I am happy to report that a couple of weeks ago I have finished recording my 3rd Jaques-Dalcroze CD; this time with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra. As a most important discovery, it will contain his expressionistic cycle for soprano and orchestra "Tragédie d'amour" - a work of immense beauty and tense atmosphere, which can stand alongside other French cycles with orchestra like Chausson's "Poème de l'amour et de la mer". In 1906, when it was premiered in Switzerland, its realism and daring subject (a woman kills the murderer of her lover - using the same knife) caused a shock. The poems were written by the composer. At the premiere, soprano Nina Faliero (Jaques-Dalcroze's wife - Switzerland's first interpreter of Mahler and Strauss) performed and the composer conducted. So far, no other performances could be reported. Musically, it is a very difficult score and has rhymthmically very odd passages in which 5/8 alternate with 6 and 8/8, or are interpolated by 3/4 and 2/4. The orchestra is normal-sized, the instrumentation remains always trasparent, erupting to short violent "crisis" moments only occasionally. The seventh (and last) song has a longer orchestral postlude.
The work has never published; I conducted from manuscript copies and using the premiere's instrumental parts - and I also had to edit a new vocal score.
For this recording I am more that happy having been able to convince my friend Elena Mosuc to perform. And with her maginficent voice she has done an incredible interpretation. Since years I dreamed having her to perform this. The atmosphere in the studio was also very tense and creative. Listening to the first editing I can say that we have created a very good performance.
On the same CD there will be a wonderful orchestral suite entitled "La Veillée" ("The Vigil") and the brilliant overture to Jaques-Dalcroze's opera "Sancho", from which I have already recorded years ago the ballet suite.
I am editing now a video clip on this project, it will be available in two weeks. For the moment I only have this:
https://www.bratislavarecording.com/single-post/2017/04/27/The-BSO-record-with-the-world-famous-singer-Elena-Mosuc
It will be decided only in June on which label this will be issued.
And I am also happy to report that my CD with Martin Scherber's First Symphony will be definitely issued by Sterling and available in autumn.
But - sadly - it looks as these two (my 48th and 49th) will be my very last recordings as a conductor... I cannot find any more sponsors supporting remaining projects.
I look forward to that 3rd volume (alredy own the first 2).
By the way: pity the Scherber Symphony 2 isn't available any more at amazon.co.uk. Do you happen to know an alternative option to buy it. (Not download, I like CD's.)
QuoteBut - sadly - it looks as these two (my 48th and 49th) will be my very last recordings as a conductor... I cannot find any more sponsors supporting remaining projects.
That is desperately sad news - and an immense loss to the world of unsung classical music.
The Scherber Symphony 2 CD was issued by Cascade Media, so you might try them:
www.cascade-medien.com (http://www.cascade-medien.com)
Shall I try to contact the sponsor of this CD? Maybe he is still selling directly some spare copies. He also sponsored my own recording. I have tried to convince Cascade once more to make a download, but they never answer. In any case, in their catalogue, this items does not figure anymore...
Congratulations!! This is a most fascinating project!!
I know how bleak are the prospects for creating new and interesting recordings. Don't give up hope!
QuoteShall I try to contact the sponsor of this CD? Maybe he is still selling directly some spare copies.
That would be incredibly kind of you.
That would be very kind hadrianus!
Done - and waiting for a reply. Since its President's (Friedwart Kurras) death, the Brucknerkreis has now been taken over by another member, and there is still much left to administrate his legacy, but something will be happening soon. In the worst case I have already proposed to arrange a commercial download of this recording. Such a pity that after all he had done to bring this recording of the First Symhony to life, he would not see it issued anymore... And it took two years, since the songs coupled with the Symphony could not be recorded as expected due to the tenor's illness...
Are there any plans to record the 2nd Violin Concerto by Dalcroze?
Hasn't the second VC already been recorded on Guild?
Yes
Here:
http://www.guildmusic.com/shop/wbc.php?sid=2738114fe58&tpl=produktdetail.html&pid=8720 (http://www.guildmusic.com/shop/wbc.php?sid=2738114fe58&tpl=produktdetail.html&pid=8720)
Yes; and this CD was my project and I had prepared everything, but Moscow wanted that particular soloist and that solist preferred to work with his conductor-friend... Finally, who am I??
Well, Moscow (or rather, the USSR) did pioneer the conductorless orchestra (Persimfans), maybe that should have been a warning sign...
No, they wanted - and needed - a conductor for these works, but I was generous enough to withdraw myself after the soloist said that he wanted to record with his friend... Once the recording was published, the sponsor actually was not very happy with this decision...
Regarding that deleted CD with Martin Scherber's 2nd Symphony, I have arranged that the remaining stock is being offered till end of July by Music Web at a special price:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Jun/Adriano%20special%20offer.htm
I am in charge of the deliveries.
Take this opportunity, the music is great!
Thanks very much, ordered today at Musicweb, looking forward to it!
Thanks. Please could all messages regarding the Scherber CD be posted on the dedicated thread, here:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,6525.msg68958.html#new (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,6525.msg68958.html#new)
This is the link to my promo video of the new Dalcroze CD, which will be issued in August-September:
https://vimeo.com/226476645
Wonderful music. A must-buy for me - although to my ears Elena Mosuc doesn't sound too secure in her highest register...
Bravo, Adriano!
@Alan: that has nothing to do with being insecure. She is very secure. It's her vibrato, which perfectly suits the operatic character of this cycle, becoming more and more dramatic as this murderous love story proceeds: A young woman has a fiancé, but his rival kills him - and she takes revenge by extracting the knife of the beloved's breast, lures the rival to a rendez-vous giving him the impression that she now loves him - and kills him with the same knife.
I'm afraid I have to disagree. Her vibrato doesn't simply become more and more dramatic, but wider and looser in her higher register, making for a listening experience that is a bit of a trial. It won't stop me buying the recording - the music sounds magnificent - but we'll have to agree to disagree on the quality of the singing.
As evidence, which I reluctantly adduce here, is an excerpt from a review of her Maria in Maria Stuarda (Donizetti) in Genoa in May this year:
Elena Moşuc is considered a leading bel canto soprano in Italy, and here she displayed some familiar diva stereotypes – hands quivering dramatically in "Ah! se un giorno da queste ritorte", she swooned precariously and staggered down a central block of stairs. Maria is a role that sounds best spun in a lustrous legato, but Moșuc's lumpy delivery, comprising wayward vibrato and clumsy scoops, had the consistency of clotted cream... (emphasis added)
https://bachtrack.com/review-maria-stuarda-mosuc-santafe-carlo-felice-genoa-may-2017 (https://bachtrack.com/review-maria-stuarda-mosuc-santafe-carlo-felice-genoa-may-2017)
OK, Alan, you are guru of belcanto in here and no chances are left... 8)
Will think it over more seriously before daring to post something about singers nest time.
I'm no guru*, that's for sure. But I'll be buying the CD, thus expressing my immense gratitude for your expertise and achievements in the realm of unsung music. You are a hero to us!
*My guru as far as standards of singing are concerned was the late, great John Steane...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._Steane (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._Steane)
...I grew up with his seminal book, The Grand Tradition, and, of course, his quarterly contributions to Gramophone magazine. While conceding the greatness of singers such as Callas, Hotter, etc., he was never afraid to highlight the problem of vocal insecurity, e.g. uncontrolled vibrato, aspirated runs, etc.
Thanks, Alan
Also the remaining orchestral pieces are absolutely wonderful and beautifully orchestrated. The Overture to Dalcroze's opera "Sancho" (Panza) could become a nice concert-hall discovery. In the Suite "La Veillée" there are higly atmospheric descriptions of sunset/night impressions and how country people experience them.
That song-cycle is just gorgeous! You have struck gold here and you have caused me to search IMSLP for other treasures by Dalcroze. I just downloaded the two Violin Concertos and I'm amazed at how different they are. The previous cd of orchestral music (Impressions Tragiques, etc.) had many beautiful things, but this present one surpasses it. The performances are wonderful and idiomatic. I very much like the singer; she has a firm grasp of the ebb and flow of the drama.
Bravo for a tremendous accomplishment! How has this music been silent for so long?
I'm listening to the Impressions Tragiques again as I write.
Thanks, minacciosa :-)
Dalcroze was shocked, reading a bad review of the 1906 première, so he did not care anymore. He was a very modest and extremely self-critical personality. The music is not too modern at all, even having some harsh dissonances, but the fact that a woman was singing about her stabbing the rival of her murdered lover, did most probably not please audiences of the small and petit-borgeois city of Neuchâtel, where ist was presented.
The reviewer wrote that the work totally lacks of melody and harmony (!!) and that it's a too brutal and dark affair. And, finally, too tiresome (29 minutes for 7 songs)!
Incidentally, in another concert of that same 1906 Swiss Music Festival, Fritz Brun's symphonic poem "Aus dem Buch Hiob" was premièred. That caused excellent reviews. And it was the first orchestral work by Brun ever performed in his own country - and conducted by himself. The premiere of his First Symphony had been 4 years earlier in Arnhem - and it would take another 5 years after "Hiob" to the Second Symphony to be premiered.
Jacques-Dalcroze CD's aren't very cheap.......... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Emile-Jaques-Dalcroze-Impressions-Tragiques-Tableaux/dp/B01G7OJ4J0/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1500746728&sr=1-1&keywords=dalcroze
I think I pass for the moment, never paid 527 GBP for a CD ???
Well, you could buy it for quite a bit less:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/%C3%89mile-Jaques-Dalcroze-Impressions-Tragiques-Tableaux/dp/B0007ZB4B2/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1500747684&sr=1-2 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/%C3%89mile-Jaques-Dalcroze-Impressions-Tragiques-Tableaux/dp/B0007ZB4B2/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1500747684&sr=1-2)
JPC is offering it for 17 Euros plus shipping - https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Emile-Jaques-Dalcroze-1865-1950-Tableaux-Romands-Orchestersuite/hnum/6552994 (https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Emile-Jaques-Dalcroze-1865-1950-Tableaux-Romands-Orchestersuite/hnum/6552994).
Glad to see that I can be bought for less :-)
It's a scandal, I know. I have written to Amazon already years ago in connection with other similar cases. Especially if the CDs are still on the market. Such perversely high private offers at Amazon Marketplace should be forbidden. Let's hope, that such arrogant (or naive?) seller will have to wait until the CD destroys itself before he gets rid of it.
Oh, I think they probably do. I can't believe anyone in their right mind would not immediately look elsewhere after having seen a ridiculous price like that. And if they can't be bothered to do a little Internet searching to find a more realistic price and actually pay what is so absurdly asked, they have more money than sense and deserve to be parted from it.
Good to have another example of usurious practices to protest. Of course, Amazon has no such kind of "claim option", so I try it in a customer's forum - with already some hypocrite reactions:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/forums/kindleqna/ref=cs_hc_k_edit_msg?ie=UTF8&forumID=Fx3RLE6WY0PI1B4&cdThread=Tx5OO5OJ9UP48T&cdPage=1#Mx36VYNNN6P4E4D
After dutifully and regularly searching my neck of the woods, I see that Adriano's Jaques-Dalcroze cd will be released on 6 April, both on Amazon and iTunes.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079RJDD5B/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079RJDD5B/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp)
https://itunes.apple.com/dk/album/jaques-dalcroze-song-cycle-orchestral-works/1347943203 (https://itunes.apple.com/dk/album/jaques-dalcroze-song-cycle-orchestral-works/1347943203)
Gregory
Hmmm, above iTunes link actually goes to the Danish iTunes site. Can't find a USA link yet, but it appears to me that those of the iTunes persuasion should be able to search "jaques-dalcroze song cycle adriano" in their own iTunes store, no matter the nationality, and find it.
Gregory
I actually was told lately that the release will be in April only :-(
MDT are now advertising this as a 6th April release:
https://www.mdt.co.uk/jaques-dalcroze-emile-elena-mosuc-bratislava-symphony-orchestra-adriano-sterling.html (https://www.mdt.co.uk/jaques-dalcroze-emile-elena-mosuc-bratislava-symphony-orchestra-adriano-sterling.html)
I've just received my copy of the new CD. It is, I am sure, a fitting conclusion to Adriano's recording career - if this is still the case. The music is rich, powerful and life-affirming throughout: here are yet more wonderful discoveries, the opportunity to hear which we owe to this true Marco Polo (!) of conductors. Thank you, maestro!
Hear, hear! Well said, Alan.
Thanks, dear friends, for your compliments! I am in a bitter need in such difficult times!
As far as my remaining Swiss music CD projects are concerned, I am spending now a lot of uncreative hours looking around for sponsors, but no hope.
Not to speak about having at least one of my own orchestral compositions performed over here. There is indeed also a Swiss mafia in the music business and of sponsors, who only support those who are well-known and already have enough money. And the most important statal sponsor Pro Helvetia does not support CD productions anymore...
All what I am good enough for are to make arrangements... The next commission will be a series of songs by Schoeck on poems by Gottfried Keller, to arranged for a small chamber group.
Is Ludvig Bonvin worth looking into, or Albert Fuchs or Friedrich Hegar...?
I have a few other in petto, eschiss1, which I definitely do not want to reveal before I a definitely give up :-)
Talking in public about interesting ideas has been not very good quite a few times in the past...
As far as Hegar is concerned, I always wanted to record "Manasse", but this would be an expensive project almost in the range of Respighi's "La Primavera". But today, CD producers do not invest anymore in their artists, so one must come up with a 100% financing... In the 1990s I was also much interested in the music of Alexandre Denéréaz, Marco Polo was not - and in the meantime, some of his works have been recorded by another conductor...
hopefully - one of these days - the opera in question Sancho, whose vocal score I see now @ IMSLP (and whose score and parts I hope are not otherwise lost besides the suite and overture you mentioned), will be revived and perhaps recorded.
Meanwhile for own listening I see NML has the violin concertos on Guild, your new Sterling CD discussed here (which surprises me - they have practically nothing from Sterling otherwise, I think- dropped all the Huber symphonies, eg. ...- I am guessing they will drop this too soon, so I will go listen through this once soon before they do :) ), and a recital on SWR Archives containing 2 small studies for piano.
(I see RISM online lists about 30 items of his, mostly published women's choruses from collections found in Swiss libraries. Intriguing too.)
Re La veillée, the vocal score of all 19 movements also @ IMSLP (from archive.org/U. Toronto originally.) The 4 movements on Sterling, and the Tragédie d'amour preceding - very lovely and striking!
So far I'd heard primarily by him, I think, a string quartet suite (also good).
There are also two CDs of the Swiss Label GALLO, one with Jaques-Dacroze's songs and another one with his String Quartet, Novellettes et Caprices, Quatre Danses Frivoles and Rondo Scherzando.
"Sancho" was actually withdrawn and blocked for further performances by the composer himself and there is the talk of producing in Geneva a compllete CD version of "La Veillée" (lasting 70 minutes).
Some of the pieces on my 2 previous recordings are quite good, like Suite de Danses (my favourite) and Tableaux Romands (lasting 50 minutes!). The 13 Little Variations on "La Suisse est belle" are always played on the Radio on our National Day. Of "Sancho" I also recorded his ballet music suite on my first Sterling disc; nice pieces. 1914, Impressions Tragiques and Poème Alpestre are rather pathetic, but very effective and well orchestrated.
by "the Radio" do you mean Radio Swiss Classic (http://www.radioswissclassic.ch/) ? I've tuned in to their stream from time to time. I'll see if I can catch that. Thanks.
No, this was just the normal program. Swiss Classics usually waits a longer time before new CDs go in there and I doubt whether they would offer it as a stream.
The CD was sent in two different braucasts of the SRF2 Kultur program, each containg a half):
https://www.srf.ch/sendungen/ch-musik/generation-aufbruch-die-fruehe-moderne-in-der-schweizer-musik
https://www.srf.ch/sendungen/concerto/der-rhythmiker-als-komponist-emile-jaques-dalcroze