Opera Omnia XV - Chamber music vol. 3 by Ton Koopman / Members of Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra

Ton Koopman / Members of Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra

Opera Omnia XV - Chamber music vol. 3

Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917225426
Catnr: CC 72254
Release date: 27 February 2012
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917225426

Catalogue number
CC 72254

Release date
27 February 2012

"With such a team as Catherine Manson (violin), Paolo Pandolfo (viola da gamba), Mike Fentross (lute) and Ton Koopman on harpsichord and organ one cannot expect anything but playing that is exciting yet expressive, where the music immediately comes alive."

Early Music Review, 01-8-2012

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

The first Buxtehude Opera Omnia recording is steadily approaching completion. The harpsichord and organworks are finished and this is the final volume of the chamber music. All that remains are a number of vocal challenges! Buxtehude’s trio sonatas form a unique repertoire. Due to their formidable technical and musical demands, they have rarely been recorded. Stylus phantasticus, an unprecedented inventiveness, superb lines, improvisation, the list goes on... Buxtehude once again proves himself to be a great master. Although there are occasional touches of Corelli to be heard, the music is above all quintessentially Buxtehudian. It was a phenomenal experience to record these sonatas.

In the last decade of the 17th century, Dieterich Buxtehude published within a period of two years a group of fourteen instrumental chamber sonatas in two sets of seven each. Thereby, he contributed in a major way to a new and fashionable repertoire of trio sonatas that had originated in Italy after the middle of the century. Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690), the Venetian composer, had played the main influence in spreading a new type of instrumental music north of the Alps. His works published in the 1660s and 70s were well known in the Hanseatic cities around the Baltic Sea. Lübeck, one of the principal music centers in Northern Europe, was no exception in this respect. Buxtehude, who served as organist of the St. Mary’s Church in Lübeck from 1668 until his death in 1707, picked up and integrated the modern Italian style early in the instrumental introductions to his sacred concertos and cantatas, but turned to instrumental chamber music only late in his life.

Every single sonata presents different solutions in regard to section sequences; no two pieces show the same pattern. In general, the fast sections prefer more or less elaborate polyphonic and fugal designs whereas the slow sections emphasize harmonic and expressive features. Sections are sometimes connected without interruption, sometimes separated by fermatas or double bars. Towards the end of some phrases the violin makes use of double stops, in line with the overall virtuosic design of the sonatas. The compositional ideas pursued by the composer are based on the concept of the so-called “stylus fantasticus,” a manner favoured in keyboard and soloist instrumental ensemble music of the late 17th-century in North Germany. According to the 18th-century Hamburg writer Johann Mattheson, “this style is the most free and unrestrained manner of composing, singing, and playing that one can imagine, for one hits first on this idea and then upon that one, since one is bound neither to words nor to melody, only to harmony, so that the singer and player can display his skill

Plezierige vertolking van de fantasierijke kamermuziek Trio sonatas opus 2 van Buxtehude
Opera Omnia deel XV is het 3e deel in de serie met kamermuziek van Dieterich (Dietrich, Diderich) Buxtehude, uitgevoerd door Ton Koopman en leden van zijn Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. De kamermuziek van Buxtehude vormt een klasse apart. Zijn composities voor één of twee violen, viola da gamba en basso continuo zijn van een grote schoonheid. Dat viel eind 17e eeuw al op, want de bundels Trio sonatas opus 1 en 2 met elk 7 sonates, verschenen in 1690 al in druk. Met zijn trio sonatas droeg Buxtehude in belangrijke mate bij aan een nieuw en modieus repertoire, dat van origine uit Italië kwam. "With such a team as Catherine Manson (violin), Paolo Pandolfo (viola da gamba), Mike Fentross (lute) and Ton Koopman on harpsichord and organ one cannot expect anything but playing that is exciting yet expressive, where the music immediately comes alive." Early Music Review, augustus 2012.

Buxtehude was een Deens-Duitse organist en een door velen bewonderde componist uit de barokperiode. Hij componeerde vocale en instrumentale muziek. Zijn orgelwerken omvatten een aanzienlijk deel van het standaard orgelrepertoire van onze hedendaagse kerkdiensten. Buxtehude wordt beschouwd als de belangrijkste Duitse componist in de periode tussen Heinrich Schütz en Bach. Zijn stijl heeft veel componisten sterk beïnvloed. Hij was één van de grote voorbeelden van Johann Sebastian Bach. Het verhaal gaat dat Bach, toen 20 jaar, in 1705 helemaal naar Lübeck liep - 400 km - om Dieterich Buxtehude daar in de Marienkirche te horen spelen.

Wellicht dat die anekdote Ton Koopman inspireerde tot zijn project Opera Omnia om het gehele bewaard gebleven oeuvre van Buxtehude uit te voeren en op te nemen. Er was hem veel aan gelegen Buxtehude als het brein achter de vocale muziek van Bach te erkennen. Koopman is een van de meest vooraanstaande uitvoerders van oude muziek en voorzittter van het Internationale Buxtehude Gesellschaft.

Buxtehudes Kammermusik mit Ton Koopman ist nun komplett

Die erste Gesamtaufnahme der Werke Buxtehudes nähert sich unaufhaltsam der Vollendung. Die Orgel- und Cembalowerke sind inzwischen abgeschlossen, und mit vorliegender CD ist nun auch die Kammermusik komplett. Übrig bleiben noch ein paar vokale Herausforderungen! Buxtehudes Triosonaten sind etwas ganz Besonderes. Die technischen und musikalischen Anforderungen sind außerordentlich, weswegen sie auch so selten aufgenommen werden. In den Werken findet man den Stylus Phantasticus, einen unvergleichlichen Einfallsreichtum, wunderbare Linien, Improvisationen und mehr... Buxtehude zeigte sich hier als ein wahrer Meister. Obwohl man gelegentlich an Corelli erinnert wird, hört man im allgemeinen reinen Buxtehude.

Artist(s)

Ton Koopman

Ton Koopman is a leading figure in Early Music and historically informed performance practice. As organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman has performed all over the world and played the most beautiful historical instruments of Europe. His Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir has gained worldwide fame as one of the best ensembles on period instruments. Between 1994 and 2004 Ton Koopman and ABO&C have recorded all sacred and secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, an extraordinary project that earned international acclaim. After that Koopman recorded the complete works by Bach’s predecessor, Dieterich Buxtehude. Besides performing as a soloist and with his ABO&C, Ton Koopman is very active as a guest conductor for modern orchestras and also devotes part of his time...

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Catherine Manson

Catherine Manson enjoys a versatile performing career specializing in period performance as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. She was appointed as leader of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 2006 As first violinist of the classical London Haydn Quartet she has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and London’s Wigmore Hall. The quartet’s series of recordings of the Haydn quartets on the Hyperion label has met with high critical acclaim internationally. Together with Ton Koopman she has recorded all the Buxtehude chamber music. She has appeared frequently as a chamber musician together with such artists as Trevor Pinnock, Anner Bylsma, Malcolm Bilson, Steven Isserlis and Michael Chance, and has also recorded for Hyperion, Dorian, Glossa, ASV...

Catherine Manson enjoys a versatile performing career specializing in period performance as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. She was appointed as leader of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 2006 As first violinist of the classical London Haydn Quartet she has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and London’s Wigmore Hall. The quartet’s series of recordings of the Haydn quartets on the Hyperion label has met with high critical acclaim internationally.
Together with Ton Koopman she has recorded all the Buxtehude chamber music. She has appeared frequently as a chamber musician together with such artists as Trevor Pinnock, Anner Bylsma, Malcolm Bilson, Steven Isserlis and Michael Chance, and has also recorded for Hyperion, Dorian, Glossa, ASV and Teldec, in addition to many radio recordings and broadcasts worldwide.
She is regularly invited to appear as a guest leader by ensembles including Smithsonian Chamber Players and Santa Fe Pro Musica in the USA, Collegium Vocale, Il Gardellino and Ensemble Explorations in Belgium and the new London-based ensemble Arcangelo.
Teaching has always been an important part of her musical life; in 2001 she co-founded and now directs MusicWorks, a chamber music course for young musicians. In addition to giving classes and seminars at King’s College and the Royal Academy of Music, she has taught at the Baroque Performance Institute in Oberlin College, USA and the Domaine Forget chamber music courses in Canada. On the London Haydn Quartet's recent tour to the USA she gave masterclasses at the Juilliard School and at Yale University. She is on the faculty of the Granada International Festival’s 'Musical Interpretation' course for students interested in further study of period instrument playing.

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Mike Fentross

Conductor/lutenist Mike Fentross has largely earned his credits as an early music specialist. He is working all over Europe as a conductor, soloist and basso continuo player and he is professor of lute and basso continuo at the Royal Conservatory The Hague. In 2006 he founded the baroque orchestra La Sfera Armoniosa. Mike Fentross conducted in many festivals and concerthalls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. the Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Paradiso Amsterdam, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Brugge, Vantaa Early Music Festival, Bayreuth Barock and Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. For two times he had the honour to conduct in the presence of Queen Beatrix of Holland. In...

Mike Fentross conducted in many festivals and concerthalls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. the Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Paradiso Amsterdam, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Brugge, Vantaa Early Music Festival, Bayreuth Barock and Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. For two times

he had the honour to conduct in the presence of Queen Beatrix of Holland. In 1988 Mike Fentross graduated at the Royal Conservatory The Hague where he studied with lute pionier Toyohiko Satoh. In 1994 he won the Van Wassenaer Competition in Amsterdam with violinist Helene Schmitt. He played chamber music with musicians as Yo Yo Ma, Ton Koopman, Janine Jansen, Marion Verbruggen, Sonia Prina, Maria Bajo, Wilbert Hazelzet, Bruce Dickey, Lucy van Dael, Andrew Lawrence King, Philippe Jarousski, Eduardo Lopez Banzo, Skip Sempe and Gerard Lesne. Mike has recorded more than 75 cd’s.

He studied conducting with Stefan Pas. As conductor he debuted in 1999 with La Dafne from Marco da Gagliano in a production of the New Opera Academie in Amsterdam. In 2006 he conducted in the presence of Queen Beatrix the modern world premiere from the opera l’Ipermestra from Cavalli in a prestigeous jubilee production from the Utrecht Early Music Festival and in 2008 he conducted a second unearthed Cavalli opera La Rosinda in a production from the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci Potsdam. In 2009 he conducted for the first time in the big hall from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and in the same year he was musical director in the production Granida performed in the presence of Queen Beatrix. About his debut as conductor from the Dutch Chamber Choir in 2010 in the Concertgebouw the press wrote: Conductor Mike Fentross rivalled Caravaggio with the score of the Maria Vespers. His first time conducting the Nederlands Kamerkoor was a resounding success.

Mike doesn’t only conduct Early Music, in 2004 he conducted Pierrot Lunaire from Arnold Schoenberg. The press wrote: There was great enthusiasm for Mike Fentross as conductor of a double bill consisting of Monteverdi’s Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire. Mike Fentross gave a performance of Pierrot lunaire that ‘appeared to come from another planet’.

In 2012 Mike made his Austrian debut in the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt with great success in a program with coloratura soprano Simone Kermes and in the same year he conducted the pre jubilee concert for the Concertgebouw in a program with solo violinist Lucy van Dael and singers Henk Neven and Andreas Scholl. In 2013 he conducted the Fairy Queen with his orchestra and the Netherlands Chamberchoir.

Since 2013 he is regularly conducting the baroque orchestra and choir of the Royal Conservatory. In 2014 he was invited by Paradiso Orchestra to conduct Beethovens Eroica. In 2016 he conducted the Netherlands Chamber Choir in a Bach, Faure program live broadcast on national radio.

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Paolo Pandolfo

Composer(s)

Dieterich Buxtehude

Among the general public, Dieterich Buxtehude is mostly known due to the admiration Johann Sebastian Bach had for his organ and composing skills, for which Bach traveled to the North German city of Lübeck to stay with him for four months, no less. This says quite something about the quality of Buxtehude's performance, but even more so about the influence it had on Bach and all composers after him. Yet, nowadays Buxtehude's music does not need Bach to survive, as a matter of fact it is extraordinarily beautiful just by itself! Buxtehude was originally Danish, but he spent most of him life in Lübeck. His so-called 'Abendmusik', which was a series of evening concerts outside of the liturgy, grew famous. In the works he wrote for these occasions, his enormous fantasy and creative freedom truly shows. As an organ player, Buxtehude was widely famous. If you would listen to his Organ Preludes, you would quickly know why. Buxtehude manages to combine an unprecedented virtuosity with a large variety of styles and techniques. No wonder Bach traveled all that way to see him!

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Press

With such a team as Catherine Manson (violin), Paolo Pandolfo (viola da gamba), Mike Fentross (lute) and Ton Koopman on harpsichord and organ one cannot expect anything but playing that is exciting yet expressive, where the music immediately comes alive.
Early Music Review, 01-8-2012