Songs of Solitude Hiyoli Togawa

• Toshio Hosokawa (b. 1955):
• 1 Hosokawa: Sakura (Arr. for Viola) - Solitude 03:42
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1687 - 1750):
• 2 Bach: Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: IV. Sarabande (Arr. for Viola) 04:16
• Johanna Doderer (b. 1969):
• 3 Doderer: Shadows 04:09
• José Serebrier (b. 1938):
• 4 Serebrier: Nostalgia 04:03
• Johann Sebastian Bach:
• 5 Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: IV. Sarabande (Arr. for Viola) 02:30
• Tigran Mansurian (b. 1939):
• 6 Mansurian: Ode an die Stille 03:00
• Michiru Ōshima (b. 1961):
• 7 Ōshima: Silence 03:51
• Johann Sebastian Bach:
• 8 Bach: Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: IV. Sarabande (Arr. for Viola) 03:28
• Kalevi Aho (b. 1949):
• 9 Aho: Am Horizont 05:23
• John Powell (b. 1963):
• 10 Powell: Perfect Time for a Spring Cleaning 03:47
• Johann Sebastian Bach:
• 11 Bach: Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: IV. Sarabande (Arr. for Viola) 03:31
• Cristina Spinei (b. 1984):
• 12 Spinei: Keep Moving 02:40
• Rhian Samuel (b. 1944):
• 13 Samuel: Salve nos 05:24
• Johann Sebastian Bach:
• 14 Bach: Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: IV. Sarabande (Arr. for Viola) 04:20
• Gabriel Prokofiev (b. 1975):
• 15 Prokofiev: 5 Impressions of Self-Isolation: No. 1, Calling Out 03:09
• 16 Prokofiev: 5 Impressions of Self-Isolation: No. 2, Wine for One 03:33
• 17 Prokofiev: 5 Impressions of Self-Isolation: No. 3, Only Birds in the Sky 01:23
• 18 Prokofiev: 5 Impressions of Self-Isolation: No. 4, How Many Weeks? 02:16
• 19 Prokofiev: 5 Impressions of Self-Isolation: No. 5, Back to the English Garden 01:37
• Johann Sebastian Bach:
• 20 Bach: Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: IV. Sarabande (Arr. for Viola) 04:46
• Federico Gardella (b. 1979):
• 21 Gardella: Consolation 05:28
• Total Runtime 01:16:16

Info for Songs of Solitude

Hiyoli Togawa’s new album “Songs of Solitude” was recorded for the label BIS. Songs of Solitude was conceived by the violist Hiyoli Togawa at a time when a virus was forcing people across the world into isolation and she herself needed to find a new rhythm of life as concert after concert was being cancelled. As she relates in the booklet to the disc, playing Bach – music that combines powerful emotions with a crystal-clear structure – became part of her daily routine, along with walks along the empty streets of Berlin. During these, the importance of remaining creative became even clearer to her, along with the idea to offer people the opportunity through music to reflect upon the difficulties of living through a pandemic. Having recently collaborated with the composer Kalevi Aho, she came upon the idea of asking him and a number of other composers to write for her – pieces that would ‘reflect life and work in the time of the coronavirus and that distil isolation in music’.

The result is Songs of Solitude – works for solo viola commissioned from 11 different composers and interwoven with sarabandes from Bach’s cello suites. The individual pieces range from the meditative (Toshio Hosokawa reminiscing in his version of the traditional Sakura) to the defiant (Johanna Doderer’s Shadows). Some of them even provided Hiyoli with musical company – Aho’s Am Horizont requires her to play two parts on the viola while singing a third, and the piece by John Powell is written for nine voices, recorded in multitrack. The album was recorded in Berlin during three periods, June to October 2020, as the various pieces arrived and the restrictions in place at the time permitted.

Hiyoli Togawa, violin

No biography found.

Booklet for Songs of Solitude