"Cantata" -
Secular and sacred cantatas by Handel, , Vivaldi and Bach MESSIAEN: Catalogue d'Oiseau (complete) Olivier Messiaen wrote his Catalogue d'Oiseaux (Catalogue of Birds) between October 1956 and September 1958 and dedicated it to his second wife, Yvonne Loriod. Each of the thirteen pieces has the title of a French province and reflects the types of birds that inhabit them. He didn't intend to simply recreate the sounds of the b birds, but the atmo changing atmosphere of each region. Yvonne Loriod gave the premiere in Paris April 15, 1959 in Paris, and recorded them as well. There are several other recordings but all are challenged by Pentatone's superb complete set featuring distinguished pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. ¹he recording was made August 2017 in Berlin's Saal I, Funkhaus, Nalepostrasse. Engineers have captured a most realistic, shimmering piano sound, and the digital process perfectly captured the manifold moments of absolute silence written into the score. Three disks contain the performance, and a plus is an extra disk, a DVD in which the pianist explains the music in detail with performance excerpts, and an interview with him. A terrific set! The Signum Quartet has enjoyed a major impact on the musical world since 2016 and already has made a number of acclaimed recordings of varied repertory. Members are Florian Donderer and Annette Walther, violins; Xandi van Dijk, viola, and Thomas Schmitz, cello. This new disk is devoted to music of Schubert and includes an early Quartet (D 112) and a later one (D 804). Imaginatively, they have also included vocal works as listed above, all arranged for string quartet by Xandi van Dijk. Mastertful performances. Excellent audio in a recording made April 2017 in the Emmanuel Church, Wupperttol. A delightful 80 minutes of Schubert chamber music! R.E.B. (April 2018) |