La mélancolie 'Étude caractéristique d'après F Godefroid', RO167 (Godefroid/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)

This is one of four works (only two are extant) which Gottschalk based on the music of the Belgian harpist Dieudonné Joseph Guillaume Félix Godefroid (1818–1897). Danse des sylphes appeared on CD 6. La Mélancolie, a transcription of Godefroid’s Op 24 for solo harp, cleverly conjures the soundworld of that instrument. Gottschalk was not yet twenty when he composed it but, although already a celebrity in France and Switzerland, was still referred to on the printed score as ‘L M Gottschalk de la Louisiane’.

Voici l’une des quatre œuvres de Gottschalk fondées sur la musique du harpiste belge Dieudonné Joseph Guillaume Félix Godefroid (1818–1897)—deux seulement nous sont conservées, la seconde, Danse des sylphes, figurant sur le CD 6. La Mélancolie est une transcription de l’op. 24 de Godefroid, pour harpe solo, un instrument dont elle évoque intelligemment l’univers sonore. Pourtant déjà célèbre en France et en Suisse, Gottschalk, qui n’avait pas vingt ans au moment de sa composition, est, sur la partition imprimée, «L. M. Gottschalk de la Louisiane».
extrait des notes rédigées par Jeremy Nicholas © 2005
Français: Hypérion

Das ist eines der vier Werke (nur zwei sind überliefert), die Gottschalk auf die Musik des belgischen Harfenspielers Dieudonné Joseph Guillaume Félix Godefroid (1818–1897) aufbaute. Danse des sylphes erschien auf der CD 6. La Mélancolie, eine Bearbeitung von Godefroids Harfenstück op. 24, beschwört geschickt die Klangwelt dieses Instruments. Gottschalk war nicht einmal 20, als er dieses Stück komponierte, aber in der Partitur nannte man ihn immer noch „L M Gottschalk de la Louisiane“, auch wenn er in Frankreich und in der Schweiz schon eine berühmte Person war.
aus dem Begleittext von Jeremy Nicholas © 2005
Deutsch: Elke Hockings

Other albums featuring this work

Gottschalk: The Complete Solo Piano Music

Philip Martin (piano)

CDS44451/88CDs Boxed set (at a special price) — Download only

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: 5 minutes 23 seconds