OSLO KAMMERAKADEMI BLÅSER LIV I MUSIKK FRA FRANSK GULLALDER

For 140 år siden ville fløytisten, komponisten, pedagogen og dirigenten Paul Taffanel bringe blåserne inn på den musikalske hovedarenaen. Han mente at de franske blåserne, som hadde utviklet seg til å bli verdensledende, ikke fikk den plassen de fortjente i musikklivet. Han grunnla derfor et kammermusikalsk selskap for blåsere – Société de musique de chambre pour instruments à vents – som skulle spre og fremme kammermusikkrepertoaret for blåsere.

Pressen la merke til Taffanels prosjekt og tidsskriftet La Revue et Gazette de Paris beskrev ensemblets raison d’être på følgende måte etter debutkonserten 6. februar 1879: En gruppe kunstnere har nettopp møttes med det prisverdige mål å gjøre kammermusikk for blåseinstrumenter bedre kjent, hvilket vi i altfor stor grad har forsømt på våre konserter. Taffanel tok utgangspunkt i den klassiske oktettbesetningen som hadde gitt opphav til harmonimusikken på Mozart og Beethoven sin tid, men selskapet skulle også profilere solister og få nye franske og utenlandske verk fram i lyset. En rekke betydelige komponister skrev spesielt for selskapet. Et utvalg av disse er representert på dette albumet.

Oslo Kammerakademi spiller kammermusikk for blåsere med den historiske harmonibesetningen som utgangspunkt, og det er David Friedemann Strunck som er initiativtaker og kunstnerisk leder for ensemblet. Ensemblet har etablert seg som ledende i Europa med kritikerroste CD-innspillinger og invitasjoner til prestisjetunge festivaler. Ensemblet har helt siden debuten i 2009 hatt som ambisjon å favne hele bredden av litteratur for harmoniensemble – helt fra opprinnelsen i Wien på 1780-tallet til musikken fra vår egen tid. Nå er tiden kommet for å gi liv til musikk som definitivt må sies å representere en gullalder både i musikkens og blåsernes historie.

OSLO KAMMERAKADEMI BREATHES LIFE INTO MUSIC FROM THE FRENCH GOLDEN AGE

One hundred and forty years ago, flutist, composer, educator, and conductor Paul Taffanel wanted to bring the winds into the musical spotlight. He believed that French wind players, who had become leaders in the field, didn’t quite get the recognition they deserved. He thus founded a chamber music organization for winds – Société de musique de chambre pour instruments á vents – whose objective was to spread and promote chamber music repertoire for these very winds. 

The press took note of Taffanel’s project and the magazine La Revue et Gazette de Paris described the ensemble’s raison d’être in the following way after its premiere on 6 February 1879: “A group of artists has just met with the commendable goal of making chamber music for wind instruments better known, something we have far too much neglected at our concerts.” Taffanel took the classic octet as his starting point, the orchestration that had given rise to the Harmonie music of Mozart and Beethoven’s time, but the society also aimed to profile soloists and bring new French and foreign works to light. A selection of these works is represented on this album.

Oslo Kammerakademi performs chamber music for winds with the historical Harmoniemusik instrumentation as a foundation. Founded by Artistic Director David Friedemann Strunck, the ensemble has established itself as a leader in Europe, with critically acclaimed CD recordings and invitations to prestigious festivals. 

Since its inception in 2009, the ensemble’s ambition has been to embrace the full range of literature for the Harmonieensemble – from its origin in Vienna in the 1780s to the music of our own time. Now the time has come to breathe new life into music that must definitely be said to represent a golden age both in the history of music and of winds.

ANMELDELSER/ REVIEWS:

"[...] The performances from the Oslo Kammerakademi are exquisite throughout the program. The recorded sound is immediate and dynamic, with an ideal balance of direct and hall sound. If you love wind chamber music, this is certainly a terrific offering." Mark Novak, Fanfare Magazine, March/April 2022

"[...] Perhaps the major discovery here is the 15-minute Septuor d’instruments à vent(1937) by Charles Koechlin(1867–1950), who is one of the brightest of undiscovered stars in the French musical firmament. It opens with a dignified, lyrical ‘Monodie’ for clarinet, followed by five movements that almost suggest Greek sculpture in their classical elegance. Two are fugues, the second a folky, swinging number that lifts the spirits. Steinar Granmo Nilsen’s booklet notes supply helpful biographical notes on the composers, but say nothing about the music, which is a lost opportunity – where else will these pieces be written about? The playing and the recorded sound, by contrast, are all you could wish for. A fine release, thoughtfully planned and immaculately executed.[...]" Martin Anderson, klassiskmusikk.com, 03.01.2022