Visions

Lavinia Meijer

16,9928,49
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Original Recording Format: DSD 64
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I am sometimes asked to name my favorite stylistic period. It doesn’t matter to me, as long as we’re talking about good compositions and I can give them my own personal interpretation.

It’s true that even as a young performer I discovered that I had an affinity for modern music. I am particularly interested by the technical and interpretative possibilities. It gives the performer a sense of freedom. I also enjoy the challenge of making modern music, which is experienced by so many people as “difficult”, into something not only approachable but exciting.

Personal contact with the composer is a priceless advantage here. I would never have been able to perform the works which were written especially for me by Garret Byrnes, Carlos Michans, and Jacob TV (Jacob ter Veldhuis) with such conviction if the composers hadn’t been around. Music for the harp has been composed in every imaginable style over the centuries, and in the process, certain structures and “rules” have come into being which were largely obeyed by every self-respecting composer.

But in the last century things changed. The limits were extended. A few composers, such as Carlos Salzedo, deliberately departed from the beaten path, even though it was sometimes a struggle before they could ultimately realise their personal visions. My experience has been similar. I have more or less demanded the right to experiment with new music in order to establish my own place on the concert platform.

Tracklist

Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.
1.
Suite, Op. 83 - Overture
03:04
2.
Suite, Op. 83 - Toccata
01:31
3.
Suite, Op. 83 - Nocturne
03:04
4.
Suite, Op. 83 - Fugue
01:14
5.
Suite, Op. 83 - Hymn, St. Denio
05:55
6.
Spiders, Op. 48 - The Dancing White lady
03:18
7.
Spiders, Op. 48 - The Red-backed Spider
01:30
8.
Spiders, Op. 48 - The Black Widow
03:25
9.
Spiders, Op. 48 - Tarantula
02:31
10.
Bugs, Op. 93 - Late Night ANT-ics!
03:01
11.
Bugs, Op. 93 - The Lost Locust
04:05
12.
Bugs, Op. 93 - Mosquito Massacre
05:22
13.
Visions in Twilight
07:15
14.
In Balance
11:34
15.
Stanza II for harp and tape
06:15

Total time: 01:03:04

Additional information

Label

SKU

29709

Qualities

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Channels

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Artists

Composers

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Genres

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Cables

van den Hul

Digital Converters

Grimm A/D DSD / Meitner DA

Mastering Engineer

Jared Sacks

Mastering Equipment

B&W 803 diamond series

Microphones

Bruel & Kjaer, Schoeps

Mixing Board

Rens Heijnis custom design

Awards

,

Instruments

Original Recording Format

Producer

Jared Sacks

Recording Engineer

Jared Sacks

Recording location

Doopgezinde Kerk Deventer Holland, 2009

Recording Software

Pyramix bij Merging

Recording Type & Bit Rate

DSD64

Speakers

Audiolab, Holland

Release DateJuly 8, 2014

Press reviews

Musical Pointers

one of the best of all harp recordings now available. (…) needle-sharp precision in realizing every moment in each of these pieces. Never popular generally, it receives an account of great refinement. (…)

Music Web

This recital offers an inspired programme of 20th- and 21st-century pieces recorded in a gorgeous acoustic by Jared Sacks, one of the industry’s foremost producers and engineers. So, very high expectations, but does this disc deliver? Oh yes, yes and yes again.
Brittens’ Toccata (from Suite, op. 83) is a miraculous miniature, with some lovely arpeggios, the Nocturne a moody little number, distinctly Satie-esque in its unquiet ramblings. But it’s in the short Fugue that Meijer produces some of the most liquid tones imaginable, the closing Hymn a discreet set of variations on a Welsh tune. Rarely have I heard harp playing of such delicacy and poise, the crisp upper register counterbalanced by a dark, woody bass that beguiles the mind and caresses the ear. But make no mistake, this is muscular, trustful music, and Meijer delivers it with plenty of passion and power.

I was so taken with this disc that I promptly went out and bought Meijer’s earlier recording, Divertissements (CCS SA 28908). That, too, is a pleasure from start to finish, but really Visions is in another league entirely. Channel’s solid production values – reflected in the high standard of its artwork, liner-notes and general presentation – would be sorely missed if downloads and DIY documentation become the norm. A must-have for harp aficionados and audio buffs alike.

Trouw

Wonderschone Suite van Britten (…)
(…) Fascinerende ‘Bugs’ van Paul Patterson uit 2006. Met technische souplesse gaat Lavinia de muziek te lijf maar bovenal weet zij fantastische, zeer diverse sferen op te roepen. Wie dacht dat harpmuziek saai of tuttig was luisteren naar deze geweldige cd !! Meijeris een visionair topmusicus.

Gelderlander

Zij verovert de wereld in snel tempo met haar passie voor de harp en houdt op deze cd een gloedvol en uitdagend betoog voor eigentijdse harpcomponisten. Fascinerend spel!!

Gramophone

Meijer’s brilliance is undeniable throughout this quirky repertoire.
(…) Her brilliance as a harpist is amply demonstrates in all of the pieces making up this recital (…)
(…) Spectacular in glissandos and chordal effects in Britten’s Suite (…)

Opus Haute Définition (English)

Without doubt, here is one of the most magnificent recordings devoted to the harp of the past ten years. This monument – for that is what it is – is dedicated to contemporary composers or those from the last century.
(…) Lavinia Meijer once again performs with communicative passion. Each instant of her brilliant playing, colorful and inspired from beginning to end, is absolute magic. Her fingers glide on the chords with both grace and virtuosity. Time then seems to stop its forward advance, leaving the silence of these poetic resonances melt into our most intimate thoughts. This, quite simply, is a masterpiece.

Opus Haute Définition

Voici bel et bien un des plus beaux enregistrements consacrés à la Harpe de ces dix dernières années. Ce monument, car il s’agit d’une révélation, est dédié à des compositeurs contemporains ou appartenant au siècle passé. (…)
(…) La jeune harpiste Lavinia Meijer récidive avec une passion communicative. Chaque instant de son jeu brillant, coloré et inspiré de bout en bout, est un enchantement absolu. Ses doigts courent sur les cordes avec grâce et virtuosité à la fois. Et le temps semble alors suspendre son avancée, laissant le silence de ces résonnances poétiques se fondre dans nos pensées les plus intimes. Un chef-d’œuvre tout simplement.

Volkskrant

excellente verrichtingen uitgekomen op cd, met grote resultaten. Behorend tot een van de beste producties van dit jaar. De harpiste blinkt uit in naoorlogswerken van oa Britten. (…)
(…) De met de Nederlandse Muziekprijs gelauwerde harpiste brengt ook haar unieke gave in stelling, expressief tumultueus harpspel, dat tegelijk tot in de puntjes is gearticuleerd (…)

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