đ Up to 70% Off Selected ItemsShop Sale
1 / 2
Clytus Gottwald: Alma & Gustav Mahler Transcriptionen Fur Chor A Cappella
MAHLER (transcr. Gottwald) Erinnerung. Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen. Um Mitternacht. Die zwei blauen Augen. Urlicht. Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen. Scheiden und Meiden. Es sungen drei Engel. Im Abendrot. A. MAHLER (transcr. Gottwald) Drei frĂŒhe Lieder âą Marcus Creed, cond; SWR Vocal Ens Stuttgart âą CARUS 83.370 (63:41 Text and Translation)
Once upon a time (1960, to be exact), choral conductor Clytus Gottwald created the Schola Cantorum Stuttgart, a chamber choir whose specialty was music by that eraâs most avant-garde composers . . . Ligeti, Ferneyhough, Penderecki, and so on. This ensemble attracted the attention of Pierre Boulez, and it was Boulez who inspired Gottwald to transcribe Ravelâs song Soupir for the ensemble. The results were so effective that Gottwald continued transcribing other works for his ensemble, including musicâsome of it not even vocalâby Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma. Those transcriptions have outlasted Schola Cantorum Stuttgart. The ensemble disbanded in 1990, but within the past few years, several of Gottwaldâs transcriptions have been recorded by the French ensemble Accentus (for the NaĂŻve label), and English conductor Marcus Creed has taken them up for Carus with one of his ensembles, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart. (It doesnât hurt that the printing arm of Carus publishes three of these selections.) Almost none of them have been recorded before, the exceptions being Die zwei blauen Augen, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen , and Scheiden und Meiden. Im Abendrot is a transcription of the Adagietto from Mahlerâs Symphony No. 5. Accentus has recorded a different transcription, believe it or not, of that same music, prepared by GĂ©rard Pesson. Gottwaldâs transcription uses the same Eichendorff text that Strauss used in his Four Last Songs.
This disc reveals the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart to be spiritual descendents of Gottwaldâs ensemble. In the 1970s, there was no practical reason why Mahlerâs music needed to be treated this way. It is my impression that Gottwald did it because it presented him with an interesting intellectual puzzle, and as a challenge for Schola Cantorum Stuttgart. These âauxiliaryâ transcriptions (to use Gottwaldâs word, from the interview printed in Carusâs booklet) present the music in a striking and different light, and help to make Mahlerâs music a little strange again, which is not a bad thing in a world in which we risk being overexposed to Mahler. (Imagine saying that 60 years ago!) These transcriptions are not likely to appear on the next program of your local amateur choir. They are, in fact, intimidatingly complex and difficult. For example, the transcriptions of Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen and Im Abendrot require a 16-part ensemble. Overall, these transcriptions are punishing exercises in breath and pitch control, in the modulation and matching of vocal colors, and in the precise blending of sound. What is needed, really, is a team of vocal gymnasts who can approach the music as if with one mind.
Fortunately, it is unlikely that any performers will stumble blindly into this repertoire, and the recorded performances Iâve heard are uniformly excellent, but not identical. One can hear Gottwaldâs Schola Cantorum Stuttgart perform Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen in a giant doorstop of a CD set (no longer in print) from Cadenza/Bayer. Gottwald is significantly faster than Creed, to good effect, and solo voices come out of the texture more prominently than they do for Creed. Gottwaldâs ensemble is more closely microphoned, and the effect is almost claustrophobic. Creedâs ensemble, while a bit more impersonal, may come a hair closer to technical perfection. Accentus (directed by Laurence Equilbey) adopts almost exactly the same tempo as Gottwald, but the ensembleâs sound is less warm than either Gottwaldâs or Creedâs. Given the songâs text, I find Accentus too edgy, but still mightily impressive.
The only caveat I have about the present discâalso about the other two Iâve mentionedâis that these transcriptions are so intense that emotional and intellectual fatigue is a risk for listeners. Several tracks into Creedâs disc I asked myself, âWhy are they singing so loudly?,â but then I realized it wasnât the volume as much it was the laser-like concentration of the transcriptions and the performances. Beautiful stuff, this, but it is far from relaxing!
FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle
MAHLER (transcr. Gottwald) Erinnerung. Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen. Um Mitternacht. Die zwei blauen Augen. Urlicht. Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen. Scheiden und Meiden. Es sungen drei Engel. Im Abendrot. A. MAHLER (transcr. Gottwald) Drei frĂŒhe Lieder âą Marcus Creed, cond; SWR Vocal Ens Stuttgart âą CARUS 83.370 (63:41 Text and Translation)
Once upon a time (1960, to be exact), choral conductor Clytus Gottwald created the Schola Cantorum Stuttgart, a chamber choir whose specialty was music by that eraâs most avant-garde composers . . . Ligeti, Ferneyhough, Penderecki, and so on. This ensemble attracted the attention of Pierre Boulez, and it was Boulez who inspired Gottwald to transcribe Ravelâs song Soupir for the ensemble. The results were so effective that Gottwald continued transcribing other works for his ensemble, including musicâsome of it not even vocalâby Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma. Those transcriptions have outlasted Schola Cantorum Stuttgart. The ensemble disbanded in 1990, but within the past few years, several of Gottwaldâs transcriptions have been recorded by the French ensemble Accentus (for the NaĂŻve label), and English conductor Marcus Creed has taken them up for Carus with one of his ensembles, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart. (It doesnât hurt that the printing arm of Carus publishes three of these selections.) Almost none of them have been recorded before, the exceptions being Die zwei blauen Augen, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen , and Scheiden und Meiden. Im Abendrot is a transcription of the Adagietto from Mahlerâs Symphony No. 5. Accentus has recorded a different transcription, believe it or not, of that same music, prepared by GĂ©rard Pesson. Gottwaldâs transcription uses the same Eichendorff text that Strauss used in his Four Last Songs.
This disc reveals the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart to be spiritual descendents of Gottwaldâs ensemble. In the 1970s, there was no practical reason why Mahlerâs music needed to be treated this way. It is my impression that Gottwald did it because it presented him with an interesting intellectual puzzle, and as a challenge for Schola Cantorum Stuttgart. These âauxiliaryâ transcriptions (to use Gottwaldâs word, from the interview printed in Carusâs booklet) present the music in a striking and different light, and help to make Mahlerâs music a little strange again, which is not a bad thing in a world in which we risk being overexposed to Mahler. (Imagine saying that 60 years ago!) These transcriptions are not likely to appear on the next program of your local amateur choir. They are, in fact, intimidatingly complex and difficult. For example, the transcriptions of Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen and Im Abendrot require a 16-part ensemble. Overall, these transcriptions are punishing exercises in breath and pitch control, in the modulation and matching of vocal colors, and in the precise blending of sound. What is needed, really, is a team of vocal gymnasts who can approach the music as if with one mind.
Fortunately, it is unlikely that any performers will stumble blindly into this repertoire, and the recorded performances Iâve heard are uniformly excellent, but not identical. One can hear Gottwaldâs Schola Cantorum Stuttgart perform Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen in a giant doorstop of a CD set (no longer in print) from Cadenza/Bayer. Gottwald is significantly faster than Creed, to good effect, and solo voices come out of the texture more prominently than they do for Creed. Gottwaldâs ensemble is more closely microphoned, and the effect is almost claustrophobic. Creedâs ensemble, while a bit more impersonal, may come a hair closer to technical perfection. Accentus (directed by Laurence Equilbey) adopts almost exactly the same tempo as Gottwald, but the ensembleâs sound is less warm than either Gottwaldâs or Creedâs. Given the songâs text, I find Accentus too edgy, but still mightily impressive.
The only caveat I have about the present discâalso about the other two Iâve mentionedâis that these transcriptions are so intense that emotional and intellectual fatigue is a risk for listeners. Several tracks into Creedâs disc I asked myself, âWhy are they singing so loudly?,â but then I realized it wasnât the volume as much it was the laser-like concentration of the transcriptions and the performances. Beautiful stuff, this, but it is far from relaxing!
FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle
$7.35
Original: $20.99
-65%Clytus Gottwald: Alma & Gustav Mahler Transcriptionen Fur Chor A Cappellaâ
$20.99
$7.35Description
MAHLER (transcr. Gottwald) Erinnerung. Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen. Um Mitternacht. Die zwei blauen Augen. Urlicht. Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen. Scheiden und Meiden. Es sungen drei Engel. Im Abendrot. A. MAHLER (transcr. Gottwald) Drei frĂŒhe Lieder âą Marcus Creed, cond; SWR Vocal Ens Stuttgart âą CARUS 83.370 (63:41 Text and Translation)
Once upon a time (1960, to be exact), choral conductor Clytus Gottwald created the Schola Cantorum Stuttgart, a chamber choir whose specialty was music by that eraâs most avant-garde composers . . . Ligeti, Ferneyhough, Penderecki, and so on. This ensemble attracted the attention of Pierre Boulez, and it was Boulez who inspired Gottwald to transcribe Ravelâs song Soupir for the ensemble. The results were so effective that Gottwald continued transcribing other works for his ensemble, including musicâsome of it not even vocalâby Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma. Those transcriptions have outlasted Schola Cantorum Stuttgart. The ensemble disbanded in 1990, but within the past few years, several of Gottwaldâs transcriptions have been recorded by the French ensemble Accentus (for the NaĂŻve label), and English conductor Marcus Creed has taken them up for Carus with one of his ensembles, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart. (It doesnât hurt that the printing arm of Carus publishes three of these selections.) Almost none of them have been recorded before, the exceptions being Die zwei blauen Augen, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen , and Scheiden und Meiden. Im Abendrot is a transcription of the Adagietto from Mahlerâs Symphony No. 5. Accentus has recorded a different transcription, believe it or not, of that same music, prepared by GĂ©rard Pesson. Gottwaldâs transcription uses the same Eichendorff text that Strauss used in his Four Last Songs.
This disc reveals the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart to be spiritual descendents of Gottwaldâs ensemble. In the 1970s, there was no practical reason why Mahlerâs music needed to be treated this way. It is my impression that Gottwald did it because it presented him with an interesting intellectual puzzle, and as a challenge for Schola Cantorum Stuttgart. These âauxiliaryâ transcriptions (to use Gottwaldâs word, from the interview printed in Carusâs booklet) present the music in a striking and different light, and help to make Mahlerâs music a little strange again, which is not a bad thing in a world in which we risk being overexposed to Mahler. (Imagine saying that 60 years ago!) These transcriptions are not likely to appear on the next program of your local amateur choir. They are, in fact, intimidatingly complex and difficult. For example, the transcriptions of Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen and Im Abendrot require a 16-part ensemble. Overall, these transcriptions are punishing exercises in breath and pitch control, in the modulation and matching of vocal colors, and in the precise blending of sound. What is needed, really, is a team of vocal gymnasts who can approach the music as if with one mind.
Fortunately, it is unlikely that any performers will stumble blindly into this repertoire, and the recorded performances Iâve heard are uniformly excellent, but not identical. One can hear Gottwaldâs Schola Cantorum Stuttgart perform Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen in a giant doorstop of a CD set (no longer in print) from Cadenza/Bayer. Gottwald is significantly faster than Creed, to good effect, and solo voices come out of the texture more prominently than they do for Creed. Gottwaldâs ensemble is more closely microphoned, and the effect is almost claustrophobic. Creedâs ensemble, while a bit more impersonal, may come a hair closer to technical perfection. Accentus (directed by Laurence Equilbey) adopts almost exactly the same tempo as Gottwald, but the ensembleâs sound is less warm than either Gottwaldâs or Creedâs. Given the songâs text, I find Accentus too edgy, but still mightily impressive.
The only caveat I have about the present discâalso about the other two Iâve mentionedâis that these transcriptions are so intense that emotional and intellectual fatigue is a risk for listeners. Several tracks into Creedâs disc I asked myself, âWhy are they singing so loudly?,â but then I realized it wasnât the volume as much it was the laser-like concentration of the transcriptions and the performances. Beautiful stuff, this, but it is far from relaxing!
FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle
