Saens / Lalo / Smirnov - L'Invitation Au Voyage - Import CD

Credits:

Saens / Lalo / Smirnov

Description:

An exciting collaboration between the brilliant and brilliantly talented Smirnoff and the master musician Holliger! Lalo's Concerto for Violin and Violoncello No. 4 "Russian Concerto", a flowing tapestry of sounds connecting France and Russia at the end of the 19th century, which unfolds in brilliant colors with Lalo's Concerto for Violin and Violoncello for Violoncello as the main piece, a beautiful contact with the East and Beyond described by Baudelaire, and R="R=", which Lalo referenced when using a Russian melody in this piece. The theme of this album is the bridge between the music of the East and the West at the end of the 19th century, and the songs are exquisitely selected and finely crafted. The violin arranged versions of songs and folk tunes, combined with violin concerto pieces, create a fantastic world in which various musical languages are woven together while maintaining a sense of tonal unity. The first piece that opens the album, "Invitation to a Journey," is a song based on a very beautiful rhymed poem by Baudelaire that fantastically depicts the lands of the East. Originally accompanied by piano, Duparc himself wrote an orchestral version of the song, and the violin is used for the singing part in this recording. The delicate orchestration and dreamy melody of the song transport the listener to a place where it is hard to believe that the original was written for piano. Lalo, who is of Spanish descent, has written music with a Spanish flavor other than the famous "Spanish Symphony" (Violin Concerto No. 2), and the Concerto No. 1 is one of them. Saint-Saens' "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso," also written for the famous Spanish violinist Sarasate, was chosen as a companion piece to this work, which also has Spanish tones. The "Russian Concerto" is boldly interspersed with the original Russian folk song that was used so impressively. The connection between each piece deepened the flavor of the music. The final piece was Mussorgsky's song "My Lovely Servissina". The final piece is Mussorgsky's "My Lovely Servissina," a sad but beautiful song in Russian-style five-beat harmony, performed in an impressive bass-centered arrangement. Dmitry Smirnov is a young and talented violinist with a wide range of skills from ancient to contemporary music.He is a versatile musician who even works with experimental and film music with Camerata Rhein, a chamber ensemble he founded himself in Basel in 2018. In this album, he takes on the challenge of playing Romantic works on gut strings, and his clever programming and vivid arrangements are also his own. The arrangements are the highlight of the album, and the performance of the pieces by Holliger himself gives them an even more authentic expression. It was an exciting and fresh project for the master musician Holliger, and the performances are of a very high level and truly symphonic. King International