Symphony While The Swans Come Forward by Mike Fentross / Johannette Zomer / La Sfera Armoniosa

Henry Purcell

Mike Fentross / Johannette Zomer / La Sfera Armoniosa

Symphony While The Swans Come Forward

Price: € 19.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917278323
Catnr: CC 72783
Release date: 01 June 2018
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917278323

Catalogue number
CC 72783

Release date
01 June 2018

"The orchestra plays with power but, importantly, with so much transparency and color given the attention to these authentic instruments. When fanfares of drum and trumpet are played, I am completely transported. The immediacy with which the sound of these instruments is captured makes for a dramatic listening experience. Simply stunning dynamics, detail and timbre. "

Positive Feedback, 28-1-2024

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

La Sfera Armoniosa, founded in 1992, is a Dutch Baroque ensemble and orchestra specialized in the performance of music from the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Artistic director and conductor is Mike Fentross. Mike Fentross: I was really moved when I heard my orchestra play the opening bars of the Purcell. I heard a sound that was quite different to what I knew from other present-day baroque orchestras. Was this sound closer to that of Purcell's own orchestra, a sound that he may have had in mind when composing this wondrous music? In the very first chat I had about this project with Lidewij van der Voort, our new concertmaster, we talked about the modern adaptations that are often (and understandably) applied to baroque instruments nowadays, and about the possibility of going back to authentic strings (completely bare gut) and a 17th century bow hold (the French grip) for this Purcell project. As it happens, I'd had a similar conversation not long before that with Lidewei de Sterck, our principal oboist, about authentic reeds (scraped from the inside) and with Graham Nicholson, about 17th century trumpets (natural trumpets with no finger holes). These aspects, seemingly just details, have a major impact not just on the sound but also the way of playing and therefore on the way we interpret the music. We all felt the need to record this CD with these 'experimental' instruments. An orchestral sound with so much transparency and colour, a way of playing with such narrative power! I'm full of admiration for the musicians who played so beautifully and who were prepared to take up the challenge of moving away from a well-trodden path.

Voor dit album koos het Nederlandse barokensemble en orkest La Sfera Armoniosa voor orkestmuziek en aria’s uit opera’s van Henry Purcell. Naast het prachtige spel van het ensemble zingt de bekende sopraan en barokspecialist Johannette Zomer, de sterren van de hemel.

Kleurrijk spel ontroerde Mike Fentross

La Sfera Armoniosa staat bekend en wordt geprezen om hun levendige en kleurrijke klank en hun baanbrekende programma's. Het Engelse muziekblad Gramophone schreef over hun eerste album met muziek van de Italiaanse componist Kapsberger: "Hoe spoedig zullen we het betoverende La Sfera Armoniosa weer horen, en welke vers begraven schat zullen ze dan weer opdiepen?“ In 1991 richtte Fentross, samen met gambiste Paulina van Laarhoven en zangeres Xenia Meijer, het barokensemble La Sfera Armoniosa op. Later, in 2006, breidde het ensemble zich uit tot een barokorkest, het La Sfera Armoniosa Orchestra. Het gezelschap is gespecialiseerd in uitvoeringen van muziek uit de 17e en 18e eeuw. Artistiek leider en dirigent Mike Fentross: "Ik was zeer ontroerd toen ik mijn orkest de openingsmaten van Purcell hoorde spelen. Ik hoorde een klank die nogal verschilde van de klank die ik kende van andere hedendaagse barokorkesten. Lag deze klank dichter bij die van Purcells eigen orkest, een klank die hij in zijn gedachten zou hebben gehad terwijl hij deze wonderlijke muziek componeerde?"

Terug naar authentieke klanken en speelwijze

Fentross: "In het allereerste gesprek over dit Purcell-project met onze nieuwe concertmeester Lidewij van der Voort, spraken we over de moderne aanpassingen die tegenwoordig vaak (en begrijpelijk) op barokinstrumenten worden toegepast, en over de mogelijkheid om terug te gaan naar authentieke snaren (van darmen) en een 17e-eeuwse strijkhouding (de Franse greep) voor dit project. Het toeval wil dat ik niet lang daarvoor een vergelijkbaar gesprek had met Lidewei de Sterck, onze eerste hoboïst, over authentieke rietbladen (van binnenuit gesneden) en met Graham Nicholson, over 17e eeuwse trompetten (natuurtrompetten zonder vingergaten). Deze aspecten, op het eerste gezicht details, hebben een grote impact, niet alleen op de klank, maar ook op de manier van spelen, en dus op de manier waarop we de muziek interpreteren. We voelden allen de behoefte om dit album op te nemen met deze ‘experimentele’ instrumenten. Een orkestklank met zoveel transparantie en kleur, een manier van spelen met zo veel narratieve kracht! Ik bewonder de musici die zo prachtig gespeeld hebben en die bereid waren de uitdaging aan te gaan om buiten de gebaande paden te treden."

Lees ook de recensie van Michel Dutrieue in Stretto.

La Sfera Armoniosa ist ein 1992 gegründetes, niederländisches Barockensemble und -orchester, das sich auf die Aufführung von Musik des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts spezialisiert hat. Sein künstlerischer Leiter und Dirigent Mike Fentross sagt über diese CD: Es war für mich wirklich bewegend, als ich mein Orchester die ersten Takte des Purcell spielen hörte. Das war ein Klang, der ganz anders war als das, was ich von zeitgenössischen Barockorchestern kannte. Kam er dem von Purcells eigenem Orchester näher, dem Klang, den der Komponist im Sinn gehabt haben mochte, als er diese wunderbare Musik komponierte? Als ich mich mit Lidewij van der Voort, unserer neuen Konzertmeistern, zum ersten Mal über dieses Projekt unterhielt, sprachen wir über die modernen Adaptionen, die Barockinstrumenten heutzutage oft (und verständlicherweise) übergestülpt werden, und über die Möglichkeit der Rückkehr zu authentischen Saiten (reine Darmseiten) und einer Bogenhaltung aus dem 17. Jahrhundert (die französische Griffweise) für diesen Purcell. Wie es der Zufall will, hatte ich kurz davor ein sehr ähnliches Gespräch mit Lidewei de Sterck, unserer ersten Oboistin, über authentische Rohrblätter (von innen heraus geschnitzt), und mit Graham Nicholson über Trompeten aus dem 17. Jahrhundert (Naturtrompeten ohne Fingerlöcher). Diese Aspekte, scheinbar nur kleine Details, haben nicht nur großen Einfluss auf den Klang, sondern auch auf die Art zu spielen und damit auf die Art, die Musik zu interpretieren. Wir alle verspürten das Bedürfnis, diese CD mit diesen „experimentellen“ Instrumenten aufzunehmen. Ein Orchesterklang mit so viel Transparenz und Farbe, eine Interpretation mit solch narrativer Kraft! Ich bewundere die Musiker, die so wunderschön gespielt haben und die bereit waren, die Herausforderung anzunehmen, abseits der bekannten Pfade zu wandeln.

Artist(s)

Mike Fentross (theorbo)

Conductor/lutenist Mike Fentross has largely earned his credits as an early music specialist. He is working all over Europe as a conductor, soloist and basso continuo player and he is professor of lute and basso continuo at the Royal Conservatory The Hague. In 2006 he founded the baroque orchestra La Sfera Armoniosa. Mike Fentross conducted in many festivals and concerthalls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. the Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Paradiso Amsterdam, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Brugge, Vantaa Early Music Festival, Bayreuth Barock and Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. For two times he had the honour to conduct in the presence of Queen Beatrix of Holland. In...

Mike Fentross conducted in many festivals and concerthalls like the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. the Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Paradiso Amsterdam, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Brugge, Vantaa Early Music Festival, Bayreuth Barock and Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. For two times

he had the honour to conduct in the presence of Queen Beatrix of Holland. In 1988 Mike Fentross graduated at the Royal Conservatory The Hague where he studied with lute pionier Toyohiko Satoh. In 1994 he won the Van Wassenaer Competition in Amsterdam with violinist Helene Schmitt. He played chamber music with musicians as Yo Yo Ma, Ton Koopman, Janine Jansen, Marion Verbruggen, Sonia Prina, Maria Bajo, Wilbert Hazelzet, Bruce Dickey, Lucy van Dael, Andrew Lawrence King, Philippe Jarousski, Eduardo Lopez Banzo, Skip Sempe and Gerard Lesne. Mike has recorded more than 75 cd’s.

He studied conducting with Stefan Pas. As conductor he debuted in 1999 with La Dafne from Marco da Gagliano in a production of the New Opera Academie in Amsterdam. In 2006 he conducted in the presence of Queen Beatrix the modern world premiere from the opera l’Ipermestra from Cavalli in a prestigeous jubilee production from the Utrecht Early Music Festival and in 2008 he conducted a second unearthed Cavalli opera La Rosinda in a production from the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci Potsdam. In 2009 he conducted for the first time in the big hall from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and in the same year he was musical director in the production Granida performed in the presence of Queen Beatrix. About his debut as conductor from the Dutch Chamber Choir in 2010 in the Concertgebouw the press wrote: Conductor Mike Fentross rivalled Caravaggio with the score of the Maria Vespers. His first time conducting the Nederlands Kamerkoor was a resounding success.

Mike doesn’t only conduct Early Music, in 2004 he conducted Pierrot Lunaire from Arnold Schoenberg. The press wrote: There was great enthusiasm for Mike Fentross as conductor of a double bill consisting of Monteverdi’s Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire. Mike Fentross gave a performance of Pierrot lunaire that ‘appeared to come from another planet’.

In 2012 Mike made his Austrian debut in the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt with great success in a program with coloratura soprano Simone Kermes and in the same year he conducted the pre jubilee concert for the Concertgebouw in a program with solo violinist Lucy van Dael and singers Henk Neven and Andreas Scholl. In 2013 he conducted the Fairy Queen with his orchestra and the Netherlands Chamberchoir.

Since 2013 he is regularly conducting the baroque orchestra and choir of the Royal Conservatory. In 2014 he was invited by Paradiso Orchestra to conduct Beethovens Eroica. In 2016 he conducted the Netherlands Chamber Choir in a Bach, Faure program live broadcast on national radio.

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La Sfera Armoniosa

La Sfera Armoniosa, founded in 1992, is a Dutch Baroque ensemble and orchestra specialized in the performance of music from the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Artistic director and conductor is Mike Fentross. In addition to the music of famous composers such as Monteverdi, Haendel and Vivaldi, the ensemble undertakes research into the manuscripts and printed works of the European libraries in order to provide a rich spectrum of music from lesser known composers. The English music magazine Gramophone wrote about their first cd: “How soon will we hear the enchanting La Sfera Armoniosa again, and what fresh buried treasure will they unearth?” La Sfera Armoniosa is known and praised for it’s lively and colourful sound and for its groundbreaking programmes. They created in 2004 a Schoenberg/ Monteverdi programme that they performed with great success in the Utrecht Early Music Festival and they performed modern world premiers from three almost forgotten opera’s: La Rosinda, l’Ipermestra and Granida. In 2012 the Concertgebouw asked La Sfera to design and perform a special program, the Amsterdam musical life before the concerthall was build, for their 125th anniversary.
La Sfera Armoniosa performed in main festivals and concert halls such as: Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Music Center Vredenburg, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Monteverdi festival Cremona, Festival de Musica Portico de Zamora, Festival Musica Antiqua Bruges, and the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam.
About their performance of the opera La Rosinda by Francesco Cavalli in Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci the press wrote: "This evening, the orchestra has proven that it is amongst the leading baroque orchestras. I will not soon forget the nuances that came from the orchestra pit. That was great art. Nothing more and nothing less."

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Composer(s)

Henry Purcell

Westminster Abbey is not just the place where British monarchs were crowned, it's also the place where many English great men were burried. Among those was also Henry Purcell. This final resting place had a double meaning for him: firstly, with his status as a composer he deserved a spot in the abbey, but secondly this was also the location where he worked during the reign of Charles II and William & Mary. Most people will recognise the last aria of Purcell's beloved opera Dido and Aeneas: 'Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.' More abstract, but less trenchant are his brilliant Fantasias (for viola da gamba) which Purcell composed in the early 1680s. These are small, at times daringly expirimental works, which...

Westminster Abbey is not just the place where British monarchs were crowned, it's also the place where many English great men were burried. Among those was also Henry Purcell. This final resting place had a double meaning for him: firstly, with his status as a composer he deserved a spot in the abbey, but secondly this was also the location where he worked during the reign of Charles II and William & Mary. Most people will recognise the last aria of Purcell's beloved opera Dido and Aeneas: "Remember me, but ah! forget my fate." More abstract, but less trenchant are his brilliant Fantasias (for viola da gamba) which Purcell composed in the early 1680s. These are small, at times daringly expirimental works, which he carefully dated. Yet, Purcell mostly developed himself as a composer of vocal music, with numerous odes, 'welcome songs', motets (anthems), songs for domestic use (both sacred and secular, both monophonic and polyphonic) and music for theatre.

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Press

The orchestra plays with power but, importantly, with so much transparency and color given the attention to these authentic instruments. When fanfares of drum and trumpet are played, I am completely transported. The immediacy with which the sound of these instruments is captured makes for a dramatic listening experience. Simply stunning dynamics, detail and timbre.
Positive Feedback, 28-1-2024

Lively and theatrical, in Purcell's sense.
TOCCATA, 26-4-2019

The enthusiasm with which Johannette Zomer, Mike Fentross and his orchestra know how to transmit this music results in a surprising applause.
Opus Klassiek, 12-9-2018

Ayres for the theatre" by Henry Purcell was performed live in Essen by the Dutch ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa in 2017. The recording of the concert has now been released on CD. Jan Ritterstaedt has heard the CD….The result is not a polished recording with the ambition of perfection, but rather an extremely lively, spirited and passionately live concert experience.
WDR3, 28-8-2018

An important reason for not passing this baroque album is the vocal contributions of Johannette Zomer. This melancholic music with its long lines in combination with works full of vocal fireworks is like a cast.
De Gelderlander, 05-8-2018

A CD with entertaining, mostly short pieces from so-called 'dramatic operas' - the leading musical drama genre in England of those days - by Henry Purcell.
Luister, 20-7-2018

We have here a clever summary, drawn from Purcell’s end of life creative skill. What else is left to wish for?
HRAudio, 25-5-2018

The fact that this is a concert recording contributes to the vital character of the performance. Not the technical - but often clinical - perfection leads the dance, but the emotions that the composer wanted to evoke with sounds. Purcell seems to have been brought back to life by La Sfera Armoniosa .
NRC Handelsblad, 24-5-2018

Purcel's Aria by an expressive Johannette Zomer and the beautiful ensemble, "La Sfera Armoniosa", directed by Mike Fentross on Channel Classics. A new sound.
Stretto, 23-5-2018