This album, devoted to Schubert's exquisite violin and piano works, is the culmination of a fruitful collaboration between violinist Alissa Cheung and pianist Ruby Jin that originated in Germany when the duo performed Schubert's Fantasy for the first time in 2012.
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Since then, the duo embraces a broad spectrum of literature, from standard repertoire of Beethoven and Brahms to music by contemporary composers in recital series and festivals across Canada.
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For both artists, releasing this album marks a special milestone. As described in one of Schubert's Lieder, it's a place where music never fails to ignite or reignite one's heart for warm love:
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"Hast du mein Herz zu warmer Lieb entzunden, Hast mich in eine bessere Welt entrückt!" (An die Musik)
This collection of nursery rhyme compositions almost entirely dates from the early decades of the 20th century. Only Humpty Dumpty is of an earlier time.
Collecting and composing new musical settings for nursery rhymes seems to have been an offshoot of the folk song collecting mania that gripped the English-speaking world at this time. Although well known in their day, these compositions have since been largely forgotten.
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The works of J. Michael Diack and Herbert Hugues found here are parodies. They derive their humour by presenting simple nursery rhymes in various styles of classical music. (Tracy Whalen)