The present recording constitutes more than just a new version of the Vespers. It is the first recording of the Vespers in the alternative version proposed by the composer, without concertato instruments. It reveals the underlying matrix of the work we all know, the ‘original version’ to which Monteverdi added concertato instruments for use in large-scale performances. Respecting the structure of the Office of Vespers, Ludus Modalis has chosen to frame the psalms with the antiphons corresponding to a Marian ceremony.

The idea for this CD developed during a recording of the Fantasy No. 7, and quickly established its own momentum. What began as a spontaneous thought experiment soon demanded fulfilment, and morphed swiftly into the desire to take part in the reawakening of this music. What followed was months of intensive dialogue with, and examination of, the 12 Fantasies by Telemann. Having first studied modern cello Renate Mundi discovered her passion for baroque music, and for the viola da gamba in particular. Her enthusiasm for the special characteristics of the instrument, as well as her interest in source studies, including the search for undiscovered scores, was fostered by Prof.

Das erstklassige Solistenensemble, der RIAS-Kammerchor und die Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin und nicht zuletzt Jacobs selbst sind Garanten für lebendige historische Aufführungspraxis, so dass diese Interpretation der h-Moll Messe von der Fachpresse entsprechend enthusiastisch aufgenommen und den wenigen Referenzeinspielungen an die Seite gestellt wurde.

There is no question that Kennedy believes Bach is the greatest of composers. He has said so when giving his inimitable introductions to encore items at concerts, and his commitment to Bach's cause is the foundation upon which these recorded performances is based.

Printed by Bartolomeo Magni in Venice in 1641, this third book, whose full title emphasizes Ferrari’s three activities (as poet, singer, and theorbist), also affirms that the author considers himself a poet and sets only his own texts to music. This 34-page collection contains seventeen pieces for solo voice and basso continuo on which, according to Alessandro Magini, “the sophistication of monophonic chant and the refinement of the harmonic-rhythmic structure that make enforcement difficult at a point as only the greatest virtuosos of the court were able to execute them.» It is no coincidence that Ferrari dedicated his collections for voice and continuo to the world of the court.

Women in music, either as composers, performers, or inspirational figures, are never celebrated enough. This CD presents great examples of brilliant feisty women who, amongst the barriers imposed on them at the time, managed to survive history and leave their mark. These women charmed the courts of Italy, France and England with their talent and managed to create their unique musical expression, which deserves a lot more attention in our present time. Featuring the dramatic expression of early Baroque as noted on the works by Francesca Caccini and Barbara Strozzi as well as the flamboyant and groundbreaking pieces by Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and Elisabetta de Gambarini.

Three years as a Delphian artist have seen Sean Shibe record music from seventeenth-century Scottish lute manuscripts to twenty-first-century works for electric guitar, picking up multiple editor's choices and award nominations for each release, as well as the Royal Philharmonic Society's prestigious Young Artist of the Year accolade. Now he turns to the music of J. S. Bach, with three works whose obscure early performance history belies their status as repertoire staples for modern guitarists.

Recording Bach's six Cello Suites realized Emmanuelle Bertrand's most cherished dream. Her performance here features an exceptional instrument, built by Carlo Tononi in Venice in 1730. This cello, with it's deep and powerful sound, has been set up in 'Baroque' style (with gut strings and bow to match). In Bertrand's hands it proves to be the perfect choice for tackling one of the most impressive monuments in all western music.

“One of the great interpreters of J. S. Bach,” was the New York Times’ description of the German organist and harpsichordist Helmut Walcha (1907-1991). His “intuitive grasp of the composer’s mind and intentions” was noted by The Guardian, while Gramophone judged that “his coherence and inner logic as a Bach interpreter remain unsurpassed.” Walcha’s recordings of Bach’s major solo keyboard works, performed on the harpsichord, are gathered together in this superb 13-CD collection.

Demofoonte dates from the early Milan years of Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), long before the radical reform operas for which he is most famous and his break with opera seria and the librettos of Pietro Metastasio. Gluck arrived in the northern Italian city in 1737 and was mentored there by composer Giovanni Battista Sammartini. Though Sammartini primarily composed symphonies and music for the church, Milan boasted a vibrant opera scene, and Gluck soon formed an association with one of the city's up-and-coming opera houses, the Teatro Regio Ducal.

Germany's Accent label has released a series of twin-CD sets featuring the Baroque flute recordings made by Barthold Kuijken, sometimes (as here) accompanied by his cello-playing brother Wieland. The originals date back to the late '70s, when Kuijken was one of the Dutch specialists who brought historical performance out of the too-precious phase, and they still sound good. This release pairs a 1979 set of French flute sonatas from the middle eighteenth century with a 1991 group of Italian works of the same period. The two discs, both recorded in Belgian churches, don't have exactly the same ambiance, but the pairing is an intelligent one, making this a good pick from among the various discs available.

This 6-CD set present the complete keyboard music (organ and harpsichord) of Holland’s most famous composer: Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.

This was to be the end of the line for Italian word-setting by Viennese composers: once the confident sentiments that belonged to the poet Metastasio's opera seria felt the chill and threatening wind of Enlightenment and Revolution, their time was up. Even we, for the most part, prefer to remember the German-speaking Beethoven, Schubert and Haydn. So it is good to be reminded of their responses to the Italian muse (usually as part of their craft-learning student work) in this particularly well-cast recital. Central Europe, in the person of Andras Schiff meets Italy, in Cecilia Bartoli, to delightful, often revelatory effect.

The transcription on this CD was prepared by the eminent Polish-Jewish composer from Lvov, Józef Koffler, who arranged the Variations for a chamber orchestra (flute, oboe, English horn, bassoon and string quintet). This transcription, completely unknown until only recently, is undoubtedly one of the best 20th-century transcriptions of Bach's music.