Avant L'Exam

SKU: BR.MR-2239B

ISBN 9790004488478. 9 x 12 inches.

There are two known manuscript sources for the present edition of this sinfonia avanti l'opera. In the Dean and Chapter Library of Durham Cathedral it appears as the twelfth, and last, piece in a collection of late seventeenth-century Italian instrumental music. No composer is given and identification was only possible following the discovery, in 1993, of a concordant source in the Biblioteca Estense, Modena, where the work appears as the sinfonia to Perti's opera L'Inganno scoperto per Vendetta, first performed in Venice as part of the 1690/1 season.It is sometimes hard to ascertain the original functional purpose behind many of the trumpet works written by composers of the Bolognese school as it would appear that some were used as sonate da chiesa, to celebrate mass in the basilica of San Petronio, Bologna, whilst also serving as operatic sinfonie. To confuse the issue further, there are several instances of composers 'borrowing' each other's works: for example, it has recently been discovered that the Torelli trumpet sinfonia a 4 catalogued as G4 in Giegling was used as the overture to Perti's opera Nerone fatto Cesare (1693). So far as the present edition is concerned, however, stylistic considerations would appear to confirm that the work is indeed by Perti and that it was originally conceived as the overture to L'Inganno scoperto per Vendetta. A couple of clues hint at a secular raison d'etre: the Durham source is marked Serenatto (presumably a corruption of serenata, a term often used in lieu of sinfonia) and the last movement of the Modena source is marked Menuet, a term more often associated with sonate da camera than with works of ecclesiastical provenance.Both the Modena and Durham sources for the present edition are virtually note-perfect and occasional inaccuracies were easily corrected by comparing the sources with each other and with the part-books in Durham. Whilst the Modena source lacks the second violin part in the outer movements it contains fuller dynamic markings and tempi indications than the Durham source and these have been followed in the present edition with no editorial additions. Notation has been modernised and, in the piano reduction edition, right-hand arpeggio-figurations rendered more pianistic. Parts are provided for trumpet in D and B flat. I am grateful to the Dean and Chapter of Durham and to the Biblioteca Estense, Modena, for providing microfilm of the manuscripts. I should also record my thanks to Keith Wright for realising the figured-bass which appears in the full-score edition.Mark Latham, Brancepeth Castle, June 1997.

SKU: BT.DHP-1125039-140

9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

Offenbach (1819 - 1880), who was born in Germany, moved to Paris when he was a teenage boy and remained there for much of his life. He became especially famous as a composer of numerous operettas. and of one famous opera: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann). His operettas (or ‘musiquettes’) were often based on comical, or satirical librettos. He makes fun of Parisian daily life, dignitaries, the military, the pretentiousness of the Grand Opéra, and so on. In that respect, Offenbach’s operettas are not really comparable with those of his German-speaking contemporaries, for example, Franz Lehár and Johann Strauss the Younger. Musically speaking, we could callOffenbach’s operettas lively, funny, melodious and catchy.For La Belle Hélène, Offenbach drew from Greek mythology. The story is based on that of Helen of Troy, but is set in France, halfway through the 19th century; it has been turned into a satire on the élite of that time.The overture to La Belle Hélène was (and still is) very successful. Offenbach combined a number of arias and choruses from the operetta to give a taste of what is to follow. Many overtures which follow this form lack unity and structure. However, in this case the composition has been well thought-out.

Offenbach (1819-1880), Duitser van geboorte, verhuisde als jongeman naar Parijs, waar hij een groot deel van zijn leven verbleef. Hij werd vooral beroemd als componist van talrijke operettes en een beroemde opera: Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Zijn operettes (of ‘musiquettes’) zijn qua libretto vaak komisch en hilarisch, ja zelfs satirisch. Hij steekt hierin de draak met het Parijse mondaine leven, met hoogwaardigheidsbekleders, met militairen, met de bombast van de Grand Opéra, enzovoort. In dat opzicht zijn Offenbachs operettes nauwelijks te vergelijken met die in Duitsland van bijvoorbeeld Franz Lehár en Johann Strauss jr. Muzikaal gezien kunnen we zijn operettes levendig,geestig, melodieus en goed in het gehoor liggend noemen.Voor La Belle Hélène putte Offenbach uit de Griekse mythologie. Het verhaal draait om Helena van Troje, maar is verplaatst naar Frankrijk, halverwege de negentiende eeuw; het is uitgewerkt tot een satire op de heersende elite.De ouverture van La Belle Hélène was (en is nog altijd) zeer succesvol. Offenbach heeft hierin een aantal aria’s en koren uit de operette samengevoegd - een voorproefje dus op wat komen gaat. Veel ouvertures die zo zijn gemaakt, missen eenheid en structuur. In dit geval is er echter sprake van een goed doordachte opbouw.

Der gebürtige Deutsche Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) zog im Jugendalter nach Paris, wo er den größten Teil seines Lebens verbrachte. Bekannt wurde er vor allem als Komponist zahlreicher Operetten und einer berühmten Oper: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Hoffmanns Erzählungen). Seine Operetten (oder Musiquettes“) basierte er häufig auf komischen oder gar satirischen Libretti. Darin wird das mondäne Pariser Leben karikiert mit seinen Würdenträgern, Militärs, dem Pomp der Grand Opéra und dergleichen mehr. In dieser Hinsicht sind Offenbachs Operetten vergleichbar mit den deutschen Werken eines Franz Lehár oder Johann Strauss (Sohn). Musikalisch betrachtet können Offenbachs Operetten alslebendig, amüsant, melodiös und eingängig beschrieben werden. Für La Belle Hélène bediente sich Offenbach der griechischen Mythologie. Die Handlung beruht auf Helena von Troja, wurde aber ins Frankreich der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts versetzt und in eine Satire auf die damals herrschende Elite verwandelt.Die Ouvertüre von La Belle Hélène war und ist sehr erfolgreich. Offenbach kombinierte darin eine Reihe von Arien und Chorstellen aus der Operette und lieferte so quasi einen Vorgeschmack auf das Folgende. Vielen auf diese Weise entstandene Ouvertüren mangelt es an Einheitlichkeit und Struktur. Diese Ouvertüre zeugt jedoch von einem gut durchdachten Aufbau.

Jacques Offenbach est né en Allemagne en 1819. Sa famille s’installe Paris alors qu’il est encore adolescent et c’est l qu’il passe la plus grande partie de sa vie. Il devient particulièrement célèbre pour la composition de nombreuses opérettes et d’un opéra légendaire, Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Ses opéras-bouffes (ou « musiquettes ») s’inspirent souvent de livrets comiques ou satiriques. Il parodie la vie quotidienne Paris, se moque des dignitaires, de l’armée, de la prétention du grand opéra, et ainsi de suite. cet égard, les œuvres d’Offenbach ne sont pas vraiment comparables aux opérettes de ses contemporains germanophones tels que Franz Lehár ou encoreJohann Strauss le jeune. Musicalement parlant, on peut dire que les opéras-bouffes d’Offenbach sont entraînants, spirituels, mélodieux et mémorables.Jacques Offenbach s’est inspiré de la mythologie pour composer La Belle Hélène, dont le livret brosse l’histoire d’Hélène de Troie. Mais parodiant l’une des légendes grecques des plus illustres, cette opérette se veut être une satire sur l’élite de l’époque.L’ouverture de La Belle Hélène a toujours été très populaire. Offenbach y glisse plusieurs arias et chœurs repris ensuite dans l’un ou l’autre acte de l’opérette, afin d’en offrir un avant-go t l’auditoire. De nombreux compositeurs écrivirent par la suite des ouvertures de canevas identique. Bien qu’un grand nombre d’entre elles manquent d’unité et de structure, l’ouverture de La Belle Hélène en est une exception notoire.

SKU: UT.APS-4

ISBN 9788881094677. 6.5 x 9.5 inches.

Essays by Tomasz Baranowski, Andrzej Chwalba, Stephen Downes, Peter Franklin, Stefan Keym, Ryszard D. Golianek, Agata Mierzejewska, Michael Murphy, Jadwiga Paja-Stach, Luca Sala, Renata Suchowiejko, Emma Sutton, Andrzej Tuchowski, Alistair Wightman, James L. Zychowicz

In this volume I aim to examine the figure of Mieczyslaw Karlowicz in the broader sociocultural context which fostered his work. The attempt to contextualize an immense intellectual patrimony -- despite being restricted to a tiny number of works when compared to more prolific authors, especially in the context of the xix and the xx centuries -- is always a complex and hazardous task. My primary intention in organizing the volume has been to explicate Karlowicz the man as well as Karlowicz the composer, against the complex background of the European fin-de-siecle. The various essays aim to present the reader with an exhaustive reconstruction of Karlowicz's intellectual work. Karlowicz's oeuvre offers a broad artistic portrayal of Poland at the end of the nineteenth century as a fast-evolving country, politically divided and filled with contradictions. Hence the necessity to investigate the fin-de-siecle context with its social and historical implications, showing the influence of the European cultural milieu on the composer's poetics and on his thought. We shall examine the spectrum of relationships and affinities linking Karlowicz's works to the Polish cultural world (on the wave of the rising 'autochthonous' avant-garde movements) and to the wider cultural life pulsating beyond its borders, with special reference to German Wagnerism and Symphonism. Essentially, we are striving to define the uniqueness of his oeuvre, which -- in relation to the manifold influences co-existing in Poland, an insubstantial nation from the political viewpoint and divided along three socio-cultural fronts -- could be defined as distinctively Polish, yet ultimately European. (Luca Sala).