Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759)
Concerto pour harpe en si bémol majeur, HWV 294

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Concerto pour flûte et harpe en do majeur, K 299

François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775-1834)
Concerto pour harpe en do majeur

Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799)
Concerto pour harpe en la majeur

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (1736-1809)
Concerto pour harpe en do majeur
Partita pour harpe en fa majeur

Georg Christoph Wagenseil (1715-1777)
Concerto pour harpe en sol majeur

Jean Baptiste (Jan Krtitel) Krumpholz (1742-1790)
Concerto pour harpe n° 6, op. 9

Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812)
Concerto pour harpe en mi bémol majeur, op. 15

Louis Spohr (1784-1859)
Concerto pour violon et harpe en sol majeur, WoO 13

Carl Reinecke (1824-1910)
Concerto pour harpe en mi mineur, op. 182

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Morceau de concert en sol majeur, op. 154

Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)
Concertstuck, op. 39

Joly Braga Santos (1924-1988)
Variaçoes concertantes, op. 40

Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)
Concerto pour harpe, op. 25

William Alwyn (1905-1985)
Concerto pour hautbois, harpe et cordes

Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994)
Double Concerto pour hautbois, harpe et orchestre de chambre

Charlotte Balzereit, harpe
Giselle Herbert, harpe
Jutta Zoff, harpe
Jana Bouskova, harpe
Roberta Alessandrini, harpe
Susanna Mildonian, harpe
Fabrice Pierre, harpe
Catherine Michel, harpe
Sue Blair, harpe
Eleanor Hudson, harpe
Nicolas Tulliez, harpe
Arkadiusz Krupa, hautbois
Jonathan Small, hautbois
Ruggerio Ricci, violon
Marc Grauwels, flûte
Les Violons du Roy
Bernard Labadie, direction
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
Nicol Matt, direction
Staatskapelle Dresden
Siegfried Kurz, direction
Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim
Vladislav Czarnecki, direction
Orchestra di Mantova
Vittorio Parisi, direction
Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg
Louis de Froment, direction
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Patrick Gallois, direction
Northern Sinfonia
Álvaro Cassuto, direction
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
David Lloyd-Jones, direction
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Antoni Wit, direction

D'une autre façon que les coffrets publiés par la revue musicale qui "donne le la", et sélectionne les meilleures interprétations d'œuvres d'un compositeur donné, les coffrets "thématiques" concoctés par BRILLIANT sont des outils fort ingénieux, ceci d'autant plus que les critères sur lesquels ils sont conçus sont croisés et multiples : un instrument plus un genre, un genre plus une époque bien précise et/ou un pays , un foyer musical historique etc. De quoi pourvoir le mélomane de ce que Lacan aurait pu nommer son "objet musical petit à petit". Il est réjouissant, en particulier, de disposer d'un panorama chronologiquement ordonné de concertos peu faciles à répertorier soi-même, consacré à un instrument parfois un peu vite considéré comme marginal, et chargé de connotations pas nécessairement toujours avantageuses : la harpe moderne, déjà à pédales, en l'occurrence. Pages connues, peu connues, quasi inconnues et large florilège d'interprètes européens meublent cette archive, invite à bien des découvertes. Entre autres, celle du concerto de von Dittersdorf, délicat et épanoui, de celui d'Albrechtsberger qui marie ingénument la harpe aux cuivres, ou de Dussek, évoquant un Papageno légèrement post-mozartien. Un Reinecke, très contrasté, le motorique, mordant et incisif concerto de Ginastera, mais aussi celui de Lutoslawski ou deux solistes, harpe et haubois, se frottent avec vigueur à un orchestre, qui de partout, fait montre d’une invention sonore aux couleurs tour à tour violentes, lyriques, étales, dramatiques ou grotesques. Des interpétations tout à fait louables dans l'ensemble. (Bertrand Abraham)

The harp is an ancient instrument, with origins in the antiquity of perhaps many civilisations, and the modern orchestral harp is the culmination of a long evolution in form and technology. Its role has evolved as well, from that of solely an accompanimental and chamber instrument in the realm of folk music into a core member of the symphony orchestra with a repertoire of classical music by celebrated composers. This attractive set of 17 works for harp concertante by 16 composers chronicles the instrument’s arrival and increasing acceptance on the orchestral stage. Many of the 18th-century works included here feature the harp for extra-musical reasons or as an alternate instrument to a keyboard. Handel’s, later bundled in with his other Organ Concertos, was originally for harp, written to evoke the ancient sound of the lyre in his Alexander’s Feast. Mozart’s Flute & Harp Concerto was written especially for a father and daughter who played those instruments. Wagenseil’s was for keyboard or harp, and Dittersdorf’s is an arrangement of a keyboard concerto. These fine pieces nevertheless laid a foundation for contemporaries and slightly later composers to embrace the harp for its own characteristics. Albrechtsberger, a teacher of Beethoven, had a penchant for solo instruments that were unusual in his day. In addition to the Harp Concerto and substantial Partita for Harp and Orchestra, his catalogue includes concertos for trombone, mandola and several for the jaw harp. Boieldieu relied on the harp’s colourful timbre in his many comic operas and would in turn write a number of concert works for the harp, the Concerto in C being one of the finest in the instrument’s repertoire. In the cases of Dussek and Spohr, their loved ones – their wives, and Dussek’s mother, sister and daughter – were harpists, encouraging these two remarkable composers to channel a fair amount of their considerable talent into music for the instrument. Finally Krumpholz, a Czech compatriot of Dussek’s based in France, is the first in this line of composers of the emerging concert harp repertoire who played the instrument himself. He also played a pivotal role in the harp’s technological evolution. His compositions naturally reflect his mastery of the instrument in more idiomatic and adventurous writing. From the second half of the 19th century, with the concert harp’s role, technological capabilities and performers of virtuosic stature firmly established, it became an attractive instrument for composers of the late romantic and modern eras. This set finishes with discs 4 and 5 offering a range of stunning concertante music for harp (sometimes with other solo instruments) from around the world. In addition to composers Saint-Saëns and Pierné from France, a stronghold of the harp due in no small part to the presence of Krumpholz and later pioneering harp (and piano) maker Sébastian Érard, there are notable contributions from Portugal, Argentina, the UK and Poland in Joly Braga Santos, Ginastera, Alwyn and 20th-century giant Lutoslawski.