0 The Trio Sonata in 18th-Century France

London Baroque presents a disc charting the Trio Sonata in 18th-century France - a musical environment undergoing rapid changes following the death of Louis XIV in 1715.

In 1725 François Couperin published his Apothéose de Lulli, advocating a fusion of Italian and French styles, and the following year saw the collection Les Nations, which included L’Impériale recorded here.

Jean-Marie Leclair and his colleague (and great rival) Jean-Pierre Guignon took the idea one step further. Both were fêted violinists as well as composers, and wrote music mainly for their own instrument in an often virtuosic style.

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was not known as a performer, and composed a large number of small-scale works aimed at wealthy amateurs.

Detail: The Trio Sonata in 18th-Century France

0 The Beauty of Baroque

“It's an intriguing and enjoyable programme...The English Concert provides suitable support throughout, from solo theorbo on Dowland's "What if I never speed?" to the trio of harpsichord, theorbo and viola da gamba with her delightful duet with counter-tenor Andreas Scholl” --The Independent, 10th June 2011 ****

“This is a charming recital that shows this popular soprano at her best...she has plenty of vivacity and fresh-toned sweetness. Guardian Angels, from Handel’s “The Triumph of Time and Truth”, is a highlight: a little-known but beautiful aria, sung here with poise and allure.” --The Telegraph, 7th July 2011 ****

 “In Dowland's Come again, sweet love doth now invite and What if I never speed?, she sounds like a sexier Emma Kirkby...The English Concert under its Music Director Harry Bicket provides the stylish orchestral and instrumental backing...You really hear the personality behind the voice - the 'Beauty of the Baroque' is, without question, a real artist.” --International Record Review, July/August 2011

“she keeps things light on this disc, and for the greater part only shows off her many splendid advantages. Indeed, her flirtatious performance of the famous lute-song Come again can rank as one of the most captivating on disc. The duets with Scholl are a delight too. De Niese's sheer joy in singing leaps off the CD and her emotional immediacy is hard to resist.” --Classic FM Magazine, August 2011 ****

Detail: The Beauty of Baroque

0 Stravaganze: 17th-Century Italian Songs and Dances

An extravagant feast of instrumental and vocal delicates from Italy, with inspired harp contributions from Andrew Lawrence-King...

"Gorgeous" --Fanfare

"Totally charming" --Washington Post

Detail: Stravaganze: 17th-Century Italian Songs and Dances

0 Baroque Adagios

Over 2-and-a-half hours of the most peaceful & relaxing pieces of baroque music including Pachelbel's Canon, Vivaldi's Four Seasons (excerpts), Albinoni's Adagio, Handel's Largo, Bach's Air on a G String and many more beautiful tracks to soothe & calm.

Detail: Baroque Adagios

0 Portuguese Love Songs

'A revelation … the singing of Portuguese sopranos Sandra Medeiros and Joana Seara … is perfect for the intertwining lines and suggestive harmonies of the modinhas. Ozmo's seven-piece ensemble slips with ease between minuets by composers such as Avondano and Leite and the swing of the Brazilian songs, with harpsichordist David Gordon's playing particularly well judged. Ravishing' --Early Music Today

'Italian influence is pervasive and a sonata by Domenico Scarlatti, who lived in Lisbon for 10 years, does not feel at all out of place. But beneath the delicate bobs and bows surge the powerful motives of love and betrayal that one hears in modern Portuguese fado – the eternal yearning for love, allied to a weary recognition that it must fail. This expression of love’s futility is not cynical, as it might be in other cultures. On the contrary, love emerges all the stronger for its black-eyed realism.

The diversity of the music holds your attention from start to finish, whether it is a soprano serenade with guitar-led ensemble or a lonely harpsichord plucking away in the noonday sun. Impatient listeners should skip to the second track, where they will be assaulted by duet virtuosity of a feline, Rossinian felicity. Sandra Medeiros and Joana Seara are the stunning sopranos; Žak Ozmo directs L’Avventura London. This, wrote Beckford, is ‘an original sort of music, different from any I ever heard’. Two centuries later, that estimate still holds true' --Norman Lebrecht, sinfini.com

Detail: Portuguese Love Songs

0 Programme Music of the Baroque Era

This strikingly innovative disc includes some very rare works resurrected with considerable aplomb here by the indefatigable Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Programme music was something rather new in the baroque era but these five works certainly have a lot of colour and descriptive aspects to them, to say the least.

Farina's "Capriccio Stravagante" dates from the early 17th century and in its 20 minutes traverses a considerable gamut of emotions which make it a very desirable piece, sadly overlooked and quite unknown. Biber and Schmelzer are perhaps more associated with large scale choral works but these instrumental pieces are certainly extremely innovative and Harnoncourt brings out the strong programmatic element extremely well.

Finally we have the great Marin Marais with his astoundingly modern description of the removal of a stone complete with speaker – almost Poulenc like – and Vivaldi's lovely "La Notte" concerto which is an ideally peaceful way to end the disc which at just over 52 minutes is a bit on the short side. Otherwise, this is strongly recommended for those who enjoy the darker side of baroque music. --classical.net, 2008

Detail: Programme Music of the Baroque Era

0 Baroque Conversations

“Greilsammer assembles four 'mini-sets', each containing three works. The first and third pieces are by Baroque keyboard composers, while the second is by a late-20th- or earl 21st-century composer...Usually such programming ideas seem pretentious or sound forced but Greilsammer's stylistic juxtapositions mostly work...In all, a stimulating, outstandingly executed and superbly engineered programme.” --Gramophone Magazine, May 2012

“The pianism is superb” Michael Church, The Independent

“However it may look on paper, in practice it works incredibly well, such is Greilsammer’s magnetic ability to find mutual correspondences and attractions between opposite poles” Julian Haylock, International Piano

Detail: Baroque Conversations

0 Pianca & Ghielmi duo

With musical tastes changing radically, the transition between the Baroque and the Classical eras allowed for the musical style of Central Europe to flourish, freed at long last from the yoke of French and Italian influences. For a time, the instruments of the Ancien Régime coexisted with the newer pre-Romantic models, although when a level of technical complexity in the music was added to the mix, the end for the lute and the viola da gamba was signalled: a swan song which enjoys all the charm of a period of decadence.

Obras para laúd y viola de gamba del barroco alemán

Cuando el gusto musical cambia radicamlmente, la transición entre el barroco y la època clásica permite la afirmación del estilo musical de Europa central. Finalmente liberado de las influencias francesas e italianas. Los instrumentos del Antiguo Régimen coexisten con nuevos modelos pre-románticos. 

A esta mezcla de elementos se añade una complejidad técnica que anuncia la desparición del laúd y de la viola de gamba: un canto del cisne, que posee todo el encando de la decadencia.

Detail: Pianca & Ghielmi duo