Ensemble Caprice - Baroque Gypsies - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Vittorio Ghielmi, one of today's most admired viola da gamba soloists, comes from a family of musicians (his brother founded Il Giardino Armonico with Giovanni Antonini). In parallel with his erudite and virtuoso readings of Marais or Graun, Vittorio Ghielmi is an artist who enjoys crossing borders. With his ensemble, Il Suonar Parlante, he seeks new musical languages and collaborates with leading figures of jazz (Uri Caine) and the masters of traditional music (Khaled Arman, Dhruba Ghosh). With Gypsy Baroque, he and his gypsy friends present a dazzling album bubbling over with life. He has gone to Transylvania in search of the gypsy music of the eighteenth century that was played on the frontiers of the Ottoman and Austrian Empires - music that influenced composers like Mozart and Haydn for their famous 'Janissary' pieces. For this recording, he places these gypsy tunes (only the melody is written) in perspective with orchestrations of the period. The Baroque specialists of his ensemble are joined by longstanding guest artists (the soprano Graciela Gibelli and the recorder player Dorothee Oberlinger) and traditional musicians like the Slovak violinist Stanislav Palúch and Marcel Comendant, a virtuoso exponent of the cimbalom and of improvisation. Going beyond the 'documentary' aspect, already fascinating, here is a genuine musical recreation!

Musical gestures and traditions migrate from one culture to another, from the past to the present, enriching the artistic practice of our time. A fascination with the nuances of timbre - variety of touch, articulation and gesture - links the aesthetics of ancient Chinese music with current contemporary music performance practice. Gestures common to these sound worlds, such as bending notes, grace notes, timbre transformation, harmonic resonance, fluctuating vibrato and expressive shaping of notes, different kinds of attacks, glissandi and arpeggios, reveal the connections between these diverse musical idioms. In the music of Hope Lee, subtle sonic transformation via meaningful gestures is an essential aspect in her musical sensibilities and expression. This new album focuses on Hope Lee's piano compositions from the past four decades (1979-2017). This new recording features pianist Yumiko Meguri, as well as accordionist Stefan Hussong. Both musicians are contemporary music interpreters extraordinaire Yumiko Meguri has more than 10 albums released, ranging from Western classical to contemporary music and jazz; Stefan Hussong, having over 100 works written for him, is recognized internationally as a most acclaimed interpreter and recording artist of music of our time.

This album of some of the 20th century's most captivating songs and standards are heard here in dazzling new arrangements by Richard Balcombe. With a perfect marriage of words and music, these classic songs have a timeless appeal. Whether written for movies, revues or musicals, or specifically for the most renowned singers of the day, all the greatest composers and lyricists of the time are represented in this outstanding new collection.