Simone Drescher - Humanity (2022)

The concept album shows the musical visualization of humanity: humanity, humanity. The conceptual center is Pēteris Vasks Cello Concerto No. 2: Klātbūtne (Presence). "Simone, it's love, love, love!" the composer, who accompanied the recording in his hometown of Riga, gave Simone Drescher as a maxim of interpretation and as the only indication of interpretation. The album juxtaposes two friends and composers from the Baltic Sea region who value each other but are characterized by very different musical concepts, styles and compositional methods. Different attitudes to life are manifested in them: Vasks and Nordgren.

Vasks' Cello Concerto No. 2 was recorded here for the first time in his Latvian homeland, with a Latvian orchestra, the Sinfonietta Riga State Chamber Orchestra, and a (young) Latvian conductor who has received many awards and is now 1st Kapellmeister in the Nationaltheater Mannheim, Jānis Liepiņš.
Nordgren's Cello Concerto No. 1 is available here on the first non-Finnish recording and, alongside the two recordings by the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, as the third recording ever.

The album also features the premiere recording of two arrangements for this album of Bach's chorale prelude "Erbarm' dich mein, oh Herre Gotte", BWV 721 for cello and strings and his Aria in C minor from the Pastorale in F major for cello, strings and Voice modeled after Pēteris Vasks' use of voice in "Klātbūtne". These arrangements were commissioned by Simone Drescher for this album.

The booklet offers an extensive and insightful interview with Simone Drescher on the concept of the album and her understanding of the connection between making music and humanity.

Tracklist:

01. Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 50: I. Prelude I. Adagio
02. Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 50: II. Prelude II. Allegro
03. Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 50: III. Hymn. Andante
04. Pastorella in F Major, BWV 590 (Arr. S. Scheiwiller for Cello & Orchestra)
05. Cello Concerto No. 2 "Klātbūtne": I. Cadenza - Andante cantabile
06. Cello Concerto No. 2 "Klātbūtne": II. Allegro marcato
07. Cello Concerto No. 2 "Klātbūtne": III. Adagio
08. Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott, BWV 721 (Arr. S. Scheiwiller for Cello & Orchestra)