Amoroso

Nicole Peña Comas & Damien Lancelle

An album devoted to the many facets of love

For their production Amoroso, cellist Nicole Peña Comas and guitarist Damien Lancelle curated a refined selection of romantic works, featuring well-known pieces by Tchaikovsky, Liszt, and Schumann, as well as rarely performed gems by August Nölck, Georg Goltermann, and Amy Beach. At the heart of the album lies the intimate sonic pairing of cello and guitar – a rarely heard instrumentation that here blends with warmth and nuance. All pieces were specially arranged for the duo by Damien Lancelle.

Recording

The recording sessions took place in February 2022 at the Lisztzentrum Raiding. The miking approach followed a classical setup, aimed at capturing both clarity and warmth: an AB main pair (Sennheiser MKH 20) formed the spatial backbone, complemented by various spot microphones for the cello (including MKH 50 front and rear, and Coles 4038) and the guitar (Schoeps MK 4, TLM 193), as well as additional room microphones.
The signal chain included RME and Merging preamps (Octamic, Hapi) to ensure maximum fidelity.

The production was nominated for the OPUS KLASSIK Award in 2023.

In the online magazine The New Listener, reviewer Holger Sambale writes: “The sound of the CD meets the very high standard of modern productions.”

Album-Tracks

AUGUST NÖLCK (1862-1928)
Amoroso – Valse lente, Op. 160
Ständchen, Op. 15, No. 3

ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Myrthen, Op. 25: XXIV. Du bist wie eine Blume

GEORG GOLTERMANN (1824-1898)
Etude-Caprice, Op. 54, No. 4

EDWARD ELGAR (1857-1934)
Salut d’amour, Op. 12

AMY BEACH (1867-1944)
3 Compositions, Op. 40: Berceuse

AUGUST NÖLCK (1862-1928)
Spanische Serenade, Op. 208, No. 1

FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886)
Liebesträume, S. 541: No. 3

AUGUST NÖLCK (1862-1928)
Mazurka, Op. 120

ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Myrthen, Op. 25: I. Widmung

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Valse sentimentale, Op. 51, No. 6

GEORG GOLTERMANN (1824-1898)
Capriccio, Op. 24

FRITZ KREISLER (1875-1962)
Liebesleid

AUGUST NÖLCK (1862-1928)
Souvenir lyrique, Op. 15, No. 5

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921)
Allegro appassionato, Op. 43

ERIK SATIE (1866-1925)
Je te veux

FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963)
Les chemins de l’amour, FP. 106

AUGUST NÖLCK (1862-1928)
Ungarische Csardas-Fantasie, Op. 229

CD Cover