New album!
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Works by JOHN DOWLAND, ROBERT JOHNSON, PETER WARLOCK, WILLIAM WALTON, PINK FLOYD, THELONIOUS MONK, BOR ZULJAN
CLARA BRUNET, voice - BOR ZULJAN, orpharion & electric orpharion
‘Tis dusk once again. Mr Dowland cannot sleep so he seeks refuge in his trusted Orpharion. But this is no ordinary night. As soon as he brushes the silver strings with his golden fingers, Orpheus and Arion, who dwell in his instrument's Darkness, awake swiftly and take him on a powerful oneiric journey.
Thus begins this visionary dream full of surprises and soundscapes ahead of its time. Music from 1600 slowly starts shifting into unexpected realms, before he finally falls into deep slumber.
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“Such musical bridges across eras may no longer be uncommon. But they have rarely – if ever – been experienced at this (highly addictive) level.” Guido Fischer, Rondo Magazine, 5 stars
“The result is neither purely historical reconstruction nor crossover experiment, but a cohesive meditation on night, sleep, fear, and transformation. […] Intimate, introspective, and sonically distinctive, Mr Dowland’s Dream becomes both homage and reinvention — a Renaissance spirit refracted through modern imagination.” www.nativedsd.com
“Dowland in Night Mode: Bor Zuljan rocks the Orpharion, Clara Brunet effortlessly switches roles. A sparkling soundtrack to sleepless nights emerges, somewhere between lute song and Pink Floyd. […] A magical musical web.” BR-KLASSIK (CD-TIPP)
“[…] which goes far beyond another homage to the great Renaissance composer. […] a program that fascinatingly interweaves historical melancholy and radical sonic visions. […] As a result, Zuljan manages to seamlessly transition the music of the early 17th century into distant, sometimes avant-garde, soundscapes, without the transition ever seeming forced or contrived. […] What may appear on paper as a daring, almost postmodern stylistic fusion comes together in performance as a remarkably coherent narrative. The different centuries and musical languages do not collide – they permeate one another. […] A bold, poetic and ultimately deeply moving production that shows how the night of the Renaissance can still open new doors, if touched by the right hands.” www.onlinemerker.com
SOLO
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The lute became the instrument of choice at European courts around 1500, the time of their greatest cultural and spiritual importance. The lute was considered by the Humanists to represent Orpheus's lyre, as it embodied the metaphysical ideal of the power of music and was also closely linked to improvisation. Here we revive this tradition for the first time on record: this programme is almost entirely improvised and presents the Renaissance lute with all its surprising colours and sonorities as a living instrument.
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“Un résultat époustouflant de naturel.” Frédéric Degroote, Diapason
“Le flux jaillitet s'écoule tel un ruisseau : chaque seconde semble inventer la suivante. […] A-t-on déjà entendu approche plus vivante et spontanée?
Les couleurs et les timbres, inouïs, étonnent, bousculent. […] Mais iamais ces innovations - retour à des pratiques oubliées - ne prennent le pas sur la poésie.” Fabienne Bouvet, Classica
“'Essential listening' is such a reviewer's hyperbolic cliche, but in this case, the humanity of the project and the ambition of Zuljan's ideas really warrant close examination.” Peter Jones, Lute News
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The scandalous composer Carlo Gesualdo, Principe di Venosa, was also an excellent lutenist extolled by his contemporaries. At the end of the sixteenth century he received the first two prototypes of the archlute from his colleague Alessandro Piccinini in Ferrara, one of which he kept. In the absence of music for the lute by this composer of genius, Bor Zuljan has imagined the sound world of the prince’s archlute: a kaleidoscope of fabulous and extreme sonorities on this extravagant instrument, from transcriptions of his vocal and instrumental music to the astonishing chromatic compositions of the composers he is thought to have encountered in the course of his turbulent life.
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“Un disque radical et enthousiasmant.”, Loïc Chahine, June 2022, Diapason d’Or
“Sa puissance expressive capture et bouleverse : on n'en sort pas indemne. [...] Quelle poésie !" , Fabienne Bouvet, July 2022, CHOC de Classica
“Le luthiste slovène, dont le premier album solo consacré à Dowland nous avait bluffé par son invention, son jeu aussi précis dans l’ornementation que révélateur dans la structure, récidive ici par un phrasé âpre, dense, tendu à rompre, qui sait autant torturer l’expression que magnifier la lisibilité de ses idées, fortes. Dès l’accord initial de la Toccata cromatica qui ouvre le CD et claque comme un coup d’arquebuse, on sait que le théâtre sera au rendez-vous. Mais tout au long de cette heure, au-delà d’un tempérament toujours prompt à dramatiser, à surprendre, ce sont aussi des grâces, des émois justement cernés, des danses intelligemment animées qui nous emmènent d’une main experte et conteuse jusque l’ultime Passacaglia, dignifiée comme jamais. Après son disque élisabéthain puis celui-ci, passionnant dans son enjeu et sa réalisation, Bor Zuljan confirme son envergure, ses marqueurs stylistiques, et place la barre très haut pour son prochain album.”, Christophe Steyne, Crescendo Magazine, November 2022
“Und Bor Zuljan weiß bei alldem mit seinem Spiel zu begeistern und zu fesseln.”, Guido Fischer, Rondo Magazin, August 2022
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The first notes of the descending chromatic theme break the silence and it seems as if time has stopped. The listener is drawn into the world of John Dowland, the greatest lutenist of all, in a journey through multiple shades of melancholy and lucent hope. Never before had the lute sounded as expressive and colourful as in these masterful Fancies, as dynamic as in these sparkling dances: Renaissance lute music here reached its summit. Bor Zuljan explores these qualities in his debut solo recording, breathing new life into Dowland's masterpieces.
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“A reflective, introspective and highly personal performance of Dowland’s music from Bor Zuljan, who draws deep emotions from both the music and his dark-toned instrument.…has any [lutenist] so accurately captured our flawed selves in this distorting infinity mirror hall of renaissance counterpoint and variations on songs and dances which Dowland himself distorted through endless improvisation?”
William Yeoman, Gramophone, October 2020
EDITOR’S CHOICE, Best instrumental album nomination
“Par l’amplitude expressive et dynamique qu’il déploie, le luthiste Bor Zuljan révolutionne l’interprétation des Fantasies du mélancolique Dowland … quelle claque !”
Loïc Chahine, Diapason, September 2020
DIAPASON D’OR DE L’ANNÉE 2020
“Bor Zuljan creuse la veine mélancolique au plus profond, livrant un Dowland à nul autre pareil… Un authentique trésor.”
Fabienne Bouvet, Classica, October 2020
CHOC de CLASSICA
Perhaps one should say that he seems to have interiorized that music, so that at times it feels as though we are hearing it being created, rather than merely interpreted.
Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb International, Recording of the Month (October 2020)
***** BBC Music Magazine, October 2020
dulces exuviae
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In nocte consilium - the night brings counsel. Poets have always found the night to be a time of appeasement; for astronomers it is a long-awaited moment to observe the stars and planets. Mystics, however, have spent entire nights searching for the enigmatic signs of a divine presence. This programme forms a journey from dusk to dawn and guides us through various nights as described by several composers of the 16th century: we travel from hope to absence, from the sweetness of love’s dream to the chills of eternal night; the clear light of the moon nonetheless guides lovers to their reunion and our journey ends in the light of the first rays of the sun. Janequin, Lassus, Palestrina, Guerrero and their Franco-Flemish, Italian and Spanish colleagues lead us as we explore these nights, sometimes dark and terrifying, sometimes radiant with starlight, tranquil, and filled with love.
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“It is a stunning album, intelligently paced, and the performances teem in subtle musicality and softly spoken charisma.
There isn't a single moment when the pair aren't living this music, and the declamation, so understated in its perfection, is devastatingly beautiful.
These are the ebbs and flows that make the playing and singing throughout "Toutes les nuits” come across as so irresistibly unrepeatable - that such music-making has been captured on record feels nothing short of a little miracle.”, Mark Seow, Gramophone, February 2023 (Recording of the month, Editor’s choice)
“Intimité naturelle, poésie séduisent de bout en bout dans cette suite de tableaux nocturnes.”, Frédéric Degroote, Diapason, February 2023 (Diapason d’Or)
“Bor Zuljan's hands weave a delicate counterpoint on the lute, which he interprets with elegance and expressiveness, both in shelling of the polyphonic framework as in the resonance of the strings, to masterfully accompany to the elegant singing of the baritone Romain Bockler, who has a voice of beautiful color, and who holds with beauty the tuning in the polyphonic framework, projecting it to express the accents and poetry of the text. The result is a beautiful record, a delight." Manuel de Lara Ruiz, Scherzo, January 2023 (Excepcional)
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A composer admired by his contemporaries, Josquin Desprez (ca 1450-1521) was a solitary artist who sublimated in his chansons the melancholy character and the elegance emblematic of the Renaissance. For their first recording, Dulces Exuviae explore the intimacy of these chansons in a fresh light: the sweet melodies are embellished by ornaments and accompanied on the lute, leaving ample room for improvisation, and thus allowing music to come out all the more alive, delicate and filled with emotion
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“Le jeune duo maîtrise déjà ses effets, et livre une interprétation à l’image de l’oeuvre de Josquin : naturelle, d’une sorte d’évidence qui la rend finalement très profonde. […] La créativité du duo Bockler/Zuljan dépasse les seuls arrangements : luth et voix dialoguent avec complicité dans des diminutions inventives et audacieuses, discrètes ou virtuoses, jamais ostentatoires.”, Jacques Meegens, Diapason, September 2019
“[…] cuando aparece una grabación de las características de la que tenemos en nuestras manos, es un verdadero placer no sólo por su resultado, primoroso, sino también por su dichosa originalidad, en el mejor de los sentidos. […] No se nos ocurre mejor oportunidad para la música de Josquin, y coincidimos con algún otro crítico en que lo que aquí escuchamos es un verdadero regalo.”, Javier Serrano Godoy, Scherzo Magazine, March 2020
“Bei diesem un den anderen Chansons rührt die warme Baritonstimme von Romain Bockler an tiefste Seelenschischten. Sie ist rein und nobel geführt mit ganz natürlichen Registerwechseln. Nichts ist forciert, alles fließt. Eine betörende Stimme voller Intensität.”, Elisabeth Richter, Fono Forum, December 2019
“Captée dans une atmosphère de confidence sans confinement, cette anthologie intelligemment pensée, portée avec intensité et complicité, est une indiscutable réussite qui appelle une suite et démontre tous les horizons que peut ouvrir une approche véritablement passionnée, à mille lieues des tiédeurs compassées, d’un répertoire où tant de voies restent encore à explorer.”, Jean-Christophe Pucek, July 2019, Notulae.fr
“Voici un enregistrement qui manquait indéniablement à la collection de disques dédiée à l’oeuvre de Josquin des Prez ! Est-ce la voix splendide du baryton Romain Bockler qui d’emblée capte notre attention ? Le panache du luthiste Bor Zuljan qui insuffle à la musique un relief savoureux ? Il y a à l’écoute de ce disque une alchimie particulière, dont on ne sort pas indemne.”, Juliette de Banes Gardonne, Revue Musicale de Suisse Romande, March 2020
“Un disque rare, d’une grande douceur, qui renouvelle vraiment la vision de ce magnifique répertoire ! Un événement, donc !”, Pascale Boquet, Le joueur du luth, June 2019
“Un disque dont tout amateur de musique ancienne fera son miel.”, Yvan Beuvard, Forum Opera, July 2019
la lyra
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Giacomo Gorzanis (c.1530-c.1575), ‘il Cieco Pugliese’, was one of the great lute virtuosos of the sixteenth century. Born in Apulia, by 1557 he had settled in Trieste, where he soon established close contacts with the nobility of Carinthia and Carniola. His travels also took him to Graz, where he performed for Charles II, Archduke of Austria and brother of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Four books of his lute music and two books of napolitane were published in Venice between 1561 and 1579. Of particular interest is his manuscript of 1567, containing twenty-four pairs of dances in all the ‘major’ and ‘minor’ modes. From intimate lute fantasias to lively dances and playful villanelle alla napolitana, this original and colourful programme is the first to present the full range of his works. Full of little-known treasures, it is enriched by the extraordinary voice and presence of the charismatic Puglian singer Pino De Vittorio.
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“Une merveille de tous les instants.” Fabienne Bouvet, Classica, November 2018
“Per dare voce a queste villanelle […] non ci poteva essere di meglio che la voce inconfondibile di Pino De Vittorio, napoletano verace e dotato di una emissione naturale e di una ottima dizione. La efficace ed incisiva interpretazione di De Vittorio è poi assecondata dalla effervescenza ritmica e coloristica, di sapore popolaresco dell’ensemble La Lyra…”, Lorenzo Tozzi, Musica, September 2018
“With sensuous vigor, singer Pino De Vittorio, lutenist and director Bor Zuljan, and the other three members of La Lyra present the music of Giacomo Gorzanis as a vibrant affirmation of life.”, Catherine Moore, American Record Guide, August 2018
“Au total, un disque des plus plaisants où l’ennui, ennemi endémique de ce genre d’exercice, ne pointe le bout de son nez à aucun moment.”, Bernard Postiau, Crescendo Magazine, September 2018
“Bor Zuljan fait une grande merveille avec ce premier disque.” Denis Grenier, Continuo CKRL Quebec, September 2018
“On se félicite de voir revivre le label Arcana, sous d’aussi brillantes flammes, crépitantes, exaltées, investies comme le réalise le geste vocal d’un maître du dire italien, le ténor Pino De Vittorio. […] la lecture de l’interprète brille ici par sa constante nervosité expressive, son mordant picaresque […] De Vittorio défend comme peu l’idée d’un tempérament à part, se révélant d’autant mieux dans des répertoires inédits et qui semblent taillés pour son gemme vocal, si atypique.”, Elvire James, Classique news, June 2018