***** Mozart had his favorite clarinetist and so did Carl Maria von Weber have his select player of this instrument which was still relatively young in those days. Heinrich Bärmann was a clarinet player revered throughout Europe and was very close friends with Weber. This friendship led to fruitful compositions that arose from the collaboration between composer and instrumentalist.
We know the works for clarinet by Carl Maria von Weber quite well nowadays. They are core repertoire, just like 'the' clarinet concerto by Mozart. Whether Weber was inspired by Mozart, I'll leave that open. He was in any case inspired by the talent of Bärmann, and we should be grateful, because to this day countless people enjoy the fine works that Weber and Bärmann created together. By the way, Bärmann also composed something. Not too much, but still.
Roeland Hendrikx, the Heinrich Bärmann of our time, took some clarinet works by Carl Maria von Weber in hand and together with his ensemble, the Roeland Hendrikx Ensemble, he has reunited Weber and Bärmann once again on CD.
The music disc opens with the Quintet in B-Dur 'Grand Quintetto, Op. 34' by von Weber. Whoever doesn't know it yet will be able to hum along quickly after listening to this CD because Weber wrote very accessible and fluent melodies that you simply must hear and that sweep you into everything that romanticism stands for. The Grand Quintetto lasts just under half an hour, half an hour in which the listener of this crazy time full of stress is taken back in the time machine that is Roeland Hendrikx's clarinet to the German kingdoms of the early 19th century. Imagine one of those many baroque palaces with a concert hall, much gold and curls on the ceilings, seats in Louis the countless style upholstered with richly woven fabric, a table with the best delicacies for the noble ladies and gentlemen who listen to the music while munching and smacking. Don't you want to be there? Only, half an hour must not be it. That is too little and so on the CD you get even more delicacies, not edible though, it is spiritual food. The Grand Duo Concertant Op. 48 also by von Weber. The clock adds twenty minutes of enjoyment. The listener of the CD enjoys it. Otherwise it is impossible. And that the musicians enjoyed themselves when recording this CD, there is no doubt about it.
Weber receives a third piece of beauty where the clarinet is central with its 'Variations' Op. 33 lasting just over 15 minutes. Now you really have to want to sing along because this work is a variation on a theme from the opera Silvana, also by Carl Maria von Weber.
This heartwarming CD is rounded off with the Adagio in Des Dur by Heinrich Bärmann. Look at it as the dessert of this realization, five extra minutes and this too tastes like a cherry on the cake. A cake made by master bakers, namely Alexei Moshkov (violin), An Simoens (violin), Sander Geerts (viola), Anthony Gröger (cello) and Liebrecht Vanbeckvoort (piano) together with and under the direction of Roeland Hendrikx (clarinet).
In passing, we would like to mention that the booklet is in four languages: Dutch, French, German and English. That is also a nice bonus especially since our rich, old language is increasingly ignored in CD releases.
- WHAT: Carl Maria von Weber & Heinrich Bärmann, clarinet works
- WHO: Roeland Hendrikx Ensemble
- RELEASE: Et'Cetera – KTC 1588 – 2018
- ORDER HERE
