The wonderful timbres of original Baroque instruments and the vigorous period interpretations by Paul Dombrecht and Il Fondamento go far to make this 2004 release a delightful listening experience, even if Johann Friedrich Fasch's music falls short of genius. Not that Fasch was considered a mediocrity in his time: despite his later reputation as a modest Prussian kapellmeister, he was widely traveled, well-educated, and popular in his youth; and he enjoyed the benefits brought by continued publication of his Ouvertures, even after settling down in Zerbst in 1722.

Johann Friedrich Fasch was seven years younger than Georg Philipp Telemann was and outlived him by one year; Fasch, Telemann, and Johann Sebastian Bach all traveled in similar circles. In 1720, for example, both Fasch and Bach were gainfully employed in the courts of the Anhalt princes, Bach in Cöthen and Fasch in Zerbst. However, Telemann provided the model for the sonatas heard on CPO's Johann Friedrich Fasch: Trios & Sonatas, featuring Epocca Barocca, a period-instrument ensemble based in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.

Fasch is now recognised as one of the most important innovators in the transitional period between Bach and Haydn. These concertos for combinations such as 2 oboes da silva, 2 violas, 2 bassoons and basso continuo illustrate his supreme skill.

Jan Nigges ist der Flötist des jungen Ensembles "Four Times Baroque", welches für sein erstes Album bei deutsche harmonia mundi gleich als Newcomer des Jahres einen Opus-Klassik-Preis gewann. Für diese Aufnahme bei dhm hat er sich mit einem Ensemble aus befreundeten Musikern und der Sopranistin Sibylla Elsing zusammengefunden, um Werke von Telemann, Händel, Fasch und Pez aufzunehmen.

In this Carus release, Frieder Bernius leads soloists from Kammerchor Stuttgart in a selection of transcriptions by Clytus Gottwald and original compositions for chorus subdivided into multiple parts, in this case, up to 16 parts. The arrangements, here of songs originally for solo voice and piano, demonstrate Gottwald's mastery of this niche genre; he has also made remarkably effective choral transcriptions of chamber music and work for full orchestra. The arrangements, of songs by Ravel, Debussy, and Schumann, work beautifully as choral music, even as independent compositions, considered apart from their sources.

Dresden was a music capital of European rank during the 17th-18th centuries. It was in Dresden that important composers and musicians of the time lived and worked. The Dresden Baroque Orchestra is committed to offering energetic, historically-informed interpretations on baroque instruments and to the rediscovery of forgotten works from the collection of the Dresden court chapel. This collection contains numerous works by composers famous and not, some 1800 manuscripts in all.

2013 Gramophone Artist of the Year, three time winner at the Classic BRITs and also three time winner at the Echo Klassik Awards, Alison Balsom OBE has cemented an international reputation as one of classical music’s great ambassadors and is ranked amongst the most distinctive and ground-breaking musicians on the international circuit today. With this release Alison records on the natural trumpet for the first time since the hugely successful album Sound the Trumpet. Inspired by seasonal Baroque repertoire, the recording includes Bach’s concertos by Corelli, Torelli, and Fasch performed with the Academy of Ancient Music under the direction of violinist Pavlo Besnosiuk.

“Indisputably the most consummate artist in the history of the classical trumpet,” was how Gramophone described Maurice André, a musician characterised by both brilliance and refinement. These six CDs, which give pride of place to music from the 18th and 20th centuries, complement some of the most popular concertos ever written for trumpet with an enticing and fascinating selection of rarely-heard works.

La Serenissima explore the network of friendships and collaborations that helped bring together German and Italian styles during the Baroque, with concertos by Telemann, Pisendel, Brescianello and others.