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World music CD DVD shop and Classic distribution
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ID: SIGCD032
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Chamber Music
Recording Location: St. Andrew's Church, Toddington, Gloucestershire
Louis (c.1626-1661), François le Grand (1668-1733) and Armand-Louis (1727-1789) were the three most celebrated members of the distinguished Couperin family of musicians who flourished from the late 16th century until the middle of the 19th, holding a position of esteem parallel to that of the Bachs in Germany.
The Sultan and the Phoenix presents both masterpieces and rare gems from the Couperins and their contemporaries, all delivered with a rare insight by the ensemble charivari agréable. The programme presents an overview of the ensemble use of the viol in its various manifestations and stages of evolution in France. The Couperin dynasty offers a convenient chronological framework within which the viol could be heard in various guises: from a consort setting to a ‘pičces de clavecin en concerts’ configuration; from a six-string bass viol to a five-string hybrid ‘quinton’. Underpinning this programme is the historical practice of adaptation, transcription and arrangement with which French baroque music is replete.
Historical tradition is followed by the arrangement of some pieces by the players. Some involved direct transcription, such as the L. Couperin Pavan for a viol consort or the F. Couperin harpsichord piece for theorbo (in the style of de Visée, see above). Other pieces are left untouched, such as L. Couperin’s Fantaisies and Corrette’s Phénix, as well as the large-scale chamber works of Dornel and Couperin.
Charivari Agréable’s reputation as one of the most original ensembles in the period-instrument scene was recently articulated by the BBC Music Magazine, which noted that the ensemble “has carved something of a niche for itself in imaginative and well thought-out programming”, reasoning that its work is the fruit of both scholarly research and charismatic musicianship, a combination which puts it at the forefront of period-instrument ensembles.
This recording is refreshing and rewarding. Charivari Agréable is a rare combination with a distinct sound and sonority, displaying sincere empathy and love for the repertory they choose to record. |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: SIGCD030
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Baroque
Subcollection: HarpsichordSignum Records presents the second volume of Lucy Carolan's recordings of Bach's keyboard music consisting of works from Volumes two, three and four of his "Clavierübung". Volume two contains the popular Italian Concerto and French Overture and concentrates on the number "two" - two pieces, two keys, two modes, two nations (Italy and France) and a two-manual harpsichord. The Italian Concerto is unique: a wholly original solo keyboard work written as if "transcribed" from a string original to which Bach adds strikingly new ideas expressly suited for harpsichord. Bach had acquired his knowledge of Italian repertoire early on by transcribing Vivaldi violin concertos for solo harpsichord around 1712-13. The contrasting French Overture contains lighter dances from the court of Louis XIV such as the gavotte, the passepied and bourrée - all are dance forms which had been familiar to Bach from his childhood. The disc also includes duets from volume three and the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue which, although unpublished during Bach's lifetime, became an inspiration to subsequent generations of composers. |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: COR16042
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Baroque
About this title: The small British chorus called the Sixteen and director Harry Christophers have delivered consistently popular recordings of Renaissance and Baroque music, maintaining very high standards of performance. Here they couple two of the most popular Baroque works of all, Vivaldi's Gloria in D major, RV 589, and Bach's Magnificat in D major, BWV 243, and the results are handsome indeed. The tenor of the performances flows from the conceptions of each work that Christophers expresses in one of the little personal essays that appears at the beginning of each booklet in this series: Vivaldi, he said, is "effective," and even operates in places here "at his simplest," while Bach is "complex." Some would use other words first, for each composer -- daring or kinetic for Vivaldi, devotional or a dozen other words for Bach. There are recordings that give Vivaldi in general and the Gloria in particular more of an edge; there are recordings of Bach that seem warmer, or more rooted in the sacred texts. |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: ACDHN022-2
CDs: 1
Type: SACD
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Subcollection: OrganSACD Hybrid Disc (SACDH) = CD Digital Audio + Super Audio CD |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: SIGCD094
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Baroque
Subcollection: ChoirWith a stunning selection of choral music that is truly fit for a King, Andrew Gant leads the Choir of the Chapel Royal & The Musicians Extra-Ordinary to re-create the music that accompanied the coronation of James II and Queen Mary in 1685.
Includes work(s) by various composers. Ensembles: St. James's Palace Chapel Royal Choir, St. James's Palace Chapel Royal Musicians. Conductor: Andrew Gant. |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: ACDHD031-2
CDs: 1
Type: SACD
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Collection:
Baroque
Subcollection: Historical InstrumentsThe glorious epithet ‘Golden Age’, describing the seventeenth century in the Netherlands, and the Northern Netherlands in particular, says much about the preceding century too. For it was in the second half of that century that the gradual transition took place from the Renaissance to the early Baroque, and in many respects it was there that the roots of the ‘golden’ characteristics lay. The exuberance of the Baroque, however, was of relatively limited influence, since it hardly appealed to the sobriety of the increasingly Calvinist population. This was the background to the political and military stage of the Eighty Years’ War, which was to end with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in Münster in 1648 and the formal independance of the Republic of the United Provinces. The discovery of new continents made a significant contribution to unprecedented economic growth. The Republic of the United Provinces became the indisputed economic centre of Europe, with trade links and possessions in no less than four continents and a merchant fleet that surpassed the combined fleets of England and France. In the ideological world, humanism, fired by the writings of Desiderius Erasmus, became a force to be reckoned with. In religious matters, the sixteenth century witnessed perhaps the greatest upheavals, with the emergence of Protestantism during the Reformation and the first effects of the Counter Reformation around 1560. If it were not for spectacular developments in the cultural world, to which the seventeenth century owed its honorary title, scholarship, literature, poetry, painting, engraving and music would not have attained such stupendous heights. |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: RK2302
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Voices |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: ACDHJ032-2
CDs: 1
Type: SACD
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Collection:
Baroque
Subcollection: PianoBefore his travels Mendelssohn had already started to compose the Fantasy in F sharp, which is also called Sonata écossaise (Scottish sonata), but only after the three years’ tour did he finish and publish it. The work is comprised of three parts and continues with the attacca as one big whole. After his three years’ journey Mendelssohn returned to the parental home in Berlin in June 1832. The following month he ordered a piano by Conrad Graf from Vienna. His specific wish was a grand piano with a compass of 6½ octaves. The development of the piano in the late 18th century up to the mid 19th century went very fast and its compass increased every time. The piano Felix mother and aunts knew in the days of their youths had a compass of but 5 octaves, the Broadwood grand at his parents’ had 6.
He was so pleased with the Graf that he ordered two more within a time span of three years; one for the city of Düsseldorf where he had become General Musical Director and one as a wedding present for his brother’s bride.
Although he also received a grand piano as a present from the Erard factory in 1832, his enthusiasm for this make is not registered until 1838. The 1832 instrument did not play easily and after he had sent it back to the factory in 1837 to have it modified, he unexpectedly got offered a new instrument. He described this instrument ‘so full and rich in tone’ and praised the Erard quoting Lord Byron, ‘There be none of Beauty’s daughters with a magic like Erard’s.’ |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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