Code: CD2253
The chamber ensemble, Fiati, was formed in 1996 to commission, perform, and record chamber works involving woodwind instruments. The current compact disc, "A Portrait of Brazil," features the premiere recordings of four works by Brazilian composer Joao Guilherme Ripper, whose music is as contrasting and diverse as is Brazil. His compositions range in style from romantic lyricism to Villa Lobos influenced rhythms to Brazilian popular songs. This CD features Valarie Anderson (oboe), John Anderson (clarinet), Korey Konkol (viola), Tanya Remenikova (cello), Charles Ullery (bassoon), and Timothy Lovelace (piano). Compositions (all by Ripper) include:
- Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano
- Duo Sonatina for Oboe and Cello
- Wind Trio for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon
- Brazilian Landscapes for Oboe, Clarinet, and Piano
REVIEWS:
"Joao Guilherme Ripper is a Brazilian composer whose music is marked by superb craftsmanship, idiomatic writing for the specific instruments he chooses, and an inventive rhythmic pulse and melodic sense....My favorite of these four works is the Duo Sonatina for the unusual combination of oboe and cello. The gorgeous second movement, Calmo, has a beautiful bittersweet melancholia about it, and the final Rondo-Tango is as inventive and toe-tapping as the finest Argentine tangos." Henry Fogel -- Fanfare Magazine
"All play as if enchanted by Ripper’s music, as I surely am. I love this disc and can’t urge you too strongly to purchase it." Jerry Dubins -- Fanfare Magazine