JOHAN FARJOT (b.1975): Fantasme - Cercles de Mana for Clarinet and Orchestra, MAGNUS LINDBERG (b.1958): Clarinet Concerto, KARL AMADEUS HARTMANN (1905-1963): Chamber Concerto for Clarinet, String Quartet and String Orchestra.

Description: Lindberg's stunning concerto is arguably overdue for a new recording - this appears to be its second, the only previous one being the dedicatee in 2005. The single-span, almost half-hour work is a great example of the kind of extravagant compositional virtuosity and impeccable handling of (very) large forces that Lindberg displays in all his orchestral works. The composer’s idiom is recognizably tonal, chromatic and extended, no doubt, but given to glorious resolutions at key moments into revelatory vistas Illuminated by the clearest harmonic sunshine. Speaking of extravagant virtuosity, the solo part is a tour de force, requiring extraordinary athleticism and incorporating every kind of multiphonic playing ever devised. Hartmann's gorgeous Kammerkonzert is also strangely under-recorded. Composed in the 1930s, it is a very Romantic work, often overtaken by a sense of foreboding . The opening movement is rhapsodic, beautiful and sad; the following 'dance variations' are energetic, then anxious, then bucolic but disturbed by ominous episodes, then finally high-spirited. The final 'Fantasie' is sombre and reflective, intoning and embellishing a sorrowful song-like theme. Farjot's program note tells us that Fantasme has something to do with a unifying spirituality among groups of people. Or something like that. The work is vigorous and expressive, largely tonal, and makes repeated use of a three-note motif based on Debussy's initials; traces of Debussy seem to be evident in the work’s harmonic language, and there is a section that recalls Pärt's tintinnabulary textures. The piece ascends to several ecstatic climaxes of Romantic grandeur. Jean-Luc Votano (clarinet), Quatuor Danel, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège; Christian Arming.