Da Vinci Classics
Ambra Cusanna, Davide Vendramin, Fausto Saredi, Kastriot Mersini, Lycia Viganò, Matteo Manzoni, Nadia Bianchi, Sergio Fabian Lavia, Simone Libralon, Stefania Orselli, Stefano Bardella
Physical and Digital Release: 6 July 2020
The bass clarinet takes the foreground in works by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato, exploring contrasting instrumental colours and ensemble relationships.
13.67€
Digital programme · 12 tracks
Track timings refer to the digital edition.
Ambra Cusanna contributes violin to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
DAVIDE VENDRAMIN, accordionist and bandoneonist, performs as a soloist with the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Rai National Symphony Orchestra in Turin, the Milan Symphony Orchestra, the Toscanini Philharmonic Orchestra in Parma, the Orchestra of Chambre de Toulouse and the Berner Symphonie Orchester. He has collaborated, among others, with the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, the Orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and conductors such as: Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Daniele Gatti, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Michele Mariotti, Maxime Pascal, Donato Renzetti, Juraj Valcuha to name but a few. He teaches accordion and bandoneon at the Vicenza Conservatory.
JACOPO RIVANI, after graduating with honors in orchestra conducting at the Pesaro Conservatory, he has conducted all the main titles of the symphonic and lyrical repertoire, with over 150 opera performances and over 50 symphonic concerts. His commitment to chamber music and contemporary music is particularly important; he performs this repertoire with passion and with particular recognition from the public and critics.
He has conducted, in the main halls and in the main Italian theaters among others, the ensembles of the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and the Teatro Comunale in Sassari, the Haydn Orchester of Trento and Bolzano, the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic Orchestra, the Regional Orchestra of the Emilia Romagna, the "I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano" orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Rendano Theater in Cosenza, the FORM - Marchigiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tempo Primo Ensemble and the Arcangelo Corelli Orchestra, of which he has been Artistic and Musical director since 2010.
Fausto Saredi is serving the position of Bass Clarinet at “La Verdi” Symphonic Orchestra of Milan since 2006. He played as extra also at La Scala Phiharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle and Opernhaus, Teatro Comunale of Bologna, O.R.T. of Tuscany, O.S.I. of Italian Swiss and for five years he played as Bass Clarinet at the National Radio Orchestra. He played under well-known conductors such as R. Chailly, S. Bichkov, W. Jurowski, C. Scimone, J. P. Saraste, C. P. Floor. He often performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, Rolla Basset Horn Concerto, Mozart,Weber and Brahms Clarinet Quintets and attended some important Festivals such as Biennale of Venice, Le Settimane Chigiane di Siena, Festival Pucciniano, Festival dei Due mondi di Spoleto, Rostropovich Festival of Baku (Azerbaijan) and BBC Proms of London. He recorded for Decca, Stradivarius, RaiTrade, Deutsche Grammophone. The label Gallo of Losanne published two Cds with chamber music of R. Stark and W. A. Mozart. Since september 2016 he is professor at the Conservatory of the italian Swiss in Lugano.
Kastriot Mersini contributes double bass to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
Lycia Viganò contributes violin to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
Matteo Manzoni contributes marimba to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
Nadia Bianchi contributes cello to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
Sergio Fabian Lavia contributes guitar to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
Simone Libralon contributes viola to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
Stefania Orselli contributes piano to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
Stefano Bardella contributes marimba to Fausto Saredi’s The Bass Clarinet ... Over the Clouds, a recording of Italian contemporary chamber music by Ortolano, Sormani, Zaffaroni, Viviani and Bortolato.
Angelo Sormani: italian composer and conductor, he graduated in trumpet, in composition of electronic music, in experimental composition, in choral singing and choir and band instrumentation at the Conservatory “G.Verdi” in Milan where he later got his degree with honors Level II in the direction, composition and band instrumentation. He attended specialization courses in analysis, composition and band instrumentation at the European Institute Superior Band of Trento.
Parallel to his musical studies he graduated in “Computer Science” at the University of Milan.
E teaches Laboratory of Technology and Physics at the IIS “Da Vinci-Ripamonti” in Como and Theory and Harmony of Music in the School of Civic Philharmonic Lugano.
He is the conductor of many bands: A. Manzoni “Civic Band” of Lecco, “Città di Mariano Comense ” and “Santa Cecilia”of Costa Masnaga. He is founder and artistic director of Insubria Wind Orchestra He works at the Italy-US International Music-Project, involving Italian Conservatories and American Universities.
He works as arranger, conductor and composer with “Horns of La Scala” in Milan (http://www.icornidellascala.com/scala/it/ ), which he has made concerts in prestigious theaters and Italian festivals (including the Teatro Regio in Parma, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Festival “Sounds of the Dolomites”).
He obtained significant awards in international composition competitions: “L. Russolo ” in Varese,”City of Pavia “,”V. Bucchi” in Rome; Corciano Composition Competition for Original Band (awarded in three editions),” Peter Pernice “of Syracuse (awarded in two editions),” Pellegrino Caso “of Vietri sul mare, “ La prime Lus” in Bertiolo, Anbima of Udine, “Romualdo Marenco in Novi Ligure (awarded in two editions), Sinnai (awarded in two editions), Mugnano.
He receives commissions for original compositions (including the International Festival of Military Bands of Modena, the Municipal Musique Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden) and is invited in juries of competitions for composition and execution or as a lecturer in band courses and stages.
His compositions are recorded on CDs by important Italian Wind Orchestras: Fiatinsieme (Torino), “A. Corelli” Messina Conservatory, “Città di Ferentino” Wind Orchestra, “Liceo Rosmini” Wind Orchestra, Calliope Wind Chamber Orchestra.
His compositions are published by Scomegna, Animando, BAM Beyond Any Music and Da Vinci Publishing.
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Danilo Zaffaroni is an Italian bassoonist and composer. His chamber works include Cadenza, Preludio e Pezzo appassionato, Trio Tango and On Greensleeves, recorded by bass clarinettist Fausto Saredi. These works explore lyrical writing, rhythmic character and the interplay of contrasting instrumental colours.
Dario Bortolato is an Italian composer and arranger from the province of Varese. He studied harmony, counterpoint and wind-band instrumentation privately and has performed drums in Dixieland, swing and wind ensembles. His compositions and arrangements encompass jazz, traditional music, film and popular repertoire.
Nunzio Ortolano (b. 1967) is an Italian composer and conductor whose catalogue embraces wind-band, chamber and orchestral music. His writing combines melodic invention with a wide range of musical styles. He began collaborating with Edizioni Musicali Wicky in 2001, developing concert and music-theatre projects. His works have been recorded by ensembles including Fiatinsieme, Filarmonica Musikè and Panormus Brass, for whose album Dalla A alla Zisa he also served as artistic director. Several compositions originally conceived for wind band have been adapted for brass groups, strings and symphony orchestra. His Romanza for clarinet and piano is dedicated to Calogero Palermo.
Pietro Viviani is a Swiss composer, guitarist and arranger from Ticino, born in 1965. He studied at the Swiss Jazz School in Bern and at the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles, graduating in composition, arranging and film composition. His chamber music includes Perturbazioni for bass clarinet and guitar.
The bass clarinet developed from the search for a lower register within the clarinet family. Experiments with low clarinets date from the late eighteenth century, although the instrument’s later development gave it a distinct identity. My own first encounter with the clarinet came in my village band, where I was immediately drawn to its gentle, velvety sound. Trying the bass clarinet for the first time revealed another world: deep vibrations, an extraordinary range and colours that can change from one register to another. Over the years this instrument has become…
The bass clarinet developed from the search for a lower register within the clarinet family. Experiments with low clarinets date from the late eighteenth century, although the instrument’s later development gave it a distinct identity. My own first encounter with the clarinet came in my village band, where I was immediately drawn to its gentle, velvety sound. Trying the bass clarinet for the first time revealed another world: deep vibrations, an extraordinary range and colours that can change from one register to another.
Over the years this instrument has become both my profession and a close companion. Composers including Mahler, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Strauss, Wagner, Liszt, Verdi and Tchaikovsky have given it memorable orchestral passages. This recording grew from my wish to work with composers whose individual languages could reveal its singing qualities, technical possibilities and variety of timbre.
I wanted to explore the characters and moods the bass clarinet can embody. In the orchestra it can become Sancho Panza in Strauss’s Don Quixote, express the melancholy of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony or contribute to the tensions of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Similar possibilities emerge here: the tango character of Manola, the storytelling atmosphere of On Greensleeves, and the lyrical voice of Romanza. The instrument becomes an actor, responding to different scripts and languages, from the jazz influences of Over the Clouds to the contemporary sound world of Perturbazioni.
I extend my thanks to all the composers represented here. Angelo Sormani’s Over the Clouds unfolds in three movements. Thinking begins meditatively before developing energetic rhythmic and melodic ideas. Dreaming suggests the wonder of looking down on a sea of clouds; Dancing transforms that imagined journey into an expression of joy.
Dario Bortolato’s Bonzelgast tells a fantastical story of a witch and an ogre, with vivid musical effects that recall animated films. Danilo Zaffaroni’s Cadenza, Preludio e Pezzo appassionato explores three expressive situations. A theme hinted at in the first two sections emerges fully in the last, creating a close dialogue between soloist and strings. The composer adapted the work for bass clarinet and string quintet.
Zaffaroni’s Trio Tango combines lyrical, passionate and melancholic gestures. Two contrasting but strongly melodic ideas are developed above the piano’s persistent rhythm. Solo passages for bass clarinet and accordion near the end emphasise the distinctive colours of the two instruments.
On Greensleeves takes the familiar English tune as the starting point for changing harmonic and rhythmic situations, rather than a conventional sequence of variations. The melody’s charm and mystery invite a succession of different perspectives.
Pietro Viviani’s Perturbazioni was written for bass clarinet and guitar. Although its title might suggest atmospheric disturbances, the original notes explain a more everyday source: intrusive noise from the flat above the composer’s home. The instruments engage in a conversation, one pausing while the other speaks.
Bortolato’s Promenade evokes a walk through Val Veddasca, above Lake Maggiore near the Swiss border. Moments of contemplation alternate with brisk movement along the hillside paths. The contrasting registers of the bass clarinet suggest two characters travelling together.
Album notes by Fausto Saredi. English revised from the translation by Luigi Magistrelli.
Selected awards, reviews and interviews. Radio broadcasts and podcasts are listed separately below.
The Clarinet
“This album belongs in the library of every clarinetist.”
An exceptionally enthusiastic review praising Saredi's flawless technique, tonal variety and artistry, together with the outstanding contributions of his chamber partners. Published on pp. 75-76.
Read the review ↗ - The ClarinetMusica
The official review index for Musica 319 documents 4 stars for this recording on page 106. The full review has not been consulted.
Read the review ↗ - Musica
