Visions Fugitives

Description

Very talented young British tenor and the string orchestra 440Hz perform rarely recorded 20th century composition by Britten and Prokoviev. Very intense live recording from Gergiev Festival.

Haze and ecstasy, hallucination and dream: around 1900 – the so-called ‘fin de siècle’ - poets begin to discover the world of the subconscious. It is the age of literary decadence, of symbolism and Art Nouveau. Arthur Rimbaud, protagonist of an entire generation of French poets, who died at an early age, and Russian symbolist Konstantin Balmont inspired Sergei Prokofiev and Benjamin Britten to write some musical masterpieces.
The celebrated young British tenor Benjamin Hulett has been a soloist at the Hamburg State Opera since 2005 and has achieved great success in lyric roles. As a concert performer he has already worked with conductors including Sir Roger Norrington, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Andrew Davis, Phillippe Herreweghe, Christopher Hogwood, Markus Stenz, Ivor Bolton, Jeffrey Tate, Simone Young and Fabio Biondi amongst others at many of the world’s leading venues and festivals. Ben studied Music as a choral scholar at New College, Oxford and Opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
The frequency of A, the pure note to which we tune our instruments, signifying quality as well as a solid foundation for our shared experience of classical music. That is what the musicians of 440Hz, under the direction of concert master Charlotte Potgieter, made up of members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic string section, represent. Performing music in a smaller formation leads to better ensemble play. In the absence of a conductor, our individual voices become essential, with each musician contributing to our shared responsibility for the artistic process and its outcome.

Tracks:
Benjamin Britten/Arthur Rimbaud: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: I. Fanfare; II. Villes : III. Phrase: IIIb. Antique: IV. Royauté: V. Marine: VI. Interlude: VII. Being Beauteous: VIII. Parade: IX. Départ
Sergei Prokoviev: Visions Fugitives, Op. 22: Lentamente: Andante: Allegretto: Animato: Molto Giocoso: Con Eleganza: Commodo: Allegretto Tranquillo: Ridicolosamente: Con Vivacita: Assai Moderato: Allegretto: Feroce: Inquieto: Dolente
Benjamin Britten/Alfred Tennyson: Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal