Duo Arnicans - Fairytale (2022) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Fairytale: Op. 8 for Cello and Piano (1904)
02. Sonata Op. 54 for Cello and Piano (1912): I. Allegro moderato
03. Sonata Op. 54 for Cello and Piano (1912): II. Andantino
04. Sonata Op. 54 for Cello and Piano (1912): III. Allegro risoluto
05. Suite for Cello and Piano (1959) "Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil's Life": I. A Walk
06. Suite for Cello and Piano (1959) "Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil's Life": II. Romance
07. Suite for Cello and Piano (1959) "Three Episodes from the Fairy-tale Devil's Life": III. Humoresque
08. Serenade in D Major (1939)
09. Scherzo (1954)
10. Romance in A Major (1965)
11. Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974): I. Moderato (Arr. for Piano and Cello)
12. Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974): II. Presto (Arr. for Piano and Cello)
13. Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974): III. Adagio (Arr. for Piano and Cello)
14. Sonata for Harp and Cello (1974): IV. Allegro moderato (Arr. for Cello and Piano)



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.

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