Farewell to philosophy. Par BRYARS GAVIN. I have a great fondness for the lower string instruments: I am a bass player, my mother is a cellist, as are both my daughters; my own ensemble includes two violas, a cello and a bass, and for the instrumentation of my opera Medea I omit the entire violin section from the orchestra. As I have written a number of works for solo instrument or voice with orchestra I welcomed the opportunity to write a concerto for cello and orchestra and especially one which focuses particularly on the instrument’s lyrical qualities. Although the piece is in one continuous movement, and the soloist is playing almost without a break, it nevertheless falls into distinct sections which are recognisable by a shift of tempo as well as by a change in the music’s character. One of the early ideas Julian Lloyd Webber and I discussed was that it might form a companion piece to one of the Haydn concertos. Given my friendship with some members of the English Chamber Orchestra and my awareness of their repertoire, this suggested a number of particular musical references. The subtitle to the work, for example, combines the subtitles of two idiosyncratic Haydn symphonies and I allude to them in different ways but chiefly through orchestration: for The Philosopher by including a section in the concerto where the orchestration resembles that of the symphony’s first movement (pairs of English and French horns, muted violins and unmuted lower strings); for The Farewell, by the progressive reduction in the orchestration towards the end. Indeed, apart from the orchestral tutti in the last few bars, the last pages of the score are virtually for string quartet. The subtitle also refers to my own background as a philosophy graduate... The piece was commissioned by Philips Classics for Julian Lloyd Webber and is dedicated to him. The first performance was given by Julian Lloyd Webber and the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by James Judd, 21 November 1995, Barbican Hall, London. Gavin Bryars/ Répertoire / Violoncelle et Orchestre

Cet ouvrage est un hommage à Lorca dont le dernier recueil de poèmes (Divan du Tamarit) peut apparaître, a posteriori, comme une prémonition de sa propre mort. Les neuf Casidas, qui en composent la seconde partie, sont autant de visions désespérées ou amères que Maurice Ohana imagine peuplant la mémoire du poète tout au long de la route de la Fontaine aux larmes qui fut son chemin de croix. Mots et images tournent autour du condamné, anneau qui l'encercle, l'emprisonne, mais aussi le protège à l'heure ultime. L'ouvrage est d'un seul tenant, les séquences s'enchaînant comme autant de visions tour à tour sombres, violentes, déchirantes, dépouillées ou tragiques, en un poème de la mort qui rejoint, après vingt-cinq années, cet autre poème de mort qu'était le Llanto por Ignacio Sanchez Mejias. / Contre-ténor et ensemble

Edward Elgar’s concerto for violoncello his last major work is a cleanly structured and emotionally charged composition. It is no wonder that this work is of central importance in the cello literature. Jonathan Del Mar’s editorial skills show themselves in the exacting placement of dynamics articulation and expression markings. The edition restores all Elgar’s solo cello fingerings and bowings and offers a facsimile of the original solo cello part in the critical commentary. Jonathan Del Mar also documents the performing tradition of the work and its recording under Elgar’s baton.This is the last word on this famous work a referenceedition for every cellist!First ever critical editionAll existing sources consultedFirst ever critical commentaryFull score & parts (BA9040) cello & piano (BA9040-90) and study score format 22.5 x 16.5cm (TP398) available for sale