Ben-Haim: Chamber Works Chamber Chandos

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PAUL BEN-HAIM

(1897-1984)

premiere recording

Piano Quartet, Op. 4 (1920-21)

29:19

in C minor - in c-Moll - en ut mineur

Herrmann Zilcher in Verehrung gewidmet

Allegro moderato, ma energico - Appassionato - Beruhigen -

11:14

Ruhiges Tempo I - Zurückhalten - Tempo I - Poco a poco tranquillo -

Adagio molto espressivo - Tempo d'un marcia funebre -

8:46

Con lamento - Tempo I - Marcia funebre - Molto adagio -

III

Un poco grave - Tempo giusto - Un poco sostenuto -

9:14

Tempo I - Etws zurückhaltend - Ritenuto - Ancora più lento

Benjamin Bowman violin

David Louie piano

Two Landscapes, Op. 27 (1939)

8:43

(Shtei Temunot Nof)

for Viola and Piano

The Hills of Judea (Harei yehudah).

5:31

Molto sostenuto e solenne - [ ] - Tempo I

The Spring (Hama'ayan).

3:08

Allegretto scherzando - [ ] - Tempo I

Steven Dann viola

Dianne Werner piano

Canzonetta (1944)

2:50

No. 4 from Five Pieces for Piano, Op. 34

Andante affettuoso - Adagio

Dianne Werner piano

Improvisation and Dance, Op. 30 (1939)

8:19

for Violin and Piano

To Zino Francescatti

Molto rubato - Andantino lusingando -

4:02

Più tranquillo (come prima) -

Allegro grazioso - Più Allegro - Largamente, con

4:17

languidezza - Sempre tranquillo - Presto - Meno mosso - Presto con fuoco

Erika Raum violin

Dianne Werner piano

Quintet, Op. 31a (1941, revised 1965)

27:21

for Clarinet and String Quartet

Dedicated to Alberto Hemsi

Molto moderato - [ ] - Tempo I - Un poco più vivo -

8:28

Un poco allargando

10.

Capriccio. Molto vivo - Un poco più tranquillo -

6:51

Ancora più calmo - Tempo I (molto vivo) - Più tranquillo - Ancora più calmo - Tempo I (molto vivo)

11.

III

Tema con variazioni

11:54

Tema. Sostenuto e dolce -

Variazione I. Lo stesso movimento -

Variazione II. Molto grazioso -

Variazione III. Più calmo -

Variazione IV. Allegretto, poco a poco accelerando -

Allegro - Più allegro - Con fuoco -

Variazine V. Adagio assai e misterioso

Joaquin Valdepeñas clarinet

Marie Bérard violin

Erika Raum violin

Steven Dann viola

Bryan Epperson cello

77:05

Chamber: ARC Ensemble

Joaquin Valdepeñas clarinet

Marie Bérard violin

Benjamin Bowman violin

Erika Raum violin

Steven Dann viola

Bryan Epperson cello

David Louie piano

Dianne Werner piano

"Performances here – both individual and collective – are superb, and faithfully recorded. This outstanding CD simply begs to be included in any collection, whether you have a particular interest in music of this period from displaced composers, or simply are looking for something different from a less well-known composer. In this investigation of chamber works by Paul Ben-Haim, you should certainly not be disappointed on either count."

Philip R Buttall - MusicWeb-International.com - January 2015

Music **** (Very Good) Sound **** (Very Good)

Giselher Schubert - Fono Forum magazine (Germany) - January 2015

“… He [Ben-Haim] is Israel’s most important composer and it is odd that his music isn’t better known here. This new disc from Chandos goes some way to remedying this, with music of a conservative idiom but nonetheless of individuality.”

Peter Spaull – The Liverpool Post – 18 July 2013

“… The players that make up the ARC Ensemble give deeply committed performances of every one of them, and Chandos’s usual wide-range and deep sound stage add excellent dimensionality to the recording. Urgenty recommended.”

Jerry Dubins – Fanfare – November/December 2013

"...Engineering is rich and balanced. Would that all recordings could capture a piano tone as perfectly as in the solo Canzonetta ..."

Gill French - American Record Guide - November/December 2013

"... Superb playing by the members of the ARC Ensemble, excellent sound ..."

Rob Cowan - Gramophone magazine - September 2013

"... This CD is highly recommended."

Aaron Howard - Jewish Herald-Voice - 8 August 2013

"Expertly played by members of the eight-strong ARC Ensemble."

Fiona Maddocks - The Observer - 21 July 2013

“His [Ben-Haim] music is so clearly and beautifully Jewish but is, much more importantly, excellent, well-written and compelling. I cannot imagine anyone not enjoying this music and, if –like me – any one of these or all of these is your first exposure to the music of Paul Ben-Haim, you will no doubt want to hear more.”

Daniel Coombs – Audiophile Audition.com – 10 July 2013

“ ... Joaquin Valdepeñas and friends acquit themselves with distinction ”

Michael Round – International Record Review – July/August 2013

Album of the Week

“...this release is an illuminating introduction. Passing quickly over a juvenile piano quartet, we discover a kindred spirit to Bartók, ears wide open to indigenous and ambient sounds, feet ever ready to jump up and learn a Bedouin dance. The most attractive pieces, athletically played here by Canada’s ARC ensemble, are a pair of violin-piano jigs written for the visiting virtuoso Zino Francescatti, and a quintet for clarinet and strings that hovers between the bourgeois salon and the high-jinks of a klezmer band against a backdrop of heat and dust” ***

Norman Lebrecht – sinfinimusic.com – 24 June 2013

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