Incantation

Composers: Bruch, Vitali, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky, Bloch, Chausson, Umebayashi
Compositions: Selections for violin
Performers: Virgil Boutellis-Taft v, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jac Van Steen cond
Catalogue Number: Aparté AP234

French violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft has chosen “selections” rather than the usual “a concerto or two” approach. Calling the disc Incantation offers a lot of scope as far as repertoire is concerned, for the term itself has numerous meanings and suggestions. It can mean singing, which is enchanting to the listener; in a religious sense it has a ritual function and perhaps more commonly, in daily parlance, it is suggestive of a more cautious undertaking as magic or...