Berlioz / Cooke / Malbourne Symphony Orchestra - L'enfance Du Christ 25 - SUPER-AUDIO CD [Super Audio CD (SACD)]

The virtuosic, 9-time Juno-winning Canadian James Ehnes is centre stage in this new recording of orchestral works by Hector Berlioz with the Melbourne Symphony conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. This recording mirrors an extraordinarily rare concert held in November 2014 with the same forces, in which James Ehnes played two Stradivarius, respectively a viola in the solo part of Harold en Italie - 'symphony with a principal viola part' in Berlioz's words - and a violin for the solo in Rêverie et Caprice, both of which feature here. Berlioz was never ashamed to recycle his music from one work to another, especially when the earlier work had been rejected by the public or by the composer himself. In 1834, Paganini asked Berlioz for a work in which he could display his power on a fine Stradivarius viola. Berlioz then composed the four-movement Harold en Italie Symphony, incorporating passages from the Rob-Roy overture which he had recently rejected.Similarly, Rêverie et Caprice was the form eventually given to an aria from the opera Benvenuto Cellini, unceremoniously booed in Paris in 1838. Berlioz transformed it into a violin solo piece three years later, becoming the only piece he ever wrote for solo violin. Details 1. Rob-Roy Overture - Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 2. Rêverie Et Caprice, Op. 8 3. Harold Aux Montagnes Scènes de Mélancolic, de Bonheur Et de Joie. Adagio - Allegro - Poco Più Mosso - Poco Animato - Ancora Animato - Più Mosso 4. Marche de Pèlerins Chantant la Prière Du Soir. Allegretto - Canto Religioso 5. Sérénade D'un Montagnard Des Abruzzes À Sa Maîtresse. Allegro Assai - Allegretto - Allegro Assai - Allegretto 6. Orgie de Brigands Souvenirs Des Scènes Précédentes. Allegro Frenetico - Adagio - Allegro. Tempo I - L'istesso Tempo - Tempo I Con Fuoco

In the short period between strict Baroque counterpoint and mature Viennese Classicism, we find delightful and entertaining compositions of unprecedented elegance. Numerous playful and lighthearted serenades and divertimenti were often performed in open-air venues. In particular, the parks of the Mirabell and Hellbrunn palaces in Salzburg offered a suitable setting for such open-air concerts. These often featured wind and brass instruments and provided occasions for the musicians of the Salzburg Hofkapelle to display their virtuosity. Their reputation continued at least as late as 1806, when Christian Daniel Schubart wrote InchDie Salzburger glänzen sonderlich in blasenden InstrumentenInch.[1] One of these soloists was trombonist Thomas Gschlatt (1723-1806), for whom Michael Haydn wrote the Larghetto for trombone and orchestra presented here. From 1753 to 1771 Salzburg was ruled by a great patron of the arts, Archbishop Sigismund III Count Schrattbach. As a generous donor he often supported his musicians with his private Inchcasket fundsInch. Today, he is best known as financier of the Mozart family's travels. Except for Leopold Mozart's trio, which probably originated around 1750, all compositions recorded here come from his Salzburg regency. Album Tracks 1. From Serenata D Major V1451 - Allegro 2. From Serenata D Major V1451 - Adagio 3. From Serenata D Major V1451 - Menuetto 4. From Serenata D Major V1451 - Presto 5. Trio Sonata KV 13 - I. Allegro 6. Trio Sonata KV 13 - II. Andante 7. Trio Sonata KV 13 - III. Menuetto 8. Andantino from Divertimento in D 9. Larghetto (Perger No. 34) 10. Trio in a Major LMV XI 3 - I. Allegro Molto 11. Trio in a Major LMV XI 3 - II. Andante 12. Trio in a Major LMV XI 3 - III. Menuet-Trio 13. Sinfonia Pastorale Con Corno Pastorico - I. Allegro 14. Sinfonia Pastorale Con Corno Pastorico - II. Andante

With this surround-sound recording of Berlioz's Requiem, Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra tackle the infinite and the immeasurable. All the grandiose, striking beauty of the Requiem's large-scale ceremonial is encapsulated by first-class vocal and orchestral forces, fully utilizing the spatial possibilities of Grieghallen in Bergen. The matching of space and sonority was one of Berlioz's lasting obsessions, one experience in St. Paul's Cathedral in London throwing Berlioz into a delirium of emotion from which he took days to recover. His Grande Messe des morts, notorious for it's requirement of four brass bands in addition to a large orchestra and chorus, taken here from live concerts, has often been seen as one of the most emotionally powerful works of it's kind. Setting a solemn and austere, even ascetic text, the music is not that of an orthodox believer, but of a visionary, inspired by the dramatic implications of death and judgment.