VA - Vladimir Martynov Edition (2022) [7CD Box Set]

Born in 1946, Vladimir Martynov is one of several composers from the former USSR whose music taps into a vein of perpetual memory and farewell. Literally so in the case of Der Abschied, an eight-movement cycle for small ensemble which stands on the threshold like a guest at a gathering of friends, unable or unwilling to shut the door behind them and venture out alone. One of Martynov's most distinguished contemporaries was the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, who talked of a 'genetic aural well' for Russian music which, like Orthodox prayer, cannot be learnt as a text, but which exists beyond any text. Silvestrov explicitly recognized his own output as 'meta-music' or even 'post-music', and the same could be said of many pieces in Martynov's output. Tiny motifs and gestures are layered and expanded across a meditative space in a distinctively Russian form of Minimalism that bears certain similarities with the better-known outputs of Pärt and Schnittke but pursues a consciously more austere path: both the Requiem and Stabat mater are imbued with the timeless qualities of chant and ancient melisma. Martynov's music began to attract a certain cult following in the West during the 1990s with performances and recordings made principally by the violinist Gidon Kremer and his former partner, Tatiana Grindenko. As both a violinist and conductor, Grindenko has continued to keep Martynov's flame burning, and she leads most of the performances here, which were made mostly in Moscow over the course of several years and in several cases receive here their first international release.


Tracks:

CD1 - Christmas Music - [65:21]
Christmas Music for children's choir and small orchestra
Part 1: Book for Instruments
1. Prelude for the Star and the Three Knights
2. Prelude for Angels and Shepherds
3. Prelude for Children
Part 2: Book of Songs
4. Nr. 1 Lied Nr. 1
5. Nr. 2 Lied Nr. 2
6. Nr. 3 Lied Nr. 3
7. Nr. 4 Lied Nr. 4
8. Nr. 5 Lied Nr. 5
9. Nr. 6 Lied Nr. 6
10. Nr. 7 Lied Nr. 7
11. Nr. 8 Lied Nr. 8

Grand Children Choir named after Viktor Popov, Georgi Zhuravlev
Academy of Early Music Ensemble of the Moscow Philharmonic, Tatiana Grindenko


CD2 - Night in Galicia - [70:21]
Night in Galicia for ensemble of folk singers and string ensemble
1. Nr. 1 A-A-A O-O-O EH-EH-EH EE-EE-EE OO-OO-OO
2. Nr. 2 The meadow's lowing now is sinking
3. Nr. 3 Your lips are the black grouse's brow
4. Nr. 4 Wind, is that you?
5. Nr. 5 In the gorge where the dog rose blooms
6. Nr. 6 As the future's my witness
7. Nr. 7 Ever these shades draw me in!
8. Nr. 8 Like a black wind
9. Nr. 9 From an old rowboat's transom
10. Nr. 10 Wind, you hear, this deed is frightful!

Dmitry Pokhrovsky Folk Ensemble
Opus Posth Ensemble, Tatiana Grindenko (conductor and solo violin)


CD3 - Requiem, Stabat Mater - [68:57]
Requiem for mixed choir and string orchestra
1. Introitus
2. Kyrie
3. Offertorium
4. Sanctus
5. Agnus Dei
6. Lux Aeterna
Stabat Mater for mixed choir and string orchestra
7. (keine Angaben) - (keine Angaben)
8. Stabat Mater
9. O Quam tristis, Quis est homo
10. Pro peccatis, Ela, mater
11. Virgo virginum

The SIRIN Vocal Ensemble, Andrey Kotov
Opus Posth Ensemble, Tatiana Grindenko (conductor and solo violin)


CD4 - Dance with the dead friend, Come in! - [65:05]
1. Dance with the Dead Friend (für Klavier und Orchester)
2. Come in! (für Violine und Streichorchester)

1. Alexei Lubimov, piano
"New Russia" Symphonic Orchestra, Eugene Bushkov
2. Opus Posth Ensemble, Tatiana Grindenko


CD5 - Lamentations of Jeremiah - [77:12]
Lamentations of Jeremiah for male choir
1. Prolog 1
2. Kapitel 1
3. Prolog 2
4. Kapitel 2
5. Prolog 3
6. Kapitel 3
7. Prolog 4
8. Kapitel 4
9. Prayer of the Prophet Jeremiah

The Sirin Vocal Ensemble, Andrey Kotov


CD6 - Der Abschied - [48:26]
1. Der Abschied (für Streichorchester)

Opus Posth Ensemble, Tatiana Grindenko


CD7 - Singapore - [52:34]
1. Singapore I
2. Singapore II

Vladimir Symphony Orchestra
Vladimir Chamber Choir, Artem Markin
Opus Posth Ensemble, Tatiana Grindenko