John Stanley was born in London on 17 January 1712. A precocious musician, by the age of nine he was playing the organ (probably as an occasional deputy) at All Hallows, Bread Street. When the titular organist there - the composer and harpsichordist William Babell, a former pupil of Handel - died on 23 September 1723, an eleven year-old Stanley was appointed in his place. At the age of 14 he was chosen as organist at St. Andrew's, Holborn and at the age of 17 became the youngest person ever to obtain the BMus degree from Oxford University. In 1734 he was appointed organist to the Society of the Inner Temple, a position he held until his death. As a musician whose primary responsibilities were liturgical, John Stanley was required to accompany the service music every Sunday, and also to improvise voluntaries at various points in the service. A voluntary was a piece improvised extemporaneously and, prior to the 19th century, in the Church of England there were two principal forms of voluntary. These were a First Voluntary - generally an introduction and a movement or two for solo stops such as the trumpet or cornet - placed between the psalms and the first lesson at Morning and Evening Prayer, and a Second Voluntary - generally an introduction and fugue - at the end of the service. John Stanley's primary responsibility in his sixty-three years as organist at these various churches, was to improvise a voluntary before the first lesson (comprising an introduction and an additional movement or two for the solo stops) and an introduction and fugue at the end of the service. Stanley's improvisations were reportedly so fine that on Sundays none other than Handel himself, who attended St. George's, Hanover Square, would sometimes leave church early and rush over to the Temple Church to hear Stanley's final voluntary. Most voluntaries were never written down as compositions, and very few voluntaries for organ were published in England before Stanley's Op.5 of 1748. But written-out voluntaries did serve two main purposes: first, they were often used for recital purposes, as for example when organists like Stanley played at the dedication of a new instrument; second, they were widely used as exercises for apprentices or organ students, or for church organists new to their roles. Some of the manuscript collections produced for this purpose have survived. One important collection of this kind is the so-called Southgate Manuscript, a collection of 64 voluntaries in the library of the Royal College of Organists in London. This seems to have been compiled around the year 1750 in order to instruct choristers of the Chapel Royal who were learning the organ. This manuscript contains several of the early organ works of John Stanley. - Recorded June 2024 in Rocca Massima, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Romeo Ciuffa, organ specification with stop list and a profile of the organist - John Stanley (1712-1786) was a prominent English composer, organist, and violinist of the 18th century. Blinded in an accident at the age of two, Stanley displayed prodigious musical talent from an early age. He studied under Maurice Greene and, by age 17, was appointed organist at All Hallows, Bread Street. He later held prestigious posts at the Temple Church and the Chapel Royal, where he succeeded William Boyce as Master of the King's Band of Musicians. - Among Stanley's most celebrated works are his three volumes of Organ Voluntaries, Op.5 through Op.7, published between 1748 and 1754. These voluntaries reflect both the elegance of the late Baroque style and a growing Classical influence. They were designed for performance during Anglican church services, typically as preludes, interludes, or postludes. The voluntaries are structured in multiple short movements and frequently feature contrasting textures, such as lyrical slow introductions followed by lively fugues or trumpet tunes. Stanley made imaginative use of the organ's stop combinations, often specifying solos for trumpet, cornet, or flute stops, adding variety and color. - Played by Pietro Delle Chiaie at the Inzoli-Bonizzi organ of the St Michael Archangel Church, Rocca Massima, Italy. He made a successful recording of the complete organ music by Carl Czerny for Brilliant Classics.

Roffredo Caetani (1871-1961) prince of Bassiano, last duke of Sermoneta, composer and patron of the arts, developed a marked musical talent from an early age. A decisive factor in this respect was certainly the influence of his father, a close friend of Franz Liszt, who in turn would be an exceptional godfather and, later, teacher to Roffredo. Caetani completed his Sonata for Violin and Piano in 1898, and the work was first performed by the great Turinese violinist Teresina Tua and pianist Francesco Bajardi. The Sonata's three movements are decidedly broad and there is a particular evocation of the Baroque in the Adagio and Finale, as in Ferruccio Busoni's Second Sonata for violin and piano in E minor, Op.36. The first movement begins with a brief, slow and expressive introduction, almost enigmatic, somewhat reminiscent of the great Sonatas of the classical period (such as Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata), and then it gives way, in an almost impetuous manner, to the Allegro, full of themes following one on another, urged on by a pressing rhythm. In the Adagio, counterpoint is much more than a technique, it becomes an expressive tool. Written in ABA ternary form, the central part of which has a faster tempo (Pi� andante), the second movement consists of a combination of elegiac chants entrusted to the violin with chromatic counterpoint to the piano. The Finale of the Sonata is a three-voice fugue whose theme is developed from the very first notes of the movement and whose character is incisive and brilliant. Guido Alberto Fano (1875-1961) was an Italian composer, conductor and pianist of Jewish origin, a survivor of the Holocaust. He began his musical studies with Vittorio Orefice, later undertaking piano studies under Cesare Pollini. In 1894, he was invited by Giuseppe Martucci to be his piano and composition student at Bologna, where Fano graduated in 1897. Fano's Fantasia Sonata for violin and piano in D minor, composed in 1893, is one of the Paduan composer's first chamber works. It was later revised by the composer in 1941, during the dark period of his escape from Nazi persecution. The first movement - Contemplativo e sognante - is characterised by a plaintive thematic motif, emphasised by repeated crescendos and diminuendos in the middle of each bar, as if evoking a Jewish folk song. In the second movement, Andante sostenuto, baroque writing of an intimate and spiritual character is evoked. The piano is entrusted with an elaborate counterpoint with written flourishes that support and incorporate the violin line. The third movement, Misterioso e moderatamente mosso (added in the version of 1941) is nothing but a perpetual motion entrusted to the violin taking it's cue from the piano part of the Allegro molto (third movement version of 1893). The Finale, Allegro molto (added in the version of 1941), is a natural continuation, but it transfers the virtuosic character to the piano. The violin is then free to develop the cantabile and passionate theme set out in the first movement, reversing it's first three notes. - Recorded May 2024, Polla (Salerno), Italy - Bilingual booklet in English and Italian contains liner notes by Ludovica Del Bagno and a profile of the duo - Mauro Tortorelli plays a Giovanni Guidanti violin (Bologna, 1730) - The violin sonatas of Roffredo Caetani and Guido Alberto Fano, though lesser-known in the broader canon of chamber music, reflect the rich cultural and musical milieu of early 20th-century Italy. Both composers were deeply rooted in the Romantic tradition while also responding to the stylistic shifts of their time, and their violin sonatas reveal a blend of lyricism, structural clarity, and expressive depth. - Roffredo Caetani (1871-1961), a nobleman, composer, and pupil of Franz Liszt, brought a refined sensibility to his music. His Violin Sonata, composed in the early 20th century, is characterized by lush textures and a lively dialogue between violin and piano, offering glimpses of impressionistic color amid the Brahmsian density. - Guido Alberto Fano (1875-1961), a pianist, conductor, and close associate of Giuseppe Martucci, likewise embraced a Romantic idiom deeply influenced by the Germanic tradition. His Violin Sonata is notable for it's dramatic scope and contrapuntal rigor. Fano weaves complex motivic development with a keen sense of melodic invention, balancing virtuosity and lyricism. The piano part often assumes an orchestral role, supporting and sometimes challenging the violin in a vibrant interplay. - Played by the Gran Duo Italiano: Mauro Tortorelli and Angela Meluso, whose highly important and valuable discography for Brilliant Classics includes works by Saint-Saens, Santorsola, D'Ambrosio, Santoliquido, Sevcik, Auer, Milhaud, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and others.

Andrey Osipovich Sychra (1773-1850) was born in Vilnius in 1773. As a nobleman, he was well-educated and played the guitar, harp, violin and piano masterfully. Sychra concentrated most of his creative energy on developing a playing technique and a repertoire for the seven-string guitar (tuned to a G major chord), which became known as the Russian guitar. No later than 1810, Sychra moved to St Petersburg, where he found fame and left a mark on history as the patriarch of the Russian guitar. In 1817-1845, when Sychra was at his most prolific, he created his masterpieces Four Exercises, Grand Fantasia on Motifs from the Opera Der Freischutz, Fantasia Dedicated to Count Lunin and Variations on the Russian Folk Song "Amidst the Flat Valley", among others. Another important contribution Sychra made to the seven-string guitar repertoire was through his transcriptions of widely popular Western European and Russian music by Mozart, Pleyel, Haydn, Beethoven and etc. These played an important role in the creation of the general concert repertoire in 19th-century Russia. Sychra's transcriptions for ensembles with guitar were very popular among amateur musicians. The second section of this programme mainly contains Sychra's transcriptions for various instrumental ensembles. Ensembles of two identical guitars, and those with violin or flute, were most popular in Italy, Austria, Germany and other European countries of the 19th century. Sychra's contribution was that he also introduced guitars tuned up by a second, minor third (terz) and fourth (quart), which then became a guitar consort commonly used by Russian performers and composers. Today, the uniquely rich Russian culture of the 19th century is an integral part of the cultural heritage of modern civilisation, in which the Russian seven-string guitar occupies it's well-deserved place. The rich and diverse legacy of A.O. Sychra, as part of this culture, largely reflects artistic trends of his time, while his personal influence on the history of the guitar in Russia was as significant and important as the artistically valuable repertoire that he created for the seven-string guitar. - Recorded MONTH YEAR in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Aynur Begutov and profiles of the musicians - Aynur Begutov plays seven-string guitars by Ivan Krasnoshekov (1855), Fedor Arhuzen (1890, 1891), Michail Eroshkin (1909) and Igor Budantsev (2021) - Andrey Osipovich Sychra (1773-1850) was an important figure in the history of classical guitar, particularly within the Russian Empire. Born in Vilnius, he began his musical journey as a harpist before turning his focus to the guitar-a relatively new and evolving instrument at the time. Sychra became one of the first virtuoso guitarists and composers to adopt and promote the seven-string Russian guitar, which distinguished itself from the more common six-string Spanish guitar by it's tuning and resonant sound. - Sychra wrote over a thousand pieces for the seven-string guitar, including preludes, etudes, variations, and arrangements of popular melodies and folk tunes. His works combined technical sophistication with lyrical expressiveness, helping to establish a serious repertoire for the instrument. As a performer, he was highly respected for his virtuosity and expressiveness, and his concerts contributed significantly to the guitar's popularity in 19th-century Russia. - As an influential teacher Sychra laid the foundation for a Russian school of guitar playing. His method books and pedagogical approach influenced a generation of guitarists, and he played a crucial role in legitimizing the guitar as an instrument suitable for concert performance and academic study. - Played by Russian guitarist Aynur Begutov, seconded by singers Julia Ziganshina and Anna Halldorsdottir, Asiya Gareeva and Valeriy Ksenofontov. - Aynur Begutov successfully recorded a 3-CD set with guitar music by Sergei Rudnev.

A new and complete survey of the attractive body of cello sonatas which, in his day, helped to make Antonio Caldara a Viennese rival to the fame of Antonio Vivaldi in Venice. Born in Venice as the son of a violinist, Caldara grew up as a chorister at the Basilica di San Marco, and won important posts in Mantua, Rome and Barcelona, as a maestro di capella to royal courts. But it was his move to Vienna during the 1710s which secured his name and his fortune. Becoming Vice-Kapellmeister to the Imperial Court in 1716, Caldara introduced the late Venetian style to Central Europe, and it's influence remained a determining factor in both church music and opera as well as instrumental music until long after his death in 1736. Through sacred works such as the oratorio Maddalena al piedi di Cristo, Caldara has won a following on record in the modern era. However, his surviving output of instrumental music has remained largely unexplored. Publishing his Op.1 Trio Sonatas in 1688, Caldara refers to himself as a 'musico di violoncello', and there can be no doubt from this collection that he knew his way around the instrument. They were composed between 22 April and 26 July 1735: Caldara's sheer facility has perhaps told against him, with a total output of over three thousand separate works. But he knew his craft, and melody seems to have come readily to him. A few Lezioni (Nos. 43, 23 & 1) from Caldara's published instruction method for learning the cello are included as preludes to Sonatas Nos. 8, 10 and 12. Most of the sonatas belong to the four-movement 'sonata da chiesa' form, but Caldara also used the three-movement archetype which became increasingly standard. There is no shortage of opportunities for virtuosic display, as well as for lyricism. These recordings are made by musicians immersed in the Italian late-Baroque world. In it's expanded form, L'Arte dell' Arco has made much praised recordings of Haydn and Vivaldi for Brilliant Classics, including a comprehensive box of Vivaldi's Concertos Opp. 1-12. These Italian musicians speak and sing Caldara's music with unforced fluency. - Antonio Caldara (1670-1736), an Italian Baroque composer, was born in Venice, where he was a chorister in the famous San Marco, with Legrenzi as his teacher. He soon spread his wings across Europe and held several important posts in Mantua, the Spanish court in Barcelona, Rome and eventually the post of Kapellmeister at the Imperial Court in Vienna. Caldara left a substantial oeuvre, consisting of instrumental music in the tradition of Corelli, sacred music and operas. - Caldara's sonatas for cello and basso continuo exemplify the transition from the late Baroque style toward the emerging galant aesthetic. These works are clearly written by a master of the instrument, as Caldara evidently was. The sonatas typically follow a four-movement structure, alternating slow and fast tempos, in the tradition of the sonata da chiesa. They blend lyrical, cantabile lines with virtuosic passages, showing the cello's agility and warm tone. - Played by one of Italy's foremost "Early Music" cellists, Francesco Galligioni, playing with fellow members of the ensemble L'Arte dell'Arco. He successfully recorded the complete cello concertos by Vivaldi, works by Dall'Abaco, sonatas by Lanzetti and others.

The key to Buxtehude's trio sonatas, both for performers and for listeners, is an awareness of the stylus fantasticus which German composers of the late 17th and early 18th centuries developed in response to the new freely inventive style of Italian composers such as Claudio Merulo and Girolamo Frescobaldi. 'It is the most free and unrestrained method of composing,' wrote one contemporary theorist. 'It is bound to nothing, neither to any words nor to a melodic subject, instituted to display genius and to teach the hidden design of harmony and the ingenious composition of harmonic phrases and fugues.' The seven sonatas in each of these collections, published in Hamburg in 1696, offer a continuous succession of short movements, up to eight per sonata, which alternate between slow and fast tempi, and improvisatory and contrapuntal textures, dominated by a dazzling array of ostinato variations which embed the melodies in the listener's consciousness. We encounter witty solos, dialogues and conversations, sublime suspensions, jaunty syncopations and occasional excursions into strange and modal harmony. The expressive range is accordingly wide, venturing in Op.1 No.6 into a D minor realm of darkness and desperation. The musicians on this new recording of Buxtehude's trio sonatas are experienced and skilful practitioners of Baroque style, with an impressive catalogue of albums on Brilliant Classics to their credit. Valerio Losito has recorded the violin sonatas of Scarlatti, Telemann and Tessarini, among others, while Simone Stella has made complete surveys of the organ and harpsichord output by Froberger and Pachelbel - 'performed with natural flair, especially with respect to clarifying counterpoint' (Gramophone). Simone Stella introduces these fascinating works, milestones in the history of German-Baroque chamber music, with an extensive booklet essay. This is 'music full of lyrically delicate, sorrowful, and dramatic emotions,' he says, 'as well as melodious, harmonically gratifying, and full of vitality, a world of sound that consecrates him as a unique genius in the Pantheon of Music.' - Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637-1707) was a prominent German-Danish composer and organist of the Baroque period, renowned for his influence on later composers such as J.S. Bach and Handel. Best known for his sacred vocal music and virtuosic organ works, Buxtehude also wrote a substantial body of chamber music. - Published in 1694 and 1696 respectively, Buxtehude's Trio Sonatas comprise two sets of seven sonatas each. On this recording they are played with one violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord. These works represent a blend of German counterpoint and Italianate style. The sonatas are notable for their variety of forms, including fugal sections, dance movements, and expressive slow passages, the inventive use of harmony and rhythmic vitality reflecting the lively spirit of the early Baroque. The Op.1 and 2 sonatas are among the earliest significant instrumental works in Northern Germany, and they contributed to the development of the sonata genre. - Played by three foremost representatives of the Italian Historically Informed Performance Practice: Valerio Losito, Bettina Hoffmann (viola da gamba) and Simone Stella. Valerio Losito successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics works by Tessarini, Veracini, Dal Barba, Telemann and Alessandro Scarlatti.

'Raptly revelatory and deeply communicative' (Fanfare): the earlier volumes of this Beethoven sonata cycle by Giovanni Bellucci have received an enthusiastic welcome in the international press, for the Italian pianist's depth of insight and his individual, dynamic response to this 'New Testament' of the keyboard. Now the newly recorded late sonatas are added to the previous two volumes to present a modern cycle, at a super-budget price, to set alongside distinguished pianists of former generations. The recordings have been made in the superb acoustics of the Salle de Musique at La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland - the source of several previous and notable Beethoven recordings such as Claudio Arrau's late and magisterial address to most of the sonatas, on Philips. For this recording, Bellucci himself has acted as recording producer, assisted by sound engineering from Fabio Ferri, and the result is a sonata cycle of remarkable interpretative integrity, tracing in the most vivid terms Beethoven's evolution as a composer, from 18th-century rebel to 19th-century visionary. In this way the new set joins Bellucci's recordings of the nine symphonies as transcribed by Liszt, and the piano concertos, as a complete and artistically satisfying portrait of the composer. This box of sonatas is enhanced by an extensive introduction to the oeuvre by Bellucci, who discusses Beethoven in biographical and spiritual as well as musical terms. 'What exactly is the momentous decision that must be addressed by anyone wishing to perform Beethoven in the 21ist century?' asks Bellucci. 'In my view there can be no neglecting the life-giving flexibility of rhythm, a pliancy that eludes codification. Such flexibility calls for a deep understanding of musical syntax as well as perfect psychophysical coordination' - and in this regard he places himself in a distinguished interpretative tradition leading back to Artur Schnabel. The critics have agreed: 'Bellucci has a way through his approach to rhythm that makes the music inhale and exhale, rise and fall, in a totally natural way.. [that] transcended considerations of technical execution, the exquisite tone Bellucci draws from his Model D Steinway, and the exceptionally beautiful recording.,' (Fanfare). - This 9-CD set marks the completion of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas by Giovanni Bellucci. - Bellucci's Beethoven is highly personal, yet deeply searching for the meaning of the notes. His playing is free, with a strong sense of rhetoric and improvisation, adhering nevertheless strictly to the score and it's intentions. The result is fresh, exhilarating and illuminating, letting us marvel at the originality and genius of the music. Bellucci's humane vision of the music relates to Beethoven's own statement: "From the heart, may it return into the heart". - "Exhilarating, brilliant.never a dull moment.grandiosity of vision.", as Fanfare wrote enthusiastically. - Giovanni Bellucci is one of the most interesting and extraordinary pianists of today. Described by Piero Rattalino as "a force of nature, vast and palpitating", his playing is highly original, striving to recreate the original impact of the works he is playing: "he takes us back to the Golden Age of the Piano" wrote Le Monde. - His recordings, notably with works by Liszt, were showered with prizes such as Diapason d'Or, Choc, Editor's Choice, CD Maestro etc.

'Beautiful playing on a lovely, mellow-sounding guitar by master guitarist Enea Leone' (Fanfare). The Italian guitarist Enea Leone has made several, critically acclaimed recordings for Brilliant Classics, in repertoire ranging from first complete recordings of the studies by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Fernando Sor, to more popular repertoire, from Argentina and from the catalogue of Sergio Leone, with the Leone album attracting an LP reissue. For his latest album, Leone stays in the popular vein, with classic tracks by Astor Piazzolla, in solo guitar arrangements mostly made by Leone himself. Adios Nonino, Milonga del Angel, Oblivion and Libertango - these are just some of the tangos featured on the new album, which makes a perfect introduction to the melancholy art of Piazzolla, as balladeer and musical poet of 20th-century Argentina. The sound of the modern tango is defined by the bandoneon, an instrument brought to Buenos Aires at the beginning of the 20th century by German immigrants, possibly sailors. The instrument invested the existing genre with a new potential for expressing deep, passionate feelings. In 1950 a brilliant young bandoneon player called Astor Piazzolla left Buenos Aires for Paris, where he went to study classical composition with Nadia Boulanger. Having also grown up in the US, he mixed elements of Tango with both jazz and with forms and harmonies borrowed from the sphere of classical music, thereby creating what he called Tango Nuevo. Argentinean musicians and audiences were slow to embrace Piazzolla's new idiom, which caught on much more rapidly abroad. The emotional and technical complexity of these tangos made them easier to listen than to dance to. However, once Tango Nuevo became almost ubiquitous elsewhere, Piazzolla was feted back at home as a master of Argentinean music. The strength of his melodies has outlived him, most especially in their suitability for transcription to other instruments, such as violin and guitar. Leone has made these transcriptions specifically for the new album, which should win new fans both for him and for the subtle art of Piazzolla. - Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), Argentina's most famous composer, was the grandson of Italian immigrants, and the melancholy for an abandoned and lost country lends a sweetly poignant note to his music. He was unique in the way he was able to weave the "sweet noises of life" into pure melody and harmony in his works, showing a deep familiarity with every secret of the Tango, Argentina's iconic dance. - In this new recording Enea Leone traces the evolutionary stages of the Buenos Aires composer's music with the guitar. The CD features Piazzolla's most famous and representative pieces: Milonga Del Angel, Muerte del Angel, Adios Nonino, Escualo up to the most famous Oblivion and Libertango. - All the arrangements, with the exception of Revirado and Yo Soy Maria arranged by composer Fabrizio Volpi, were created especially for this CD by Enea Leone. - Enea Leone plays on a Rinaldo Vacca spruce guitar with D'Addario Carbon Normal Tension strings. - Enea Leone successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics works by Fernando Sor, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and guitar arrangements by Ennio Morricone.

In the year 2007 pianist and composer Alexander Warenberg reworked Rachmaninoff's second symphony into a full scale piano concerto. Ever since this works gained popularity and recognition as a new repertoire work, having been performed by acclaimed soloists and orchestras all around the world. Alexander Warenberg tackled the seemingly ludicrous task of changing the iconic second symphony into a work with an important piano part. Warenberg has meticulously reworked the four movements of the symphony into the regular three movements of Rachmaninoff's concertos. In this process the piece has been reduced by some 40% and several necessary re-orchestrations have been carried out. The result is more than just an interesting experiment, this spectacular, virtuoso concerto shows off Warenberg's unique talent as a 're-composer', and it conquered the hearts of those who love their Rachmaninoff. Pianist Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy took it upon himself to familiarize himself with this entirely new score. And so did conductor Theodore Kuchar with the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra. Their brilliant performance is a truly romantic one. The score is published by Boosey & Hawkes. A treat for any Rachmaninoff and piano lover!

Recorded in Perugia between 2023 and 2025, a major new set of Schumann's song output for mixed voices - vocal duets, trios and quartets - by a fine team of Italian singers, and led by the pianist Filippo Farinelli. In recording previous, adventurous surveys of the songs and chamber music by Ravel, Berg, Dallapiccola, Hindemith and others, the pianist Filippo Farinelli has demonstrated his deep knowledge of and affinity for a wide range of chamber music. As he does here, he has gathered together a carefully selected cast of singers in order to present both rarities and established masterpieces within the catalogues of these composers, shedding new light on their evolution as creative thinkers and musicians. The solo song output of Robert Schumann is well established among the peaks of the rich heritage of German Lieder. But alongside cycles such as Dichterliebe and Frauen-liebe und -leben, Schumann often returned to the combination of mixed voices, and these cycles are much less familiar to most listeners. Many of them catch the composer at his most genial and Biedermeier in tone, such as the female Duets Op.43 and the Madchenlieder Op.103. The Spanisches Liederspiel Op.74 and the Spanische Liebeslieder Op.138 are strikingly under-rated precursor to Hugo Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch, in which a group of singers take turns their individual turns (in solo or duet) to outline 'sketches of Spain' from a German perspective (and from one who had never been there), full of charm and grace. The Op.79 Liederalbum fur die Jugend likewise reminds us of Schumann's genius for song-melody at it's most artless, a vocal counterpart to piano cycles such as Kinderszenen. The poet Emanuel Geibel had adapted many of the 'Spanish' texts, and Schumann's Op.29 trio of songs based on texts by Geibel catch the authentic spirit of the German wanderer. Here and elsewhere throughout the set we find Schumann's affinity for the world of fantasy and fairy tale. Lieder collectors will find this new set an essential acquisition, but anyone new to Schumann's song writing will find much to delight them. - Robert Schumann (1810-1856) devoted himself to composing Lieder at different periods of his life, especially in the 1840s, the so-called Liederjahr, and in his later years, starting in 1849. Alongside Lieder for solo voice and piano, he composed numerous duets and some Lieder for three and four voices, either in homogeneous collections, or by including a few songs for several voices in collections of solo Lieder. - This highly valuable 4-CD set of new recordings contains the complete songs for multiple voice and piano, on poems by Geibel, Heine and Ruckert, but also a substantial part of folk songs, drawn from the rich German culture of folk literature and poetry. - Sung by Elisabetta Lombardi (mezzo-soprano), Elisabetta Pallucchi (contralto), Valentina Valente, (Mark Milhofer tenor) and Mauro Borgioni, accompanied on the piano by Filippo Farinelli, the indefatigable champion of important song projects of lesser known repertoire.

The first 12 songs of the 15 in I canti dell'esilio - originally written for voice and small orchestra - were composed in the early months of 1945 before the Allied forces' arrival in Venice in April at the end of the War. They are a clear reflection of an ideological choice that guided Ennio Porrino: selecting texts linked to a 'tradition' and crafting a musical language retaining the clarity of melody, in harmony with the prosody of the text. This was supported by harmonies both modal and chromatic, within the boundaries set by Debussy and his influence. All 15 of the Canti dell'esilio follow this structure, but especially the first 12, where the classical sources (Greek poets, newly translated in Salvatore Quasimodo's now-famous versions) and the pseudo-troubadour medieval sources (in old French, German and Spanish) intersect with Italy's poetic heritage. Organized according to a historical principle, these works suggest that Porrino intended to create a cycle representing different epochs of Italian literature. The first part of the collection comprises the three Greek songs, the three troubadour songs, and the three ancient Italian songs (from the 13th to 15th centuries). These stand out for their liveliness and charm, though simple modal processes occasionally hint at melancholy. The second part opens with the Italian songs from the 16th and 18th centuries, where a vital, extroverted energy prevails in movement, sound and gestures that border on the theatrical. Then the last three songs revisit the theme of 'exile' in their titles. While in the overall title of the collection the word 'exile' might imply the solace sought by the exiled and found through poetry, in this final subset of three it assumes a more personal meaning of nostalgia and sorrow, inevitably evoking the composer's own fate in that tragic spring of 1945. The texts are by Porrino himself and are deeply expressive of personal despair. The other collection on this recording, the Canti di stagione (Songs of the Seasons), belongs to a more joyful period in Porrino's life in his early 20s. Composed in 1934, this work coincided with his attendance at Respighi's advanced composition course and with the emergence of Francesco Santoliquido's chamber songs, whose tragic influence would deeply shape Porrino's later choices. The collection opens with Notte d'inverno (Winter Night), set with dark and sombre tones and heavy ostinatos supporting dramatic declamation. In stark contrast, Mattino d'aprile nel bosco (April Morning in the Woods) is a light, sunny dance. The third piece, Afa (Heat), conveys the exhaustion of summer's oppressive heat through a monotonous, heavy rhythm. The fourth piece, Autunnale (Autumnal), is broad and complex, it's rhythm vibrant and engaging. Other information: - Recorded June 2024 in Rome, Italy - Bilingual booklet in English and Italian contains liner notes by the composer's daughter, Stefania Porrino - The sung texts are available at www. Brilliantclassics. com - Ennio Porrino (1910-1959) was an Italian composer known for his deep connection to Sardinian musical traditions and his ability to blend them with modern compositional techniques. Born in Cagliari, Sardinia, Porrino studied composition under Ottorino Respighi, which influenced his rich and evocative orchestration. His works often reflected the landscapes, folklore, and cultural identity of Sardinia, making him a significant figure in 20th-century Italian music. - One of his notable compositions is I canti dell'esilio (Songs of Exile), written in 1945. This work, composed at the end of World War II, is deeply emotional and reflects themes of longing, displacement, and nostalgia. The title itself suggests a sense of exile-possibly symbolic of the broader displacement caused by the war or a more personal reflection on isolation and identity. The piece is characterized by expressive melodies, poignant harmonies, and an underlying sense of melancholy. - Performed by Angela Nisi (soprano) and Enrica Ruggiero (piano).

Arthur Honegger's song output falls into two distinct periods. The first spans his apprentice years from 1914 - the date of the first of the 4 Poemes H.7 - to 1924. He returned to art song on the eve of the Second World War, and Eleni-Lydia Stamellou sings two further sets of songs originally conceived as film accompaniments. In the 4 Poems there is a Debussyan turn to the harmony which mirrors the symbolist flavour of the text. More distinct from the model of Debussy is the album's title track, 'Petite Chapelle', with it's avowedly spiritual character. Honegger conceived his 3 Poemes de Paul Fort in the autumn of 1916. Here the relationship between music and text is more directly illustrative, as in the distant hunting horns to accompany the hunter lost in the forest. From February 1917, Nature morte stands alone as a musical still-life, a brief sketch of a bowl of peaches and white grapes. No less epigrammatic, but more musically adventurous as befitting the text, are Honegger's settings of the 6 Poemes d'Apollinaire which he composed between August 1915 and March 1917. But, for all Apollinaire's influence over the composers of 'Les Six' - Honegger included - Jean Cocteau was far more instrumental in determining their aesthetic aims. And though it was Apollinaire who had coined sur-realisme in response to seeing the premiere of Satie's ballet Parade in 1917, this new, mischievous spirit courses through Honegger's deft settings of Cocteau. Honegger makes a sincere tribute to one of France's most celebrated Renaissance-era poets in the Chanson de Ronsard from February 1924. From 1926, the 3 Chansons de La Petite Sirene feature whole-tone rising harmonies in the opening song, and the even briefer companions uphold a Satie-like inscrutability. At this point, Honegger continued in vocal music (operas, operettas and oratorio) but left song alone. However, in 1937, his soundtrack to Jean Choux 'talkie' remake of Louis Mercanton's 1920 silent film Miarka, la fille � l'ourse afforded an opportunity to write two brief songs. Eleni Lydia Stamellou's recital closes with another pair of songs written for the cinema, the Romances sentimentales for Un seul amour, a story by Balzac very loosely adapted for the screen by Pierre Blanchar. In a genre all their own are the settings of 3 Psaumes, which Honegger composed in occupied Paris over the winter of 1940/1. The sound of the organ underpins the Bachian flow accompanying Psalm 34 and the misty F minor chords beneath Psalm 140, even if the vocal line itself harks back to Honegger's song-writing of the 1920s. Other information: - Recorded April-December 2024 in St Petersburg, Russia - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Peter Quantrill and profiles of the musicians - Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) was a Swiss composer associated with the French musical movement Les Six. Known for his eclectic style, he blended elements of French impressionism, German romanticism, and modernist techniques. While Honegger is best known for his orchestral works, such as Pacific 231 and Jeanne d'Arc au b�cher, his vocal compositions show a more intimate and lyrical side of his artistry. - Honegger's songs reflect his deep sensitivity to poetry and text, setting works by prominent French poets like Paul Fort and Jean Cocteau. His melodies for voice and piano exhibit rich harmonic textures and expressive phrasing, demonstrating both refinement and emotional depth. Unlike his orchestral pieces, which can be complex and rhythmically driven, his songs favor clarity and directness, allowing the poetry to shine through. - Greek soprano Eleni Lydia Stamellou was Prize Winner at the Ferruccio Tagliavini Competition in Austria, with Dame Joan Sutherland as the president of the jury. She subsequently attended masterclasses given by Teresa Berganza, Edda Moser and Christa Ludwig. She sang in opera productions with MusicAeterna conducted by Teodor Currentzis. Her specialization is Renaissance/Baroque and Contemporary Music. She sang in productions of Berio and Hersant.

World premiere recordings of beguiling flute sonatas written on the cusp of the early-Romantic era in Germany. Almost completely forgotten in our own time, Johann Christian Friedrich Schneider (1786-1853) once enjoyed substantial fame as a pianist, composer, teacher and musical organiser. He was born in 1786, 16 years after Beethoven, in the same year as Weber and the Brothers Grimm, and received his first musical education from his father. His talent was evident from an early age, as he learnt the piano and several other instruments. Breitkopf & Hartel published his Op.1, a set of piano sonatas, in 1804; he went to study in Leipzig, where he became organist of the Thomaskirche, and settled there for his 20s, giving the local premiere of Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto in 1811. A standard German work of reference from 1838 cites Schneider 'among the living German masters of music'. From the evidence of these four sonatas for flute and piano, it is hard to see why his name should have so comprehensively vanished from view. Schneider composed the first of them, his Op.18, in 1808, and it follows the same Classical exemplar as Beethoven's first eight violin sonatas, and all of Mozart's in being written for a pianist with an accompanying melody instrument rather than the other way around. Over the course of the following three sonatas, the flautist becomes more independent, and his Op.61 Sonata of 1827 requires a virtuoso. Schneider wrote the first three sonatas in a four-movement form, breaking ground in this way by elevating the flute sonata from it's previous association with pretty variation sets and pot-pourris of operatic themes. This originality extends to the finales of all four sonatas - notably the Second, which is cast in G minor against the prevailing G major tonality (foreshadowing in this way the 'Italian' Symphony of Mendelssohn). In his booklet essay for this new recording, the flautist Daniele Ruggeri pays tribute to the 'simple but bewitching' trios of each sonata, and to Schneider's 'profound understanding of the expressive character of the different registers of the flute' in the slow movements. Based in Venice, Ruggeri has played across the world and recorded for many major labels. With this album of Schneider he revives an unjustly neglected contemporary of Beethoven and Schubert, and does so on an instrument of the period. - Johann Christian Friedrich Schneider was a German composer, conductor, organist, and pianist of the early Romantic period. Born in Saxony, he was a highly respected musician during his lifetime, known for his contributions to church music, orchestral works, and chamber compositions. He earned his place in history as the pianist premiering Beethoven's 5th piano concerto. - Schneider's flute sonatas are elegant and expressive works that reflect the stylistic transition from the Classical to the Romantic era. Blending lyrical melodies with intricate harmonic textures, the sonatas are technically challenging and musically rewarding for performers. The flute sonatas follow the traditional sonata form, typically structured in three or four movements, combining virtuosic passages with expressive slow sections. - Played by Italian flutist Daniele Ruggieri and pianist Luigi Caselli.

North and South The Golden Age of the Dutch Republic, the 17th century, may have been full of splendour in the fields of trade, painting and literature, but in music the situation was far from rosy. The epicentre of musical innovation lay in Italy, whose composers were admired as supreme across Europe. While this will have hurt the pride of composers in Northern Europe and elsewhere, who disputed this supremacy publicly, in private most of them sought to benefit from their Mediterranean contemporaries, studying the latest Italian music or apprenticing themselves to Italian masters. In the Netherlands, the style of Monteverdi and other Italian composers had a profound influence on the music of Jan Baptist Verrijt, who was probably born around 1600 in Oirschot and died in Rotterdam in 1650. Together with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Verrijt is perhaps the most important Dutch composer of the 17th century, an assessment based his only surviving opus: the Flammae divinae, Op.5. It consists of 6 two-part and 12 three-part motets along with 2 three-part Mass settings. The work is believed to have been intended for use both in Roman Catholic churches in the Southern Netherlands and in clandestine Roman Catholic churches in the predominantly protestant Republic. The high level of vocal technique demanded by Verrijt would seem at first to exclude the possibility of performance by non-professional singers. However, it's known that Verrijt's Opp. 4 & 5 could be found in the library of Groningen's collegium musicum, a group consisting almost entirely of amateur musicians. In the Flammae divinae Verrijt displays consummate mastery in combining the liveliness of the new, Italian stile concertato with the polyphonic techniques of the old Franco-Flemish school. The music sounds imaginative and dramatic, but is simultaneously balanced and controlled. Like Claudio Monteverdi and Alessandro Grandi, for example, Verrijt enlivens his complex multi-part church music with techniques borrowed from the madrigal and from opera. For this reason, Verrijt's Opus 5 is not only of interest as an unusual expression of Roman Catholic culture in the northern Netherlands, but also as a musically intriguing opus on an international level. Other information: - Recorded May 2000, Rotterdam - Trilingual Booklet in English, Dutch and German contains liner notes by Kees Vlaardingerbroek - Jan Baptist Verrijt was, together with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, perhaps the most important Dutch composer of the seventeenth century. His most important surviving work, Flammae divinae, Opus 5, consists of six two-part and twelve three-part motets along with two three-part settings for Mass, and was published in the period when Verrijt was employed as an organist by the Great Church of St Laurens in Rotterdam (1644-50). - In this work Verrijt displays consummate mastery in combining the liveliness of the new Italian stile concertato with the polyphonic techniques of the old Franco-Flemish school. The music sounds imaginative and dramatic, but is simultaneously balanced and controlled. Like Claudia Monteverdi Verrijt enlivens his complex multi-part church music with techniques borrowed from the madrigal and from opera, employing the old imitative techniques in a new way to achieve a strong emotional effect. - Performed by one of the most prominent and pioneering Early Music vocal ensembles of the 20-th century, The Consort of Musicke, featuring Emma Kirkby, and directed by Anthony Rooley. - A reissue from the NM Classics label, the label for music from The Netherlands.

Franco Alfano was born in Naples on 8 March 1875 and soon showed musical aptitude, studying piano with Alessandro Longo at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples and composition with Camillo de Nardis. In 1895 he moved to Leipzig to study with Salomon Jadassohn, where he was able to undertake deeper study of Bach and Wagner, as well as Busoni, Richard Strauss and other composers still little known in Italy. In the summer of 1899 he moved to Paris, encountering an even more stimulating environment where musical debate between such names as Massenet, Bizet, Charpentier and Debussy aroused his curiosity. His long career saw it's greatest successes in the field of opera, his most successful being 1904's Resurrection, based on Leo Tolstoy's novel of the same name, L'ombra di Don Giovanni (1913 rev. 1941), La leggenda di Sak�ntala (1921 rev. 1952, his masterpiece) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1936), along with eight other operas. In spite of this prolific operatic output, Alfano owes his fame today mainly to his completion of Puccini's Turandot on the basis of notes left by the deceased composer. The decision to have Alfano complete the opera was taken by Arturo Toscanini and the publisher Ricordi because of affinities that Alfano's Sak�ntala had with the unfinished finale of Turandot. Alfano died in San Remo on 17 October 1954. Begun in 1929 and quickly completed, the Concerto in A for Violin, Cello & Piano was performed on 31 May 1930 at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with Luca Ballerini (violin) and Benedetto Mazzacurati (cello) along with Alfano himself on piano. It had a warm critical reception for it's clarity, expressive intensity, powerful construction and 'it's effusive cantabile and substantial episodes', all distinctive traits of the composer. Particularly appreciated was Alfano's use of the ancient modes - a different one for each movement: Phrygian for the first ('Con dolce malinconia'), Dorian for the second ('Allegretto fantastico') and Hypolydian for the last ('Presto, con grande vigoria'). This concerto also displays absolutely masterful writing for the three instruments, which take up a truly animated discourse, each with a defined role and interesting individual timbral solutions and combinations. Alfano's final chamber music composition, the Piano Quintet in A flat for strings and piano dates from 1945. Written after a ten-year gap in Alfano's chamber music output, the difference between the trio on this album and this piano quintet is evident. He uses less elaborate solutions in the later work, in fact, including doublings and emphatic unison tutti at resolutions and cadences. Ornamental material is more conspicuous here than before, lending the work a certain Art Nouveau flavor. Alfano displays a desire to return to a stylistic idea from the past, as of one consciously wanting to fall back on old certainties, idealizing and emphasizing them while distinctive Alfano traits remain evident, such as the genuineness of the lyrical impulse and the quality of the technical craftsmanship. Other information: - Recorded December 2023 in Bernareggio, Italy - Bilingual booklet in English and Italian contains notes compiled by Marcello Miramonti & Enrico Graziani and profiles of the ensemble and it's musicians - Franco Alfano (1875-1954) was an Italian composer best known for completing Puccini's opera Turandot after the composer's death. His own works, particularly his chamber music, show a deeply personal lyricism and rich harmonic language. Among these, his Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano and Piano Quintet stand out as exceptional examples of his late-Romantic style infused with Impressionist and modernist influences. - The Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano, composed in the 1930s, blends lyrical expressiveness with intricate counterpoint, weaving dense textures while maintaining clarity between the three instruments. The dialogues between the violin, cello, and piano are filled with emotional intensity and virtuosic passages. - His Piano Quintet, composed in 1945, is marked by soaring melodies, rich harmonic color, and dramatic contrasts, the piano playing an integral role rather than merely accompanying the strings. Alfano's harmonic language in this work is both forward-thinking and rooted in late-Romantic tradition. - Played with passion and commitment by the Italian Davinci Ensemble.

Claude-Benigne Balbastre (1727-1799) published his first book of harpsichord pieces in 1759, nine years after a decisive move from his home city of Dijon to the metropolis of Paris. France had been inundated with Italian music and musicians for more than 50 years, and Balbastre's style is inflected by the latest Italian trends, while remaining unmistakably and deliciously French. The titles of the individual works refer to the surnames of distinguished and influential figures in the Parisian world of the mid- to late18th century. They are not necessarily portraits; the point here is rather the dedication, although this music indubitably represents a wonderful picture of the world surrounding Balbastre. One of the composer's biographers has remarked that 'More than portraits without words supposed to musically evoke a personality, the harpsichord pieces constitute a tribute or a sign of gratitude with regard to said personality. The portrait thus painted is only allusive and mysterious.' For example, one of Balbastre's most famous and spectacular works, the Italian-style gigue La Lugeac (F major), is probably a portrait of Louis XV's close companion, the Marquis Charles-Antoine de Guerin (1720-82), who had been born at the Chateau de Lugeac and was described by his contemporaries as 'Le beau Lugeac'. In his own booklet introduction to Balbastre's life and work, Marek Toporowski extols the First Book as 'a true masterpiece', combining French elegance of Classical style; imagery alluding to the operas of Rameau; virtuosity reminiscent of Scarlatti, Mozart and Rameau; mastery of form and textural richness. Compared to other surviving music by Balbastre, Toporowski finds these pieces 'less simple in the sense of Classical economy of texture, more sophisticated and Baroque.' The Polish harpsichordist, organist, chamber musician, and conductor Marek Toporowski was a pupil of both Bob van Asperen and Daniel Roth, He has made this new recording on a copy of a French harpsichord, completed in 1984 for harpsichordist, pianist and painter Julitta Slendzinska by Zygmunt Kaczmarski. 'It is a fascinating, exceptional instrument,' he says, 'in terms of timbral class, with a full, juicy sound and enchanting dynamic capabilities.' - Claude Balbastre was a prominent French composer, organist, and harpsichordist of the late Baroque and early Classical periods. He studied under Claude Rameau, the brother of Jean-Philippe Rameau, whose influence is evident in his music. - Among his most notable works are his Pieces de clavecin, published in 1759. These pieces exemplify the refined and expressive style of the French harpsichord tradition, combining lyrical melodies with intricate ornamentation and lively rhythms. Like those of Francois Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Balbastre's harpsichord works often feature evocative titles, such as La d'Hericourt, La de Caze, and La Lugeac, referring to prominent figures of the time. His Pieces de clavecin display a wide range of textures and moods, from playful and lighthearted dances to deeply expressive movements. He incorporated elements of the galant style, characterized by clarity and grace, alongside more dramatic and virtuosic passages, sometimes even adapting orchestral effects to the harpsichord. - Marek Toporowski is a harpsichordist, organist, pianist and conductor, one of Poland's foremost performers in the Historical Performance movement. He is a scholar and a well-known collector of historical instruments. Also available by Marek Toporowski are the Complete Piano Music by Pinto, keyboard sonatas by Hyacinthe Jadin, and violin sonatas by Ferdinand Ries.