Attilio Ariosti (1666-1729) was a singer and organist, as well as a cellist and composer. When his name appears today, however, it is usually in connection with the viola d'amore. Ariosti was famous as a virtuoso performer on this instrument, but he also composed for it. The chamber works for viola d'amore which have survived are his Collection of Lessons and the Recueil de Pièces pour la Viol d'Amour, comprising 21 solos - really sonatas in all but name. Together they form the largest single set of baroque works for the viola d'amore. During Ariosti's lifetime these works probably circulated in manuscript copies. That the solos of the Recueil survive at all is thanks to a young music student, Johan Helmich Roman, later known as the father of Swedish music, who copied them in the late 1710s and brought them home with him to Stockholm. In his initiated liner notes, Thomas Georgi, one of today's finest exponents of the viola d'amore, gives an interesting introduction to Ariosti and the instrument, including the various tunings and notational system that are associated with it. This disc, the first of three, contains the six Lessons of the Collection, produced by Ariosti in order to promote the viola d'amore in England, his new home. Five of them appear as in the original, whereas Thomas Georgi has combined the sixth with four movements from the Recueil de Pièces, to form two sonatas - 'Stockholm Sonatas'. A fascinating opportunity to enjoy a rarely heard instrument, expertly supported by Lucas Harris and Joëlle Morton, two of North America's finest baroque instrumentalists.

London in the early 1700s offered a dazzling mix of virtually every European musical style. This bustling environment attracted both students of music (such as the young Swedish composer Roman) and established musicians, eager to make their mark- Handel and Geminiani being two of the brightest shining stars. But new influences did not only come from across the Channel. The recent union between England and Scotland led to an increased cultural exchange, and English audiences were entranced by the rhythms and colours of the traditional tunes of Scotland. Various collections, such as the settings by the recorder virtuoso Francesco Barsanti, were published and even handel could not resist a few turns at the hornpipe in his Water Music. This state of affairs is reflected in the present mix of four baroque sonatas, by composers associated with London in various ways, and nine Scottish tunes in arrangements based on the Barsanti settings. This imaginative programme is characteristic of the approach adopted by Parnassus Avenue, an ensemble which is constantly challenging 'baroque standards': according to Parnassus Avenue there is no 'early' music, just a never-ending 'now'. In lending a John Stanley Adagio the same melancholy expressivity as the mournful Waly waly, and applying the same virtuosity to the hypnotic Clout the Cauldron as to a Handel Allegro, Dan Laurin and his colleagues also demonstrate that there are no genres, only one seamless musical whole. Corelli & Co., the group's previous CD on BIS, was hailed as 'a truly inspirational disc for anyone who regards the baroque original as a starting point for individual expression' in Early Music Review. Chances are that many will receive just as much inspiration from this new disc.

Saxophonist Harry White and pianist Edward Rushton present this album of 23 etudes by composers such as Ravel, Dukas, Poulenc, Villa-Lobos, and more. The history behind these works dates back to 1906, when a voice professor at the Paris Conservatoire, Amedee-Landely Hettich, made it his mission to change vocalises and etudes from monotonous scalar exercises to works of art in themselves. In the three decades that followed, Hettich persuaded some of France’s most respected composers to write etudes that would not only challenge the performer’s skills, but also exude musicality.