With this first project for Zig-Zag Territories, the musicians of the Canadian ensemble Masques under the direction of the harpsichordist Olivier Fortin demonstrate their passion for the music of the Austrian Baroque composer Johann Heinrich Schmelzer.

John Holloway’s recital of mid 17th century music mines the rich sonic possibilities of a highly unusual instrumental combination: baroque violin with basso continuo provided by harpsichord and organ played simultaneously by two musicians, both realising the figured bass to the full harmonic, contrapuntal and rhythmic potential of their instruments. Aloysia Assenbaum and Lars Ulrik Mortensen brilliantly support Holloway’s exhilarating account of Bertali’s "Chiacona" and move with him through the mysteries of Schmelzer’s "Sonatae Unarum Fidium".

Who doesn't like the ciaccona, ciacona or chaconne - the exuberant dance in which the upper voices fantasize over a bass scheme, imitating and inspiring each other. The ciaconna, which may have come to Spain from South America, quickly spread throughout Europe and even found it's way into popular music. Leila Shayegh and her musician friends from La Centifolia play a whole round of chaconnas, some famous, some unknown, by Bertali, Purcell, Schmelzer Matteis, Corelli or anonymous composers from the famous collection from the "Schrank no. 2" in Dresden. The climax and conclusion is the famous "Canon" (with "Gigue", which is usually neglected) by Johann Pachelbel, played with a liveliness and transparency that is rarely heard in this frequently played piece!

1998 is een bijzonder jaar voor Reinhard Goebel en zijn Musica Antiqua Koln. Dit jaar gedenken zij niet alleen dat Reinhard Goebel de groep 25 jaar geleden oprichtte, maar ook dat zij 20 jaar geleden hun samenwerking begonnen met Archiv Produktion. Hun nieuwste cd "Sonata pro tabula" bevat tafelmuziek om bij te watertanden. Samen met het Flanders Recorder Quartet speelt Musica Antiqua Koln werken van Valentini, Schmelzer en Pezel, steeds afgewisseld met een aantal "A due" voor twee trompetten van Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber.

Des styles italiens novateurs comme l'opéra et l'oratorio, tous deux ayant pour base les mêmes concepts rhétoriques, se sont répandus très rapidement à travers toute l'Europe et c'est dans les régions de langue allemande que les modèles furent développés avec le plus d'ardeur. Le programme de ce CD Sanctum Desiderium est une soigneuse sélection de compositions allemandes du dix-septième siècle qui expriment un désir sacré en le traduisant aussi par des images musicales.

The music on this disc is about sonority, about the brilliance of trumpets and strings in a live, reverberant acoustic such as that of Salzburg cathedral, for which at least some of these works were conceived. And Andrew Manze and his English Concert unequivocally deliver (albeit in the less-opulent confines of London’s Temple Church), from the opening fanfare through the vibrant, tuneful, richly scored sonatas that periodically spice this thoughtfully organized program. The featured work is a Mass, the Missa Christi Resurgentis, likely written for Easter in 1764. It’s a lavish celebration scored for two four-part choirs, an added bass singer, plus two instrumental ensembles, designed to be performed antiphonally in a grand display.

A large collection of religious works by two Austrian composers. Bieber's work for 36 voices is a powerful and moving piece, especially for cornets, trumpets, sackbuts and timpani bursts. Here, Junghaner is in charge of the Viennese early music group and Concerto Palatino, who has the best technique and expressiveness in the early music brass system, also contributes to this wonderful performance. It was performed in the mass format at the time, and is recorded with a sonata in front and behind. [Sony Music]

In the Europe of the first half of the seventeenth century, instrumental music became a source of sonic and expressive experimentation. Influenced by vocal rhetoric, composers sought to replace words with a new musical language. The virtuosity of the instrumentalists developed, as did invention, improvisation and the search for surprising sonorities. Along with the organ or the harpsichord, the violin was the instrument of choice for experimenting with these new techniques. Italian and German composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries such as Farina, Schmelzer, Mealli, Buxtehude, Biber, Pisendel and Bach vied with each other in imaginativeness… The violinist Chouchane Siranossian and the harpsichordist Leonardo García Alarcón – both loyal Alpha Classics artists – have chosen to explore this repertory, here including Bach’s sonatas BWV 1019, 1021 and 1023 among other pieces.

This commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the death of Biber is subtitled ‘In the midst of life we are in death’ and divided into ‘Vita’ and ‘Mors’. The ‘Life’ section consists of the Mass interspersed with all but two of the pieces by other composers listed above; ‘Death’ wraps the Praeludium and Lassus’s Media vita… round the Requiem.

Around the start of the seventeenth century musical style in Europe underwent a remarkable transformation. During the first decades of the Baroque era, instrumental music underwent a deep transformation, the violin being central in the process. Composers, who were themselves violinists, expanded the technical limits of the instrument, developing a form of virtuosity with the bow that was very swiftly followed by an improvement of left-hand technique. The music for three violins and bass selected for this recording is typical of a XVIIth Century genre which disappeared rather quickly afterwards, although some remarkable works were still to be composed during the XVIIIth century. This selection, which borrows this repertoire to many different European countries, presents some of the most delighful Sonata's, ballets, chaconnes, fantasias, sinfonias and canon written.

Music Director of Tafelmusik from 1981 to 2014, Jeanne Lamon was loved by audiences, and praised by critics in Europe and North America for her virtuosity as a violinist and her brilliant musical leadership. Under her direction, Tafelmusik achieved international stature with over 80 recordings to its name, and with tours to over 350 international cities including invitations to the most prestigious concert halls and festivals in the world.

Luigi Zenobi, a virtuoso cornetist known as Luigi del cornetto, was born in Ancona in the mid-sixteenth century. He later moved to Vienna, where he entered the service of the Emperor Maximilian II. His reputation grew and he subsequently worked for the Este family in Ferrara, where he was the most respected and best-paid musician at court up to that time, so sought-after were his talents. Luigi was also a painter, poet, miniaturist and music scholar. An eyewitness recalled the delicacy of his playing: softer than the harpsichord when its lid is closed. Giovanni Sansoni, a composer and cornetist probably originally from Venice, was born around 1593. He was engaged by Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in Graz in 1613 and followed him to Vienna when he became Emperor in 1619.

Das Freiburger Barockorchester zählt zu den wichtigsten Kammerorchestern weltweit. Zahlreiche nationale und internationale Auszeichnungen, darunter der Grammy Award, Echo Klassik oder der Deutsche Schallplattenpreis sind Zeugnisse ihres einzigartigen Schaffens.

A disc of music by the two most talented composers of seventeenth-century Austria and Bohemia is welcome and doubly so when the performances are as lively as these. Philip Pickett and his New London Consort have chosen a varied programme of pieces by Austrian Schmelzer and Bohemian Biber and while I would not advise anyone to listen uninterrupted to the entire disc, taken in sensible doses it should afford pleasure. Schmelzer was born in the 1620s, eventually attaining a position of the highest importance at the Vienna court. Biber was born in 1644 and in 1670 entered the service of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, with whom he remained until his death in 1704. The programme assembled here is culled from various collections and publications and reflects an assortment of stylistic influences and range of colours and sonorities.