Freem Saxophone Quartet - A Minimal Sax - Various

Contemporary Italian variations on the famous Baroque dance in a crossover album of ancient and modern, featuring new and world premiere recordings. No one knows who first used the term "Folia" to describe a type of Portuguese dance, or even when it became associated with a particular theme immortalized by Arcangelo Corelli in his last Op. 5 violin sonata. However, La Foliana or La Folliana, the theme has been improvised and updated ever since, all drawing on the original's noble dignity and its simple, affective power. Born in 1956, Carlo Pedini produced a half-hour series of variations on "La Follia" in 2007 and composed them for string orchestra: this is the first internationally available recording made by an ensemble consisting of the string section of the Ukrainian KLK Symphony Orchestra. They are conducted here by Pedini's contemporary and compatriot Ferdinando Nazzaro, who founded a new music ensemble affiliated with the KLK orchestra. La Follia is complemented here by another of Pedini's neo-baroque works, a set of three remarkable pieces composed for string orchestra, whose central adagio and finale are dedicated to the art of the neoclassical painter Antonio Canova. The album ends with another series of Paolo Ugoletti's variations on "La Follia." Ugoletti was also born in 1956 and was a student of Franco Donatoni. These take the theme into the realm of pop, and the variations use innovative string techniques such as "boogie-woogie" and "funky." Ugoletti's rhapsody "Il sentiero dei castagni" (The Chestnut Tree Path), dedicated to the conductor of this recording, completes the album, which is a must-listen for all lovers of the charming tonal music of contemporary composers. This new album presents symphonic works by two Italian contemporary composers, Carlo Pedini and Paolo Ugoletti, based on Corelli's famous Spanish dance La Follia. Carlo Pedini (b. 1956) was self-taught until he took lessons from Franco Donato and Salvatore Sciarrino. From 1996 to 2003, he was the artistic director of Sagra Musicale Umbra, one of Europe's oldest festivals. There he premiered works by Philip Glass, Morricone, and Brouwer. Pedini and Ugoletti's works on the famous La Follia theme are full of contrasts: eclectic, with occasional forays into jazz and related popular music, they present a kaleidoscope of colors, complex dance rhythms, and orchestral splendor. The composer is the KLK string orchestra conducted by Ferdinando Nazzaro. The composers provide their own background information in a booklet.