Various Artists - Der Makabere Zirkus - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

In Holland in the 1720s the transverse flute enjoyed considerable popularity among amateur musicians. Aware of that keen interest, the Michel Le Cene decided in 1729 to present his customers with the very first collection of concertos for flute and orchestra. Vivaldi responded to his request by refurbishing several older works. Only one of them was already in the modern concerto form the Concerto in F major for recorder and strings. Another four pieces were hybrid in form and still close to chamber works. The predominant role of the recorder or flute in those four concertos made them ideal for adaptation. The odd man out of the collection is the short Concerto in G major RV 435. No earlier version is known and it's style, more modern than it's five companions in the set, leads us to suppose that Vivaldi wrote it specifically for Le Cene's publication. The decade following the publication of op. 10 saw the appearance of a fair number of new flute concertos. Among them, the Concerto in A minor RV 440 is a splendid example of Vivaldi's maturity. Studying the manuscript of this concerto reveals different stages in it's composition, as well as shedding light on it's destination. In the case of RV 438 and RV 400, Vivaldi simplified many passages, probably making such sacrifices for a flautist of very limited virtuosity. Since these revisions had no musical justification, we chose to restore the original text.

The great era of melodrama, the combination of recitation and piano accompaniment, was over after 1900. But there are artists who still devote themselves to melodrama - a melodrama in a new way. It is not about emotion and tears, not about increasing the sentimentality as infinitely as possible, but about a musical emphasis and deepening of the text, about a non-textual mirror of what is said in the word and what is interpreted, interpreted in the sound. The duo pianoworte has been dealing with this kind of melodrama for many years - with such success that meanwhile quite a few composers, inspired by the fine art of reciting actor Helmut Thiele and pianist Bernd-Christian Schulze, have written new works in this genre. In these works a lot of humor flashes again and again, which is due to both the literary templates and the settings. This album contains four cycles InchGalgenliederInch by Christian Morgenstern in the setting by Christoph J. Keller, excerpts from the style exercises InchAutobus SInch by Raymond Queneau in the setting by Hans-Wilhelm Plate, the InchTiergebeteInch by Frieder Meschwitz and six Poems from InchCritique of the HeartInch by Wilhelm Busch, composed by Wolfgang Gabriel. This selection clearly shows that Schulze and Thiele have completely omitted the melodramatic of the ballad in this project, which sounds often involuntarily comical to today's ears. Instead, they have entered the field of little wisdom.

Sharon Kam is one of the world's leading clarinetists. For her debut album on Orfeo (and performing for the first time in this trio line-up), she delivers a dramatic, sharply contrasting programme that is presented chronologically. Performing with her brother Ori Kam (viola) and the pianist Matan Porat, the programme begins and ends with music by Mozart and Bartók, the latter's Contrasts producing possibly the most original and captivating contribution to the repertoire for this combination of instruments. In between are works by Schumann and Brahms that contain multi-layered biographical references and are closely related in their romantic spirit. InchSharon Kam is a clarinetist with an exceptionally wide expressive range.Inch (Edward Greenfield)