Concerto Copenhagen / Lars Ulrik Mortensen PER LA NOTTE DI NATALE

 

PER LA NOTTE DI NATALE

 

Augusta McKay Lodge CORELLI'S BAND Violin Sonatas

VIOLIN SONATAS

 

La Rêveuse / Benjamin Perrot / Florence Bolton LONDON CIRCA 1720

LONDON CIRCA 1720

 

Sabrina Frey & Ensemble ACCADEMIA DELL'ARCADIA - ROMA 1710

ACCADEMIA DELL'ARCADIA - ROMA 1710

Ofra Harnoy BACK TO BACH

                                                                  BACK TO BACH

Gli Incogniti / Amandine Beyer CORELLI The Complete Concerti Grossi

 Amandine Beyer

                                Gli Incogniti

ARCANGELO CORELLI (1653-1713)
Concerto da chiesa Op.VI no.7 in D major
Concerto da camera Op.VI no.9 in F major
Sinfonia, WoO 1, to the oratorio Santa Beatrice d’Este in D minor
Concerto da chiesa Op.VI no.4 in D major
Concerto da camera Op.VI no.11 in B-flat major
Concerto da chiesa Op.VI no.2 in F major
Concerto da chiesa Op.VI no.8 in G minor, « Fatto per la notte di Natale »
Concerto da chiesa Op.VI no.6 in F major
Sonata a quattro in G minor, WoO 2
Concerto da camera Op.VI no.10 in C major
Concerto da chiesa Op.VI no.5 in B-flat major
Concerto da camera Op.VI no.12 in F major
Concerto da chiesa Op.VI no.3 in C minor
Concerto da chiesa Op.VI no.1 in D major

Ferio Saxophone Quartet REVIVE

For its second album on Chandos, the young Ferio Saxophone Quartet presents a set of unique arrangements of milestones from the baroque repertoire, from Corelli via Bach to Handel.
Including many premiere recordings, these fresh interpretations, full of flair and vitality, played on instruments that combine elements of brass and woodwind, bring the tunes and counterpoint to a fascinating new register. The Ferio Quartet plays with power, warmth, and dexterity.

{oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna / Martyna Pastuszka CONCERTO GROSSO

This CD sketches a portrait of the musical reality of the British Isles during the first half of the 18th century. The eight concerti grossi in this programme have been chosen for the features they possess in common, a primordial position being accorded to the work of Francesco Scarlatti. These are pieces of Italian origin in sonata form; the concerto grosso being the émigré of this programme.
The huge success of the Italian concerto grosso was a response to the necessity of freeing music from a secondary role to which it found itself confined, notably in France with ballet music. Unaffected by the rivalry between French and Italian music that was then raging, the British seemed to be attracted by purely instrumental music; the concerto grosso consequently afforded them a freshness, a boldness, and a hint of unique maestria that held an immediate appeal. Thus it was that the concerto grosso emigrated, as did a number of Italian composers who responded to the emotional needs and the demands of an English ‘market’ that encouraged artistic initiative, promised financial satisfaction, and offered the opportunity of achieving fame.
This was the case with Francesco Scarlatti; born in Palermo, the brother of the celebrated Alessandro, he made almost his whole career in London and Dublin, never, however, really achieving the expected fame. Few of his works have survived beyond the six concerti grossi featured on this CD; two concerto grosso arrangements of sonatas by Geminiani and Corelli complete this programme, the remodeling of one and the same material being very frequent at this time.
You are invited by the young Polish ensemble {oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna, conducted by its first violin Martyna Pastuszka, to journey from Italy to the United Kingdom. Warm, varied sonorities highlight the splendour and expressivity of music that is now lively or dancelike, now gentle, melancholic or meditative. To be discovered!

Fabio Biondi THE 1690 "TUSCAN" STRADIVARI

In the course of his illustrious career, Fabio Biondi has nurtured a remarkable empathy with Italian music from across many centuries, but strikingly so with the early Baroque violin sonata repertory, the development of which was dramatically propelled into the future by Arcangelo Corelli with his Op 5 collection. It is this empathy possessed by Biondi which has inspired the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome (from its bowed instrument collection) to make him a loan of the precious 1690 “Tuscan” violin made by Antonio Stradivari, for this Glossa recording.

Another skill possessed by Biondi is his deft assemblage of programmes, whether for concert or for CD, and this new release of early eighteenth-century violin works touches on the impact that Corelli’s music had on music-making in Dresden, Venice, Padua, London and Amsterdam, to name just a few of the destinations affected as the fame of “Arcangelo Bolognese” fanned out from Rome across Europe.

With a continuo team from his Europa Galante ensemble (Antonio Fantinuoli, cello, Giangiacomo Pinardi, theorbo and Paola Poncet, harpsichord), Biondi plays sonatas by Vivaldi, Corelli, Geminiani, Tartini and Locatelli, and a Ciaccona by Veracini. Recorded in Rome, on an instrument which was originally made for the Florentine court of Ferdinando de’ Medici (and which, over time, has survived all manner of vicissitudes on its journey to Rome!), Fabio Biondi expertly captures the flavour of the eighteenth-century violin sonata.

Lucile Boulanger LES DÉFIS DE MR. FORQUERAY

In her debut recording for harmonia mundi, Lucile Boulanger explores the facets of Antoine Forqueray’s career as a virtuoso instrumentalist: adept in a wide range of Italian repertoire and skilled at transcribing works originally intended for the violin, he could try it on for size, as it were, before settling on a different medium.

With the viola da gamba, he extended the technique of playing it far beyond the norm, confronting the performer with fiendishly difficult challenges… which have been met brilliantly by the hugely talented foursome heard here.

Freiburger Barockorchester / Gottfried von der Goltz CORELLI Concerti Grossi - Sinfonia Santa Beatrice d'Este

Violinist Gottfried von der Goltz at the head of the Freiburger Barockorchester performs Corelli's Concerti Grossi, true hits of the baroque repertoire. Recorded by specialists, the programme abounds of life and bursts with colours. The various playing intentions clearly enlighten the different instrumental levels and the vivid dialogue between tutti and solists. The enlarged continuo features a rich palette: lute, harp, harpsichord and organ are holding up the strings joined – o surprise – by winds! Oboe, bassoon, trombone and trumpet still enhance the dramatic dimension of these thrilling pieces. Gottfried von der Goltz himself sought for all the clues that may provide evidence for the presence of the additional timbres. These passionate musicians release a brand new Corelli, pioneer in orchestral music. An exciting rediscovery!

Concerto Italiano / Rinaldo Alessandrini UN VIAGGIO A ROMA

"The programme on this CD provides a snapshot of music over a few decades. An incomplete one, in that it focuses firstly on the contribution of Stradella, who lived in Rome between 1652 and 1678, with his S. Giovanni Battista, performed in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in 1675; then the visit of Georg Muffat, a Frenchman interested in Italian style, a pupil of Pasquini between 1681 and 1682, and a great admirer of Corelli; the young Handel, who was the object of admiration in the papal city between 1707 and 1709; Alessandro Scarlatti, prolifc, tireless composer and musical traveller, and lastly Corelli, the classic symbol of the splendour of Roman musical culture, who spent the whole of his life from 1675 ‘in urbe’." (Rinaldo Alessandrini)

Flora Papadopoulos UNWRITTEN

''A fresh, unusual and fashinating travel through time. A good idea for music lovers to listen to their favourite pieces under a new light!'' 

J.S. Bach, Biber, Marini, Corelli are four protagonists of baroque music that no one would associate to the harp. However, they worked in environments where the activity of harpists is widely witnessed, and where a repertoire for the solo harp, while it surely existed, was never written down. 

Based on this premise, and after a deep research on original sources, an ambitious project is born. It suggests that the repertoire of the violin, which shares many idiomatic features with the harp, has long been a source of inspiration for harpists. 

Hence, here some of the most well known and virtuosic pieces for the violin have been adapted to the harp, giving a fresh second life to these compositions, drawing light to new shades and unexpected reflections. 

Flora Papadopoulos, after important collaborations with some of the best known European ensembles of early music , debuts her first solo album. Through personal, highly experimental and empiric paths, she restores a fascinating musical practice that has been long lost.

Lina Tur Bonet / Musica Alchemica LA GIOIA

All six of Corelli's published collections of instrumental music demonstrate his exceptional skill as a violinist and composer, but it was in his Violin Sonatas Op. 5 that Corelli had the most significant impact on violin technique. The Op. 5 collection consists of 11 sonatas and a 12th sonata with a series of 23 variations on the famous 'Follia' theme. All 12 pieces contain a variety of difficult violin techniques.

Lina Tur Bonet is one of the most exciting violinists of the younger generation. She is accompanied by her ensemble Musica Alchemica. Her recent recordings for Pan classics - Vivaldi Premieres and the Rosary Sonatas by Biber – received many awards as 5* BBC Music Magazine, 5* Diapason, "CD-Tipp" (Toccata), "Excepcional" (Scherzo), "Melomano de Oro", and others.

Il Giardino d’Amore / Stefan Plewniak / Natalia Kawalek / Dawid Biwo AMOR SACRO AMOR PROFANO

 Love is crazy one may say, love you can not define,  love is all you need. Amor, Amore, l’Amour,  Je t’aime … so many ways to express something sweet inside of us, in some quiet secret and sacred part of our souls. Amor Sacro Amor Profano gently and softly leads us to this world where love write her own scenarios.

Amor Sacro Amor Profano features music of Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Lully, Charpentier, Stradella, Caresana, Corelii. 

Adrian Chandler / La Serenissima THE ITALIAN JOB

Born on Merseyside in 1974, Adrian Chandler studied modern and baroque violin at the Royal College of Music with Rodney Friend and Catherine Mackintosh. Whilst a student at the RCM he founded the ensemble La Serenissima with whom he has since performed numerous solo recitals and Vivaldi concerti in major festivals such as Spitafields, Chelsea, Southwark, Cheltenham, Lake District Summer Music, Lichfield, Bruges, South Bank Early Music Festival and York Early Music Festival, as well as in concert series in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Spain and the UK. 

His performances have been broadcast by BBC Radio 3, Radio Scotland, Dutch Radio, Radio 3 Belgium, Radio France, Danish Radio, Classic FM and Japanese TV.  He has also toured The Four Seasons with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and given performances of Mozart and Beethoven violin sonatas in Japan.  Highlights from 2012 included performances of Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade at festivals such as Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music (the UK’s modern and historical premiere), Bath International Festival (opening night), Buxton and at the Eilat Festival in Israel.  2013 sees him returning to Buxton for tercentenary performances of Vivaldi’s Ottone in villa and performances in the Oslo Chamber Music Festival as a guest soloist and director.

La Serenissima was formed in 1994 for a performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s La Sena festeggiante and has now firmly established itself as one of the leading exponents of the music of eighteenth century Venice and connected composers. Since its first CD release in 2003, La Serenissima has been universally applauded by publications including Gramophone Magazine, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, The Independent, The Strad, Falstaff Magazine, La Stampa, Gaudisc, Goldberg Magazine and The Evening Standard for its performances on the Avie Label.

Höör Barock / Anna Paradiso / Dan Laurin TELEMANN - CORELLI - BACH

The new Swedish historical-instrument group Höör Barock (the name comes from that of a village in southern Sweden but also connotes the idea "hear Baroque") is a project of recorder virtuoso Dan Laurin, already noted as one of the world's top players on his instrument. Here, joined by second recorder Emilie Roos, he is able to shape his ensemble of ten players into a unit capable of keeping up with and pushing his blistering speeds. The program opens with a work that contains recorder parts but isn't a recorder concerto at all, and it's quite interesting: the Overture-Suite of Telemann entitled "Wassermusik," or Water Music, had origins entirely different from Handel's work (it seems to have been a kind of attempt to map some Greek myths onto Hamburg's landscape), but the overall effect is surprisingly similar. Höör Barock's reading of this work is a bit stiff, but the fun starts with the Corelli Concerto for two recorders and orchestra, Op. 6, No. 4: sample the zippy duo passagework in its third and fourth movements. The Bach Concerto for harpsichord, two recorders, strings, and continuo, BWV 1057, is an arrangement of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in F major, BWV 1049, and Höör Barock's performance here is likewise a masterpiece of close high-speed ensemble work. The Corelli Christmas Concerto, Op. 6, No. 8, loses a bit of lyricism, but in the main this recording announces a distinctive new Baroque group, nicely recorded. (James Manheim)

Yehudi Menuhin THE ART OF MENUHIN

“Now I know there is a God in heaven!”, exclaimed Albert Einstein when he heard the young Yehudi Menuhin play the violin. Not only was Menuhin an extraordinary musician, he lived through – and helped to shape – a momentous period in history. The Warner Classics catalog contains 70 years’ worth of his recordings and this 3-CD collection, Yehudi: The Art of Menuhin, provides a fascinating perspective on his achievements: Menuhin was a man of ideals who changed the world through music. (Arkiv Music)

As a musician, as a man of ideals, and as a citizen of the world, Yehudi Menuhin made an extraordinary mark on his era. 22nd April 2016 will mark the 100th anniversary of his birth. YEHUDI explores Yehudi Menuhin’s genius and artistry through his legendary recordings – the best-loved violin masterpieces, famed duets and collaborations and exclusive unpublished material - in a specially priced 3-CD compilation for the great violinist’s centenary year. (Presto Classical)

Alison Balsom JUBILO Bach - Corelli - Torelli - Fasch

With this release Alison records on the natural trumpet for the first time since the hugely successful album Sound the Trumpet. Inspired by seasonal Baroque repertoire, the recording includes Bach’s concertos by Corelli, Torelli, and Fasch performed with the Academy of Ancient Music under the direction of violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk. The Schübler Chorales and In dulce jubilo by Bach, performed in arrangements for trumpet and organ played here by Stephen Cleobury, act as a beautiful foil to the full orchestral sound of the concertos. Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring featuring Stephen Cleobury and the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge tops off this Christmas cracker of an album. This classy winter-themed album is a perfect core classical seasonal offering. The release coincides with a major tour of Germany.

Barokksolistene / Bjarte Eike / Tuva Semmingsen LONDON CALLING!

In spite of a misleading title, borrowed from the Clash's iconic 1979 album, and cover artwork possibly suggesting music of the '60s mod scene, London Calling!: Handel and His Contemporaries seems inappropriately packaged for what it really is, a sampler of Baroque opera arias and concertos, mostly Italian music that was popular in early 18th century London. This terrific-sounding hybrid SACD by the Norwegian period ensemble Barokksolistene should stand on its own as a delightful survey of vocal and instrumental music by George Frederick Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, Francesco Maria Veracini, and Francesco Geminiani, all well-known composers who don't deserve (and likely won't benefit from) the album's condescending tagline, "It's just old pop music." The vibrant singing by mezzo-soprano Tuva Semmingsen is an attractive feature of this 2012 release, and her flexibility and rich tone are well-suited to Handel's florid settings of Italian and English texts. The virtuoso ensemble, dominated by strings, plays without vibrato and yields the shining sonorities of a Baroque orchestra, and the inclusion of trumpet, oboe, theorbo, and harpsichord adds spice to their polished blend. Under the leadership of violinist Bjarte Eike, the performances are carefully executed and appropriately interpreted, so fans of early music will find much to enjoy here, notwithstanding the misguided attempt to market this collection to a pop audience. (Blair Sanderson)