Celebrating the 300th anniversary of Handel's great Brockes-Passion: a long-neglected masterpiece by this most brilliant composer, from a libretto by his friend, Barthold Brockes, one of Germanys leading poets. The culmination of two years of scholarly research by a team of scholars and musicologists from the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, King's College London, Open University and more, working alongside Music Director Richard Egarr and editor Leo Duarte. Consulting 15 manuscript sources from 11 collections in 5 countries, this is the most substantial edition of this work yet, including as appendices extra movements and Charles Jennens' partial English translation in their world premiere recordings.

Johann Christian Bach's op 17 sonata's were written considerably later than the op 5 and therefore display a more mature style. The op 5 published for harpdichord or fortepiano were keen to dazilingly exploit the possibilities of the the new piano, the op 17 were written when the piano was more comfortably established (Broadwood was now producing pianos almost exclusively the last harpsichord being produced in 1783), and therefore do not strive to employ such fantastic devices such as extreme contrasts of dynamics and orchestral effects as their predecessors.

A violinist in a class of his own, Renaud Capuçon shows why he is 'Le Violon Roi'; (The Violin King) in this 3-CD collection. As the leading French violinist of his generation, Capucon records exclusively for Virgin Classics and has a rich discography. The set brings together not only some of his best and most popular performances as a soloist but as a collaborator.