Among the most prized exhibits of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, stands the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, the largest surviving anthology of Elizabethan and Jacobean keyboard music. Dating from a period during which theory and notation were undergoing radical change, the collection was probably compiled by Francis Tregian and falls just short of 300 compositions. These include a number by William Byrd, the foremost composer of the Elizabethan age.

Bringing together all of Byrd's works as featured in the anthology, this release contains many sets of variations -- including the infamous Walsingham MB8, which comprises no less than 22 embellished statements of the theme. The piece ranks among the most virtuosic of the composer's keyboard compositions, and appears alongside several instrumental dances such as the Pavan and Galliard. Often modal in flavour, these abound in rhythmic energy and continuity -- important features considering the static harmony and repetitive nature of the material. The Carman's Whistle also makes an appearance, a piece first popularised by Arthur Rubinstein during his historical recital programmes and which was later arranged by Percy Grainger.

A leading expert in the field of early music, Pieter-Jan Belder has recorded widely for Brilliant Classics over the years and returns once again to perform this illustrious programme of works. The release is an engaging follow-up to the first volume in the series, extending its instrumental range to include performances on a 1604 virginal by Ruckers as well as a chest organ, and comprises essential listening for keyboardists and early music aficionados alike.

Other information:
- Second volume of a unique project: the first complete recording of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, dedicated to William Byrd.
- Recorded 19 & 20 October 2011, Westvestkerk Schiedam (CD1); 26 May & 1 June 2012, Doopsgezinde gemeente Dordrecht (CD2).
- A great achievement of Pieter-Jan Belder, one of the most respected and frequently recorded keyboard (harpsichord, clavichord, virginal, organ, hammerklavier) players of today. His recordings of Bach, Rameau, CPE Bach and Scarlatti (complete Sonatas!) have met with great critical acclaim in the international press.
- Belder plays a unique original Ruckers instrument from 1604, the details of which are described in the extensive liner notes in the booklet.
- Includes detailed notes on the history of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and the 1604 virginal used in the recording, notes on William Byrd's contribution to the anthology, and an artist biography
- Volume 1 was issued on BC 94303.

Most of Porpora's cantatas, veritable master classes of vocal composition - are found in the 1735 collection, published in London and dedicated to Frederic, Prince of Wales. This disc, however, also presents three of an unknown date; while Venticel che tra la frondi and Il Vulcano can be traced back to Porpora's time in Venice (the former in particular contains similarities to his Venetian sacred music), Il Ritiro is likely to be the most modern, carefully reconstructed from a collation of various possible manuscripts. At any rate, these cantatas are a testimony to the composer's reputation as one of the most important and influential musicians of the 18th century. Recorded in April 2012, Villa San Fermo, Lonigo, Vicenza, Italy. The Italian elite band "I Virtuosi Italiani" play original instruments. Maria Laura Martorana possesses all the qualities required for an effective performance of this music: effortless and brilliant vocal technique, capable of the most daunting vocal acrobatics, and a passionate and dramatic temper, conveying the strong emotions expressed in these Baroque Cantatas.

Brilliant Classics proudly presents 5 more titles in the exciting 5-album sets series: QUINTESSENCE, attractively priced compact box sets containing essential core classical repertoire in outstanding performances. Aimed at attracting both the discerning classical connoisseur and the classical newcomer it presents the pillars of classical music: Dvorák Complete Piano Music, Tchaikovsky Complete Ballets, J.S. Bach Famous Concertos, Handel Complete Organ Concertos and Locatelli Complete Violin Concertos. World class performers include Inna Poroshina, Igor Ruhadze, Christian Schmitt, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Pieter-Jan Belder, Musica Amphion, Erik Bosgraaf, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and others. The fresh and colorful artwork is eye-catching while the booklet contains liner notes in English. A great series at an unbeatable price! The present release features Pieter-Jan Belder performing Bach’s most famous concertos.

LISZT Piano Concertos: No. 1 in E?; No. 2 in A. Totentanz • Nelson Freire (pn); Michel Plasson, cond; Dresden P • BRILLIANT 93846 (52:47)


Rehearing these performances a dozen years on, my initial reaction (see Fanfare 19:4) stands: “With Plasson hand-in-glove, Freire takes everything with an ease which skims airily, mercurially through Liszt’s fantasy—a performance not unlike many other fine, and some great, ones in its heroic dash set off by lambent lyricism, but distinguished by consistent effervescence. Even the Second Concerto’s march-like allegro decisio episode is, without holding back, managed with such finesse that it seems of a piece with what has gone before rather the usual vulgar eruption.” Amid the ongoing plethora of the Big Three—the concertos and Totentanz —in recorded performances, this 1994 title is a standout, a refreshment. Sound is concert hall (actually, the Lukaskirche, Dresden) panoramic, but still packing plenty of punch: spacious, yet detailed. Recommended.


FANFARE: Adrian Corleonis

I'm very happy,' remarks Michael Volle in a booklet interview accompanying this reissue, which gathers together the three albums of Brahms Lieder he made in the spring of 2007. 'Normally if you listen to a recording you would like to redo it immediately, because you discover so many mistakes or things you would have done better. But this one, it's OK. Recordings will not always make money or sell a lot of discs, but for an artist, they can be a wonderful memory of a certain period in your life. ' For Klassik. Com, these recordings were deemed a 'beautiful achievement': especially in 'Es tr�umte mir' and 'Unbewegte laue Luft' Op. 57 Nos. 3 and 8: as exciting as it is atmospheric, reaching a climax of subtly varied timbre in the Vier ernste Ges�nge. Volle also scores highly in Die sch�ne Magelone. ' Volle is joined here by his brother Hartmut for the recitation of Tieck's complementary prose text, which many recordings omit. Klassik. Com also drew particular attention to the sympathetic partnership of Volle with the mezzo-soprano Stephanie Ir�nyi and Volle, 'perfectly coordinated' in the Four Duets Op. 28 and a selection from the Deutsche Volkslieder WoO33, from which Brahms took particular pleasure late in life. Volle's 'warm, sympathetic baritone' (Gramophone) and personal conviction illuminate all the repertoire here, which is drawn from throughout the composer's song-writing career. 'When I sing Brahms,' reflects Volle, 'I feel the deep musicality and also humanity and maybe also unfulfilled love he was looking for. Like Schubert he puts his feelings in the music and it takes everything from me when I do it. For me he's a really great Lieder composer.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s interest in the organ would seem to be fairly limited, at least judging by the number of pieces he composed for the instrument. The reasons for this attitude could be personal and professional, but could also reflect the changing affections and the new sensibility of the period, since during his lifetime the organ underwent a phase of relative decline. Indeed, following the acme reached by Johann Sebastian Bach, the instrument sank into a phase of neglect in Germany during the second half of the 1700s. It was only in the early 19th century, in the name of Bach, that it once more became the focus of interest and enthusiasm, but it may also be that the son wished not to draw from the well which so resplendently bore his father’s name, preferring instead to tap new springs.

In the second edition of his Neues Lexicon, Ernst Ludwig Gerber, musicologist and court organist at Sonderhausen, claimed that C.P.E. Bach wrote the set of six organ sonatas Wq70 during the most fruitful period of his career. From the outset the sonatas met with widespread favour, with their galant style, full of good humour and energy. Even the fugues proceed along unlikely routes with an unbuttoned relish for episodic characterization that might have confounded, not to say horrified, old Johann Sebastian. The chorale preludes are naturally more clean-cut and sombre but they still take the opportunity for colourful musical illustration of their Biblical themes.

Luca Scandali is an Italian organist who won, among other accolades, first prize at the Twelfth Paul Hofhaimer International Organ Competition in Innsbruck, a prize awarded only four times during the competition’s 40-year history.

Other information:
- Recorded in 2013.
- This release contains the complete music for organ by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a relatively modest output, no doubt because of the decline of popularity the instrument in the 2nd half of the 18th century, and because of his new style, which is less dependent on rigorous counterpoint (the organ’s forte) than on a gallant and transparent melodic lines.
- The six organ sonatas are vintage CPE: full of good humour and the urge to experiment, brimming with energy and wit.
- Luca Scandali is one of Italy’s foremost organists, with an impressive discography of over 20 CD’s, for quality labels CPO, Pierre Verany, Tactus and Brilliant.
- The booklet contains excellent liner notes by the artist, plus full organ specifications.
- Booklet contains scholarly notes by Luca Scandali and full organ specification.

In 18th-century Italian opera the solo aria - a form of musical expression held in high favor by Humanist culture (owing to it's close link with the word); was the main, indeed almost the exclusive, vehicle for expressing the characters' feelings and emotions. And the presentation of different expressive situations is surely one of the most characteristic features of Italian opera. Unlike it's French counterpart, Italian opera showed little interest in any kind of realistic representation of the plot. Instead it focused on the music. Or more specifically, it concentrated on the capacity of the human voice to arouse emotions, of which love is naturally one of the most frequently encountered. As a result, the diverse facets of love (right down to it's idealization or to it's sacrifice for reasons of state) form the standard fare of opera plots. It is something of a commonplace to consider 18th-century opera as little more than a battleground for the display of virtuoso singers. But it would be truer to say that the singers became the unchallenged masters of the opera stage precisely because their superb technique and vocal skills made it possible to highlight the emotions and give musical life to the 'affects'; in other words, to the different states of mind of the various characters. It is no coincidence that the very etymology of the term 'aria' (from the Latin aer) is linked to the concept of a musical 'mode', in the sense of a 'manner of singing'.

This third installment in the Schubert Complete String Quartet series by the German Diogenes Quartet presents two early quartets, D18 and D 68, as well as the 5 Menuets and 5 German Dances D89, originally composed for string quartet. The previous issues in this series have met with highly positive critical acclaim, praising the quartet’s intense interpretations and the astonishing unity in their ensemble.

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach is certainly the least famous composing son of the great Johann Sebastian. He spent his life at the court of Bückeburg in Germany as court composer. His style may be loosely described as a fusion between his two brothers Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian: Galante Stil occasionally infused with daring harmonic and dynamic effects.His symphonies pre-shadow those of Joseph Haydn, and offer delightful Early-Classical orchestral music of high quality and entertainment.

Founded in 1979 by members of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Neues Bachisches Collegium Leipzig has made the family of Bach its primary focus, delivering assured and committed performances of this repertoire for over 30 years. Their performance of these three symphonies by J.C.F. Bach is no exception, tracing with appropriate delicacy and vigour, under the esteemed directorship of Burkhard Glaetzner (one of Germany's most esteemed oboists), the various career stages of a composer whose oeuvre remains sadly overshadowed by that of his more illustrious brothers Wilhelm Friedemann and Johann Christian.

Performed with gusto and commitment by the former East German elite ensemble Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum, conducted by oboist Burkhard Glaetzner.

A gem, licensed from the rich catalogue of Berlin Classics.

Other information:

– Booklet includes comprehensive notes on the music.

Little is known about the childhood of Nicola Fiorenza (1700c-64), except that taught at the Conservatory of S. Maria di Loreto in his home city of Naples from 1742-62, from where he was dismissed for allegedly mistreating pupils after repeated complaints about his rather draconian teaching methods.

His surviving works show him to be his own man, cultivating a style that is a skillful blend of Venetian, Neopolitan and French Baroque styles. He was also a very skilled exponent of counterpoint. His music is certainly stands out from the mainstream of late Italian baroque. Fiorenza's four concertos are coupled on this disc with a delightful work by another little known Neopolitan composer -- Giovanni Battista Mele (1694?-after1752). His lively and cleverly composed concerto for recorder and strings is a real discovery, and is his only known concerto.

Recording made in 2008

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!

This is a very special release as it is the first of its kind: Yiddish music from the Baroque era. “The Book of the Rejoicing Soul,” is an ancient Ashkenazi songbook, written by Rabbi Elkhanan Kirchen and published in the beginning of the 18th century in Bavaria. It contains songs of morality for the Jewish home, describing in witty rhymes the customs of Jewish holidays, the Jewish traditions and the joy of believing in God. The music notation is sparse and diverse, spanning from pure Baroque polyphony to spicy Jewish folk tunes. On this new recording we hear arrangements by the band leader Avishai Fisz, who created an irresistible instrumental ensemble of violin, theorbo, cello, harp, recorder, krummhorn, guitar, double-bass, and percussion instruments, Avishai Fisz himself singing the solo voice. This is a fascinating evocation of rich Jewish life and culture, played and sung with obvious zest and enjoyment by the Israeli group Di Tsaytmashin.

The start of an exciting series on Brilliant Classics: the Complete Keyboard Sonatas by Kozeluch. Leopold Kozeluch was in his time a highly regarded, even famous composer, on a par with C.P.E. Bach and even Mozart. His keyboard sonatas, although relatively modest in length, share the same qualities with those of his illustrious contemporaries: strong focus on melody and melodious figuration, vivid and brilliant accompinaments and a genuine expression of feeling, both happy and dramatic. His 50 keyboard sonatas are a true treasure trove of hidden pianistic gems.

Can one unpretentious little tune ever have been more honoured with compositional virtuosity than the little waltz which the then 39 year old publisher and impresario Anton Diabelli publicised and invited all the notable composers of the day to embroider and embellish with their own mastery? What seems remarkable now is how many chose to respond to Diabelli’s offer-cum-publicity-trick, 51 of them in all, not only Beethoven but the 11 year old Liszt – perhaps already wised up to the ways of the nascent music industry – and plenty of names that would now be considered also-rans in music history: Mozart’s son, Franz Xaver; the counterpoint teacher of Schubert and Bruckner, Simon Sechter; Friedrich Dionysus Weber, no relation of Carl Maria; and these are some of the names more noted in their own right.

Here’s a rare chance to hear their efforts in context with the monument but for which they would likely have been altogether forgotten, the 33 variations then elaborated by Beethoven who apparently refused to contribute to the picnic-basket of the original project but determined to make a magnum opus of his own from the tune, which scholars have declared to be his most adventurous work in terms of harmonic innovation (which is saying something).

Pier Paolo Vincenzi has undertaken his own scholarly research for this new recording, relying not only on the standard edition of the 51 collated variations but a more rarely encountered 1983 edition which offers two more variations than are usually found. Vincenzi’s discography on Brilliant Classics already includes a valuable set of the complete piano music by Wagner. - Brilliant Classics

This ingeniously programmed concept-album contains no original music by Paisiello but rather presents a selection of works which take as their inspiration his best-known aria. 'Nel cor pi� non mi sento' is a duet from his 1788 opera L'amor contrastato, ossia La molinara - generally referred to as La molinara and, in an intriguing twist of history, translated in to German as Die sch�ne M�llerin. But in fact Schubert is one of the few noted variation-composers absent here. Paganini's later set of variations is a staple of the virtuoso-violin repertoire, but this enterprising trio of musicians have looked to lesser-known treatments of the duet, which attained great popularity on account of it's simple but winning melody, so suitable for elaboration. Bortolazzi was well-known in his day as a superb mandolin player, and composed prodigiously for his instrument just as Mauro Giuliani did for the guitar, with an intimate understanding of it's technical and expressive possibilities. Wanhal's variations were originally composed for a melody instrument such as violin or flute, but it has been arranged specially for the trio here. Beethoven's piano-only variation set is relatively well-known and has been recorded many times, but the smaller works for mandolin and fortepiano are no less engaging and have received little attention: this period-instrument performance almost has the field to itself. Michael Salka plays an original 1820 B�hm fortepiano, Alon Sariel an 1850 mandolin and Izhar Elias a Guadagnini guitar from 1812, less than two decades after the works recorded here were composed. This fascinating release is completed by Hummel's 'Grande Sonata' for mandolin and piano and an extensive Pot-pourri for guitar and piano, which gathers up several themes from hit operas of the day, not including 'Nel cor pi� non mi sento'. This original concept CD presents one of the most popular opera arias in early-19th century Vienna, "Nel cor piu non mi sento", from Paisiello's opera L'amor contrastato, as the basis of variation works by a variety of composers: Bortolazzi, Hummel, Giuliani, Wanhal and Beethoven. The aria, in it's powerful simplicity, lends itself very well for the variation form and it was gratefully used as a means of instrumental display of brilliance and invention. The basic instrumental ensemble used on this recording is mandolin, guitar and fortepiano, fashionable instruments at that time. The musicians play on historic instruments: Alon Sariel plays a 1850 mandolin, Izhar Elias plays a 1812 Guadagnini guitar and the B�hm 1820 fortepiano is played by Michael Tsalka. The excellent liner notes are written by the musicians.