Album Notes

The production 02 of the KATZENBERGER MUSIC PRODUCTIONS record label revolves around an instrument which possesses a striking vibrancy and which is – quite wrongly – rarely featured as a solo instrument: the harp.
Besides renowned composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Claude Debussy and Isaac Albeniz, this hybrid SACD also features a world premier recording by Jean Françaix: the “Suite pour Harpe”.
The internationally highly acclaimed soloist Anne-Sophie Bertrand is featured on this recording. She has the ability to endow each piece with a unique touch thanks to her extraordinary expressiveness and broad experience with old and new music.

Both connoisseurs and music lovers are provided with an extensive overview of music history spanning three centuries and offering, by all means, new insights into the expressive world of the harp’s sound. The selected works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel are samples of the instrument’s first golden age during the Baroque era. This includes the various dances of the Suite, the freedom of imagination, as well as polyphonic patterns – respectively rendered as stylistically sound adaptations.
As far as the Romantic era is concerned, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s creative involvement with his idol Bach is featured along with the outstanding virtuosity of Elias Parish Alvars, the so-called “Liszt of the harp”. Eventually, the characteristic Spanish sound of a spirited dance by Isaac Albeniz has been included in this recording.
Special attention is given to the French composers’ infatuation with the harp: original works by Gabriel Fauré and Jean Françaix which are not known well enough yet as well as an adaptation of a piano prelude by Claude Debussy are featured on the SACD.
Finally, featuring the Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev and one of his preludes as well as the world premier recording of the moderately “modern” Suite by Jean Françaix clearly underpins the lively interest composers of the 20th century took in the tonal range of today’s concert harp.

Including an extensive booklet and some unique specials, this SACD will offer you a truly rare listening experience. Enjoy this feast for the ears!