Vivaldi was one of the first composers to focus on the transverse flute as a viable solo instrument, and he may have even been the first to dedicate a whole publication to the flute family. His Opus 10 was published by Michel-Charles Le Cene in around 1728, though in reality many of the works in the collection were revised versions of earlier compositions, with Vivaldi capitalising on the popularity of the flute and rewriting material previously used for other instruments. Adding descriptive elements to the movement names, often connected to natural phenomena - such as 'La tempesta del mare' - was another way of boosting sales, something the composer had already discovered with his publication of The Four Seasons some years earlier. Vivaldi wrote over 500 concertos during his lifetime, and his expertise in this field is particularly evident in the exchanges between the ritornello and the orchestral tutti: while the ensemble comes together perfectly in the tutti, the soloist is really given a chance to fly in the soaring ritornelli, showcasing the instrument to it's fullest. Performing these works is Italian flautist Mario Folena, principal flautist of the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto since 1982. He has previously collaborated with many prominent ensembles, including I Solisti Veneti and I Filarmonici di Verona, and is a respected teacher of the Baroque flute, having given summer courses at the Fondazione Cini in Venice and the conservatoires of Padova and Parma. He is joined by L'Arte dell'Arco, led from the front by violinist Federico Guglielmo, whose exuberant and thoroughly researched Vivaldi performances have previously garnered high praise. - The LP version of one of the most successful Vivaldi recordings in the Brilliant Classics catalogue. - Vivaldi's six Concertos for flute Op.10 nearly attain the same popularity as the Four Seasons. Published in Amsterdam in 1728 they contain some of Vivaldi's most famous concertos: Il Gardellino, La Notte and the Tempesta di Mare. Music of wonderful invention, drama, tone painting and instrumental virtuosity. - Played on original instruments by soloist Mario Folena, a pupil of Jean-Pierre Rampal and Rene Clemencic, principal flutist of the famous Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, and veteran of the Historically Informed Performance Practice. Federico Guglielmo leads his ensemble l'Arte del'Arco, lifelong champions of the Red Priest from Venice. - Performance is based on the new Critical Edition of Vivaldi's works, revealing many new details and insights.

The most emblematic work among Boccherini's descriptive music is his quintet with two cellos La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid, which 'depicts' a cross-section of the night in Madrid, from the sound of the Ave Maria on the city's church bells to the soldiers' patrol announcing the curfew. In the short time-frame of five movements / episodes, the different souls of the night of Madrid are recalled. This is amplified in his revision of the quintet, extending the final movement through the addition of 11 variations on the theme of the Curfew Patrol. Both versions of the Quintet are presented in this recording, along with the other five that make up Opus 30, designated by Boccherini as an "opera piccola" due to their two-movement structure. In them Boccherini explores various expressive characters, both within the individual movements and in their juxtaposition, exploiting peculiarities of his art such as the skilful use of modulations and harmonic contrasts, the subtle balancing of melody and texture and the emphasizing of rhythm in the characterization of musical ideas. The second set of quintets with two cellos that Boccherini composed, numbered as Op. 31, is designated an "opera grande", featuring compositions in more than two movements. The play of characters that Boccherini develops through these quintets appears overall to be even more multifaceted and nuanced than in his Quintets Op. 30. In these quintets, as in the Musica notturna and indeed other chamber works by Boccherini, the sacred and profane meet in the name of musical pathos, putting to the listener an ethical and existential question, as well as an aesthetical one. It will be up to each of us to find an answer on the basis of our own sensibilities. Other information: - Recorded October 2014, January 2015, January & June 2016, Padua, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Matteo Giuggioli and a profile of the ensemble - The Italian liner notes are available for download at www. Brilliantclassics. com - The continuation of a highly successful and popular series on Brilliant Classics: the String Quintets by Boccherini (1743-1805)! The String Quintet series, of which 17 CD's have already been issued, brought to light many hidden treasures, masterworks of chamber music in pure Classical Style, brimming with vitality, wit and winning charm. - This new recording presents the String Quintets Op. 30 and 31, of which the Op. 30 No. 6 is the most remarkable: this quintet with two cellos La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid "depicts" a cross-section of the night in Madrid, from the sound of the Ave Maria on the church bells of the city until the passage of the soldiers' patrol announcing the curfew. In five movements-episodes, the different souls of the night of Madrid are recalled: the religious and devout (Ave Maria delle Parrocchie, Rosario) that carefree and goliardic (Minuetto dei ciechi, Passa Calle), and the military one (Ave Maria del Quartiere, Ritirata). In this quintet each musical resource is employed, in an extremely original way. As Boccherini himself notes in the score, the faithful representation from real life is so central in this work, that "everything that does not conform to the rules of composition, must be justified by the truth of the represented thing". - Played by Luigi Puxeddu and I Virtuosi della Rotonda, with Federico Guglielmo, Alessia Pazzaglia, Davide Zaltron and Riccardo Giovine.

An LP transfer for one of the best-selling items in the Brilliant Classics catalogue, pressed on audio-phile grade 140-gram 'biovinyl'. The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, is synonymous worldwide with Christmas, thanks to the annual broadcasts of it's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. The service took form in Truro Cathedral in 1880, and spread across the Anglican communion before the Dean of King's introduced it to the College in 1918, and the BBC began to broadcast it from there in 1929. On this compilation, as at the familiar liturgy, the sequence of carols opens with a boy treble singing the first verse of Once in Royal David's City. This particular recording has a further historical significance, in that the solo was sung (in 1994) by Guy Johnston, who has since become a renowned cellist. This generous 66-minute sequence features carols old and new, familiar and less-well known, from The First Nowell and O Little Town of Bethlehem to modern classics such as John Tavener's The Lamb and Judith Weir's Illuminare Jerusalem, both of which were commissioned by King's for the annual service, but are now sung worldwide at Christmas time. The sequence is rounded off, like the service, with O Come, all ye faithful, featuring the celebrated descant and last-verse harmonisation by Stephen Cleobury's predecessor as Music Director at King's, Sir David Willcocks. The LP is manufactured at the Optimal Media plant in Hamburg, Europe's leading pressing plant for high-grade records, and pressed on 140-gram 'biovinyl'. This new substitute for the standard petroleum-derived raw material for LPs is made from recycled cooking oil and waste gases, making this record an ideal present for the environmentally conscious music-lover in your life. Other information: - Recorded in 1994: Carols from King's - An all-time Christmas favourite. - The disc features standards alongside more contemporary carol repertoire. - Superb by one of the world's leading choral groups conducted by Sir Stephen Cleobury, including some moving treble solos. The Choir of King's College in Cambridge (England) is one of the most famous choirs in the world. It was founded in the 15th century and is one of the oldest of it's kind. It was originally founded for the daily services in the college chapel, but today it can also be heard on international concert tours throughout Europe and beyond. - Also available on CD: Cat. No.: 9186 PPD: 7,50 EAN code: 5029365928626 - A beautiful re-release of one of Brilliant Classics' best-selling albums, now on Vinyl. - The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, is one of the world's best-known choral groups. Founded in the 15th century, it ranks among the oldest of it's kind, and, while originally created for singing the daily services in the college chapel, now enjoys an international tour schedule that has seen it perform all over Europe and beyond. Every Christmas Eve, millions of people tune in to watch the choir's A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's - a service which has been continuously broadcast since 1928. - Recorded in 1994, this reissue joins the group's already extensive discography of Christmas music - recordings that have enhanced it's worldwide fame and reputation. The compilation mixes some of the best-loved traditionals, including Once in royal David's city and O Come all ye faithful, with more recent repertoire - such as Rutter's rousing What Sweeter Music and Judith Weir's striking Illuminare, Jerusalem (specially commissioned by the choir for it's 1985 annual service). Also featured are traditional German, French, Dutch and Polish carols (including two settings of Dulce Jubilo)

The lyre-guitar was a fascinating, upmarket instrument that originated in Paris. It's inventor, luthier Pierre-Charles Mareschal, dated it's creation to around 1780. It was very popular in the elite salons of Napoleonic era-Europe, between the late 18th and early 19th century. It's refined, elegant shape recalling the ancient Greek lyre, made it a much-vaunted status symbol among women, who believed it enhanced their grace and beauty. As well as being played by noblewomen, it was also used by musicians to accompany singers, including the French tenor Joseph Dominique Fabry-Garat and the Austrian baritone Johann Michael Vogl, a close friend of Franz Schubert. The lyre-guitar used on this recording comes from Domenico Lafasciano's private collection. It was built in Paris in 1806 by Henry Lejeune, part of an important dynasty of luthiers dating back to the 18th century. Lafasciano's lyre-guitar is an original and very rare instrument: it has only 12 frets, and they are made of gut like on the lute or baroque guitar, making it suitable for playing works from the early 19th-century guitar repertoire. It is a brilliant example of the transition between the 18th and 19th centuries, a period when guitarists were still playing instruments with five double or single courses of strings, as well as six-string models. It appears that the lyre-guitar, which had six single strings from the outset, gave a definitive push to the addition of the sixth string to the guitar. This album contains some lovely musical gems written in the early 19th century by guitar-playing composers who remain largely unknown today. The first French publications, including the pieces featured on this recording, all contained the words 'pour Lyre ou Guitare' or 'pour Guitare ou Lyre', indicating very clearly that the works could be performed on either a lyre-guitar ('Lyre') or a five- or six-string guitar ('Guitare'). Other information: - Recorded November 2023, Milan, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by the artist and a biography - Lafasciano plays a lyre-guitar by Henry Lejeune (Paris, 1806) strung with Aquila Ambra�800 strings - The Italian liner notes are available for download at www. Brilliantclassics. com - An exclusive and fascinating instrument, the lyre-guitar was created in Paris by the luthier Pierre-Charles Mareschal, who claimed to have invented it around 1780. It shone in the noble salons of Europe during the Napoleonic Age, between the end of the 18th century and the first decades of the 19th century. - The lyre-guitar, with it's refined and elegant shape reminiscent of the ancient Greek lyre, was at that time a 'status symbol' instrument much loved by the fairer sex, as it enhanced their grace and beauty. It was often played by noble ladies, but also by musicians who used it to accompany singing, such as the Austrian baritone Johann Michael Vogl, a great friend of Franz Schubert. Even the great guitarist Mauro Giuliani performed a few times with this instrument. - This new recording presents works written for Lyre-guitar by French composers Charles Doisy (?-1807), Alexandre Alfred Rougeon-Beauclair (?-1829), Pierre Joseph Plouvier (1750-1825) and Jean-Antoine Meissonnier (1783-1857): a feast of lighthearted, charming and enchanting music! - Domenico Lafasciano is one of the very few lyre-guitar concert performers of today. Graduated with top marks at Padua Conservatory, he perfected himself with Alirio Diaz, Alexandre Lagoya, Siegfried Behrend and Jose Luis Lopategui. He met with Andres Segovia, who let him play his own guitar, and with John W. Duarte, who dedicated one of his compositions to him.

A valuable CD reissue for a rare and compelling 1986 account of Mahler's great testament of faith. A Dutch tradition in Mahler performance extends beyond the boundaries of the Concertgebouw. Orchestras in Rotterdam and The Hague have often performed the songs and symphonies, and been led by directors with a typically Dutch, humanistic sympathy for the complex texture of expressions and idioms in Mahler, his appeal to the great symphonic tradition as well as his liberation from it's strictures. Nowhere is that sense of tradition and innovation more finely balanced in his output than in the Second Symphony, which underwent the longest gestation of all his symphonies. The first movement began life as a standalone tone-poem, portraying a dream-sequence autobiographical rite of death in graphically Lisztian terms. Gradually something much more ambitious took shape, and the dream which the young conductor-composer had experienced, seeing his own death as if from afar, became eventually answered by a triumphant affirmation of faith in creativity, with his setting of the Resurrection-Ode by the poet Klopstock. Hearing this poem at a funeral finally gave Mahler the inspiration he needed to complete the symphony, and it has remained one of his best-loved works ever since, coming to embody within generations of it's listeners a force of death and renewal. Yet the autobiographical, five-movement form of the symphony has it's obvious precedents in the Pastoral Symphony of Beethoven and the Symphonie fantastique of Berlioz, and a successful performance such as this one underlines those connections. The Amsterdam-born Hans Vonk (1942-2004) served as Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague between 1980 and 1991. Both the playing and the direction in this performance are imbued with confidence and mutual assurance; the tempi are flowing but not hasty, and Mahler's structure is held together with a compelling force. First issued as a 'private' LP set by the orchestra in 1986, this CD reissue makes a significant contribution to the symphony's extensive discography. - Gustav Mahler's (1860-1911) Second Symphony, often referred to as the "Resurrection Symphony," was composed between 1888 and 1894, marking a significant progression in Mahler's artistic development. The symphony is expansive, spanning five movements, and delves into themes of life, death, and the afterlife. - The Second Symphony is renowned for it's emotional depth and grandeur. The opening movement sets a somber tone, with brooding melodies that reflect on human mortality. The subsequent movements explore contrasting emotions, from moments of sublime beauty to passages of intense anguish. The symphony reaches it's climax in the final movement, where Mahler introduces vocal soloists and a chorus. This dramatic conclusion contemplates the concept of resurrection and ultimate redemption, culminating in a triumphant and awe-inspiring finale. - This excellent and moving recording from 1985 features the Residentie Orkest The Hague conducted by Hans Vonk, one of the most prominent Dutch conductors of the 20th century. The vocal soloists are Maria Oran Cury and Jard van Nes; the featured choir is The Dutch Theatre Choir.

18th-century sonatas by a pair of musical brothers, in stylish historically informed performances from 1994. Very little music by the brothers Groneman is known in modern times beyond the pieces on this album, which have survived simply because of their popularity with flautists of their day. Pleasing both to hear and to play, these sonatas exert an additional fascination today for the insights they give into the taste and technique of the 18th-century flautist. Johannes Albertus Groneman (c.1708-1781) and Johannes Fredericus Groneman (1711-1778) were both probably born in Cologne, where their father was a military-band musician. Albertus developed his skill as a violinist beyond mere proficiency, and left to ply his trade as a jobbing musician in what is now the Netherlands. Having settled in Leiden around 1731, he wrote virtuosic pieces for violin and flute which proved popular enough to be published and republished in London and Paris. He performed throughout Holland, and then moved from Leiden to The Hague, where he was awarded a lucrative and coveted position as church organist. This career of steady accomplishment and gathering renown came to a sudden and tragic end in 1756 when he was committed to an asylum, where he lived out his days in penury. Meanwhile Fredericus is a much more shadowy figure to us: the three books of his flute sonatas listed in contemporary publishers' catalogues have disappeared, as have any details of his life and career. Of his gifts as a musician, there can be no doubt, to judge from the sonatas presented here, showing as they do an up-to-date knowledge of the latest musical trends set by masters such as Tartini and Geminiani, and yet display an expressive style entirely their own. Likewise, the two flute duets by Albertus Groneman demonstrate why his music proved to be so popular during his lifetime: they are in turn gracious, surprising, virtuosic and sweetly-singing, and display the full range of the flute's possibilities. Like Telemann's duets of the same period, they are full of fantasy and.wit and testify not only to the worthiness of their creator, but also to the taste of the 18th century flutist who loved them so well. Originally issued on the Dutch label NM Classics, this reissue restores a valuable window into the vibrant culture of chamber music in 18th-century Holland, performed by specialists in the field. - Johannes Albertus Groneman (baptized 1711-1778) and his brother Johannes Fredericus were born in Hamm (Germany) into a musical family. They enjoyed an education typical of musician's sons in the 18th century, learning from their father the trade, playing several instruments and instructed in composition, harmony and singing. Through his teacher Carl Rosier Albertus was introduced in the Netherlands, where he settled in Utrecht in 1729, later moving to Leiden. It is during this Leiden period that most of Groneman's music which survived, and indeed probably all of the music of this recording, was composed. Upon his arrival in the famous university town, Groneman was able to establish himself with ease in the highest social circles, enjoying the friendship and patronage of patricians and professors, while wealthy merchants and musicians of international repute became godparents to his children. He bought a Stradivarius violin and an especially beautiful harpsichord made by famous Flemish harpsichord maker Ruckers. He published virtuoso music for violin and flute which proved popular enough to be published and republished in London and Paris. - The Flute Sonatas consist of three movements, brilliant allegros framing a melancholy and moving andante full of bold harmonies. The style is gracious and sweetly-singing, displaying the full range of the flute's brilliant possibilities. - Performed by Jed Wentz, a pioneer in the performance practice of notably French Baroque music for his instrument. His many recordings for Brilliant Classics (J.S. Bach and C.P.E. Bach, Blavet, Couperin, Boismortier, Braun, Roman) have established him as one of the foremost interpreters in this field. - Recorded in 1994, a reissue from the NM Classics catalogue, the label for music from the Netherlands.

A diverse survey of Mozart's 'occasional' music, including his grandest serenade as well as one of his earliest and strangest works, alongside two late and powerful masterpieces. The 'Posthorn' Serenade of Mozart has been recorded on many occasions, but perhaps never with such stimulating and contrasted couplings as this new recording from the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice under their Armenian music director, Vahan Mardirossian. These forces recently made an attractive album of Mozart's 'Lodron' divertimenti (97307); now they turn to the grandest of the serenades which Mozart composed while still in the service of the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg. The 'Posthorn' Serenade dates from 1779, and the harmony of it's grand introduction immediately belongs to the richly ambivalent world of mature Mozart. Everything here is calculated to entertain, such as the graceful pairs of minuets, and the extensive 'concertante' movement featuring a cadenza for solo winds, but beyond that there is a uniquely Mozartian pathos which emerges most strongly in the D minor Andantino. Little within Mozart's output could present a stronger contrast than the patchwork of dances and tunes compiled by the 10-year-old composer while convalescing after a serious illness in The Hague. Commissioned for a piece to celebrate the accession of William V as Prince of Orange, he produced this 17-movement 'Gallimathias Musicum'. By turn, the album then makes a characteristically Mozartian shift to the grave tread of the Masonic Funeral Music composed in memory of the composer's Masonic brothers in 1785. No less imposing in it's way is the Fugue in C minor which Mozart originally wrote for two pianos in December 1783. Rescoring it for strings in June 1788, he added a stern and prefatory Adagio. Known as the Adagio and Fugue K546, this has been recorded by forces ranging from string quartet to full symphony orchestra; the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra presents a compelling middle way. - A substantial part of Mozart's oeuvre consists of works that may be called 'entertainment music'. Most of these pieces were composed for festive occasions in Salzburg, such as name days, birthdays and other festivities. There are indications that a number of them were meant to be played out-of-doors, in a rustic garden setting with party guests enjoying a drink or a meal. Many of the easy-going works were labelled 'Divertimento', others 'Serenade', 'Cassation' or 'Notturno'. - Mozart's Posthorn Serenade, composed in 1779, is one of his best known and most successful Serenades. The serenade's name is derived from the prominent solo for posthorn, a valveless brass instrument used in postal services during Mozart's time. It's five movements blend elegance with lively rhythms. From the graceful Andante to the spirited Menuetto, it abounds in melodic richness, charm, infectious brilliance and wit. - Also included in this recording are the lighthearted Gallimatthias musicumKV32, the moving Maurerische Trauermusik KV477 and the Adagio & Fuga KV546. - Played in Historically Informed Performance Practice on modern instruments by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, conducted by Vahan Mardirossian.

Franco Margola (1908-1992) was an Italian composer who was active throughout the 20th�century. During his lifetime, he dedicated himself to composing pieces for musicians in the academic sector, where he found fertile ground and was widely commissioned for both pedagogical and non-educational purposes. His career included various teaching and leadership posts at several Italian conservatoires, not least the Conservatorio di Musica 'Arrigo Boito' in Parma, where he taught composition from 1963 to 1975. Here, thanks to a collaboration with the guitar teacher Renzo Cabassi, he began to compose numerous works for guitar (approximately 250 opus numbers). Margola maintained a close relationship with the historic roots of his art form, and although he experimented with the avant-garde in his youth, he abandoned such tendencies in his more mature compositions. His works are characterised by a 'rhythmic vitality, a "classical" phrase structure, clear diatonicism, and a frequent use of fourths and fifths that recall the elements of his early compositions. ' The aim of this recording is to offer listeners a selection of colourful soundscapes that vary according to the different ensembles. The guitar is the star of this album and takes on new colours in combination with the flute and violin, as well as in guitar duos and trios. Margola's sonatas often provide opening movements that are diatonic and atonal, followed by lyrical cantabile second movements that culminate in sparkling third movements evoking a medieval or baroque feel. The guitar trio configuration features some of the composer's lesser-known works: Sonata (dC�281), the Sonata (dC�228) and Sonata II for three guitars (dC�234). The violin and guitar duo performs the Sonatina (dC 259) and Sonata (dC�754) (first recording). The one-movement Sonata's affinities with the Sonatina indicate that it was probably a preliminary sketch for the latter piece, with which it shares tonalities and several melodic ideas. To the flute and guitar duo are devoted Sonata IV (dC 191) and Sonata II (dC 197). Finally, the last two sonatas on this disc (dC 661 and dC 662) are for guitar duo. The unpublished Sonata (dC 661) was transcribed from an old copy of a manuscript with several parts that were almost illegible, making the transcribers' work a musical challenge that involved balancing notational accuracy with interpretive freedom, guided by a profound understanding of the composer's musical language. Other information: - Recorded September, October, November 2023, Saluzzo, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by the musicians and a profile of the ensemble - The Italian liner notes are available for download at www. Brilliantclassics. com - Franco Margola was a prominent Italian composer who has his musical roots in the 19th century, in particular in the cultural movement which was predominantly interested in instrumental music, as opposed to the opera. Franco's musical language is classicist, with clear formal structures and a leading role for the melody. While his oeuvre encompasses various genres, his works for guitar hold a distinct place in the repertoire, showcasing his innovative approach and mastery of composition. - Margola's compositions for guitar reflect a fusion of traditional Italian musical elements with modernist techniques, using a wide range of expressive possibilities, from lyrical melodies to intricate polyphony, all while maintaining a clear and idiomatic guitar writing style. His use of harmonies, rhythms, and textures adds depth and complexity to the guitar repertoire, earning him recognition among guitarists and composers alike. - This new recording presents chamber music in which the guitar plays a predominant role: from sonatas for three guitars to works for flute/guitar and violin/guitar: wonderfully attractive and expressive music! - Ensemble Counterpoint is a collective of young classical musicians committed to the research on the XX century repertoire, with the aim of rediscovering and revaluing precious gems of Italian music of the 20th century.

Wolf-Ferrari was a composer of great artistic merit, Italian by nationality but raised in Germany, unfairly forgotten and deserving of rediscovery. His works meld compositional and spiritual elements with a preference for melodic purity and smooth harmonies, a passion for clear and linear forms inspired by Classical-era Vienna, and a meticulous approach. His aversion to complexity and his love of clarity and simplicity - as far removed from the operatic verismo movement as from the experiments of the avant-garde - meant he was, in a certain sense, an isolated figure, yet he knew that, despite the nostalgia in his writing, he had his own vibrant and original voice. His writing for strings displays expert compositional technique and a thorough technical knowledge of the instruments. The youthful String Trio in B minor and the related String Trio in C minor are edited by Luca Incerti based on the manuscript held at the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich (Mus. Ms. 21366). The first trio is divided into three movements: Allegro, Larghetto and Scherzo (Allegro vivace). The second trio reuses the opening Allegro (raised to C minor) and Larghetto, adding a different ending in two new movements: Scherzo: Allegro molto and Adagio molto. The String Trio in A minor (Op.32) is divided into three movements - Allegro moderato, Pastorale (Andante tranquillo) and Allegro - and was written in 1945, during the composer's mature period. The String Quartet in A minor was composed in 1894 and has also been edited by Luca Incerti, based on another manuscript held in Munich (Mus. Ms. 23144-2). It comprises four movements: Allegro moderato, Adagio non troppo, Allegro vivacissimo and Allegro assai. The String Quartet in E minor is likewise split into four movements - Allegro, Andante cantabile, Capriccio (Allegro pesante) and Allegro - but it's date of composition is unknown. However, by contrast it certainly stems from Wolf-Ferrari's later years, when all the composer's unique artistic traits came to the fore. As this quartet makes clear, in the context of the early 20th-century avant-garde, Wolf-Ferrari provided an alluring return to Classicism, but it was his own personal interpretation of the style, rather than an attempt to restore it. His neoclassicism appears more modern today than it would have done to his contemporaries. The String Quintet (2 violas) in C is recorded from another Luca Incerti edition, based on individual parts published by Thomi-Berg. It was written in 1942 and therefore belongs to the composer's mature period. It has four movements: Allegro assai quasi presto, Larghetto, Prestissimo, and Molto mosso alla breve.

Over the course of a long but ultimately frustrated career as a late-Romantic lyric composer, Francesco Cilea ascribed to one credo above all: 'Be Italian'. In L'Arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur, above all, he created masterpieces of the new style of verismo which kept sung drama in Italian at the centre of wider notions of what opera means. Everything he wrote, from large-scale stage works, to chamber pieces to the salon songs and miniatures gathered here, expressed his quintessentially Italian voice and aesthetic philosophy. 'The real instrument of expression of the passions is the divine human voice,' he once remarked, 'with which no instrument can ever compete.' Thus, in complement to his career as an operatic composer, he wrote a small but exquisite collection of songs gathered here by artists with considerable experience in the field of neglected Italian art-song. This collection opens with the charming Romanza which Cilea composed at the age of 17, evidently under the spell of Bellini's Norma. The more complex harmony of 'Bionda larva' from three years later mirrors Cilea's development as a stage composer, about to launch his first opera, Gina. Every sung line here is calculated, as it was in Monteverdi's day, to heighten an appreciation of the text, and the emotions underlying it, with a madrigalian illustration which always colours and never obscures the words. There are expressions of heightened erotic passion alongside simple religious devotion - a typically Italian paradox. As interludes, David Boldrini plays four evocative miniatures, functioning essentially as songs without words. He and Lenny Lorenzani have made a previous collection of Cilea's songs, but this new Brilliant Classics album was recorded in 2023 and features a different selection of repertoire. - Francesco Cilea (1866-1950) went into history as the composer of one opera, Adrienne Lecouvreur. However, this late romantic Italian left a fine oeuvre of chamber and solo works, wonderfully evocative music, full of subtlety and finesse, in the style of early Debussy, studies in sonority and instrumental colours. - This new recording presents a selection of art songs and piano works. The songs are typically Italian in their simple, fluid, and elegant vocal melodies, "The real instrument of expression of the passions is the divine human voice, with which no instrument can ever compete" As Cilea himself said in an interview. - Beautifully performed by Lenny Lorenzani and David Boldrini.

One of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, George Frideric Handel was born in Germany but spent most of his career living in London. He was something of a celebrity in his day -- a status he enjoyed thanks to his prolific cultivation of opera. Also ranking among Handel's large vocal output are his cantatas, works that form the focus of this release.

The disc brings together two different versions of Handel's two lesser-known cantatas, and includes the first ever recording of the two versions of Mira Lilla gentile. Largely neglected until now, these latter works tell the story of a young man's unrequited love for Lilla, and while the earlier version contains a soprano solo alternating with a violin, the later version sees this instrument replaced by a cello. The second pair of cantatas comprises the anonymous La caduta di Icaro and Handel's Tra le fiamme HWV170 -- both of which use the same libretto by Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili. Here the CD switches from heartbreak to counsel against pride; with the text declaiming the legend of Icarus and Daedalus, Tra le fiamme is particularly striking for its rich assortment of instruments.

Soprano Valentina Varriale has been praised for her 'highly focused tone' (International Record Review, April 2011). Having studied at the Conservatorio di Musica San Pietro a Majella in Naples, she has since performed a variety of roles with numerous opera companies and has appeared as Zeza in a filmed version of Leonardo Leo's L'Alidoro. In her first recording for Brilliant classics, she is joined by members of MVSICA PERDVTA.

Other information:
- The World Premiere of Handel's Cantata "Mira Lilla gentile", recorded 2010--2012, Rome.
- World premiere recording of Mira Lilla gentile.
- Soprano Valentina Varriale is an upcoming star in the Early Music scene, she sings in opera productions of Jordi Savall and Ottavio Dantone, and has recently performed in the Festivals of Salzburg, Edinburgh and Dresden.
- Performed on original instruments.
- Contains booklet notes on each of the pieces.

The Quarterro Prometeo is an Italian ensemble founded in 1998, regarded as one of Italy’s finest string quartets, and now with several albums to their name. This new recording presents an unusual pairing of the complete string quartets of Szymanowski and Debussy. The release is an original coupling on disc-Debussy’s sole quartet is always paired with Ravel’s; But also a natural and pleasing one, serving to illuminate two lesser-known string quartets with an earlier masterpiece of the genre.

The work is performed here with Rossini's original instrumentation and also includes the hymn for soprano and piano 'O salutaris hostia', which is often omitted. As a world first, a bonus track 'O salutaris de campagne' is included. The four soloists are established operatic singers; among soprano Sandro Pastrana's string of awards are prizes at the Ottavio Ziino competition in Barcelona, and mezzo-soprano Gabriella Sborgi has appeared as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and also in The Rape of Lucretia, A Midsummer Night's Dream and L'enfant et les sortil�ges. Recent engagements of tenor Davide Giusti include the role of Alfredo in La traviata, and bass Carlo Lepore is something of a Rossini specialist, appearing regularly in roles such as Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola), and Basilio and Bartolo (Il barbiere di Siviglia). Rossini wrote his Petite Messe Solennelle in his old age, 30 years after his last opera. The work, for the unusual combination of 4-part chorus, vocal soloists, piano 4-hands and harmonium, is a unique blend of the comic and devotional, of superficiality and deep feeling. Because of the small instrumental forces the work is often performed, to great public success. Also included is the seldom performed Hymn O salutaris hostia, for soprano and piano. A world premiere is the Salutaris de campagne, added as a bonus track. The soloists on this new recording have won their spurs in the field of Italian opera, all of them seasoned Rossini singers. The excellent liner notes relate the history of the work and it's interpretation, the specifications of the instruments used, and biographies of the singers.

Masterpieces of Baroque piano literature, in critically acclaimed recordings by pianists with a fine sensibility for the 18th century. Recordings made between 2005 and 2023; new booklet essay; an ideal budget introduction to the world of the Baroque keyboard, full of elegant dances and virtuoso playing. This survey of Baroque composers ranges from the high-point of 18th-century keyboard writing, the Goldberg Variations of Bach, to little known gems such as the sonatas by Espona, Galuppi and Giustini. It places the three great masters of the Baroque - Bach, Handel and Rameau - in the context of their influential predecessor, Sweelinck, and then those composers such as Galuppi and Espona who write in a new, galant style which overlaps with the Classicism of Mozart. Some of the artists on these recordings are still in their 20s, having grown up with a culture of historically informed performance practice which they then bring to their handling of a modern piano. Others, such as Yuan Sheng and Wolfram-Schmitt Leonardy, have been playing these pieces for many decades, and bring to them a career's worth of experience in teasing out the meaning and rhetoric of 18th-century phrasing and harmony on an instrument which none of the composers ever encountered. Handel is represented not by the familiar Eight 'Great' Suites but by an imaginative collection of earlier suites. Scarlatti's fertile invention is generously celebrated with 35 of his sonatas. Bach predominates, naturally, with the Six Partitas and the Italian Concerto as well as the Goldbergs, thus representing the stylistic range of his output. Keyboard styles from all over mainland Europe make an appearance, in the Dutch/Italian nobility of Sweelinck, the Hispanic-Italian flavour of Scarlatti, the French accents of Bach and Handel, and native French of Rameau, and the exuberantly Italian flourishes and proto-operatic gestures of Galuppi and Giustini. There is something here for everyone.

Gottfried Grunewald was a successful opera singer in 18th-century Germany, based at the theatre in Hamburg for many years, but a familiar figure in German courts and theatres across Germany. When he died in 1739, the composer Christopher Graupner (his colleague in Darmstadt) destroyed most of Grunewald's music, according to an agreement they had apparently made. Only seven keyboard partitas are known to have survived to modern times, and they receive their first complete recording here in the spirited hands of Fernando de Luca, who has done so much to rescue forgotten names from obscurity with his albums for Brilliant Classics. The loss of Grunewald's output becomes especially regrettable once close attention is paid to these Parititas. They reveal a deep knowledge of the instrument's technique and a refined compositional taste. Stylistically close to German composers of the time such as Kuhnau and Fischer, they also bring to mind the suites composed in Germany by the young Handel (preceding the Eight Great Suites), and the music of the young Graupner. Grunewald shows some skill as a contrapuntalist within the restrictions of the suite genre. The preludes of these partitas are not uniform in form; for example, the Prelude in D minor incorporates broad arpeggiated chords, which begin and end a strict fugue but then dissolves into free motivic play. Another is purely figurative, a third mixes movement with short imitations. Grunewald's allemandes build up like intricate etudes, including one example constructed in an organistically contrapuntal manner. The courantes are interwoven with imitative passages, the sarabandes are melodically appealing, sometimes breathing in the spirit of Handel's nobility of gesture. The doubles and minuets almost give the impression of variations. Some pieces have strongly emphasised French rhythms, others avoid it completely. Potentially incomplete, but certainly striking, is the two-movement Fourth Suite, with it's spacious Allemande followed by an imposing Chaconne, presenting a complete contrast to the nine brief dances of the Fifth Suite, which find Grunewald at his most French-accented. Reviewing the recent set of the harpsichord music by Pierre-Thomas Dufour on Brilliant, Fanfare noted: 'De Luca does a fine job in his performance, with a good sense of phrasing and registration.' - Gottfried Grunewald (1673 -1739) was a German opera singer, harpsichordist and composer. Nothing is known about his youth and training. From 1703 he was a singer and composer at the Oper am Gansemarkt in Hamburg. From the beginning of 1709, he worked as Vice-Kapellmeister at the court of Johann Georg von Sachsen-Weissenfels, where he married Johann Philipp Krieger's daughter. From 1711, he worked as vice-chapelmaster at the court in Darmstadt as Christoph Graupner's deputy. Around 1717, several journeys as a pantaleon virtuoso are documented. He remained active at court until his death. - Of his works, only seven partitas for harpsichord have survived, written in the style customary for the time. The suites consist of the usual order of Prelude-Allemande-Courante-Sarabande-Gavotte-Menuet-Gigue. - "too many performers confine themselves to the standard repertoire. Fortunately, there are artists who look beyond the obvious; Fernando de Luca is one of them and we should be thankful for him. de Luca is a good interpreter; I very much enjoyed his performances, they are as differentiated as possible, also in his treatment of the tempi. He has the advantage of a fine instrument, a copy of a Blanchet of 1754. That is as 'authentic' as one could wish for." Thus wrote Musicweb International about de Luca's recording of harpsichord works by Foucquet.