Adrien Tsagliotis

Around 1600, when opera was invented in Italy, venice was resplendent with the works of Giovanni Gabrieli in the Basilica of San Marco. A daring amalgamation of Flemish and Italian styles, this is a corpus of virtuoso pieces in which voices compete with cornetts and trombones for polyphony of rare beauty. In an Italy ravaged by wars, where the Condottieri were the modern Heroes, the souls of these captains rise again thanks to the music of the brilliant Gabrieli, the ultimate representative of a Renaissance that put the fighting Princes into the last cherished armours… Adrien Mabire and his Mercenaries have been recruited to serve under Maestro Gabrieli, to enable his works to resound loud and clear, where we hear the triumphant flapping banners of the Victory at Lepanto, Glory be to the Serenissima!

As in its Schubert recording in 2018, the Quatuor van Kuijk likes to delve into a composer's youthful output and then measure his evolution by confronting it with his mature works. Hence, after recording two of Mozart's early string quartets in 2016, the French group, here joined by violist Adrien La Marca, voted Revelation at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2014, now offers the String Quintets K515 and K516. These two large-scale works dominate Mozart's instrumental output in the year 1787, which ended with the premiere of Don Giovanni. They show us a composer at the height of his creative powers, in a genre to which he had not returned for fourteen years and which he herebrought to a high degree of formal perfection.

Adrien La Marca & Thomas Hoppe - English Delight (2016) {La Dolce Volta-Harmonia Mundi LDV 22}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 249 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 147 Mb
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© 2016 La Dolce Volta / Harmonia Mundi | LDV 22
Classical / Chamber Music / Viola / Piano

English Delight is a tribute to the viola and English composers from across different eras and styles. From John Dowland to Jonathan Harvey, Adrien La Marca takes us on a journey through four centuries. Each composer influences the next, but each speaks their own different and sublime language.