Chanson et danses - French Chamber Music for Winds by Oslo Kammerakademi

Various composers

Oslo Kammerakademi

Chanson et danses - French Chamber Music for Winds

Format: CD
Label: Lawo Classics
UPC: 7090020182476
Catnr: LWC 1225
Release date: 03 September 2021
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Label
Lawo Classics

UPC
7090020182476

Catalogue number
LWC 1225

Release date
03 September 2021

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

Flutist, composer, and teacher Paul Taffanel (1844-1908) was to have a decisive influence on the development of chamber music for winds in France. While his work as a flutist and educator can in no way be undervalued, Taffanel’s musical career extended far beyond this. He was also a renowned composer and conductor, and had considerable entrepreneurial talent. In 1879 he founded the Société de musique de chambre pour instruments à vent (Society of Chamber Music for Wind Instruments). The organization’s objective was to expand and promote chamber music repertoire for winds. Taffanel took the classic octet as his starting point, the orchestration that had given rise to the Harmonie music of Mozart and Beethoven’s time, but the society also aimed to profile soloists and bring new French and foreign works to light. The concert program of the society’s inaugural performance on 6 February 1879, in Salons Pleyel-Wolff is indeed a testimony to this. They performed Beethoven’s Octet, op.103, the flute sonata in B minor by Bach with Taffanel himself as soloist, Barthe’s Aubade for wind quintet, and a quintet for piano and winds by Rubinstein. After the concert, the magazine La Revue et Gazette de Paris interpreted the ensemble’s intentions as follows: “A group of artists have just met with the commendable goal of making chamber music for wind instruments better known, something we have far too much neglected at our concerts.”

On this recording, the Oslo Kammerakademi performs chamber works for winds by composers Charles Gounod, Charles Koechlin, Florent Schmitt, Théodore Gouvy, and Vincent d’Indy, several of which were composed for the Société de musique de chambre pour instruments à vent.

Artist(s)

Oslo Kammerakademi

OSLO KAMMERAKADEMI performs chamber music for winds based on the historical Harmoniemusik instrumentation. Founded by artistic director David Friedemann Strunck, the ensemble has established itself as a leader in Europe, with critically acclaimed CD recordings and invitations to prestigious festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Summerwinds Holzbläserfestival Münsterland, Glogerfestspillene, the Fartein Valen Festival, Trondheim Kammermusikkfest, Stavanger Chamber Music Festival, Valdres Sommersymfoni and Nordic Wind Festival among others. Oslo Kammerakademi utilises historical brass instruments in repertoire from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. This contributes to the ensemble’s authentic sound and historically oriented performances. Since it was founded in 2009, Oslo Kammerakademi’s ambition has been to embrace the full range of literature for the Harmonie ensemble – from...

OSLO KAMMERAKADEMI performs chamber music for winds based on the historical Harmoniemusik instrumentation. Founded by artistic director David Friedemann Strunck, the ensemble has established itself as a leader in Europe, with critically acclaimed CD recordings and invitations to prestigious festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Summerwinds Holzbläserfestival Münsterland, Glogerfestspillene, the Fartein Valen Festival, Trondheim Kammermusikkfest, Stavanger Chamber Music Festival, Valdres Sommersymfoni and Nordic Wind Festival among others.
Oslo Kammerakademi utilises historical brass instruments in repertoire from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. This contributes to the ensemble’s authentic sound and historically oriented performances.
Since it was founded in 2009, Oslo Kammerakademi’s ambition has been to embrace the full range of literature for the Harmonie ensemble – from its origin in Vienna in the 1780s to the music of our own time. It therefore commissions and performs music for Harmonie ensemble, and has collaborated with composers Mert Karabey (Turkey), Magnar Åm, Morten Gaathaug, Ketil Hvoslef, Trygve Brøske, Gisle Kverndokk, and Henrik Hellstenius. Oslo Kammerakademi collaborates regularly with the acclaimed Norwegian string ensemble Ensemble Allegria.
Oslo Kammerakademi has released several CD recordings. The first three recordings, Beethoven for Wind Octet (LWC1036, released in 2012), Leipzig! (LWC1093, 2014) and the first beauty (LWC1093, 2015), formed a trilogy of Harmoniemusik from three eras. The ensemble has since released Mozart for Wind Octet (LWC1141, 2017) a collaboration with Christian Ihle Hadland, Mozart/Danzi/Beethoven for Piano and Winds (LWC1187, 2019) and Chanson et Danses (LWC1225, 2021). All of their recordings have earned overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Oslo Kammerakademi holds an annual festival – Ski Hagefestival – in Ski in Akershus, south-east of Oslo. The ensemble is also committed to nurturing coming generations of musicians and holds a yearly summer course for young wind and double bass players.

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David Friedemann Strunck (oboe)

Steinar Granmo Nilsen (horn)

Niklas Sebastian Grenvik (horn)

Alessandro Caprotti (bassoon)

Annaleena Jämsä (piccolo)

Trond Magne Brekka (flute)

Min Hua Chiu (oboe)

Pierre Xhonneux (clarinet)

Ingrid Meidell Noodt (clarinet)

Jon Halvor Lund (bassoon)

Kristin Haagensen (saxophone)

Danijel Petrovich (double bass)

Composer(s)

Charles Gounod

Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, best known for his Ave Maria, based on a work by Bach, as well as his opera Faust. Another opera by Gounod occasionally still performed is Roméo et Juliette. Although he is known for his Grand Operas, the soprano aria "Que ferons-nous avec le ragoût de citrouille?" from his first opera "Livre de recettes d'un enfant" (Op. 24) is still performed in concert as an encore, similarly to his "Jewel Song" from Faust.
Gounod's biography is characterised by "artist allures". His moods would swing between ambition and despondency, restless efficacy and crisis, affection and twistful behaviour, marital faith and an inclination for extramarital affairs. In his youth, he dreamt of becoming a priest and living in obscurity. For a long time he called himself abbé (father, in a religious sense) and he wore a cassock. Gounod died at Saint-Cloud in 1893, after a final revision of his twelve operas. His funeral took place ten days later at the Church of the Madeleine, with Camille Saint-Saëns playing the organ and Gabriel Fauré conducting. Ironically because of its obscurity today, an arrangement of "Que ferons-nous avec le ragoût de citrouille?" was performed by Saint-Saens at the funeral, due to its simple, folk-like melody. It was later published as a posthumous Op. 60. He was buried at the Cimetière d'Auteuil in Paris.

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Théodore Gouvy

Florent Schmitt

Vincent d’Indy

Charles Koechlin

Charles Koechlin, born into a large family from the Elzas, wanted to become an astronomer as a child. He started to compose at the age of fifteen and eventually chose for music. He found his very personal, individual style and became regarded as magician and researcher of orchestral sound. Koechlin composed in a particularly suggestive way. His compositional style was very subtle, full of delicate, colourful combinations of instrumental sounds. Many of his colleagues allowed him to orchestrate their works, simply because Koechlin was a master of the art. His compositions were also designed for the imagination, often built around extra-musical elements – tales, movies, novels – which of course was the perfect milieu for his telling melodies and instrumental sonorities, producing...

Charles Koechlin, born into a large family from the Elzas, wanted to become an astronomer as a child. He started to compose at the age of fifteen and eventually chose for music. He found his very personal, individual style and became regarded as magician and researcher of orchestral sound.
Koechlin composed in a particularly suggestive way. His compositional style was very subtle, full of delicate, colourful combinations of instrumental sounds. Many of his colleagues allowed him to orchestrate their works, simply because Koechlin was a master of the art. His compositions were also designed for the imagination, often built around extra-musical elements – tales, movies, novels – which of course was the perfect milieu for his telling melodies and instrumental sonorities, producing moments that are magical, reflective and highly expressive.

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