The Second Book of Madrigals of Carlo Gesualdo provides the focal point for the latest in La Compagnia del Madrigale’s stunning reappraisals of the glories of the Italian madrigal on Glossa. Probably written by Gesualdo between the time of the double honour killing of his first wife and her lover and his subsequent remarriage, the second book presents a sophisticated compositional mastery quite in keeping with the later books, albeit offering a calmer and gentler approach compared to the more tortured and twisted musical and psychological turns found in the last books. Notwithstanding, much is required from the singers on the Secondo libro di madrigali a cinque voci and La Compagnia del Madrigale bring their much- praised sensitivity to the text, balance of ensemble and dynamic control. In the booklet, both Marco Bizzarini and Giuseppe Maletto investigate the state of mind of this fascinating composer, over four centuries since his death. The substantial second part to this recording offers a set of contrasts with Book 2: nine tracks devoted to madrigalists inspired by Gesualdo’s style, from contemporaries in Nenna, Macque and Palazzotto Tagliavia to the later Sigismondo d’India. A veritable bonus!

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REVIEW:

It seems to me that they have taken time to properly hit their stride, but here they rediscover the heights scaled with Claudio Cavina at the helm. These are near-flawless readings, effortlessly poised and formally legible. Their responses to textual and musical cues are never overdrawn but subtle and even humorous.

– Gramophone

La Compagnia del Madrigale releases another imaginative album on Glossa, turning to a late composition by Orazio Vecchi, Le veglie di Siena from 1604. This entertainment comes in two parts: the first embracing “pleasant” mimicry of the manners of speaking of Italians and foreigners and a high-spirited madrigal group, “La caccia d’Amore”; part two is more “serious” in tone, but with a kaleidoscope of musical styles and emotional expressions representing “umori” or moods. A vivid sense of theatricality from the vocal sextet is complemented by a modern master of the commedia dell’arte, the actor and director Antonio Fava. Nuances, attention to words, compelling humour and ribaldry were all revelled in by Italian patrician society of the time and Vecchi was held in high esteem, including by contemporary composers, achieving a fame which was cut short by his death at 54, with Le veglie di Siena being regarded as Vecchi’s “spiritual testament”. Marco Bizzarini’s compelling essay places this madrigal comedy in the contexts both of its time and of recent scholarship, whilst making plain the rumbustious fun there is to be had in the company of madrigalists as fine as can be heard on this new double-disc set.

The lute, one of the instruments listed among those left by Bach when he died, which he presumably played, is an important vehicle for transcriptions of his music for violin and cello. For Bach and his contemporaries the lute was the ideal translator of violinistic pieces thanks to its combination of complete polyphonic range and unique melodic purity.

Lutenist José Miguel Moreno has striven to achieve this ideal,presenting us with his original, painstakingly produced versions of the Sonata BWV 1001 and the Partita BWV 1004, fundamentally faithful to Bach’s own manuscript, to which he has sparingly added just those elements that bring his instrument, the lute, to the foreground and make his version as natural and idiomatic as Bach’s original.

The early works of Francesco Geminiani (ca. 1680-1762) were still "corellized" in the style of his adopted country, England. However, from the cello sonatas Op. 5 onwards at the latest, his melodies were more winding and often took unpredictable turns, as if they had been improvised. The irregular melody formation, the ornamentation and the expressive power of their lines made these compositions seem very unusual and thus probably did not correspond to the common English musical taste of the time. However, it is precisely this aspect that captivates us today. Geminiani's music is so expressive that his cello sonatas Op. 5 can rightly be described as the most important of his time.

Francesco de Goya - Music around the Painter

Don Quixote and it's Music

Bernardo Pasquini (1637-1710) was the harpsichord virtuoso in Rome at the time of Alessandro Scarlatti and Arcangelo Corelli. His 14 sonatas a due cimbali are suitable for virtuoso extemporizing due to their special structure: the composer did not write out the harpsichord part, but only the figured basses, occasionally numbered to indicate the desired harmonies, so that the players are largely free to perform the actual harpsichord part. A real treat for two thoroughbred harpsichordists such as Attilio Cremonesi and Alessandro de Marchi, who were able to give free rein to their unbridled musical and improvisational passion on this recording in 1991.

Luigi Boccherini himself was an outstanding cellist and devoted a great deal of space to his instrument in his oeuvre. He was particularly fond of the string quintet in the special instrumentation of two cellos or cello and double bass, of which he can be considered the "inventor" - he wrote over 100 works in this genre. It's origins are closely linked to the court in Spain, where he found a complete string quartet of professional musicians in the Fontin Boadilla del Monte family, whom he joined with his concertante cello. Cellist Josetxu Obregon and his ensemble La Ritirata have selected four of Boccherini's string quintets for the new CD "Fandango". The quintet's name was inspired by Quintet No. 77, which in the second movement strikes up the rhythm of the popular Spanish dance and requires the cellist to pick up the castanets. But Boccherini also translates his Spanish impressions into music in many other places: in Quintet No. 60, the nightlife in the streets of Madrid is depicted with many sound impressions such as church bells, marching soldiers, beggars playing music and street singers, and Quintet No. 12 takes us to the royal birdhouse with birdsong and twittering.

The Spanish violinist Lina Tur Bonet loves big challenges: Bach, Biber, Corelli, Vivaldi. She has already dedicated two albums to the "prete rosso", which have enraptured audiences and critics alike: "devil's violinist", "rock star attitude", "Jimi Hendrix of the baroque violin" are just some of the descriptions one could read about her. With this recording, she ascends to the "Vivaldi Olympus" and dedicates herself to the "Four Seasons". Tur Bonet also succeeds in living up to her reputation here: She elicits new facets from the much-performed work, offers surprisingly new listening impressions and delivers an expressive, emotionally charged interpretation. The violinist contrasts Vivaldi with Astor Piazzolla's "Four Seasons". Although this is not a new idea, Tur Bonet is also going her own way here: she plays Piazzolla's work in the original quartet instrumentation and has brought highly virtuoso Argentinian tango specialists to her side. The result is tango in it's purest form: sweet and rough, sad and wild, rhythmic and free.

In this album, the tenor Marco Angioloni pays homage to his two homelands Italy and France with a selection of pieces and songs that grasp the essence of the 20th century, from the period between the two wars to the 1950's. It brings together a repertoire from the operetta aria to classical and popular songs. "Each of these pieces resonates in my ears: I can still hear my mother and my grandmother humming them, in our Italian family fascinated by Paris. This selection reveals the great variety of styles and tastes of the period, from the supercharged ambiance of cabarets to the intimacy of Italian salons. Follow me through the narrow streets where colorful laundry is hung at the window, and onto the squares where the aroma of hot croissants wafts early in the morning — into the bustling atmosphere of my two countries." (Marco Angioloni)

André Cardinal Destouches was one of the most important opera composers of the generation between Lully and Rameau. Louis XIV is said to have declared that no opera since Lully had pleased him as much as Destouche's first work "Issé" (1697). His subsequent operas also quickly found their way into the repertoire of the Academie Royale de la Musique.

It would be difficult to find a composition that resembles the twelve-part mass Et ecce terrae motus by Antoine Brumel (ca.1460-ca.1520). The almost continuous scoring with twelve voices and its musical effect give this work a unique position in Renaissance music. Brumel made a name for himself in the European music world of the 16th century with this unique experiment. Bjorn Schmelzer and Graindelavoix present here a recording whose artistic uncompromisingness really does have the effect of an earthquake.

The music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has always been one of the raisons d’être of Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century since its foundation back in 1981. In this sense, it’s no wonder that Mozart is the most represented composer on The Grand Tour collection, the series within the Glossa label on which the orchestra has been issuing all its recordings since 1997. Brüggen‘s Mozart output encompasses 6 titles on 8 CDs, included in this box appropriately titled A Life with Mozart. (additionally the Mozart recording Oboe Concerto (2015) from the post-Bruggen era has been added to the box.) Great soloists join maestro Brüggen and his orchestra on this recorded Mozart journey: Thomas Zehetmair for the violin concertos, soprano Cyndia Sieden for the concert arias written for Aloysia Weber, Eric Hoeprich in the clarinet concerto, mezzo Joyce DiDonato in arias from La Clemenza di Tito, to name a few. Brüggen’s landmark readings of the last three symphonies (Diapason d’or de l’année) and the Requiem are also included, the latter documenting the impressive Tokyo concert of 1998.

Venice's four famous"Ospedali" – houses for orphans with a fundamental musical education and outstanding music ensembles and soloists – were among the city's most important cultural institutions for a long time. Many prominent musicians worked at the Ospedali, including the famous singer, singing teacher and opera composer Nicola Porpora. He worked at three of the four Ospedali between 1729 and 1747. At the so-called"Ospedaletto", he taught singing to several female students and also met the highly talented singer Angiola Moro, known as"Anzoletta". Porpora created some of the most demanding solo roles for her during his time at the Ospedaletto. The mezzo-soprano José Maria Lo Monaco, who has performed as an opera soloist (not only in baroque operas) on the world's great stages, has taken on"Anzoletta's" parts and presents two cantatas and a Salve Regina on this recording. She is accompanied by the Ensemble Stile Galante under the direction of Stefano Aresi, which completes the program with Porpora's cello concerto, interpreted by Agnieszka Oszanca.

The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century continues true to its original guiding spirit, with a new recording of the six Hamburg Symphonies, Wq 182 by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. This second son of JS Bach, Carl Philipp has sometimes had a rough ride with posterity (and with some of his contemporaries too). Although overshadowed later by Haydn and Mozart – albeit admired by the pair – and overshadowed in his lifetime by Handel, he remains a crucial link between the Baroque and the Classical, particularly for the ultra-sensitive style, his Empfindsamkeit. Thirty years spent writing hundreds of harpsichord works in the Berlin of Frederick II of Prussia before moving to Hamburg to write religious music at the Johanneum, his mind was awash with new and different ideas appreciated by Gottfried van Swieten. This baron commissioned these six symphonies, urging Carl Philipp to aim high in his compositional writing, and he responded by giving free rein to his musical ideas and his treatment of the instruments in these six three-movement works. Scored for strings and continuo, these works from 1773 have very little in common with other pre-classical symphonies, including those by Carl Philipp’s brother Johann Christian (or Italian opera overtures), as is remarked upon by Emilio Moreno in his booklet essay. The Orchestra – here with Alexander Janiczek as leader – responds with evident pleasure to Bach’s rich harmonies, bold dynamics and flowing melodies and with much appetite for his virtuosic instrumental writing.