Composer: Paul Juon, Jānis Ķepītis
Performer: Duo Arnicans
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Prima Classic
Catalogue: PRIMA015
Release: 2022
Size: 1.07 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Juon: Märchen, Op. 8
Juon: Cello Sonata, Op. 54
02. I. Allegro moderato
03. II. Andantino
04. III. Allegro risoluto
Ķepītis: Suite for Cello and Piano ‘Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil’s Life’
05. I. A Walk
06. II. Romance
07. III. Humoresque
08. Ķepītis: Serenade in D major
09. Ķepītis: Scherzo
10. Ķepītis: Romance in A major
Ķepītis: Sonata for Harp and Cello
11. I. Moderato
12. II. Presto
13. III. Adagio
14. IV. Allegro moderato
A strong feeling of anticipation, followed by unbridled curiosity and imaginations of evocative landscapes – real and otherwise – immediately possess one’s heart after the first few bars of “Fairytale”, the opening piece of this exquisitely unique album. The music in this recording, as in all great performances, is but the medium for acquiring revelational knowledge from somewhere else, unknown, undefined. And unknown indeed are the works here compiled.
Paul Juon came from a Swiss èmigrè family that settled in Latvia and then Russia. Juon was educated in Germany and eventually moved back to Switzerland. Opening this album’s selection is Fairytale; followed by the world première recording of the “second edition” of his Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 54. The 1924 press characterises the work as: “Of neo-Romantic character, fresh, sonorous, pleasing and zestfully written. This sonata – at once interesting and rewarding – should become a repertoire piece for every virtuoso!”
Latvian composer, pianist, and educator Jānis Ķepītis is perhaps most aptly described by a chamber music student of his as “A man with a miracle in his heart”. Suite (1959), subtitled “Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil’s Life”, was dedicated to the Latvian cellist Ernests Bertovskis. Witty, cheerful, and rather cheeky compositions they evoke the somewhat simple-minded, gullible and yet wicked character of the fairytale devil of Latvian folklore. The Sonata for Harp and Cello is another rarity, composed in 1974, which has never before been recorded.
The Swiss-based, Latvian-German Duo Arnicans invite us to explore the quaint rarities of Fairy-tales and magical thinking; a treat too hard to refuse after we are lured into their enchanting art by the first notes in this album.