Friday, September 18, 2009

Musica Pacifica - Fire Beneath My Fingers (Vivaldi-Tartini-Sammartini) (flac)








Musica Pacifica - Fire Beneath My Fingers (Vivaldi-Tartini-Sammartini)
Concerto | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 329 MB
May 13, 2008 | Dorian Recordings | RapidShare




Musica Pacifica takes its name from the Ocean by which the members live, but there's nothing pacific about their performance of these six Italian concerti. Instead, by their choice of repertoire and by their stylistic decisions, these musicians seem determined to put the swagger back in Baroque. Remember, Italy around 1700 was still a culture of arrogance, where grandees in black velvet carried swords. Musica Pacifica's fiery performances would have served the young blades of Venice and Naples for a ball or for a brawl.

Much of the 'Fire Beneath the Fingers' comes from the red-hot recorder chops of Judith Linsenberg. A Fulbright Scholar to Austria, Linsenberg earned a Soloist Diploma with Highest Honors from the Vienna Academy of Music. She performs regularly with Philharmonia Baroque and the American Bach Soloists, and teaches at Stanford and the San Francisco Conservatory. Her agility on the soprano recorder, on Giuseppe Sammartini's Concerto in F Major, is phenomenal; she's truly a flame-thrower of passionate passage work.

Elizabeth Blumenstock is a soloist and concert-mistress with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. She's adept at a dark, masculine style of fiddling, exactly suited to the music of Giuseppe Tartini, whose Concerto in A Major she performs dramatically on this CD. She's also a wonderfully supportive ensemble player; it's her ability to complement the phrasing of Linsenberg's recorder that makes Musica Pacifica so tight in ensemble.

Michael McCraw is a guest artist with Musica Pacifica, but his robust bassoon playing throws wood on their fire. McCraw is the former principal basson with Tafelmusik Orchestra of Toronto, and currently director of the Early Music Institute at Indiana University. The keyless Baroque bassoon he plays on these concerti is quite a different horn from the modern bassoon, not as mechanically crisp but warmer and more voice-like in timbre. McCraw matches Linsemberg's alto recorder lick for lick on the Vivaldi sonata and concerto for bassoon and recorder. Then McCraw exploits the reedy eloquence of his instrument, which has the raw verve of a bass saxophone at times, on Vivaldi's Concerto in B-flat Major.

MP is an ensemble not afraid to make a statement. Listen to what they do with Vivaldi's familiar "La Tempesta di Mare". It doesn't sound like any other performance you're likely to hear, partly because MP has combined versions of the concerto from different manuscript sources and partly because they've taken Baroque liberty to choose their instrumentation. Their Tempesta is truly stormy - big and bold, with the bassoon pounding the sea wall of continuo and the recorder, replacing the usual breathy flute, flashing lightning bolts of ornamentation through the churning strings.

This is a recording that will force some listeners to re-evaluate the music of the Red Priest and his contemporaries. Certainly there was elegance and symmetry in the Baroque, but there was also flamboyance and flair. Musica Pacifica blends both temperaments in a stunning performance.--Amazon


Tracks:
01 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In F For Recorder, 2 Violins & Continuo, RV 98/570, "La Tempesta Di Mare" - Allegro (02:23)
02 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In F For Recorder, 2 Violins & Continuo, RV 98/570, "La Tempesta Di Mare" - Largo (01:38)
03 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In F For Recorder, 2 Violins & Continuo, RV 98/570, "La Tempesta Di Mare" - Presto (02:18)
04 - Musica Pacifica - Tartini: Concerto In A For Violin, Strings & Continuo, D 91 - Allegro (07:27)
05 - Musica Pacifica - Tartini: Concerto In A For Violin, Strings & Continuo, D 91 - Adagio (05:18)
06 - Musica Pacifica - Tartini: Concerto In A For Violin, Strings & Continuo, D 91 - Presto (04:27)
07 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Sonata In A Minor, Recorder, Bassoon & Continuo, RV 86 - Largo (02:41)
08 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Sonata In A Minor, Recorder, Bassoon & Continuo, RV 86 - Allegro (02:31)
09 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Sonata In A Minor, Recorder, Bassoon & Continuo, RV 86 - Largo Cantabile (01:57)
10 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Sonata In A Minor, Recorder, Bassoon & Continuo, RV 86 - Allegro Molto (02:14)
11 - Musica Pacifica - Sammartini (G): Concerto In F For Soprano Recorder, Strings & Continuo - Allegro (03:55)
12 - Musica Pacifica - Sammartini (G): Concerto In F For Soprano Recorder, Strings & Continuo - Siciliano (05:17)
13 - Musica Pacifica - Sammartini (G): Concerto In F For Soprano Recorder, Strings & Continuo - Allegro Assai (03:59)
14 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In G Minor For Rcorder, Violin, Bassoon & Continuo, RV 106 - Allegro (02:51)
15 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In G Minor For Rcorder, Violin, Bassoon & Continuo, RV 106 - Largo (02:39)
16 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In G Minor For Rcorder, Violin, Bassoon & Continuo, RV 106 - Allegro (02:30)
17 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In B Flat For Bassoon, Strings & Continuo, RV 503 - Allegro Non Molto (04:44)
18 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In B Flat For Bassoon, Strings & Continuo, RV 503 - Largo (03:36)
19 - Musica Pacifica - Vivaldi: Concerto In B Flat For Bassoon, Strings & Continuo, RV 503 - Allegro (03:36)

Credits:
Daniel Swenberg ..... Acoustic Guitar
Charles Sherman ..... Harpsichord
Don Shores ..... Coproducer
Brandie Lane ..... Mastering Location
Ronn McFarlane ..... Mixing Location
Ayreshire Ball Room ..... Programming
Wiliam Skeen ..... Tenor Saxophone
Josh Lee ..... Strings
Peter Bucknell ..... Harp
Claire Jolivet ..... Viol (Viola da Gamba)
Elizabeth Blumenstock ..... Viol (Viola da Gamba)
Robert Mealy ..... Viol (Viola da Gamba)
Michael McCraw ..... Wind/Woodwind
Judith Linsenberg ..... Panpipes
Musica Pacifica ..... Band

6 comments:

  1. I would love to hear this - but I have tried five times to do something with the FLAC files but keep getting error messages. Would it be possible for you to test it and if there is a problem could you please re-post. Thanks KeithP

    ReplyDelete
  2. Please read this post...

    http://ottomusick.com/Forum/index.php?topic=34.0

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Otto
    I don't have a problem with the WINRAR files, but when I try to convert the FLAC files to MP3 I get an error message saying they are faulty. I have tried using XRECODE, which is usually excellent and Apen FLAC ripper - but without success. KeithP

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Keith, I tested the files using foobar and they convert with no problem...
    otto

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Otto
    Finally solved the problem. I was getting syntax errors because of the quotation marks in the cue file. As soon as I removed them it converted without problem. It is a great recording - thanks. All's well that ends well!
    KeithP

    ReplyDelete

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