Slavic Rhapsody: Works for String Orchestra
£9.45
In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day
Despatch Information
This despatch estimate is based on information from both our own stock and the UK supplier's stock.
If ordering multiple items, we will aim to send everything together so the longest despatch estimate will apply to the complete order.
If you would rather receive certain items more quickly, please place them on a separate order.
If any unexpected delays occur, we will keep you informed of progress via email and not allow other items on the order to be held up.
If you would prefer to receive everything together regardless of any delay, please let us know via email.
Pre-orders will be despatched as close as possible to the release date.
Label: Brilliant Classics
Cat No: 96737
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Orchestral
Release Date: 24th February 2023
Contents
Works
Serenade for Strings in E major, op.22Suite for string orchestra
Partita for string orchestra, H212
The Fisherman
Meditation on an old Czech hymn 'St Wenceslas', op.35a
Artists
Ciconia Consort (The Hague String Orchestra)Conductor
Dick van GasterenWorks
Serenade for Strings in E major, op.22Suite for string orchestra
Partita for string orchestra, H212
The Fisherman
Meditation on an old Czech hymn 'St Wenceslas', op.35a
Artists
Ciconia Consort (The Hague String Orchestra)Conductor
Dick van GasterenAbout
The affection and vigour of Dvorák’s Serenade for Strings has kept its freshness while many other works from the same era have receded into obscurity. This performance by the Ciconia Consort lends it a new lease of life: as rhythmically springy and attentive to detail as the ensembles previous, critically acclaimed explorations of the string-orchestra repertoire of France, England, the US and Germany in beautifully curated themes.
Janáček’s Suite for Strings is an early work, Romantic in character and recognisably descended from the String Serenades of Dvorák and Tchaikovsky, but nonetheless characteristic of the composer’s quirky language with its adoption of Czech speech rhythms. In 1931, Martinů was also inspired by Czech folk melodies when writing his Partita as a Czech émigré in faraway Paris. However, Martinů develops these melodies in a modern style reminiscent of Béla Bartók. Without slow movements, intimacy, or a poetic character, the character of the suite as a whole is spicy, tough and extrovert: inimitably Martinů.
Smetana scored his tone-picture Rybář (The Fisherman), for harmonium, harp, and strings: it is a musical ‘tableau vivant’ after Goethe’s poem Der Fischer, which describes a fisherman who is overpowered by the mysterious and magical pull of the water. The theme of Rybář and Smetana’s haunting translation into music also make it a kind of study for his evocation of the river Vltava in Má vlast. A little more familiar is the grave Meditation on the Hymn to St Wenceslas by Dvorák’s student and son-in-law, Josef Suk, in which the old melody is treated like a family heirloom.
‘Dick van Gasteren directs the players with a sure hand. The recorded sound is warm, with a certain degree of plush resonance... this definitely makes for enjoyable listening; cordially recommended.’ – Fanfare (‘Rheingold’, 96426)
‘I enjoyed this disc greatly… The Ciconia Consort does Castérčde proud, dispatching the counterpoint in the finale with relish.’ – Fanfare (French Music for String Orchestra, 95734)
Error on this page? Let us know here
Need more information on this product? Click here