Christoph Croisé - Voyage Exotique (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Christoph Croisé channels his prowess as a cellist - "he's got it all - technical chops, impeccable musicianship and imaginative daring" (Gramophone) - into compositional ingenuity on the first album devoted entirely to his own works.

Christoph draws inspiration from a variety of musical role models, including contemporary and centuries past, paying homage to the time-honoured evolution of classical music that has melded current conventions with popular styles. Traditional forms, such as sonata and concerto, are imbued with jazz, blues, bossa nova and improv to create, as Christoph puts it, "a musical and cultural melting pot."

Christoph's compositional urge was spurred by the pandemic and lockdown. The four works on Voyage Exotique were written between 2020 and 2022. He also cites current world events as a motivating influence. His first cello concerto, imbued with high- wire virtuosity that makes full use of the cello's - and Christoph's - capabilities, opens a programme that also includes an imaginary intergalactic journey in the form of a clarinet trio, and a sonata for cello and piano that is by turns pensive, agitated and longing, yet ultimately hopeful. The title track, a "Grand duo" for two cellos is, in the truest sense of the word, an "exotic journey" through foreign sound cultures and myriad cello effects.

Christoph Croise, cello
Annette Jakovcic, cello (tracks 5–8)
Damien Bachmann, clarinet (tracks 9–11)
Oxana Shevchenko, piano (tracks 9–15)
Kammerorchester der Niederlenzer Musiktage (tracks 1–4)

Tracklist:
01. Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 6 for cello & string orchestra with percussion: I. Allegro
02. Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 6 for cello & string orchestra with percussion: II. Adagio – Cadenza
03. Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 6 for cello & string orchestra with percussion: III. 'Berlin Bass' Allegro
04. Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 6 for cello & string orchestra with percussion: IV. 'THIS IS IT' Presto – Allegro
05. Voyage Exotique Op. 2 Grand Duo for 2 cellos: I. Blu Rhino Track
06. Voyage Exotique Op. 2 Grand Duo for 2 cellos: II. A Train to Ugudu Yelu or Lonely Whales Trip
07. Voyage Exotique Op. 2 Grand Duo for 2 cellos: III. Tarantula Spiritualis
08. Voyage Exotique Op. 2 Grand Duo for 2 cellos: IV. Black Mamba Island
09. Clarinet Trio Op. 4 for clarinet, cello & piano: I. Gathering of the Intergalactic
10. Clarinet Trio Op. 4 for clarinet, cello & piano: II. Flight through the Milky Way
11. Clarinet Trio Op. 4 for clarinet, cello & piano: III. Mercurium (Bossa)
12. Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 9 for cello & piano: I. The Escape
13. Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 9 for cello & piano: II. Lullaby for Arthur
14. Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 9 for cello & piano: III. Moderato-Allegro
15. Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 9 for cello & piano: IV. Basso Ostinato (Dance of the Dead Soldiers)


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