MILANOLO – Milan Pala

Pascal Manolios – Higia (2014)

Ivan Josip Skender – Poem (2015)

Christophe Sirodeau – LAUDI, Fantasy op.32 (2007/2015)

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

Tõnu Kõrvits – Sun spells (2015)

Evgeny Irshai – Five O’strings (2015)

Lena Sierova – The Squirrel (2016)

Wolfgang M. Bauer – Intermezzo (2016)

Martin Lang – Komár (2016)

Anton Aslamas – Milanola (2016)

Dominik Kopcsay – Universum in Milanolo (2016)

Adrián Demoč – Žiadba (2014/2015)

I.

II.

Marián Lejava – EMMERT (2016)

This CD contains music for the solo instrument – milanolo

Recorded in Státní zámek Bučovice, September 2016

Sound Director and Mastering: © Rostislav Pavlík ● Music Director: Milan Pala
Executive Producer: Rostislav Pavlík ● Notes: © Bronislav Bursík
Translation: © Jana Irshai ● Graphic Design and Photography: © Julian Veverica

The five-stringed violin “Milanolo” was invented in the Bursik violin studio in Brno in unique cooperation of three master violin makers of two generations – Jan Hus Bursik and his sons Jan and Bronislav. It connects the beauty of the sounds of violin and viola. The inventors’ inspiration was in the model Guarneri del Gesú, which they transformed for the sound requirements of the five-stringed violin.
For this particular instrument they chose first class material from the gold fond of the violin maker’s clan which was the basis for reaching the high sound qualities of “Milanolo”. The spruce top plate with regular growth rings comes from Schwarzwald in Germany and it’s age is supposed to be about 60 years. The bottom desk from one piece is decorated by a manifold and deep annealing. It is Bosnian maple which is 50 years old.
Thanks to the thought-through and changed construction, the instrument achieved the excellent playability. By extending rib, the interior of the instrument, and innovative tuning of the top and bottom plate, the instrument excels in the multiplication of aliquot notes. Snail and the overall shape of the neck is designed with regard to the need in addition of the fifth string C, and maintains the ideal weight that combines aesthetics of the whole shape.
Due to the fact that the string C was placed on the last pin in the hollows, the ideal tension of the deepest string was achieved and thereby it improved its sound character. The instrument retains the clear, colorful and bright upper strings, with the lower strings that sound in viola timbre.
Delicious and very flexible oil lacquer, mixed according to the old Italian recipes, decorates essential oils with the soft elastic resins. This combination maintains in the lacquer high elasticity, which doesn’t dampen vibrations and supports the overall resonance. The lacquer adds to the instrument’s glamo-rous look with high transparency for the base of the selected wood. The game of lights and colors that radiates, enhances the overall deep impression of this unique instrument.
The idea of creating a five-stringed violin emerged from the special cooperation of Bursik violin studio with the virtuoso Milan Pala, thus combining three master luthiers and a musician masterfully controlling both the violin and the viola. Milan Pala, with his unique interpretation and a brilliant range of playability on violin and viola, was an inspiration for the creation of a unique instrument that bears his name – “Milanolo”.
The high difficulty of mastering the playability of this instrument, both physical and mental, is changing in the hands of Milan, in the pure art and pleasure beyond the current form of classical music. This instrument allows the soloist in previously unimaginable ways to expand the repertoire of compositions and play pieces at the same time designed for violin, viola and even violoncello. Unprecedented possibilities of the five-stringed violin also bring an incomparable yet unheard experience to the music composers and, of course the listeners who may at the same time enjoy the interconnection of the sound qualities of violin and viola.
Lena Sierova, *1983 – The Squirrel

I composed The Squirrel in the Summer of 2016, inspired by the walks in the pine woods of the western Ukraine where many of these lovely animals dwell. The idea was to try to capture the playful character of a ginger squirrel in music and the wider range of the five-string violin proved almost ideal for this purpose.

Martin Lang, *1995 – Mosquito

We all went through it… you go to bed after an exhausting day and shortly after you drift off, an annoying noise breaks the silence. A mosquito comes forward after a day-long waiting for this precise moment. First, you do not pay too much attention to it, waving your hand occasionaly in attempt to scare it away. But the mosquito is persistent and soon the situation resolves in a game in which it is not only your blood but also your dreams that are at stake – and you won´t be deprived of those! Initially innocent situations thus turns into a wild battle.

Wolfgang M. Bauer, *1986 – Intermezzo

The combination of the instrument’s rich low register combined with the virtuosity of the violin opens up new opportunities. Right from the beginning the composition makes use of those opportunities: Scales span across a very large compass, while during the following development the low register is being used for polyphonic imitations, counterpoint or rich chords. Finally, the varied instrumentation of a small chamber music ensemble takes place in a single string instrument.

Evgeny Irshai, *1951 – Five O’strings

I composed Five O’strings for an outstanding Slovak violinist Milan Pala. The title ironizes the famous English expression Five O’clock that refers to tea at five. It, of course, does not mean that the composition should be played or listened to strictly at five O’clock, but it certainly can be done…

Marián Lejava, *1976 – Emmert (2016)

This composition was written for a phenomenal violinist, violist and milanolist Milan Pala; for his unique instrument, milanolo. It is an In-memoriam-kind-of-composition, dedi-cated to a late Czech composer and mysticist František Gregor Emmert. Its simple material decodes the individual letters of his name that create the tones of this composition. The short quotation from his majestic Ecce homo, symphony for violin solo symbolically alludes to his court violinist – Milan Pala and his outstanding art.

Dominik Kopcsay, *1994 – Universum in Milanolo

While creating a universe in milanolo I focused on a wide register and thus the possibilities of this instrument but also on the unlimited interpretation skills of the remarkable Milan Pala. In three minutes I attempted to create a new, enclosed world full of dramatic as well as contemplative stops. A listener, pulled by gravities of various objects, travelling at various speeds in this spacetime is thus confronted with a relativistic effect of a differently flowing time. It was a true honour working on this unique project.

Anton Aslamas, *1988 – Milanola

In March 2016 I was approached by a violin virtuoso, Milan Pala, who asked me to compose a piece for the Milanolo – a five-string violin – for a CD that would be recorded and as the first one ever dedicated solely to his unique instrument. What attracted me the most were not only the highly unusual features of Milanolo that open totaly new horzons of technical possibilities for the string instruments but also the need of conecting these with the artistically valuable side of the composition. Rather traditional structure of the piece is based on the 18th century composition masters and the way they used the string instruments as well as the wish to speak to as broad spectrum of listeners as possible. Deliberately straightforward beat supports the unity of the composition counterbalances the anticipated agogic connected with the triple and multiple chords. The title reflects the fact that this composition was born only due to the mere existence of this unique instrument.

Christophe Sirodeau, *1970 – LAUDI, Fantasy op.32 (2007)

This piece is about the celebration of friendship, as the Latin title suggests. This version was written especially for Milan Pala, with admiration; the original version was composed for an important anniversary of a Polish friend, Jacek Sypniewski, himself a violist. Some of the material used in this music is related to an earlier concerto for viola “Crepusculaire” (still a work in progress), inspired by the delicate Portugese poetry of Camillo Pessanha. The piece is structured in 5 movements, starting and concluding in slow, contemplative motion while the central section is in dance style. The poetic key to the piece lies in its essential and strong expressivity as well as in the huge contrasts in mood and character within each section.

Tõnu Kõrvits, *1969 – Sun Spells (2015)

Sun Spells are based on old Estonian shepherd songs. These songs were sung to keep away the rain and for the sun to came out. I tried to keep the original desire and the love and honour to the nature in my music.

Adrián Demoč, *1985 – Žiadba

Žiadba is an archaic Slovak word, a synonym for the word desire. What I particularly like about it is the suffix “DBA” (as in huDBA, which means music in Slovak). A desire for simplification, for the elementary, for the new wind – personified in two short parts of the composition: Desire for the beat (first part) and for the unblown melody made of the natural flageolet tones (second part).

Ivan Josip Skender, *1981 – Poem

The composition Poem for Milanolo is dedicated to Milan Pala. The form of the composition emerged from the way in with I narrate poems and bedtime stories to my daughter to make them more fun to her and to me as well. Each time something new appears in different spot and the plot wavers, so in an ordinary poem or story there is suddenly action, horor, sadness, laughter, wit, irony… The end as a rule, must be calming… or not…“

Published with the support of SOZA

By buying this CD you get the chance to download free version of this recording in higher quality
(5 channel stereo version in FLAC format). Here is the information: