L' Aurore

by Carolin Widmann

Overview

The solo violin recital is something of a black belt for violinists, as the fact of the violin playing alone tends to overwhelm in pieces that were not necessarily intended to be played together. Violinist Carolin Widmann does well here, and it's all the more impressive that there are few extended techniques of any kind, just a bit of pizzicato in one of the Three Miniatures for solo violin of George Benjamin. One thing that has attracted buyers to this commercially successful release is the presence of unusual pieces, not only the Benjamin but also the Fantaisie concertante of George Enescu. That work is rarely heard, and it makes an ideal partner to the more familiar Sonata No. 5 in G major for solo violin, Op. 27, of Eugene Ysaye, one of whose movements lends the album its "L'Aurore" title. Widmann also plays a chant melody by Hildegard of Bingen, not once but twice; this was because, she says, she tended to play it differently each time. One wonders whether anything is added to Hildegard's music this way, especially on a program where nothing else is ahistorical. But it does break up the program as a whole, and it's the kind of odd thing the great virtuosi of the past might have done. Widmann passes the difficult test here with flying colors. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	07/22/2022
Label:	Ecm New Series
UPC:	0028948568031
Rank:	185124

Tracks

1. Spiritus sanctus vivificans vita
2. Fantaisie concertante
3. Three Miniatures~A Lullaby for Lalit
4. Three Miniatures~A Canon for Sally
5. Three Miniatures~Lauer Lied
6. Sonata No. 5 in G major Op. 27~L'Aurore
7. Sonata No. 5 in G major Op. 27~Danse rustique
8. Spiritus sanctus vivificans vita
9. Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004~Allemanda
10. Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004~Corrente
11. Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004~Sarabanda
12. Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004~Giga
13. Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004~Ciaccona

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Carolin Widmann   Primary Artist,Violin

Technical Credits

Lennard Ruehle   Photography
Friedrich Kunzmann   Liner Note Translation
Johann Sebastian Bach   Composer
Hildegard von Bingen   Composer
Manfred Eicher   Producer
George Enescu   Composer
Wilfried Hoesl   Cover Photo
Eugene Ysaye   Composer
George Benjamin   Composer
Sascha Kleis   Design
Max Nyffeler   Interviewer
Carolin Widmann   Interviewee
Markus Heiland   Engineer