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to main catalogue Recordings to celebrate the world of the oboe BAROQUE SPIRITCC2001 CD DETAILS (click what you want to see) Details about the performers The music and sound clips Introduction to the programme notes Press comment on the CD An interview with harpsichordist Makiko Mizunaga. Back cover of the CD printable summary sheet about the CD Other Baroque CDs: LA FONTAINE Koji Ezaki - right in the picture (oboe, treble recorder, bassoon) Masamitsu San'nomiya (oboe) Teruo Takamure (cello) Makiko Mizunaga (harpsichord) Based in Tokyo, the ensemble "La Fontaine" was founded in l996. Six months after its first concert in October 1996, the ensemble was a prizewinner at the Yamanashi/Tokyo Early Music Competition. In 1998 they participated in the York Early Music Festival in Britain. Two years later, they performed at the International Early Music competition in Bruges, where their performance won the second prize, the audience prize, and an invitation by Philip Pickett to participate in the 2001 Early Music Festival at London's South Bank Centre. They perform regularly in major cities throughout Japan, including the prestigeous Casals Hall in Tokyo. They have been broadcast several times on Japanese Radio (NHK-FM). This is their second CD. THE MUSIC (Click underlined movements to hear sound clips) Joan Baptista & Josep Pla (18th Century): Triosonata in G for two oboes and continue, D:III, 12 Allegro - Adagio - Allegro Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): Triosonata in A minor for treble recorder, oboe and continuo Largo - Allegro - Cantabile - Allegro Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello (c1690-1758): Concerto in B for oboe, bassoon and continuo Largo - Allegro - Largo - Allegro Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773): Triosonata in G minor for 2 oboes and continuo, QV 2:40 Largo - Allegro - Andante - Presto assai Georg Philipp Telemann: Sonata in C for treble recorder and continuo Adagio-Allegro Larghetto - Vivace Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758): Triosonata in G minor for two oboes and continuo, Fasch WV N:g2 Andante - Allegro - Un poco Allegro Georg Philipp Telemann: Presto from Concerto in E minor The CD booklet contains an article (in English, French and German) by Stephen Pettit on the lives of the composers, and also on the social and economic circumstances in which the pieces were written, and for whom. There are more details on the instruments and the players. The works on this disc are predominantly Trio Sonatas, composed in the early to middle eighteenth century. The trio sonata was the most popular (and profitable) musical form of that time, perfectly designed for the amateur market. Requiring three or four players, it is ideal for the convivial social occasion. Unlike the solo sonata, it does not tempt any single musician to show off, since all parts are more or less equal (an exception on this CD is the Trio Sonata by the Pla brothers, where both oboists are expected to display their virtuosity). In general, a trio sonata might be performed by cultured and more or less skilled friends as a leisure actuivity; or it might be played by a noble person's court musicians - cheaply, considering the limited person-power demanded - with only m'lord and m'lady as non-participating witnesses; or it might form part of the repertoire at one of the many musical societies' evenings - an accademia in Italy, a collegium musicum in Germany, a philharmonick club in England. Copyright Stephen Pettit 2002 Press Comment "It is clear from this excellently produced CD why they are prize winners in both Japan and Europe ... The playing by La Fontaine throughout this disc is elegant and beautifully balanced, and in the fast movements they display brilliant control, enviable technique and joyous music making." Jane Woolfenden, Double Reed News (UK) "... exuberant ... including a startlingly showy Trio Sonata for oboes by the Catalan Pla brothers." Anthony Burton, BBC Music Magazine back to top to main catalogue