Visions Fugitives [Benjamin Britten, Sergei Prokoviev]

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Editor's Info
Haze and ecstasy, hallucination and dream: around 1900 - the so-called 'fin de siecle' - poets begin to discover the world of the subconscious. It is the age of literary decadence, of symbolism and Art Nouveau. Arthur Rimbaud, protagonist of an entire generation of French poets, who died at an early age, and Russian symbolist Konstantin Balmont inspired Sergei Prokofiev and Benjamin Britten to write some musical masterpieces.
In Les illuminations, the composer Benjamin Britten accompanies the poet Arthur Rimbaud in his descent into the underworld and the vile entrails of a busy town ('Villes'), singing the praises of the beauty and the decay of the body ('Being Beauteous') and the lustful encounter of two thighs in a night of heated passion ('Antique'). Britten follows the poet through both heaven and hell. On 'Parade' the composer comments: 'It is a picture of the underworld. It should be made to sound creepy, evil, dirty and really desperate.'
Sergei Prokofiev based the title of his work Visions fugitives on words from a poem by Konstantin Dimitriev Balmont. Around 1915, this Russian poet was at the height of his career. He was a major influence on composers such as Skryabin and Prokofiev. Prokofiev's confrontation with the dark poetry spawned a cycle of 20 characteristically dreamy miniature pieces, Visions fugitives - 'fleeting visions' -.In this particular concert recording we hear Prokofiev's famous piano suite, arranged for strings by the Russian violinist and conductor Rudolf Barshai. Out of the 20 pieces for piano, he selected a total of 15. By capitalising on the instruments' individual colouring he succeeded in adding even more depth to the expressive nature of this spectacular work.
Visions Fugitives was recorded live at the Gergiev Festival, Rotterdam.
Benjamin Hulett

The celebrated young British tenor Benjamin Hulett has been a soloist at the Hamburg State Opera since 2005 and has achieved great success in lyric roles from Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) and Ferrando (Cosi fan Tutte) to Steuermann (Die Fliegende Holländer) and Novice (Billy Budd). He made his debut at the Bavarian State Opera Munich in Händel's Alcina.
As a concert performer he has already worked with conductors including Sir Roger Norrington, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Andrew Davis, Phillippe Herreweghe, Christopher Hogwood, Markus Stenz, Ivor Bolton, Jeffrey Tate, Simone Young and Fabio Biondi amongst others at many of the world's leading venues and festivals. Ben studied Music as a choral scholar at New College, Oxford and Opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
440Hz
The frequency of A, the pure note to which we tune our instruments, signifying quality as well as a solid foundation for our shared experience of classical music. That is what the musicians of 440Hz, under the direction of concert master Charlotte Potgieter, made up of members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic string section, represent. Performing music in a smaller formation leads to better ensemble play. In the absence of a conductor, our individual voices become essential, with each musician contributing to our shared responsibility for the artistic process and its outcome.
Our repertoire spans the baroque period up to present-day compositions - invariably high-quality works, sometimes unjustly forgotten or little known among listeners. 440Hz is an orchestra that is close to the audience, both literally and figuratively. Traditional (concert) conventions are shed, naturally bringing the repertoire within the scope of a broader audience.