CD of Swiss orchestral music

[Justin]

It will be recording premieres for all three songs (Op.199 comprises two songs), which makes this release an important one for Raff aficionados.

Very exciting! And to know that it should be out by the end of the year. Looking forward to it.

[Kevin]

Indeed. There hasn't been many Raff recordings to look forward to as of late(they seem to have tapered off unfortunately)

BTW I've just about the complete Raff Discography available.

[Mark Thomas]

they seem to have tapered off unfortunately

There are well over 40 CDs of his music already available, of course. The issue is that almost all his orchestral and chamber music has been recorded, many of the major works at least twice over, and what remains is the music which is either more difficult to sell (piano music and songs) or works which are very expensive to stage/record (operas and large scale choral works).

[eschiss1]

hrm. There are some small (low-overhead?) labels that specialize in a cappella music that could record maybe go there with his and several other Romantic composers who wrote a fair amount of this (in Raff's case we have Opp. 97, 122, 195 and for mixed chorus Op.198. Other Swiss composers I know of also wrote a lot of unaccompanied choral music, I think.)

[adriano]

Oh yes, eschcss1, that would make up a few very interesting CDs!

[Kevin]

Yes! Mark, make it happen!

[Mark Thomas]

Selfish of me, I know, but I like to choose my own projects, thanks.

[sdtom]

Let them complain about the Brun. I found it an extremely pleasant surprise.

[adriano]

Incidentally, Brun also wrote quite an interesting quantity of unaccompanied (and accompanied) choral music - mainly for the two choirs (Cäcilienverein and Berner Liedertafel) he "owned" during many years, but also because he loved writing for smaller and less professional formations. Some of the pieces were, of course, of patriotic kind - it was the time of nationalism - but most are very lyric and valuable.
And, of course, he performed (and premiered) many choral pieces (with piano or unaccompanied) by his fellow composers Schoeck, Huber, Andreae, Hegar, Müller and others. Some full-evening programs were even uniquely dedicated to Swiss composers; I have the leaflets in from of me; it's incredible what one could hear in those times and what today is forgotten...
Just to mention two examples of "full Swiss" programs:
1926: works by Baumgartner, Huber, Niggli, Schoeck, Klose, Munzinger, Brun and Andreae.
1926: works by Andreae, Doret, Suter, Jelmoli, Gund, Lavater, Niggli, Munzinger and Jaques-Dalcroze.
In 1930 he conducted a mixed program containing Raff's "Sterben ist ein' harte Buss".

Among Brun's original output one can even find pieces on poems by "Rumantsch" (our 4th Swiss language) and Swiss Italian authors.
There is an old 78rpm recording of 1929 (the sole which, so far, could be found of him as a chorusmaster) of Brun conducting his "Aufblick". On the other side of the disc he conducts Suter's "Unsere Berge".
Particularly beautiful are his Four female a-cappella choir songs on poems by Ludwig Uhland - and the Eduard Mörike settings (also for female choir).
Of the two pieces I've recorded myself ("Verheissung" - for mixed choir - and "Grenzen der Menschheit" - for male choir - both with orchestral accompaniment) the second was at first conceived for an a-cappella formation; he orchestrated it later. It's one of his more ambitious and harmonically strangest/darkest pieces for that formation; I bet it caused not a huge success...

Brun knew very well how to write for choirs: his Cologne Conservatory composition teacher was Franz Wüllner, who, among others, is the autor of various chorus teaching and excercises manuals who are still reprinted and used today.
Wüllner the composer wrote some very valuable works for chrous and orchestra, as an impressing "Te Deum":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxA3yhcAbIM

[Mark Thomas]

Getting back to the projected CD, it looks like it's going to happen. The crowd funding target is CHF20,000 by the end of October, but after only a few days CHF16,230 has been pledged.  Good oh!

[Wheesht]

Yes indeed, it's looking good! It's to be hoped that the momentum can be kept. Perhaps the choice of a local funding platform was a wise one even though that bank's site is not available in English.
Definitely looking forward to this!

[Alan Howe]

even though that bank's site is not available in English

Let's not go there again.

[Gareth Vaughan]

It is certainly very encouraging that so much has been raised in so short a period of time.

[Wheesht]

It will be interesting to see if there is a good turnout for the concerts of the Swiss Orchestra  scheduled for November.
KONZERTPROGRAMM

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 – 1847)
Ouvertüre zu «Das Märchen von der schönen Melusine», op. 32

Joseph Joachim Raff (1822 Lachen – 1882)
Zwei Scenen, op. 199 sowie «Traumkönig und sein Lieb», op.66
für Singstimme und Orchester

Menuett und Scherzo aus der Suite Nr.1, op. 101

Cavatina für Violine und Orchester, op. 85 Nr. 3

Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883)
«Tribschener Idyll» (Siegfried-Idyll), WWWV 103

August Walter (1821 – 1896 Basel)
Sinfonie in Es-Dur, op. 9

The Eschmann overture is part of another Swiss tour that had to be postponed to June next year.

[Mark Thomas]

It's good to have confirmation that all three of Raff's published orchestral songs should be recorded.