CD-Contents: |
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Der Alte Peter Ulrich Sommerlatte (*1914) / Arr. Juergen Pfiester |
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1 Theme |
0'58'' |
2 J. S. Bach |
1'08'' |
3 W. A. Mozart |
1'27'' |
4 Richard Wagner |
2'00'' |
5 Richard Strauss |
1'35'' |
6 Carl Orff |
0'52'' |
7 Musica viva |
1'38'' |
8 That's how it sounds in Munich |
1'12'' |
Don Quichottisen Jan Koetsier (*1911), op. 144 |
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9 Don Quichotte |
2'59'' |
10 Sancho Pansa |
1'32'' |
11 Rosinante |
1'19'' |
12 Dulcinea |
2'08'' |
13 The battle with the windmills |
3'26'' |
Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
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14 Once upon a time ... |
1'04'' |
15 Till rides over the marketplace |
1'59'' |
16 Till sits in the mouse-hole; Till as a minister |
1'36'' |
17 Till is in love |
1'09'' |
18 Till disputes with the scholars |
1'34'' |
19 Till whistles a song |
0'54'' |
20 Till is being chased and caught |
1'18'' |
21 Till is sentenced to death and hung |
1'53'' |
22 Epilog |
1'10'' |
The Jungle Book,
Suite for Brass Quintet |
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23 Ouverture |
1'59'' |
24 Colonel Hathi's March |
1'31'' |
25 The Bare Necessities |
2'38'' |
26 That's What Friends Are For |
1'55'' |
27 I Wan'na Be Like You |
2'25'' |
Total Time: |
46'54'' |
We are especially proud of this CD, mainly because it is an 100% original Rennquintett product. All of the pieces were exclusively composed or arranged for DAS RENNQUINTETT and were recorded for the first time. Ulrich Sommerlatte was born in 1914 in Berlin. The master student of Furtwaengler accepted in 1936 his first position as conductor in Hannover, though in 1937 was drafted into the military and in1939 was sent to the front. While a prisoner of war in England from 1944 until 1946, he was able to study American big band arrangements, which was an advantage to him in the following years. Ulrich Sommerlatte made a name for himself as an arranger and undertook the instrumentation of works from Werner Bochmann, Franz Grothe, Peter Igelhoff and Gerhard Winkler. He classifies his own compositions as 'symphonic entertainment'. His numerous orchestral works and film music productions (for the Karl May movies, among others) demonstrate very clearly his understanding of high caliber entertainment. The same applies for the paraphrases based on the folk song of 'The Old Peter', where Sommerlatte's artistic approach in arranging and his stylistic sense is audibly apparent. First the theme is introduced, then it is taken to a baroque prince's court, before greeting the Viennese classical period with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Richard Wagner is confronted with Richard Strauss, being succeeded with Carl Orff's idiomatic. The following contrasts couldn't be stronger: the contemporary music is made fun of with 'musica viva', and finally the Bavarian 'Gemuetlichkeit' of the 'Hofbrauhaus' is portrayed in 'So klingt's in Muenchen' (that's how it sounds in Munich). The life of the author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was so adventurous, that he could use it as the outline for his novel: he grew up in Alcal&#aacute;, the son of an impoverished noble man, studied at a Jesuit school and had to escape to Italy when he was only 22 years old. In 1569 while in Rome, he accepted the position as a squire's valet, but only a year later gave up the post so that he could volunteer in the army of his motherland in the fight against the Turks. During the naval battle near Lepanto in 1571, he lost his left hand. In the following years his luck was also rather unfavourable, during a journey to Madrid in 1575 he was captured by Algerian pirates and was sent to Algiers to work as a slave for five years. Finally in 1580 he was bought his freedom. Returning to Madrid, he earned his living as a mercantile representative for the Spanish naval fleet and once again set forth his literary endeavours. Cervantes economical situation remained quite suspicious until his death. Several times he was in prison because he embezzled money due to his financial difficulties. 'Don Quixote' illustrates a picture of Spain as it was around 1600, populated with questionable innkeepers, slovenly maids, disputatious shepherds and self-satisfied, conceited, corpulent farmers. During the same period another national hero was finally receiving international recognition. That person would be Till Eulenspiegel. He was supposedly born around 1300 in Kneitlingen am Elm, in the county of Wolfenbuettel, Germany. The Braunschweig customs bookkeeper Hermann Bote wrote the biography of Till Eulenspiegel and in 1515 had it published in Strassbourg, France. Just alone in Germany, at least 35 editions were printed within a very short period. In the 16th century selections of the book were translated into most of the civilized languages of Europe. In the 1867 French written novel by Charles de Coster, Eulenspiegel was turned into a Flemish freedom fighter in battle with Spain, as the son of Klaas van Damme, born in Flanders: "I am a Fleming from the beautiful principality of Flanders, but above all I am a farmer and a nobleman. Therefore I stroll through the world, praise the good and beautiful things and ridicule the stupidity with brazen harangue." The adventures of Till Eulenspiegel and Don Quixote clearly encourage composers of all categories to musical interpretations. Richard Strauss dedicated symphonic poetry to both of these national heroes. Originally he had planned a musical comedy about the 'Till material' after completing the opera 'Guntram'. A drafted outline of the text was already prepared in Weimar, though cast aside during his second enlistment period in Munich and was completed as an orchestral capriccio in May 1895. The debut performance took place in the same year, on November 5th in the Guerzenich in Cologne. The conductor Dr. Franz Wuellner asked Richard Strauss, if he would write a short commentary to make the story line of the performance more appealing for the premiere audience. Richard Strauss replied: "It is impossible for me to write an explanation for Till Eulenspiegel; if it would be put into words, what I was actually thinking about in each of the parts, one would find it often far too peculiar, possibly even be offensive. Maybe this time we should allow the listeners themselves to solve the puzzle, delivered by the scoundrel." To make the comprehension a bit easier it is enough to inform that there are two Eulenspiegel themes, guiding the listener through the whole story in diverse costumes and moods as well as situations up until the catastrophe, where Till is hung after he was convicted by the court. When Joseph Gregor, a Viennese theater historian, later asked the elderly composer, if it was clear to him, that with 'Till' he had touched the metaphysical boundaries of great humor, he answered promptly: "Oh no, I just wanted the people in the audience to have a good laugh". Naturally a detailed description was written shortly thereafter. Here is the quote of Fritz Gysi's summary in the Buecken-handbook of 1934: "After the hero presents himself in a merry introduction, the amusing journey leads lickety-split straight through the screaming female marketers. Strauss lets the hero get away with seven-league boots and hide in a mouse hole. Thereupon he preaches, wearing a clergyman's robe and a pious expression, gradually getting terrified by his own mockery of religion. Then he plays the gallant, affectionately wooing and cooing; when he is turned down harshly (in a wonderful interlacing of motives) he vows vengeance to the whole mankind, makes a fool of the Philistines with their professorial discourses, goes away with an awful grimace, humming a popular song. Eventually his fate catches up with him. The bailiff grasps him and drags him to the trombone-roaring supreme court. The sentence, announced by the trombone: death. A last jolt, and Till is hanged, while a trill of the flute shows in a unmistakable manner how he runs out of breath. The contemplative epilogue, with a slight shadow, picks up the story line again and concludes, just like all of this serene music, that the immortality of the scoundrel's nature or said even easier, the grim humor, cannot be killed by an earthly jurisdiction." The English author Rudyard Kipling (1865-1935) was born in Bombay and received the Nobel prize for literature in 1907. After a brief period at school in England, he returned to India in 1882 where at first he worked as a journalist and then participated in the civil war as a newspaper correspondent. After his first literary successes he immigrated permanently to England in 1902. Rudyard Kipling devoted many of his novels and stories to describing the landscape of India and portraying its people. His possibly most famous collection of stories was published in 1894 with the title 'The Jungle Book'. The tale of Mowgli the Man-cub was snatched up by Walt Disney in 1966 and turned into one of the most beautiful animated films. In Kiplings version there is no happy end: Mowgli, a wanderer between two worlds, is especially disappointed with mankind and therefore roams through the jungle as a loner. Walt Disney's adaptation describes the various adventures that Mowgli encounters on his journey, being taken back to the Man-village by Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. The Sherman brothers contributed quite a few of the songs, that have continuously enjoyed wide popularity. DAS RENNQUINTETT has compiled these melodies into a suite. Dr. Ulrich Michalik
The play on words in the title - combining Don Quichotte and Sottisen (German for Quixote and French for nonsensical) characterizes the absurd imagination of the famous 'pitiful figure of a knight'. In the first of five short episodes, the main character is introduced: the dreamer, the presumed enemies and the noble knight. The next describes his good natured apprentice Sancho Pansa, riding comfortably upon his donkey. A surprise 'test of courage' seizes him with horror, though shortly thereafter he once again finds his equanimity. The third episode depicts the rickety horse 'Rosinante'; her aggressive neighing calms down immediately as she returns to her stumbling trot. Dulcinea, the distant beloved, is announced with silvery trills; she is then euphorically praised with a romantic serenade. The finale: 'The battle with the windmills'. On horseback, Don Quixote attacks twice the overwhelming enemy, then the poor fool is grabbed by the sail of the windmill and thrown to the ground. A melancholic farewell guides the idealistic knight, possessed by his dreams, to his death. Prof. Jan Koetsier
CREDITS |
