Le chant du martyr 'Grand caprice religieux', RO49 (Gottschalk) - from CDA67536 - Hyperion Records

Reviews

‘Quite early in the 14-year period that covers these eight volumes the Dublin-born pianist matured into becoming the pre-eminent Gottschalk interpreter. He understands exactly his stylistic range, from the mellifluous Italianate melody of the salon to sheer virtuosity, but without any exaggeration’ (Gramophone)

‘These are sympathetic performances, glowingly recorded’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Another neglected area of the 19th-century repertoire has been thoroughly explored and superbly championed by Martin’ (The Guardian)

‘Effective performance of this music requires striking a series of delicate balances: between the learned and the popular, between the progressive and the traditional, between the sensual and the self-conscious. And if you've been following this series, you'll know that no current Gottschalkian catches these special ambiguities more consistently than Philip Martin’ (International Record Review)

‘A beautifully produced disc that is impossible to play without smiling’ (The Times)

‘This is one of the great piano recordings of recent years. Not since the exquisitely chiseled, delicately nuanced playing of such past greats as Wilhelm Kempff, Stefan Askenase, and Walter Gieseking have I heard anything so hypnotically well performed. This release leaves no doubt that Martin is one of today's finest keyboard artists’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Martin plays every piece with such conviction that value judgements on this music's qualities seem almost churlish … the recording itself is of the very highest standards with superb presence, as we expect from Hyperion’ (International Piano)

The Martyr’s Song finds Gottschalk at his most lachrymose, a production-line weepy with an insipid melody. The opening D flat major section gives way to a sturdier central B flat minor (as in Chant de Guerre) before the home key returns with both hands at the octave and marked pp celeste. Five bars before the end (ppp morendo) we encounter a lovely Gottschalkism: allontanandosi (sic), presumably an emphatic allentando.

Ce mélo produit à la chaîne, avec une mélodie insipide, nous montre Gottschalk sous son jour le plus larmoyant. La section d’ouverture en ré bémol majeur cède la place à une section centrale plus énergique en si bémol mineur (comme dans Chant de guerre), avant que la tonalité mère ne revienne aux deux mains, à l’octave, avec l’indication pp celeste. À cinq mesures de la fin (ppp morendo) survient un charmant «gottschalkisme»: allontanandosi (sic), probablement un allentando emphatique.

extrait des notes rédigées par Jeremy Nicholas © 2005
Français: Hypérion

Im Lied des Märtyrers begegnet man einem Gottschalk in seiner klagendsten Stimmung, ein Massenproduktionsweinen mit einer schalen Melodie. Der Anfangsabschnitt in Des-Dur räumt einem robusteren Mittelabschnitt in b-Moll das Feld (wie im Chant de Guerre), bevor die Grundtonart wieder aufgenommen wird und beide Hände in Oktaven spielen mit dem Hinweis pp celeste. Fünf Takte vor dem Ende (ppp morendo) trifft man auf einen schönen, für Gottschalk typischen Neologismus: allontanandosi (sic), wahrscheinlich ein emphatisches allentando.

aus dem Begleittext von Jeremy Nicholas © 2005
Deutsch: Elke Hockings

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Gottschalk: The Complete Solo Piano Music

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With his idiomatic and graceful style, pianist Philip Martin has established himself as the foremost exponent of Gottschalk. The composer had a unique spontaneity and individuality which Martin’s performances bring vividly to the fore. The complet ...» More

Recording details: December 2004
All Saints' Church, East Finchley, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Martin Compton
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: September 2005
Total duration: 7 minutes 41 seconds