Zefiro −Mozart Alfredo Bernardini En Harmonie English ⁄ Français ⁄ Deutsch ⁄ Italiano ⁄ Español −Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1791 A 374 Arrangiamenti d’opera per 13 strumenti Le nozze di Figaro KV 492 17’52 Così fan tutte KV 588 22’22 01. Sinfonia 4’15 15. Ouvertura 4’29 02. Cinque… Dieci… 2’08 16. La mia Dorabella capace non è 1’52 03. Se vuol ballare, signor contino 1’55 17. Ah guarda, sorella 3’40 04. Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso 3’09 18. Bella vita militar 1’45 05. Porgi amor, qualche ristoro 2’37 19. Un’aura amorosa 4’08 06. Che soave zeffiretto 1’31 20. Secondate aurette amiche 2’24 07. Ecco la marcia 2’06 21. Tradito, schernito dal perfido cor 2’02 22. Fortunato l’uom 1’41 Don Giovanni KV 527 20’06 08. Ouvertura 3’44 Total time 61’04 09. Notte e giorno a faticar 2’14 10. Minuetto, contraddanza e Teitsch per tre orchestre 3’08 11. Là ci darem la mano 2’53 12. Fin ch’han dal vino 1’18 13. Batti, batti, o bel Masetto 3’07 14. Già la mensa è preparata 3’29 3 Zefiro – Harmonie www.ensemblezefiro.it Alfredo Bernardini, Paolo Grazzi —oboe Lorenzo Coppola, Danilo Zauli —clarinetto Daniele Latini, Gili Rinot —corno di bassetto Dileno Baldin, Ermes Pecchinini, Brunello Gorla, Gabriele Rocchetti —corno Alberto Grazzi, Josep Borràs —fagotto Giancarlo De Frenza —contrabbasso Alfredo Bernardini —direzione Strumenti Oboe a 2 chiavi Bernardini & Ceccolini (da Grundmann & Floth, Dresda, ca. 1795) Oboe a 2 chiavi Bernardini & Ceccolini (da Grundmann & Floth, Dresda, ca. 1795) Clarinetto a 5 chiavi in Do Agnès Guéroult (da Staudinger, Dresda, ca. 1790); Clarinetto a 5 chiavi in Si bemolle Daniel Bangham (da Heinrich Grenser, Dresda, ca. 1800) Clarinetto a 5 chiavi in Do Agnès Guéroult (da Staudinger, Dresda, ca. 1790; Clarinetto a 5 chiavi in Si bemolle Coppola & Ceccolini (da Heinrich Grenser, Dresda, ca. 1800) Corno di bassetto dritto Agnès Guéroult (da un modello Lotz-Stadler) Corno di bassetto angolato Peter van der Poel (da Theodor Lotz) Corno naturale A. Jungwirth (da Courtois, Parigi, ca. 1800) Corno naturale Ewald Meinl (da un modello boemo, ca. 1800) Corno naturale A. Jungwirth (da Courtois, Parigi, ca. 1800) Corno naturale Couturier, Lione ca. 1830 Fagotto Peter de Koningh (da Heinrich Grenser, Dresda, ca. 1810) Fagotto Leslie Ross (da Heinrich Grenser, Dresda, ca. 1810) Contrabbasso Giuseppe Sgarbi, Roma ca. 1800 2004 Zefiro, under exclusive licence to Outhere Music France / ©2014 Outhere Music France. Recorded at the Abbey of San Martino delle Scale, Palermo (Italy), 7-9 February 2004. Recording producer and balance engineer: Jens Jamin. 4 Mozart en Harmonie The three operas to librettos by Lorenzo Da Ponte, arranged by Alfredo Bernardini for 13 instruments: 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 basset horns, 4 horns, 2 bassoons and 1 double bass After the emperor Joseph II founded his Königliche-Kaiserliche Harmonie in 1782, this type of wind ensemble, consisting of two oboes, two clarinets, two horns and two bassoons, became so fashionable that every aristocratic palace, not only in Vienna, but in the whole of the Austrian Empire and even abroad, had to have one at its service. The role of such an ensemble was to provide enter- tainment (a bit like a radio or CD today). And it was regarded as a status symbol, showing that the household was up-to-date, in line with the latest cultural vogue. Joseph II picked the best musicians of the moment, most of them principal players from the Imperial Theatre orchestra: Georg Triebensee and Johann Went (oboes), the Stadler brothers (clarinets), Rupp and Eisen (horns), Kauzner and Drobney (bassoons). Besides being outstanding performers, some of them were skilled composers and most of them were remarkably brilliant ar- rangers. The latter was a great asset for members of a Harmonie. Indeed, the prime task of such ensembles was to provide background music, i.e. music to ser- enade the noble and wealthy or to accompany their meals (Tafelmusik). They played specially written serenades and divertimenti, of course, but also – and above all – transcriptions of popular operatic arias heard recently at the theatre. Offering a great variety of colours and dynamics, this combination of wind instruments lends itself very well to such transcriptions, bringing out admirably the melodic expression of the different voices, almost to the point of enabling the listener to guess the text behind the notes. An excellent example of the daily practice of a Harmonie is given by Mozart at the end of his opera Don Giovanni, when the protagonist gives a banquet that is accompanied by his wind octet (a stage ensemble, separate from the musicians sitting in the orchestra pit). While Don Giovanni is dining and awaiting his guest the Commendatore, the band plays arrangements by Mozart of arias from the most popular operas in Vienna at that time: Una cosa rara by Vicente Martín y Soler and I litiganti by Giuseppe Sarti, to which Wolfgang Amadeus amusingly adds Figaro’s famous 5 English Français Deutsch Italiano Español aria ‘Non più andrai’ from his own Le nozze octet of Don Giovanni have survived to this day. di Figaro. This also gives us some idea of the — topicality of Mozart’s composition. Indeed, Don Through the arrangements presented here of Giovanni was written in 1786, just a few years the three Mozart operas to librettos by Lorenzo after the founding by Joseph II of the Königliche- Da Ponte – Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni Kaiserliche Harmonie. and Così fan tutte – Zefiro wishes to draw at- The importance of the business of arranging tention to the most typical repertoire of the wind operas for Harmonie is witnessed by a letter ensemble during the Viennese classical period. from Wolfgang Amadeus to his father Leopold Rather than using already existing arrange- dated 20 July 1782: ments, we decided to make our own transcrip- tions, and this for several reasons… ‘Well, I am up to my eyes in work, for by Sunday week I have to arrange my opera [Die Entführung Although the historical arrangements are un- aus dem Serail] for wind instruments. If I do not do doubtedly interesting in the way they give the so, someone will get there before me and secure vocal parts to the wind soloist, their adapta- the profits. […] You have no idea how difficult it is tion of the string parts to the wind idiom or the to arrange a work of this kind for wind instruments, condensing of the arias in absence of the text, so that it suits those instruments and yet loses none they nevertheless often show weakness in their of its effect. Well, I must just spend the night over it, that is the only way.’ simplification of the harmony and their exces- sive reduction in the length and intensity of the Unfortunately no authentic arrangements by original material. This may be explained partly by Mozart of his own operas appear to have sur- the purpose of such arrangements: they were vived, with the exception of the piece included in not intended to match, but rather to provide an Don Giovanni, mentioned above. Some schol- evocation of the opera. Furthermore, most of the ars suggest, however, that Mozart may have arrangements were made in haste and without supervised some of the arrangements made the possibility of consulting the operatic scores, by Johann Went or Josef Triebensee (son of which were generally not easy to obtain. In an Georg). Went transcribed five Mozart operas era when music copying was a time-consuming for Harmonie, including Die Entführung aus and expensive business, it is likely that most ar- dem Serail, while Triebensee’s contributions rangements were based on just a few orchestral comprise a famous version of Don Giovanni. or vocal parts. At least twenty-two early arrangements for wind Making our own transcriptions also enabled 6 us to take advantage of the marvellous scor- These new arrangements do not aim to give ing Mozart used in his Serenade KV 361/370a, a modern view of these masterpieces, but rather Gran Partita, with its exceptional combination to evidence that, for its liveliness, expression, of thirteen instruments. To the usual wind oc- sensitivity and sheer artistry, this music will al- tet are added a couple of basset horns, close ways be actual and close to human nature. relatives of the clarinet that were much appreci- Alfredo Bernardini ated by Wolfgang Amadeus, a second pair of natural horns, enabling the use of more remote tonalities and giving a reminder of the original dialogue between trumpets and horns, and a double bass, lending a more orchestral dimen- sion to the whole. Such a formation offers even more possibilities in reproducing the expression and colours of the original opera, without ne- glecting the principles of the historical arrange- ments, which are still seen as the reference for Zefiro’s arrangements. Our choice of arias was made with the aim of building up a well-balanced instrumental suite for concert performance, rather than in an at- tempt to recreate the dramatic tension of the original opera. Furthermore, many articulations imposed by the text of the vocal parts have been modified in order to be more in keeping with the idiom of the instruments (a similar discrepancy between the vocal and the instrumental part is found in the early arrangements and even in the actual operas). On the other hand, we have not denied ourselves the pleasure of inserting some effects that are at home in a theatrical performance. 8 Mozart en Harmonie Les trois opéras sur des livrets de Lorenzo Da Ponte, arrangés par Alfredo Bernardini pour 13 instruments : 2 hautbois, 2 clarinettes, 2 cors de basset, 4 cors, 2 bassons et 1 contrebasse En 1782, l’empereur Joseph Il fonde à Vienne son Harmonie Impériale, l’extraordinaire Königliche-Kaiserliche Harmonie, octuor à vent composé de deux hautbois, deux clarinettes, deux cors et deux bassons.