Gut Feelings Experiencing the Australian Chamber Orchestra and their leader Richard Tognetti in concert has been described in The Times (UK) as 'like taking a swig of a vitamin drink'. Their soon-to-be-released disc of Mozart's violin concertos shows that the same applies to the team's performances in the studio. From the very first tutti chord of Concerto No.3, Tognetti and his band generate a rare sense of expectancy, building sonorities that feel constantly fresh and new, and infusing the most innocent-looking accompaniment figure with a rare rhythmic and dynamic vitality. A contributing factor is that the strings (soloist and tutti) play on gut strings, while the wind players perform on replicas of instruments from Mozart's time.
In a short film made during the recording (which took place in Sydney in February 2009) Richard Tognetti discusses the reasons for these choices as well as talks about his own instrument, a superb 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin. Included are also substantial clips from the recording sessions, giving a foretaste of that ‘vitamin drink’.
BIS-SACD-1754, the first of a two-disc set of Mozart’s violin concertos, includes Concertos No.3 in G major and No.5 in A major, as well as Sinfonia concertante in E flat major for violin, viola and orchestra. The disc will be released in September 2010. For national release dates, please contact the BIS distributor in your country.
Motets in Kobe Although few in number, Bach’s motets include some much-loved works, such as Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied and Jesu, meine Freude. Remarkable for their beauty as well as for Bach’s virtuoso choral writing, they were recorded by Masaaki Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan in June 2009 in the Kobe Shoin Chapel, and are now ready for release.
In a short film made during the recording, Suzuki talks about the special place the motets hold for him. Several of them were composed for funerals, and in them he finds music with a greater ability to console than human words, but also with ‘a creative power for us to survive in this world.’ There is not only grief in the motets, however – to Masaaki Suzuki’s mind there is also the sound of angelic hosts: ‘I think the angels’ choir [in the Gospel of St Luke] might have been a double choir – as in Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied!’
Bach – Motets (BIS-SACD-1841) will be released by BIS in January 2010. For national release dates, please contact the BIS distributor in your country.
