ROGER REYNOLDS: WIND CONCERTOS

JACQUELINE LECLAIR, oboe
KERSTIN THIELE, flute
ESBJERG ENSEMBLE & GUESTS
MATHIAS REUMERT, conductor

1. JOURNEY (2023) for solo oboe and chamber orchestra 25:23
   Jacqueline Leclair, oboe
   
   Transfigured Wind III (1984) for solo flute, chamber orchestra, and computer-processed sound [34:58]

2. I. Flute 1:40

3. I. Ensemble 1:31

4. II. Flute 2:00

5. II. Ensemble 2:48

6. III. Flute 3:01

7. III. Ensemble 6:03

8. IV. Flute 4:45

9. IV. Ensemble 13:10
   Kerstin Thiele, flute

With three upcoming albums, Ekkozone Records celebrates the work of the trailblazing American composer Roger Reynolds and his collaboration with Danish musician and producer, Mathias Reumert. The first album in the series, Wind Concertos features the World Premiere recording of Reynolds’s oboe concerto, JOURNEY, combined with his landmark electroacoustic flute concerto, Transfigured Wind III.

The composer describes JOURNEY as a work that “does not give up its secrets easily”. Written for the pre-eminent modern oboist Jacqueline Leclair, who is featured as soloist on the recording, JOURNEY is a work of immense subtlety, in which the solo part weaves in and out of the polyphonic orchestral texture. The unusual harmonies of the ensemble writing are based on Leclair's trademarks oboe multiphonics, which are captured with stunning richness in this state-of-the-art recording.

Reumert conducts one of Scandinavia's finest ensembles, the Esbjerg Ensemble, whose flutist Kerstin Thiele interprets the extraordinary solo part in Transfigured Wind III. Widely considered a masterwork of the late 20th century, this large-scale concerto represents a pinnacle in Reynolds’ exploration of the potential of electroacoustic composition.

In a wide-ranging interview included in the booklet, the composer calls the new recording of Transfigured Wind III "revelatory" and discusses the collaborative process on JOURNEY: "In the best collaborations, each participant adds dimensionality and enriches the proposed content. In this case, it developed that I too had achieved something beyond what I had expected. Ultimately, Jackie, Mathias, and the ensemble brought the piece to life in a way that I had not imagined was possible".

ESBJERG ENSEMBLE & GUESTS
Carmen Bajo Jurado, flute (only Journey)
David Daniel Dinu, oboe (only Transfigured Wind III)
Ron Chen-Zien, Bb clarinet and Eb clarinet
Anna Klett, Bb clarinet and bass clarinet
Magnus Kongsmo, bassoon
Joke Wijma, French horn
Ales Klancar, trumpet
Andre Jensen, trombone
Jonas Olsson, piano
Christian Martinez, vibraphone/percussion
David Hildebrandt, marimba/percussion (only Transfigured Wind III)
Kana Sugimura, violin
Edgar Francis, viola
Pau Codina Masferrer, cello
Karla Egebjærg Wulff, contrabass

CREDITS
Producer, executive producer, mixing engineer: Mathias Reumert
Recording session supervisor: John Frandsen
Recording and mastering engineer: Sebastian Vinther Olsen
Assistant recording engineer: Daniil Kotilevitš
Recorded 1-4 May 2023 at KoncertKirken, Copenhagen
Liner notes: Thomas May
Cover image: Morten Agergaard
Publisher: Edition Peters
Portraits by Erik Jepsen (R. Reynolds & M. Reumert), Kathrin Kronast (J. Leclair), and Nikolaj Lund (K. Thiele)
Special thanks to Gene Caprioglio and Steen Skole

RELEASE DETAILS
Released April 2024
Cat No.: ekkozone04
EAN 809730000423