Emanuel Ensemble CD - Solo & Chamber works for flute, cello & piano
Anna Stokes - Flute
Louisa Tuck - Cello
John Reid - Piano
Kapustin, Gaubert, Schumann, Borne, Farrenc & Piazzolla
Anna Stokes founded the Emanuel Ensemble in 2001 which has since gone on to perform in recitals at the Purcell Room’s ‘Fresh’ concert series, the Wigmore Hall, St Martin-In-The Fields, Kensington Palace, St James’s Palace, National Gallery, V & A Museum, Conway Hall, Leeds International Festival, Schubert Society of Britain, Lansdowne Club, Champs Hill, Cadogan Hall, Villa D’este (Lake Como) and for numerous UK Concert Societies. The Emanuel Ensemble is dedicated to exploring music old and new, focusing predominantly on works for combinations of flute, cello & piano and flute, violin, viola & cello.
Emanuel Ensemble
CD CONTENTS
1-3 Kapustin, Nikolai – Trio, Op.86
Flute, Cello & Piano
Trio (i) Allegro molto [7:40]
Trio (ii) Andante [5:28]
Trio (iii) Allegro giocoso [6:04]
4 Gaubert, Philippe - Piece Romantique [7:40]
Flute, Cello & Piano
Schumann, Robert - Adagio and Allegro in A flat major
Cello & Piano
5 (i) Adagio [11:12]
6 (ii) Allegro [5:12]
7 Borne, Francois - Fantaisie Brillante sur Carmen [11:12]
Flute & Piano
Farrenc, Louise - Trio Op.45
Flute, Cello & Piano
8 (i) Allegro deciso - Piu moderato ed espressivo [9:39]
9 (ii) Andante [5:14]
10 (iii) Scherzo [5:07]
11 (iv) Finale – Presto [5:00]
12 Piazzolla, Astor- La Muerte del Angel [3:32]
Flute, Cello & Piano
CD BOOKLET NOTES (PDF) LINK
EMANUEL ENSEMBLE FULL REVIEW (MUSICAL POINTERS) - LINK
' An outstanding CD...' - Sir James Galway
Emanuel Ensemble CD Review – GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 2011
"Sir James Galway, no less, has declared this “an outstanding CD’ and certainly this excellent group, founded by the felicitous flautist Anna Stokes in 2001, constantly offers a generously wide range of 19th- and 20th century music, much of it unfamiliar, all of it diverting. Ukrainian-born Nikolai Kapustin began his career in the world of Russian Jazz, an influence which is certainly felt in his Trio (1998), although it does not dominate the whole work. Here, the lively opening bursts in on the listener and immediately provides virtuoso roulades and ostinatos for the flute. The central Andante, however, is “languidly nostalgic’ and the music closes with an infectiously capricious finale.
Philippe Gaubert’s appealing Piece Romantique then creates a warmly lyrical mood, with a soulful cello melody, changing over to the flute, with both instruments then joining together in an inventive dialogue with the piano. Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro was originally written for horn and piano but transcribes equally well to the cello. Louisa Tuck plays it beautifully, at first wistfully, then with impulsive vigour in the closing Allegro.
In his Carmen Fantasy, Francois Borne gives the flute plenty of chances to be vocal in Bizet’s principal hit numbers, plus an opportunity for refined bravura in sparkling variations. Anna Stokes throws them off with great flair, while she is deliciously sultry in the ‘Habanera’. Louise Farrenc (1804-75), professor of flute at the Paris Conservatoire, offers the most traditional work here, a four-movement Trio (1861-62). It has pleasing ideas, with a charming Andante, but is most individual in the Scherzo with its agreeably lyrical Trio, and in the spirited moto perpetuo finale.
But it is Astor Piazzolla who is chosen to provide the unpredictable final item for this enterprising recital. It was originally used as a brie, thrusting, fugal climax for the incidental music to a play, El tango del Angel, and makes a memorable close to a highly stimulating programme, impeccably played and recorded".
Ivan march (Gramophone Magazine – October 2011)
Emanuel Ensemble Debut CD Review in the Classical Music Magazine 27th Aug 2011 - " The pick of this eclectic bunch is Louise Farrenc's trio, with a flow of melodic ideas and moods shared fully. Francois Borne's Fantaisie Brillante sur Carmen gives full vent to Anna Stokes's flute virtuosity, a contrast to the pastel impressionism of Philippe Gaubert's Piece Romantique. Another happy find is the jazzy jaunt of Nikolai Kapustin's trio". - Review by Phillip Sommerich - Classical Music Magazine - 27th August 2011
"Ever heard Nikolai Kapustin’s jazzy trio for flute, cello and piano? Me neither, and it’s a cracker. There’s more here by Gaubert, Schumann, Borne, Farrenc and Piazzola from three young English players, edgy, offbeat and fun-loving. The Schumann Adagio and Allegro is a quiet corner at this party, raptly played." - Norman Lebrecht (CD of the Week - August 2011 - scena.org)
"The latest disc, from a flute, cello, piano trio called Emanuel Ensemble (champs hill) is a delight. The players have unearthed a gorgeous, Schumann-like trio by 19th century french composer Louise Farrenc, which they play with suave assurance. There's an outstandingly passionate performance of the real Schumann's Adagio and Allegro, op. 70, too as well as some little know gems. A Winner"! - Warwick Thompson (Metro Paper - Friday 29th July 2011)
Emanuel Ensemble CD Review - 'For sheer enjoyment this debut disc will take a lot to beat' - Dr Peter Grahame Woolf - musicalpointers.co.uk
Emanuel Ensemble CD Review - 'A very high recommendation for these young musicians flair and zest,and for seeing through their concept meticulously, with winning performances captured in fine recording' - Dr Peter Grahame Woolf - musicalpointers.co.uk
