Christian Flor (1626-1697) was a German Baroque composer and organist whose work reflects the stylistic transition between early and high Baroque music in northern Europe. Although not as widely known today as some of his contemporaries, Flor held important musical positions during his lifetime, serving as an organist and contributing to the rich liturgical and instrumental traditions of 17th-century Germany. Among his surviving works, Flor's ten suites for harpsichord stand out as a significant contribution to the development of the Baroque suite. These suites follow the typical structure of the time, generally consisting of a sequence of dance movements such as allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue. Each movement contrasts in tempo and character, creating a balanced and varied musical experience within a unified tonal framework. Flor's writing for harpsichord is notable for it's clarity and elegance. Rather than focusing on virtuosic display, his suites emphasize melodic development, harmonic richness, and rhythmic vitality. This approach makes his music both accessible and expressive, while his use of ornamentation is tasteful and idiomatic, enhancing the musical line without overwhelming it. The ten suites also illustrate the broader European influences present in German Baroque music. Elements of French dance style and Italian melodic expressiveness can be found throughout, showing Flor's awareness of international trends. At the same time, his music retains a distinctly German contrapuntal sensibility. Played on the harpsichord by Simone Pierini. Born in Rome in 1996, Pierini began studying music at the age of eight. Aged eighteen, he graduated in piano at S. Cecilia Conservatory of Music, Rome, with highest honors. He afterwards grew interest in historically informed piano practice, attending masterclasses led by Alexei Lubimov, Andreas Staier, Tobias Koch, Stefano Fiuzzi. Subsequently, his interest about historical keyboards in general grew further, and he began studying harpsichord and basso continuo with such teachers as Andrea Coen and Giovanni Togni. His recordings with music by Cherubini (BC96246), the complete piano sonatas by Helene de Montgeroult (BC96247) and the complete Piano Sonatas by Cramer were very positively received by the press. Classic FM nominated him as one of the 30 best musicians under 30 in 2024.
This album brings to life the richly expressive world of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a composer who stood at the crossroads of Baroque tradition and Classical innovation. These sonatas for keyboard and flute reveal a musical language in transition: rooted in the structural clarity of the Baroque trio sonata, yet transformed through Bach's bold, sensitive exploration of emotion and individuality. In these works, the keyboard emerges as an equal partner rather than a mere accompaniment, embodying a new, modern voice that reflects the composer's forward-thinking spirit and his pivotal role in shaping the expressive "Empfindsamer Stil." Performed with historical insight and artistic imagination, this recording highlights both the versatility of the instruments and the performers' deep engagement with the repertoire. By embracing original keys, nuanced dynamics, and inventive interpretation, the musicians illuminate the subtle dialogue between recorder and harpsichord, revealing music that is at once intimate, daring, and alive with contrast. The result is a vivid portrait of a composer constantly searching for new means of expression-bridging eras, expanding possibilities, and inviting listeners into a world of refined emotion and creative discovery.
During his lifetime, Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) was best known as an organ composer. He wrote more than two hundred pieces for the instrument, both liturgical and secular, and explored most of the genres that existed at the time. He is considered to be the apex of the 17th century’s south German organ school and generally one of the most important composers of the middle Baroque. His sphere of activity included central and southern Germany (modern Bavaria, Thuringia and Stuttgart), as well as important formative years in Vienna in his early 20s, during which he absorbed the Habsburg Empire’s dominant Italian and south German influences. The southern organ-builders’ emphasis on manual divisions is also apparent in much of Pachelbel’s liturgical organ music, which is relatively simple and written for manuals only. With this 13-disc set covering Pachelbel’s pivotal contributions to the chorale prelude, fugue and variation forms, internationally acclaimed organist Simone Stella adds another milestone to his already prolific discography of baroque keyboard music surveys on Brilliant Classics.
REVIEW:
The organ used here has much greater possibilities in variety of tonal colors, and Stella uses it to fine effect in the many fugues and chorale variations – and, it must be said, the music is in need of it. Pachelbel’s technique for toccatas is also consistent; based on pedal notes, the keyboard figurations of parallel 3rds, 6ths and 10ths predominate. Although not difficult to improvise, Pachelbel is always surprising in his modulatory shifts and textural changes.
Bach: Complete Keyboard Works Vol 2 / Masaaki Suzuki
BIS
CD
$21.99Oct 01, 1997
REVIEWS: BBC Music (3/98, p.66) - Performance: 4 (out of 5), Sound: 4 (out of 5) - "Suzuki...plays the most tautly structured Bach....[He] makes light of the technical demands - hands crossing, finger-knitting polyphony, dazzling figurations - and characterises each variation imaginatively..."
A first-ever complete recording for collections of Baroque chamber music which capture the elegance, formality, and lively culture of London in the 1710s. London in the early 18th century was a city animated by music: Italian opera dominated the newly built theatres, French-style dances brought refinement to the salons, and the English cathedral tradition had fully adapted to a native style of text setting. It was from within this vibrant soundscape that William Babell (c. 1690-1723) emerged-an English musician of remarkable versatility, whose keyboard brilliance and expressive chamber works captured the spirit of his place and time. Babell's first teacher was his father, a bassoonist in the orchestra of the Drury Lane Theatre. He rapidly followed in his father's footsteps, playing in the private band of King George I, and was appointed organist of All Hallows, Bread Street, a position he held until his untimely death. His reputation as a keyboard virtuoso was widespread; Johann Mattheson extolled his organ playing as even superior to Handel's. As for his own music, it's principal surviving remnants are these two collections of sonatas dating from 1716 and 1720. They were conceived for oboe or violin with continuo; the musicians of Cappella Musicale Enrico Stuart have taken a fairly liberal approach, by sharing the melody part in the different sonatas between violin, flute, and oboe, which are supported by a rich continuo group of bassoon, cello, and harpsichord or organ. Not the least attractive aspect of this solution is it's variety across the sequence of 24 sonatas. The influence of Arcangelo Corelli-the Roman violinist-composer whose Op. 5 sonatas (published in 1700) shaped much of 18th-century chamber style across Europe-is evident in Babell's approach. Babell's sonata structure-especially the slow-fast alternation, proportions of movements, and rhythmic gesture-bears the stamp of this Corellian model, though with English lightness and a flair for ornamentation. This arrangement not only showcases the instrumental diversity at the heart of the two volumes of sonatas, but also evokes the experience of an 18th-century London salon, where violin, oboe, and flute might seamlessly succeed one another in an evening of chamber music.
With this new recording, Fernando de Luca fills a significant gap in the catalogue of French Baroque music. While sonatas of Tapray have been recorded on a modern piano, there is no recording of them on the harpsichord; all the more significant because Tapray stands as a pivotal figure in the history of French keyboard music, positioned at the crossroads between the harpsichord and the fortepiano. Born in 1738, Jean-François Tapray worked in Paris, Besançon, and elsewhere as an organist, until ill health forced his retirement in 1786. However, he continued to compose, at least until the turn of the century, and died in 1822. From 1773 onwards, he had embraced the new technology of the fortepiano and published a Keyboard Method (Op. 25) for the instrument. All the same, he continued to write specifically for the harpsichord too, such as a Symphony Op. 12 for harpsichord and orchestra, from 1780. Thus his works, such as the sonatas presented here, reflect both the culmination and the last flowering of the harpsichord tradition in France. The Variations on Les Sauvages is often cited as one of the last great virtuoso works for the harpsichord in France. Tapray's piece is both a transcription and a reworking of a famous air by Rameau, taken from his opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes (1735). The four variations embrace a diverse array of styles, from the cascades of the modern galant style to the unstable rhythms of the French Baroque, and finally a synthesis of both German and Italian style in the last variation. In this sense, the Variations do not so much look back on the Baroque era as absorb it's style within a rapidly evolving culture. The sonatas, likewise, capture a galant aesthetic with their alternation between spirited Allegro movements, graceful airs, and highly stylized dances. For this recording, Fernando de Luca has chosen a harpsichord modelled after a Blanchet instrument of 1754, facilitating a precise articulation, expressive touch, and dynamic responsiveness well-suited to Tapray's music.
Wilhelm Friedmann Bach was significant in developing the relatively new keyboard sonata form between the baroque and classical periods. Combining stylistic elements from his father's generation and his own, the ambitious Sonata in D major was admired as "the most significant before Beethoven". The scale of the substantial Sonata in F for two keyboard instruments, one of WF Bach's best-known compositions, is such that it is sometimes referred to as a Concerto. Julia Brown's recordings give WF Bach's keyboard works "a liberty and sense of fun and engagement that make the music come alive".
Bach: Trio Sonatas (Arr. for Organ, Viola da gamba & Harpsic
DUX
CD
$10.99$21.99Save 50%May 05, 2017
It remains an open question whether Bach’s six trio-sonatas fall into the category of keyboard music or chamber music. Bach adopted the then quite common form of the Italian trio-sonata not only for compositional but also for pedagogic reasons. It is also difficult to say how much of the musical material was written specifically for this cycle. At the same time they are exercises demanding an extremely high level of artistry in playing three independent voices with two hands and pedals. The student-originally in this particular case this was probably Wilhelm Friedemann Bach- is to learn thereby not only manual dexterity but also compositional technique. At first sight these pieces may look rather complex, but in fact the upper voices with their richly embellished lines proceed from a quite normal solid harmonic structure that is essentially a product of the basso continuo style. In addition, music for three independent voices provides an excellent opportunity for showing how an organ, with its distinct separate manual and pedal sections, can really sound like three different instruments simultaneously. This music is performed on The Organ of Joachim Wagner in Siedlce, an instrument discovered in 2002 in the village church in Pruszyn.
Aurelio Bonelli's life is shrouded in mystery and today little remains of his creative output. The set features works from the collection Il primo libro de ricercari et canzoni a quattro voci of which only two copies remain. An artist by day it's thought he learnt painting from Agostino Carracci, a key figure of the Bologna School. They worked together on the frescos of Bologna's Olivetan monastery of San Michele in Bosco and in approximately 1611 Bonelli was appointed monastery organist. The set opens with eight four-part Ricercari. This gives a fascinating insight into how the Italian ricercar evolved from simply a vessel for compositional experimentation with few formal structures, to a defined style governed by rules, eventually making it the keyboard equivalent of the liturgical vocal motet. Bonelli's ricercari can be placed in the middle of this transition period. Ricercar del Secondo Tuono and Ricercar del Quinto Tuono for example have identifiable forms but irregularities occur with the introduction of new stylistic and formal elements at the end of the second section which contradict received ideas about the tripartite form. Classical themes are reflected in the eight four-part canzoni where names are drawn from mythology and epics: 'Licori', 'Arete', 'Urania', 'Istrina', 'Nisa', 'Irene', 'Artemisia' and 'Erina'. Again, we hear the conflict between experimentation and modern rules, and the pieces all feature four or five different themes and regularly change metres. This gives the impression there are as many as four or five different parts while only 'Urania' strictly follows the ternary structure. Federico Del Sordo plays the organ of the Abbey of San Magno. Dating from the 1600s, it is the oldest organ with surviving double pedals, allowing works written for two organs to be performed. The artist also plays a harpsichord strung with iron wire rather than brass to replicate the sound of the period. This release is a rare find and offers us a comprehensive overview of Bonelli, and his repertoire provides a detailed snapshot of the era's musical progression.
The Goldberg Variations of J.S. Bach are without doubt one of the greatest of all keyboard masterpieces. Charlotte Mattax Moersch gives us an informed and gripping performance of this unquestioned masterpiece. Harpsichordist Charlotte Mattax Moersch has performed worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. Since capturing First and Third Prizes in basso continuo and solo playing in the International Harpsichord Competitions in Paris, France and Bruges, Belgium, she has appeared in solo recitals in New York, London, Edinburgh, Rome, Geneva, Paris, and Amsterdam, and at historic venues, among them Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Mozarteum, and the Palazzo della Cancelleria. Called a “nonpareil harpsichordist” by Early Music America, she has received critical acclaim for her playing, at once “dashing yet intelligent” (Classical Times, London), and “fluent and expressive” (Fanfare Magazine). As a guest artist, she has performed at the Festival of the Associazione Musicale Romana, Festival Estival de Paris, Tage alter musik Regensburg, and the Bethlehem and Boulder Bach Festivals, and has toured Europe with San Francisco’s American Baroque and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Made between December 1948 and June 1950, these recordings enjoy an unusual history which is bound up with the burgeoning industry of classical music retail in the postwar era. Among the best stocked record stores in New York at that time was The Gramophone Shop on 42nd East Street, co-owned by William H. (Bill) Tyler and Joseph F. (Joe) Brogan, an Irish-American collector and dealer. Trying to rival or surpass the mail-order business of H. Royer Smith in Philadelphia, the shop issued (in 1929 and 1931) two fat paperback catalogues, The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music. Three further editions, from 1936, 1942, and 1948, remain standard reference works. The store also ran it's own mail-order business with the reputation as a specialist in rare and high-quality recordings from Europe. From that arm of the business naturally developed the store's own label, marketed as the Gramophone Shop Celebrities (GSC) series. This is the first time these recordings have been available on modern media.
This recording was inspired by David Evans’ reconstruction of a Thuringian harpsichord, c.1715, and a desire to find appropriate repertoire. These performances explore the musical heritage of Bach and Handel and recreate the harpsichord sound they and their contemporaries may have heard. The Thuringian in question is a unique instrument, fundamentally different in sound and touch from typical 18th c. harpsichords of the German, Franco-Flemish or ‘International’ schools. Much evidence exists to suggest both Bach and Handel would have been well acquainted with this style of instrument.
Many eminent 20th-century composers have been fascinated by the expressive capabilities of the harpsichord, and this selection unites the instrument's traditional idioms with progressive and highly personal sensibilities. Sir Lennox Berkley's music evinces a distinct French influce, while Howell's Clavichord is a series of musical portraits of the composer's distinguished friends. Gavin Bryars has deep roots in the avant-garde, but After Handel's "Vesper" is virtuosic yet expressive, while John Jeffrey's Four Little English Dances are delightful tributes to the harpsichord's lyricism. Christopher D. Lewis performs.
Galliard: 6 Sonatas for Recorder & Harpsichord / Martignago, Selmo
Brilliant Classics
CD
$6.99$13.99Save 50%Nov 19, 2021
John Ernst Galliard (Celle, 1687 - London, 1747) was a German composer, oboist, flutist and keyboardist active in England in the first half of the 18th century. The son of Jean Galliard, a French wigmaker, he learned to play the flute and oboe from Pierre Maréchal, a French member of Celle's court orchestra. He himself joined the orchestra in 1698 and, shortly afterwards, studied composition in nearby Hanover with Agostino Steffani and Jean Baptiste Farinelli. In 1706 Galliard went to London (like his compatriot Georg Friedrich Händel), where he became court musician to Prince George of Denmark, consort of Queen Anne of Great Britain, and later also chapel master at Somerset House. Galliard enjoyed an excellent reputation as an oboist, and so joined the orchestra of the Queen's Theatre, playing in various performances of works by Handel, who wrote oboe parts especially for him. The Six Sonatas for Recorder and Harpsichord were published in London in 1711. In this collection there is an elegant and smooth fusion of styles: from the orderly counterpoint of the youth in Hannover to the virtuosity and brio of the Italian baroque, from the flavor of the English tradition that only occasionally transpires to the nuances of French taste that are evident in several movements. Played by Fabio Martignago, who learned his art with specialists like Dan Laurin, Kees Boeke, Han Tol, Stefano Bagliano, Lorenzo Cavasanti, Manuel Staropoli and Alfredo Bernardini. Angelica Selmo studied with Luca Guglielmo and followed master classes with Pierre Hantaï, Roberto Loreggian, Skip Sempé and Bart van Oort.
Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba / Cunningham, Egarr
Avie Records
CD
$9.99$19.99Save 50%Nov 19, 2021
Legends of the period-performance community Sarah Cunningham and Richard Egarr need little introduction, with their contributions to recorded music garnering critical acclaim from early music afficionados across the decades. They join forces for their AVIE Records debut recording of J.S. Bach’s celebrated Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord,together with Cunningham’s dazzling arrangements of the composer's Organ Trio Sonata and Flute Partita to conclude the programme. The Gamba Sonatas have long since established themselves as a staple in the cello and gamba repertoires, notably extending their fame into popular culture through film and television features.
An obscure corner of the French Baroque illuminated: the only available recording of the sole extant collection by a Parisian organist and composer. About Pierre-Thomas Dufour, almost nothing is now known for certain beyond his death in Paris, on 30 December 1786, and the publication in 1770 of this collection of harpsichord pieces bearing his name. He probably wrote a good deal else, both for harpsichord and organ, given that the title page of the collection informs us that Dufour was organist of the Eglise de Saint-Jean-en-Grève and the Eglise Saint-Laurent, both in Paris.
The collection is divided between dances (gigues, courantes, allemandes and musettes), and stylised evocations indicated by their titles after the fashion of Couperin: ‘The Blacksmiths’, ‘The Doves’ and so on. In his booklet essay, the harpsichordist Fernando De Luca observes that these tone-poems are no less vividly coloured and dramatized than contemporary canvases by Boucher and Watteau.
There are also two self-contained solo concertos for the instrument, in B flat and E flat major. Cast in the conventional three movements, the concertos share a grandeur of spirit with the more stately of the individual pieces such as ‘La Triomphante’ and ‘La Sincere’. Despite his obscurity, there is no reason to regard Dufour as a ‘lesser’ composer on the evidence of this slender collection, especially now that it is recorded in its entirety. A portrait emerges through it of Dufour himself, as a cultivated and cosmopolitan musician, well aware of contemporary trends not only in French music but further abroad, especially in the Italianate dash of the two concertos. The collection closes with a spectacular Carillon in imitation of the church-bells which rang throughout Paris (and every other European city) on the quarter-hour.
Fernando De Luca has accumulated an impressive discography for Brilliant Classics, including substantial and equally pioneering sets of the complete harpsichord music by Christoph Graupner (96131) and Christophe Moyreau (96285). ‘There is much to admire about this recording project… a monumental enterprise… [listeners will admire] both Graupner’s and De Luca’s facility, being rewarded with some attractive music confidently delivered.’ (Early Music Review)
This album is the culmination of an extraordinarily fruitful artistic collaboration that took place at the 2022 Boulder Bach Festival in Boulder, Colorado. The recordings were made immediately after the public concerts concluded. They document four of the many memorable musical interpretations at the Festival, which occurred not just because of the many talented artists, but also thanks to the kindness and generosity of countless members of the community and region. Although many musicians converged on Boulder from all over the globe, the Festival also featured several remarkable local artists. The entire project took place against the backdrop of some of the most majestic natural scenery in the world.
REVIEW:
Under artistic director Mina Gajić, and music director Zachary Carrettin, the Boulder Bach Festival of Colorado has progressed steadily in its artistic aims as well as providing an attractive setting for music lovers. The present recordings, made immediately after the public performances in the 2022 Festival, bear witness to this, in sparkling accounts of two concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach and two choral settings by Johann Christian Bach, an earlier sprig on a very prolific family tree.
Good things always come in threes. There was once the Concerto in Italian style, BWV 971, reconfigured according to the by then modern disposition advocated in Italy at the beginning of the 18th century (anthology "Concerti italiani", 2004, OP30301). More recently, the Goldberg Variations, reimagined for a small string ensemble, crowned a fabulous apotheosis in the land of the variation ("Variations on Variations", OP30575). Here are now three completely original orchestral suites by Bach, a new fool's game organised by a tongue in the cheek Rinaldo Alessandrini, once again surrounded by his dear friends from the Concerto Italiano.
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