Program Notes for the CD
" Cello Favourites " by Georg Mertens
I mention in the program notes the closest version to the one I play, although I alter in all edition bowings and fingerings. This is an overview of the more important changes.1 - Beethoven, Sonatina. (Peters/Stutschewsky) I play virtually all bowings and fingerings recommended. Like in all Beethoven, the articulation is extremely important. A clear distinction between staccato and slurs brings life to the phrasing.
2 - Breval, Sonata C major, Allegro. (Schott/Stutschewsky). Editions by e.g. Schroeder or Suzuki simplify passages, which are not the difficult ones and miss out important musical content. I use the recommended bowings except the slurs in the triplets, which seem rather arbitrary to me.
3 - Handel, Aria (Schott/Rapp from "Alte Meisterweisen"). The melody should sing like a voice. The printed dynamics don't make always sense to me; the middle section line 5 needs to be stronger, not piano. Line 7 should instead be p. The parallel melodies bar 7 and 13 could have the same fingering. (I start bar 15 with down bow again).
4 - Dalla Bella, Giga (Nagels-Baerenreiter/Upmeyer). One of my favourites as a child, also a fantastic study for positions. I slur all triplets (except the 3 before the end note). I also play V V for all crotchets (1/4) plus quavers (1/8) (they always occur in V). This bowing supports the rhythmical weighting and musical phrasing.
5 & 6 - Eccles, Sonata g minor, Largo and Allegro (Schott/Cahrnbley). I don't know any other edition. Edited 1918, Carnbley lived before the time anyone cared about originals and not much was known about Baroque style and performance. All bowings are here in order to impress in a Romantic manner. I changed virtually all bowings to my own intuition and general knowledge about Baroque music.
In the Allegro I play in the theme bow direction units of quavers (1/8).
I recommend for a Baroque sound to hold the bow a few cm more inwards than usually, even allowing to touch the hair, and play the bow very light; also to create a forte by rather playing a faster bow than pushing.
7 & 8 - Bach, Prelude and Courante from Suite No 1, G major (from Werner Icking Music Archive - WIMA). For original bowings the new Baerenreiter edition is the only representative one. I worked out my own edition after comparing all the early manuscripts with the logic of Bach's bowings in his own works for violin solo of which the original survived. To my surprise I found my bowings to be identical with the Werner Icking ones, who also compared the cello with the violin works. -
9 - Bach-Gounod, Ave Maria (Williams/Squire). I start with V. Like a controlled voice we need to control the beginnings and ends of the bow: that the start is gradual, the end not rushed - especially not towards the nut; a bow can finish just where it ends, anywhere, when the time is right, without acceleration.
10 - Bach, Arioso (Fischer/Isaac). It is important to watch, that the first and last note in a slur of quavers (1/8) is played fully out, not rushed in timing or bow speed.
11 & 12 - Vivaldi, Sonata e minor, Largo & Allegro (Baerenreiter/Hoffmann). It is refreshing to play Vivaldi with original bowings and no fingerings written in (there is a simple logic in his fingerings, which occurs by just playing a few times through; it is amazing how artificially complicated and the music contradicting our editions are. I thought always something is wrong with the works until I found this version (edited 2003).
13 - Pergolesi, Nina (Schirmer/Deri). Four bars before the repeat it sounds better and is easier to shift from the high G on D with 3 back to A, ready for 2 on Eb. The pause in the Coda needs to be taken seriously; I like to put a comma between Eb and D, as you do it in a recitativo.
14 - Popper, Happy (Fond) Recollections - In Memory of my Parents (Several editions). The music is a peaceful dialog between the deep voice of the father and the soft high voice of the mother, sometimes dramatic, sometimes telling just little stories.
15 - Faure, Sicilienne (IMC) This piece is originally written for cello and dedicated to Squire. I always wondered about the frequent repetition of G-D, and I imagine a conversation like this preceding the composition: the young talented Squire demonstrated how well he could stretch without difficulty from G to D and even with vibrato!; Faure answering: I write you a piece with x stretches from G to D (9x), Squire answering: please don't! But Faure promised to give the stretch a fancy dressing, sounding really not so bad! - - For me there is always a question and answer game in the theme, the 5th bar ending in a strong D major, where as the following answer in bar 9 should end in p (I start the upbeat D in bar 5 with down bow).
16 - Cui, Oriental (AMEB/Allans) The series of VVV is not meant as a staccato towards the nut, but as a bumping bow at the tip imitating a drum (always, even if there are only 2 notes). In bar 36, most players might find it easier to start in 4th position with 3 (then the recommended 1).
17 - Tschaikovsky, Chanson Triste. There are many editions and many bowing varieties, impossible to relate to. Here are some details: I play all high Bb with down bow (in the outer sections in a slur). I prepare the high Bb every time with a 1 on G. - The middle section should be noticeably more moving ahead and have a freer feel.
18 - Marie, La Cinquantaine (Costallat).This piece, originally written for cello, is dedicated to Monsieur E.Binon. In my old edition the repeats are not written out, and I prefer not to play them. I didn't like the piece for a long time, until I changed the bow direction found in all editions. Many phrases go towards the F in 4th position, which are V; the note tends to sound choked, the harmonic reminds of anything else except lightness. All these F's need to be down bow, the bowings leading to it need changed. Suddenly this piece turns to not boring any more (I start even with a down bow).
19 - Tschaikovsky, Valse sentimental (IMC/Rose) In bar 1 I go already for the A# with 2 in the 4th position; be careful not to tilt the bow inwards for the change to A string or the sound will not be clear. I start bars 30 & 62 with V and start a new bow on the high B to enable a full sound in f; to prepare I play the D# in bars 28 & 60 with V. - For me the outer sections are a slow valse, in a sentimental mood, where as the Piu mosso sections I feel should be noticeably faster.
20 - Romberg, Sonata e-minor, Allegro non troppo (IMC/Jansen) I play most fingerings and bowings. In this movement it is essential to add dynamic markings and not play everything mf. P2 - I start every 2 bar phrase and line 2 with V. In line 5 & 6 it is important to remain for the quaver (1/8) passages before the semibreve (1/1) in the upper half of the bow.G.M.
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(You find the program notes for this CD in the left column) To purchase within Australia via PayPal |
TRACKS
1 Ludwig van Beethoven:
Sonatina in D minor (originally for mandolin)
2 Jean Babtiste Breval: Sonata in C major: I. Allegro
3 Georg Friedrich Handel: Aria in F major
4 Domenico dalla Bella: Sonata in C major: II. Giga
5 Henry Eccles: Sonata in G minor: I. Largo
6 Sonata G minor: II. Allegro
7 J.S.Bach: Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: I. Prelude
8 Suite No. 1 : III. Courante
9 Bach - Gounod: Meditation - Ave Maria
10 J.S.Bach: Arioso from Cantata BWV 156: I Adagio
11 Antonio Vivaldi: Sonata E minor RV 40: I. Largo
12 Sonata E minor : II. Allegro
13 Giovanni Baptista Pergolesi: Nina - from the opera "Tre Giorni"
14 David Popper: Happy (Fond) Recollections Op. 64, No 1
15 Gabriel Faure: Sicilienne Op 78
16 Cesare Cui: Oriental from Le Kaleidoscope Op. 50, No 9
17 Piotr Ilyich Tschaikovsky: Chanson Triste in G minor
18 Gabriel Marie: La Cinquantaine
19 Piotr Ilyich Tschaikovsky: Valse Sentimental Op. 51, No 6
20 Bernhard Romberg: Sonata E minor Op. 38: I. Allegro non troppo
The Paganini Duo
AN HOUR IN HEAVEN
Traditional Gypsy Music & Free Improvisations.
Live recordings of their amazing Underground Concerts at Jenolan Caves / Australia
To listen click on:
cdbaby.com/paganiniduo2
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TRACKS (+ Recorded at the following Concert)
1 Bessarabian Girl (26/6/2004)
2 Your blue Eyes are stunning (28/4/2007)
3 Underground Improvisation / Bilbao (24/2/2007)
4 The old Gypsy (27/5/2006)
5 The Basso (3/5/2007 *)
6 Invitation to Dance (24/2/2007)
7 If you love me, never leave me (3/5/2007 *)
8 Ungaresca (27/5/2007)
9 Two Guitars (28/5/2005)
10 Underground Improvisation / Moldavian Nights (24/6/2006)
11 Son of Puszta (25/1/2005)
12 Abandoned (25/11/2006)
13 Waves of the Danube - "Anniversary Valse" (26/2/2005)
14 Underground Improvisation /Tundra (27/11/2004)
15/16 Paganini - Centone di Sonata I (24/3/2007)
17 Czardas (23/9/2006)
18 Rasposchol (24/2/2007)
* private concert in the Cave, Thursday morning (3/5/2007)
Top downloads:
1 Czardas (Monti)
2 Waves of the Danube - "Anniversary Valse" (Ivanovici)
3 Son of Puszta (Kela Bela)Our Favorites:
Gustaw: Abandoned
Georg: Underground Improvisation / Bilbao
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1 J.S.Bach Suite I - Prelude
2 - Menuet 1 & 2
3 G.Mertens - Jenolan Ciaconna
4 J.S.Bach Suite II - Prelude
5 - Sarabande
6 - Menuet 1 & 2
7 G.Mertens - Fantasy on Cathedral Cave
8 J.S.Bach Suite III - Prelude
9 - Bourree 1 & 2
10 S.Rachmaninov - Vocalise
11 J.S.Bach Suite IV - Prelude
12 Suite V - Allemande
13 M.de Falla - Nana
14 J.S.Bach Suite VI - Prelude
15 M.Forster - Poor Maiden MeTop downloads:
1 J.S.Bach Suite I - Prelude
2 S.Rachmaninov - Vocalise
3 J.S.Bach Suite VI - PreludeGeorg's Favorite: Jenolan Ciaconna
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1 Deep Sorrow (trad. Gypsy)
2 100 Kisses (trad.Hungarian)
3 Andante from Zigeunerweisen (Sarasate)
4 Black Eyes (trad. Gypsy)
5 Golden Earrings (Victor Young)
6 Lavota (trad.Hungarian)
7 River Maros (Georg Mertens)
8 Hungarian Fantasy (Russ Bovelino)
9 Sinai Hora (trad.Romanian)
10 Czardas (Monti)
11 My violin is broken (trad.Hungarian)
12 Ungaresca (Mainerio)
13 Rasposchol (trad.Russian)
14 Two Guitars (trad.Russian)Top downloads:
1 Czardas (Monti)
2 Black Eyes (trad. Gypsy)
3 Andante from Zigeunerweisen (Sarasate)Our Favorites:
Gustaw: 100 Kisses
Georg: Hungarian Fantasy
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1 Told at Twilight (Huerter)
2 At the Cafe Continental (Grosz/Kennedy)
3 Blue Danube (Strauss)
4 Two Guitars (Russian Traditional)
5 Canon in D (Pachelbel)
6 The Song of Songs (Moya)
7: Free (Kennedy/Carr)
8 Simple Aveu (Thome)
9 Serenata (Toselli)
10 La Golandrina (Italian Traditional)
11 A Perfect Day (Jacobs-Bond)
12 Jealousy (Gade)
13 Tune from County Derry (Trad./Grainger)
14 Gavotte (Bohm)
15 La Paloma (Italian Traditional)
16 March/Foxtrot (Kalman)Top downloads:
1 Canon in D (Pachelbel)
2 La Paloma (Italian Traditional)
3 Two Guitars (Russian Traditional)Our Favorites:
Gustaw: The Song of Songs
Georg: Told at Twilight
Gavin: Simple Aveu
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1 H.Villa-Lobos Prelude I
2 Prelude IV
3 I. Albeniz Asturias
4 F.Tarrega Capricho d'Arabe
5 V.Sojo Cantico
6 A.Barrios Valse No 3
7 L.Milan Pavana
8 Anonymus Passamezzo
9 L.Fuhrmann Bourree
10 J.Dowland Queen of Elizabeth Galliard
11 S.L.Weiss Fantasie
12 Prelude D min
13 Tombeau
14 J.S.Bach Allemande
15 Bourree
16 F.Sor Study B minor
17 Anonymus Spanish RomanceTop downloads:
1 Anonymus Spanish Romance
2 I.Albeniz Asturias
3 J.S.Bach AllemandeGeorg's Favorite: Villa-Lobos Prelude IV
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1 Anonymus Greensleeves to a Ground
2 G.F.Handel Sonata No 2 in A minor - Larghetto
3 Allegro
4 Adagio
5 Allegro
6 G.Mertens Multiculturla Suite - French Ounverture
7 Scherzo
8 Barbarian Intermezzo - Trio
9 Arabia Nocturna
10 Didgeridoo
11 B.Thorn Salad Undressing II
12 III
13 W.Rein Dunkle Wolk (Dark cloud)
14 T.Morley Almain
15 Anonymus The Sick Tune
16 W.Byrd La Volta
17 Wolsey's Wilde
18 J.Dowland Lachrimae Pavan
19 The Earl of Essex his Galliard
20 Anonymus Ghaetta
21 Saltarello I
22 Susato Tourdion
23 G.Mertens Didgeridoo 2Top downloads:
1 G.Mertens: Multicultural Suite - Didgeridoo
2 G.Mertens - Didgeridoo 2
3 Susato TourdionOur Favorites:
Jodie: Arabia Nocturna
Georg: Handel Larghetto
CD's after the Concerts
CD's including parts of the concert program are for sale after all Caves Concerts for only $20.
CD's are also available from the following retailers:"Things Jenolan" at Jenolan Caves House
Loumax Gallery (cnr Lovel St / Govett St, Katoomba)
Mr Pickwick's (Katoomba St, Katoomba)
Blue Mountains New & Preloved Books (Katoomba St, Katoomba)Hat Hill Gallery (Hathill Rd, Blackheath)
Blue Mountains Heritage Centre
(Govett's Leap Rd, Blackheath)Lithgow Rock Sounds & HiFi
Lithgow Tourist Information Centre
Mitchell Conservatorium, BathurstBathurst Tourist Information Centre
Georg Mertens at Jenolan Caves
(photo courtesy of Rob Whyte)
CONTACT
( & joining our email list )
click here on:
georgcello@hotmail.comConcert Bookings:
ph. 1300 76 3311 or 02 6359 3911
then dial 2
(the music on call waiting is from the CD "re-issued" )For other Caves Tours visit the website: www.jenolancaves.org.au
Shuttle Bus:
BMGST Cultural Tours
ph 02 4784 2881
www.bmgst.com
or "Fantastic Aussie Tours"
(24 hrs) ph 02 4782 1866
On site accomodation:
Jenolan Caves House
ph 02 6359 3911 then dial 1
www.jenolancaveshouse.com.au
The Paganini Duo (Photo courtesy of Michael Small from Kumbaya Studios, Leura - Collage assembly by Jenny Reid from Berkojoey, Sydney)
The Blue Mountains Trio
