The Partitas are the first work for harpsichord published by Johann Sebastian Bach. Between 1726 and 1730, the partitas were published separately, one per year, before being brought together in a single collection in 1731. Shortly after his appointment of Cantor of the Leipzig Thomaskirche, Bach decided to devote his Opus I to a fashionable genre: the harpsichord suite, a series of dances of...
Alejo de los Reyes had his first experience of playing the guitar in Argentina with his parents, who were classical guitar players and teachers. In his parents’ home, Argentine folk music was part of every celebration and every gathering, and the tango was his grandfather’s favourite music. During his studies, De los Reyes played alternately in classical concert halls and tango salons. After...
In the present recording, the organists Liuwe Tamminga and Leo Van Doeselaar have selected eleven double-choir instrumental pieces (from Giovanni Gabrieli. This selection of eight-to-twelve-part pieces, performed on two of the most beautiful and suitable organs for this repertoire—the two magnificent organs of the San Petronio Basilica in Bologna (unfortunately no comparable organs have...
The Italian Renaissance is the golden age of the lute. In quality and quantity, the lute pieces from this period are comparable to the piano works of the 19th century. Most of the works selected for this recording are by Francesco da Milano, an extraordinary virtuoso and gifted composer who was also known as "Il Divino" (the Divine), an epithet he shared with Michelangelo and Monteverdi. In...
With this recording, Federica Bianchi explores the development of music for keyboard instruments from the beginning of the 15th century to the dawn of the Baroque period. The earliest works originate from the famous Codex Faenza (c. 1400-1420), a manuscript of secular songs arranged for keyboard instrument by composers such as Jacopo da Bologna and Guillaume de Machaut. The earliest printed...
During the four years between 1750 and 1753, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach composed three concertos for the violoncello with strings and basso continuo. The A minor concerto (Wq.170/H.432) and the B- flat major concerto (Wq.171/H.436), were written in Berlin in 1750 and 1751, respectively, while the A major concerto (Wq.172/H.439) is dated 1753 in Potsdam
From the budding blossoms of first love and the heat of passion, to when feelings subside and fade away, “the seasons of love” are the overarching theme of this programme of madrigali concertati by three notable members of the Venetian school: Biagio Marini, Giovanni Rovetta and Giovanni Valentini. The madrigals on this recording exemplify the new musical aesthetic of affetti and the seasons of...
Small size, four gut strings, a short bow were at beginning the ingredients of the magic. Such magic happened in Italy, the cradle of the violin, during the seventeenth century. “Seicento!” is therefore a multifaceted time-travel through the Early Baroque, from Venice to Sicily, exploring the wonders of the first violin virtuosos and their dexterous-passionated playing. A collection of music...
