Stravinsky, Histoire du Soldat
Time for some shameless self-promotion! The second installment in our recording series will be released on the 2nd of April 2017. You can still subscribe to receive our very first issue, Progetto Generativo by Enrico Gabrielli and Esecutori di Metallo su Carta, so what are you waiting for? April is around the corner!
OK, now back to the topic: Histoire du Soldat by that music giant, Igor Stravinsky. Yes, that's going to be our second release and it's going to be sung in Italian and paired up with its own beautiful graphic design... Gosh, we've been dragged away by some more self-promotion... Histoire du Soldat, that's right, thank you!
Histoire du Soldat was composed in 1918 during Stravinsky's exile in Switzerland. Loosely based on a folk tale by Alexander Afanasyev, the libretto was written in French by Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz and is tinged with Faustian references: A humble Soldier is seduced by the Devil, who wants to steal his soul. For Italian musicologist Paolo Petazzi, “[Histoire du Soldat] could be understood as a parable of the migrant that is cast by the Devil to lose his fatherland every time he believes he has found one: an updated version of the theme of the Wanderer”. A very current topic, indeed.
Histoire du Soldat was conceived by Stravinsky in a period of economic hardship after world War I. Unfortunately, it didn't go further than its premiere, which took place in Lausanne on the 28 September 1918, with Stravinsky's friend Ernest Ansermet as conductor. Nonetheless, the piece was to become a staple of the Russian composer's repertoire, thanks to a symbolism that easily appeals to both young and mature audiences. It has been performed widely in Italian too: we shall at least name Paolo Poli and Giancarlo Giannini's renditions, together with a 1967 broadcast by the RAI, the Italian public television company.
Esecutori di Metallo su Carta's Italian Histoire trades the original dance action with some beautiful illustrations by Olimpia Zagnoli and the voice of Stefano Panzeri. This version was premiered at the Fuck Bloom? Alban Berg! 2015 festival in Mezzago, in the North of Italy, and then brought to Contemporarities 2016 festival in Milan, with Marcello Corti as conductor.
È ora di fare un po' di svergognata autopromozione! La seconda uscita della nostra collana discografica è prevista per il 2 aprile 2017. Sei ancora in tempo per abbonarti e ricevere la prima uscita, Progetto Generativo di Enrico Gabrielli ed Esecutori di Metallo su Carta... che aspetti? Aprile è dietro l'angolo!
OK, ora torniamo a noi: Histoire du Soldat di quel gigante della musica che è Igor' Stravinskij. Questa è in effetti la nostra seconda uscita, cantata in italiano e con delle bellissime illustrazioni ad hoc... Ops, ci siamo persi di nuovo nell'autopromozione... Histoire du Soldat, esatto! Grazie!
Si tratta di un'opera composta da Igor Stravinskij nel 1918, durante l'esilio in Svizzera, su libretto in lingua francese di Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz. La storia, liberamente tratta da una racconto di Afanasjev legato a stretto filo con il mito di Faust, parla di un Soldato insidiato da un Diavolo che vuole carpirgli l'anima. Citando il musicologo Petazzi, "fra le diverse interpretazioni simboliche, [l'Histoire] può essere intesa come la parabola dell'emigrè che per continue macchinazioni diaboliche perde la patria tutte le volte che crede di averla ritrovata: versione aggiornata e ammodernata del motivo dell'Errante" e, aggiungiamo noi, dunque motivo estremamente attuale.
La genesi di tutto risale alla fine della Grande Guerra, con uno Stravinskij in ristrettezze economiche. Purtroppo, a causa dell'epidemia di spagnola che in quel periodo imperversava in Europa, le repliche previste furono annullate e le rappresentazioni si limitarono solamente alla prima, avvenuta a Losanna il 28 settembre 1918, sotto la direzione dell'amico Ernest Ansermet. In seguito sarebbe diventato un brano eseguito di frequente per la sua simbologia in grado di arrivare ad un pubblico indifferentemente grande o piccolo, oltre che cavallo di battaglia per attori (memorabili le interpretazioni in lingua italiana di Paolo Poli e di Giancarlo Giannini) e occasioni di incontro in ambito puramente teatrale (come l'allestimento della RAI del 1967).
La versione degli Esecutori di Metallo su Carta, vede, al posto della danza (prevista nell'originale), l'utilizzo del disegno dal vivo della disegnatrice Olimpia Zagnoli e la voce recitante di Stefano Panzeri. Questo è la stessa versione data in prima assoluta a Fuck Bloom? Alban Berg! 2015 (rassegna di musica attuale al Bloom di Mezzago) e in seguito replicato a Contemporarities 2016 (rassegna di musica classica e contemporanea a Santeria Social Club di Milano), con direttore Marcello Corti.
The twenty-seventh issue of our recording series presents Su Carta, a fully composed album by Francesco Fusaro for violin, clarinet, vibraphone, double bass, human voice and a TB-303 clone, reflecting on environment, memory, animals, and the act of composition itself. For more information on the music content, please visit here.
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The twenty-first issue of our recording series takes a deep dive into the repertoire of classical Afro-descendant composers. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The twentieth issue of our recording series pays homage to one of the most iconic compositions in European art music. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The eighteenth issue of our recording series is the result of our first Call For Score. It offers a snapshot of the state of the Italian and international contemporary music scene. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The very first issue of our recording series. For more information on the music content, please visit this page. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The second issue of our recording series is an Italian take on Stravinsky's original. For more information on the music content, please visit this page. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The sixth issue of our recording series is a live recording of the ensemble version of Holst’s masterpiece, arranged by Enrico Gabrielli. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The seventh issue of our recording series is a survey on the music of neglected electronic music pioneer Chino ‘Goia’ Sornisi. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The eighth issue of our recording series is a retrospective journey through the catalogue of library and art music composer Paolo Renosto, aka Lesiman. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The tenth issue of our recording series is an acoustic version for chamber ensemble of one of the greatest music oddities of 70s North America: Mort Garson’s album dedicated to our friends the plants. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The eleventh issue of our recording series is a new arrangement of one of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s most famous compositions, “Tierkreis”. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The twelfth issue of our recording series is dedicated to the genius of Bernard Hermman, with a focus on his music for the sci fi cult series The Twilight Zone. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The fifteenth issue of our recording series is dedicated to the first 88 pages of a graphic notation classic, Cornelius Cardew’s Treatise. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The sixteenth issue of our recording series is a collection of four works by Arvo Pärt, Florence Price, Giacinto Scelsi and Franco Battiato. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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The seventeenth issue of our recording series is a collection of six original compositions by Sebastiano De Gennaro. For more information on the music content, please visit here. Price includes VAT. Delivery prices available at checkout.
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For the first time, you can now aquire the original art created for our cover design. Created by Italian artist Annalisa “Nali” Limonta, who is also behind our beautiful “Plantasia” booklet and CD design, the artwork for our 18th release, “Call For Scores”, is now available in a unique piece for your personal collection.