Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

English harpsichordist Gilbert Rowland has completed the third volume in his ongoing series of the complete Suites for Harpsichord by Johann Jakob Froberger. The album was recorded at Holy Trinity Church, Weston, Hertfordshire on 11-14 July 2022, with engineer John Taylor who produced all of Gilbert’s previous Divine Art and Athene recordings. The first two volumes of the series has attracted much praise from critics for its "glorious sound" and "energy and a good forward drive" of Rowland's playing.

Johann Jakob Froberger was a highly accomplished composer of the middle Baroque period and credited with inventing the ‘baroque suite’ used with variations by Bach, Handel and countless other composers. He was extremely prolific and several of his works, including the Harpsichord Suites, have been discovered recently.

Gilbert Rowland first studied the harpsichord with Millicent Silver. He made his debut at Fenton House in 1970 and first appeared at the Wigmore Hall in 1973. He has made numerous recordings of works by Scarlatti, Soler, Rameau and
Fischer which have received considerable acclaim from the national press. He joined Divine Art in 2010 to record the harpsichord suites by Handel, followed by those of Froberger and Mattheson and was assigned to Divine Art’s specialist
early music label, Athene.

As well as being internationally recognized as a leading interpreter of music new and old, Peter Sheppard Skærved is the only violinist to have performed on the personal violins of Viotti, Paganini, Joachim, Kreisler and Ole Bull. He is a renowned soloist, musicologist, writer, painter and educator at the Royal Academy, and in 2022 appointed as Honorary Professor at the Royal Northern College of Music. This album features perhaps some of the best (certainly best-known) works by the top two violin composers working in Modena, Italy, at the end of the 17th century.

Vitali and Colombi were both quite prolific and produced pieces of wide variety of form, not whittled down to the standard ‘dance suite’ of the middle and late baroque. While the Vitali works have been recorded previously in a version for ensemble, this is the first recording of the pieces in their solo format – and the same applies to the Colombi and anonymous pieces. The album is a fine and fitting sequel to Skærved’s previous solo recording “Florish in the Key” (Athene ATH 23211) which presented contemporaneous (late 17th century) solo violin music from London. “Genuinely intriguing” – Early Music Review; “Excellent… instantly attractive… uniformly high quality” – Infodad)

This most important first release marks the start of a major extended project to record, close to entirety, the world's most famous, historic and valuable violins. Some of these prized instruments have not been played for centuries, being specially released for this Peter Sheppard Skaerved-created series by Divine Art Recordings and it's Athene label. This initial, double-disc album finds Mr. Skaerved playing the complete Telemann Violin and Flute Fantasies on the oldest violin of them all, the sublime Andrea Amati instrument of 1570. As well as being internationally recognized as a leading interpreter of music new and old, Peter Sheppard Sk�rved is the only violinist to have performed on the personal violins of Viotti, Paganini, Joachim, Kreisler and Ole Bull. This new series will feature the acclaimed violinist playing music on these and other rare instruments, many of which only he has been granted access to.

This disc fits into the semi-authentic category – that is, the instrument is from the past and is therefore authentic of its own period, but it is not specifically linked to the repertoire on the disc. The piano is Leach's own Stodhart square piano of 1823.

Leach's performances are characterised by clarity of thought and texture; they are intimate, measured, satisfying. Their neat musicality lacks the last grain of virtuosity. Many Scarlatti ‘favourites', such as Kk380 and Kk491 are to be found on the disc.

Some intellectual sleight of hand is usually necessary to link a period instrument contingently available with what is recorded, since the connection is by definition post hoc . In this case, one could easily argue that Scarlatti wrote demonstrably virtuosic, display pieces, and wrote them in a context of domestic performance (it is well known that his keyboard sonatas were principally written for Princess Maria Barbara of Portugal , who became Queen of Spain). The square piano clearly gives a suitably intimate sound, and its light action suits the rapidity of the notes. Great pianists of the past, such as Horowitz, who frequently programmed Scarlatti, themselves favoured light pianos.

As the booklet explains, Leach was originally a performer on modern pianos, but found period instruments suited her approach. The Athene label, which is now part of the Divine Art stable, was a way of setting down her distinctive and thoughtful interpretations, among which her Haydn and John Field are especially well regarded.

Good modern recorded sound, and Divine Art's usual crisp presentation. We also learn from the notes that Joanna Leach's long and distinguished career has been seriously threatened by illness; her determination to continue recording is all the more to be commended.

-- Ying Chang, Classical Pointers

Gilbert Rowland is one of Europe's most senior and accomplished exponents of the harpsichord. Following his critically acclaimed 6-album series of the Harpsichord Suites of Handel for Divine Art, he presents the equally fine but lesser known Suites by Mattheson, writtein in 1714. For this album he moves to the Athene imprint specializing now in baroque music and ''period'' instruments. Mattheson was a prodigious composer, conductor and was a friend of Handel, though the two did come to blows in the midst of an opera performance. His work follows the traditional ''dance suite'' format with small variations and is a fine example of excellent baroque music which was not perhaps promoted enough in its own time and is only now once again being rediscovered and appreciated.

At the age of 22, Mozart was bemoaning lost love and decided to ‘apply myself conscientiously to the clavier duets’, He finished the full set of six Sonatas for Piano – with Violin – in the summer of 1778 and dedicated to the Countess Elizabeth Auguste, Electress of Palatine and Bavaria. They have become known as the ‘Palatine Sonatas’ and are the earliest (relatively) mature works in this instrumental combination, his first essays in the form being at the age of ten. As piano sonatas with violin (as opposed to the Violin Sonatas of later musical eras) these pieces have exquisite balance and are in fact wonderful in every sense; a pure joy. They are dazzlingly colorful, full of drama and emotion. The artists were particularly keen to present these works in an authentic ambience, as in an 18th century salon, and the result is a beautiful balance and intimacy. Peter Sheppard Skærved is a world renowned violinist, author, musicologist, artist and researcher. Over 400 works have been written for him, he has created major exhibits and events at major museums around the world and his recorded legacy is already immense with over 27 albums to date for Divine Art group and numerous for Toccata, Naxos, NMC and more. Daniel-Ben Pienaar also has a fine international reputation. He is primarily interested in early music, Bach, Viennese school and early Romantics. He also has an extensive discography, for Victor Japan, Avie and Linn. This is his first recording for Divine Art. Daniel-Ben is a faculty member at the Royal Academy of Music and runs a wide range of specialist classes. ‘One of the most exciting pianists of his generation’ — Rondo Magazin (Germany)

As well as being internationally recognized as a leading interpreter of music new and old, Peter Sheppard Skærved is the only violinist to have performed on the personal violins of Viotti, Paganini, Joachim, Kreisler and Ole Bull. Here he presents the works from ‘Preludes or Voluntarys’ (2nd edition, published by John Walsh in 1705. The edition includes petite gems from the leading lights of the age such as Purcell, Biber, Pepusch, Correlli and Torrelli, and some whose names are somewhat forgotten: Matteis, Bassani and Vitali – and more who are only known by their surname, probably musicians of the royal court who had presented a work to Walsh for publication. It’s also true that Walsh included several extracts from sonatas, suites and other chamber works, not always correctly attributed. These fascinating pieces are played on a 1664 violin of unknown make which was a instrument of King Charles II’s court orchestra. The album also contains several works by the (at the time) highly regarded Thomas Baltzar, played on the superb 1629 Girolamo Amati violin also used for Sheppard Skærved’s most recent ‘Great Violins’ recording. Altogether a wonderful album, both musically and historically.

Gilbert Rowland is one of Europe’s most senior and accomplished exponents of the harpsichord. Following his critically acclaimed 6-album series of the Harpsichord Suites of Handel for Divine Art, he moved to the Athene imprint which now specializes in baroque music and ‘period’ instruments for his well-received album of Suites by Johann Mattheson and his first volume of Froberger’s Suites. This 2-album set is the second volume in a projected complete survey of the Harpsichord Suites by Johann Jakob Froberger, whose organ and harpsichord music is individual in nature and ground breaking – he was one of the first composers to settle the ‘dance-movement’ style of Suite taken up by Couperin, Bach, and Handel among many others. There are 12 Suites in this collection. Gilbert Rowland plays a 2 manual French style harpsichord made by Andrew Wooderson after an instrument by Goemans (Paris, 1750)