BEIRACH | HUEBNER | MRAZ — Round About Monteverdi (2003) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Following early interpretations of the music of Béla Bartók and Federico Mompou, pianist Richie Beirach is once again joined by violinist Gregor Huebner and bassist George Mraz for a series of stunning interpretations of classical music, though most of this CD is devoted to the compositions of early Baroque composer Claudio Monteverdi. The mournful opener, Lamento d'Arianna, is the only remaining fragment of Monteverdi's lost opera Arianna. Beirach opens Don Carlo Gesualdo's Responsorium No. 5 (from his Sabato Sancto) alone, then ducks out as the bowed strings work their magic. Palestrina's Chant opens elegantly, then Mraz switches to a pizzicato line, with Huebner gradually making his way from the outer fringes, with Beirach eventually adding a passionate improvisation. Beirach's moving improvisation of Monteverdi's Orfeos Lament is spacious, followed by a brief fantasy upon the theme featuring wild pizzicato violin and occasionally hand-muted piano in an intense setting. Mraz, who assisted Beirach and Huebner with their arrangements, is solely responsible for Fantasy on Fili Mi, Absalon, a composition by Heinrich Schütz. Rarely heard unaccompanied on bass, Mraz makes the most of this opportunity with a powerful effort. No exploration of Baroque music is complete with venturing into the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, and Mraz's solo improvised introduction to Siciliano is every bit as powerful. He accompanies Beirach's brilliant improvisation, though the theme is never stated until Huebner joins in, taking the music down paths its composer could have never imagined. This outstanding release will cause more than a few jazz fans to search out classical recordings of these timeless works if they aren't already familiar with them. Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1    Lamento D'Arianna 1:31
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Claudio Monteverdi
2    Responsorium #5 4:18
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Carlo Gesualdo
3    Eja Mater Fons Amoris 5:50
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
4    Chant 4:56
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
5    Ben Mio, Rimanti In Pace 4:35
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Claudio Monteverdi
6    Orfeos Lament 7:27
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Claudio Monteverdi
7    Fantasy On Orfeos Lament 1:14
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Claudio Monteverdi
8    Fantasy On Fili Mi, Absalon 2:48
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – George Mraz
Composed By – Heinrich Schütz
9    Dialog Orfeo Messanger 4:18
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Claudio Monteverdi
10    Around Dialog Orfeo Messanger 3:07
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Claudio Monteverdi
11    Sancta Mater, Istud Agas 6:06
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
12    Siciliana 5:59
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Johan Sebastian Bach
13    Fantasy On Lamento D'Arianna 4:31
Arranged By [Arrangement By] – Gregor Huebner, Richie Beirach
Arranged By [Arrangement With Enormous Help From] – George Mraz
Composed By – Claudio Monteverdi
Credits :
Artwork [Coverart ©] – Mimmo Paladino
Bass – George Mraz
Piano – Richie Beirach
Violin – Gregor Huebner

KATHLEEN FERRIER - EDITION BOX SET (2004) 10CD / DECCA / Mp3

Although her career was tragically short, Kathleen Ferrier was among the most famous English singers of the twentieth century. Her contralto voice -- a rarity in itself -- was characterized by a firm, warm tone that found its expressive niche in the great works of oratorio and art song, as well as in her two operatic roles (only two!): Lucretia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Born in Lancashire on April 22, 1912, Ferrier studied the piano with great success as a child and intended a concert career; her concurrent vocal studies were considered more recreational in nature. In her mid-20s, however, after taking two first prizes at the 1937 Carlisle Festival -- one for piano and one for singing -- she made the decision to pursue singing as her vocation. She studied with J.E. Hutchinson in Newcastle upon Tyne, then with Roy Henderson in London.

During the years of WWII Ferrier toured widely in England, gaining a reputation as an especially fine concert artist. She joined the Bach Choir in London, and was alto soloist for a 1943 performance of Handel's Messiah at Westminster Abbey. Benjamin Britten first put her on the operatic stage at Glyndebourne on July 12, 1946, in the premiere of his chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia. She then toured with the work throughout England and appeared on an historic recording of major extracts from the work conducted by the composer. Britten would later compose the alto part in his Canticle No. 2 for her.

She appeared in the United States for the first time in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the New York Philharmonic and Bruno Walter; her subsequent recording of the work -- also under Walter's direction -- remains a classic. Walter also appeared as her accompanist in lieder recitals in Edinburgh and London. Another of Ferrier's notable successes was the part of the Angel in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius.

In February 1953, Covent Garden staged Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice specifically for Ferrier, who was deemed ideal for the part of Orpheus. However, she was able to appear in only two of the scheduled four performances because of weakness caused by her already advanced cancer. These were her last appearances; she died in London on October 8, 1953. Before she died she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.  by Rovi Staff

Tracklist

CD01 Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice

CD02 Bach St Matthew Passion

CD03 Kathleen Ferrier

CD04 Schumann-Brahms-Schubert

CD05 Chausson-Brahms-Ferguson-Wordsworth-Rubbra-Kathleen Ferrier

CD06 Purcell-Handel-Bach-Wolf-Stanford-Warlock

CD07 Historical Recordings 1947-1952

CD08 Blow the Wind Southerly - Traditional Songs

CD09 Bruno Walter - The Legendary Edinburgh Festival

CD10 Mahler-Brahms

KATHLEEN FERRIER - EDITION BOX SET

 [2004] 10CD / DECCA / CBR320 / scans

O Púbis da Rosa

DANZI, BENDA, C.P.E. BACH, HOFFMEISTER, QUANTZ, STAMITZ, STADLER, PERGOLESI, PICCINNI, BOCCHERINI, MERCADANTE - Flute Concertos [5CD Box-set] 1991

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VA - Flute Concertos - 5CD Box-set 

 [1991] BRILLIANT / FLAC / scans

O Púbis da Rosa