Dominique Visse and his group Ensemble Clément Janequin have been involved in many outstanding projects over the years, but this 2002 Harmonia Mundi recording has to be one of the most spectacular; the Missa "Et ecce terrae motus" (aka, "The Earthquake Mass") of Antoine Brumel. Brumel is one of many mid-renaissance composers whose reputations are so far overshadowed by Josquin Desprez that – like Rodney Dangerfield – they "just don't get no respect." In Brumel's own time, however, he was considered one of Josquin's equals and his death in 1512 was widely observed in a number of "déplorations." Although the mass itself survives in only a single manuscript copy, it bears the signatures of singers who revived the work in Munich in 1570 – probably close to a century after it was first given – and among them is a bass named Orlandus Lassus.
The world premiere recording of the complete Pieces de clavecin by Antoine Forqueray, court musician of Louis XN and one of the greatest viola da gamba players of all times. The Pieces de Clavecin comprise five Suites containing 32 pieces in total and were published after the composer's death by his son, the equally famous Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Forqueray in two versions: as viola da gamba solos with continuo and in a transcription for solo harpsichord, the latter being the better-known version.
Quatuor Ebène welcomes a favourite colleague, viola player Antoine Tamestit, for two of Mozart's six string quintets - No 3 in C major, K 515 and No 4 in G minor, K 516. Their last joint album, 'Round Midnight, won a 2022 Gramophone Award for it's thrilling exploration of diverse strands of 20th century music. .When a fifth member joins the ensemble it is always cause for celebration," explains Pierre Colombet, first violinist of Quatuor Ebène,.especially if it's an additional viola to bring further roundness and warmth to the middle voices: the sound grows in substance and vibrancy - the quartet gains a marvellous complement.
Quatuor Ebène welcomes a favourite colleague, viola player Antoine Tamestit, for two of Mozart's six string quintets - No 3 in C major, K 515 and No 4 in G minor, K 516. Their last joint album, 'Round Midnight, won a 2022 Gramophone Award for it's thrilling exploration of diverse strands of 20th century music. .When a fifth member joins the ensemble it is always cause for celebration," explains Pierre Colombet, first violinist of Quatuor Ebène,.especially if it's an additional viola to bring further roundness and warmth to the middle voices: the sound grows in substance and vibrancy - the quartet gains a marvellous complement.
Quatuor Ebène welcomes a favourite colleague, viola player Antoine Tamestit, for two of Mozart's six string quintets - No 3 in C major, K 515 and No 4 in G minor, K 516. Their last joint album, 'Round Midnight, won a 2022 Gramophone Award for it's thrilling exploration of diverse strands of 20th century music. .When a fifth member joins the ensemble it is always cause for celebration," explains Pierre Colombet, first violinist of Quatuor Ebène,.especially if it's an additional viola to bring further roundness and warmth to the middle voices: the sound grows in substance and vibrancy - the quartet gains a marvellous complement.
This Requiem is known in five sources; two of them mention no composer, two attribute it to Antoine de Févin, one, the Occo Codex, to Antoine Divitis. It is recorded here in the version transmitted by an early sixteenth-century manuscript, the Occo Codex, a sumptuous, richly illuminated volume. The book was originally intended for use in worship at one of the oldest churches in Amsterdam, built in the fourteenth century on the site of a miracle which played a fundamental role in constituting the religious identity of Amsterdam. Occo was the name of the rich merchant who financed the production of the manuscript.
This Virgin Classics release reunites William Christie and Les Arts Florissants with the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, a composer for whom it can be said Christie has done more to expose than any other he has taken on. This is saying a lot, as Christie has also made extensive recorded forays into the works of Campra, Lully, Montéclair, Monteverdi, Purcell, and in particular, Handel. However, Charpentier remains a special case to Christie, and there is still a monumental amount of unrecorded music by this composer to exploit. The two works on Virgin Classics' Charpentier: Judicium Salomonis actually have been recorded before, though not often and not by well-known groups like Christie's – the Motet pour une longue Offrande has been recorded by Philippe Herreweghe and that's about it in terms of the competition.
With Frames, Antoine Karacostas delivers an album of seven compositions and an arrangement of rebetiko, the band's signature sound. In this opus, he drew his inspiration from painting and pictorial as well as musical impressionism, from French composers such as Emmanuel Chabrier. This album is also a reflection on the notion of framework, both the one we find ourselves in and the one we wish to go beyond, in our personal quest for freedom.
A precursor in this field as in so many others, Telemann gave the viola its very first masterpieces, immediately establishing it as a solo instrument in its own right. Alongside Sabine Fehlandt and the musicians of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Antoine Tamestit pays splendid tribute to this pioneering music, which blends melodic charm and contrapuntal rigour into an organic whole.