CD of Swiss orchestral music

[Alan Howe]

Unfortunately, the website isn't working properly: all I get is the error message 'invalid payment method', whether I choose PayPal or just a straightforward credit card payment. Very annoying!

It also took three attempts to send a message about this via their contact page!

Anyway, I'll report back...

[Martin Eastick]

I also had similar problems with the payment on the website earlier this morning - however, I have just successfully completed my order at the fourth attempt, and have received the relevant acknowledgement! Now all I have to do is sit back and wait......

[Holger]

As the label is the same as in case of the Lauber symphonies, I would expect the CD to be available via jpc sooner or later.

[Alan Howe]

My order has now been processed successfully as well.

[Alan Howe]

And here's the booklet:
https://www.schweizerfonogramm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/20_11_SFG_Wuestendoerfer_booklet-def.pdf

[Justin]

Album is now streaming, and also available for digital download purchase:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PFXC4HB/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Swiss+Orchestra+%26+Lena-Lisa+Wüstendörfer&qid=1606971469&sr=8-1

[terry martyn]

This appears to be an enterprising new label. Perhaps they might consider doing a modern recording of the second symphony of Schnyder von Wartensee, which I have on an ancient LP

[Mark Thomas]

I believe that they have quite enterprising plans for a series of recordings of works by Swiss composers, but focusing on previously unrecorded pieces. Maybe adcsound can tell us more? The recording is also now available on Spotify, by the way.

[Mark Thomas]

First impressions of these two works are very positive: the Walter fulfils the promise of Reverie's pioneering digital realisation as a fine, big-boned Beethovenian symphony which maintains interest throughout its 40-odd minutes and is given an appropriately red-blooded performance which belies the comparatively modest size of the Swiss Orchestra. Walter was actually German, not Swiss (though he spent most of his later life there), and this is a Viennese symphony - comparisons with the contemporaneous symphonies of Franz Lachner might be interesting. Raff's orchestral song is unexpectedly lush - somehow I was expecting the vocal equivalent of the single-movement concert pieces Ode au printemps and La Fée d'amour of the same vintage, but no, Traumkönig und sein Lieb has an almost Straussian glow to it which perfectly underpins the radiant vocal line. A very welcome surprise. The short playing time of the CD still rankles, though.   

[Justin]

Is there an English translation for the text of Traumkönig und sein Lieb?

[eschiss1]

Lieder.net has this text of Horatio Parker's setting in English (Dreamking and his love, Op.31) of the same Geibel poem, which may be approximately the same? Lieder.net

[Justin]

Yes, I saw that. I am sometimes wary about those translations which can lose some of the original meaning just so they can rhyme in English.

[terry martyn]

Just to clarify my earlier post.  I wasn´t referring to Schnyder´s so-called Military Symphony, splendidly recorded on a Sterling CD, but the Zweite Sinfonie in c-moll     (Erinnerung an Joseph Haydn) ,in which the Austrian hymn is mellifluosly interwoven.  That fine work has never been recorded on CD, although I have it on a 1970 Ex Libris (EL 16 629) LP with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rato Tschupp.  Somewhat surprisingly, this LP does not feature in Mike Herman´s magnificent discography.  I played it again a few weeks ago and wished I had the German to understand the sleeve-notes. Schnyder´s portrait looms out of the front cover, looking somewhat like a selfsatisfied Herbert Lom. Putting Raff to one side, I think that Schnyder is the foremost Swiss nineteenth century composer and this invigorating new label  might want to consider placing this work finally on CD.

[Mark Thomas]

Putting Raff to one side, I think that Schnyder is the foremost Swiss nineteenth century composer

Raff may have been born in Switzerland, but he was at best only half-Swiss (from his mother), and from birth was a citizen of his father's country - Württemberg (later the German Empire) - as he inherited his father's citizenship. That said, my guess is that we wouldn't have at least a third of the CDs we do have of Raff's music, if the Swiss nowadays didn't count him as one of their own.

[Mark Thomas]

Here's a video about the recording, featuring a lot of the Raff and, at the end, a few seconds of the Walter.