Thibault Noally / Les Accents BACH & CO

BACH & CO

Notturna / Christopher Palameta FORGOTTEN CHAMBER WORKS WITH OBOE FROM THE COURT OF PRUSSIA

The ensemble Notturna under the direction of oboist Christopher Palameta has unearthed repertoire in several archives worthy of rediscovery. On this album they present as world premiere recording Berlin Chamber Music at the time of Friedrich dem Großen (Frederick the Great). The commonality of the selected sonatas by respected composers such as Johann Gottlieb Janitsch (1708-1763), Christian Gottfried Krause (1717-1770) and Johann Gottlieb Graun (1703-1771) is the solo instrument oboe. In the shadow of the flute, the favorite instrument of Friedrich dem Großen (Frederick the Great), the role of the oboe at the Prussian Court was underestimated for a long time. However there is still a variety of sonatas and concerts for this instrument which survived from this time. The Quintet in A minor by Graun, who was concertmaster of the Royal Court Orchestra since 1741, is characterized by frequent and unexpected changes of affects, dynamics and harmonies in order to achieve expressive and sentimental effects. In contrast to this work are the Trio Sonata in A minor, the Quadro Sonata in B-flat major and the Trio Sonata in G major by Janitsch, who became a violinist in the Court Orchestra in 1736. His works are much more influenced by a gallant style with varied melodies. The Trio Sonata in D minor by Krause is particularly fascinating in its original third movement, in which the oboe enters into a dialogue with the violin. A recording of beautiful Baroque music in unique interpretations.

Hille Perl / Freiburger Barockochester CONCERTI

The last decades of my life I had the privilege to travel the world playing concerts and recording CDs due to the loyalty of the audience, who has granted us the honour of coming to our concerts, of buying our CDs and thus made it possible for us to keep playing our music.  I feel deeply grateful to each one of you out there for participating in this incredible trip. I feel responsibility towards the past and the future to keep this kind of music alive and participate in my way in the cultural wealth that history has provided for us. It is important to have contents that are totally void of monetary relevance, such as music, which is as fleeting as smoke and as eternal as the skies. (Hille Perl)

Hille Perl is one of today's most brilliant and versatile gambists. She delivers excellent performances of Abel's solo pieces and is an engaging soloist in the concertos. Her cadenzas are technically impressive but especially stylish. The collaboration with the Freiburger Barockorchester is immaculate, and the result is a compelling disc of some of the best music for her instrument from the mid-18th century. I liked her performance of the Graun concerto more than that of Vittorio Ghielmi of another of his concertos. There is no lack of drama here, but there is also elegance and refinement, something I sorely missed in Ghielmi's recording. 

If your are a gamba aficionado, don't miss this disc. (Johan van Veen)

Dorothee Oberlinger / Ensemble 1700 ROCOCO - MUSIQUE À SANSSOUCI

Dorothee Oberlinger is one of the most amazing discoveries of recent years, an expressive virtuoso who has received numerous awards. Today she is seen as one of the best recorder-players in the world. Her concerts have been received with enthusiasm by critics and audiences alike, earning her unanimous acclaim. Her CDs are regularly fêted as the best new issues on the market.
Dorothee Oberlinger has given solo recitals at festivals all over Europe, in America and Japan at some of the most prestigious venues such as the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the Musikfestspiele Potsdam, the Settimane Musicale Stresa, the Nederlandse Oude-Musik-Network, the Festival de Musica Antigua Sajazarra, the Warsaw Beethoven Festival, the Europäische Musikfestwoche Passau, the Rheingau-Musikfestival, the Tage der Alten Musik Regensburg and the MDR-Musiksommer. Other venues in which she has played include the Wigmore Hall in London, the National Philharmonie in Warsaw, the Marianischer Saal in Lucerne, the Rosée Theater in Fuji and the Philharmonie in Cologne.
She has been the guest soloist with leading international Baroque ensembles such as London Baroque and Musica Antiqua Köln directed by Reinhard Goebel, and she also plays regularly with modern symphony orchestras such as the WDR-Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester and the Detmolder Kammerorchester.
Dorothee Oberlinger collaborates with the top Italian ensemble "Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca", with whom she has given many concerts throughout Europe. Their joint CD of concertos by Antonio Vivaldi has received numerous awards from the international musical press.
She directs her own "Ensemble 1700", which she formed in 2003. Together they have realized a wide variety of projects relating to the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. In 2004 Dorothee Oberlinger was appointed professor at the renowned Mozarteum academy in Salzburg.

Xenia Löffler / Batzdorfer Hofkapelle GRAUN Oboe Concertos

Johann Gottlieb Graun became a member of the small court orchestra of the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick in Ruppin in 1732, which Carl Heinrich also joined in 1735. With Friedrich's ascension to the throne in 1740, Johann Gottlieb was appointed concertmaster and Carl Heinrich kapellmeister of the royal court. Johann Gottlieb remained until the end of his life closely linked to Frederick the Great, as concertmaster and chamber musician. Whilst his brother Carl Heinrich became an important figure at the new Berlin Court Opera, Johann Gottlieb strongly influenced the musical life of Berlin and early classicism in general as a violinist and composer. One can no longer determine with any certainty which of the brothers wrote the oboe concertos recorded here the existing sources are too unclear and the differences in their personal styles are too slight. What is certain, however, is that the name "Graun" was a kind of seal of approval in those days for zestful music rich in ideas an estimation still valid today, as is readily apparent when listening to these concertos. The oboist Xenia Löffler has distinguished herself as a specialist for the North German repertoire of this period, as in her recordings with oboe concertos from the Dresden Court and with works from the Dresden Pisendel Collection (ACC 24202 and 24222). Alongside her teaching activities at the Academy of the Arts in Bremen, she is a member of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and in great international demand as a soloist.