Avec ce double album, Anna Danilevskaia, violiste virtuose, et son Ensemble Sollazzo concluent l'enregistrement du Manuscrit de Louvain. L'exceptionnelle découverte, en 2015, de ce manuscrit émanant du centre de la France et daté approximativement de 1475 enrichit et renouvelle notre connaissance de la chanson de langue française du milieu du XVe siècle. En effet, sur les 49 chansons séculières qu'il rassemble, 12 ne figurent dans aucune autre source. Si aucune indication d'auteur ne figure dans le manuscrit, les chercheurs ont pu, par recoupements, attribuer nombre d'entre elles à des compositeurs déjà connus ; d'autres restent anonymes. Ce sont bien sûr des chansons d'amour, ballades, lais et virelais. Dominent naturellement dans cet album des compositeurs franco-flamands de la cour des ducs de Bourgogne, comme Antoine Busnois, Hayne van Ghizeghem, Gilles Binchois, ou encore l'Anglais Robert Morton. Mais on y trouve aussi des chansons d'autres compositeurs nordiques ayant oeuvré pour la cour des rois de France, comme Firminus Caron et Johannes Ockeghem, ainsi qu'un représentant de la « contenance angloise », Walter Frye. Ainsi qu’un certain Barbingant dont on ne sait rien d'autre que son « Au travail suis » fut la base d'une messe parodique d'Ockeghem. L’Ensemble Sollazzo nous aura offert de ce manuscrit richement enluminé une lecture passionnante, fraîche, variée, éclatante, osée mais convaincante. (Marc Galand)

The harpsichordist and conductor Alexander Grychtolik and the top Belgian ensemble Il Gardellino present here on PASSACAILLE an attempt to reconstruct the Passion oratorio BWV Anh. 169, which Bach began around 1725 but then
abandoned or had to abandon. This recording is intended to show that with Picander's free Passion poem, the composer must also have planned his own contribution to the then extremely popular genre of the freely composed Passion oratorio. Numerous detailed questions about the work will probably remain unanswered forever. In the spirit of artistic experimentation, however, this version is intended to explore a new aspect of Bach's Passion aesthetics.

Die Cellistin Elinor Frey beschäftigt sich seit langem mit der Erforschung, Einspielung und Edition der bemerkenswerten Cellomusik von Giuseppe Clemente Dall‘Abaco (1710-1805). Auf ihrer neuen CD mit Werken des Komponisten wird die Kunst der Variation mittels zweier Cellotrios sowie in drei Cellosonaten erforscht. In jeder Sonate haben die Schlusssätze ein Thema, auf das eine Reihe von Variationen folgt. Diese geben dem Komponisten bzw. der Interpretin Raum, das Stück weiterzuentwickeln, indem sie einfallsreiche und virtuose neue Figuren in der Solocellostimme entwickelt.

Recorded sets of Rameau’s complete original harpsichord pieces – in other words, including the 1706 Premier livre de pièces de clavecin as well as the more commonly investigated 1724 Pièces de clavecin and the 1728 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin – are still surprisingly rare, so this new arrival on the scene from Swiss harpsichordist Michel Kiener ought to be a welcome one. Kiener may not have troubled the cataloguers too much in the past, but he is a player with a crisp and tidy technique well able to withstand the close scrutiny of recording one of the great monuments of the harpsichord repertory. The impression – heightened by a punchy (and punchily recorded) instrument – is of strong fingers marshalled with impressive control.

By 1750, the cello was an important and fashionable instrument in Paris and throughout France. Cellist-composers contributed dozens of works and the best performers throughout Europe were heard on Parisian stages. However, a newly-developed type of harp, the single-action pedal harp, was about to explode in popularity. Jean Baur, a musician from Bouzonville, France, arrived in Paris in 1745, published two collections of cello sonatas, and then primarily performed on and composed for the harp throughout the 1760s and 70s, including a performance at the Concert Spirituel with his harpist daughter. This project presents the first recording dedicated to this fascinating and practically unheard composer. In it, we hear his more "serious" cello music alongside Galant salon music for entertainment. Jean Baur's chamber music captivates with it's joyful and imaginative passagework and his vividly expressive melodies.

In the years 1575-77, Venice was struck by a plague of unusual violence, killing a third of the population in just two years. To stave off the plague which the Venetians felt was caused by the wrath of God, they began already in 1575 with the construction of the beautiful Chiesa del Redentore.

The ensemble Ratas de viejo mundo lets us discover the richness of the musical heritage of Parma, which developed into a leading musical centre under the Farnese, at the latest in the 16th century. At the Farnese court, Flemish musicians such as Cipriano de Rore or Josquin Persoens achieved great fame and had a decisive influence on the development of instrumental music and the madrigal.

This release is part of a set of Bach cantata recordings by the Belgian group Il Gardellino and director Marcel Ponseele: not an entire new Bach cantata cycle but a set of thematically oriented recordings that may also include works by other composers. "De profundis" (from the depths) offers three cantatas based on Psalm 130, which begins with the words "From the depths I cry to thee, Lord" and was translated into German in several ways.

Alex Potter und Il Gardellino präsentieren zwei geistliche Kantaten von Bach aus dem Jahr 1726: Geist und Seele wird verwirret BWV 35 und Gott soll allein mein Herze haben BWV 169. In diesen beiden Werken werden die durchaus weltlichen Ursprünge der Gattung deutlich. Die ausdrucksstarken Rezitative und die virtuosen Arien zeugen eher vom Einfluss der italienischen Oper als von Bachs lutherischen Wurzeln. Darüber hinaus spielt die konzertante Instrumentalmusik in diesen Kantaten, denen eigenständige Einleitungssinfonien mit obligater Orgel vorangehen, eine prominente Rolle.

Richter Ensemble is a new chamber music initiative in which the members share a mutual passion for bold artistic expression. Emphasising flexibility and freedom, the group works mainly as a string quartet, but can expand to a larger chamber orchestra. It is fervent about highlighting hidden connections in music ranging from the 17th to the 21st centuries, demonstrated through its innovative programming. Benefitting from members' vast experiences of performing with leading period ensembles, the Richter Ensemble presents a fresh palette of colors by playing uniquely on gut strings. It seeks to bring spontaneity and new light to every performance and is enthusiastic about collaborating with artists from other fields such as dance and visual media (i.e. projections, installations, art exhibitions, and film). The ensemble has a particular affinity for music from Fin-desiècle and the Second Viennese School, and strives to reintroduce that music to audiences through a new lens.

Blau, die Farbe des Sternenhimmels, die Farbe der Urania, jener Muse der Astronomie, die die Welt in ihren Händen hält. Im Blauen Salon der Madame de Rambouillet plaudern die "Pre'cieuses" in einem eleganten Rahmen über alle gesellschaftlichen Grenzen hinweg und mit der ganzen Raffinesse des 17. Jahrhunderts. Zwei exzellente Musikerinnen - die Sopranistin Deborah Cachet und Sophie Vanden Eynde an der Theorbe - stellen die Farben dieser anmutigen "Pre'cieuses" nach. Lassen Sie sich von Klängen trösten, die, genau wie Worte, die Wahrheit in hellblaue Satinschleier hüllen.

The renowned baroque violinist Enrico Onofri has prepared a program centered on the violin with its ability to express contrasting passions and moods. For this purpose, the Imaginarium Ensemble temporarily dispensed with its bass section and became an outstanding ensemble of solo violinists (including Boris Begelman and Alessandro Tampieri). Telemann's large body of works without basso continuo proves ideal for this purpose: among them are, for example, delightful concertos for four violins without bass and expressive violin duets.

Tonrroutt, Thauranth, Tauront, Taurath, Torenth… few composers have had their names mangled by scribes so badly as the protagonist of this recording. The identity of the composer behind these variants has long remained shrouded in mystery. It is known that a certain Johannes Tourout was cantor in the chapel of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg. The composer must have been very popular in Central Europe: a large number of his works can be found in important manuscripts from that region. Given the stupendous craftsmanship evident in his compositions, it is surprising that modern musicians have not paid greater attention to them.Cappella Mariana and its artistic director Vojtěch Semerád now seek to fill the gap with this portrait album. This selection aims to display the wide stylistic range of 15th-century polyphony, with a mass, Latin motets, and secular chansons set to texts in the vernacular. With a mass, motets and French secular songs, they aim to display the wide stylistic range of 15th century polyphony.

Eight years on from the release of his compelling debut album Sun, Cloud, Luke Howard has now established himself as one of the most important and exciting musicians in contemporary classical music. The composer has been at the forefront of opening up piano music to a new generation, while challenging the notion of what can be achieved in the form. New album All Of Us is not only an exquisite portrait of isolation, loss, resistance and reconciliation in both stark and rich shades of piano, orchestra and electronics, but the theme of quarantine provides a framework for the record. Throughout the album, Howard shifts between subtle permutations of shifting sound, etched with his trademark intimacy and restraint, and applied with a palate both minimalist and expansive; to his own piano, celeste and synthesiser, the Budapest Art Orchestra (conducted by Peter Pejtsik) plays strings, guests added flugelhorn, viola, contrabass and modular synth whilst fellow post-classicist Ben Lukas Boysen provides additional programming, production and mixing on ‘Critical Spirit’ and ‘The Opening Of The Gates’.

Franz Schubert (1797-1827) was an extremely prolific composer, but his entire output for violin and piano represents more than two hours of music. His bold use of tonalities is already evident in the early works from 1816 and 1817, which clearly reflect his admiration for Mozart. The first three are labelled "Sonatina", possibly intended to appeal to amateur musicians. However, they are highly complex works by the youthful composer. The late works, written in 1826 and 1827 shortly before his death, are characterised by an exuberant virtuosity, and sometimes the piano is treated like a substitute orchestra.Piet Kuijken and Naaman Sluchin have devoted more than ten years to the intensive study of the interpretation of these works and the question of appropriate period instruments, with the aim of doing optimal justice to the spirit of Schubert’s music in its profoundly human depth: "In these pieces, Schubert showcases every possible technical trick; invention is constantly applied to formal structure, the greatest simplicity is found alongside outrageous virtuosity, and an infinite variety of timbre can be found".