Borrowed, Not Stolen by Woodpeckers Recorder Quartet

Woodpeckers Recorder Quartet

Borrowed, Not Stolen

Format: CD
Label: Lawo Classics
UPC: 7090020182834
Catnr: LWC 1261
Release date: 07 July 2023
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Label
Lawo Classics

UPC
7090020182834

Catalogue number
LWC 1261

Release date
07 July 2023

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

When four friends create an ensemble where their biggest love is playing Baroque music on recorders, one has to get creative. There is a serious lack of original Baroque repertoire for this combination, and that’s how our concept ‘Borrowed, not Stolen...’ was brought into being. Woodpeckers’ journey began 17 years ago while they were all living in Stockholm, Bach’s wonderful ‘Art of Fugue’ being an integral part of the programming in their first concerts. The idea has developed over the years into the format that you find on this recording. They have ‘borrowed’ music of all kinds and turned it into their own: some arrangements came into being through improvising and playing around in rehearsals, while others were commissioned by them, and some were already in existence and too good to leave out or tamper with. Despite their wanderings in life, the four of them are still deeply rooted in their childhood traditions stemming from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Ireland, and some of their favourite folk tunes, many of which date from the Baroque era or even earlier, appear on this CD, alongside works by Bach, Telemann and Vivaldi.

Artist(s)

Caroline Eidsten Dahl (recorder)

Caroline Eidsten Dahl (b. 1980) is one of Norway’s most active recorder players. Her training took place under the auspices of Frode Thorsen at the Grieg Academy in Bergen as well as with Dan Laurin at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where in 2006 she completed her studies specialising in chamber music. Caroline is a permanent member of several ensembles including the Woodpeckers recorder quartet, Ensemble Freithoff, Bragernes Barokk and the Christian IV Consort. She performs concerts regularly throughout Norway, Sweden and Denmark, both as a chamber musician and a soloist.
In the spring of 2007 she was one of three winners of Concerts Norway’s launch program “INTRO-klassisk” for performances during the 2008–2009 season. Under the direction of Concerts Norway, she travelled to India and China performing Norwegian and Chinese music with musicians from Shanghai.
Caroline has performed at numerous festivals including the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, where she played with Academia Montis Regalis, the Early Music Festival in London, Stockholm Early Music Festival, Oslo Early, the Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival, and the Oslo International Church Music Festival.
2014 saw the release of Caroline’s debut solo album Blockbird – Norwegian Recorder Music (LWC1069) on the LAWO Classics label, receiving rave reviews both on the home front and abroad. This was followed in 2018 by the release of Sonata Norwegica (LWC1165) on the same label, featuring Norwegian and Swedish baroque music. In 2019 she released Telemann Recorder Sonatas (LWC1181) with cellist Kate Hearne and cembalist Christian Kjos.
Caroline received the Arts Council of Norway’s scholarship for newly established artists for a two-year period from 2010 to 2012.

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Kate Hearne (recorder)

Katarina Widell (recorder)

Woodpeckers Recorder Quartet

WOODPECKERS RECORDER QUARTET Caroline Eidsten Dahl Kate Hearne Pernille Petersen Katarina Widell Woodpeckers Recorder Quartet are a dynamic group of virtuoso recorder players who share a common interest in performing and promoting both very old and very new music for their instrument. They met while studying together under the tutelage of Dan Laurin at Stockholm’s Royal College of Music, and it became apparent early on that they were well suited as both friends and fellow chamber musicians. All four members have gained recognition on an international level, performing, touring and recording as soloists and together with some of Europe’s leading Baroque and contemporary music ensembles. As a group, Woodpeckers have performed at festivals and venues throughout Europe, making numerous radio and television appearances along...

WOODPECKERS RECORDER QUARTET Caroline Eidsten Dahl Kate Hearne Pernille Petersen Katarina Widell Woodpeckers Recorder Quartet are a dynamic group of virtuoso recorder players who share a common interest in performing and promoting both very old and very new music for their instrument. They met while studying together under the tutelage of Dan Laurin at Stockholm’s Royal College of Music, and it became apparent early on that they were well suited as both friends and fellow chamber musicians. All four members have gained recognition on an international level, performing, touring and recording as soloists and together with some of Europe’s leading Baroque and contemporary music ensembles. As a group, Woodpeckers have performed at festivals and venues throughout Europe, making numerous radio and television appearances along the way.
As well as focusing on original and arranged Baroque repertoire for the recorder, Woodpeckers aim to present the instrument in a new and interesting light. There are ongoing collaborations with living composers to produce new music for the group, with the aim of pushing the boundaries of the instrument. With Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Irish backgrounds, each member of Woodpeckers has something unique to offer and their programming often includes aspects of the folk repertoire from each of their respective countries.
At the forefront of Woodpecker’s ideology is the drive to kick the age-old image of the recorder being merely a stepping-stone to something else, and they are intent on spreading their knowledge far and wide, be it through videos, recordings, workshops, teaching, research, and of course, live concerts. An integral part of their mission involves working with children and young people, and Woodpeckers have performed live for thousands of small ears, from newborn babies, to toddlers, to teenagers, to composition students. The energy they get in return has fueled their pursuit and sparked many wonderful ideas that they are sure will keep them on the road and having fun for years to come.

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Composer(s)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

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Georg Philipp Telemann

Georg Philipp Telemann (14 March 1681 – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually settled on a career in music. He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, and Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of the city's five main churches. While Telemann's career prospered, his personal life was always troubled: his first wife died only a few months after their marriage, and his second wife had extramarital affairs and accumulated a large gambling debt before leaving Telemann.
Telemann was one of the most prolific composers in history (at least in terms of surviving oeuvre) and was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time—he was compared favorably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather and namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, and to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally. Telemann's music incorporates several national styles (French, Italian) and is even at times influenced by Polish popular music. He remained at the forefront of all new musical tendencies and his music is an important link between the late Baroque and early Classical styles.

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Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. Born in Venice, he is recognised as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons. Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi (who had been ordained as a Catholic priest) was employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had some...

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. Born in Venice, he is recognised as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons.
Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi (who had been ordained as a Catholic priest) was employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had some success with expensive stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua and Vienna. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, hoping for preferment. However, the Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival, and Vivaldi himself died less than a year later in poverty.

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