This recording presents a selection of arias and instrumental pieces taken from Handel's operas, from the early Agrippina (1709) to the late Imeneo (1740), including also an example from the mythological oratorio Hercules (1745). L'Apotheose: From the classrooms of a conservatory to winning a dozen of high profile international prizes and becoming artists in residence of the biggest classical music institution in Spain. That is the unique story of L'Apotheose. The Spanish baroque ensemble has become the newest reference in historicist interpretation in the European music scene. L'Apotheose proudly counts with honours that includes the First Prize, EUBO Development Trust prize and the Friends of York Early Music Festival Prize at the 2019 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition (United Kingdom), Second Prize at the prestigious Internationaal Van Wassenaer Competition 2018 within the Oude Muziek festival in Utrecht (Netherlands), First Prize at the Gottingen Handel Competition 2017 (Germany), and the Second Prize at the Concours International de Musique Ancienne de Val de Loire 2017 (France) chaired by William Christie. Lucia Caihuela, mezzosoprano Born in Madrid, Lucia grew up surrounded by music, singing at home with her mother and grandmother, covering everything from The Sound of Music and El Barberillo de Lavapies to the Beatles and West Side Story. At 19, she decided to pursue a career in singing, completing her first degree at the Arturo Soria Conservatory in Madrid. She then moved to the Netherlands, where she graduated cum laude in historical singing from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam under the guidance of Xenia Meijer. Lucia frequently collaborates with ensembles such as The Netherlands Bach Society, Collegium 1704, L'Apotheose, Al Ayre Espanol, El Afecto Ilustrado, and La Guirlande, among others.

Cascioli: 12 Etudes

The enduring appeal of opera in the 19th century found a new and intimate expression in the realm of solo piano music. This recording reveals how the grandeur and expressive range of operas by Bellini and Verdi was brought from the theatre into private parlours and salons. The composers featured on this album preserve the spirit of the original works while reimagining the famous melodies and dramatic scenes as paraphrases, fantasies and variations. Awardwinning Italian pianist, Ruben Micieli, performs these dazzling pieces in his own unique way, making musical and structural adjustments to each transcription after studying the scores by Bellini and Verdi.

When Music Calls

Even if the name Vicente Lusitano is hardly known today, he is probably the most important composer in Portuguese history. And he is probably also the first black composer whose works appeared in print: Born around 1520 in Olivenca, Portugal, he is described in sources as a 'pardo' (Portuguese for 'half-breed'), his mother was probably of African descent. Lusitano was a Catholic priest for a time and came to Rome in the entourage of the Portuguese papal ambassador. In Italy, he soon made a name for himself as a music theorist and his theoretical writings appeared in various publications. In 1561 he converted to the Protestant faith and went to France and Germany, where his traces are lost. Only a few of Lusitano's works have survived, including his "Liber primus epigramatum" printed in Rome in 1551 a collection of a total of 23 magnificent sacred motets for 5 to 8 voices with direct references to Josquin Desprez. The Ensemble Arte Minima has recorded this collection, which will be released as world premiere recordings. The first part is now available and contains seven motets for 6 and 8 voices.

Duke Jordan (1920 - 2006) was approached in NY by Marcel Romano, musical consultant of the French film Les Liaisons Dangereuse directed by Roger Vadim in 1959 to audition for the soundtracks. It laid down the groundwork for Jordan's rise to the star composer status. All too famous "No Problem" is not included in this sketching but a few of the tunes we come to appreciate later are here in their prototypes. This recording made in a NY studio has never been heard (except maybe by Vadim). SteepleChase is proud to announce the world premier release of the album of cultural/historical significance.

The French harpsichordist Celine Frisch has an extensive discography, including many award-winning recordings devoted to Bach. Now she presents the Partitas, the famous and abundant collection of six suites that Bach composed from 1726 onwards - at the rate of one new partita per year - which he published as his Opus 1: As Celine Frisch points out, "Bach explores the possibilities of each dance in order to extend it's limits deploying an intense expressive palette that ranges from the most disarming tenderness through to the most poignant distress and unbridled joy".

The fact that Johannes Pullois (ca. 1420-1478) is so little known today among the Franco-Flemish composers of the 15th century is solely due to the fact that almost nothing is known about his life and work and only less than two dozen of his compositions have survived. However, the historical significance and special quality of these rare surviving works quickly become clear in the PASSACAILLE recording with the Sollazzo Ensemble. It is definitely worth taking a closer look and listening attentively to this skilful music.

Lars Forssell's lyrics are both lyrical and down-to-earth and often deal with love experiences, exposure and vulnerability. They can be provocative, politically pronounced, mix light and dark and can be both shimmeringly beautiful and agonizingly black. Evert Taube had great significance for tango in Sweden during the 20th century. Lars Forssell was a close friend of the family and played an important role in how the view of Evert Taube changed from a slightly odd troubadour to the role of popular national poet. Sven Bertil Taube and Lars Forssell went to Argentina together in 1988 and experienced Argentine tango. When they got home, they recorded a tango LP. I have chosen some of these songs with Lars's ingenious lyrics. Our last cafe depicts how painful it is to be abandoned. In Lost Birds we meet the deceived man and the broken love. In Again, the lost love is portrayed. Belgrano is nostalgic and invites us to "play the piano of the past".

The Portuguese composer Cesar Viana - born in England, in 1963, and now resident in Spain - is an all-round musician: conductor, pianist, early-music enthusiast, folklorist and flautist, with a special interest in the shakuhachi, the Japanese bamboo flute. His resulting familiarity with Zen Buddhism has left it's mark on his music, where the clean lines of Japanese art combine with a fondness for the contrapuntal textures that form the basis of much European art-music - imagine Bach and Hindemith in the formal elegance of a stone garden, warmed by a touch of western wit.

With their new album Generations, Aleksandra and Alexander Grychtolik present famous 'influencers' of music for keyboard instruments who played a decisive role in shaping the transition from the galant style to Viennese Classicism. The journey begins with W.F. Bach and C.P.E. Bach, who composed works for two harpsichords in succession to their father J.S. Bach, and leads via J.C. Bach to Mozart, who is known to have been strongly inspired by the music of the Bach sons and, like the youngest Bach son, was one of the first composers to create piano works for four hands.

The Lithuanian pianist and composer Vytautas Bacevic?ius (1905-70) - exiled to the New World by the outbreak of the Second World War - is one of the undiscovered pioneers of the twentieth century. This third volume of his piano music presents works written between 1926 and 1959 and shows the evolution of his musical language from the post-Skryabin style of the early works, via the influence of Debussy, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, to a highly individual modernism that can occasionally nod to the jazz of his adoptive New York. It is a testament to the strength of Bacevic?ius' personality that his musical identity remains consistent even as his manner evolves - his individuality is never in doubt, not least because of his enduring fondness for a playful gesture.

Using different settings and combinations of saxophone, modular synths, EWI, drums and electronics, Jeroen and Stephane experience live music in an interactive context. The multiple horns, overdubs, drums and electronics are the platform for exhilarating dialogues about themes and metrics. The result is both heady and groovy, music that can be analyzed or danced to.

No one did more for Danish music in his lifetime than Launy Grondahl. In these radio recordings from the 1950s, he conducted unfamiliar works by the father of the classical tradition in Denmark, J.P.E. Hartmann. This music for the stage presents both the light and the serious sides of the 'Nordic tone' which inflected music in Denmark up to the time of Nielsen and beyond. The Nielsen influence emerges in two movements from the First Symphony by his pupil Poul Schierbeck, and then in a ceremonial cantata which was performed annually to mark Denmark's national day. Composed during the Nazi occupation of Denmark, the cantata by Jens Laurson Emborg belongs to it's dark time, and yet it also captures enduring characteristics of the Danish spirit.

Naji Hakim: A New Voice for the Cello Gwendeline Lumaret explores the fusion of Eastern and Western traditions in Hakim's striking solo and chamber works. This album presents a striking collection of solo and chamber works for cello by�Naji Hakim, performed by�Gwendeline Lumaret�with clarity, virtuosity, and deep expressive insight. Known for his distinctive synthesis of Western classical traditions and Middle Eastern influences, Hakim's writing is both intricate and immediate, drawing on sources as diverse as Gregorian chant, Levantine folk music, and the harmonic innovations of French modernism. The album opens with�Arabesque et Variations, a vivid solo work inspired by the Egyptian song�Ya Chadi el Alhhan�by Sayyed Darwish. The piece moves through four contrasting variations, shifting from playful dance to contemplative lyricism before concluding with an intimate, improvisatory coda.�Missa Cum Jubilo, also for solo cello, takes it's themes from the Gregorian Mass IX. Each movement transforms the chant material into distinct sound worlds, from the expressive ornamentation of the�Kyrie�to the perpetual motion of the�Sanctus�and the luminous tranquillity of the�Agnus Dei. In�Prelude et Habanera, Hakim pays homage to both Bach and the Spanish-inflected harmonies of Ravel and Debussy. The�Prelude�unfolds with the clarity of a Baroque toccata, while the�Habanera�evokes a sultry, shifting landscape of rhythm and color.�Montmartre, written in 2023, is a deeply personal reflection on the history and spiritual resonance of the Parisian district where Hakim served as organist of the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. The album concludes with�Levantine Variations�for cello and piano, a work rooted in the popular song�Bint El Shalabiya. The melody's modal inflections and asymmetrical rhythms are explored through five transformations, ranging from contrapuntal chorale to martial intensity and a dazzling final movement that merges symphonic variation with sonata form. With world premiere recordings of these works, this album is a significant contribution to the contemporary cello repertoire. Gwendeline Lumaret, a performer of remarkable versatility, brings out the rhythmic and expressive richness of Hakim's writing, illuminating the music's interplay of Eastern and Western traditions with precision and artistry.