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Track(s) taken from CDA67549

O rosa bella

composer
author of text

Catherine Bott (soprano), Pavlo Beznosiuk (fiddle), Mark Levy (fiddle)
Recording details: April 2001
Angel Studios, Islington, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Catherine Bott & Stephen Henderson
Engineered by Steve Price & Mat Bartram
Release date: January 2006
Total duration: 3 minutes 38 seconds

Cover artwork: The Meeting on the Turret Stairs. Frederick William Burton (1816-1900)
The National Gallery of Ireland
 

Reviews

‘The vivid ambience of the recordings, the quality of the chosen compositions, the incisive, animated, full-toned precision of the fiddle playing and performances by Bott make for 62 minutes of pure pleasure … these performances must rank amongst Bott's best (and that's saying something)’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Delectable is just about the right word for this sequence of pieces sung by Catherine Bott, with and without the fiddles of Pavlo Beznosiuk and Mark Levy. … the simplicity and spontaneity of the pared-down and often improvisatory approach enormously enhances the emotional impact of the music, and brings the listener extraordinarily close to the characters whose deepest feelings are being voiced’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘The outstanding CD of the month’ (Early Music Review)

‘This is some of the most elegant singing I have heard and certainly some of the best fiddle playing now available … it is an excellent single-disc anthology of medieval song’ (American Record Guide)

‘In every respect this CD is an utter delight. The music is charming, the performances infectious, the recording is simply outstanding and the booklet complete with full texts and translations into modern English, is a real pleasure to read … this disc is a source of unreserved pleasure’ (International Record Review)

‘A sublime survey of music and textual conceits from a remote yet immediately communicative past … soprano and string players wear their classical training lightly, catching the folk flavour of this beguiling repertoire’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘We had to wait five years for its release. Believe me, it was worth the wait. Hear this haunting music’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Charmingly and effectively done, it is well worth hearing’ (Scotland on Sunday)
O rosa bella is English, by a composer who hid his light under a bushel of alternative names: tantalizingly little is known about the life and career of John Bedyngham / Bodigham / Bellingun / Benigun / Boddenham. O rosa bella is a heartfelt lament from a young man who thinks he’s dying of love for an unattainable girl.

from notes by Catherine Bott © 2006

Le compositeur de O rosa bella, une pièce anglaise, s’est caché sous un boisseau de pseudonymes: nous avons une frustrante méconnaissance de la vie et de la carrière de John Bedyngham / Bodigham / Bellingun / Benigun / Boddenham. O rosa bella est la lamentation sincère d’un jeune homme convaincu de se mourir d’amour pour une jeune fille inaccessible.

extrait des notes rédigées par Catherine Bott © 2006
Français: Hypérion

O rosa bella ist englisch, von einem Komponisten, der sein Licht unter den Scheffel verschiedenster Namen stellte: Man weiß verzweiflungsvoll wenig über Leben und Laufbahn des John Bedyngham / Bodigham / Bellingun / Benigun / Boddenham. O rosa bella ist die tief empfundene Klage eines jungen Mannes, der aus Liebe zu einem unerreichbaren Mädchen meint, sterben zu müssen.

aus dem Begleittext von Catherine Bott © 2006
Deutsch: Anne Steeb/Bernd Müller

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