Bach: Overture in the French Style in B Minor & Keyboard Par
Centaur Records
CD
$18.99Jul 07, 2017
Harpsichordist Elisabeth Wright has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and continuo improviser at numerous festivals and concert series around the world. She has been a member of Duo Geminiani with violinist Stanley Ritchie since 1974, and has performed solo recitals and made guest appearances with Tafelmusik, Seattle, Vancouver and Portland Baroque. She frequently collaborates with artists of international renown, including performances with Les Sonatistes and as a guest artist with Ye Olde Friends and Musica Ficta. She has served as artistic director of projects devoted to musical settings of Italian baroque poetry. Her “Marino and Music: a Marriage of Expressive Rhetorical Gesture” was published in The Sense of Marino: Literature, Fine Arts and Music; she has also published reviews for Early Keyboard Journal. Ms. Wright is a founding member of the Seattle Early Music Guild and Bloomington Early Music Associates. She serves as a board member of the Early Music America and a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. Here, she tackles an early keyboard staple: the harpsichord works of J. S. Bach.
Couperin: The Complete Pieces de Clavecin, Vol. 4 / Kroll
Centaur Records
CD
$18.99Jun 01, 2018
This is Volume 4 in Centaur's integral edition of the Complete Pieces de Clavecin of Francois Couperin, performed on harpsichord by Mark Kroll. Mark Kroll has made a specialty of Couperin throughout his long and distinguished career. Mark Kroll has performed on four continents as a harpsichordist and fortepianist, in both solo recital and as a collaborative chamber musician. Highlights include an appearance as the official guest of the city of Barcelona; featured soloist in Germany’s Regensburg Early Music Festival, France’s Festival Ambronay and the Bordeaux Hummel Festival; two concerts for the Czech Republic’s Prague Spring Festival; and recitals at Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Foundation, Rome’s Conservatorio Santa Caecilia and Associazione Musicale Romana, Poland’s Dni Bachowski, and Slovenija’s Radovljica Festival. This recording was made on a 1974 William Dowd harpsichord at Brooks Concert Hall, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, and a 1769 Pascal Taskin harpsichord in the private instrument collection of Marlowe A. Sigal, Newton Centre, Massachusetts.
For the first volume of this series of seven albums, Gergely Ittzes has selected seven sonatas representative of the flute music of the 18th century. The works are played on modern flute but informed by authentic performance practice. Original obligato keyboard parts are played on piano while continuo realizations are performed on harpsichord. The players have aimed at an analytic, though spontaneous, rendition. Gergely Ittzes won several prizes and awards including the Aleksander Tansman International Competition of Musical Personalities. Alex Szilasi and Anthony Newman join Ittzes on the keyboards.
The name Arcangelo Corelli still rings familiar even 300 years after his death. Of his pupils, however, who knew him and could pass on his style first hand, we have very little information. On this recording, in addition to a sonata by the Master, we have selected compositions by these excellent violinists, who were celebrated virtuosi in their time. Apart from the Corelli piece, all the others are world premiere recordings.
There is only a small number of orchestral pieces in Johann Sebastian Bach's oeuvre- which is surprising considering that the composer worked with excellent ensembles in both of his positions- as "Konzermeister" and Kapellmeister" - in Kothen and Weimar during the period between 1708 and 1723. This is particularly true of concertos where there is a high number of transcriptions, rearranged predominantly for harpsichord. Capella Savaria, Hungary's oldest period instrument ensemble, presents four of these on this album. The Capella Savaria (Szombathely) was founded in 1981 by Pál Németh. Their aim is to play 17th and 18th century music using the documents of the period. The play on authentic instruments with copies of bows of the epoch, studying the instrumental tutors of the Baroque era, referring to articulation, embellishment and, in wider sense, the characteristic sound of the whole period. The basis of the ensemble is strings, which are joined by other instruments as required.
Unfortunately we know absolutely nothing about the life of Charles Dollé. Not even his approximate birth and death dates are known. From his six collections of instrumental works published between 1737 and 1754 we can logically infer that he was a Frenchman, a viola da gamba virtuoso, and a composer. The chronic dearth of further information about this musicians is evidently the reason why music historians have either completely passed him by or relegated him to mere footnote, in the shadow of his contemporaries Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray who are generally regarded as representing the best and technically most difficult works for viola da gamba. Petr Wagner get Dollé's music out of his undeserved shadowy existence.
Tilman Skowroneck writes: "This recording was initiated by Bengt Nassen, the owner of the harpsichord by Martin Skowroneck (1926-2014) that is featured here. Initially, I was planning to play music by Bach and Handel on this German instrument, which is based on early eighteenth-century models, but after acquainting myself with the instrument's possibilities, I was led in a different direction. It's sound is located somewhere between Italian brilliance and a more intimate vocal character. Some French builders of the seventeenth century made instruments whose characteristics were quite similar, even though they arrived at these results by different constructions. And so the idea was born to use this sound to retrace the connections between the Italian and French sound worlds of the late seventeenth century." Tilman Skowroneck was born in Bremen in 1959 and studied harpsichord in The Hague and Amsterdam. After his studies he established himself as a freelance harpsichordist in Germany and Holland. Since 1996, Tilman Skowroneck has participated at various early piano seminars at the University of Gothenburg and the Gothenburg organ centre GOArt. He is currently senior lecturer for musical performance at the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg.
2019- an anniversary year. For three exceptional musicians 2019 brings cause for great joy and gratitude for several reasons. Ton Koopman, internationally renowned as a harpsichordist, organist, conductor, professor and musicologist, celebrates his 75th birthday. He also looks back on 40 highly successful years with the ensemble he founded, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. His wife, Tini Mathot, an outstandingly gifted harpsichord and fortepiano virtuoso as well as a very successful producer of countless international albums, celebrates her 70th birthday. Klaus Mertens, acclaimed for over four decades as an international concert singer with an admirably wide repertoire stretching from Monteverdi to contemporary composers, also celebrates his 70th birthday. "As the ideal conveyor of Bach's cantatas and passion texts..." he also receives the Bach-Medaille of the city of Leipzig in 2019. As if this were not sufficient cause to celebrate an anniversary, these three musicians cap it all by looking back on 40 years of successful and amicable music-making together in concerts and recording studios by presenting an anniversary album as well as several chamber concerts.
Baroque harpsichordist, chamber musician and professor of music at University of Illinois School of Music, Charlotte Mattax Moersch's 5th release takes us into Jean Henry D'Anglebert's Pieces de Clavecin (Pieces for Keyboard) composed in 1689. While D'Anglebert may not be as well known today as some of his Baroque brethren, in his day he was considered amongst the more notable composers of the harpsichord and Moersch's playing reveals why.
This is the third volume of Centaur's integral edition of the complete Pieces de Clavecin of Francois Couperin, performed on harpsichord by Mark Kroll, who has made a specialty of this literature. Mark Kroll has been acclaimed as one of the world’s leading harpsichordists and fortepianists. During a career spanning more than fifty years, he has performed on four continents, winning critical praise for his expressive playing and virtuosity. He has appeared with noted soloists and ensembles, played under the batons of conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle, James Levine, Kurt Masur and Charles Dutoit, and has served as harpsichordist for the Boston Symphony since 1979.
Soler: 6 Concertos for 2 Harpsichords / Alvarez, Fernandez-Villacanas
Brilliant Classics
CD
$13.99Oct 28, 2016
Antonio Soler was a scholar, musicologist (he wrote about the history of Spanish music), composer and virtuoso keyboard player. He was in the service of the Spanish Royal family, and personal tutor of the Infante Gabriel de Borbon. Soler wrote a great quantity of solo keyboard sonatas for the use at the Royal court. They are one movement works, much in the style of the sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (whom he knew personally). The sonatas abound in instrumental virtuosity, daring harmonies and attractive melodies in pre-classical style. Soler wrote the 6 Concertos for 2 Harpsichords for his royal pupil. Judging by the brilliance and vitality of these popular works the composer and his pupil must have hugely enjoyed themselves playing them. These important works are performed here by the harpsichord duo L’entretien dex clavecins, formed by Agustin Alvarez and Eusebio Fernandez-Villacanas, playing magnificent copies, build by Andrea Restelli, of a Taskin and Donzelague harpsichord.
This release offers one potential answer to a particular question: what happens to a musical performance when it is directed towards the bringing-to-life of a story? In this case, that story is the iconic one of Orpheus and Eurydice, realized in eight different ways by eight different composers of the past. Multiple prizewinning harpsichordist Mark Edwards—whose interpretations challenge the usual boundaries between musical text and act—performs works that, if they don’t explicitly refer to the Orphic narrative allying music, death, and rebirth, surely cast some light on it and are in turn illuminated by it. Mark Edwards reveals himself a lucid and inspired performer, following the hero as he descends, like him accomplishing wonders along the way through his art. First prize winner in the 2012 Musica Antiqua Bruges International Harpsichord Competition, Canadian harpsichordist and organist Mark Edwards (b. 1986) is recognized for his captivating performances, bringing the listener “to new and unpredictable regions, using all of the resources of his instrument, [...] of his virtuosity, and of his imagination” (La Libre Belgique).
Amours contrariées: Cantatas of Clérambault & Rameau
Centaur Records
CD
$18.99May 11, 2018
This release features a program of Cantatas by Clerambault and Rameau, two of the greatest of all French Baroque composers. American Tenor Zachary Wilder joins with Les Bostonades, a world-class period instrument ensemble based in Boston. American tenor Zachary Wilder is recognized for his work in repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries and is sought after on both the concert and operatic stages on both sides of the Atlantic. Having studied at the Eastman School of Music and at the Moores School of Music, University of Houston, Zachary subsequently moved to Boston after the beginning of his ongoing collaboration with the Boston Early Music Festival and a summer of studies as a Tanglewood Music Fellow. Zachary's discography comprises several recordings with the Boston Early Music Festival, including their Grammy Award winning La Descente d'Orphée aux Enfers as Tantalus. The period-instrument ensemble Les Bostonades has been sharing chamber music with Boston area audiences since it's founding in 2005. The ensemble features Baroque music specialists who have studied and performed all over the world, who collaborate in Boston's vibrant early music scene, bringing spirited and polished performances to their listeners. The ensemble's performances have been described as "the most engaging chamber music playing... [a] generous, voluptuous sound... well delineated, [and with] a poignancy of emotion."
De Visee: La Musique De La Chambre Du Roy Vol 2 / Marchese, Ippolito, Tomadin, Staropoli
Brilliant Classics
CD
$13.99Sep 24, 2013
VISÉE La Musique de la Chambre du Roy, Vol. 1 • Manuel Staropoli (rcr, Baroque fl); Massimo Marchese (thb); Christiano Contadin (vdg) • BRILLIANT 94154 (55:22)
VISÉE La Musique de la Chambre du Roy, Vol. 2 • Manuel Staropoli (rcr, Baroque fl); Massimo Marchese (thb); Rosita Ippolito (vdg); Manuel Tomadin (hpd) • BRILLIANT 94437 (54:29)
After the pointed polemical exchange I recently had with two letter writers over a previous review of a disc of music by Robert de Visée (see issue 37:3 for the exchange and 37:1 for the review that prompted it), one might think I would shy away from reviewing another Visée CD anytime soon. However, these two discs arrived, and I am happy to review them. Here I will not revisit points of that controversy, except to state that on the hotly contested issues of de Visée’s conjectured birth and death dates, these two releases opt for c. 1655–1733.
Between them, these two discs present the 10 suites that comprise the composer’s third and final published compilation of his works, the Pièces de théorbe et de luth mises en partition, dessus et basse from 1716. Each suite consists of five or six movements, most commonly consisting of an allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue, and gavotte, with an initial prelude added in some instances. There are occasional substitutions: e.g., a menuet or rondeau replaces a gigue or gavotte. As the movement titles indicate, these are mostly dances of a slower, more stately character, set to music of elegant gravity and reflectiveness. The emphasis throughout is on atmosphere, not virtuoso display.
To my knowledge, these two releases constitute the first integral recording of these suites, and so they are welcome on that ground alone. That said, the music appears here in an idiosyncratic guise. As the anthology title states, these pieces were conceived by the composer for performance on the theorbo or lute; but here they are arranged for recorder and basso continuo, with (irony of ironies) the theorbo present as part of the supporting accompaniment. Of course, it was common practice for such pieces to be adapted to and played on various solo instruments; but the booklet notes rather stretch the point in ignoring the publication title and asserting instead that “in the frontispiece de Visée does not specify any particular instrument, which leaves plenty of leeway in the choice of the solo instrument.” (With more justification, they also cite an Avertissement attributed to Visée that preceded the original publication, which suggested harpsichord, viola da gamba, and violin as suitable instruments for the dessus part.)
The notes further explain that for the second CD, a harpsichord was added to the basso continuo ensemble in order to “widen the range of timbre, and thereby gratify the listener with greater variety.” For further variety, three different recorders (treble, descant, and bass) are employed, and the harpsichord gets a couple of solo turns as well. The discs also include three additional brief pieces, “Les Sylvains de Couperin,” “Entrée d’Apollon” and a Chaconne, that are performed on solo theorbo.
Whatever one makes of the issue of instrumentation, these are nonetheless stylish and winning performances in their chosen guise. While partisans of theorbo, lute, or guitar may be disappointed or chagrined, fans of the recorder and lovers of Baroque dance music in general can rejoice. The recorded sound balances all the instruments well; the booklet notes are somewhat skimpy on the composers and the works themselves, but provide extensive biographical notes on the performers along with photos. Finally, the price certainly is right; duly recommended.
Here we present the follow-up to the critically acclaimed first volume of Bach's Harpsichord Concertos by Fabio Bonizzoni and his group La Risonanza. This second volume includes a more varied range of works as it starts with the most famous Brandenburg Fifth, which is the first ever harpsichord concert. After the BWV 1054, we have the rather rare BWV 1057, which is the harpsichord version of the Brandenburg Fourth. To end Bonizzoni's survey of all Bach's harpsichord concertos, we find the famous and beloved Triple concerto, with violin and flute. Of the first volume, critics wrote: "Harpsichordist Fabio Bonizzoni does a credible job in integrating the concertos so that they appear not as a soloist versus the ensemble, but rather as an integral part." (Fanfare) "Bonizzoni achieves the difficult task of combining subtle artifice and interpretative joie de vivre with a manner that appears natural and uncomplicated... enticing for it's musical strengths." (Gramophone)
