Piano Ensamble / Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells, Part I (2005)

Otro aporte del Abad Badie, quien tanto nos ha presentado y que hacía ya tiempo no nos compartía cosas, y ahora nos deja un disco particular (otro para este viernes especial). La versión de esa maravillosa música de Mike Olfield que es "Tubular Bells", en su primera parte. Un disco que podria ser una de esas gangas de esas que uno se encuentra de vez en cuando en cajas olvidadas con muchos CDs apilados. Un versionado de la música de Olfield que está realizado para cuatro pianos por Marcel Bergmann y se puede interpretar en versiones de 2 pianos y 2 sintetizadores o en versión de 4 pianos.

Quizás algunos cabezones están acostumbrados a los largos desarrollos originarias no solo del rock progresivo sino también de las piezas de música clásica, quizás escuchado las sinfonías de Sibelius o Beethoven, o las oberturas de Wagner o los ballets rusos escritos por Stravinsky o Tchaicovsky. Y en ese conexto no me parece salido del molde traer esta obra de "Piano Ensamble", justo en un día donde presentamos "Tommy"...
Una pregunta razonable sería cuestionarnos cómo abordar un álbum mítico, realmente importante, y no acabar diciendo siempre lo mismo. Es muy complicado. Un buen punto sería no hablar del disco original, sino de una variación del mismo, como tenemos en este caso.
El conjunto internacional "The Piano Ensemble" fue fundado en 1990 por Fred Oldenburg and Jeroen van Veen para presentar en diferentes escenarios internacionales música de este conjunto de pianos variando de 4 a 6 el número. Tienen colaboradores en Holanda, Italia, Canadá y Alemania. En el caso concreto de esta grabación los participantes fueron los canadienses Elizabeth and Marcel Bergmann y los holandeses Sandra van Veen and Jeroen van Veen.
Y no creo que haga falta mucha explicación más, más allá de presentar este disco en su versión en vivo, desde el siguiente video.

No tengo mucho más para agregar, recién me dispongo a escuchar la obra por primera vez, hace un rato es que la tuve en mis manos.
Disfruten de una bonita música, melodiosa, de fácil entrada al oído, emotiva y muy bien interpretada por fantásticos pianistas. La recreación que realizan es sensacional.
Dejo unos textos que están en el arte del disco, por si a alguien le interesa y porque no me cuesta nada. Y agradezcan al Abad Badie por esta belleza.

El Arreglador:
Fred Oldenburg and Jeroen van Veen founded the Piano Ensemble in 2000, in order to present the piano music they perform in various international ensembles. Multiple piano playing is one of their missions - from one up to 6 pianos. Premieres were given in Canada, the United States, Russia and the Netherlands, of works by Dutch composers such as Simeon ten Holt and Chiel Meijering and of British composers such as Gabriel Jackson and Tim Seddon. Current members of the Piano Ensemble are: Elizabeth & Marcel Bergmann (Canada), Irene Russo, (Italy) Fred Oldenburg (Germany), Tamara Rumiantsev and Sandra & Jeroen van Veen (The Netherlands).
There can be little doubt that Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells is one of the seminal albums of the 70’s – its artistic impact and influence have been widespread and considerable, not only in regards to various other artists, but quite notably on Oldfield himself. This isn’t much of a surprise however, since with Tubular Bells, Oldfield established a number of compositional principles that define his musical style, as well as his specific, one-man multitrack recording procedures.
These unique and original “tools”, sort of a trademark, can be easily traced throughout much of his output up until the mid-eighties. Albums like Platinum, Incantations, QE2, Five Miles Out or Crises all reflect the parameters, which Oldfield had established with Tubular Bells. Most of these albums featured at least one fairly extended piece that often took the whole first side of a vinyl recording. The epic concept and scope of these more extensive compositions brings about associations with classical music and clearly, certain parallels can be found in the way Oldfield lets his themes and motives emerge and take their place in the sonic environment.
How Oldfield combines and links his musical ideas, themes and motives is very individual and unique indeed: he draws from an impressive array of different styles and idioms and so we can trace influences of South American & Latin, Balinese, Irish, Celtic, rock and minimalist sources, to name just a few. Oldfield usually doesn’t “develop” his ideas and themes in a classical sense and so the changes leading from one idea to the next are often quite surprising and, at times abrupt. Yet I always admired that the longer works are nevertheless very convincing as an overall concept. Especially if one considers the wealth of different ideas presented in part 1 of Tubular Bells for instance, it is a remarkable musical and compositional achievement.
Since my teenage years, I’ve been a big fan of Oldfield’s music and the records mentioned above were among the most notable favourites and musical inspirations throughout my late high school years. When I started working on the arrangement for 4 keyboard instruments, I naturally needed to take a much closer, analytical look at this music. During the process of deciphering the various, simultaneous layers which make up the fabric of Tubular Bells, I realized how much of the opening pattern can be found throughout the whole first part –it often reappears quasi “in disguise”, altered in terms of register, meter or tonality. It serves as a kind of connecting element, which links the various ideas together and creates a bigger overall context and structure.
Tubular Bells is Mike Oldfield’s most popular and best selling album- and had a long lasting impact on his own further musical output. It was the first of a series of recordings in which he further elaborated and developed this original idea (like Tubular Bells II (1992), Tubular Bells III (1998) The Millennium Bell (1999), and Tubular Bells 2003, a re-recording of the original, using the current technological possibilities).
Fairly soon after the (immensely successful) release of the original Tubular Bells in 1973, it must have been apparent that this work had the potential to be presented in another setting –and so composer David Bedford, a friend and musical companion of Oldfield arranged The Orchestral Tubular Bells, recorded in 1974 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and featuring Oldfield himself playing the guitar. This version, as well as a live rendition which appeared as part of the double album Exposed from 1979, provide two very different perspectives of the original music. They both were a guide and inspiration for my own approach before and while I was working on a version of Tubular Bells, Part One for multiple keyboards.
The actual idea for another rendition of this masterpiece was born in Feb. 2005 during a visit to Miami. My good friend and colleague pianist, Jeroen Van Veen and I were sitting on the balcony of a friend’s apartment and enjoyed the warm evening breeze while talking about various future projects and ideas. Since the late 90’s, we had done a fair bit of concerts and other projects- involving multiple pianos- together; and suddenly we had this idea for a multiple keyboard version of Tubular Bells. Jeroen suggested giving the premiere as part of the Lek Art festival in Culemborg/The Netherlands in September 2005, since for a long time he had been very involved in the artistic and musical organization and programming for this event.
At that point, we didn’t know whether it would be possible for us to have four grand pianos available for the premiere and so we agreed that a version for two pianos and two synthesizers would be a viable alternative under those circumstances. Furthermore, the combination of acoustic and electronic instruments had always interested me a lot and would allow me to include various synthesizer sounds as well.
Shortly before the actual premiere, it turned out that we would have four grand pianos available after all- but, having conceived and rehearsed the piece in the particular acoustic/electric instrumental mixture, we decided to present Tubular Bells, Part One in my “original” version. However, a most exciting surprise was that we were able to use the concert location (a beautiful old church with great acoustics) and the four excellent grand pianos throughout the whole next day after our successful premiere of the new arrangement –as we quickly realized, a truly unique opportunity. So Jeroen set up his recording equipment and we decided to record as much as possible in the two different combinations present on this CD.
I hope that the two versions on this CD will be able to provide yet another perspective on Tubular Bells – from the gestation of the whole project up to the finished CD, it has been a wonderful and rewarding artistic endeavour and musical experience.

Marcel Bergmann:
A native of Munich, Germany, Marcel Bergmann studied musicology at the Ludwig-Maximiliams-Universität in Munich and piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover with Arie Vardi. After obtaining a Bachelors degree, Masters degree and Artist Diploma, Marcel received a scholarship from the Université de Montréal where he and his wife pursued specialized studies in duo piano with Jean-Eudes Vaillancourt. Subsequently, he completed post-graduate work in the Solistenklasse in Hannover.
For the last 15 years, Marcel has enjoyed an active musical career as a performer, composer, improviser and teacher. The broad range of musical interest and experience in both, classical and popular music has led to an output in a variety of styles and genres.
The Bavarian Television, Arte and other European broadcasting corporations, have broadcast his music for television features.
Over the past decade, he also has been involved as composer and musical director in a variety of theatre, cabaret and multimedia projects, such as Baden Rebelliert (Bruchsal, Germany, 1998, including 30 performances throughout Baden-Württemberg), Online an der Leine, which had its premiere during the EXPO 2000 in Hannover/Germany, and Der Avatar (2001).
In 2004, he was a composer-in-residence for Calgary Opera’s Let’s create an Opera programme.
In 1990 Marcel and his wife Elizabeth started to work and perform extensively as a duo piano team and have since enjoyed a successful career which has taken them to many parts of the world. This collaboration has inspired numerous compositions and arrangements for 2 pianos and piano duet, many of which appear on several CD’s the Bergmann Piano Duo has recorded.
Furthermore, Marcel has also created several works and arrangements involving two pianos and other instruments, such as Culemborg City Soundscape (together with Jeroen Van Veen). Frequent collaborations with composers, performers and writers in Europe and North America have led to a multitude of chamber music based projects, ranging from duo to sextet. In December 2005, Marcel’s Urban Pulse for two pianos was premiered as the commissioned work for The 10th Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition (past commissioned composers included Morton Gould, Ned Rorem, William Bolcom and John Corigliano). Two other pieces by Marcel for that ensemble will soon appear as part of the Canadian National Conservatory of Music’s Library Series. Marcel is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre.
In addition to frequent appearances as a duo pianist and chamber musician, he is part of the Calgary based group Land’s End Chamber Ensemble, recipient of both the 2005 and 2006 Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding Classical Recording. Marcel is also internationally active as a clinician, juror, and lecturer and has been involved as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach. Currently on faculty at Mount Royal College, Calgary, Marcel has also been involved in various musical activities at The Banff Centre for the Arts in recent years. In 2004/2005, Marcel and his wife served as Artistic Directors of The Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition and Foundation in Miami.

Elizabeth Bergmann:
A native of, Alberta, Elizabeth studied with Helmut Brauss, Patricia Parr, Jean- Eudes Vaillancourt and Arie Vardi obtaining Bachelor, Masters, Artist and Chamber music degrees. Together with her husband, she pursued specialized studies in duo piano at the Université de Montréal and later completed post-graduate work in the Solistenklasse in Hannover.
As a duo, they received first prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Caltanissetta, Italy, were laureates of The 4th Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition and were performing artists in Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now organization. Their recitals and concerts with orchestra have taken them to many parts of the world, including the United States, Italy, Germany, Holland, Greece and Canada, with performances at the celebrated Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, the Banff Arts Festival, the Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Festival and Competition, the International Two Piano Symposium and Schubertiade, Miami, the Tage für neue Musik, Darmstadt, the Braunschweiger Kammermusik Podium and at the EXPO 2000, Hannover.
They have recorded for the CBC, for several stations of the ARD in Germany and for National Public Radio in the USA and have made several CDs, which appear on the Arktos and Naxos labels. Committed to supporting the production of new Canadian repertoire, the duo has in the last years commissioned and premiered several works by Canadian composers such as Allan Gordon Bell, and John Abram. The duo regularly performs Marcel Bergmann’s own compositions as well.
Elizabeth has been on faculty at The Mount Royal College Conservatory in Calgary and has also been involved in various musical activities at the Banff Centre for the Arts. She is a member of the Calgary based contemporary group Land’s End Chamber Ensemble, recipient of the 2005 and 2006 Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding Classical Recording and a member of the International Piano Quartet. In the 2004-2005 season, she and her husband served as Artistic Directors of The Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition and Foundation in Miami. Most recently she joined the faculty at Langley Community Music School and holds the position of Assistant Director of Programmes there. Besides her activities as a performer and teacher, she is also nationally and internationally involved as a lecturer and juror of festivals and competitions.

Jeroen Van Veen:
Jeroen Van Veen (1969) started playing the piano at the age of 7. He studied at the Utrecht Conservatory with Alwin Bär and Håkon Austbö. In 1993 he passed the Performing Artists' Exam. Van Veen played with orchestras conducted by Howard Williams (Adams), Peter Eötvös (Zimmermann) in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Vienna and Budapest and in the United States with Neal Stulberg (Mozart & Bartok) and Robert Craft (Stravinsky) He played recitals in Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Russia & the USA.
Van Veen followed master classes with Claude Helffer, Hans-Peter & Volker Stenzl and Roberto Szidon. He was invited at several festivals; Reder Piano Festival (1988), Festival der Kunsten in Bad Gleichenberg (1992), Wien Modern (1993), Holland Dance Festival (1998) Lek Art Festival (1996-2007). Van Veen recorded for major Dutch Radio- and Television companies like AVRO, NOS, IKON, NCRV, TROS/Internet, WTBC-TV & Radio (Florida, U.S.A.) and Moscow Television. In 1992, Van Veen recorded his first CD with his brother Maarten as the internationally recognized Piano duo Van Veen. In 1995 Piano duo Van Veen made their debut in the United States. They were prizewinners in the prestigious 4th International Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami, Florida. After this achievement they toured the United States and Canada many times. The documentary "Two Pianos One Passion" (nominated with an Emmy Award 1996) follows them as a duo.
Besides performing, Jeroen teaches at the University of Utrecht, and is co-founder, member of the jury and artistic director of the International Student Piano Competition, which is held in Utrecht every two years. In 1995 Jeroen Van Veen founded Van Veen & Van Veen (Van Veen & Co.), which is a piano duo with Sandra. As such, they mainly perform music for multiple pianos by the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt. Furthermore, in 1999 Van Veen started a concert series ‘Pianova’ in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. Beside his career as a solo pianist Van Veen also partakes in the following ensembles: ‘Kunstgroep vier man op de stoep’, ‘Piano Ensemble’, ‘The International Piano Quartet’, ‘The Simeon Quartet’ ‘Piano Mania’, ‘DJ Piano’ and ‘Jeroen van Veen & Friends’.
The various compositions by Van Veen may be described as ‘Minimal Music’ with different faces, Crossovers to Jazz, Blues, Soundscape, Avant-Garde, Techno, Trance and Pop Music. Currently Mr. Van Veen is director of Van Veen Productions, Chairman of the Simeon ten Holt Foundation, Culemborg Cultural Foundation, Pianomania Foundation and Artistic Director of several music festivals in Culemborg, Utrecht and Veldhoven. He is active in the International Utrecht Student Piano Competition and the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition. Over the last 15 years Van Veen recorded more than 40 CDs for several labels (Mirasound, Koch, Naxos, Brilliant Classics) and his own label PIANO. The two latest are an eleven Cd box with Simeon ten Holt Multiple Piano Works and a set of nine presenting the Minimal Piano Collection including his own 24 minimal preludes.

Sandra van Veen:
Sandra van Veen studied with the Norwegian pianist Håkon Austbö at the Conservatory in Utrecht where she graduated in 1992. She made her debut with her husband Jeroen in a performance of Canto Ostinato during Lek Art (Culemborg). The concert was recorded live and the CD has sold in more than 40 countries worldwide. After this, many concerts and Cds followed. Sandra is very dedicated to the music of Ten Holt, but nowadays also plays other kinds of music, ranging from Carmina Burana, The Planets, Rhapsody in Blue, to Tangos and Tubular Bells for four pianos. She played the premiere of several pieces written by Dutch composers like J. Andriessen (in Russia) and Ten Holt (in Canada). Furthermore, she forms an Art group with two friends, with whom she produces theatre concerts based on different themes, for example a “Composers Life” or the “History Of The Piano”.
Sansra gave many concerts and recitals from Miami to Russian Novosibirsk. She takes part in many projects in Holland as well as abroad. She recorded 14 CDs on various labels. Several concerts and projects have been broadcast on radio, television and the Internet. In addition Sandra is a well known dedicated piano teacher as well.
Sandra van Veen is a co-founder of the Lek Art Foundation and the Simeon ten Holt Foundation, and is active as just secretary for the latter.

El Compositor: Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield was born on 15 May 1953, in Reading, England. Having learned the guitar, he began to compose instrumentals as early as 1963. He left school to join his sister Sally to form the short-lived group Sallyangie at the age of 14. After a year, Mike and Sally went their separate ways and Mike formed his own group called Barefoot, which didn't last too long, either. He then became the bass player for Kevin Ayers & The Whole World. It was here he met his life-long friend, David Bedford, who encouraged him in his unique compositions. Using a borrowed tape recorder, he discovered that by blocking the erase head, he could record many instruments over each other to form a symphonic-like work. After working with the band at Abbey Road Studios, he found a store room with tons of instruments. He realized that he had a knack for making the instruments he found sound good. In 1971, the band broke up leaving Mike alone to fine-tune his work. After finishing a demo tape, he discovered that the record companies of the day rejected it because, although they enjoyed it, they deemed it not marketable.
When Richard Branson was founding Virgin Records, he was looking for new and innovative music with which to launch his company. When Mike Oldfield was approached by Branson, Mike's response was his Tubular Bells. Launched in 1973, Tubular Bells, serial number V2001, was Virgin's first release. It was unique. It was two tracks long, each around 20 minutes in length. Part One was recorded in a week, Part Two took months. It was an astounding success, and helped make Virgin Records the industry giant it is today.
Other than music, his interests include aviation (he is a qualified aircraft and helicopter pilot) and science fiction (his album The Songs Of Distant Earth is meant as the concert music described in Arthur C. Clark's novel of the same name).
Mike Oldfield has never repeated the extraordinary success of Tubular Bells, which is sometimes referred to as the theme from The Exorcist (much to Mike's chagrin). While he has continued to release highly complex and beautiful music, his commercial success has waned.
In 1992, Mike Oldfield left Virgin and joined Warner Records, his first release with Warner being Tubular Bells II, a retrospective of his first album, having gone full circle.
Perhaps not as well recognized as he deserves, Mike Oldfield continues to produce exquisite music and will always be admired by his loyal fans.

Otras obras interpretadas por Piano Ensamble:
Johan Sebastiaan Bach, Pianoconcerto in a minor
Philip Glass, Metamorphosis I-V (arr. J. Van Veen)
Simeon ten Holt, Canto Ostinato
Simeon ten Holt, Horizon
Simeon ten Holt, Lemniscaat
Simeon ten Holt, Meandres
Simeon ten Holt, Incantatie IV
Simeon ten Holt, Shadow nor Prey
Chiel Mejering, Merry go Round
Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells, Part I
Astor Piazzolla, Libertango Suite
Astor Piazzolla, The Seasons
Steve Reich, Six pianos
Steve Reich, Pianophase

Tim Seddon, Six Pianos


Artista: Piano Ensamble - Mike Oldfield
Álbum: Tubular Bells, Part I
Año: 2005
Género: Progresivo sinfónico
Duración: 49:40
Nacionalidad: Multinacional


Lista de Temas:
1. Part 1 (Version For Two Pianos And Two Synthesizers)
2. Part 1 (Version For Four Pianos)

Alineación:
- Marcel Bergmann / piano
- Elizabeth Bergmann / piano
- Jeroen van Veen / piano
- Sandra van Veen / piano
Piano Ensemble
Marcel Bergmann