Mendelssohn / Minguet Quartett - String Quartets 2 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Marie Stockmarr Becker and Ilaria Macedonio offer a fresh and different - yet historically informed - perspective on the three sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord by J.S. Bach. Their rather uncommon instrumentation, explores these sonatas in their historical context and considers the fact that violists in Bach's time had very little sonata repertoire, and for this reason possibly 'borrowed' repertoire from the viol. The three sonatas for viola da gamba are particularly adapted to the viola da braccio with almost no changes in terms of octavations or arrangements. Album Tracks 1. Bach, J S Viola Da Gamba Sonata No. 1 in G Major, BWV1027 2. I. Adagio 3. II. Allegro Ma Non Tanto 4. III. Andante 5. IV. Allegro Moderato 6. Bach, J S Viola Da Gamba Sonata No. 2 in D Major, BWV1028 7. I. Adagio 8. II. Allegro 9. III. Andante 10. IV. Allegro 11. Bach, J S Viola Da Gamba Sonata No. 3 in G minor, BWV1029 12. I. Vivace 13. II. Adagio

Manfred Trojahn was invited to the Villa Massimo in Rome in 1979/80 to work on his Second String Quartet, which had been commissioned by Radio France. What initially seemed like a golden opportunity for a young composer turned out to be a difficult period in Trojahn's life, and this was reflected in the quartet, which moves restlessly between emotional outbursts, stasis, brusqueness, and moments of almost tender lyricism. The work documents a young composer's search for an individual musical language in the early days of what we would now call the postmodern period. Manfred Trojahn was not interested in atonal dogma; the tonal relationships in his music reveal many sources of inspiration, including Romantic composers. InchHommage à L.v.B.Inch is an ironic tribute to the Classical tradition, while in InchAbgesangInch [Farewell], Trojahn brings together diverse elements from earlier sections of the piece restless fluttering motifs, elegiac cantilena passages, and bizarre clusters. To prepare this production of what is for him a very personal work, the composer worked closely with the Minguet Quartet, mezzo soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, and clarinetist Thorsten Johanns. The fruits of their efforts can be heard in this impressive recording. Album Tracks 1. Streichquartett NR. 2 Mit Klarinette Und Mezzosopran (Drei Gedichte Von Georg Trakl)

An exciting new collaboration between Somm Recordings and the Tippett Quartet begins with striking performances of early and late string quartets by Mendelssohn. Fiercely imbued with the spirit of Beethoven, Mendelssohn's Opp. 12, 13 and 80 quartets brim and boil with an innovation, dynamism, emotional sincerity and technical flair some would deny the composer. These deeply felt performances from the Tippett Quartet present Mendelssohn in a new light and challenge Hans von Bülow's notorious observation that he Inchbegan as a genius and ended as a talent.Inch All three quartets - Op. 13, composed when Mendelssohn was just 18-years-old, and Op. 80, his last major work, completed two months before his death at 38 - speak movingly of loss. Op. 12 laments the passing of Beethoven, Op. 13 regrets unrequited love, Op. 80 an inconsolable response to the death of Mendelssohn's sister, Fanny. The earlier works, the Tippett Quartet says, Inchcommand an astounding expressive power and technical prowess with all the exuberance and intensity of a young man searching for the sublime and the profound.Inch Mendelssohn's last significant musical utterance, the valedictory Op. 80, Inchturns his sense of loss, grief and, most of all, anger into a truly sublime work of artInch. InchWhen we were recording them, Inch says the Tippett Quartet, Inchit felt like we were playing brand new pieces by a living composer, not works that carry, and have become burdened by, the weight of traditionInch. These poignant, powerful, emotionally raw, musically rich performances make persuasive claim for music of passion, poetry and profundity and offer fresh insights into Mendelssohn as he was meant to be played. Album Tracks 1. I. Allegro Vivace Assai 2. II. Allegro Assai 3. III. Adagio 4. IV. Finale Allegro Molto 5. I. Adagio Non Troppo - Allegro Non Tardante 6. II. Canzonetta Allegretto