New Release From The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra releases its newest album Midsummer Dreams on 27 March under the ARCO label. This fourth album of their discography features popular Romantic works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn performed by 41 musicians playing on gut strings, historic winds, natural brass, including a rare ophicleide and timpani.
The anthology begins with a fairytale, ends with a brooding landscape and bounds through a spirited symphony. Midsummer Dreams, roams over a sweep of Romantic visions from Beethoven and Mendelssohn in an Australian premiere recording on period instruments with historically informed performance (HIP).
From the magical Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Felix Mendelssohn through Beethoven’s radical Symphony No.8 in F major and Mendelssohn’s moody ‘Scottish’ Symphony No.3 in A minor, this album offers both sheer enjoyment for the average listener and a deep dive into 19th-century emotive gesture for those seeking something new.
Conducted from the violin by Rachael Beesley and recorded live in concert in the brilliant acoustics of The Concourse, Chatswood, on 8 August 2023, Midsummer Dreams will be available in physical, digital and streaming formats at arco.org.au/midsummer-cd.
That journey begins with ARCO’s detailed research into 19th-century performance practice and how listeners would have heard this music for the first time. Spending time with early recordings and collaborating with violinist and University of Leiden PhD candidate Emma Williams, Beesley and her musicians dive into the gestures and declamations of 19th-century actors, using expressive devices such as tempo rubato (fluid time) and portamento (connecting notes by sliding) to inspire a radically different sound.
The CD comes with program notes by Yvonne Frindle and Dr Geoffrey Burgess, including a fascinating essay into the ‘steampunk’ origins of Beethoven’s so-called ‘Metronome’ movement and beautiful cover artwork by Lisa Goldberg, who is also (impressively) the orchestra’s principal bassoonist.
Read our review of ARCO’s recent third album Heavenly Mozart.
Pre-order Midsummer Dreams.
