Alison Balsom - The Sound of Alison Balsom (2013)

Among the most exciting classical musicians of our time, Alison Balsom was first inspired by Dizzy Gillespie to become a virtuosic trumpet soloist. 'I've spent my whole life trying to show how versatile the trumpet can be,' she says. 'It's only limited by your imagination.' In this selection from her award-winning albums, she plays gems from the Baroque repertoire on both natural and valved instruments.
The Sound of Alison Balsom contains repertoire drawn from the trumpeter s critically acclaimed discography and reflects her passion for Baroque music. Alison performs works by Purcell, J.S. Bach, Torelli, Handel, Albinoni and Marcello on both the Baroque and modern trumpet with colleagues including The English Concert/Trevor Pinnock and the Scottish Ensemble. In addition, she plays her own transcriptions on the piccolo trumpet of the aria Al lampo dell armi from Handel s Giulio Cesare and the Sinfonia from Act 3 of his opera Amadigi di Gaula, both of which appear here for the first time on CD. The music on this album was composed at a time when trumpets provided the soundscape for state occasions, sacred services and public entertainments in the form of anthems, odes, sinfonias and operas. ";I ve loved early music for as long as I can remember"; Alison says. There s such an emotional depth and so much to explore in compositions from the late 1500s to Bach s death in 1750. In addition to works written for her instrument, Alison has continued the tradition of transcribing and arranging Baroque concertos for oboe, flute and violin for the piccolo trumpet. I don t see myself as a historian limited to original instruments or copies of them';, she says. 'I see myself as a performer who is trying to play music of all periods in the most stylish way possible. We must respect how composers from the past intended their music to sound while re-creating it for listeners today.

Track List:

1. Trumpet Tune - Alison Balsom, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
2. Symphony - Alison Balsom, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
3. Shepherd, Shepherd, Leave Decoying - Alison Balsom, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
4. King Arthur Suite: Act 5 Warlike Consort - Alison Balsom
5. Fairest Isle - Alison Balsom, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
6. Sarabande - Alison Balsom
7. Aria Variata in A Minor (Italian Variations) BWV 989 - Alison Balsom, Alistair Ross
8. Allegro - Alison Balsom, Colm Carey
9. Adagio - Alison Balsom, Colm Carey
10. Allegro Assai - Alison Balsom, Colm Carey
11. Badinerie from Suite No. 2, BWV 1067 - Alison Balsom
12. II. Andante - Alison Balsom, Edward Gardner, Goteborg Symfoniker
13. I. Allegro - Alison Balsom, Thomas Klug, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
14. II. Adagio - Presto - Allegro - Alison Balsom, Thomas Klug, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
15. III. Allegro - Alison Balsom/Thomas Klug/Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
16. Giulio Cesare: Al Lampo dell'armi - Alison Balsom
17. Grave - Alison Balsom
18. Allegro - Alison Balsom
19. Largo - Alison Balsom
20. Allegro - Alison Balsom
21. I. Andante e spiccato - Alison Balsom, Scottish Ensemble
22. II. Adagio - Alison Balsom
23. III. Presto - Alison Balsom, Scottish Ensemble
24. Atalanta - Overture - Alison Balsom, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
25. Eternal Source of Light Divine (Birthday Ode for Queen Anne) HWV 74 - Alison Balsom, Iestyn Davies, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
26. "Sento la goia" from Act 3 of Amidigi di Gaula - Alison Balsom, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
27. Amidigi di Gaula: Act 3 - Sinfonia - Alison Balsom