One of the most influential composers of the early Spanish Baroque, Juan Bautista Comes (1582-1643) was one of the first composers to fuse together elements of Renaissance style with the emerging styles of the Baroque. Juan Bautista Comes held the post of chapel master of the Valencia Cathedral, the cathedral that since 1437 held the Holy Chalice, the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, which is the reason Comes composed extensively for the Eucharist. This new recording not only includes sacred Motets, but also a selection of choral works composed in the vernacular language and based on popular music to make the liturgy more accessible to common people.

One of the most emotional liturgical works, the Stabat Mater meditates on the suffering of Mary the mother of Jesus during the crucifixion. The Stabat Mater by Boccherini, featured on this new release, was composed for solo soprano and string ensemble, one of the most intimate settings for this text. A specialist in Baroque repertoire, soprano Francesca Boncompagni performs here alongside the Ensemble Symposium, which performs on original instruments.

Philippe Hersant (b. 1948) was once a student of Andre Jolivet, and since then has embraced tonality and modality, and found his own eclectic voice, establishing himself as one of the most noticeable and successful modern French composers. This new recording focuses on Hersant’s bassoon music, brilliantly showcasing an often neglected instrument. Featured are duos for bassoon and viola, 8 Pieces for bassoon and instrumental ensemble, and several works for solo bassoon. Italian bassoonist Andrea Bressan performs these works. Bressan is notable in the chamber music community, and has won several awards in international competitions for chamber music.

This release is a first recording of these rare works by Robert Lach (1874-1958). Robert Lach was not only a composer, but also a scholar, ethnomusicologist, philosopher, and Professor at the Wiener Akademie. During his career he composed 10 symphonies, several masses, 25 string quartets, and a myriad of other chamber works. He was the last composer to write for the viola d’amore, which was popular during the Baroque era. A strong advocate for the music of Robert Lach, Italian violinist Valerio Losito performs these pieces, and also has provided extensive liner notes for the album.

One of the most important and prolific composers of the latter half of the 20th century, Hans Werner Henze wrote for guitar often, enjoying the evocative potential of the instrument and painting a diverse array of emotions and atmospheres in his compositions. The two Sonatas on Shakespearean Characters, featured on this album, portrays the timeless characters like Lady Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, and Ariel, personifying these characters with new and dramatic expression. Andrea Dieci is “a true star of the classical guitar.” (Corriere della sera). His previous recordings include Jappelli’s complete works, and guitar compositions by Piazzolla.

This release is the final installment of the Schubert Complete String Quartet cycle. The entire series has proved to be an outstanding achievement by the German Diogenes Quartet. A centerstone of this album is the G major quartet, which was Schubert’s final quartet, and one of the finest ever written. The Diogenes Quartet was founded in 1998, when four musicians came together to dedicate themselves to chamber music. The ensemble is consistently praised for their commitment and interpretive playing.

Guido Alberto Fano (1875-1961) lived and worked in Germany and Austria, where he developed as a composer and as a pianist. After his time there, he held important posts at the conservatories of Milan and Naples, and had the respect and admiration of several popular composers, namely Richard Strauss. The Piano Sonata in E is a highly technical work, composed in the late romantic style. It remains one of the most influential Italian piano sonatas. Pietro de Maria performs these works, and is one of Italy’s most notable pianists. He has also recorded the complete piano works of Chopin.

This release is an interesting musical journey through the paths that led to Arnold Schoenberg’s composition of his masterpiece for string sextet, Verklarte Nacht.+ The pieces presented on this album, which are diverse and include pieces by Bach, Brahms, and Berg, show development of harmony and tonality from Bach’s era all the way to the late romantic period, when a new harmonic language began to emerge. The string sextet utilized in this recording was formed from the principal players of the Orchestra da Camera di Mantova, and led in this recording by Alessandro Maria Carnelli.

Including 7 discs, this exhaustive set contains the complete string quartets by Franz Schubert, including two unfinished movements which have been completed for this release by Christian Starke.; Schubert composed his string quartets throughout his entire life. His earlier pieces radiate the classical Viennese style, where as the later quartets are much more dramatic, romantic, and full of Weltschmerz.; Performing these works is The German Diogenes Quartet. The ensemble has been exploring Schubert’s quartets more deeply for the last few years. Producer Christian Starke has provided outstanding liner notes for this release.

REVIEW:

A truly complete collection, including works overlooked in other 'complete' recordings, this lacks nothing in insight or care, revealing the range and genius of Schubert in this medium, beyond the most famous works. A triumph, and a bargain at this price.

-- MusicWeb International

The protean and prolific Jeroen van Veen turns his attention to Erik Satie’s complete piano works for a 9-CD boxed set that ties in with the composer’s 150th birthday year. In a way, the collection is completer than complete. It includes all of Satie’s published and unpublished works for solo piano and piano duo, piano arrangements of theater scores as Le fils des étoiles, Darius Milhaud’s transcription of Cinéma (the Entr’acte from the ballet Relache), plus van Veen’s duet arrangement of the first and third Gymnopédies in Debussy’s versions (replete with added arpeggios, percussive effects, and such). Van Veen also restores Parade’s opening Choral from the orchestral version that Satie omitted from his four-hand edition.

As if that weren’t enough, the final disc is given over to Vexations, the little piece Satie asks you to play 840 times in succession. Van Veen goes through it 47 times in 79 minutes, enough to make the point without having to endure 840 repetitions. However, should you feel shortchanged, Brilliant Classics has released a companion 18-disc set containing van Veen’s “complete” 23-hour-and-52-minute Vexations performance, but that’s another story, and another review.

As a Satie interpreter, van Veen shares with Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Aldo Ciccolini a kind of classical reserve without which the music can sound silly on the surface. However, he lacks these pianists’ brashness and dry wit in such ironically upbeat fare as the eight little pieces for Le piège de Méduse or Sur un casque from Descriptions automatiques. In slower selections such as the Gymnopédies and the Gnossienness, van Veen often favors dangerously drawn-out tempos, while playing down the expressive variety in larger multi-movement collections like the Sports et divertissements and the Douze petits chorals.

Still, van Veen’s beautiful and texturally varied sonority, his long-lined sensibility, and his intense focus draw you in. Sample the Nocturnes’ sustained, almost otherworldly serenity, or the subtle spacing of notes throughout the Véritables préludes flaques, and you’ll hear how completely and masterfully van Veen conveys his intentions, abetted by superb, full-bodied sonics. Sandra van Veen joins her husband for the piano duo selections, which stem from an earlier Brilliant Classics release that received a 10/10 rating from yours truly. The pianists’ airtight synchronicity, wide palette of articulations, and dapper stylishness remain reference-worthy.

In sum, while one might question van Veen’s conceptions of certain works as minimalist prototypes, the man’s awesome control and seriousness of purpose cannot be ignored. His fascinating and riveting pianism is well worth Brilliant Classics’ attractive budget price.

– ClassicsToday (Jed Distler)

During the 17th century, the Roman Catholic Church accepted instrumental interludes during mass as an addition or as a replacement of other parts of the mass. This practice inspired composers of that era, who wrote elaborate organ works to show their compositional skills.; Giovanni Salvatore (1620-1688) was one such composer, whose works are featured here. Salvatore worked as an organist in Naples.; With a compositional style reminiscent of the Neapolitan Baroque liturgy, Salvatore’s works feature rich vocals and instrumental polyphony.; Performing these works is organist Federico Del Sordo and the Nova Schola Gregoriana, conducted by Alberto Turco.

One of the most well-known musicians of French jazz, Claude Bolling worked with jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Liza Minelli, and composed the music for more than 100 films.; Bolling was one of the first “crossover” composers. In addition to his work in the jazz scene, he also collaborated with classical musicians.; The perfect fusion of classical, jazz, blues, and Latin music, Bolling’s most famous piece is the Concerto for Classical Guitar and Jazz Piano Trio, which is performed on this recording by guitarist Duilio Meucci and the Claude Quartet.; Alongside the Concerto is Bolling’s Sonate pour guitar.

Featuring composers such as Piazzolla, Brouwer, Arcas, and Barrios, this album is an exciting adventure through pieces with latin musical roots. Guitarist Luciano Tortorelli is a professor of classical guitar and also performs frequently in concertos. He is one of Italy’s foremost guitarists. Tortorelli also performs an original piece on this album: Dobru noc Brno, which was composed as an homage to the Brno Guitar Festival.

Clearly modeled on Brahms’ Clarinet Sonatas Op. 120, Max Reger’s clarinet sonatas Op. 49 contain beautiful melodic lines, intertwining dialogue between the two performers, and extended chromatic harmony. This album, being released at the centennial of Reger’s death, contains his Sonatas Op. 49, as well as his Clarinet Sonata in B-Flat, Op. 107, Albumblatt in E-Flat, and Tarantella in G Minor. Italian clarinetist Claudio Conti performs these works, along with pianist Roberta Bambace. Liner notes are provided in Italian and English.

Classical Music