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Casanova

The complete works for cello and wind orchestra

Johan de Meij composer

Yuki Ito cello
Megumi Nakamura harp
Kyushu Wind Orchestra
Johan de Meij conductor

Release Date: October 4, 2024

Catalog #: NV6663

Format: Digital

21st Century

Concertos

Cello

Wind Ensemble

At this point, it would only be fair to call Dutch composer and conductor Johan de Meij “the Dutch King of program music.” Widely known to audiences for his 1988 Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings, De Meij now presents CASANOVA, the complete recording of his compositions and transcriptions for cello and wind orchestra.

Like the majority of De Meij’s oeuvre, the works on CASANOVA are committed to a late Romantic aesthetic: frequently citing Rachmaninoff, Debussy, or Puccini, and intended to conjure specific imagery. The resulting music is soothing, colorful, and pleasing to the ear.

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Track Listing & Credits

#	Title	Composer	Performer
01	Elegy & Scherzo (A Tribute to Sergei Rachmaninoff)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	11:12
02	Casanova: I. Prologo: Il Tema di Messer Grande (Prologue - the Messer Grande theme)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	1:36
03	Casanova: II. Cadenza - Atto di Presentazione (Cadenza: Casanova presents himself)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	2:35
04	Casanova: III. La Vita a Corte (Court life)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	2:30
05	Casanova: IV. L’Arresto di Casanova (Casanova’s arrest)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	2:35
06	Casanova: V. Reminiscenze (Reveries)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	5:55
07	Casanova: VI. L’Evasione dai Piombi (Escape from the Piombi prison)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	6:53
08	Casanova: VII. M.M. e C.C. (M.M. and C.C.)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	1:37
09	Casanova: VIII. Finale e Stretto: Il Trionfo dell’Amore (Love’s triumph)	Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	2:55
10	Angelo del Cielo (from Suor Angelica)	Giacomo Puccini, arr. Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	5:55
11	Sale, ascende, l’uman cantico (from Tosca)	Giacomo Puccini, arr. Megumi Nakamura	Yuki Ito, cello; Megumi Nakamura, harp	3:38
12	Clair de Lune (from Suite Bergamasque)	Claude Debussy, arr. Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Megumi Nakamura, harp; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	4:28
13	Elfentanz (Dance of the Elves)	David Popper, arr. Johan de Meij	Yuki Ito, cello; Kyushu Wind Orchestra \| Johan de Meij, conductor	3:08

Dedicated to the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Centennial of Giacomo Puccini’s death

Special thanks to Koichi Haraguchi (Kyushu Wind Orchestra), Bob Lord & Jeff LeRoy (PARMA Recordings), King Record Co. LTD, Munakata Yurix

All titles (except No. 4) published by Amstel Music BV
www.johandemeij.com

Recorded February 22-23, 2024 at Yumenity Nogata Main Hall in Nogata, Japan
Engineer Susum Masuda (KING Sekiguchidai studio)
Recording Director Keiji Ono (M Classics)
Editing & Mastering Keiji Ono (M Classics)

Photography Tsuchiya Akiho
Booklet Texts Johan de Meij, Megumi Nakamura, Yuki Ito, Anthony Fiumara

Executive Producer Bob Lord

VP of A&R Brandon MacNeil
A&R Jeff LeRoy

VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Kacie Brown
Digital Marketing Manager Brett Iannucci

Artist Information

Johan de Meij

Composer

Johan de Meij, world-renowned award-winning composer and conductor of Dutch descent has built an impressive oeuvre over the last four decades. His creations have been performed by the world’s top orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. His orchestral catalogue includes five symphonies, nine major solo concertos and a wide variety of smaller works. His Symphony No.1 The Lord of the Rings (1988), having marked its 35th year in 2023, has become a classic in the orchestra repertoire, and is one of the most performed works in the literature.

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Yuki Ito

cello

Yuki Ito won 1st prize at both the International Brahms Competition in 2010 and the UK’s most prestigious Windsor Festival International String Competition in 2011, which led him to commence an international career. He has since internationally appeared with major orchestras as the Philharmonia Orchestra, Kärntner Sinfonieorchester, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras, and has regularly given recitals around the globe at venues like London’s Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre. He specializes in Rachmaninoff amidst his wide repertoire – having released his world-wide debut album “Rachmaninoff Complete Cello Works” in 2012, he had internationally given “All Rachmaninoff” recitals every year towards the composer’s 150th birth anniversary in 2023, which was complemented by publishing a monograph “Thoughts on Rachmaninoff”. In recent years he has been internationally invited to give masterclasses at conservatoires, as well as serving as adjudicator for international competitions. He was awarded the Hideo Saito Memorial Award in 2019, one of the most honorable music awards in Japan, for his service to music.

Megumi Nakamura

harp

Megumi Nakamura has made her career as a solo harpist in Japan and overseas. Impassioned and dedicated to widening the repertoire for her instrument, she has made a wide range of arrangements for harp, including “Requiem” (the whole work) by Faure, “Prelude” (op.3-2) and “Vocalise” (in the original key) by Rachmaninoff, in addition to introducing less-spotlighted works originally written for it. In 2023 she performed with the Slovenian Armed Forces Orchestra under the baton of maestro Johan de Meij in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where she also gave a recital. Since 2022 she has appeared annually at Tokyo’s prestigious Hamarikyu Asahi Hall to give recitals, where she Japan-premiered “Rondo” by Burgmüller originally written for harp. In 2022 she performed “The Dying Swan” with the world-renowned ballerina Svetlana Zakharova, and in 2023 she performed her own composition “Variations on a Theme of God Save the King” for Her Imperial Highness Princess Akiko of Mikasa.

The Kyushu Wind Orchestra

orchestra

The Kyushu Wind Orchestra was established in 2004 by freelance musicians living in Kyushu, led by clarinetist Toru Mizusaki (formerly of the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra), with the aim of “providing a place for outstanding musicians living in Kyushu to engage in musical activities and developing wind band music as a musical art.” In 2006, KWO signed a partnership agreement with Munakata City and Munakata Yurix (Fukuoka Japan) for cooperation and have been performing in various places with Munakata Yurix as our headquarters.

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In particular, the Kyushu Wind Orchestra Concert, which is held every May at Fukuoka Symphony Hall as an independent performance, is attracting attention nationwide, with highly artistic wind band works performed and its unique program and excellent performance content being broadcast on NHK FM. At a commemorative concert held in May 2014, the 10th anniversary of the band’s foundation, the world-renowned Dutch composer and conductor maestro Johan de Meij was invited to perform his masterpiece “Symphony No. 1: The Lord of the Rings,” which received rave reviews. In 2015, Johan de Meij was appointed as the principal guest conductor, and the KWO began its activities to reach a higher level.

In 2015, the Kyushu Wind Orchestra took on difficult pieces such as Symphony No. 3 “Planet Earth” and in 2016 “The Venetian Collection”, which were both highly acclaimed. In September 2015, Kyushu Wind Orchestra was invited to participate in the International Wind Band Festival held in Seoul and performed Symphony No. 3 “Planet Earth” jointly with Korean musicians at the Concert Hall of the Arts Hall of Fame in Seoul, where KWO played an important role in the friendship between Japan and the Republic of Korea. In 2017, it was reorganized as a specified non-profit organization, and its activities are substantial, such as performing new works by Johan de Meij for the Japanese and Asian premiere and performing with soloists from Japan and abroad. In 2024, the Kyushu Wind Orchestra celebrates its 20th anniversary, as well as maestro de Meij’s 10th anniversary as principal guest conductor.

Orchestra Members

PICCOLO
Yukiko Kanado

FLUTES
Ayako Shiraki
Hitomi Momiyama

OBOES
Mikiko Kiritani
Yosiko Odono

ENGLISH HORN
Tomoko Hanada

BASSOONS
Takanobu Sato
Shuichi Ban

DOUBLE BASSOON
Aya Kunito

E♭ CLARINET
Yoko Yamada

B♭ CLARINETS
Yuko Matsui
Miyoko Oda
Kayo Yoshida
Yoko Inenaga
Kumiko Koga
Miyuki Yamada
Mae Okahara
Sayo Nishimura

ALTO CLARINET
Wakana Nishijima

BASS CLARINET
Ai Yamashita

CONTRABASS CLARINET
Koichi Haraguchi

ALTO SAXOPHONES
Miyuki Shigaki
Shota Tanaka

TENOR SAXOPHONES
Taketo Ando
Hiromasa Abe

BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Maiko Tanaka

TRUMPETS
Atsuko Koga
Hiroyuki Ozaki
Hirofumi Ideguchi
Keisuke Shimojo
Yuji Shibata

FRENCH HORNS
Takehiro Yoshida
Machiko Yamashita
Yosuke Moriguchi
Masatsugu Oyabu

TROMBONES
Junshi Muraoka
Sayuri Hori

BASS TROMBONE
Tetsuo Kimura

EUPHONIUMS
Aki Kumagawa
Yudai Hironaka

BASSES
Toshihiro Ueoka
Tomohiro Maruta

CELLOS
Mari Ishihara
Tomohiro Tamura
Kota Hidaka

DOUBLE BASSES
Rika Tokitsu
Yoshiko Fujii
Masami Taniguchi

TIMPANI
Shuichiro Seki

PERCUSSIONS
Chikako Muraoka
Masako Iwasaki
Yoko Wakana
Jun Kuranaga
Satoshi Yamaguchi
Minako Yoshida

PIANO & CELESTA
Miho Shimizu

HARP
Megumi Nakamura (special collaboration)

Notes

Elegy & Scherzo

Elegy & Scherzo was written at the request of cellist Yuki Ito, to commemorate the 150th birthyear in 2023 of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943).

Composer Johan de Meij used some hints and quotes from Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Symphony (opus 27) and the Symphonic Dances (opus 45), to embrace the sound world of the Russian master. Elegy & Scherzo was premiered on October 27, 2023, in the Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana, Slovenia by the Slovenian Armed Forces Orchestra, with Yuki Ito as the cello soloist and the composer conducting. The premiere was broadcasted on the Slovenian National TV.

About Casanova

The composition CASANOVA is a musical portrait of Giacomo Casanova who lived from 1725 to 1798. This illustrious character, represented by the violoncello, takes shape by means of eight musical scenes. The events concentrate on some of the most striking episodes from Casanova’s adventurous life: his arrest, his captivity and his escape from the ill-famed Piombi prison in Venice.

By composing this work, two of my long-lived dreams came true. First of all, I wanted to write a musical homage to one of my favorite composers, Giacomo Puccini. Secondly, since many years I had the intention to compose a substantial work for violoncello and winds.

CASANOVA was commissioned by the Dutch Music Foundation « Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst » at the request of the Sint Michael Thorn Wind Orchestra and it is dedicated to their conductor Heinz Friesen. Soloist Roeland Duijne gave the official world premiere performance on 2 April 2000 at the Vredenburg Concert Hall in Utrecht. In August 1999, CASANOVA was awarded the First Prize at the Corciano International Composition Contest in Italy.

Background information about CASANOVA

CASANOVA is a musical tribute to the great Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). I have always wondered why Puccini never considered writing an opera based on the adventurous life of his fellow countryman. It appears that Puccini’s favorite themes such as love, passion, intrigues and treason are to be found everywhere in Casanova’s memoirs. Even so far as their private lives are concerned, many striking similarities are found. Puccini’s life consisted of a succession of romances and passionate love affairs, though they do not really match the extravagant adventures of our charming Venetian hero. However, it would be totally unfair to describe Casanova as a mere incorrigible womanizer. His voluminous memoirs, entitled History of my Life clearly demonstrate that he was a quite intelligent and versatile personality, who was a welcome guest of the Italian aristocracy as well as at several European courts. He held several career positions and had many different avocations; at one or other time he was a diplomat, a faith healer, director of the first French Lottery and even probably a spy. He spent the last years of his life writing the already mentioned memoirs and, thanks to his incredible memory, he was able to remember even the smallest details. In-depth study and diligent investigations in dusty archives (a/o. those of J. Rives Childs, the Casanova authority par excellence) revealed that – except for some chronological mistakes – Casanova had given a truthful and clear report of his thrilling adventures and of the tempestuous era in which he lived.

Casanova: Short Musical Explanation of the Eight Scenes

(N.B. The numbers between brackets correspond to the measures in the score)

I. Prologo – Il Tema di Messer Grande (Prologue – the Messer Grande theme)
Three powerful minor chords with the brass (b flat, a flat and e minor) build the so-called “Messer Grande theme”. Chief of Police Messer Grande was at the service of the Venetian Inquisition and was placed in charge of Casanova’s arrest. This arrest was due to some intrigues and vague accusations about our hero’s so-called ‘wicked and libertine way of life’. There is a great similarity between Messer Grande and Scarpia, the cruel chief of police in Puccini’s opera Tosca, so the musical thematical similarities are not a mere coincidence. Just like Scarpia or Javert (a character from Les Misérables), Messer Grande is the ‘bad guy’ and his musical theme immediately supplies the necessary dramatic tension. The Messer Grande theme changes into the Passion theme (m. 18) with the minor ninth chords that are so typical for Puccini.

II. Cadenza – Atto di Presentazione (Cadenza – Casanova presents himself)
Casanova comes to the fore (m. 47) in a solo cadenza for violoncello, the latter constantly being surrounded by varying instrumental combinations. The ardent and seducing sound of his voice becomes more and more passionate…

III. La Vita a Corte (Court life)
The third scene (96) depicts a scene at court: the frivolous setting consists of a magnificent ballroom, complete with chandeliers, sumptuous costumes, an abundance of food and drink, and of course, pretty women galore. The violoncello introduces the Casanova theme (pickup into m. 100) which is soon taken over by the complete orchestra.

IV. L’Arresto di Casanova (Casanova’s arrest)
The music comes to an orchestral climax (173) at which the violoncello is overwhelmed by the complete orchestra: the arrest is a fact and Casanova is transferred to « Il Piombi », the infamous prison of the Doges’ Palace. Casanova’s despair and indignation is expressed by the violoncello which descends gradually to its lowest register, while being surrounded by some dark Messer Grande chords with the trombones (pickup into 230). The heavy cell door is softly, but irrevocably, closed (237).

V. Reminiscenze (Reveries)
For quite some time Casanova lies apathetically on his straw mattress in a pitifully cramped cell. During that first night of captivity, he is overwhelmed by gloomy thoughts. A pale ray of daybreak light shines through the prison bars (256). Casanova reflects on his adventurous life, while we hear some street sounds in the background (masked dancers and a mandolin serenade). At the same time, he tries to find a trick that will enable him to escape from this hell as quickly as possible. The lamentations of the monk Marino Balbi, imprisoned in the adjacent cell (bassoon solo, 266) draw Casanova’s attention. Both men furtively come into contact and with Balbi’s help an ingenious escape scenario is elaborated.

VI. L’Evasione dai Piombi (Escape from the Piombi prison)
The roof of the prison is covered with lead plates, which explains its nickname. Several percussion effects suggest the destructive activities that will allow our friends to escape from the Piombi via the roof of the prison. The exciting escape is portrayed by nervous sixteenth note passages for the violoncello, surrounded by recurrent themes and finally giving way to the Passion theme (544).

VII. M.M. e C.C. (M.M. and C.C.)
A monastery on the nearby isle of Murano is the setting of the next scene. In this convent Casanova has, for some time, a love affair with two of the nuns. Being tactful, Casanova only mentions his mistresses’ initials in his memoirs. A sugary tune accompanied by harmonium-like chords played by the clarinets, leads to a climax that turns into the Finale (607) in a very fluent way.

VIII. Finale e Stretto: Il Trionfo dell’Amore (Love’s triumph)
We hear the Passion theme once more, but this time in a triumphant E major key (653) and after a short, melancholic reminiscence of M.M. and C.C. by the soloist (668), a presto vivace lead to the thrilling conclusion.

Angelo del Cielo (from Suor Angelica)

The one-act opera Suor Angelica is the 2nd part of Puccini’s Il Trittico and takes places in the cloisters of an Italian convent at the end of the seventeenth century. Of noble birth, Angelica has been a nun for seven years, having been forced by her family as punishment for an unknown sin. When her aunt visits her, she tells Angelica about her baby son – whom she saw and kissed only once before she was sent to the convent. What does he look like? What color are his eyes? She then hears that her child died two years ago. This terrible news becomes the reason for her only aria, Senza Mamma, a heart-rending song of restraint and dignity to her little ‘angel in heaven’ (Angelo del Cielo). At the end of the opera, the orchestra is heard in full color, accompanying Angelica’s suicide.

— Anthony Fiumara

Sale, ascende, l’uman cantico (from Tosca)

The composition process of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca was quite convoluted, spanning 11 years in total. The libretto was written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, who both also worked on Puccini’s La Bohème and Madama Butterfly.

The plot centers around three main characters – Rome’s diva Floria Tosca, her lover Mario Cavaradossi (a painter and republican) and the corrupt Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia. Scarpia has long lusted after Tosca, and when he suspects Cavaradossi of assisting an escaped political prisoner, seizes the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. He will manipulate Tosca into revealing the prisoner’s hiding place and Cavaradossi’s involvement and have her for himself. When Cavaradossi is captured, Scarpia offers Tosca a horrific bargain – she must give herself to Scarpia, or her lover will be killed…

Harpist Megumi Nakamura skilfully arranged a choir fragment from the 2nd act for cello and harp, Sale, ascende, l’uman cantico (The human song ascends). The arranger thinks the backing choir is one of the important works of Puccini. Therefore, the vocal parts of Scarpia, Cavaradossi and Spoletta are intentionally omitted in the arrangement, to emphasize the importance of the polyphony of the usually glimpsed choir.

Clair de Lune (from Suite Bergamasque)

Clair de Lune (French for “Moonlight”) is a poem written by French poet Paul Verlaine in 1869, as part of his Fêtes Galantes. It is the inspiration for the third and most famous movement of Claude Debussy’s 1890 Suite Bergamasque. Debussy (1862-1918) also made two settings of the poem for voice and piano accompaniment. The poem has also been set to music by Gabriel Fauré, Louis Vierne, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Josef Szulc, and Alphons Diepenbrock. This arrangement for cello, harp and wind orchestra was dedicated to Yuki Ito and Megumi Nakamura, who premiered it with the Slovenian Armed Forces Orchestra on October 27, 2023, in the Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with Johan de Meij conducting. The premiere was broadcasted on the Slovenian National TV.

Elfentanz (Dance of the Elves)

David Popper (1843-1913) originally composed Elfentanz (Dance of the Elves) as a showpiece for the cello, the instrument of which this composer was considered a master. David Popper’s contributions to the cello world are still widely used and most credited with expanding the level of technical ability on the instrument. Although it is musically charming and only lasts about two and a half minutes, there is great demand of the soloist’s technical abilities. Elfentanz was originally scored for cello and piano. Johan de Meij created this version for cello and wind orchestra.