Veronica Kuijken writes: “There was more than one surprise in store for me as I took a closer look at the chronology of the works Héléna and I have recorded here. For instance, the timeline I had spontaneously imagined for the years in which the works were written turned out not to correspond to the actual chronology at all, and the ages of the composers at the time they wrote them do not coincide with the youth or maturity they communicate. But these surprises actually make me rather happy, since they so beautifully illustrate the uniqueness of every person, quite apart from textbook music history! Despite the ‘frozen’ aspect of a recording, we do very much hope that we have succeeded in bringing out the living, breathing quality of the music here. Compositions, we think, are a bit like children: having complete ‘power’ over them is impossible, since they have their own lives. Even composers can only send a work out into the world for it to live on independently – since every time we listen, we hear a different version, don’t we?”

This amazing box celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of the most influential and seminal Baroque ensembles of the recording history: La Petite Bande. The box contains the St. Matthew Passion, the St. John Passion, the Christmas Oratorio and the Mass in b minor. All these works are performed according to the individual and musicologically based criteria elaborated by that great musician, also a great scholar, who goes by the name Sigiswald Kuijken.

"When I look back now, I'm astonished and grateful that this unusual birth of our 'little band' – obviously more the result of happy circumstance than premeditated decision – has continued to define the character and ambience of our collaboration over the entire 50 years of our existence as an 'action group'.

"When you're a musician, or playing in a group of musicians, you need to play every concert as if it were the very first, but at the same time perhaps the very last. This keeps the work mint-fresh and banishes any suffocating routine. The real, deep reason for playing any music at all (even if you play on your own) is your connection to the situation you're transcending, which gives you the most personal, inner satisfaction. If this feeling ever starts to evaporate, where's the fun?

"Yes, this is the breath that keeps us musicians alive, and we've always chosen musicians who can share this same breath with us. The mentality – that common philosophy about the work – is absolutely the most important aspect; it very largely determines the quality that can then be communicated to our audience. In the most literal sense, a musician must always remain an amateur – a dilettante – as only then will the listener share in the enjoyment." -Sigiswald Kuijken

Pieter Hellendaal, concertmaster of Handel’s orchestra, was born in 1721 on the milk market of the Dutch city Rotterdam. Exactly 300 years later, this album with his sumptuous Grand Concertos was recorded live in Rotterdam. The Dutch Masters Project by the baroque orchestra La Sfera Armoniosa aims at discovering Dutch hidden treasures: this second volume follows one devoted to De Fesch's Concerti Grossi (CC 72829: "There is much to enjoy in this excellent disc" Scherzo, Spain)

This is a ‘concept-album’ around Maurice Ravel and his special relation with Hélène Jourdan Mourhange, a dear friend and violinist nicknamed "Moune." The program is set-up in order to take the listener by the hand into Ravel’s musical world through a series of pieces which are gradually more deep and complex. The music is played on a 1935 Hautrive piano, while violin and cello are played on gut strings. The Tzigane is in the rare version for Luthéal (Pleyel, 1910), a period prepared piano with a distinct character. About Lina Tur Bonet, Diapason writes: “Impressive: Lina Tur Bonet’s discography aligns beautiful achievements’. Indeed her previous releases have already collected all European awards.

Julia Hartig writes: “This album can be seen as an autobiographical story. It is a reflection of my Yugoslav and Dutch identity described in 10 pieces by 8 composers. All of these pieces have their unique musical language and way of expressing thoughts and feelings. From pure honest most tender love to the unearthly sounds in search of answers. Some of them speak about deep sorrow of loss, passionate greed for love and life, brutally distorted decomposed beauty or simply pure wild untamed joy. One thing that is common to all of them is that they were written or arranged for me with a deep understanding of my way of playing which is always intense, honest and expressive. I love them all like my children and enjoy watching them grow. In addition to the selection of already composed music from 1990 on, three new works were written for me, especially as a part of this project.”

This recording of Mozart chamber music can be listened to as a pleasant private concert "en famille". The choice of the works is dictated solely by the specific instruments played by the three family members: violin, viola and keyboard. This is not a usual instrumentation in the chamber music repertoire, yet it is this combination that has given rise to a pleasantly varied program - thanks to Mozart's inexhaustible genius! This cleverly thought out program features four pieces with different instrumentations and moods in order to elicit a constant interest and pleasure from the listener. The Kuijkens Trio plays with their unmistakable understanding, tenderness, and tone color; a constant delight throughout the album.

This release is a journey through the history of the solo viola da gamba, starting with its birth (1553) and finishing at the end of 17th Century. Besides the pieces by Diego Ortiz and Tobias Hume, there are some world premiere recordings of music by Benjamin Hely and Angelo Bertalotti. Matteo Cicchitti is the leader of Musica Elegentia, already responsible for a previous Wagenseil disc on Challenge Classics (CC 72896). Pieces were selected in the light of their austere and meditative mood. They perfectly match the character of the remote 12th Century Abruzzian church that hosted the musician and the strictness of the 'live' recording process that required only lightest editing.

Thirteen Nocturnes and as many Barcarolles form the core of the collected output of Gabriel Urbain Fauré for the piano. Night-time meditations, then, along with inspiration drawn from rippling water (the origins of the barcarolle lie in the songs sung by Venetian gondoliers and the word itself comes from the Italian ‘barca’, a boat.) Along with some impromptus, préludes and other works, one might rapidly gain the impression of a delightful collection of salon music, whose titles may actually display the influence of Chopin. But this music is so very much more than pretty salon music. In the intimacy of these genres, Faure succeeded time and again in nothing short of exposing his very soul. And the French composer’s style is entirely his own-original and personal - from the first note to the last.

Hannes Minnaar received international acclaim after winning several international competitions and being awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship. This re-release of his 2016 deluxe album package omits the original companion DVD.

Reviews:

‘Minnaar’s identification with this unique realm of music is complete and his deeply felt interpretations shine with clarity and infinite nuance.’ -Gramophone

‘One very exhilarating recording. Hannes Minnaar’s playing is not only sensitive but also lyrical und sometimes dreamy. With a wide spectrum in sound shades, much refinement and a continuous flow the Dutch pianist’s performances are absolutely fascinating.’ -Pizzicato

‘Minnaar consistently avoids the kitsch trap. He takes this music seriously and immerses it in different moods: a darkly flowing river, then a pointillistic sequence of small effects, then again a radiant melody over a moving underground. -Deutschlandfunk

-‘The delicate poetic qualities of Fauré’s piano pieces requires the most sensitive of touches from the pianist tackling them, and it’s clear that Hannes Minnaar is comfortably a master of the idiom.’ -CD Choice UK

‘The crystal-clear, free-flowing performance fits Fauré’s reserved luminous notes perfectly. It’s amazing how he transforms the nocturnes into musing monologues, or how he consecrates the preludes with mild severity.’ -De Standaard

Quite often, a work becomes a journey of discovery towards a certain origin, translated into sound. Martin, Mansurian and Dvorák composed three such colorful works for piano trio – voyages of discovery taken here by the Delta Piano Trio through scintillating sound worlds. When an Irish-American benefactor asked him to write a work based on Irish folk songs, Martin grasped this as an exquisite opportunity to combine two of the quests occupying him at the time – music from distant cultures and rhythm. his Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises (1925) is a complex, mature and multi-layered score.

The Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian (b. 1939) gives the term a deeper meaning with the idea behind his 5 Bagatelles (1985): the smallest things can have the greatest significance in life. Each bagatelle sounds like a moment when truth opens up; crystal clear while at the same time beyond our comprehension.

Like many artists of the Romantic era, Czech composer Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904)let his music flourish from his deepest roots, his origins. His unique style represents a melting-pot of all sorts of characteristic elements of music and dance from his beloved Bohemia with the classical idiom. An example is the famous Piano Trio no. 4 (1891), based on the 'dumky', epic folk ballads depicting a tragic historic event. In much the same way that Martin, Mansurian and Dvorák each made their own voyages of discovery in their compositions, the Delta Piano Trio has also reached the heart of these three works.