Bogner's Café presents the magical sound of flute virtuoso Robert Stallman in
The Nightingale
in Love, a new album of musical gems from the golden age of the flute, the late French Baroque. As Stallman points out, "this
was an era in which the French and their music enjoyed a renaissance of the heart, symbolized by the nightingale's springtime outpouring
of passionate song...As the French celebrated a more intimate expression, music became the messenger and the flute its ideal voice."
No flutist better captures the sensuous lyricism, incisive rhythms and highly expressive ornamentation of the French Baroque than
does Stallman. With his characteristic beauty of sound and communicative warmth, supported by his longtime partnership with the superb
continuo team of Edwin Swanborn (harpsichord) and Karl Bennion (cello), Robert Stallman once again offers a most appealing invitation
to listening pleasure.
Stallman’s dedication of this recording to Jean-Pierre Rampal
reflects his long
and happy association with the French school of
flute playing. The Connecticut native first met Rampal as an
eleven-year-old flutist,
thanks to his father having a year’s
teaching fellowship in France. In his teens, Stallman returned to
France to study at the Summer
Academy in Nice, where Rampal
singled him out as one “soon to be among the greatest” and
chose him to perform on French National Television.
After
graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music with top
honors and awards, Stallman continued his studies as a Fulbright
scholar
with Rampal and others at the Paris Conservatoire. Later
he would share the stage with Rampal on several occasions,
including an acclaimed
duo recital at Carnegie Hall in 1984,
broadcast nationwide by National Public Radio. Stallman warmly
acknowledges Rampal for mentoring
his development as an artist,
and for inspiring his love of the French Baroque.
The Bogner’s Café mission
is to present the living art of chamber music in innovative programming that captures the adventuresome spirit with which the tradition
took root in the 18th century, as it left the palaces and—assisted by café culture—found its way into the heart of everyday life.
The Bogner’s Café commitment to quality means world-class artistry, superior engineering with naturalistic miking, and in-depth
liner notes, as well as investment in ultra-fidelity single speed glass mastering and certified green packaging.
Rare, lyrical gems
from the flute's
Golden Age, when
"the French
and their music
enjoyed a
renaissance
of the heart..."
