Fantastic composition that I didn't know about!

Veikko, I like this composition so much! I tried to find online recordings by other pianists, but without success. Do you know who has played this piece in recent decades? Or is it a forgotten piece?

Beautiful, both the piece and your playing! Thank you for sharing!

Recorded at Studio 15 by fabiano matiolla
fabiano matiolla - All guitars, bass, keyboards and drum samples...

Release Date: Sep 22, 2023

◆Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOwhaxb-ILE
◆Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/album/satellite-single/1707391139
◆Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/br/album/488254955
◆Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/album/4UrhSKADTgu2IfqtxUg5Mk
◆Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fabianomatiolla
◆Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/album/316395624
◆Qobuz: https://www.qobuz.com/dk-en/album/satellite-fabiano-matiolla/aviz8imug9fga

Produced by fabiano matiolla

Satellite

Arcangelo Corelli: 2.Allemande, 3.Sarabande & 4.Gigue Op.5 No.8. Mvts 2-4 of Sonata for violin & basso continuo. Arr. for pianoduo reproduced by VViljanen 2024, on ground of a reading into a sequence by H.Fesefeldt (1942-2019) fr. ca.2010.
Any kind of commercial use of this track is prohibited.

Arcangelo Corelli: Allemande, Largo & Gigue Op.5 No.8

Arcangelo Corelli: 2.Allemande, 3.Sarabande & 4.Gigue of Op.5 No.8 for violin & b.c. Arr.for Piano

Arcangelo Corelli: Preludio - Corrente - Sarabande & Gigue Op.5n7, Sonata in D minor for violin & basso continuo. Transcribed for Piano Duo by VV 23.2.2023 on basis of a reading saved into a sequence by H.Fesedeldt (1942-2019) in ca.2010.
The articulations, dynamics and tempos were now revised, and a pair of modeled grand pianos were used for recording & reproduction ,the instruments revoiced, reconfigured, and the rec.setup made by VV.
Photo: Corelli portrait
Any kind of commercial use of this track is prohibited

Arcangelo Corelli: Preludio - Corrente - Sarabande 6 Gigue Op.5n7. Arr.for Piano Duo

Arcangelo Corelli: Preludio - Corrente - Sarabande & Gigue Op.5n7. Arr.for Piano Duo

The Trial
A Pico-Operetta for our Times

International Cast

Lady Humanity - Oddrun Eikli - Norway, vocals and lyric on the last song; https://soundcloud.com/oddrun-eikli
Lord Mammon - Peter - England, All poetic lyrics in the operetta, except the last song; https://soundcloud.com/user-264930040/tracks
The Judge - David Dunham - USA, and acoustic guitar in the third song; https://soundcloud.com/david-dunhamuser589535203
Music & Production - Seagull - Sweden, compilation, mixing, sound effects etc; https://soundcloud.com/farout-music-studio

Here you can download all poetic lyrics: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/37k203an5c6azz0ekltvn/The-Trial-Libretto.pdf?rlkey=mope1vjiyqhaeo17b5u74dp2i&dl=0

Synopsis

Following unprecedented worldwide growth in human conflict, an emergency plenary session of the United Nations was convened late in 2023, tasked with finding new approaches to defuse global tension and ease conciliation.  Recognising the abject failure of extant UN jurisdictions and powers, and in a radical restructuring of the international legal and security framework, that session established a new UN institution to sit alongside the International Court of Criminal Justice.  The International Court of Moral Justice was formally incorporated into the UN Constitution on 1 January 2024.

The foundations of this infant organisation and those of the UN itself were shaken when it was revealed that the inaugural case to be heard by the ICMJ was to be a private prosecution brought by greed itself against the defendant, mankind’s innate sense of humanity.

In papers lodged with the court, the protagonist, Lord Mammon has asserted that the fundamental basis for human misery, the creation of discontent, thence envy and hence conflict, is to be found exclusively in false moral goodness and self-righteousness borne of a misplaced sense of benevolence.  The human race survived and thrived, he states, not by moving at the pace of the slowest, or sharing resources with the weakest, but by taking and keeping, for the self alone, much more than is needed for basic subsistence, this being the singular route to strength, individual contentment and thus tolerance of others. 
 
In reply, a broken and demoralised Lady Humanity has been compelled to present her own defence after failing to secure funding for a legal team to counter the advocates ranged in front of Lord Mammon. The case for the defence rests solely on the premise that good comes from within and cannot be created from nothing.  So whilst she may try to bolster the moral cause in her work, she increasingly finds that the human souls she sees have no humanity in them whatsoever for her to strengthen, nothing to work with and as such, concedes that she has failed, but denounces the notion that it was for want of trying.  Devoid of resources, supporters and allies of any kind she single handedly has held the fort against the self-perpetuating, self-reinforcing massed ranks of Mammon.
  
The Lord Chief Justice of the ICMJ along with his bench of associate judiciary adjourn proceedings to consider their findings and in the final act, return to deliver their verdict.

The Trial - A Pico Operetta for our times

Pulled from the archives, Julie Evans brings the Blues to her exquisite violin playing in this cover of the famous Arthur Hamilton song.  I had the privilege of backing her up with acoustic guitar and bass.  Remastered from a cassette tape recorded in 1997.  Thanks to Harvey Twyman for bringing our cover to mind with his own recent and very fine cover @harvey-twyman.

Cry Me A River (Arthur Hamilton) Julie Evans; violin, David; Guitar, Bass

Melancholy

Andrae Crouch: Blood Will Never Lose Its Power**.  Arranged & reproduced for pianoduo by VV Apr 14-19, 2024. - Articulations, dynamics & 'rhythmic-feel' etc. were set by VV, as well as the recording sessions, where  a pair of modeled grand pianos were used, being revoiced, and reconfigured, as well as the rec. setup made by VV. - Key: Ab Major.
Photo: Andrae Crouch (1942-2015)/Christianity Today.
**Lyrics:
"The blood that Jesus shed for me
Way back on Calvary
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power
It reaches to the highest mountain
It flows to the lowest valley
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power
It soothes my doubts and calms my fears
And it dries all my tears
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power
It reaches to the highest mountain
It flows to the lowest valley
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power"

(ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE OF THIS TRACK IS PROHIBITED)

Andrae Crouch: Blood Will Never Lose Its Power.Adapted for piano duo

Andrae Crouch: Blood Will Never Lose Its Power. Adapted for pianoduo

The Trial
A Pico-Operetta for our Times

International Cast

Lady Humanity - Oddrun Eikli - Norway, vocals and lyric on the last song; @oddrun-eikli
Lord Mammon - Peter - England, All poetic lyrics in the operetta, except the last song; soundcloud.com/user-264930040/tracks
The Judge - David Dunham - USA, and acoustic guitar in the third song; @david-dunhamuser589535203
Music & Production - Seagull - Sweden, compilation, mixing, sound effects etc; @farout-music-studio

Here you can download all poetic lyrics: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/37k203an5c6azz0ekltvn/The-Trial-Libretto.pdf?rlkey=mope1vjiyqhaeo17b5u74dp2i&e=1&dl=0

Synopsis

Following unprecedented worldwide growth in human conflict, an emergency plenary session of the United Nations was convened late in 2023, tasked with finding new approaches to defuse global tension and ease conciliation. Recognising the abject failure of extant UN jurisdictions and powers, and in a radical restructuring of the international legal and security framework, that session established a new UN institution to sit alongside the International Court of Criminal Justice. The International Court of Moral Justice was formally incorporated into the UN Constitution on 1 January 2024.

The foundations of this infant organisation and those of the UN itself were shaken when it was revealed that the inaugural case to be heard by the ICMJ was to be a private prosecution brought by greed itself against the defendant, mankind’s innate sense of humanity.

In papers lodged with the court, the protagonist, Lord Mammon has asserted that the fundamental basis for human misery, the creation of discontent, thence envy and hence conflict, is to be found exclusively in false moral goodness and self-righteousness borne of a misplaced sense of benevolence. The human race survived and thrived, he states, not by moving at the pace of the slowest, or sharing resources with the weakest, but by taking and keeping, for the self alone, much more than is needed for basic subsistence, this being the singular route to strength, individual contentment and thus tolerance of others.

In reply, a broken and demoralised Lady Humanity has been compelled to present her own defence after failing to secure funding for a legal team to counter the advocates ranged in front of Lord Mammon. The case for the defence rests solely on the premise that good comes from within and cannot be created from nothing. So whilst she may try to bolster the moral cause in her work, she increasingly finds that the human souls she sees have no humanity in them whatsoever for her to strengthen, nothing to work with and as such, concedes that she has failed, but denounces the notion that it was for want of trying. Devoid of resources, supporters and allies of any kind she single handedly has held the fort against the self-perpetuating, self-reinforcing massed ranks of Mammon.

The Lord Chief Justice of the ICMJ along with his bench of associate judiciary adjourn proceedings to consider their findings and in the final act, return to deliver their verdict.

The Trial. A Pico-Operetta for our Times.

Inspired by the final lines from the poem Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

"The Clouds that gather round the setting sun
Do take a sober colouring from an eye
That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality;
Another race hath been, and other palms are won.
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."



Intimations: A Prelude

Danger keep out

Amy Beach: The Fairy Of The Fountain. Augusta Schnabel-Tollefsen** on Ampico 54314.
c Recorded for educational and pedagogical purposes by VViljanen Feb 10, 2019, and ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE IS PROHIBITED.
Photo: Amy Beach (1867-1944)was an American composer and pianist of Scottish descent. She was the first successful American female composer to make a name for herself in music. Most of her compositions and performances have been done under the name of Mrs. HHA Beach.
Amy Marcy Cheney was born as a child of a distinguished New England family . She was a prodigy who was said to be able to sing forty songs as a one-year-old. She learned to read herself at the age of three and composed three simple rolls when she was four. She received her first lessons from her mother when she was six, and a year later she gave her first recitals . She played works by Händel , Beethoven , Chopin , as well as her own works. In 1875 her parents moved to Boston, where they were advised to register Amy at a European conservatory. Instead, they chose to have her take classes in Boston, and they first hired Ernst Perabo, and later Carl Baermann. When she was fourteen, Amy got her only official composition training from Junius W. Hill, with whom she studied harmony and counterpoint for a year . Apart from that one year, Amy Beach did not have any lessons and taught herself everything especially by studying classical pieces, such as Bach's Wohltemperiertes Klavier .
In 1883 she made her professional debut in Boston: she played Chopins Rondo in E and Moscheles ' concert in g minor. Shortly thereafter she performed as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra . After her marriage in 1885 with Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach - a Boston surgeon who was 24 years older than she - agreed to limit her performances to one public recital a year and donate the proceeds to a charitable cause. Responding to the wishes of her husband, she devoted herself to composing. Her first major success was the Mass in E major , in 1892 by the Handel and Haydn Societywas carried out. The well-received execution of this mass led to Beach from then on being counted among America's most important composers. She composed the Jubilate dedicated to the Woman's Building at the World's Columbian Exposition . [1]
After her husband died in 1910, she toured Europe as a pianist and she played her own compositions at the concerts. She was determined to acquire a reputation both as a pianist and as a composer. In 1924 she returned to America where she spent most of her time on the MacDowell Colonyin Peterborough (New Hampshire). In 1915 she wrote the "Ten Commandments for Young Composers", which included many of her theses for self-study. Later, Amy Beach moved to New York, where she became the virtual house composer of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. She used her status as the most important female composer of America to promote the career of young musicians; she was also at the head of various organizations, such as the Society of American Women Composers, of which she was the first president. Heart failure led to Beach withdrawing in 1940, until her death in 1944.
**Augusta Schnabel-Tollefsen (Augusta Tollefsen, née Schnabel, 1885 - 1955).
Info* of the original piano roll:
LA FES DE LA FONTAINE (THE FAIRY IN THE FOUNTAIN) "Les Reves De Columbine" Op. 65, No. 1
Roll Number: 54314, 54314G
Composer/Creator: Beach
Pianist: Tollefsen
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: classical
Original Price: $1.75
*Info source: The Player Piano Group web page (by permission)

Amy Beach: La Fée de la fontaine. Augusta Schnabel-Tollefsen 1910's on Ampico 54314

My warmest thanks to everyone stopping by for listening to my  'REVIEW   OF THE PAST TIME PIANISTS' INTERPRETATIONS ON THE HISTORICAL PIANO ROLLS, and also to a small LIST of MY MODEST OWN RENDITIONS, all of the latter representing a variety of piano music & some pipe-organ classics, - and  TO THE Growing LISTS OF (just lately done and reproduced)  TRANSCRIPTIONS OF VARIOUS CHAMBER MUSIC CLASSICAL PEARLS FOR TWO PIANOS.
A HEADSET IS RECOMMENDED for optimal sound experience!
This kind of 'touching' on these old pre-sound-rec. era works by the great performers of the past, and giving my sound to these old 'punch rolls',  makes me feel  deep humbleness, .and I wish that this modest attempt to bring these  performances alive will satisfy you listening to them!
To introduce myself...
I am a Finnish M.D., PhD. and Hand Surgeon (now retired), previously when young with 10 years of professionally orientated piano studies at Turku Conservatory in 1965-1975, partly  along with medical University studies. 
The digital sound techniques have become very familiar to me already from 1980's along with my university research work  
and my musical activities.
As continuation to my musical and professional experience, I have, during the last few years of my retirement, adopted a music historical challenge
to bring the past time major and minor pianists, prior to sound-recording era, onto the same 'start line' with the present pianists, by making their presentations, played onto 'punch rolls' i.e. piano rolls, audible with modern digital techniques. This wouldn't be possible without the pioneering  efforts of Richard Stibbons, Wayne Stahnke, Terry Smythe, Warren Trachtman, Spencer Chase, and others, who developed the optical digitizing techniques of the piano rolls, and digitized them.

The main part of my recordings here in SC consists of selection recorded by me from optically digitized piano-rolls** (from 1910's on or earlier, classical and 'vintage era'). These recordings of mine are not and will not be commercially unavailable. - The rolls were first optically scanned and converted into a digital form by diverse operators** (see also to the info of each piece). The pieces here were partly (minor part) picked from various open net sources, publicly available, but mainly from the huge archive (n=ca.5000) of digitized copies copies of the original reproducing piano rolls, made available to me by one of the pioneers of roll digitizing tehchniques (willing to keep anonymous), and then recorded from this archive mainly with virtual grand piano (called by me 'Bluethner Model One') modified/re-designed by me, as well as the rec settings. 
Also a minor selection of my own renditions among my records can be found here, included on my playlist 'Bach Goes Virtual', the name of the list telling something about the techniques used for getting the end result... The list includes various organ works by J.S.Bach and others, and also a few piano renditions of mine. Then there are included also various pieces which have been in my repertoire, but here played mainly by the  'guest' great players of the past (before the sound recording era).
MY MOST HUMBLE THANKS TO THE NOBLE DONOR  OF THIS INVALUABLE PIANO ROLL MATERIAL FOR MY USE!!!
My Sincere Thanks also to The Player Piano Group, UK, for providing me their permission to use the information about the piano rolls collected and provided on their web page ( https://rolls.playerpianogroup.org.uk ),  and for simplifying my short historical presentations of these renditions on their re-publication here!
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, MY MOST HUMBLE THANKS TO EVERYONE  OF YOU FOR LISTENING, AND FOR YOUR 'LIKES' & COMMENTS !
YOUR LISTENING & FEEDBACK IS TRULY APPRECIATED..!!.
Use of good headphones or speakers will make your music experience more enjoyable!
Best wishes, all the best
Veikko
These recordings are not commercially available, and ANY KIND OF THEIR COMMERCIAL USE IS PROHIBITED.

Amy Beach: La Fée de la fontaine. Augusta Schnabel-Tollefsen 1910's on Ampico 54314

Veikko Viljanen

Recent comments

Anibal Seminara

Mariza Costa-Cabral

Dominique Monestié -Compositions

Mariza Costa-Cabral

Related tracks