Whatever happened to cellist Ofra Harnoy? She made 42 recordings and was touring 10 months out of the year two decades ago. Then, she fell off the classical radar. In talking with Ofra recently, she told me she took time off to raise two beautiful children and to care for her late mother who became ill with leukemia. When Ofra was ready to return to her busy performing schedule, she discovered she had developed a serious shoulder injury that required major reconstructive surgery. Then, something magical happened. She was reunited with her childhood sweetheart, Mike Herriott. Mike, to whom she's now married, is also a professional musician. And he played a very important role in Ofra's recovery. "It was strange because after we got back together, I actually had the courage to start practicing again after the long recovery that I endured," Harnoy says. "I was starting basically with just two minutes a day, not knowing how long it would take me to regain my strength. But, within a few months, I realized, Oh, my goodness! I'm completely back and stronger than ever! And very excited to come back to my career. Ofra Harnoy is reactivating her career with a new recording with her husband. It's called Back to Bach. How did the two of you come to the conclusion that you wanted to make a recording together? "One day, when I was in this stage of coming back to playing, he pulled out his trumpet and we took out some music and we said, 'Let's see what it feels like to play together.' And neither of us could believe the musical connection that we had. I mean, we think exactly the same musically. We breathe the same musically. And that was like, 'Wow. We need to do something with this.' "I actually wanted to do some of the things that I'd recorded or played earlier on in my career, but I wanted to also do some Baroque music that I never had a chance to record or play. And we had all kinds of really interesting ideas, because Mike doesn't just play the trumpet. He plays all the brass instruments and double bass and piano. So, the things that I previously recorded with organ, he had the idea of making a brass choir. "And then I had the idea that since all this multi-tracking stuff is available, why don't I do things like the Telemann duet and play both cello parts? I'd played each one in the past, but it's so exciting to be able to explore the interplay between the two instruments and actually be able to do that as one person. "That led to other ideas as this evolved. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and have brilliant ideas of that beautiful choral piece, the Allegri 'Miserere.' How would that sound with cellos instead of voices?" With the nine cellos featuring you on all nine cello parts, it creates this incredible fabric, almost as if you could just lay out on a cloud and have this sense of security and safety. Was that what you were hoping when you put it together? "Definitely. That's a great way to describe it. I knew the piece really well as a choir piece. I'd listened to it for many, many years and found it so haunting and beautiful. I wasn't sure what the result would be, but I really did want to recreate all the different voices. "What's amazing is we actually spent 12 hours a day for almost a month together in the studio, and we worked so well together. And obviously this 'Miserere' is testament to that because I am so thrilled with the result." To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Recording LocationDoghouse Studio, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada With the release of her much anticipated new recording, luminous, gifted and transplendant Israeli/Canadian cellist, Ofra Harnoy, and her brilliant collaborator and husband, Mike Herriott, have not only brought forth a project of breathtaking beauty, but they have done the near impossible – through the use of contemporary technology, Herriott’s multi-instrumental/arranging/producing skills, Harnoy’s exquisite cello work (including large cello ensembles performed entirely by her), as well as a united, inspired vision – Harnoy and Herriett have manifested a fresh, innovative and genuine way of presenting this Baroque music in a way that is both exciting and accessible. Not since the late Jacqueline du Pré (with whom Harnoy studied) has the world heard a cellist of Harnoy’s technical calibre and almost telepathic communicative skills. The well-chosen selections here include some material previously recorded by Harnoy from her 40-plus albums, as well as favourites such as Bach’s Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 and Bist du bei mir, with the addition of more obscure, but stirring repertoire from Corelli and Allegri… and the sound of Harnoy’s breathtaking musicianship, multiplied by nine on Allegri’s Miserere is almost too beautiful to bear. In bringing her vision to life, Harnoy also wanted to experiment with using brass instruments instead of the traditional string (or pipe organ, etc.) accompaniments, so Herriott created complex brass arrangements, and performed all of the parts himself: piccolo trumpet, trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn and trombone. There are literally only a handful of individuals in the world who could have accomplished what Herriott has so deftly done on this remarkable project. This recording is a triumph, and a must-have for any serious collector. |
