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to main catalogue Recordings to celebrate the world of the oboe        Telemann Fantasias      CC2036 CD DETAILS (click on the cover for a larger version) The music, musicians and sound clips Artist biographies The programme notes Media and Listener comment on the CD Because of the size of the booklet, this album is in a DVD case. The cost is £13.50. Another Study CD: More Baroque music: THE MUSIC, MUSICIANS AND SOUND CLIPS (Click a photo for a larger version. There is a sound clip for each instrument.) Fantasia IX in E, Beth Stone (baroque flute) Affettuoso; Allegro; Grave; Vivace Fantasia IX in E, Yidi Song (flute) Affettuoso; Allegro; Grave; Vivace Fantasia III in B min, Erica Peel (piccolo) Largo - Vivace - Largo - Vivace; Allegro Fantasia VII in D, Antoine Torunczyk (baroque oboe) Alla Francese; Presto Fantasia X in F# min, Drake Gritton (oboe) A tempo giusto; Presto; Moderato Fantasia XII in G min, Isabel Esain (viola da gamba) Grave - Allegro - Dolce - Allegro; Presto Fantasia VI in D min, Miriam Kaczor (baroque flute) Dolce; Allegro; Spirituoso Fantasia XI in G, Ángela Calvo Ríos (oboe) Allegro; Adagio - Vivace; Allegro Fantasia XI in G, Annabel Knight (Electronic Wind Synthesiser) Allegro; Adagio - Vivace; Allegro Fantasia VII in D, Bede Williams (trumpet) Grave - Allegro - Dolce - Allegro; Presto Fantasia VIII in E min, Bingliang (Billy) Liu (oboe) Largo; Spirituoso; Allegro Fantasia III in B min, Jianhao Zhou (guitar) Largo - Vivace - Largo - Vivace; Allegro Fantasia XII in G min, Rebecca Koopmans (contrabassoon) Presto Fantasia XII in G min, Thomas Friedle (cor anglais/english horn) Presto Fantasia I in A, Matteo Costanzi (oboe) Vivace Fantasia XI in G, Hannah Parry (recorder) Allegro Fantasia V in C, Will Hammond (clarinet in C) Allegro Fantasia II in A min, Gabriel Grămesc (oboe da caccia) Allegro Fantasia IV in B flat, Kelley Osterberg (oboe) Presto Fantasia VIII in E min, Mark Baigent (oboe) Largo - Sprituoso The total time of the album is 80 minutes. A download version will be available in 2022. Biographies: the competition was open to all ages, and entrants were judged anonymously. The twenty selected performers were mainly advanced students or young professionals from four continents. In the booklet they describe their careers so far, and their experiences of recording in lockdown. The programme notes are as a 52-page booklet, 12cm x 18cm. Here is George Caird's Introduction: "This album celebrates the unique qualities of twelve solo Fantasias, originally for the flute but now played on a huge range of instruments. It has also become a Phoenix, rising from the ashes of the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, when live concerts and ensemble music first became beyond us. "From this crisis, many players of wind instruments found themselves drawn back to the extraordinary riches of these twelve short works. They are the answer to the Bach cello suites, they are musical gems, technical gymnasiums, tonal guides and imaginative playgrounds. "In July 2020 the webinar A Tribute to Telemann's Fantasias brought together 500 people from across the world to play and discuss the Fantasias. The creative scope of these great works became ever more apparent, and an open competition was set up "to encourage as many players as possible to explore these works in new and striking ways. Interpretations of the dance movements, realisation of the musical imagery, approaches to articulation, sonority, and the characterisation of the music itself will all be taken into account." Between October 2020 and February 2021, 105 recorded applications were submitted and here the winners are presented as a collection of views on these great works, written in Hamburg in the 1720s. "Performances on the album are ordered to savour the qualities of the music rather than in Fantasia order. Some are repeated on different instruments by way of contrast, and there is something from each Fantasia. "Across nearly three hundred years, we find ourselves sharing Telemann's great idea - one player on one instrument exploring the power of music. I can't help feeling that he would be amazed and delighted at the attention his music is receiving in the 21st century." Media Comment "This album is a brilliant example of the creativity that some musicians were able to produce during the COVID-19 pandemic... George Caird's study of the Fantasias leads us through the history of the work, analysis of each movement, player biographies... In drawing this all together, this provides a valuable source of entertainment and research for experts and newcomers alike." Uchenna Ngwe, Double Reed News (UK) "The album includes twenty of over one hundred self-recorded interpretations submitted in an open competition between October 2020 and February 2021. As well as testimony to the value of Telemann's pieces as inspirational starting points for creativity, the CD comes with revelatory program notes by [George] Caird who probes the pieces' history and provides an in-depth analysis." Geoffrey Burgess, The Double Reed (US) Listener Comment "This CD is extraordinary. What you don't get is a complete account of the Fantasias by a single performer. Instead you get interpretations of single Fantasias by different performers on different instruments. Take the first two tracks. Beth Stone plays Fantasia IX on a baroque flute. The sound is rich and breathy, the phrasing is expressive, the pauses perfectly judged. Then we hear Yidi Song play the same Fantasia on a modern flute. It's not the same sound at all but much more striking is the difference in interpretation: strictly rhythmical, more restrained in interpretation, totally convincing. And so it goes on. Baroque oboe contrasts with the modern instrument, piccolo with flute. One of the most dramatic moments comes when Fantasia X on oboe is followed by Fantasia XII on viola da gamba. It's a different musical world. Every new instrument and every new player adds to our understanding. Guitar! Synthesiser!! The fact that I actually enjoyed the final track, in which Mark Baigent jazzes up Fantasia VIII, shows me what a journey this CD has taken me on. "The accompanying booklet is a work of love and scholarship in its own right. Did George Caird really play these Fantasias in the Departure Lounge at Schiphol?" Andrew Polmear [relation], Brighton, UK back to top to main catalogue