{"title":"Classical Harpsichord","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"frescobaldi-harpsichord-works-colin-tilney-247050","title":"Frescobaldi: Harpsichord Works \/ Colin Tilney","description":"Frescobaldi, G.: Harpsichord Music","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44626717147370,"sku":"053479012425","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/458850.jpg?v=1786760470"},{"product_id":"handel-harpsichord-suites-nos-6-8-alan-196132","title":"Handel: Harpsichord Suites Nos. 6-8 Alan Cuckston","description":"The harpsichord used in this collection is a modern instrument designed by the American David Way and it incorporates features of many French 18th century harpsichords. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I am indebted to Alan Cuckston for playing this repertoire in a 'straight' way. Too many players are so bogged down by fruitless attempts to produce 'authentic performances' that they miss the spirit of the music. Their playing is therefore inhibited and has three main annoying quirks at least. Firstly, they make far too much of ornamentation so that the essential mordents, trills and shakes are given such a dramatic exaggeration that they stand out like angry spots upon a blemished face. Mr Cuckston's ornamentation is beautifully incorporated into the natural flair of the music. Secondly, some players are afraid of lively speeds for the quicker movements ... I suspect it is because they do not have the requisite finger technique ... and so the music does not come to life. But, in these performances, it does. Thirdly, some players indulge in grinding rallentandos and, to make matters worse, hang on to cadences for an inordinate length of time so that if a cadence is crotchet, crotchet rest and crotchet at say allegro, which should take just over one second, it can take more than five times as long and has the nauseating aural effect like unto some servile servant apologising to his master, and most profusely, while backing out of his presence.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Mr Cuckston does observe some rallentandos but there is not this excess, this ghastly self-indulgence and musical fetishes!\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But here Handel comes alive and surely all music should be both vibrant and alive. Players can kill music for reasons I have already mentioned and no corpse is ever pleasant and it certainly cannot communicate.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The energy and reliability of these performances are exemplary. The F sharp Suite is beset with all sorts of problems but they are not revealed here. The F minor Suite has splendid fugue and, as I have said before, couldn't Handel write a good fugue untrammelled by academia which sometimes the fugues of the great J.S. Bach may be.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The shorter pieces are a delight particularly the Capriccio and more so when it is played with such panache as this. The Air and Variations were the subject of Brahms's great Variations on a Theme of Handel (do investigate the brilliant recording by Peter Katin on Athene (ATH CD 9)).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A thoroughly enjoyable disc beautifully played and well-recorded. And all players of Handel should note. Play Handel like this and you and your audiences will reap deserved awards.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- David Wright, MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44626648695018,"sku":"730099541626","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/126739.jpg?v=1786665427"},{"product_id":"bach-flute-sonatas-vol-1-petri-alanko-234520","title":"Bach: Flute Sonatas Vol 1 \/ Petri Alanko, Et Al","description":"BACH, J.S.: Flute Sonatas, Vol. 1","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625659789546,"sku":"730099475426","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/127471.jpg?v=1786758352"},{"product_id":"bach-flute-sonatas-vol-2-petri-alanko-192819","title":"Bach: Flute Sonatas Vol 2 \/ Petri Alanko, Et Al","description":"BACH, J.S.: Flute Sonatas, Vol. 2","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625659756778,"sku":"730099475525","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/127472.jpg?v=1786770479"},{"product_id":"giuseppe-sammartini-sei-sonate-per-flauto-e-152196","title":"Giuseppe Sammartini: Sei Sonate Per Flauto E Basso Continuo","description":"Classical Music","brand":"Bongiovanni","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625391288554,"sku":"8007068556120","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2355376.jpg?v=1786749152"},{"product_id":"handel-harpsichord-suites-nos-1-5-alan-234255","title":"Handel: Harpsichord Suites Nos 1-5 \/ Alan Cuckston","description":"HANDEL: Harpsichord Suites Nos. 1- 5","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625355604202,"sku":"730099541527","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/126738.jpg?v=1786770852"},{"product_id":"handel-imeneo-palmer-ostendorf-baird-opalach-et-198306","title":"Handel: Imeneo \/ Palmer, Ostendorf, Baird, Opalach, Et Al","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis recording was formerly available as Vox-Unique V2U 9000.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vox","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625355374826,"sku":"047163513527","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/268889.jpg?v=1786768348"},{"product_id":"handel-sonatas-for-violin-and-continuo-barton-86904","title":"Handel: Sonatas For Violin And Continuo \/ Barton Pine","description":"Handel's violin sonatas, familiar to violinists and chamber audiences, have been inexplicably neglected on disc. These intimate, inviting sonatas show the seldom-heard side of Handel's genius. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"Violinist Rachel Barton triumphs in her first release for the Cedille label… Indeed, Rachel Barton's wonderfully vital Handel performances bring us some of the most refreshing, life-enhancing Baroque playing heard in years.\" -- Chicago Tribune\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"[Rachel Barton] is one of the rare mainstream performers with a total grasp of Baroque style and embellishment, and the whole disc is a delight… The exhilarating bravura of her incisive articulation and sharply pointed rhythms is matched by Barton's singing line in her poised and elegant lyrical movements. Superb continuo players David Schrader and John Mark Rozendaal contribute to the real sense of ensemble teamwork.\" -- Fanfare\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"Few non-specialists have gotten inside this procedure [of ornamentation] as convincingly as violinist Rachel Barton. Her playing is splendid on all levels - lovely tone, wonderfully expressive phrasing, secure technique, and strong involvement with the music. But the most unusual aspect of Barton's Handel is the convincing and imaginative way she embellishes the repeats in the music - adding runs, ornaments, and flourishes that give a different aspect to a phrase we've just recently heard… They help to enliven a cherishable disc.\" -- Classical Pulse\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"A spritely partnership between violin and cello, with deft rhythmic accompaniment on harpsichord… The music's virtuosic character is rendered with superb, resonant double and triple stopping and de-emphasized dance motion in the allegros. Barton lets the music's raw, improvised feeling hang out a little, giving the recording a refreshing zest.\" -- Classical Net\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"[Rachel Barton] uses a baroque bow with her modernized 17th-Century violin, making a wonderfully warm yet still focused sound, and her passage work is brilliant yet lyrical - much like the cascades of a coloratura - and her ornamentation is both thoughtful and virtuosic. This is a wonderful recording.\" -- American Record Guide\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Cedille","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625350885610,"sku":"735131903226","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/130591_b449e9a7-d5f0-468c-bc37-6d540e184f71.jpg?v=1786758669"},{"product_id":"rameau-harpsichord-music-vol-2-gilbert-rowland-138461","title":"Rameau: Harpsichord Music Vol 2 \/ Gilbert Rowland","description":"RAMEAU: Harpsichord Music, Vol.  2","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625017471210,"sku":"730099404822","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/127141.jpg?v=1786770530"},{"product_id":"sammartini-concerti-op-2-op-9-frontalini-250651","title":"Sammartini: Concerti Op. 2 \u0026 Op. 9 \/ Frontalini, Kaunas Co","description":"Classical Music","brand":"Bongiovanni","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624956424426,"sku":"8007068555925","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2355374.jpg?v=1786668184"},{"product_id":"scarlatti-thirty-sonatas-for-harpsichord-joseph-payne-240611","title":"Scarlatti: Thirty Sonatas For Harpsichord \/ Joseph Payne","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624947937514,"sku":"7318590004999","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2265687.jpg?v=1786749600"},{"product_id":"soler-sonatas-for-harpsichord-vol-3-gilbert-234467","title":"Soler: Sonatas For Harpsichord Vol 3 \/ Gilbert Rowland","description":"SOLER, A.: Sonatas for Harpsichord, Vol.  3","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624879681770,"sku":"730099446426","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/209864.jpg?v=1786673151"},{"product_id":"soler-sonatas-for-harpsichord-vol-1-gilbert-189303","title":"Soler: Sonatas For Harpsichord Vol 1 \/ Gilbert Rowland","description":"\u003cp\u003e}Gramophone (1\/97, p. 81) \"...[Rowland's] selection here is interestingly varied and includes keyboard exuberances such as hand-crossings (Nos. 16 and 90), joyous leaps (No. 101), and imitations of Spanish folk instruments...\"{\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624879649002,"sku":"730099446228","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/127329.jpg?v=1786767776"},{"product_id":"soler-sonatas-for-harpsichord-vol-5-gilbert-102431","title":"Soler: Sonatas For Harpsichord Vol 5 \/ Gilbert Rowland","description":"SOLER, A.: Sonatas for Harpsichord, Vol.  5","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624879616234,"sku":"636943443422","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/280882.jpg?v=1786771338"},{"product_id":"biber-rosary-sonatas","title":"Biber: Rosary Sonatas","description":"Classical Music","brand":"Vox","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44679416512746,"sku":"047163517129","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/268875.jpg?v=1786768423"},{"product_id":"j-s-bach-6-french-suites-7318595895905","title":"J.S. 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Schrader has recorded two volumes of [Soler's] sonatas for Cedille Records, and he brings the same digital skill and musical discrimination to these quintets. He leads a quartet that uses mid--to late--eighteenth century original instruments, in performances that are lively, tasteful, and finely balanced. The ensemble is ideally recorded.\" (Fanfare)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"The pleasures of discovering this unfamiliar music are greatly enhanced by the performances.\" (Chicago Tribune)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Captivating and quirky, the quintets for keyboard and strings of Spanish composer Padre Antonio Soler were rare, even in the heyday of LP recordings. 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This 6 album set combines oratorios and concertos by Schütz, Telemann, Bach, Corelli, Rinck, Saint-Saëns, Herzogenberg, Clarke, Nicolai. Some of the finest artists and ensembles in the Hanssler catalog are showcased on these recordings, including Iona Brown, Joachim Held, Hannoversche Hofkapelle, Collegium vocale Siegen, Monteverdi-Orchester Munchen, Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra, and many more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChristmas has inspired many composers to compose magnificent music, on the one hand for church services and on the other hand for festive concerts outside the church. This masterful box with 6 CDs contains oratorios and concertos by Schütz, Telemann, Bach, Corelli, Rinck, Saint-Saëns, Herzogenberg and Clarke, performed by some of the best artists and ensembles in the Hänssler catalogue, including Iona Brown, Joachim Held, Hannoversche Hofkapelle, Collegium vocale Siegen, Monteverdi-Orchester Munchen, and the Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Stretto\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Christmas approaches, an avalanche of familiar Christmas tunes rumbles in the distance. Even in the case of large-scale Christmas compositions, the same works seem to be repeated too often, but Hänssler's six-disc box set reminds us that the repertoire is much wider.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe greatest work is Heinrich von Herzogenberg's (1842–1900) idyllic oratorio \"The Birth of Christ\" (1894), which spreads the event into a spectacle borrowing familiar and lesser-known Christmas carols based on the Old Testament and the Gospel of Luke. Herzogenberg, who was one of Brahms's supporters, represents full Romanticism at its tenderest, sometimes generously sweet. Schütz's \"A Christmas Story\" is more familiar and would work better as a period-style performance. Arnold Bruckhorst's (c. 1675–c. 1725) twenty-minute \"Christmas History\" is, on the other hand, a new acquaintance, as is Christian Heinrich Rinck's (1770–1846) even shorter classic Romantic Christmas Cantata. All performances are homely and competent, without causing great artistic tremors. Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio can be found in more sophisticated recordings, but why, for example, Otto Nicolai's charming Christmas Overture is never heard in concerts?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTelemann's big and handsome oratorio Heilig, heilig, Heilig ist Gott (1747) is useless to look for elsewhere. The documentation only includes lists of works and performance information.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Rondo Classic\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Haenssler Classic","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012430581994,"sku":"881488220346","price":16.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4129448-2892128.jpg?v=1786668919"},{"product_id":"austrian-harpsichord-music-of-the-late-17th-century","title":"Austrian Harpsichord Music of the Late 17th Century","description":"Vienna in the second half of the 17th century, under the rule of Emperor Leopold I, was a significant center of musical life-a place where various styles and influences intersected, distinguished by it's own traditions and performance practices. The same was true for harpsichord music: composers working under the auspices of the imperial court supported and inspired each other, which resulted in a large number of surviving works preserved in libraries such as those in Leipzig, Berlin, and New York.    The album includes both single-movement and multi-movement compositions that share a virtuosic character, highlighting the exceptional talent of the renowned harpsichordists of the era. Special attention should be given to the artist's own transcription of an unpublished and previously unrecorded suite by Biber, which is the result of Agata Meissner's own research work. The artist is affiliated with the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and divides her attention between performing early music and caring for historical instruments. Three of these instruments were used on this album, specifically chosen to emphasize the characteristics unique to the works of each composer.    The album transports listeners to an era of fervent rhetoric and emotions, contained within the bounds of courtly elegance.","brand":"DUX","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012431335658,"sku":"5902547021591","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4467037-3467486.jpg?v=1786680727"},{"product_id":"j-s-bach-harpsichord-concertos-635212071021","title":"Bach: Harpsichord Concertos \/ Arthur, The Hanover Band","description":"\u003cp\u003e“JS Bach’s seven concertos for solo harpsichord \u0026amp; strings, BWV 1052-1058, occupy a significant place in the history of music, marking as they do the origin of the keyboard concerto genre. Collectively, they encompass the gamut of Baroque rhetorical expression; indeed, leaving aside the six ground-breaking ‘Brandenburg’ Concerts avec plusieurs instruments, it is difficult to think of a more diverse, revolutionary and technically refined set of instrumental concertos from the Baroque period.” -Andrew Arthur\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor their first recording on Signum Classics, The Hanover Band, directed by Andrew Arthur, present four of these revolutionary concertos, and dedicate this release to their Founder and Artistic Director, Caroline Brown (1953-2018). The Hanover Band’s players are amongst the finest in their field and the orchestra has built an international reputation for the excellence of its performances and recordings of eighteenth and nineteenth-century music. Andrew Arthur is best-known for his work in the field of historically informed performance, he is in great demand as a conductor, keyboard soloist and continuo player, working with many of the UK’s leading period-instrument orchestras and professional choirs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArthur stresses how much these works owe to Bach’s early immersion in Vivaldi’s set of concertos \u003cem\u003eL’estro armonico\u003c\/em\u003e, several of which he transcribed, and that Italian influence does indeed permeate the performances on this recording. There’s a triumphal warmth in the Hanover Band’s delivery of the D minor work[.]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArthur’s note on BWV 1054 indicates that he himself is aware of the danger that the harpsichord may be swamped, and in the \u003cem\u003eAdagio e piano sempre\u003c\/em\u003e of the D major work, the soloist is indeed allowed to breathe. In the joyous A major concerto the sonic balance is nicely resolved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e--\u003c\/em\u003eBBC\u003cem\u003e Music \u003c\/em\u003eMagazine\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signum Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012438511850,"sku":"635212071021","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4105798-2844560.jpg?v=1786632931"},{"product_id":"monteclair-concerts-pour-la-flute-traversiere-avec-la-basse-chiffre","title":"Monteclair: Flute Concertos \/ The Opus Project","description":"\u003cp\u003eCelebrated Montréal flutist Joanna Marsden explores the work of eighteenth century French composer Michel Pignolet de Montéclair on MONTÉCLAIR CONCERTS FOR BAROQUE FLUTE from Navona Records. The performances feature The Opus Project, a chamber music initiative founded by Marsden and Christophe Gauthier dedicated to revisiting early musical prints and manuscript sources in order to celebrate the unsung treasures of baroque chamber music. The “concerts” of Montéclair reconcile Italian virtuosity and complexity with French expressive language, exploring a variety of national styles to which he was exposed during his time working in Milan. Orchestrated with flute, viola da gamba, harpsichord, and theorbo, The Opus Project gives new life to these centuries-old compositions for modern audiences.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Navona","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012443689194,"sku":"896931008334","price":8.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4211140-2990455.jpg?v=1786635652"},{"product_id":"j-a-groneman-j-f-groneman-rococo-flute-music","title":"J.A. Groneman \u0026 J.F. Groneman: Rococo Flute Music","description":"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.","brand":"Brilliant Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012448014570,"sku":"5028421970028","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4353007-3201874.jpg?v=1786649463"},{"product_id":"italophilia-discovering-the-italian-style-in-handels-lond-30","title":"Italophilia - Discovering the Italian Style in Handel's Lond","description":"This CD by The Counterpoints, entitled Italophilia: Discovering the Italian style in Handel's London, investigates the Italian musical influences on English baroque music in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Already in 1683, Henry Purcell (1659-1695) had written in the foreword of his Sonatas of three Parts that he had 'faithfully endeavour'd a just imitation of the most fam'd Italian Masters'. In later years, the impact of these Italian Masters would only increase, reaching it's apogee in the work of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). This CD contextualizes Handel's work with composers he influenced and was influenced by, both in England and Italy.","brand":"Challenge Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012454764778,"sku":"608917200034","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4383510-3290509.jpg?v=1786658336"},{"product_id":"locke-the-little-consort-fretwork","title":"Locke: The Little Consort \/ Fretwork","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn November 2022 Fretwork return for the second instalment of their cycle of works by Matthew Locke. Matthew Locke was born 400 years ago in 1622, and while he is often ranked as one of England’s finest composers, he is still unaccountably neglected: his music may not be as immediately appealing as his immediate successor, Henry Purcell, nor as wide-ranging as William Byrd, yet his forceful musical personality and luxuriant technique place him in the first echelon of English composers, with his works described by Richard Boothby of Fretwork as having a “quixotic, capricious restlessness that is constantly challenging the listener to follow his argument ... a thrilling musical ride”. Accompanying Fretwork on continuo for this recording are David Miller (archlute and theorbo) and Silas Wollston (harpsichord). The cover of the album bares an inscription in the walls by the choir stall of Exeter Cathedral, thought to have been carved by the composer during his time as a member of the choir there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn most of the suites, Fretwork exploits the textural and percussive effects of the theorbo and harpsichord - both played with terrific flair - which articulate the all-pervasive dance rhythms. In the serene F major Suite No. 6, omitting the continuo highlights the sparse transparency of the three-part texture and Fretwork ‘play plain’ its interlaced melodies, weaving them into a sheer fabric of sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe players obviously relish these convivial musical conversations and the album makes for felicitous listening and, for the uninitiated, a perfect introduction to Locke’s viol consorts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- BBC Music Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn intriguing recording: on first playing, I found this album difficult to get into, an experience. However, with repeated listenings it did it start to reveal its true – and beautiful – self. These ‘Pavans, Ayres, Corants and Sarabands’ by Matthew Locke are strange things indeed. It is the strangely shifting, uncanny edge to Locke’s music that is his trademark – and Fretwork here transform it into something beguiling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost intriguing are the fleeting moments when Fretwork do not sound like a viol consort. Locke’s designation of the book as ‘for viols or violins’ acknowledges that the viol was soon to be usurped by the violin; here, Fretwork embody this historical juncture through a flexibility and agility of stroke.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Gramophone\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signum Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012456009962,"sku":"635212072820","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4140966-2902857.jpg?v=1786635564"},{"product_id":"sonate-accademiche-an-anthology","title":"Sonate Accademiche - An Anthology","description":"Florentine, born Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1786), was considered one of the greatest violin virtuosos of his day. Periods of residence in London, Dusseldorf, Venice, and Dresden brought the eccentric musician international fame. Amongst his extensive output,  his Sonate Accademiche Op. 2 (London\/Florence 1744) for violin and basso continuo are the best known today. The character of the Sonate Accademiche is defined by a peculiar combination of the intellectual, the virtuosic, and the highly expressive. Despite the technically demanding writing for the violin, Veracini's masterfully idiomatic approach to his own instrument means the virtuosity flows with a natural ease and playfulness.","brand":"Challenge Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012456272106,"sku":"608917200058","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4426902-3398719.jpg?v=1786679276"},{"product_id":"faenza-an-imaginary-codex","title":"Faenza - An Imaginary Codex","description":"An extraordinary recording based on the famous middle-age manuscript Codex Faenza. Extraordinary for the thrilling interpretation of this often obscure and remote musical language. Extraordinary for it's continuous and seamless capacity of captivating the listener, who never gets tired nor bored. Extraordinary for the quality of the sound of the oldest extant organ (Valere, Switzerland - 1435). This daring project owes it's allure to the musicological knowledge and the musical prowess of the interpreters, of the recording engineer and producer. The well thought-out alternance of colours, instruments and climats (keyboards, flutes and voices) allow an enjoyable listening throughout. L'Amorosa Caccia is led by Fabio Antonio Falcone, already responsible for the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik recording of Sweelinck's harpsichord music (CC 72926).","brand":"Challenge Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012457058538,"sku":"608917200065","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4404949-3329280.jpg?v=1786657899"},{"product_id":"tartini-trio-sonatas","title":"Tartini: Trio Sonatas \/ Il Demetrio","description":"With 37 confirmed trio sonatas to his credit, Giuseppe Tartini is the most important Italian composer of his generation for this type of repertoire. It may seem odd therefore that these works have been so sorely neglected; indeed, as of 2022 only around 20 per cent of the repertoire had been recorded and a critical edition had yet to be published. This state of affairs was largely due to confusion regarding sources, with many divergent interpretations and uncertainties regarding the dates of the handwritten scores. Some order has been brought to this originally chaotic situation by the research carried out by Juan Mariano Porta from 2018 to 2022 as part of his doctoral studies, the result of which was the inclusion of the trio sonatas in the upcoming publications of the Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Giuseppe Tartini, with advance materials made available to the Il Demetrio ensemble for recording. Giuseppe Tartini dedicated almost all his energy to his chosen instrument, the violin. His established corpus of works currently numbers 200 sonatas for violin and bass, 150 violin concertos, 37 trio sonatas, a handful of concertos for other instruments, and a small number of quartet sonatas and vocal compositions. Production of the trio sonatas began in the composer's late-mature years, and their style would seem to correspond to Tartini's final compositional period, described as a Drang nach absoluter Musik [urge for absolute music], which began around 1750 without a clear line of demarcation from what came before and continued until the composer's death. The trend was towards simplicity, partly deriving from Tartini's desire to put his theoretical speculations into practice. The trio sonatas no longer feature the virtuoso passages of earlier works. They present a binary form with regular phrasing. Their harmonic rhythm is slow, with the violins mainly proceeding in parallel triplets. The function of the bass is relegated one of harmonic support. This recording contains the sonatas G1, D1, d1 A1, A2, A3, A6, and a1, which date to Tartini's final compositional sub-period. They are little-known pieces, most of them hitherto unpublished.","brand":"Brilliant Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012458402026,"sku":"5028421970172","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4335060-3177826.jpg?v=1786636692"},{"product_id":"bei-bach-zu-hause-sylvius-leopold-weiss-in-leipzig","title":"Bei Bach zu Hause - Sylvius Leopold Weiss in Leipzig \/ Cantalupi, Pozzi","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorn in Grottkau, a town close to Wroclaw in Lower Silesia (modern day Poland), Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750) is for the lute what Johann Sebastian Bach represents for harpsichord and organ. Since 1706, in his hometown, he served Count of Palatinate Charles Philippe, brother of Prince Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, patron of the arts and dedicatee of Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerti Grossi, Op VI.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting in 1718, he settled permanently in Dresden, refusing the salary offered by the Viennese Court –which was almost twice as much as he was earning in Dresden – and dedicated his efforts to composing more than 600 lute pieces, either solo or with other instruments. In Dresden, he took part in the musical life in court and met numerous musicians; he was particularly friendly with Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Johann Sebastian’s son and organist at Saint Sophia’s Church. In 1739, the two friends travelled to Leipzig where they were hosted by Johann Sebastian for four weeks. We don’t know for sure for the music played by Bach and Weiss during their meeting, but it seems legitimate to think that they played their music on their instruments composing, arringing or improvising together. This programme is meant to witness this precise type of practise, and in some manner aims at recreating the musical atmosphere of these two musicians’ meeting, during which, as reported by Johann Friedrich Reichardt in the Berlinische Musikalische Zeitung,\"being aware of the difficulty in performing controlled and elegant phrases on the lute, eyewitnesses ensure that the great lutenist from Dresden, together with the great organist and harpsichordist Bach improvised many fugues and fantasies together\".\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MV Cremona","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012461514986,"sku":"8032632230670","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4275369-3147974.jpg?v=1786649820"},{"product_id":"couperin-dynasty-19-cd","title":"Couperin Dynasty","description":"\u003cp\u003eAdmiration for the French composer, harpsichordist and organist, \u003cstrong\u003eLouis Couperin\u003c\/strong\u003e continues to grow steadily today, but it was not so during his lifetime. The first important edition of his work in modern times, in its latest revision by Thurston Dart (used for this set), catalogues 129 pieces as authentic. Collectively, they help to place Couperin among the greatest composers of the 17th century alongside Frescobaldi, Chambonnieres, Froberger, and D’Anglebert.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough he wrote religious works as well as chamber music, harpsichord music forms the lion’s share of Louis’s nephew \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"expandableItem\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFrançois Couperin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e’s output: 235 pieces in all, most of them published in the four volumes (or Livres) of Pièces de Clavecin, divided into 27 ordres.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike the better-known Jacques Duphly and Claude Balbastre, \u003cstrong\u003eArmand-Louis Couperin\u003c\/strong\u003e belongs to the last generation of French harpsichord composers. The modesty and success which profited Armand-Louis handsomely during his lifetime rather dimmed the light of his creative legacy. He published little during his own lifetime. One of only a few opuses, the magnificent volume of Pièces de clavecin deserves consideration alongside the viol fantazias of Purcell and the Lachrymae of Dowland, examples of lateness in music, where the fruit has ripened beyond high summer, yet there is much of interest in these pieces, beyond their historical value at the end of a distinguished family line.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArmand-Louis’s son, \u003cstrong\u003eGervais-\u003cspan class=\"expandableItem\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFrançois Couperin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, studied with his father then replaced him at the Sainte-Chapelle organ. His keyboard compositions reveal a profound understanding of the delicate nuances and expressive capabilities of the harpsichord, characterized by elegance, refinement and meticulous attention to ornamentation. Yet Gervais-François was also a virtuoso on the new instrument of his day, the fortepiano, and this set features his music performed on that keyboard of greatly expanded expressivity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/b\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBrilliant Classics’ Couperin Dynasty collection usefully gathers together François’s four dazzling books of harpsichord pieces (Michael Borgstede), Massimo Berghella playing harpsichord suites by Louis (historically the first important member of the Couperin family), harpsichord pieces by Armand-Louis (cousin of François) played by Yago Mahugo and catchy, vivacious fortepiano music by Gervais-François (a son of Armand-Louis and a contemporary of Beethoven) adeptly performed by Simone Pierini. The range of music on offer stretches from Gervais-François’s feisty variations to François’s majestic Passacaille, one of the finest masterpieces in the genre. It’s a musical feast to relish, more varied than you might expect. Excellent sound, too, and informative notes by Michael Borgstede, Peter Quantrill, Brigida Cristallo and Massimo Berghella.\u003cp\u003e— Gramophone \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Brilliant Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012463153386,"sku":"5028421970516","price":48.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4281846-3124880.jpg?v=1786639572"},{"product_id":"from-the-library-of-pisendel","title":"From the Library of Pisendel","description":"Please, enjoy one of the most appealing and thought-provoking Baroque discs of the year. It contains a selection of the sonatas drawn from Pisendel's library, the best of Italian and German violin schools. 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