Gustav Leonhardt Edition

 

Release Date: February 17, 2009 Label: Teldec Number of discs: 21 Composer: Various composers Performer: Gustav Leonhardt cd info/ buy

Review:

Gustav Leonhardt was a major force in the movement to perform early music on period instruments. He was a keyboard player and conductor, and also a bit of a wiz in the recording studio. The Gustav Leonhardt Edition contains 21 discs of near perfect baroque music, with a heavy emphasis on harpsichord works. People insist that you can't buy happiness, but in fact you can. Of the 21 discs, eight are dedicated to concertos and chamber works by J S Bach. The other 13 CDs are a flood of joyous noises by deliciously obscure composers such as Mondonville, Kuhnau, Rosenmüller, Grigny, Scheidt, Schmelzer, Poglietti, Turini Caccini and Marini as well as more familiar names like Purcell, Frescobaldi, Rameau Scarlatti and Couperin. The greatness of this set makes it very hard to write about without seeming sycophantic. So, here's a solitary complaint: There is a very slight wavering of otherwise superb sound quality in the second disc of Bach's violin sonatas - but you can only detect it with headphones on. Nothing to get excited about, since it only lasts a few seconds. Here are some highlights: J S Bach Violin Sonatas (two discs). Totally compelling playing. Entirely unsentimental, keeping a steady hand, even in the most heart-rending moments. Repeats are always given extra injection of gusto. Oddly the violin is alone in the left channel and the harpsichord is lonely in the right. J S Bach Harpsichord Concertos (three discs). The better-known pieces alongside the lesser-spotted concertos. If you ever wondered what the Double Violin Concerto would sound like played on a harpsichord, wonder no more. Virtuoso playing from Leonhardt. Very sensitive orchestral playing. Rameau Chamber Music. Odd, fresh and fantastic stuff for harpsichord, violin, viola da gamba and a very haunting transverse flute played by Frans Brüggen. Mondonville Violin Sonatas. More flashy violin writing than in Bach's sonatas. Probably written for the composer to perform himself, showing off his nifty, dynamic playing and thrusting, dramatic writing. Froberger Keyboard Works. Mournful and very individual music. Perfectly calm dissonances played with a simple and sweet organ tone. Kuhnau Biblical Sonatas. Totally bizarre and unique organ works. These are sort of early tone poems - sonatas depicting Biblical stories that begin with Leonhardt reading quite lengthy chunks from the Old Testament (in German). There are partial translations in the booklet, just enough to give you a clue what the music is doing: "The terrible din and defiance of Goliath." Wow. Purcell Anthems and Songs. Another reminder that between 1964 and 1971 (when these recordings were made) recording technology was very sophisticated. Fabulous singing. There might well some recordings out there of individual pieces by J S Bach that are marginally better, but the quality of the performances overall is stunning. Not to mention the jaw-dropping variety of music on offer. One to cherish.- Stephen Crowe

 

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Bonporti - Invenzioni a violino solo Opus X - Chiara Banchini

 

Release Date: October 14, 2003 Label: Harmonia Mundi Number of discs: 2 Composer: Francesco Antonio Bonporti Performer: Chiara Banchini  cd info/ buy

Review:

The ten Invenzioni du camera, Op. 10, by Vivaldi's contemporary, Bonporti, were first published in Bologna in 1712. These pieces for solo violin and continuo follow no set pattern but consist of a wide variety of movement types, ranging from the dance measure of conventional suites to recitative, arias, highly imaginative capriccios and pieces from whose very name we infer the composer's uninhibited fantasy and search for novel means of expression. In one respect, at least, they certainly made their mark, for within three years of their first printing Bach had copied out four of them, Nos. 2, 5, 6 and 7 (BWVAnh173-76). Not until the present century, in fact, were the four Invenzioni in question thought to be other than original products of Bach's pen, a commendation indeed of the extent of Bonporti's 'invention' and craftsmanship. And the fact that the set was printed again in the year following its initial publication, this time in Venice, is indicative of the lively interest already being shown in Bonporti's opus. In the light of all this it is perhaps surprising that we have had to wait so long for a complete recording of Bonporti's Inventioni; for, though not quite the first recording - that honor goes to the Aglaia Ensemble on Stradivarius - it is the first to be widely available. Violinist Chiara Banchini provides the stronger performance of the two with a more secure technique and a more demonstrative, virtuosic approach to the music. Yet the warmer violin tone of the rival set, the softerspoken account of the slow movements and the altogether gentler gestures make for considerable appeal. Both sets are strong, though contrasting in their continuo support; Banchini's version prefers harpsichord and cello throughout while the Aglaia Ensemble field, in addition, an organ, baroque guitar, double harp and an archlute.

 

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Christopher Hogwood, clavichord - The secret Bach, Handel and Mozart

 

Release Date: 2004-2006 Label: Harmonia Mundi / Metronome Number of discs: 3 Composer: Bach, Handel, Mozart  Performer: Christopher Hogwood cd info/ buy

Review:

The clavichord is a European stringed keyboard instrument known from the late Medieval, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was widely used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades called tangents. Vibrations are transmitted through the bridge(s) to the soundboard. The name is derived from the Latin word clavis, meaning "key" (associated with more common clavus, meaning "nail, rod, etc.") and chorda (from Greek χορδή) meaning "string, especially of a musical instrument". The clavichord was invented in the early fourteenth century.In 1504, the German poem "Der Minne Regeln" mentions the terms clavicimbalum (a term used mainly for the harpsichord) and clavichordium, designating them as the best instruments to accompany melodies. One of the earliest references to the clavichord in England occurs in the privy-purse expenses of Elizabeth of York, queen of Henry VII, in an entry dated August 1502: "Item. The same day, Hugh Denys for money by him delivered to a stranger that gave the queen a payre of clavycordes. In crowns form his reward iiii libres". It was very popular from the 16th century to the 18th century, but mainly flourished in German-speaking lands, Scandinavia, and the Iberian Peninsula in the latter part of this period. It had fallen out of use by 1850. In the late 1890s, Arnold Dolmetsch revived clavichord construction and Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, among others, helped to popularize the instrument. Although most of the instruments built before the 1730s were small (four octaves, four feet long), the latest instruments were built up to seven feet long with a six octave range.

 

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