SKU: HL.48186482

Reynaldo Hahn: Works for cello and piano [AL 30 749] For quite some time, posterity remembered Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) for just a handful of songs and the operetta Ciboulette, overlooking the incredible diversity of a catalogue as eclectic as it is appealing. Yet his chamber music contains many little-known treasures: thus, cellist Steven Isserlis, in his preface, hastens to hail the first modern edition of these two scores, which he regularly plays in recital, so much does their beauty enchant the audience. Published in 1911, the Two Improvisations on Irish Airs for cello and piano turn out to be the transcription of his first and third Preludes for piano four hands (1894). These folk themes come from the collection Songs of Old Ireland, published 12 years earlier by Charles Villiers Stanford: gracefully and tenderly, The Little Red Lark unfurls a melancholic tune of which the regular foundation respects the breadth of phrase typical of folk songs; in The Willow-Tree, the lover begs his beloved in vain to take him in her arms one last time before he lies down, lifeless, in the shade of the tree. Beyond this sensitive exploration of the Irish soul, Hahn offers us a journey into the past: the Variations chantantes sur un air ancien develop a theme borrowed from Cavalli?s opera Xerse. In this aria (1660 version: Act IV, sc. 6), Ambassador Periarco dreams of moving away from court intrigues to be able to taste the pleasures ?to which the gods have destined him?. Reynaldo Hahn?s variations succeed in maintaining the sweet simplicity of this theme, as noble as it is refined. Let us wager that this publication will delight cellists and pianists alike: it contains some nuggets. Deux improvisations sur des airs irlandais (The Little Red Lark, The Willow-Tree) Variations chantantes sur un air ancien.

SKU: HL.51481532

UPC: 840126989298. 9.25x12.25x0.357 inches.

After the great success of his first Piano Trio in d minor op. 49, some five years passed before Mendelssohn set to work on a new composition for this formation. But then the c-minor Trio came into being in a relatively short period in March/April 1845 and was published around a year later. Much more sombre in character than the sibling work, this second trio is also considered much more difficult in terms of technique (above all in the piano part). Thus, it has always stood somewhat in the shadow of the earlier trio. However, chamber music aficionados generally regard it as the more mature and challenging work in terms of compositional technique. The trio, taken from the volume Mendelssohn • Piano Trios HN 957, is now available from Henle for the first time also as a practical single edition.

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