Baroque Music: Wynton Marsalis, Edita Gruberova, Raymond Leppard & the English Chamber

by Marsalis,Wynton / Gruberova / Leppard / Eco

Overview

Having made a commercially and artistically successful classical debut with a classical-period album the year before, Marsalis doubled back to the Baroque era for the follow-up, a grab bag of concertos, overtures, arias, and such. If anything, this album is even more winning than the debut album because the program offers several easily assimilated changes of pace and the music contains more opportunities for Marsalis to soar in the trumpet's high-flying upper register. He flashes through the Fasch Trumpet Concerto, a pair of Torelli Sonatas for Trumpet and Strings, short excerpts from Purcell's operas, and Molter's Trumpet Concerto No. 2 in high style, displaying a smooth, straightforward tone that doesn't go beyond letting the music speak for itself. Soprano Edita Gruberova sounds luminous yet a bit distant and not too intelligible in Handel's Let the Bright Seraphim and Eternal Source of Light Divine and Purcell's Sound the Trumpet. But then, it's pretty obvious who the designated star is; Marsalis' trumpet is always mixed above that of his singer. Raymond Leppard returns to lead stylishly tailored accompaniments, recorded in London with the crack English Chamber Orchestra. Like the one before it, this classical album was released simultaneously with a Marsalis jazz project (Hot House Flowers), making both divisions of CBS Records extremely happy. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/1984
Label:	SONY MASTERWORKS
UPC:	0074643906128

Tracks

1. Concerto for trumpet, 2 oboes, strings & continuo in D major~1. Allegro
2. Concerto for trumpet, 2 oboes, strings & continuo in D major~2. Largo
3. Concerto for trumpet, 2 oboes, strings & continuo in D major~3. Allegro
4. Samson, oratorio, HWV 57~Let the Bright Seraphim
5. Sinfonia for trumpet, strings & continuo, G. 3
6. Come ye sons of art away (Birthday ode for Queen Mary), for soloists, chorus & instruments, Z. 323~Sound the Trumpet
7. Come ye sons of art away (Birthday ode for Queen Mary), for soloists, chorus & instruments, Z. 323~Chaconne
8. The Indian Queen, semi-opera, Z. 630~Entrada
9. The Indian Queen, semi-opera, Z. 630~Trumpet Air
10. King Arthur, or, The British Worthy, semi-opera, Z. 628~Trumpet Tune
11. The Indian Queen, semi-opera, Z. 630~Trumpet Overture
12. Sonata a 5, for trumpet, strings & continuo in D major, G. 7
13. Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (Eternal Source of Light Divine), HWV 74~Eternal Source of Light Divine
14. Concerto No. 2 for solo trumpet & strings, MWV 6/13~1. Allegro
15. Concerto No. 2 for solo trumpet & strings, MWV 6/13~2. Adagio
16. Concerto No. 2 for solo trumpet & strings, MWV 6/13~3. Allegro

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Wynton Marsalis   Primary Artist,Trumpet
Raymond Leppard   Primary Artist,Director
Edita Gruberova   Primary Artist,Soprano (Vocal),Soprano
English Chamber Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Charles Tunnell   Trumpet,Cello

Technical Credits

Robert T. Jones   Liner Notes
Johann Friedrich Fasch   Composer
Johann Melchior Molter   Composer
Chris Callis   Cover Photo
Wolfgang Steuhl   Liner Note Translation
Giuseppe Torelli   Composer
Colin Stuart   Tape Operator
Allen Weinberg   Cover Design
Bud Graham   Mixing
George Frederick Handel   Composer
Henry Purcell   Composer
Steven Epstein   Producer
Tony Faulkner   Control Engineer
Buddy Graham   Remixing