Patricia Petibon / Philippe Jaroussky / Freiburger Barockorchester / Andrea Marcon HANDEL Alcina (Video)

ALCINA

 

Formato: mp4

Subtítulos: Italiano, Inglés, Francés, Alemán

Isabelle Faust / Jean-Guihen Queyras / Alexander Melnikov / Freiburger Barockorchester / Pablo Heras-Casado BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto - Piano Trio Op. 36

 

TRIPLE CONCERTO - PIANO TRIO OP. 36

 

Freiburger Barockorchester / RIAS Kammerchor Berlin / René Jacobs BEETHOVEN Missa Solemnis

 

MISSA SOLEMNIS

 

Kristian Bezuidenhout / Freiburger Barockorchester / Pablo Heras-Casado BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4

PIANO CONCERTO No. 4

Freiburger Barockorchester / Zürcher Sing-Akademie / Pablo Heras-Casado BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 - Choral Fantasy

SYMPHONY No. 9 - CHORAL FANTASY

Freiburger Barockorchester / René Jacobs BEETHOVEN Leonore

As we know it today, Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera, was first performed in 1814. But it had begun life in 1805 as Leonore, when its premiere in Vienna, to an audience largely made up of French officers from Napoleon’s occupying army who could not understand any of the German text, had been a disaster. Beethoven revised the score immediately, cutting swathes and recasting the original three acts into two, but he was still unhappy with the result, which was withdrawn after two performances the following year. When it emerged again, eight years later, both the music and the words had been even more substantially altered, and this time the premiere was a huge success.

et though Fidelio is now a central part of the operatic repertory, some insist that the 1805 Leonore is the better, more dramatically convincing work. One of those is John Eliot Gardiner, who in 1997 conducted one of the three previous recordings of the original score, and another is René Jacobs, who is responsible for this latest one. According to Jacobs, not only does the 1805 three-act version have the better, more musically daring overture (now known in the concert hall as Leonore No 2) but Beethoven’s revisions and compressions removed first-rate music from the score, notably an entire aria in the first act for Rocco, and a duet for Leonore and Marzelline in the second, doing severe damage to the work’s dramaturgy.

Jacobs’ recording, taken from a live performance in Paris a year ago, makes his case for him eloquently enough. His tempi are generally on the fast side, though the superb, crisp playing of the period-instrument Freiburg Baroque Orchestra ensures they never seem too hectic. But though the dialogue has been rewritten and apparently abridged, there still seems an awful lot of it, with the spoken voices just a bit too far forward in the stereo picture and sound effects rather self-consciously prominent, too. And if the cast, led by Marlis Petersen as Leonore and Maximilian Schmitt as Florestan, does not include any voices to compare to those on some of the great Fidelio recordings of the last century, their general lightness and flexibility puts the opera more convincingly into its proper context.

As Jacobs and his singers present it, this is Beethoven’s opera as a descendant of the 18th-century Singspiel tradition, especially that of Mozart’s Entführung and Zauberflöte. Leonore may not be the great celebration of political freedom that later generations have valued in Fidelio, but historically perhaps it’s something more interesting. (Andrew Clements / The Guardian)

Freiburger Barockorchester / Gottfried von der Goltz MOZART Youth Symphonies

It is true that images have the power to keep a trace of the past. Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburger Barockorchestra prove with this recording that music too conceals the secret of the memory deep within. Though rarely played, much less recorded, Mozart’s youth symphonies bear the reminiscence of the child the composer used to be, as well as including the seeds of his future masterpieces.

With this album The Freiburger Barockorchester fulfil the portrait of the brilliant composer, whose influences lie in these symphonies and contredanses, as well as his musical tastes: from the G minor tonality that we hear in the Symphony K. 22 to the aria Non piu andrai that can be heard in the first Contredanse - the music of the young Mozart echoes to the elder.

Conducted by Gottfried von der Goltz, expert of the repertoire, the orchestra offers a genuine performance and interpretation, delivering the last piece of the Mozart puzzle.

Kristian Bezuidenhout / Pablo Heras-Casado / Freiburger Barockorchester MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No.2 - Symphony No. 1

Mendelssohn’s first symphonic work scored for full orchestra, the Symphony op. 11 in C minor paved the way for even greater examples of the genre he was soon to produce. The concert overture Die schöne Melusine and the sparkling Piano Concerto No. 2 rely on the type of orchestration and harmonic language which are best served when played on period instruments, as heard here. Devoid of the atmosphere of Romantic doom and gloom, nearly every page of both scores is marked by an exuberant cheerfulness, youthful drive, and irrepressible energy.

Isabelle Faust ROBERT SCHUMANN

Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov begin their project to record all of Schumann’s concertos and piano trios using gut strings and a piano of Schumann’s time (a Streicher of 1847) with the most challenging two works of all. The tangled performance history of the Violin Concerto is well enough known by now – written in 1853 for Joseph Joachim to play, it was suppressed after Schumann’s death and not performed in public until the 1930s. Performances have remained sporadic though, and as Faust’s shows, even the finest violinists (and she is one of the very best around today) still struggle to make convincing sense of some passages, especially in the rather stop-start opening movement; there are moments here when the usually nimble Freiburg Baroque Orchestra sounds as if it is having to wade through musical treacle. Composed two years before, the G minor Piano Trio isn’t top-drawer Schumann either, especially when compared with the two earlier trios, but Faust and her colleagues have the knack of teasing out its lyrical beauties and giving all the music real lightness and transparency.

Alexander Melnikov ROBERT SCHUMANN

This is the second in a three-part series exploring Schumann’s concertos and piano trios on gut strings and a period piano, and as the slightly creepy cover photo spells out – shadows of violinist Isabelle Faust and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras flank Alexander Melnikov like lurking henchmen – it is the pianist’s turn to shine. Melnikov is a steely player with plenty of ideas and charisma, but even in the finessed company of the Freiburg Baroque and conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, his bracing account of the Piano Concerto is hard to love. The first moment opens with a dry punch and hurtles ahead hell-for-leather; the second movement is breezy and borderline trite, and the finale digs in its heels with laboured earthiness and a self-conscious ping at the top of each phrase. All affectations evaporate in the Trio, though, where Faust’s sound is so silvery and expressive, so simultaneously commanding and questioning, that she risks blowing the rest of the disc out of the water. (The Guardian)

Carolyn Sampson / Freiburger Barockorchester / Petra Müllejans JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Cantatas for Soprano

For biographer Philipp Spitta, Bach's period as organist and later Konzertmeister to the Duke of Weimar (1708-17) was the time of his ‘early mastery’. Nowhere is this more evident than in the small but highly distinguished body of cantatas he wrote there, whether for the court chapel – the Himmelsburg or ‘Castle of Heaven’ – or for some clearly very joyful wedding (BWV202). From the ravishing duets for soprano and oboe of the latter to the penitential strains of BWV199, the radiant voice of Carolyn Sampson and the virtuosos of the Freiburger Barockorchester do full justice to Bach's inventiveness.

Soprano Carolyn Sampson has been proclaimed "the best British early music soprano by some distance" by the editors of Gramophone. A native of Bedford, she studied voice with Richard Smart at the University of Birmingham, and made her debut with the English National Opera in a production of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea and continues to appear with this company with regularity in addition to appearances at the Paris Opera. The vast majority of Sampson's singing has been heard in concert engagements with period ensembles, and by 2006 she had appeared with most of the best-known groups of this sort, but especially the King's Consort, Collegium Vocale, and Ex Cathedra. Sampson has recorded extensively for the Hyperion, BIS, Harmonia Mundi, and Deux-elles labels. (Presto Classical)

Philippe Jaroussky / Freiburger Barockorchester BACH - TELEMANN Sacred Cantatas

For his first album devoted entirely to works sung in German, star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has chosen four religious cantatas: two by J.S. Bach (including the much-loved ‘Ich habe genug’) and two by Georg Philipp Telemann. Jaroussky is accompanied by the Freiburger Barockorchester, which also joined him for live performances at Berlin in 2015 as part of the singer’s season as artist-in-residence at the city’s historic Konzerthaus.

In late 2015 Jaroussky performed these works before a capacity audience at Berlin’s historic Konzerthaus, where he was artist-in-residence in the 2015-16 season; this concert marked the first time he had sung in German to a German audience. “The voice of an angel” were the words of the Berliner Tagesspiegel, which also made clear that Jaroussky had the vocal means to express the drama of Telemann’s ‘Mount of Olives’ cantata. The Berliner Morgenpost, meanwhile, highlighted the singer’s readiness to venture into new areas of repertoire, describing him as “perhaps the most adventurous of today’s countertenors”. The writer also praised Jaroussky’s “exquisitely fine legato” and evoked the way his “plaintive descant glowed over the inky-black accompaniment” in the Telemann. The instrumental ensemble in Berlin, as on this recording, was the Freiburger Barockorchester, which gave its first concert nearly 30 years ago and is established as one of the finest ensembles in the field of historically informed performance.

Pablo Heras-Casado / Freiburger Barockorchester FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4

Pablo Heras-Casado and his Freiburg players bring the most gorgeous string and woodwind sonorities to the Andante con moto with a beautifully shaped opening, subtly picking up a rhythmic pulse as the tempo increases in a magical transition into the Allegro un poco agitato andante. The orchestra soon gain a gutsy forward bounding momentum pointed up by timpani. There is a wonderful precision and tautness from these players, observing every nuance. Heras-Casado’s care with dynamics is superb with some wonderfully hushed moments that contrast with wonderfully rhythmically buoyant passages. He generates much excitement with some lovely individual instrumental timbres. 

A finely transparent Vivace non troppo follows, so fleet and joyful, so wonderfully Mendelssohnian. Beautifully phrased with some wonderfully sprung phrases there is a real sense of re-discovery of this wonderful music before a superb tailing off in the coda. 

These players bring a beautifully conceived opening as the theme of the Adagio is revealed, slowly taking the melody forward with a gentle pulse in the basses. The second subject each time it appears is taken at a stately pace before building to some grand climaxes, pointed up by period timpani. This conductor shapes some wonderful phrases, with lovely string and woodwind textures and again such a finely done coda. 

The Allegro vivacissimo - Allegro maestoso assai springs into life with exceptionally crisp and alert playing. There are some wonderfully shaped dynamics as the movement progresses, building to some wonderfully emphatic climaxes before a wonderfully quiet moment that heralds the new theme that emerges to take us to the resounding coda. This is an outstanding performance in every way. 

A bubbling rhythmic drive is given to the Allegro vivace of Symphony No.4 in A major, Op.90 ‘Italian’ again with a very fine transparency of sound. These players are able to hustle the music forward with a great feeling of spontaneity. There are moments, particular quieter ones that have a chamber like feel. Again the tautness and immaculate ensemble is impressive. Control of dynamics is again very fine, allowing many details and subtleties to emerge through the wonderfully light texture. Heras-Casado brings some very fine development passages that lead to wonderful peaks. There is a particularly beautiful woodwind passage towards the end before the glorious coda arrives. 

The Andante con moto has a fast jogging pace in the brass over which the orchestra bring a lovely longer line. Heras-Casado creates a wonderful flow here and throughout there is the most lovely instrumental tapestry of sound with wonderful shaping of phrases and always with an underlying urgency of flow. There are some most lovely hushed passages. 

There is only a slight slackening of pace as the Con moto moderato flows forward, again with a fine transparency that allows the woodwinds and each layer of the strings to emerge. There are some fine horn phrases in the trio section with beautiful little clarinet entries. 

Heras-Casado leaps into the Presto and Finale: Saltarello with some absolutely terrific flute passages. The music positively bounds ahead pointed up by the timpani. There are so many lovely little individual instrumental details and when the woodwind come in over the strings they create a terrific texture. This is a superbly played and quite captivating movement. Later there are some impressively played fast and fleet string passages before the woodwind bubble through the strings. The music rises to some fine peaks before arriving at a most lovely coda. 

This is a performance of chamber like subtlety and transparency with an underlying drive and energy.

Harmonia Mundi has a winner with Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester. If you think that you’ve heard these symphonies too many times try these performances and revel in the freshness of re-discovery. 

They receive a remarkably vivid recording from Auditorio y Centro de Congresos, Murcia, Spain. There are excellent booklet notes on the music though some information about the choice of instruments used for early 19th c. repertoire would have been useful. (Bruce Reader)

Andreas Staier / Freiburger Barockorchester JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Harpsichord Concertos

J.S. Bach wrote, or rewrote, seven solo harpsichord concertos. Most of them began life as showpieces for other instruments – violin, oboe d’amore – and occasionally their potted history makes for an awkward conversation between harpsichord and the rest of the band. Not here. Andreas Staier’s grit, flair and expressive freedom, plus Freiburger Barockorchester’s athletic ensemble playing, makes these performances bounce and swing.

Staier embraces the chunky chordal textures gained over the single-line originals and gives them a thick, meaty attack that is great fun: try the last movement of BWV 1058 – better known as the A-minor violin concerto – to see what I mean. His harpsichord is a 10-year-old Parisian instrument modelled on a Hass of 1734, almost exactly the date of the concertos themselves. The sound is brawny and dark-hewn, with melodies that sing every bit as much as a bowed or blown instrument. (Kate Molleson / The Guardian)

Nowadays, J.S. Bach's seven harpsichord concertos are most often performed on a grand piano with modern orchestral accompaniment, largely for the sake of striking a proper balance of dynamics and instrumentation. In light of this preference, it has become a little difficult to find historically informed versions that sound close to what Bach would have heard. These period style performances by Andreas Staier and the Freiburger Barockorchester provide a welcome alternative to the standard modern releases, and listeners with a taste for authenticity can be assured that Staier's scholarship and interpretations are impeccable. Staier plays a replica of a 1734 harpsichord, and the small ensemble of recorders, strings, and continuo is appropriately scaled to the music's textures and the balance of soloist and orchestra. Harmonia Mundi's recording is elaborate, involving spot and omnidirectional microphones that capture the players with remarkable subtlety and presence, so all the nuances and details of these exciting performances can be heard clearly without sacrificing the full-bodied sound. (Blair Sanderson)

Bejun Mehta / Freiburger Barockorchester / René Jacobs OMBRA CARA Arias of GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

I recall hearing a CD (Delos) starring a boy soprano named Bejun Mehta almost 20 years ago. He was amazing. Along with the usual Messiah excerpts he sang Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock; though not perfect, it was remarkable. Since then he has become a world-renowned countertenor, on par with Andreas Scholl and David Daniels. This is, inexplicably, his first recital CD. It's superb.

Mehta differs from other countertenors insofar as his dynamic range is concerned. Furthermore, his phrasing is natural and musical; he can express feelings from rage to ecstasy to yearning by coloring his tone, leaning into a note or phrase. His coloratura is natural and unaspirated; his bottom register takes on a very dark hue without becoming baritonal or chesty. His embellishments are both tasteful and virtuosic--a rare combo--and he has real trills.
The opening number, "Sento la gioia" from Amadigi, tells most of the story: great energy, absolutely impeccable rhythm and diction, a softness in the 'B' section, surprising embellishments in da capo. And I cannot say enough about Jacobs and his Freiburg Baroque Orchestra--the spicy oboes and jubilant trumpets are perfect partners to Mehta's singing.
Later in the CD program the Mad Scene from Orlando shows more specific dramatic abilities; this manic-depressive scene takes Orlando through frightening hallucinations, introspection, and rage, in both accompanied recitatives and ariosos. "Stille amare", one of Handel's greatest moments, shows us Tolomeo as he believes he has taken poison. In fact, it's just a sleeping draught, and his voice trails off at the end in a most un-Baroque fashion. And poor Ottone in Agrippina loves the wily Poppea so much that his lament, "Voi che usite il mio tormento", is truly touching, and is sung with a knock-out legato. The final number is the duet "Per le porte del tormento" from Sosarme, sung with soprano Rosemary Joshua. This is one of the composer's most beautiful episodes and it's performed perfectly, with fine ornamentation in the da capo.
As suggested, Jacobs and his musicians are magnificent--in addition to their accompaniments/collaborations with Mehta, they play the overture to Rodrigo, which highlights bassoons and oboes and a violin solo. (Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com)