Jean-Francois Paillard Chamber Orchestra: The Pachelbel Canon Albinoni Adagio and other Baroque Melodies /Jean-Francois Paillard Chamber Orchestra CD Track Listing

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Jean-Francois Paillard Chamber Orchestra The Pachelbel Canon Albinoni Adagio and other Baroque Melodies /Jean-Francois Paillard Chamber Orchestra
Ask people what they like about Baroque music, and \noften they will talk about the tempo. Many are uplifted by\nthe energetic drive of a typical Baroque allegro. Some \nfind comfort in the dignified pace of a stately minuet or\ngavotte. Others, perhaps those of a more reflective nature,\ncan lose themselves in a soulful Baroque adagio.\n\nFor this recording, Jean-Francois Paillard has assembled a\nselection of both familiar and lesser-known examples of the\nBaroque composer's art, from Albinoni to Zipoli. While the \nmusic here proceeds at many different paces, the \nadagio-lover will find the program especially rewarding.\n\nThe most famous Adagio in this collection may or may not\nbe by Tomaso Albinoni. In this arrangement for strings and\norgan, its haunting melody and introspective character\nhave gained it widespread popularity, as has its \nprominence in the film Gallipoli. A long violin solo, a\nsoliloquy without words, becomes the emotional center of \nthis miniature musical scene.\n\nIf any one piece of music will be forever associated with \nJean-Francois Paillard, it is the Canon in D by Johann\nPachelbel. Paillard popularized it in an earlier recording,\nand the film Ordinary People redoubled its renown. Now\nhe interprets the Canon with subtle variations in color and\ndynamics, revealing new facets of this musical gem.\n\nJohann Sebastian Bach's Second Orchestral Suite has a \nprominent part for solo flute. The suite closes with a \ngraceful Minuet and a playful Badinerie, which have \nbecome encore pieces for virtuoso flutists. (The title\n"Badinerie" describes a lively, witty exchange of thoughts,\nakin to the wordplay we call "badinage".) Further into the\ncollection comes, from the Third Orchestral Suite, and Aria \nthat has achieved innocent notoriety as "Air on the G\nstring".\n\nGeorge Frideric Handel is best known for such choral works\nas Messiah, but he was no less accomplished as an\ninstrumental composer. The twelve concerti grossi \npublished as his Opus 6 are among the finest by any \nBaroque composer. The Musette from Concerto No. 6 is a \nlittle three-part scene that opens langurously, as if \nportraying a hot summer day. The contrasting middle \nsection offers a short burst of energy - some attempt at \nphysical activity in the heat, perhaps - which is soon \nabandoned in favor of a return to relaxation. Later in the \nprogram there is a charming Gavotte from Concerto No 10.\n\nAs can be seen with Bach's Minuet and Badinerie, the \ntechnique of juxtaposing a solo instrument against an \nensemble frequently brought out the best in the Baroque\ncomposer. In solo appearances by the piccolo and oboe\nin concertos of Antonio Vivaldi and Benedetto Marcello,\nthe unique characteristics of each instrument are \nexquisitely exploited by those masters, who always seem\nto have reserved their most profound utterances for the \nwider expressive palette offered by the minor keys.\n\nNo sonic picture of the Baroque is complete without some\nlively interludes. Arcangelo Corelli's breathless Badinerie\nand lilting Gigue are arranged from two movements taken\nfrom different violin sonatas, but in their orchestral guise\nthey become a refreshing pair of miniatures. The Vivaldi\nAllegro is a movement from one of the twelve violin \nconcertos known as L'estro armonico (Harmonic Invention).\nThe dance form called "Tambourin", often found in the \nballet music from the operas of Jean-Philippe Rameau, \nfeatures strong-beat rhythms, as if reinforced by a tambour\n(a French drum), like a tambourine without the jingles),\nover which is spun a lively melody, in imitation of a flute \nor other wind instrument.\n\nIn many of his cantatas, Bach surrounds a well-known \nchorale (hymn) melody, moving at a moderate pace, by a\nfaster-moving accompaniment, which often assumes a\nmelodic character of its own. Two of his most beautiful\nchorale movements are "Wachet auf" (Sleepers, Wake) and\n"Jesus bleibet meine Freude" (Jesu, Joy of Man's \nDesiring). Wether the chorale is intoned by a chorus, a \nsolo instrument or a small ensemble, this serene music\nremains unforgettable.\n\nFew people have heard of Domenico Zipoli whose life as a \nJesuit monk took him from his native Italy to Argentina. \nThis Adagio, arranged for oboe, cello and strings, is a \nsublime duet that, with words, would easily be the high \npoint of a Baroque opera.\n\nThe last two selections on this program have the trumpet \nin common, although the Andante by Johann Melchior\nMeltor is notable for the absence of the trumpet, which\npresumably is catching its breath between fast movements\nof the concerto. Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary,\noriginally attributed to Henry Purcell, is also known as \n"The Prince of Denmark's March". Its pomp and ceremony \nepitomize the music of late 17th centyry England.\n\nThe music in this collection demonstrates that the Baroque\nperiod was an exciting time in the development of Western\nmusic, an era when composers everywhere were writing\nmusic that, in its daring and directness, established new\nlevels of communication, not only with the listeners of their\ntime, but with those of a century far removed from their \nown.\n\n -Daniel Guss\n\n\nJean-Francois Paillard, conductor\n\nChristian Larde, flute, piccolo\nPierre Pierlot, oboe\nJean-Luc Ramecourt, trumpet\nGerard Jarry, violin\nRichard Siegel, harpsichord, organ\n\nRecorded October 1989 at Eglise du Liban, Paris\n\n
This classical cd contains 16 tracks and runs 73min 9sec.
Freedb: de112310

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Jean-Francois Paillard Chamber Orchestra: The Pachelbel Canon Albinoni Adagio and other Baroque Melodies /Jean-Francois Paillard Chamber Orchestra CD Track Listing

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