V 10: COMPLETE SONATAS, K 428-

GRAN PARTITA

PIANO CONCERTOS 1 & 2

SYMPHONIES, PIANO CONCERTOS, V

A first-ever complete recording for keyboard collections which capture the elegance and cosmopolitan style of Georgian-era English music. Maurice Greene (1696-1755) belongs to the generation that followed Henry Purcell and preceded Handel. Becoming organist of St Paul's Cathedral in 1719, and in 1735 organist and composer to the Chapel Royal, he wrote a good deal of church music which is still in use today: memorably simple but effective anthems such as Thou visitest the earth and Lord, let me know mine end. Much less well known-and most of it previously unrecorded-is Greene's corpus of instrumental music. Published in 1745, his Six Overtures in Seven Parts alternate a slow and solemn French-style overture with fugal allegros and elegant dance movements such as minuets, gavottes, or airs. The original orchestral scores have recently attracted a recording: Fernando de Luca has made his own arrangements for solo harpsichord, following a long-standing practice and retaining the essential exuberance of the overtures while inflecting them with refined dynamic shading. Rarer still are the 15 keyboard "Lessons": Italianate suites which bear witness to a transition from the contrapuntal Baroque style to a more galant idiom, under the influence of Italian exemplars such as Corelli and Geminiani, as well as the seductive charms of French culture which captivated the upper end of Georgian society and culture. William Boyce (1711-1779) studied with Greene and followed in the footsteps of his teacher by attaining the same distinguished posts at St Paul's and the Chapel Royal. Again principally known for his church music, he also wrote a collection of overtures which have retained popularity on the fringes of the catalogue. His Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord (published posthumously in London, c. 1779) represent one of the final great expressions of the genre in their refined counterpoint and graceful harmonies. "Harpsichordist Fernando de Luca does a splendid job," remarked Fanfare magazine in a review of the Brilliant Classics album dedicated to the music of Pierre-Claude Foucquet: one of many comprehensive collections through which de Luca has revived lesser-known composers of the eighteenth century. This volume of Boyce and Greene stands as a notable addition to the library.

Sand and Foam by William Knight uses words from Kahlil Gibran's book of the same name. The book is made up of hundreds of aphorisms, each beautiful and thought provoking. With all my music I try to follow the words of the poet and bring out the natu-ral rhythm and beauty of the text. Each aphorism can be taken by itself and offers the reader or listener a chance to reflect. My compilation of the aphorisms is an observation on the creation and fall of mankind: It presents a warning. However, when the apocalypse comes this is not in a calamitous way, what will come will come. Life and death present the beginning and the end but not apart from each other. After we are gone life will carry on and our footsteps betwixt the sand and the foam will be washed away by the sea. Missa pro defunctis by Victor Kioulaphides. Death is as univer-sally inevitable as it is generally misunderstood. Art and music helps- or does it? Vivid imagery and dramatic sounds capture the heartbreak, the devasta-ting loss felt by those left behind. Yet for the one that actually passes, often little is expressed. The Requiem Mass speaks of the eternal peace, the perfect conclusion, the ethereal serenity that is death. And this is the story this score retells. If the listener is left at peace, the music has succeeded. Het Nederlands Bach Consort shows courage in it's productions and does not shy away from experimentation. Artistic directors Heleen Koele (sop-rano) and Sytse Buwalda (counter-tenor) have both earned their spurs as singers and complement each other well with their different areas of expertise. All this leads to a daring approach based on the old foundation of Bach: "As a consort, we feel the urgency to translate our observations of social trends into an artistic form. In doing so, we always draw on the power of music. Raw, tranquil, abrasive, and comforting. In line with current trends, we commission compositions from established and young compo-sers, such as Victor Kioulaphides, Monique Krus, William Knight, and Lotte Pen. We give the resounding past a foundation in the present... Always accessible, never easy." - "Sand and Foam" by William Knight (b.1987) sets selected aphorisms from Kahlil Gibran to music, inviting reflection on humanity's creation, fall, and the quiet inevitability of the end. - In Knight's vision, life and death are inseparable, and after we are gone the traces of our existence are ultimately washed away "betwixt the sand and the foam." - "Missa pro defunctis" by Victor Kioulaphides (b.1961) retells the Requi-em's promise of eternal peace, aiming to leave the listener with serenity rather than spectacle. - Het Nederlands Bach Consort is known for courageous, experimental Bach-rooted programming that translates social trends into accessible, never-easy performances and commissions from both established and emerging composers.

Anton Rubinstein and Alexander Adolfovich Winkler represent two generations of Russian Romanticism, and their sonatas for viola and piano reveal contrasting yet complementary approaches to chamber music and to the expressive potential of the viola. Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894), one of the founders of the Russian conservatory system and a towering figure as pianist, conductor, and composer, approached chamber music with a distinctly European Romantic sensibility. His Sonata for Viola and Piano is notable for it's lyrical breadth and dramatic contrasts. Rubinstein treats the viola not merely as an accompanying voice but as a fully expressive partner to the piano, exploiting it's warm, dark timbre and vocal qualities. The sonata's sweeping melodies, rich harmonic language, and expansive formal design reflect Rubinstein's admiration for composers such as Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms. At the same time, moments of intense lyricism and emotional weight highlight his belief in music as a direct vehicle for personal expression. Alexander Adolfovich Winkler (1865-1935), a student of Sergei Taneyev and a representative of a later Russian school, brings a more refined and introspective character to his Sonata for Viola and Piano. Winkler's writing is marked by structural clarity, contrapuntal skill, and subtle harmonic color. His sonata emphasizes the viola's expressive nuance, often favoring intimate dialogue between the instruments rather than virtuosic display. The work blends Romantic warmth with Classical balance, revealing Winkler's interest in formal discipline and textural transparency. Luca Sanz� is a pupil of Bruno Giuranna. His concert career has taken him to the world's major concert halls, both as a soloist and in collaboration with leading musicians. He has collaborated as principal viola soloist with various orchestras, including those of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and the early music orchestra Concerto Italiano. He teaches viola at the Conservatorio di S. Cecilia in Rome. He has recorded for Nuova Era, Bottega Discantica, BMG Ricordi, Opus 111, Tactus, Edi Pan, Stradivarius, Na�ve, Chandos, and Naxos. Italian pianist Maurizio Paciariello, schooled by Aldo Ciccolini and Paul Badura-Skoda and prizewinner of the ARD Competition, is a champion of rare repertoire and a specialist on period instruments.

Eugenio Visnoviz (1906-1931) belongs to the poignant group of early twentieth-century composers whose promise was cut short by an untimely death. Born in Italy at a moment of intense cultural transformation, Visnoviz grew up in an environment shaped by the late Romantic legacy and the emerging modernist currents that were redefining European music. Although his surviving output is small, it reveals a composer of striking sensitivity and technical awareness. Written at the age of only 17 by Visnoviz, a fragile and tormented musician whose life would end just eight years later, probably by his own hand, the Sonata contains the seeds of genius. Large in scale, in four movements, permeated with a late Romantic spirit but with stylistic features reminiscent of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and especially Brahms (with some harmonic exploration, a legacy of the post-war period), the Sonata presents a language that is both lyrical and dramatic. The program pairs the Sonata, with it's vast proportions, with the light piano aphorisms of the Klavierst�cke. Despite his pianistic expertise, Visnoviz the composer did not leave any large-scale works for his instrument, preferring to focus on it's intimate and lyrical dimension. He condenses musical ideas into concise gestures, exploring contrasting moods, textures, and colors. The pieces frequently juxtapose delicate, introspective passages with more rhythmically driven or harmonically bold sections. This new recording is a labor of love by the two musicians Valentina Danelon (violin) and Cristina Santin (piano), who, during their study time, discovered Visnoviz's works in the Visnoviz Collection held by the Tartini Conservatory in Trieste.

Outside Italy-perhaps beyond the shores of his native Sicily-the name of Eliodoro Sollima (1926-2000) has not traveled widely, beyond the accomplishments of his five musical children, and in particular the cellist Giovanni Sollima. On a previous Brilliant Classics album (96287) from 2022, Giovanni paid a touching tribute to his father's memory with a collection of chamber music. "This album is a winner!" reported Fanfare magazine, and noted how the "compositional style of this substantial and serious composer developed significantly" between 1945 and 1995. This new album of Eliodoro Sollima's orchestral music covers a similar period, between the Aria for cello and strings (1945) and Attesa (1997). Attesa ("Waiting") is the most substantial piece on the album, scored for the unusual combination of piano, horns, strings, and percussion: a powerful seven-movement suite inspired by the suffering of a man given the death penalty in the US state of Virginia and executed in 1997. Sollima worked within a tonal framework to evoke, in his words, "the frantic sequence of images, memories and emotions that torment the last hours of a condemned man's life." The pianist and musicologist Anna Maria Sollima (sister to Giovanni) supplies insightful annotations, which trace the course of Eliodoro's life and career through the works recorded here. World premieres on record include the early Ouverture da camera (1948/50) and Rond� burlesco (1951) for piano and orchestra, carried forward by strong, cinematically flavored melodies. From 1968, the Concerto per archi (Concerto for strings) is another work with a political subtext, inspired by the shock arising from the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. But Sollima always stayed true to his Sicilian roots and continued to translate the idioms of local folk music in his own contemporary style: a commitment exemplified by Nenia e recitativo, a concertante piece for cello and strings. Seekers of 20th-century tonal voices will find in Eliodoro Sollima a distinctive and compelling personality, to which these performers do full justice.

Franco Margola (1908-1992) occupies a distinctive place in twentieth-century Italian music as a composer who combined modern clarity with a deep respect for classical balance and lyric expression. Born in Brescia, Margola was trained within the Italian conservatory tradition and soon developed a style often associated with neoclassicism: transparent textures, well-defined forms, and an elegant restraint that avoided both romantic excess and radical avant-garde experimentation. Throughout his career he wrote extensively for chamber ensembles, voice, and solo instruments, consistently favoring intimate musical dialogue and refined craftsmanship. Among his most important contributions to the guitar repertoire are the five Sonatas for guitar, composed over several decades. These works reflect Margola's close engagement with the instrument's idiomatic possibilities while maintaining a strong structural rigor. Rather than treating the guitar merely as a vehicle for virtuosic display, Margola emphasizes musical architecture, motivic development, and subtle harmonic color. Each sonata presents a different perspective on form and expression, yet all share a characteristic clarity of line and balance between melody and accompaniment. Stylistically, the guitar sonatas draw on classical models-especially the sonata principle and dance-like movements-while incorporating twentieth-century harmonic language, including modal inflections and gently dissonant sonorities. Rhythmic vitality and contrapuntal writing are frequent features, demanding both technical control and musical sensitivity from the performer. At the same time, Margola's lyrical impulse remains central: slow movements often unfold in long, singing phrases that highlight the guitar's natural warmth and expressive resonance. Played by Valerio Celentano, who graduated in classical guitar with honors from the Conservatory of Music "Giuseppe Martucci" in Salerno under the guidance of Antonio Grande. He has participated in several masterclasses with famous guitarists such as Alirio D�az, Pavel Steidl, David Russell, Jyrki Myll�rinen, Mario Gangi, and Carlo Marchione. He studied for several years with Oscar Ghiglia and Fr�d�ric Zigante. He won prizes in many international music competitions. For Brilliant Classics, he recorded guitar works by Georges Migot.

When Baroque Meets Folk Energy In 'folk baroque', the music of Georg Philipp Telemann encounters the vibrant dance traditions of central Europe. The program grew out of a collaboration between recorder virtuoso Erik Bosgraaf and the Italian ensemble filoBarocco during the Gottingen International Handel Festival, initiated within the European support programme EEEMERGING+. At the heart of the project lies the fascinating Rostock Manuscript, a historical source long associated with Telemann's fascination with Central European folk traditions. For Bosgraaf and filoBarocco, the manuscript offers the perfect point of departure for exploring the meeting ground between Baroque repertoire and living folk music traditions. The ensemble shares a deep enthusiasm not only for historical performance practice but also for music that retains the energy, spontaneity, and expressive freedom of traditional dance music. Telemann himself was renowned for his openness to musical influences from across Europe. During his travels he encountered Polish and Hanna folk traditions that left a lasting impression on him. In his autobiographical writings, he vividly describes the impact of this music: it's rhythmic vitality, it's improvisatory spirit, and it's powerful melodic expression. These qualities fascinated him and found their way, sometimes subtly, sometimes quite directly, into his own compositions. Yet reconstructing the sound world of the eighteenth century presents a unique challenge. Unlike music from the twentieth or twenty-first centuries, there are no recordings to tell us exactly how this repertoire once sounded. Historically informed performance with this repertoire therefore requires re-composition. Musicians must piece together clues from written scores, historical treatises, instrument research, and contemporary descriptions. On the recording�'folk baroque'�the musicians expand this process further by drawing inspiration from living folk traditions. Many rhythmic patterns, ornamentations, and expressive gestures that appear in Baroque music still survive today in Central European dance music. These traditions offer valuable insights into how such musical gestures might function in performance. The goal is not to recreate a supposedly "authentic" past because that would be inherently impossible, but to create a musical interpretation that feels convincing, vibrant, and alive for modern listeners inspired by the timeless melodies of the Rostock Manuscript. For this reason, the program includes elements of improvisation and experimental playing techniques. While this approach may initially seem unusual in a Baroque context, it reflects the spirit of exploration that shaped the music of Telemann's own time. The musical notation in the Rostock Manuscript often provides only a framework rather than a fully fixed sound image. It invites performers to engage creatively with the material and rediscover it's inherent energy. The result is a concert experience that feels both historical and contemporary. The music is rooted in eighteenth-century sources, yet interpreted by musicians who are equally at home in the traditions of early music and in modern sonic experimentation. Ultimately, what connects this repertoire with today's audience is emotion. Instruments and styles may change over time, but the fundamental human passions expressed through music remain the same: joy, melancholy, longing, passion, and the irresistible urge to dance. When listeners begin to grasp the expressive language behind these works, the music suddenly feels remarkably immediate. It ceases to be merely a historical artefact and becomes a living experience, almost as if a sleeping frog had been awakened with a kiss

Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751-1827) was a violinist by training, who worked in the courts and capitals of Baroque-era Europe, with posts in Rome, Dresden, and then (from 1797 to 1818) in Leipzig, where he was leader of the venerable Gewandhaus Orchestra. He learned his trade with famous Italian musicians Tartini and Nardini. Campagnoli claimed for himself "the German learnedness with Italian soul", and his works abound in lyrical melodies set into the firm musical structures of the First Viennese School. This 3-CD set presents string quartets, flute quartets, and duos for flute & violin, highly attractive works in prevailing light and lyrical mood. Performed in historically informed performance practice by the Ensemble Symposium, the Ensemble Il Demetrio, and Stefano Parrino (flute) and Francesco Parrino (violin). Recordings were previously issued separately on Brilliant Classics, here receiving a new lease of life as a 3-CD set.

SYMPHONIES NOS. 40 & 41

Italian composer and guitarist Angelo Gilardino has been at the forefront of contemporary classical guitar music for over 40 years. His legacy is fittingly recognized by Cristiano Porqueddu, himself already firmly established as one of Italy's leading guitarists, who pays tribute to the composer with this integral release of Gilardino's works. Recorded in chronological order, starting with compositions from the mid 1960s and ending with works written just a few years ago, Porqueddu delves in to the astonishing variety of music Gilardino has produced. From the 'dreamy' works of his early period - including Estrellas para Estarellas, Abreuana and Trepidazione per Thebit - a more formal style began to take hold from the 1980s, with the composer writing his first series of 12 studies (Studi di virtuosit� e di trascendenza) in 1981. He followed up this success by adding another 48 to the collection, and since the 2000s the 60 Studies have become a central part of Gilardino's oeuvre, having entered the concert programs of several prominent guitarists. Constantly striving to create a new type of dialogue between the guitar and accompanying instruments, Gilardino composed his first concerto for guitar and orchestra in 1996, sealing his reputation as an accomplished orchestral composer with an additional 16 concertos thereafter. During the 2000s, Gilardino returned to writing for the solo guitar, skillfully bridging the divide between atonal chromatic and diatonic modal music. Gilardino's compositions are inspired by music from all areas and epochs; from Mozart, Ravel and Messiaen to Scottish folk tunes and the beauty of the Mediterranean, there are few elements that are not represented in some shape or form in the composer's works. Porqueddu studied under Gilardino at the 'Lorenzo Perosi' Academy in Biella, and under the composer's guidance his compositions have won him international plaudits in his own right. Angelo Gilardino is one of the most important guitar composers of the last half century. His unique style is a blend of the old and new, folk art and contemporary music, from Mozart to Messiaen, all his works are illuminated by a warm and Mediterranean glow, a feeling of humanity and love for life. Included are all the works he wrote for guitar solo & guitar and orchestra. Included are his famous 60 Trancendental Studies. The set includes many world premieres. No better advocate and interpreter could be wished than guitarist Cristiano Porqueddu, a lifelong pupil and friend of the composer, sharing the same musical passions. Recorded in Nuoro, Italy, in 2012-15. Includes world premiere recordings. Contains extensive notes written by the composer especially for this release.

The violin sonatas of Joaquin Turina have in recent years attracted the attention of violinists looking for attractive Spanish repertoire beyond Sarasate, but this complete survey is unrivalled on disc. The real discovery for many listeners will be Turina’s Op.28, El Poema de una sanluqueña (Poem of a Sanlúcar Girl). This 20-minute, four-movement fantasy was written in 1923 and inspired by a cruel remark overheard by the composer: ‘Sanlúcar girls don’t marry and Sanlúcar boys marry outsiders’ – Sanlúcar being a coastal city just north of Cadiz. Turina’s idea was to immerse himself in the hopes and dreams of such a young woman. The movement titles - ‘In front of the mirror’ – ‘The Song of the Moon’ – ‘Hallucinations’ – ‘The Rosary in the Church’ – hint at the varied expressive and musical worlds, including oblique references to Andalucian folksong as well as highly impressionistic evocations that owe not a little to Ravel and Debussy. The Variaciones Clásicas of 1932 show another, more formally rigorous side to Turina’s craft as a composer, though the theme itself is no less imbued with a Romantic, yearning quality through its transformation as a Cuban folksong, a seguidilla and finally a dashing zapateado. The last two pieces of the collection appear as occasional pieces that are included in broader cycles. Euterpe is part of an ambitious work that seeks to represent the coming of the Greek muses to Spain, each of the them being represented by a different scoring: this is written in the lively tempo of a Sevillan dance. Finally, with Homenage a Navarra, Turina elegantly acknowledges the heritage of Sarasate in a short work based on his compatriot’s melodies.

A MusicWeb International Recording of the Month

This set of discs is quite interesting: it brings together two French composers from the first half of the 18th century who are little known. That is to say: Jean-Baptiste Barrière is fairly well known, but almost exclusively as a pioneer of the cello in France. It is remarkable that the two collections which Luca Quintavalle has recorded were published at about the same time, but are stylistically very different.

Barrière was from Bordeaux and worked in Paris in 1730 as Musicien ordinaire de notre Académie Royale de Musique. In 1733 he was granted a privilege to publish sonatas and other instrumental works. He studied for some time in Italy, but there are different opinions on exactly when he was there. It is not that relevant from a musical point of view, because right from the start the Italian influence in his compositions is clearly discernible. His first two books with six sonatas each were printed in Paris in 1733 and 1735 respectively; these were followed in 1739 and 1740 by the third and fourth book. These collections show an increase in technical complexity and the last two books attest to Barrière's full embracing of the Italian style.

In 1739 he also published a book - as Livre V - for the pardessus de viole, the descant viol. It comprises six sonatas, the first five of which were also included in the book of harpsichord music which was published in the same year. These are not merely transcriptions but reworkings for a completely different instrument, including additional ornamentation, elaboration and idiomatic runs. These sonatas follow the Corellian trio sonata model: they comprise four movements in the order slow - fast - slow - fast. Barrière added a sixth sonata in three movements: andante - largetto (sic) - aria amoroso.

Their Italian character not only comes to the fore in the use of the form of the sonata. In fact, Barrière was the first French composer to write sonatas for keyboard. A further Italian trait is that the movements have exclusively Italian titles: adagio, allegro, andante, grave, largo, aria. The only dance included here is a sarabanda in the Sonata No. 2 in D. However, the most important token of Italian influence is the music itself. There are Neapolitan influences, but also references to the music of Vivaldi and Domenico Scarlatti. Some movements are quite dramatic; one of the most notable examples is the adagio which opens the Sonata No. 4 in G.

Barrière's harpsichord sonatas have little to do with tradition. Only one part of the Sonates et pièces can be connected to the French harpsichord school. The six pièces are character pieces as we know them from the oeuvre of, for instance, François Couperin. However, stylistically they are much closer to such pieces by the likes of Forqueray and especially his contemporary Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer (1705 - 1755). In the preface to his Premier Livre de pièces pour clavecin of 1746 Royer stated that "[the] pieces are open to great variety, passing from the tender to the lively, from the simple to the tumultuous, often successively within the same piece". That is the case with Barrière's character pieces as well; some indeed can be counted among the 'tumultuous', such as La Casamajor.

It is remarkable that the harpsichord pieces of the younger Bernard de Bury are more conservative than Barrière's. Much more than in the pieces by the latter we notice François Couperin's influence. His Premier livre de pièces de clavecin which dates from around 1736 includes several pieces whose titles are identical or almost identical with titles in the four harpsichord books of Couperin.

Bury came from a musical family; his father was ordinaire de la musique du roi. He spent his entire life and career in Versailles. He took several positions at the court; as maître de chapelle he succeeded his teacher Colin de Blamont, to whom he dedicated his harpsichord book. In 1785 he was ennobled by Louis XVI, five months before his death. In addition to his harpsichord works he composed music for the stage which found a positive reception.

Despite some Italian traits in his harpsichord music - just like in Couperin's ordres - his keyboard music is very French. The book comprises four suites of different lengths which include almost exclusively character pieces. The only exception is the loure in the 3e Suite in G. The chaconne which closes the 4e Suite in E and the entire collection, is one of the most telling tokens of this book's being part of the French tradition: hardly an opera was written without a chaconne and virtually every suite for keyboard or for an instrumental ensemble included a chaconne. There is no watershed between dances and character pieces: several of the latter were written in the form of a dance, or perhaps we should say that dances were given titles to indicate an extra-musical meaning. In the 1e Suite in A, for instance, we find a sarabande with the title Les Regrets. A form which Bury frequently uses is the rondeau, which was becoming increasingly popular in France around the mid-18th century.

Bury's harpsichord works have been recorded before, but are hardly known; they also seldom appear on programmes of recitals. As far as I know only a couple of pieces from Barrière's collection are available on disc; this is probably the first complete recording. I find that rather surprising, considering their quality and their historical importance. That makes this set a significant addition to the discography. This repertoire is served very well by Luca Quintavalle who delivers energetic and stylish performances. The brilliance of Barrières pieces and the different features of Bury's harpsichord works is convincingly conveyed. He plays a splendid instrument: a copy of a harpsichord by Pierre Donzelague of 1711. The miking is just right: it reveals enough details without losing the overall picture.

There is just one issue I need to mention. There is too little space between the pieces: the first movement of a sonata or a suite follows the last movement of the previous work almost attacca. That is an unlucky negligence on the side of the production team.

Considering the importance of the repertoire and the quality of music and interpretation this production deserves the label of Recording of the Month.

– MusicWeb International (Johan van Veen)

Mahler based the second movement of his Seventh Symphony on The Night Watch by Rembrandt, but the painter himself depicted few musicians and no acquaintances with musicians are known. His most famous musical contemporary was the keyboardist and composer Sweelinck, whose setting of Psalm 1 is presented here in a consort-style recording alongside three keyboard works played on harpsichord and organ. This collection also highlights much more unfamiliar names to illustrate the rich musical culture of the Low Countries at the time of the painter’s flourishing. There are vivid sacred madrigals by Herman Hollanders; stylish pavans by Cornelis Schuyt; a transcribed, extensive Salve Regina for organ by Pieter Cornet; a song for solo recorder by the lutenist Jacob van Eyck, Doen Daphne d’Over schoone Maegt; solo-vocal motets by the poet and diplomat Constantijn Huygens, who did in fact know Rembrandt; and much, much more. All the works and composers, however unfamiliar, are elucidated in an invaluable booklet essay. The organ recordings were made in the Oude Kerk of Amsterdam which played a significant role in Rembrandt’s life (and became the resting place of his wife, Saskia), on the church’s transept organ, which has been newly restored to the meantone temperament which the composers on this album would have known and written for. Full sung texts are also included in this invaluable and unrivalled collection.

Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt is widely acclaimed for his 'Canto Ostinato', one of the most iconic works of Minimal Music. His 'Incantatie IV' is written for 3 pianos, and consists of a complex of 15 layers, whose shifting in both duration, colour and tempo is left to the decision of the performers, thus creating a hybrid between composition and improvisation. According to pianist Jeroen van Veen performing this work is like "looking at the sea: all the time there are changes in color, radiance, and momentum, never an exact repetition". Performed by Jeroen and Sandra van Veen and Tamara Rumiantsev, champions of Ten Holt's music, having performed his music in various environments, such as a train station, a shopping mall (and of course the concert hall...).

Albert Lortzing was familiar with the stage from his earliest years, for both his parents were actors, and by the age of 18 he too was engaged as both an actor and singer. His career was anything but stable, however; a competent composer, he divided his time between precarious kapellmeister positions – including a stint at the Theater an der Wien – and having to revert to acting in order to support himself. He died impoverished and unhappy in 1851, a few months after securing his third kapellmeister post.

Today he is best remembered for his Singspiel Der Wildschütz, a masterpiece of writing and whose libretto the composer himself fashioned from Kotzebue’s comedy Der Rehbock, oder Die schuldlosen Schuld bewußten, which had been published earlier in 1816. Kotzebue’s work is a whirlwind of character disguise, a piece whose titillating coquetry touches firmly on frivolity but manages to evade full-scale immorality, and Lortzing also added small touches of his own to the story – including the character of the majordomo Pancratius, whose role has traditionally been performed in Saxon dialect. The enduring appeal of Der Wildschütz, however, clearly rests on the score, with Lortzing’s lightness of touch, his memorable and catchy tunes, and the vivid characterisation of comic situations lending his music a charm that appears as fresh as ever. An ardent admirer of Mozart, it is in Der Wildschütz, more than in any other of his operas, that Lortzing succeeded in writing at least a few numbers that are reminiscent of the great composer. This applies particularly to his carefully wrought ensemble passages, which greatly outweigh the arias in terms of number and of which the much-admired Billiards Scene (Act 2) is surely the greatest.

Lortzing’s operas were the most-performed in Germany for about 150 years, and from listening to Der Wildschütz it is easy to understand why. Recorded in the early ‘80s and bringing together many of Germany’s top singers of the period, this version remains one of the finest to date. ‘Edith Mathis is a delightful Baroness and Doris Soffel nicely characterises the Sophocles-besotted Countess…’, while ‘Georgine Resick sings a charming Gretchen, warm but with a will of her own.’ (Gramophone)

Other information:
- Recorded 1980–1982.
- Reissue of one of the gems of the East Germany archive recordings of Berlin Classics: Der Wildschütz by Albert Lortzing.
- Lortzing’s operas were extremely popular in their time, due to their good humour and wit, the memorable tunes and the general romantic nature feeling.
- A star studded cast of the best German voices of the time: Edith Mathis, Doris Soffel, Peter Schreier, Hans Sotin, Gottfried Hornik, and the magnificent Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Bernhard Klee. - Contains detailed notes on the music and plot synopsis.
- German Libretto available for download

While usually associated with sacred music, the organ was also used during the Renaissance and early Baroque periods in noble mansions and courts for the purpose of secular music. This fantastic anthology peeks into the secular organ repertoire from royal courts across five countries. Francesco Cera is a celebrated Italian organist. He performs on a 1772 “Organo ottavino.” Liner notes include information on all pieces, as well as a photo of Cera’s organ.

Can one ever tire of the dancing inspiration that animates these four portmanteau collections which have delighted both serious and casual listeners ever since Bach compiled them for use in social occasions as the 30-something Kapellmeister at the briefly enlightened court of Prince Leopold of Cöthen, exulting in the multifarious influences which he had absorbed and could place at the service of a compositional mind of unequalled intellectual brilliance yet always conscious of his music’s need to entertain, to give delight as well as accompany the sober thoughts of his congregations?

Not, at any rate, in these performances from a virtuoso German ensemble hailing from Bach’s own part of the world and masterminded by a superb trumpeter-turned-conductor who well understands the exuberant, public character of these suites, their occasional purposes, for all that in such moments as the famous Air from the G major Suite, No.3, they appear to take on a more confiding aspect, drawing the listener in before dispelling the tension with another jolly minuet or charming sarabande.

This generously filled CD presents the complete Orchestral Suites (Overtures) by J.S. Bach. Bach’s Suites count among his most popular and most frequently performed works, they are quintessential Bach: majestic, noble, tender and full of energy. They contain some of Bach’s evergreens: the Air from the 3rd Suite and the Badinerie from the 2nd Suite.

Played by the Virtuosi Saxoniae conducted by trumpeter-conductor Ludwig Güttler, modern instruments in Historically Informed Performance Practice, the best of both worlds. - Brilliant Classics

An instrument that is almost entirely absent from the output of the great pre- twentieth-century composers, the guitar has long been viewed as a means to discovering new repertoire and neglected composers. One such example is Ferdinand Rebay, whose works (which have only recently come to light) present a unique case in bridging the central-European gap. This release is dedicated to his two Sonatas for Flute and Guitar.

Rebay believed that the blending of wind and guitar timbres produced a far more attractive sound than that of winds and piano, and the two sonatas – written in 1942 – date from an immensely productive period as regards the composer’s chamber duo output for guitar. Heavy in dialogue, they reveal a technique deeply rooted in Viennese tradition; from the Neoclassical style of the First, whose Scherzo exudes Beethovenian inspiration, to the stirringly Romance feel of the Second, with its broad phrasing and intensely lyrical passagework, these are two strikingly different works of character that together illuminate a fascinating area of past-century music-making.

In representing the first recording of the two sonatas – works that currently exist only in manuscript form – this release forms a significant addition to Brilliant Classics’ chamber music discography. The two young Spanish artists on the disc, Mari?a Jose? Belotto and Gonzalo Noque? (who created the performing editions), set a high standard with their virtuosic display, arguing a strong case for why this composer deserves to be better known.

OTHER INFORMATION:
• First recordings of the works, made in 2011.
• Performing editions from the manuscripts by Gonzalo Noque?.
• Includes booklet notes and biographies of the performers.

Girolamo Frescobaldi has been one of the most influential composers in the history of Western music. Through his many pupils he influenced keyboard playing and composing throughout Europe. Even Johann Sebastian Bach copied some of his works. Therefore it is quite surprising that - as far as I know - no complete recording of his oeuvre has been released. This year (2010) Brilliant Classics has started a Frescobaldi Edition, which is going to be one of the most important projects in the label's history.

Many of Frescobaldi's works for keyboard are played and included in recordings. But some parts of his oeuvre are largely neglected like the instrumental canzonas and his vocal music. The amount of sacred music in Frescobaldi's oeuvre is rather small: only one collection of motets for one to four voices and basso continuo was published in 1627. There are some motets which were included in collections of pieces by various composers. And then there are the two masses which Sergio Balestracci recorded in Volume 3 of the Frescobaldi Edition.

These masses have been preserved in a single manuscript in the library of the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome. On the organ part of the first of these two masses one finds the letters G. F.di. This has led to these masses being attributed to Frescobaldi. Although their authenticity can't be established with absolute certainty, most scholars believe they were indeed composed by Frescobaldi. It was a good decision to include them in this project since they are of fine quality and give a good picture of the kind of liturgical music which was composed during Frescobaldi's life.

They reflect common practice in Rome in that they are scored for eight voices in two choirs. The two choirs are used to create antiphonal effects. Sometimes they alternate in singing the various verses of the mass, sometimes the one choir repeats a phrase of the other. At some moments they join to underline important passages and in other instances only one choir sings, for instance in 'Et incarnatus est' and 'Crucifixus' in the Credo. In both masses the Benedictus and the second Agnus Dei are left out; these are sung here in plainchant. Both masses are extended by plainchant settings of parts of the Proper of the Mass. In the Missa sopra l'aria della Monica the Introitus, Offertorio and Communion from the Mass for the Virgin Mary are added, whereas in the Missa sopra l'aria di Fiorenza the additional chants are taken from the Mass of St John the Baptist.

Both masses are based on tunes which were quite popular at the time. The aria della Monica was a secular song, and quite often used for keyboard variations and instrumental compositions. The aria di Fiorenza is also known as Ballo del Granduca, and was first composed as the song O che nuovo miracolo by Emilio de' Cavalieri. This was included in the Intermedii which were performed at the wedding of Grand-Duke Ferdinando I and Christine of Lorraine in 1589. This tune was also often used, for instance by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.

La Stagione Armonico consists of 28 singers, divided over the two choirs. Although I would have preferred a slighter smaller ensemble, the sound is quite transparent. Furthermore the singing is outstanding, and the choir shows great rhythmic vitality. The two vocal groups are audibly split, but fortunately they haven't been put too far away from each other. The plainchant is also beautifully sung, and as a result this disc can be unequivocally recommended.

The three masses which are recorded as Volume 4 of this series are of a different kind. They are quite well-known and available in several recordings. Pieces from these masses are also often played in concerts and included in recordings. That is especially the case with the Toccatas, like the Toccata per le levatione, which appear in all three masses.

The three organ masses belong to the category of liturgical music which makes use of the alternatim practice. Its roots are in the antiphonal psalmody, and from that perspective they are not that far away from the masses which are performed in Volume 3. Verses could alternatively be sung in plainchant and polyphonically, or sung and played. That is the case here: Frescobaldi offers organ verses to be performed in alternation with voices. He doesn't provide a complete liturgy, though: the largest part of every Mass consists of verses for the Kyrie. But he goes a long way to serve organists: although in an alternatim performance of the Mass only five versets for Kyrie eleison and Christe eleison are needed, he offers the full set of nine, giving performers a maximum choice for whatever they needed. The other organ versets are called Kyrie alio modo and Christe alio modo. Here they are performed after the liturgically 'correct' sequence of plainchant and organ versets.

Other pieces are a Canzona dopo l'Epistola, to be played after the first reading from the Scriptures, and a Recercar post (dopo) il Credo, to be played after the Credo. Most famous are the Toccate per le levatione, to be played during the consecration. Dissonances are an integral part of these pieces, which are to remember the congregation of Jesus' Passion. The Messa della Madonna contains a special ricercar, called Recercar con obligo dicantar la quinta parte senza toccarla. It means that an fifth part is added which should be sung without support of the organ. In his liner-notes Noel O'Regan writes: "Frescobaldi gives the singer a six-note phrase taken from the Litany of Loreto where it sets the words 'Sancta Maria'; he does not give these words in the print but it is clear that they are what is intended". In this recording the part is played on the natural trumpet, which is rather odd, although this is often practiced. It would have been nice if this part would have been sung as Frescobaldi has indicated. The Messa delli Apostoli contains a comparable piece but here that part should be played at the organ.

These three masses are from the collection Fiori Musicali, published in Venice in 1635. It also contains two pieces on secular tunes, Bergamasca and Capriccio sopra la Girolmeta. It is not quite clear why they are included. Noel O'Regan states that the former is taking the place of the canzon which concludes the other two masses. But that seems unlikely because of the secular subject. The capriccio is based on a tune whose name is the feminine version of Frescobaldi's own. O'Regan again sees this composition as a possible alternative to the concluding piece of this or one of the other masses.

Roberto Loreggian delivers very good performances. Many pieces are quite short, in particular the Kyrie and Christe settings, and they can appear quite short-winded. The fact that the are alternated by the appropriate plainchant helps to prevent that. The singing of the Schola Gregoriana is bright and clear. Of course, it would be nice to hear all pieces within the liturgical context for which they were intended. To my knowledge no such recording exists. So we have to be satisfied with this recording. The quality and variety of Frescobaldi's music and Roberto Loreggian's level of playing is such that that's no tall order.

If these two disc reflect the quality of this whole project we are in for a treat.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Artists:
Bram van Sambeek bassoon
Joost Bosdijk bassoon
Ellen Corver piano
Rick Stotijn double bass
Izhar Elias guitar
Marieke Schneemann flute
Sven Figee Hammond organ
Maria-Paula Majoor violin
Marijn Korff de Gidts drums

Repertoire:
• Böddecker: Sonata sopra la Monica (1651)
• Rossini:Three arias from Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816)
• Saint-Saëns: Sonata Op.168 (1921)
• Gubaidulina: Duo Sonata (1977)
• Piazzolla: Café 1930 (1986)
• Dubois: Sonatine Tango (1984)
• Corea:Trio (1968)
• Hagen: Harlem Nocturne (1939)

A more insanely varied program will be hard to find. ”Dutch Music Prize” winner Bram van Sambeek selected an extremely diverse repertoire, spanning 400 years, in which the bassoon plays a prominent role: from the Baroque elegance of Böddecker, through virtuoso variations of Rossini and Saint-Saëns, to the fascinating world of 20th century bassoon music by Gubaidulina, Piazzolla and Chick Corea: a true kaleidoscope!

TEN HOLT Canto Ostinato. Natalon in E . Aforisme II. Solo Devil’s Dances I–IV. Eadem Sed Aliter • Jeroen van Veen (pn) • BRILLIANT 9434 (5 CDs: 320:09)


This set is designated as Simeon ten Holt: Solo Piano Music Volumes I-V , so one assumes that another release will follow it in due course. This is good news to those of us who have been bitten by the ten Holt bug, and who are snapping up every release that becomes available. In the United States, the situation is now much better than it was just a few years ago, and it is better, in large part, due to the efforts of pianist Jeroen van Veen (and Brilliant Classics), who, with colleague pianists, and by himself, has been busily recording ten Holt’s often mammoth works for one or multiple pianos. He is not the only world-class pianist to be interested in ten Holt’s music, however, but we will get to that point later.


In Fanfare 35:6, I had a lot to say about Canto Ostinato , albeit in a performance by two pianists, namely van Veen and his wife, Sandra. This was included in van Veen’s Minimal Piano Collection, Volumes X-XX set (Brilliant Classics 9171). I’m going to beg the editor’s indulgence by repeating all of it here:


Simeon ten Holt’s Canto Ostinato , [is] an even more large-scale classic that occupied the composer between 1976 and 1979, and a work that has attained a fair measure of popularity, at least in Europe. (I think its time will come in the United States; all it needs is the right set of circumstances.) Like several of ten Holt’s works, Canto Ostinato gives its performers plenty of flexibility. The score states the composer’s preference for performances with four pianos, but he has enthusiastically endorsed Jeroen and Sandra van Veen’s two-piano realization presented here, and it also has been performed with twelve pianists on five pianos! (Other keyboard instruments are possible too.) The score has 106 sections. Performers can use their own discretion concerning dynamics, articulation, the number of repetitions, and the use and combination of alternative parts. It can last for a half hour or longer than two. The composer writes, “A performance of Canto is more like a ritual than a concert. The piece is not in a hurry.” For me, three factors lend the work its peculiar magic. The first is related to rhythm. Each bar is in 10/16 time, overlaid with 2/4 to create two groups of 5/16. Each “quintuplet” is subdivided into 2+3 or 3+2. What this creates, in the listener, is the curiously dance-like sensation of even unevenness, if you will. The second factor is melodic. At first, there is no melody, in the usual sense of the word. However, over time, an angelic “canto” starts to coalesce, like a picture puzzle slowly coming together. When this “canto,” after many teasing minutes of development, reaches its maturity, the cumulative effect, if you have been paying attention, is literally awesome. (I never fail to weep when I get to section 74 of Canto Ostinato , and I have had a similar experience with Meandres , a ten Holt composition from 20 years later.) Having attained seeming Nirvana, ten Holt (or the performers), then evolves away from it almost immediately, and so Canto Ostinato , on this level, becomes a piece about expectation, and not just achievement but also frustration. It’s a very Zen experience. The third factor is related to community. A successful performance of Canto Ostinato depends upon communication and coordination among the performers. One senses (in the present performance, and in others I have heard) that a sort of hive mentality is at work, or that one is listening, not just to a ritual, but to a biological process. Much as I love music, I would rarely describe it as organic. For me, there are two prominent exceptions, though: some of Sibelius, and all of Simeon ten Holt.


Of course, the present recording, which dates from the fall of 2012 (like everything else in this collection), removes the third factor enumerated above because all of these are solo performances. I think I understand ten Holt’s preference for performances, at least of Canto Ostinato , involving multiple pianos. Played solo, the music remains highly effective, but the ineffable and moving sense of community is absent here. Otherwise, it is striking how similar this new solo recording of Canto is to the one by van Veen and his wife in the Minimal Piano Collection set. The total timing (78:15) is just a minute shorter than its predecessor, and isn’t it convenient that it all fits on one CD? (A four-piano version recorded in the ’80s and released by Composer’s Voice/Donemus lasts over 150 minutes and requires three discs, and let me tell you, those disc-changes are a real letdown!) There’s no sense that the music’s development is being rushed, but I think, generally speaking, the more performers one has, the longer it takes to perform it effectively. In a review of piano music by Philip Glass (also in this issue), I commented that van Veen was a more subjective performer than the composer himself. In ten Holt’s music, however, I find that van Veen is less personal—which I suppose is another way of saying less romantic—than other pianists who have recorded it, namely Ivo Janssen (on Void), and on the aforementioned three-CD extravaganza, Gerard Bouwhuis, Gene Carl, Cees van Zeeland, and Arielle Vernède. Still, I have every reason to believe that van Veen’s playing realizes the composer’s intentions completely.


So, where this new release really comes into its own is in the remaining four discs, because this is great music too, and there is less competition. (In some cases, I think, there is none at all, at least on disc.) Solo Devil’s Dance I was composed in 1959 and lasts only 4:10. The remaining three works in this series are much later (1986, 1990, and 1998, respectively) and much longer too: 67:43, 45:55, and 38:41. The first is an etude whose basis is an essentially unrelenting triple rhythm passed from one hand to the other, with a—well, impish counterpoint. No surprise: It sounds utterly unlike anything else on these discs, but one can sense the presence of ten Holt’s mind, even if one can’t exactly hear ten Holt’s voice. With the second, we are back in familiar, i.e., minimalist, territory. An odd, nervous rhythm and a melodic pattern are quickly established, and over the course of 67 minutes it is developed. With Philip Glass, one senses that his favorite geometric shape is a square. Ten Holt, on the other hand, probably was enamored of pentagons and heptagons. Solo Devil’s Dance II is jazzy, without ever turning into jazz, and eternally unsettled. As in Canto , tension rises, is dissipated, and rises again; Glass is rarely this dramatic. It sounds like a terrible finger-buster for any pianist, but I imagine stamina and concentration are even bigger issues. Fortunately, listeners don’t have to fear for the fingers. If they are receptive, their concentration should be stimulated by the ever changing but always the same landscape of shifting accents, phrase lengths, and by each new section of the score (there are 111!) in which a new puzzle piece, or a new clue (if you will) is added. Kees Wieringa’s version of this work can be downloaded as an mp3 from Amazon. I haven’t heard more than an excerpt—I have yet to feel that downloaded mp3s are worth my time and money, so any comparisons I make with mp3s in this review are based solely on brief excerpts—but for what it’s worth, Wieringa’s version is only 28 seconds longer. Ivo Janssen’s mp3 is only half as long, and is a little slower.


Solo Devil’s Dance III is built on similar plans, but it strikes me as a more genial piece. If its predecessor is obsessive, it is cheerfully industrious, as if one were overlooking a sort of musical factory in which the workers are notes and their products are phrases and successively larger musical structures. The music burbles along happily, and it really does seem to dance. One wonders if the melodic material’s resemblance, at times, to Till’s theme from Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche was accidental. Otherwise, there is nothing demonic here! In fact, extended sections in the piano’s stratosphere suggest fairies, perhaps from A Midsummer Night’s Dream , more than anything horned. Wieringa’s mp3 is almost 20 minutes shorter, as he moves through the work’s 77 (!) sections!


What makes the Solo Devil’s Dances demonic, perhaps, is the demands that they place on the performer. (Van Veen is certainly up to their various challenges.) An additional demonic element that appears in Solo Devil’s Dance IV is a fixation with the interval of a tritone, the “diabolus in musica.” This piece is a particularly cruel task for the pianist, as it is fast, lengthy, and more intricate in its patterning than its predecessors. If Solo Devil’s Dance II is obsessive, this last member of the family carries obsession to its most driven extremes. It’s an etude from hell. At 18: 14, Ivo Janssen’s mp3 of this work is only half the length of van Veen’s performance, and he adopts a somewhat slower tempo, so clearly he takes fewer repeats than van Veen. (As I mentioned above, in my description of Canto , ten Holt’s scores generally give performers a lot of latitude.) This work contains 89 “separate musical objects,” which I suppose is just another way of indicating “sections.” This was ten Holt’s final work, although he did not die until 2012.


Earlier, I used the phrase, “ever changing but always the same.” That is a rough English translation of the Latin phrase Eadem Sed Aliter , the title of a work in 113 sections from 1995 also included in this collection. To quote from the booklet note (van Veen’s?), “the left hand is shifted two sixteenths from the right hand—this creates a big challenge for the thumbs of both hands, like in the music of Franz Liszt where the thumbs were first used to play melodies. The ping-pong-style playing with accents, together with building layers (getting louder and softer), turn this into an interesting piece.” The music has a plaintive quality, as if it were begging to be released from its unceasing activity and lack of resolution (harmonic and otherwise). As with the other works in this collection, I can’t even begin to imagine the endurance and concentration required to perform it, and van Veen has both my admiration and my sympathy! An mp3 by Janssen is a few minutes shorter (33: 49), and in this work, his tempo is even faster than van Veen’s. Madness!


The two remaining works date from the 1970s. Aforisme II (1974) is receiving its first recording here. It is, in a sense, the seed that produced Canto Ostinato , as it is a 6/8 version of the Canto melody, with an accompaniment of broken chords (imagine a barcarolle.) The Chopinesque bit of sweetness is just four minutes long, and, if a score were to be published, I predict it would quickly appear on every third teenage piano student’s recital. Natalon in E also is atypical. There are five movements in contrasting tempos and moods, and ranging from four to 11 minutes in length. The material in each movement is characteristic of ten Holt, but its development is far more concise. Like Aforisme II , this is ten Holt “lite,” although I don’t mean to denigrate it with that adjective, only to imply that it is more accessible to performers and listeners who might not generally be interested in Minimalism or “contemporary music,” whatever that is.


The booklet contains, in addition to unsigned notes about some (not all, unfortunately) of the works, a short essay about the composer himself, and about van Veen as an interpreter of his music. This originally appeared in Fanfare 33:5 and is written by Alan Swanson, who took advantage of the opportunity to bang the drum for ten Holt before I did. I’m glad he did. Since I discovered it a few years ago, Simeon ten Holt’s music has become important to me; it has given me great intellectual and emotional satisfaction. I am very happy that Jeroen van Veen’s advocacy, not least through these recordings, has made it easier for new audiences to become exposed to it. Please, however you do it, introduce yourself to Simeon ten Holt.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle