Boccherini - 3 Symphonies - Hogwood, Academy of Ancient Music

 

Release Date: 1994 Label: L'Oiseau-Lyre Number of discs: 1 Composer: Luigi Boccherini Performer:  Christopher Hogwood, Academy of Ancient Music cd info/ buy

Review:

In this issue of three Boccherini symphonies by the Academy of Ancient Music the orchestra's period instruments offers a vivid expression of the music's dramatic content. In La casa del diavolo (G506) the radiance in the opening allegro and gentle pathos in the second movement and crisp, clear textures in the finale create a chilling representation of the music's diabolical character. The AAM's stylish response to Boccherini's imaginative rhythms and inventively varied textures is delightfully apparent in the F major Symphony, where the finale's sudden diversion into a minuet is deftly handled. The four-movement C minor Symphony is the most expansive and truly 'symphonic' of the three works recorded here. The taut control of the opening movement's dialogue between various instrumental groupings, the engagingly pastoral tone in the Lentarello, the suitably rustic minuet and trio and astonishing brilliance in the tarantella-like finale, produce a genuinely compelling result. The AAM's fresh, vigorous accounts are attractively presented in resonant recorded sound.

 

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Boccherini - Quintetos con dos violas - Ensemble 415

Boccherini - Quintetos con dos violas - Ensemble 415
chamber | Eac, flac, cue | no log, cover | 1 CD, 291 MB
February 9, 1999 | Harmonia Mundi| RapidShare

This is a very good recording, and the period-instrument group Ensemble 415 (led by Chiara Banchini) plays well as always.


For a work in C major, the initial theme of the first Op. 60 quintet is especially haunting and strange. As it turns out the source of this tune is a lullaby from Madrid. In the hands of this old master, though, who faced poverty and poor health by the time of these works (circa 1801), the lullaby feels like a funeral dirge (anticipating Mahler's first symphony by 87 years). The entire first movement feels very agitated, which was off putting the first few times I listened to this CD, but it has since grown on me. This is not the flowery Boccherini of early years, instead we find the music of an increasingly broken man. The cello does not even make a significant solo contribution until the third (and final) movement of the first quintet. Often it is the first viola which leads these works, lending an increased sense of the autumnal. Pathos rules but does not bog down these works, and the second quintet in C major is a bit more spirited. Boccherini was trying to gain favor with Lucien Bonaparte (Napoleon's brother and French ambassador to Madrid) with this set of works, so there are attempts to cater to a less anguished sensibility, but it is hard not to notice a certain sense of defeat laced throughout. This is a very good recording, and the period-instrument group Ensemble 415 (led by Chiara Banchini) plays well as always. Boccherini is an underappreciated master of the classical form, and this CD provides an excellent glimpse into that lost world.--Amazon

CD Content
# String Quintet for 2 violins, 2 violas & cello in C major, G. 391 (Op. 60/1)
# String Quintet for 2 violins, 2 violas & cello in C major, G. 397 (Op. 62/1)
# String Quintet for 2 violins, 2 violas & cello in G major, G. 395 (Op. 60/5)

Boccherini - Fandango & Musica Notturna di Madrid - Savall, Le Concert des Nations

Boccherini - Fandango & Musica Notturna di Madrid -
Savall, Le Concert des Nations
Orchestral | Eac, Ape, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 341 MB
February 14, 2006 | Alia Vox| RapidShare

This is a recording definitely not to be missed and Boccherini truly is a talented and amazing composer in his own right.

The Quintet for Guitar that starts the disc includes Boccherini's famous Fandango as a third movement with a charming Pastorale and Allegro maestro making up the first two movements. The Symphony op. 37, in four movements, was composed shortly after Boccherini's second marriage and is in the key of D minor giving the music a stormy aspect. The symphony is much like those of Haydn but has an Italian perspective. The Symphony in A major (1782) is in three movements, lacking a minute, and is skillfully composed, reminding me of the Neapolitan symphonies of Alessandro Scarlatti etc. The Quintet (Night Music of the Streets of Madrid) from 1780 is an unusual composition recalling the gaiety and bustle of the capital of Spain. The quintet begins with the strings mimicking the sound of church bells followed by a series of dances until a local garrison sounds Retreat, marking the midnight curfew. Anyone who has seen the film Master and Commander will recognize the Passa calle movement from the film; it is beautifully played here, filled out by the full complement of strings. An enchanting disc.


CD Content

Quintetto No. 4 In Re Maggiore "Fandango" Per Corda E Chitarra (G. 448)
Sinfonia In Re Minore A Più Strumenti Obbligati Op. 37, No. 3 (G. 517)
Sinfonia In La Maggiore Op. 35, No. 3 (G. 511)
Quintetto In Do Maggiore La Musica Notturna Delle Strade Di Madrid Op. 30, No. 6 (G. 324)