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Track(s) taken from CDH55396

Caprice

composer
1884; dedicated 'to my friend Sarasate'

Philippe Graffin (violin), Ulster Orchestra, Thierry Fischer (conductor)
Recording details: June 2001
Ulster Hall, Belfast, United Kingdom
Produced by Chris Hazell
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: March 2002
Total duration: 11 minutes 48 seconds

Cover artwork: The Maures Mountains (1906/7) by Henri-Edmond Cross (1856-1910)
Private Collection / © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘Here, with a warm-blooded Ulster orchestra in support, [Graffin] brings a host of rare works to the fore. All are rewarding’ (The Strad)

‘This is exactly the kind of disc that Hyperion has perfected over many years. Originally released roughly a decade ago to considerable acclaim it is now re-released on their budget Helios label. Excellence of this calibre available at bargain price makes it all but compulsory for anyone interested in rare repertoire for the violin who missed it first time around’ (MusicWeb International)

‘One of the most charming discs of French music it has been my pleasure to review … [the pieces] could well have been written for Graffin’s silky smooth playing, each work so lovingly shaped, the fast passages despatched with an easy virtuosity. In Fischer and the admirable Ulster Orchestra, Graffin has devoted colleagues, the engineers adding icing to the cake’ (Yorkshire Post)
Guiraud’s Caprice was written in 1884 and dedicated ‘to my friend Sarasate’. It was meant to follow in the footsteps of Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, or at least that must have been the idea. Unfortunately, even though Sarasate performed the work, and it was published soon after, Guiraud’s music, which was mostly operatic, fell slowly into oblivion after his death. The musical world was changing, and the Caprice failed to find its place in the repertoires of the next generation of violinists.

from notes by Philippe Graffin © 2002

Dédié « à mon ami Sarasate », Caprice vit le jour en 1884. Il était sensé s’inscrire dans les pas de l’Introduction et Rondo capriccioso de Saint-Saëns, ou du moins, telle en était l’idée. Malheureusement, même si Sarasate exécuta l’œuvre en public, même si elle fut publiée peu après, la musique de Guiraud, essentiellement plus proche de l’opéra, tomba peu à peu dans l’oubli après sa mort. L’univers musical se transformait, et ce Caprice ne trouva pas la place qui lui était due dans le répertoire des générations suivantes de violonistes.

extrait des notes rédigées par Philippe Graffin © 2002
Français: Isabelle Battioni

Caprice entstand 1884 und ist „meinem Freund Sarasate“ gewidmet. Es sollte in die Fußstapfen von Saint-Saëns Introduction et Rondo capriccioso treten, oder zumindest muß das vorgesehen gewesen sein. Doch obwohl Sarasate selbst das Werk zur Aufführung brachte und es kurz darauf veröffentlicht wurde, geriet Guirauds Musik, die überwiegend opernhaft war, unglücklicherweisae nach seinem Tod allmählich in Vergessenheit. Die Welt der Musik veränderte sich und Caprice gelang es nicht, sich im Repertoire der neuen Geigergeneration zu etablieren.

aus dem Begleittext von Philippe Graffin © 2002
Deutsch: Anne Steeb/Bernd Müller

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