CDs
CelloEvolution - from Bologna to Cöthen
What was the first composition ever written for solo violoncello? What was composed before Bach created his extraordinary suites for solo cello? These questions drove the cellist Josetxu Obregón to devote himself to the beginnings of solo literature for his instrument. These beginnings can be found in the city of Bologna, which, with its brilliant Capella Musicale and the Accademia Filarmonica, made a decisive contribution to the development of the violin and the cello. Obregon presents two ricercari by Domenico Gabrielli from 1688 as the first specific works for unaccompanied solo cello. Further stations on the way from Bologna to Cöthen to the climax of this genre with Bach’s six suites are compositions by Vitali, Galli, de Ruvo, Dall’ Abaco, Supriano and Colombi. Bach’s works are also presented by Obregon, but in an unusual way: He takes a dance movement from each of Bach’s suites and then places them – as a comparison of styles – between the works from his Italian anthology.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prélude from: Suite no. 2 in d minor, bwv 1008
Domenico Galli (1649-1697)
Sonata IX 5:11
Giuseppe Maria Dall’ Abaco (1710-1805)
Capriccio Quarto
Johann Sebastian Bach
Allemande from: Suite no. 6 in d major, bwv 1012
Domenico Gabrielli (1651-1690)
Ricercar Sesto
Ricercar Primo
Johann Sebastian Bach
Courante from: Suite no. 1 in g major, bwv 1007
Suites à Violoncello Solo senza Basso
Giulio de Ruvo (17th-18th c.)
Romanella vi in d minor
Romanella viii in d major
Johann Sebastian Bach
Sarabande from: Suite no. 5 in c minor, bwv 1011
Francesco Paolo Supriano (1678 -1753)
Toccata v
Toccata x
Johann Sebastian Bach
Bourrées from: Suite no. 4 in eb major, bwv 1010
Recorded in Las Rozas, Madrid, in November 2020
Engineered by Federico Prieto
Edited by Josetxu Obregón and Federico Prieto
Executive producers: Josetxu Obregón, Michael Sawall (note 1 music)
Booklet editor & layout: Joachim Berenbold
Cover photos: Pablo F. Juárez
Photos of the recording sessions: Tamar Lalo
Translations: Mark Wiggins (English), Pierre Elie Mamou (français),
note 1 music (deutsch)
π + © 2022 note 1 music gmbh, Heidelberg, Germany
CD manufactured in The Netherlands
Antonio Caldara and the cello
In a lively and enterprising new disc devoted to the music of Antonio Caldara, cellist Josetxu Obregón leads his ensemble La Ritirata in instrumental and vocal works.
In his youth in Venice (in the 1680s/1690s), Caldara drew significant praise for his own cello playing, and his understanding of the instrument and its possibilities stayed with him throughout a career which saw him immersed also in the rich musical cultures of Mantua and Rome before he became a valued member of the Hofkapelle in Vienna; he worked there for the last twenty years of his life, contributing to the glories of the Austro-Italian Baroque at the Imperial Court of the highly musical Charles VI (whom Caldara had also served in Barcelona).
Here, the cello, ranging from the lyrical to the virtuosic, is called upon as a soloist in concerto, sinfonia and sonata pieces, but this recording is enriched further by the presence of two singers, soprano Eugenia Boix and mezzo Luciana Mancini – a cantata, Porgete per pietà, from the former and three arias from the latter. Mancini sings “Pompe inutili” (from the oratorio Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo), whose ravishing vocal lines are matched by the obbligato cello part.
Josetxu Obregón has made a number of previous Glossa recordings exploring the early history of the cello, and in the company of La Ritirata has also contributed to the burgeoning reassessment of this major composing figure with their Caldara The Cervantes Operas programme. Now comes a vivid and varied release to commemorate 350 years since the birth of Antonio Caldara!
Concerto per camera a violoncello solo con due violini e suo basso (Re menor)
01 Allegro 2:51
02 Larghetto 2:41
03 Allegro assai 3:05
04 Aimè sento il mio core (Larghetto) 10:50
Aria de: Vicino a un rivoletto (Cantata para contralto, violín, violoncello y bajo continuo)
Sinfonia a violoncello solo (Re mayor)
05 Adagio 2:58
06 Allegro 1:12
07 Grave 1:28
08 Presto 0:54
Porgete per pietà
Cantata for voz,, con violines y violoncello
09 Recitativo: “Porgete per pietà” 0:44
10 Aria: “Amor quando sarà” (Larghetto) 10:14
11 Recitativo: “Quanti sospiri e quanti” 0:40
12 Aria: “T’amai non niego è ver” (Allegro) 6:33
13 Largo 2:11
De: Sonata XVI a violoncello solo col basso continuo (Sol mayor)
14 Allegro 2:35
De: Sonata IX a violoncello solo col basso continuo (Sol mayor)
Lezioni per il violoncello con il suo basso
15 Lezione no 6 2:24
16 Lezione no 14 1:02
17 Lezione no 20 (Adagio) 2:34
18 Pompe inutili 7:35
Aria de: Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo (Oratorio)
Sonata III a violoncello solo col basso continuo
19 Largo 2:37
20 Allegro 1:46
21 Aria andante 2:53
22 Allegro assai 3:30
23 Dolce è pur d’amor l’affanno (Larghetto) 4:39
Aria de: Soffri, mio caro Alcino (Cantata para contralto y bajo continuo)
24 Adagio
De: Sonata V a violoncello solo col basso continuo (Fa mayor) 3:13
La Ritirata
Eugenia Boix, soprano
Luciana Mancini, mezzo-soprano
Anaïs Chen, violín
Pablo Prieto, violín
Ruth Verona, cello
Ismael Campanero, violone & contrabajo
Daniel Zapico, tiorba & guitarra barroca
Franziska Fleischanderl, salterio
Daniel Oyarzabal, clave & órgano positivo
Josetxu Obregón
cello solista & dirección artística
Grabado en Getafe (Auditorio del Conservatorio Profesional de Música), España, en octubre de 2019
Ingenieros de sonido Federico Prieto y Manuel Prieto | Supervisor artístico: Olivier Fourés
Editado por Olivier Fourés, Federico Prieto y Josetxu Obregón
Afinación de clave y órgano positivo: Daniel Oyarzabal
Tour manager, La Ritirata: Carlos Bercebal
Productor ejecutivo & director editorial: Carlos Céster
Fotos de portada: Michal Novak | Fotos de las sesiones de grabación: Tamar Lalo
Traducciones: Mark Wiggins (ensayos, inglés), Pierre Élie Mamou (ensayos, francés), Andrea Friggi (textos cantados, inglés)
© 2020 note 1 music gmbh
"Josetxu Obregón’s portrait of Antonio Caldara, cellist" - Ralph Graves. WTJU91
“Obregón’s early music ensemble, La Ritirata plays to their usual high standards. I especially like the sound of Obregón’s baroque cello. Obregón plays with sensitivity, bringing warm, expressive tones out of his instrument[…]”
Alessandro Scarlatti: Quella Pace Gradita - The Recorder & Violin Cantatas
In a new recording of music by Alessandro Scarlatti, Josetxu Obregón’s La Ritirata parades its dazzling vocal and instrumental talents in presenting the four cantatas which involve recorders and violins, together with an additional standalone soprano aria, for a further Glossa Neapolitan-flavoured release.
Drawn from his well over 800 secular cantatas these works combine fully-integrated, imaginative recitatives, expressive and dramatic arias and colourful and exacting instrumental sinfonias and ritornelli into elegant and compact wholes, and featuring poetic texts which typically followed the aspirations of the Accademia degli Arcadi literary circle initiated in Rome around the turn of the eighteenth century. The scene for Scarlatti’s prolific creativity is set by Stefano Russomanno in his booklet essay.
The vocal duties are assigned to three leading interpreters of today, mezzo Giuseppina Bridelli, countertenor Filippo Mineccia and soprano Alicia Amo. Rising here to the instrumental challenges set by Scarlatti are long-standing members of La Ritirata, Tamar Lalo (recorder) and Hiro Kurosaki (violin), who are joined on their respective instruments by Michael Form and Pablo Prieto. With cellist Obregón, Lalo and Kurosaki had been the leading soloists for La Ritirata’s recent Neapolitan Concertos for various instruments release.
E perché non seguite, o pastorelle
Chamber cantata for alto, two recorders, two violins and b.c.
01 (Sinfonia) 2:21
02 Recitativo: “E perché non seguite, o pastorelle” 1:13
03 Aria: “Fiumicel, tu lento” 3:14
04 Recitativo: “Ma di che mi querelo” 0:58
05 Aria: “È dolce quella piaga” 2:12
06 Recitativo: “Su le fiorite sponde” 0:58
07 Aria: “Lacci, e piaghe che tormentano” 1:36
08 Sconsolato rusignolo 5:19
Aria for soprano, with flautino, two violins, viola and b.c.
Filen, mio caro, h. 263 (“Filli che esprime la sua fede a Fileno”)
Cantata de cámara para alto, flauta, dos violines y bajo continuo
09 (Sinfonia) 2:06
10 Recitativo: “Filen, mio caro bene” 1:31
11 Aria: “Chiedi pur ai monti” 6:44
12 Recitativo: “Ma se prova bastante” 1:00
13 Aria: “Che ti sembra son fedele” 3:26
Quella pace gradita, h. 610
Chamber Cantata for soprano, recorder, violin, cello and b.c.
14 Sinfonia 4:32
15 Recitativo: “Quella pace gradita” 1:11
16 Aria con violino solo: “Crudel tiranno Amore” 5:27
17 Recitativo: “O voi selve beate” 0:56
18 Aria: “Care selve soggiorni di quiete” 2:34
19 Recitativo: “Lungi da me tiranno Amore” 1:14
20 Aria con violino e flauto: “Teco o mesta tortorella” 3:43
Tu sei quella, che al nome, h. 743 (“Bella Dama di nome Santa”)
Chamber cantata for alto, recorder, two violins and b.c.
21 Introduttione 3:10
22 Recitativo: “Tu sei quella, che al nome sembri giusta” 1:04
23 Aria: “Dal nome tuo credei” 3:49
24 Recitativo: “Fedeltade ne pur ottien ricetto” 1:32
25 Aria: “Il nome non vanta di santa colei” 3:59
La Ritirata
Alicia Amo, soprano
Giuseppina Bridelli, mezzosoprano
Filippo Mineccia, countertenor
Tamar Lalo, Michael Form, recorders
Hiro Kurosaki , Pablo Prieto, violins
Daniel Lorenzo, viola
Juan Carlos de Mulder, archlute
Daniel Oyarzabal, harpsichord & positive organ
Josetxu Obregón, cello& artistic direction
Neapolitan Concertos for various instruments
The Neapolitan Baroque, especially in the first half of the eighteenth century, was a vibrant and vital time for instrumental music, as Josetxu Obregón and La Ritirata now demonstrate with their new recording of six concertos from that era. The Neapolitan school – which owed so much in its formation to Francesco Provenzale – flourished in the hands of Francesco Mancini, Nicola Porpora, Nicola Fiorenza, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Alessandro Scarlatti, all represented with concertos on this new Glossa recording.
The four major conservatories in the city created an astonishingly productive and innovative environment for musicians – students and their teachers alike. The composers here all studied or worked in the conservatories or at the Cappella Real. The Neapolitan concerto had its own structure at this time, which was quite different to that found in the Venice of Vivaldi, and there was a constant competitive spirit for soloists to demonstrate their virtuosity.
As they showed with their earlier Glossa recording of Il Spiritillo Brando, the members of La Ritirata are more than a match for their Neapolitan predecessors in both stylishness and technique. The soloists gathered by Josetxu Obregón represent some of the leading musical lights in Spain today: violinist Hiro Kurosaki (in a Fiorenza concerto), recorder-player Tamar Lalo (Scarlatti and Mancini), harpsichordists Ignacio Prego and Daniel Oyarzabal (Pergolesi) and not least, Obregón himself who is the cello soloist in works by Fiorenza and Porpora.
Neapolitan Concertos for various instruments
Nicola Porpora (1686 – 1768)
Sinfonia in C major for violoncello, violins and basso continuo
01 Amoroso 2:44
02 Allegro 1:49
03 Largo 1:50
04 Allegro 4:17
solo cello: Josetxu Obregón [+ hk, pp, pa, ic, do, dz]
Francesco Mancini (1672 – 1737)
Concerto in G minor for recorder, 2 violins, violoncello and basso continuo
05 Largo 3:26
06 Fuga 2:53
07 Largo 2:24
08 Spiritoso 1:37
solo recorder: Tamar Lalo [+ hk, pp, jo, ic, do]
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 – 1736)
Concerto for 2 harpsichords and strings
09 Allegro non assai 5:10
10 Adagio tardissimo 3:17
11 Allegro 3:31
solo harpsichords: Ignacio Prego & Daniel Oyarzabal [+ hk, pp, dl, jo, ic, dz]
Nicola Fiorenza (c. 1700 – 1764)
Concerto in D major for cello, 2 violins and basso continuo
12 Largo 2:50
13 Allegro 2:32
14 Largo 2:16
15 Allegro 2:31
solo cello: Josetxu Obregón [+ dp, pp, pa, ic, do, dz]
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725)
Concerto in C major for recorder, 2 violins, violoncello and basso continuo
16 Adagio 1:33
17 Fuga 2:22
18 Adagio 1:28
19 Allegro 1:39
solo recorder: Tamar Lalo [+ hk, pp, jo, ic, do]
Nicola Fiorenza (c. 1700 – 1764)
Concerto in D major for violin and strings
20 In tempo giusto 8:22
21 Largo e staccato di molto 6:09
22 Allegro andante alla polaccha 6:35
solo violin: Hiro Kurosaki [+ pp, dp, dl, jo, ic, do]
———
La Ritirata
Josetxu Obregón
Tamar Lalo, recorder
Hiro Kurosaki [hk], Pablo Prieto [pp], Daniel Pinteño [dp], violins
Daniel Lorenzo [dl], viola
Josetxu Obregón [jo], Paz Alonso [pa], cellos
Ismael Campanero [ic], violone
Daniel Oyarzabal [do], Ignacio Prego, harpsichords
Daniel Zapico [dz], therobo
—
Luigi Boccherini: String Trios op. 34 [Remastered]
![Luigi Boccherini: String Trios op. 34 [Remastered]](https://laritirata.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/portada-Boccherini-300x275.jpg)
Different stages in the life of Luigi Boccherini are clearly mapped out in the music he wrote. None more so than the 6 String Trios, Op 34 written around 1781 – at the time of the Stabat mater – during the nine-year period when the composer forsook the precariousness of life within the hustle and bustle of Madrid for the tranquillity of Arenas de San Pedro, nearer Ávila, as he followed his patron, the Infante Luis de Borbón, in the latter’s banishment from the Spanish court. In conditions of comfort for himself and his young family Boccherini prospered on the artistic level as well: some 80 compositions emerged, many for the regular chamber music performances called for by the Enlightened prince, the maecenas also for painters such as Goya, Flipart and Paret.
In a pair of its earlier recordings, newly remastered and now appearing on Glossa, La Ritirata demonstrates complete sympathy with the Classicalera intentions of a composer in full maturity: no surprise when the three players are of the calibre of violinists Hiro Kurosaki and Lina Tur Bonet and cellist Josetxu Obregón. In this string trio configuration, Boccherini demanded great technical skill from the musicians, notably from the cello part (he was a virtuoso on the instrument himself) and requiring it to take on much of the role assumed by the viola in a quartet. Pervading all is the composer’s melodic invention, his preference for the galant style and the harmonic boldness which together assured his popularity throughout Europe at the time.
cd I [62:41]
trio op. 34/5 (g105) in c major
01 Largo 4:50
02 Allegro vivo 5:11
03 Andante lento con variazioni 8:55
trio op. 34/2 (g102) in g major
04 Allegretto comodo assai 8:01
05 Minuetto – Trio 5:15
06 Adagio 4:25
07 Rondeau. Allegro ma non presto 5:47
trio op. 34/4 (g104) in d major
08 Allegretto moderato assai 8:17
09 Grave – Allegro – Grave 7:45
10 Tempo di Minuetto 4:09
cd II [59:54]
trio op. 34/3 (g103) in e flat major
01 Allegro vivo ma non presto 7:21
02 Largo non tanto 5:40
03 Minuetto – Trio 4:02
04 Rondeau. Allegretto comodo 5:59
trio op. 34/1 (g101) in f major
05 Andante lento 6:06
06 Allegro con brio 7:36
07 Minuetto – Trio 6:13
trio op. 34/6 (g106) in e major
08 Allegro giusto 6:09
09 Larghetto 3:15
10 Minuetto con moto – Trio 3:01
11 Rondeau. Andante un poco lento 4:24
Hiro Kurosaki – Violin
Lina Tur-Bonet – Violin
Josetxu Obregón – Violoncello and Artistic Direction
Antonio Caldara: The Cervantes Operas
Antonio Caldara: The Cervantes Operas
In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes, La Ritirata and Josetxu Obregón have created a programme for Glossa sallying forth on the back of music composed by Antonio Caldara and inspired by El ingenioso
hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha.
Antonio Caldara was neither the first nor the last composer to have his compositional ingenuity sparked off by Cervantes’ timeless masterpiece. He may well have been propelled forwards by his own experiencing the Spanish soundscape within a century of the publication of the two parts of the Don Quijote: Barcelona was a working “port of call” for Caldara after Mantua and Rome and before Vienna. For the Viennese court he wrote a pair of operas (with librettos by GC Pasquini): Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa and Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria, and from
these works Obregón – like Caldara also a cellist – has put together a selection of arias.
Soloists María Espada, Emiliano González Toro and João Fernandes invest their abundant collective artistry in bringing to life a rapid series of Cervantine characters, not least the Spanish knight and his squire. Interspersed between these vocal contributions are a series of instrumental ballets composed for these operas by Nicola Matteis, who also worked at the Viennese court. In the booklet essay Begoña Lolo and Adela Presas set the scene for Caldara’s contribution to the musical legacy of Don Quixote.
Antonio Caldara (c1670-1736)
The Cervantes Operas
Arias and instrumental pieces from the operas ‘Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa’ (Vienna, 1727) and ‘Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria’ (Vienna, 1733)
01 Introduzione. Aria (instr.). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 3:37
02 Aria “Per tanti obbligazioni Signor” (Diego). Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria 2:27
03 Recitativo “Da sì austera virtù tuo cor” (Altisidora). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 1:00
04 Aria “Quel cor, che non vogl’io” (Altisidora). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 4:00
Nicola Matteis (c1670-1737): Balletto Primo per li Falconieri (instr.). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa
05 Aria 1:22
06 Entre 1:16
07 Gigue 0:55
08 Menueto 1:12
09 Aria “Si l’abbiamo, Ricciardetto” (Don Chisciotte). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 4:24
10 Aria “Penso di già che appena” (Altisidora). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 4:36
11 Aria “Giacche debe andar così” (Sancio). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 3:17
Nicola Matteis: Ballo di Paesani, e Satiri (instr.). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa
12 Aria per li Vilani 1:29
13 Aria per Burlar sanco panco 1:11
14 Aria per li Vilani [2] 1:52
15 Aria per li Bacanti 1:02
16 Tempo di Passapie 2:26
17 Aria per li Satiri 1:25
18 Aria grotesca 1:15
19 Recitativo “Sancio amico” (Don Chisciotte, Sancio). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 1:47
20 Aria “Primieramente, Sancio” (Don Chisciotte, Sancio). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 4:45
21 Aria “Addio, Signor Padrone” (Sancio). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 3:56
22 Nicola Matteis: Aria (instr.). Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria 0:53
23 Recitativo “Scoperto, e in odio” (Ramiro). Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria 0:38
24 Aria “Confida al vento la sua speranza” (Ramiro). Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria 3:02
25 Aria “Venga pure in campo armato” (Don Chisciotte). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 4:09
26 Aria “A dispetto del vento, e dell’onda” (Don Alvaro). Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa 5:01
Nicola Matteis: Ballo di Cavalieri Erranti (instr.)
Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa
27 Aria [1] 2:12
28 Aria [2] 1:14
29 Sarabanda 2:07
30 Nicola Matteis: Tempo di Ciacona (instr.). Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria 1:24
Manuscripts of the Musiksammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek and the Biblioteca Musical Víctor Espinós del Ayuntamiento de Madrid transcribed by Guillermo Peñalver.
Sung texts reviewed by Eugenia Martinini and translated by Avril Bardoni.
Introductory texts to the arias written by José Luis Obregón Perea and translated by Mark Wiggins.
Josetxu Obregón – violoncello and artistic direction
María Espada – soprano
Emiliano González-Toro – tenor
João Fernandes – bass
La Ritirata
Hiro Kurosaki – concertmaster
Pablo Prieto, Daniel Pinteño, Beatriz Amezúa – violins
David Glidden – viola
Tamar Lalo – recorders
Guillermo Peñalver – recorder and traverso
Daniel Ramírez, Laura Díez – oboes
Xisco Matas – violone
Eyal Strett – bassoon
Franziska Fleischanderl – salterio
Daniel Oyarzabal – chamber organ
Ignacio Prego – harpsichord
David Mayoral – percussion
Daniel Garay – wind machine
The Cello in Spain
If the history of eighteenth-century cello music and performance in Spain is still waiting to be written, Josetxu Obregón and La Ritirata are bringing us up close to the instrument’s role during that time with their new Glossa CD, The Cello in Spain. The selection made by this exciting cellist provides a sample of pieces which undoubtedly would have been heard in Spain during the infancy of the instrument there and in the period leading into the Age of the Enlightenment.
Such was the growing taste for the instrument that many composers and virtuosi came from elsewhere to perform, either passing through the country or settling there for life as did Luigi Boccherini or Domingo Porretti (a Cello Concerto from the latter is performed here). Obregón’s vivid advocacy – matched by scholar José Carlos Gosálvez in his accompanying booklet – reaches through to the first native cello school, with music from Pablo Vidal and José Zayas; many of these pieces here are being recorded for the first time. As well as a captivating sonata from Jean-Pierre Duport (dedicated to the Duke of Alba after the French cellist’s visit to Madrid), we are also treated to a new reading of Boccherini’s evocative Fandango (drawn from a Guitar Quintet), complete this time with castanets.
La Ritirata’s choices of instruments and performing styles admirably match the demands of music ranging from the Baroque to the Classical and this new disc paves the way for a broader exploration of the presence of the cello in the group’s home country.
Luigi BOCCHERINI (1743-1805)
01-03 Cello Sonata in C major
Giuseppe Antonio PAGANELLI (1710-c.1763)
04-07 Sonata in A minor
Jean-Pierre DUPORT (1741-1818)
08-10 Cello Sonata in D major
ANONYMOUS (second half of 18th century)
11 Adagio from Manuscrito de Barcelona
Domingo PORRETTI (1709-1783)
12-15 Cello Concerto in G major
Francesco Paolo SUPRIANO (1678-1753)
16 Toccata prima in G major for cello solo
Pablo VIDAL (d.1807)
17 Duetto-Andante
José ZAYAS (d.1804)
18 Última lección in B flat major
Luigi BOCCHERINI
19 Fandango from Guitar Quintet in D major
Josetxu Obregón, cello and artistic direction
Daniel Oyarzabal, harpsichord & organ
Diana Vinagre, cello
Enrike Solinís, Baroque guitar & archlute
Daniel Zapico, theorbo
Sara Águeda, harp
Lina Tur Bonet & Miren Zeberio, violins
Daniel Lorenzo, viola & violin
Michel Frechina, double bass
David Chupete, castanets
Arriaga: The complete string quartets
ICMA 2015 Nomination. Codalario Prize to the Best Musical Product 2014.
In this new recording the Bilbao-born Obregón is joined by violinists Hiro Kurosaki and Miren Zeberio, and viola Daniel Lorenzo; the underlying spirit of La Ritirata is of an intensive consideration of musical (and other) sources before attempting fresh interpretations of scores. This is precisely what the musicians have done for this survey of Arriaga’s quartet output for Glossa – they have also included the Tema variado en cuarteto, Op 17 – in order to get closer to the sound world of the Spanish composer who left his native Basque Country at the age of 15 to study and compose in Paris in 1821. Five short years of life remained to him before an untimely death ended a hugely promising career.
Original scores, a violin treatise by Arriaga’s teacher in Paris and the use of period instruments (for the first time on a recording of the Arriaga works) form the backbone of the critical apparatus for La Ritirata’s new and vital approach to these portentous works.
Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga (1806-1826)
Quartet no. 2 in A major
01 Allegro con brio
02 Andante. Tema con variaciones
03 Minuetto: Scherzo. Trio
04 Andante ma non troppo. Allegro
Quartet no. 1 in D minor
05 Allegro
06 Adagio con espressione
07 Menuetto: Allegro. Trio: Più moderato
08 Adagio. Allegretto
Quartet no. 3 in E flat major
09 Allegro
10 Pastorale: Andantino
11 Minuetto: Allegro. Trio: Plus lent
12 Presto agitato
13 Tema variado en cuarteto, op. 17
Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga The complete string quartets on period instruments
La Ritirata
Hiro Kurosaki, violin
Miren Zeberio, violin
Daniel Lorenzo, viola Josetxu Obregón, violoncello
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Total playing time 76:39
Recorded in Madrid (Real Conservatorio de Música, Sala Tomás Luis de Victoria), in June and July 2013
Engineered by Federico Prieto
Produced by Federico Prieto and J. Obregón Executive producer: Carlos Céster
English – Français – Español – Euskera – Deutsch Made in Austria by Sony DADC
DIGIPAK with 32-page full colour booklet Made in Austria by Sony DADC
Luigi Boccherini. Tríos Op. 34 Vol. 2
Este CD es el segundo volumen de la serie de Tríos op. 34 para dos violines y violonchelo, dos de los cuales han sido registrados por primera vez en CD en esta ocasión, interpretados por Hiro Kurosaki, Lina Tur Bonet y Josetxu Obregón. Compuestos en la villa de Arenas de San Pedro, donde Boccherini se instaló siguiendo al Infante don Luis de Borbón. Tríos de una gran belleza, interpretados por La Ritirata en instrumentos históricos directamente desde el manuscrito conservado en la Biblioteca Nacional de Berlín.
Trío n.º 4 en re mayor (G. 104)
Allegretto moderato assai
Grave-Allegro-Grave
Tempo di Minuetto
Trío n.º 5 en do mayor (G. 105)
Largo
Allegro vivo
Andante lento con variazioni
Trío n.º 6 en mi mayor (G. 106)
Allegro giusto
Larghetto
Minuetto con moto-Trio
Rondeau. Andante un poco lento
COLUMNA MÚSICA 1CM0275 (2011)
La Ritirata
Hiro Kurosaki y Lina Tur Bonet, violines
Josetxu Obregón, violonchelo y dirección artística
Production details:
Total playing time 55:30
Grabación realizada en la Sala Tomás Luis de Victoria del Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, los días 30 de abril a 2 de mayo de 2011.
Booklet in: Español – English – Italiano (Jaime Tortella)
Il Spiritillo Brando
With Il Spiritillo Brando from La Ritirata comes an opportunity to enjoy exciting performances from a new name on the Spanish early music scene as well as a thrilling ride across the terrain of the Spanish and Italian courtly instrumental traditions as the Renaissance danced its way into the Baroque.
Not since the days when brothers José Miguel and Emilio Moreno made their first recordings for Glossa has any Spanish musician been invited to figure on the label from El Escorial. This is now changing with the arrival of the talents of Josetxu Obregón and his Spanish colleagues from La Ritirata – counting amongst them the best in the younger string, plucked-string, wind and keyboard players from the country – as they bring us the dance rhythm delights of Andrea Falconieri, whose music leads the way into contributions from the likes of Diego Ortiz and Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde; permitting the individual members of La Ritirata to demonstrate their virtuosic skills and commitment to the music that they perform. This includes Josetxu Obregón himself, who as a cellist, delights in music from late 17th century exponents of the cello in Giuseppe Maria Jacchini, Giovanni Battista Vitali and Domenico Gabrielli.
As the title implies, Il Spiritillo Brando evokes both the social dancing which will have taken place in the court of the Spanish viceroyalty in Naples itself, and the mischievous duendes which roamed the streets, animating all the proceedings in the vicinity!
- ORTIZ Recercadas sobre tenores italianos
- FALCONIERI Corriente dicha la Mota
- FALCONIERI Ciaccona
- FALCONIERI La Benedetta
- VITALI Toccata
- VITALI Bergamasca
- CASTELLO Sonata II a sopran solo
- FALCONIERI La Suave Melodia
- FALCONIERI Passacalle
- FALCONIERI Alemana dicha Villega
- JACCHINI Sonate VIII
- CABANILLES Corrente Italiana
- ORTIZ Recercadas sobre “Doulce Memoire”
- FALCONIERI Folias echa para mi Señora
- SELMA Y SALAVERDE Fantasia basso solo
- GABRIELI Ricercare del VII e VIII tono
- FALCONIERI Corrente detta L’Auellina
- FALCONIERI Corriente dicha la Cuella
- FALCONIERI Il Spiritillo Brando
- FALCONIERI Brando dicho el Melo
- ANONYMOUS Chacona
- GABRIELLI Ricercare V
- SELMA Y SALAVERDE Canzon quinta a tre
- FALCONIERI Battaglia de Barabaso
Andrea Falconieri – Il Spiritillo Brando – GCD 923101 May 2013
Dance music in the courts of Italy and Spain, c.1650
La Ritirata
- Tamar Lalo, flautas de pico
- Miren Zeberio, violín barroco
- Raul Orellana, violín barroco
- Enrike Solinís, guitarra barroca y archilaud
- Daniel Zapico, tiorba
- Ignacio Prego, clave
- Daniel Oyarzábal, órgano
- Sara Águeda, arpa doppia
- David Mayoral, percusión
- Josetxu Obregón, cello barroco y dirección artística
Production details
Total playing time 62:32
Recorded in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, in May 2011 and December 2012
Booklet in: English – Français – Deutsch – Español
DIGIPAK with 32-page full colour booklet Made in Austria by Sony DADC
Luigi Boccherini. Trios Op. 34 Vol. 1
First CD of the Trios Op.34, including World Premiere Recording of two of them. Performed by Hiro Kurosaki, Lina Tur Bonet and Josetxu Obregon on historical instruments after the manuscript of the Staatsbibliothek Berlin. Awarded the “RECOMMENDED” logo of the CD COMPACT Magazine and the “Exceptional” logo of Scherzo.
Trío n.º 2 en sol mayor (G.102)
Allegretto comodo assai
Minuetto-Trio
Adagio
Rondeau. Allegro ma non presto
Trío n.º 3 en mi bemol mayor (G.103)
Allegro vivo ma non presto
Largo non tanto
Minuetto-Trio
Rondeau. Allegretto comodo
Trío n.º 1 en fa mayor (G.101)
Andante lento
Allegro con brio
Minuetto-Trio
COLUMNA MÚSICA 1CM0258 (2010)
La Ritirata
Hiro Kurosaki y Lina Tur Bonet, violins
Josetxu Obregón, cello and artistic direction
Production details:
Total playing time 65:46
Grabación realizada en la Sala Tomás Luis de Victoria del Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, los días 26 al 28 de marzo de 2010.
Booklet in: Español – English – Italiano (Jaime Tortella/Josetxu Obregón)
DVD Concierto Barroco
Recorded in concert at the Real Coliseo Carlos III, the small baroque theatre built for the pleasure of the Court of the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Hailed by the audience that filled the small Escorial theatre, La Ritirata offered on 28 May 2011 a beautiful concert of works from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in a musical journey that started with the delicious dances of Andrea Falconieri, then introducing his contemporaries Selma and Castello to arrive to central baroque composers rarely visited as Paisible, and the universally familiar Vivaldi and Telemann.
ANDREA FALCONIERI (1585-1656).
Folias echa para mi Señora Doña Tarolilla de CarallenosL’Eroica
Corrente detta L’Auellina
Corriente dicha la Cuella
Il Spiritillo Brando
Brando dicho el Melo
BARTOLOMÉ DE SELMA Y SALAVERDE (C.1580-C.1640).
Canzon quinta a tre, due soprani e basso
GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN (1681-1767).
Sonata para flauta y continuo, TWV 41:C5
Adagio-Allegro
Larghetto
Vivace
ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741).
Sonata para violoncello y bajo, RV43
Largo
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
DARIO CASTELLO (C.1590-C.1658).
Sonata XII del libro II para 2 sopranos, bajo obligado y BC
JACQUES PAISIBLE (C.1656-1721).
Sonata en re menor para flauta y continuo
Grave
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
ANDREA FALCONIERI (1585-1656).
Battaglia de Barabaso Yerno de Satanás
EXTRAS
Entrevista con Josetxu Obregón
ANDREA FALCONIERI (1585-1656).
Passacaglia
CANTUS CV 1210 (2012)
La Ritirata
Tamar Lalo, flautas dulces
Miren Zeberio, violín barroco
Daniel Zapico, tiorba
Enrike Solinís, guitarra barroca y archilaud
Ignacio Prego, clave
Josetxu Obregón, cello barroco y dirección artística
Production details:
Total playing time 1h 21 min.
Grabado en directo en el Real Coliseo Carlos III, el pequeño teatro barroco construido para solaz de la Corte del Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, el 28 de mayo de 2011.
Booklet in: Español – English
Chiaroscuro
A fascinating journey through the different national styles of baroque music. An instrumental program with the recorder of Tamar Lalo as the solo instrument.
FRANCESCO MANCINI (1672 – 1737)
Sonata en la menor para flauta y continuo
Spiritoso – Largo – Allegro – Largo – Allegro spiccato
DOMENICO GABRIELLI (1659 – 1690)
Ricercare I para cello solo
JAMES [JACQUES] PAISIBLE (C.1656 – 1721)
Sonata en re menor para flauta y continuo
Grave – Allegro – [Vivace] – Largo – Allegro
ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678 – 1741)*
Sonata en la menor para cello y continuo RV43
Largo – Allegro – Largo – Allegro
JEAN BAPTISTE LOEILLET DE GANT (1688 – C.1720)
Sonata en sol mayor para flauta y continuo
Largo – Allegro – Adagio – Gavotta
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 – 1750)
Andante de la Sonata II para violín BWV 1003
GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN (1681 – 1767)
Sonata en do mayor para flauta y continuo
Adagio-Allegro – Larghetto – Vivace
ARSIS 4229 (2009)
La Ritirata
Tamar Lalo, flauta
Enrike Solinís, guitarra, tiorba y archilaúd
Josetxu Obregón, violoncello barroco y dirección artística
(*Violoncello basso continuo, Angela Rubio)
Production details:
Total playing time 60:33
Grabado en la Iglesia de Santiago de Alerre en el mes de Diciembre de 2009.
Booklet in: Español – English – Français (Tamar Lalo/Josetxu Obregón)
Prokofiev-Cassadó-Webern
The works making up the programme on this CD share several common traits. Perhaps the most notably one: they all form part of the catalogue of masterpieces written for the violoncello, an artistic feature to which must be added the clear chronological affinity of the first half of the twentieth century, a period of political upheaval in which the arts in general and music in particular developed exponentially in an unprecedented way.
SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Sonata para violonchelo y piano do mayor, op. 119
GASPAR CASSADÓ (1897-1966)
Sonata nello stile antico spagnuolo
Requiebros
Intermezzo de la ópera Goyescas (de E. Granados)
ANTONWEBERN (1883-1945)
Dos piezas para violonchelo y piano
Tres piezas para violonchelo y piano, op. 11
VERSO VRS 2073 (2009)
Prokofiev-Cassadó-Webern. Música para violonchelo y piano
Josetxu Obregón, violonchelo
Ignacio Prego, piano
Production details:
Total playing time 58:46
Grabación realizada los días 17 y 18 de noviembre de 2008 en Amsterdam, Holanda.
Booklet in: Español – English (Álvaro Guibert)
Boccherini. Sonatas
When, in Spring 1768, Luigi Boccherini settled permanently in Spain, his fame as a cello virtuoso had already spread across much of Europe. The five works chosen by Josetxu Obregón for this disc, all composed in the decade from 1760 to 1770, are works of the greatest quality which the members of the ensemble La Ritirata offer in absolutely authoritative versions in the ever-demanding catalogue of Boccherini recordings.
Sonata G. 5 en sol mayor
Largo
Allegro alla militare
Menuetto
Sonata G. 3 en do mayor
Allegro
Andante
Menuetto con variazioni
Sonata G. 6 en do mayor
Allegro
Largo
Allegro moderato
Sonata G. 4 en la mayor
Adagio
Allegro
Affettuoso
VERSO VRS 2065 (2008)
LA RITIRATA
Josetxu Obregón, violoncello barroco y dirección artística
Enrique Solinis, guitarra barroca, clásica-romántica y archilaúd
Daniel Zapico, tiorba
María Sánchez, violoncello barroco
Production details:
Total playing time 50:48
Grabación realizada los días 26 al 28 de agosto de 2008 en el Palacio de la Mosquera de Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila.
Booklet in: Español – English – Italiano (Jaime Tortella/José Antonio Boccherini/Josetxu Obregón)
Featured Collaborations
L’Amore Innamorato (Erato)
Franceso Cavalli. L’Amore Innamorato/ L’Arpeggiata/ Christina Pluhar/ Nuria Rial / Erato
Michael Haydn. The Complete String Quintets
Michael Haydn. The Complete String Quintets. Salzburger Haydn-Quintett (CPO)
L'Orchestre de Louis XV - Le Concert des Nations
Jean-Philippe Rameau. L’Orchestre de Louis XV. Suites d’Orchestre. Le Concert des Nations. Jordi Savall (Alia Vox, 2011)
Orfeo Chamán (Erato)
Orfeo Chamán / L’Arpeggiata / Christina Pluhar (Erato)
Colores del Sur (Glossa)
Colores del Sur. Baroque Dances for guitar. Euskal Barrokensemble Enrike Solinís (Glossa)
Via Crucis
Via Crucis. L’Arpeggiata & Christina Pluhar (Virgin, 2010)
Vivaldi Premieres (Panclassics)
Violin Concertos & Sonatas Musica Alchemica Lina Tur Bonet (Panclassics)
Baroque Suites
Baroque Suites. European Union Baroque Orchestra. Lars Ulrik Mortensen (The Gift of Music, 2008)
Triple Concierto en Do mayor, Op. 56
Ludwig van Beethoven. Triple Concierto en Do mayor, Op. 56 (Piccolo 2007)
Oreste Camarca
Oreste Camarca. Monograph of the camera work. Suggia Ensemble. Pamplona Chamber Choir (Banco de Sonido, 2006)
