Britten/Hagen/Strauss

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Artificial-sounding reverb mars the authenticity of the massed string sound – and serves to mask some imprecision in the ensemble playing. Solo passages emerge nicely, though, and the combination... — BBC Music Magazine, November 2022, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 21st Oct 2022
Catalogue No: LWC1241
Label: LAWO
Length: 63 minutes

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Britten: Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10

Work length24:27

$11.00

$15.40

$19.25

Ensemble Allegria

Introduction and Theme

Track length1:52

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 1. Adagio

Track length2:12

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 2. March

Track length1:00

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 3. Romance

Track length1:23

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 4. Aria Italiana

Track length1:15

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 5. Bourrée Classique

Track length1:10

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 6. Wiener Walzer

Track length2:36

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 7. Moto Perpetuo

Track length1:08

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 8. Funeral March

Track length3:51

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 9. Chant

Track length1:27

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Variation 10. Fugue and Finale

Track length6:33

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Hagen, L P: Strauss Fragments

Work length14:35

$6.00

$8.40

$10.50

Ensemble Allegria

I. Adagio

Track length1:19

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

II. etwas fliessender

Track length0:51

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

III. sehr langsam

Track length1:36

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

IV. etwas bewegter

Track length3:26

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

V. Transfiguration

Track length2:28

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

VI. Opening

Track length4:55

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

Strauss, R: Metamorphosen

Work length24:44

Album only

Ensemble Allegria

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About

Ensemble Allegria presents here a combination of works as an invitation to enjoyment as well as reflection. We are offered variations, metamorphoses and fragments, three different artistic working concepts.

Variation and metamorphosis are similar artistic tools inasmuch as the material to be used is workable and encourages modification. At the same time, the basic material is recognisable or, in any case, reconstructible.

Of course in the works heard here the motif of transformation is intended. And whereas musical variations as with Benjamin Britten typically retain a theme's form and length more or less unaltered, a metamorphosis as Richard Strauss calls his work can by contrast pertain to everything from the shortest motifs to entire movements. Lars Petter Hagen's "Strauss Fragments" were commissioned by Ensemble Allegria.

All three composers on this CD stand in debt to an older colleague. Britten had a close association with his teacher Frank Bridge and reveals this through his variations. Strauss explicitly cites Ludwig van Beethoven's third symphony in his "Metamorphoses", and Hagen's composition is based on this latter work. Composing on the basis of music one does not hold in high regard often results in a caricature. This is by no means the case here.

Reviews

November 2022

Artificial-sounding reverb mars the authenticity of the massed string sound – and serves to mask some imprecision in the ensemble playing. Solo passages emerge nicely, though, and the combination of Britten, Strauss and the newly commissioned Strauss Fragments from Lars Petter Hagen makes for an attractive programme.

December 2022

In an overcrowded field, there are many good options for the Britten and Strauss – though the Britten is a version to rank with the finest, and the sheer immediacy of the sound ensures an engrossing listen by any standards. Do listen to it.

Offer,Britten/Hagen/Strauss

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