniques
following poetic metres, and musical themes directly inspired by quotations from the verse of
Metastasio, Petrarch, and others.
• To guide us into this poetic atmosphere, Chiara Banchini has called on the voice of Patricia Bovi to
evoke the gondoliers’ songs so characteristic of the Venetian memories of Goethe and Rousseau,
and asked the musicologist Stefano Aresi to present in the booklet the synaesthetic ideal to which
Tartini aspired. Each piece of music is illustrated by an evocative poem or painting.
• Digibox with 40-page full colour booklet in English, French, and Italian.
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Works: 1. Diego Ortiz: Recercada segunda Trattado de glosas;
2. Jacob van Eyck: Wat zal men op den Avond doen;
Derde, Doen Daphne d’over; Boffons Der Flutyen Lust-hof;
3. Dario Castello: Sonata seconda a soprano solo Sonate
concertate in stil moderno, Libro secondo;
4. John Dowland: Sorrow, sorrow stay Second Booke of
Songes;
5. Johann Schop: Lachrime Pavaen T’Uitnement Kabinet;
6. John Dowland: Weep you no more Third Booke of Songes;
Giovanni Bassano: Susanne ung jour Motette, madrigali et
canzone francese;
7. Diego Ortiz: Recercada Segunda Trattado de glosas;
8. Giovanni Battista Fontana: Sonata sesta Sonate;
9. Biagio Marini: Passacalio Per ogni sorte di strumento;
10. Giovanni Battista Fontana: Sonata seconda Sonate;
11. Jacob van Eyck: Amarilli mia bella Der Flutyen Lust-hof;
12. Diego Ortiz: Recercada prima sobre doulce memoire
Trattado de glosas;
13. Giovanni Bassano: Frais et gaillard Motette, madrigali et
canzone francese
Garden of Early Delights is a mixed bouquet of diverse, joyous, unusual and eloquent pieces from the Renaissance and
Early Baroque periods. Performed by Pamela Thorby on recorders and Andrew Lawrence-King on harps and psaltery,
these are two virtuosic musicians unsurpassed in their respective fields.
• The garden of 16th and 17th century music brought forth a rich harvest of symbolism and literary associations –
some of which are presented on this album.
• The programme includes bursts of good humour in the treatment of van Eyck’s popular variations, sensuous
melancholy from Dowland contrasting with the formality of diminutions on favourite madrigals.
• “Garden of Early Delights” includes solo pieces from both musicians plus works that allow them to come
together and showcase their considerable skills for musical interaction.
• Pamela Thorby is one of the finest established recorder players the country has produced in recent times. She
is most regularly heard on Karl Jenkins’ fabulous Adiemus recordings making her possibly one of the most
listened to recorder players in the world.
• Andrew Lawrence-King is both a baroque-harp virtuoso and an imaginative continuo player. Travelling the
world continually, he can often be heard in Jordi Savall’s group, Hesperion XX, as well as in his own ensemble,
The Harp Consort, or performing solo recitals.
Pamela Thorby and Andrew Lawrence-King merge their considerable experience of other genres to deliver a unique
performance on an album that brings to life music full of surprise, beauty and delight.
“Pamela Thorby's tone is silvery, alert and her intonation is impeccable.” BBC Music Magazine
HARVEY Body Mandala, Towards A Pure Land etc Anu Komsi soprano
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov / Stefan Solom conductors NMC Recordings NMCD 141 CD
MESSIAEN Quatuor Pour La Fin Du Temps & Other Works Hebrides Ensemble dir. William Conway.
Linn Records CKD 314 CD/SACD Hybrid
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Works: …Towards a Pure Land Timepieces Tranquil Abiding Body Mandala White as Jasmine
This disc is a culmination of Jonathan Harvey’s highly successful residency with BBC SSO and includes the
works commissioned during that time. Harvey has a truly global reputation, particularly for his work in the
field of electroacoustic music (he has been commissioned by IRCAM on eight separate occasions), where
he is considered as one of the most skilled and imaginative composers using the electronic medium
today. He is also an influential and important teacher of younger generation of composers.
The works on this disc explore Harvey’s fascination with Eastern philosophies from the ecstatic Indian text of
White as Jasmine to Body Mandala.
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Works: Quatour pour la fin du Temps
Theme et Variations
Pièce pour Piano et Quatour a Cordes
Fantaisie
Le Merle Noir
Released to celebrate the centenary of the composer’s birth, this new recording of Messiaen’s complete chamber
works, including the premiere recording of Fantaisie, is a comprehensive collection with highly informative booklet notes
by Messiaen expert Nigel Simeone.
• Quatour pour la fin du Temps, written and premiered in a POW camp, is one of the most remarkable works to
have come out of World War II. The Ensemble powerfully conveys its apocalyptic inspiration and message of
faith.
• Includes the first recording of Fantaisie, a work for violin and piano, thought to be lost until it was re-discovered
by Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen and then published in 2007.
• The Theme and Variations was Messiaen's first piece of instrumental chamber music and was considered by the
composer to be one of his best.
The Hebrides Ensemble has built a reputation as Scotland's foremost chamber group, touring frequently
throughout Scotland, appearing at international music festivals and broadcasting regularly on BBC Radio 3.
The success of The Ensemble has led to its Wigmore Hall debut in May 2008 by celebrating the 100th anniversary
of the births of both Olivier Messiaen and Elliott Carter. The concert also marks the launch of “Olivier Messiaen:
The Complete Chamber Works”.
William Conway has established a successful dual career as cellist and conductor worldwide and was recently
presented with a Scottish Society of Composers Award for “an outstanding contribution to the promotion of
contemporary music”.
“Currently Scotland's most exciting mixed chamber ensemble specialising in contemporary music.” The Scotsman
BEETHOVEN Symphonies Complete etc Anima Eterna Jos Van Immerseel
Zig Zag Territoires ZZT 0804026 CD – 6 discs
BACH Six Motets Netherlands Chamber Choir
Peter Dijkstra, conductor
Channel Classics CCSSA 27108 CD/SACD Hybrid
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Works: BEETHOVEN
The Nine Symphonies
Overtures:
Consecration of the House, Coriolan,
Ruins of Athens,
Creatures of Prometheus, Marcia alla Turca
With their knowledge & experience of period-instrument performances of a varied repertoire – Classical (Mozart,
Haydn), Austro-German Romantic (Brahms, Johann Strauss), Russian (Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin), and
finally Ravel – the musicians of Anima Eterna have returned to Beethoven with the perspective and mastery acquired
as a symphony orchestra.
Jos van Immerseel has taken great care to find the correct combination of tempos, numerical forces and instruments
for each symphony.
This research into tempos, orchestral forces and instruments makes it possible not only to obtain a characteristic timbre,
but also to push these period instruments to their technical limits and thus to rediscover something of the challenging
nature of Beethoven’s music, rather as it was experienced by Hector Berlioz when he discovered it through the Société
des Concerts du Conservatoire in Paris in 1828. He wrote at the time: ‘At another point on the horizon, I saw the
immense Beethoven rising. The jolt this gave me was almost comparable to the one I had received from Shakespeare.
He opened up a new world in music for me, just as the playwright had revealed to me a new universe in poetry.’
‘We know that Beethoven asked musicians very precise questions about the technical capacities of their instruments.
So he knew exactly what he was doing when he pushed an instrument to the very limit of its possibilities. It’s partly the
great technical difficulty that makes his music so revolutionary, but also the dramatic character this element confers
on the music (and this dramatisation is further emphasised if one respects contemporary pitch standards, which were
high – at least 440, if not more). That’s why it is so important to perform this music on period instruments..’ Jos van
Immerseel
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Works: 1 Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied BWV 225,
2 Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf BWV 226,
3 Jesu, meine Freude BWV 227,
4 Fürchte dich nicht BWV 228,
5 Komm, Jesu, komm BWV 229,
6 Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden BWV 230
In August 2005 the Dutch conductor Peter Dijkstra was named Principal Guest Conductor of the
Nederlands Kamerkoor. What the choir members and Dijkstra together achieved with their performances
of the modern Dutch music in the ‘Under the Olive Tree’ programme during the 2004/05 season was
considered so exceptional that it was decided to reinforce this young conductor’s association with the
Nederlands Kamerkoor by awarding him this title.
In October 2003 he won first prize at the Eric Ericson Award in Stockholm, an international competition for
conductors.
Since then he has become a much sought-after guest of professional choirs in Western Europe,
working regularly with the RIAS Chamber Choir in Berlin, The Danish Radio Choir and the BBC Singers. With
his own vocal ensemble The Gents Dijkstra gained international recognition as a result of their foreign tours
and critically acclaimed CD recordings. At the beginning of 2007, however, Peter decided to say farewell
to The Gents in order to devote more time to his growing international commitments, including his
appointment as chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir in Stockholm and artistic director of the
Bavarian Radio Choir in Munich.
The Nederlands Kamerkoor (Netherlands Chamber Choir) performs with orchestras and ensembles such as the Nieuw Ensemble, ASKO Schönberg Ensemble, the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Orchestra and the Orchestra of the 18th Century.
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Works: Louis Marchand: Grand Dialogue du 5e ton; François Couperin:
Chromhorne sur la Taille; Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon seconda
Joan Cabanilles: Tiento XVII de ‘Pange lingua’ punt alt
Francisco Correa de Arauxo: Tiento de medio registro, no. 36
Heinrich Schütz: Der Herr ist gross, SWV 286
Claudio Monteverdi: Laudate Dominum
Dietrich Buxtehude: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott
Georg Böhm: Vater unser in Himmelreich
John Dowland: When the poore Criple
Anthony Holborne: ‘Dovehouse’ Pavan and Galliard
Henry Purcell: Fantasia 4, Z735
Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck: Variations on ‘Onder een linde groen’
Jean-Baptiste Lully, arr. Purcell: Scocca pur
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: Sonata VIII
Georg Muffat: Sonata no. 5 in G major
In “Trumpet Masque”, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood and Daniel-Ben Pienaar take a radical new look at the 17th
century with a compelling vision of repertoire historically far-removed from the traditional contexts of both
trumpet and piano. Through wonderfully vibrant programming and arrangements, this invigorating and warm-hearted chamber duo
present music from Dowland to Purcell in an energetic, innovative and 21st century fashion. The aim of this recording is to open our ears to a period of unequalled variety, colour, regional diversity and
expressive freedom: the Venetian world of Gabrieli, the great pre-Bach North German lineage of Buxtehude,
Jacobean dances and songs and the great G major sonata from Muffat’s ‘Armonico Tributo’ with its virtuoso
and valedictory passacaglia, which appropriately ends the disc. Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, the newly-appointed principal at the Royal Academy of Music, London, is “a multitalented
trumpeter, academic and Renaissance Man” (BBC Music Magazine). Jonathan Freeman-Attwood’s career also extends to recording producer for many independent labels. Several
of his productions have won major awards, including five Gramophone Awards. South African born Daniel-Ben Pienaar is an award-winning pianist whose live performances and recordings
have won him widespread acclaim: “a kaleidoscope of colours and textures” (International Piano).
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Works: Dvorák:
Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22 (B 52)
Serenade for Wind Instruments, Op. 44 (77)
Suk:
Meditation on an Old Bohemian chorale “Saint
Wenceslas” for String Orchestra, Op. 35a
This new title, featuring two Dvorák serenades (the 1875 Serenade for Strings and the 1878
Serenade for Winds) and Suk’s Meditation based on the chorale “Saint Wenceslas” is the third part
of a triptych dedicated to these two closely connected composers.
“In my opinion, as soon as Dvorák starts to be pompous, frilly, over-stylized, even rash or studiously
virtuoso, the approach is wrong. My goal was to emphasize its simplicity and naturalness, because
when this is lost, Dvorák isn’t Dvorák anymore.” These words of Jakub Hruša shine through the
young conductor’s third CD, in which he again juxtaposes the works of teacher Antonín Dvorák
and his student Josef Suk.
Hruša’s preceding albums (Dvorák – Czech Suite, Waltzes, Polonaise in E flat major, SU 3867-2;
Dvorák – Suite in A major, Suk – Serenade for Strings in E flat major, Scherzo Fantastique, SU 3882-2)
aroused uncommon interest on the part of critics, proof of the extraordinary talent of the
conductor and his meticulous work with the precise, lively, colourful Prague Philharmonia.
“Still in his mid-twenties, Jakub Hrusa is a conductor to
look out for. A pupil of Jiri Belohlavek, he has built up a
formidable career in Europe and America. Here he
draws superb playing from the orchestra which
Belohlavek founded.Hrusa's performances could not be
more winning, and the Supraphon recording is full and
vivid.” Gramophone - April 07 - Edward Greenfield
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