Calling the Muse Bruno Helstroffer

• Alessandro Piccinini (1566-1638):
• 1 Partite variate sopra quest’aria francese detta l’alemana 05:08
• 2 Corrente VI sopra l’alemana 01:52
• Bruno Helstroffer:
• 3 Comme un beffroi 05:29
• Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger (1580-1651):
• 4 Toccata nona 02:22
• Bruno Helstroffer:
• 5 Perivoli Blue 04:25
• 6 Thanks Toumani 07:54
• Bellerofonte Castaldi (1581-1649):
• 7 Arpeggiata a mio modo 02:50
• Erik Satie (1866-1925):
• 8 Gnossienne No. 1 03:42
• Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger:
• 9 Bergamasca 04:28
• 10 Dans la chambre de mon théorbe 02:54
• Bruno Helstroffer:
• 11 CLAN 04:23
• Jean-Sebastien Bach (1685-1750):
• 12 A Tea with Bach 04:40
• Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger:
• 13 Toccata undicessima 02:07
• Bruno Helstroffer:
• 14 Vos luths 03:51
• Total Runtime 56:05

Info for Calling the Muse

Bruno Helstroffer writes of his new release: Its a logbook, the one Ive never really kept. My years of blues/rock and early music mingle here; the thousands of kilometers travelled with that theorbo of mine, the cities and the countryside, the railways, the skies, the scents, the lights; but above all, the music of the people. Partite variate sopra questaria francese detta lalemana is a tablature by Piccinini of an aria also called La Monica. In North America in the late nineteenth century, railroad hoboes carved their vagabond pseudonym along the tracks, which they called their moniker Corrente VI sopra lalemana, by the same composer, is the energetic counterpart to the noble and meditative allemande. Like a Belfry is taken from a dream... Rosemary Standley has set her words to the melody and sings them. J. H. Kapsbergers Toccata nona is associated here with Perivoli Blue. Perivoli is a village in the south of the island of Corfu. Thanks Toumani expresses my fascination with Mandingo music. Bellerofonte Castaldis Arpeggiata a mio modo was one of my first challenges on the theorbo. Erik Saties Gnossienne no.1 arrived under my fingers without warning and made a place for itself here by fitting in so naturally that I couldnt say no to it. This is the piece chosen by my photographer friend Richard Dumas to make the video clip of the album. With Kapsbergers Bergamasca, a dance from Bergamo in Italy, the theorbo becomes a festive and agile instrument. A Tea with Bach is an arrangement of the Minuet from Bachs Cello Suite no.1. The Toccata Undicesima serves as the introduction to an improvisation: Vos luths. And invokes India.

Bruno Helstroffer, theorbo
Rosemary Standley, voice
Jean-Luc Debattice, narrator
Michel Godard, serpent
Emek Evci, double bass

Bruno Helstroffer
studied classical guitar at the conservatory in Strasbourg and plays electric guitar and new music. He taught himself to play the theorbo. As a valued continuo player, he has made about 20 recordings and performed with the most important early music ensembles (Le Concert Spirituel, Le Poème Harmonique, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, Amarillis, Ensemble Barcarole, Faenza ...).

For the last ten years, Bruno Helstroffer has been creating live performances with puppet theatre, rock music and contemporary music and dance. His solo piece for theorbo "La Chambre", which combines contemporary improvisation, repertoire pieces and songs, has been highly appreciated in France and abroad. His next project "Love, I Obey", a combination of 16th century English ballads and American folk songs with the famous folk singer Rosemary Standley, was released as a CD in 2015.

The combination of different musical languages has become Bruno's identity, enabling him to play with jazz musicians such as Michel Godard, David Chevallier, Joël Grare or Steve Swallow as well as with pop artists such as Rosemary Standley, Moriarty or Sapho.

This album contains no booklet.