Grigory Krotenko - Travels With Goliath - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Russian word romans (InchromanceInch) denotes an art song whose lyrics usually - but not always! - deal with the subject of Romantic love. A counterpart to the German Lied or French romance, the Russian romans embarked on it's journey late in the 18th century. Predictably, the earliest romansy imitated the Western models and were set in French and Italian. As it happens time and again in Russian history, a Western innovation timidly arrived in Russia, steeped in the country's unique culture, and after years of evolution re-entered the West as something strikingly new, fresh, and... yes, indeed InchRussian.Inch When it comes to the genre in question, the West discovered the dramatic romansy by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff not so long ago. Our album L'histoire de la romance russe is designed to show what preceded these glorious masterpieces. Album Tracks 1. Mädchens Klage 2. Im Nebel der Sierra Nevada 3. Walzer 4. Nachtigall 5. rote Sarafan 6. Wecke sie nicht auf 7. kleine Ring 8. Talisman 9. Im Nebel liegt Granada 10. Cavatine 11. Spanischer Bolero 12. Abenddämmerung 13. Engel 14. Innere Musik 15. Es war eine Zeit... 16. Französische Romanze 17. Nächtlicher Zephyr 18. Doch Silvia ist nicht hier 19. Soll ich fortgehen 20. Sonne strahlt über den Bergen 21. In Erinnerung an Varlamov

This Wergo recording features two of Sofia Gubaidulina's works from the late 1970s/early 1980s that see her establishing a mature style after years of journeyman efforts. The titles of the works point to the Russian composer's deep religious belief, and while there is no text in these purely instrumental works, the spirit of contemplation and wrestling with spiritual questions persists throughout. The pieces are centered around cello and accordion, played here by Julius Berger and Stefan Hussong respectively. InchIn CroceInch was originally written in 1979 as a piece for organ and cello, but it is represented here in a 1991 arrangement for cello and accordion by Elsbeth Moser which Gubaidulina has approved. As it's title suggests, this is an exploration of InchverticalInch music (the organ or accordion) intersected by the InchhorizontalInch (cello). The work is a steady slow of eerie chords from the accordion with the sinuous, yearning voice of the cello threading through them. While the first half of the work offers a feeling of stasis with the occasional outburst, the second half offers a suspenseful, gradually rising development. The work draws to a close with the cello playing harmonics by which the music seems to evaporate. The Kammerorchester Diagonal conducted by Florian Rosensteiner joins in for the next piece. InchSieben Worte (Seven Words)Inch for cello, bayan, and strings is a depiction of Jesus' death on the cross in the venerable classical tradition started by Heinrich Schütz (whom Gubaidulina subtly quotes at one point). Gubaidulina was attracted to writing for the accordion because it has a very living quality to it, it InchbreathesInch, and here the instrument depicts the gradual dying of breath. This is one of Gubaidulina's best pieces, the seven movements offering a variety of textures - even a tragic subject like the crucifixion can still be painted

Album Tracks 1. Libro 6 2. Libro 1 3. Libro 3 4. Libro 4 5. Libro 5 6. Libro 6