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Track(s) taken from CDA67431/2

Tarentelle in A minor, Op 6

composer

The Nash Ensemble
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Recording details: July 2004
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Release date: May 2005
Total duration: 6 minutes 22 seconds

Cover artwork: Afternoon in the Park. Hippolyte Petitjean (1854-1929)
Phillips Fine Art / Bridgeman Images
 

Other recordings available for download

Susan Milan (flute), James Campbell (clarinet), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Geoffrey Simon (conductor)

Reviews

‘Try the kinky-Baroque first movement of the Oboe Sonata, jauntily phrased by Gareth Hulse, or the animato second of the Clarinet Sonata, garbed in rich Mozartian cloth by Richard Hosford. Or, particularly, the Bassoon Sonata, for its fresh and gentle wit and skirting of cliché: Ursula Leveaux does it proud, with especially luscious tone in the opening Allegretto … sheer delight’ (Gramophone)

‘These are full-blooded performances, packed with energy and colour, and every corner is turned under complete control’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘It is repertoire that really shows up the ensemble's strengths and its ability to encompass the richest ensemble-playing, as well as the exposed solo work required of the accompanied sonata medium … there is plenty of mellifluously drawn melodic writing, playful harmonic twists and textural ingenuity to enjoy’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘It is a charming collection, beautifully played; this is precisely the repertoire in which the Nash excels … The opening cantilena of the Oboe Sonata is positively rapturous … just as the mysterious fugal introduction to the finale of the early Piano Quintet [is] fabulously played by cellist Paul Watkins and violist Lawrence Power’ (The Guardian)

‘[The] Sonatas are all played with an ideal combination of infectious virtuosity and phrasal sensitivity to have these all-too-rarely heard works come dancing off the page. Sensational flautist Philippa Davies is on hand to add her own special brand of artistry … and producer Andrew Keener and engineer Simon Eadon typically capture the proceedings with their usual magical blend of warmth and clarity, making this an issue to cherish. The Nash Ensemble could hardly wish for a finer musical testimonial in this their fortieth birthday year’ (International Record Review)

‘A splendid two-disc set … mounted with that special sparkle they always bring to French repertoire’ (The Times)

‘A legend in his own lifetime, Saint-Saëns tantalises us with distinctive, lively and imaginative pieces, explored and played with terrific vivacity and style’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘The Nash Ensemble, a British organisation that alters its makeup as the situation requires, has a long and distinguished history on record. This latest offering continues the tradition. Warmly recommended’ (Fanfare, USA)
Saint-Saëns composed his Tarentelle in A minor Op 6, for flute and clarinet accompanied by orchestra or piano, in 1857 for his colleagues flautist Louis Dorus and clarinettist Adolphe Leroy, with whom he performed the work for the first time on 28 April 1857 at Salle Pleyel. So well received was the piece that Rossini requested that Saint-Saëns play the work with the two original soloists at one of the regular musical evenings at his palatial home in Paris. It was repeated many times by these two gentlemen in the following years, sometimes accompanied by the piano and often by orchestra. By 1873 the work was sufficiently well known that it was played in New York by the Theodore Thomas orchestra; there were further performances in Monaco, Russia and Cuba. The energetic, playful exchanges between flute and clarinet and the capricious swirling motion are reminiscent of Mendelssohn, this perpetual motion being relieved by the mellifluous middle section in dialogue and unison.

from notes by Sabina Teller Ratner © 2005

Saint-Saëns composa sa Tarentelle en la minuer, op. 6, pour flûte et clarinette, avec accompagnement orchestral ou pianistique, en 1857, à l’intention du flûtiste Louis Dorus et du clarinettiste Adolphe Leroy, deux collègues avec lesquels il créa l’œuvre à la salle Pleyel, le 28 avril 1857. L’accueil fut tel que Rossini pria le compositeur de venir jouer cette même pièce, avec les deux solistes originaux, lors d’une des soirées musicales qu’il donnait régulièrement en sa somptueuse demeure parisienne. Maintes fois reprise par les deux solistes dans les années qui suivirent, avec un accompagnement plus souvent pianistique qu’orchestral, cette pièce devint si connue qu’elle fut jouée à New York par l’orchestre de Theodore Thomas, en 1873 – d’autres interprétations eurent lieu à Monaco, en Russie et à Cuba. Les échanges énergiques, enjoués, entre la flûte et la clarinette, mais aussi le fantasque mouvement tourbillonnant rappellent Mendelssohn, le mouvement perpétuel étant ici apaisé par la douce section centrale, en dialogue et à l’unisson.

extrait des notes rédigées par Sabina Teller Ratner © 2005
Français: Hypérion

Saint-Saëns komponierte seine Tarentelle in a-Moll op. 6 für Flöte und Klarinette mit Orchester- oder Klavierbegleitung 1857 für seine beiden Kollegen, den Flötisten Louis Dorus und den Klarinettisten Adolphe Leroy, mit denen er das Werk zum ersten Mal am 28. April 1857 in der Salle Pleyel aufführte. Das Stück wurde so gut aufgenommen, dass Rossini Saint-Saëns darum bat, es noch mal in der Besetzung bei einem seiner Musikabende in seinem palastartigen Haus in Paris aufzuführen. In den folgenden Jahren wurde es noch viele Male von den beiden Herren aufgeführt, manchmal mit Klavierbegleitung und noch öfter mit Orchesterbegleitung. 1873 war das Werk bekannt genug, dass es in New York von dem Theodore-Thomas-Orchester gespielt wurde; darauf folgten weitere Aufführungen in Monaco, Russland und Kuba. Der energische, spielerische Austausch zwischen Flöte und Klarinette und die kapriziösen Wirbel erinnern an Mendelssohn; die ununterbrochene Bewegung wird von dem Dialog und dem Unisono im honigsüßen Mittelteil bezähmt.

aus dem Begleittext von Sabina Teller Ratner © 2005
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Saint-Saëns: Africa & other orchestral works
Studio Master: SIGCD2162Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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