Wagner:
Prelude to TRISTAN UND ISOLDE WWV 90
Songs WWV 91 (1857-58), for Voice and Piano No. 1 Der Engel
Siegfried-Idyll WWV 103 (1870)

The recording of this CD on the occasion of the “10 1” anniversary concert of the KammerMusikKöln ensemble stood entirely under the motto of Richard Wagner, reflecting our desire to put on several of his works in arrangements for chamber music ensemble. Thus, with this Wagner Project, we present several rarities along with a world premiere. For one, we are thrilled to introduce Engelbert Humperdinck’s almost entirely unknown arrangement of the prelude to Tristan und Isolde. This recording also features a true world premiere: Wagner’s extremely rarely performed French Songs in an arrangement we have commissioned from Simone Fontanelli, coupled with the second public performance of Fontanelli’s arrangement of Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder, a further commission by KammerMusikKöln. We also have the particular pleasure of presenting Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll in the composer’s own chamber music arrangement, a particularly gratifying piece for small ensemble. We consider ourselves particularly lucky to celebrate KammerMusikKöln’s anniversary with the largest project we have ever put together, featuring fifteen instrumentalists and a vocal soloist. And we are fortunate to count on the collaboration of soprano Kathrin Zukowski, a member of the regular ensemble of soloists at Cologne Opera.