Max Gazze' LA Matematica Dei Rami

Un portrait de Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) sans concerto pour violoncelle, sans le menuet fameux du quintette en mi majeur ? Mais non moins fidèle au caractère du compositeur toscan émigré en Espagne : fantasque et passionné.

Count Pirro Capacelli Albergati (1663-1735) was the descendent of one of the most eminent families of the Bolognese nobility, ambassador, member of the Council of Elders, and gonfalonier of the city of Bologna. Yet his signature on the title page of the collection of monodic cantatas entitled Corona dei pregi di Maria should come as no surprise. Music had for centuries been a well-established and important part of the education of noble youths, alongside rhetoric and dance. Moreover, in this specific case, Pirro Capacelli Albergati possessed exceptional musical talents which were widely acknowledged by his contemporaries and fellow Bolognese citizens.

On disait de Johann Schobert dans les années 1760 à Paris, qu’il était le claveciniste le plus à la mode, recherché dans les salons pour son caractère brillant, virtuose et étrange. Ses œuvres sont faites d’un style tout neuf, qui paraît étrange, à la fois profond et brillant. Il excellait dans l’évocation d’atmosphères poétiques rares, tantôt sombres, tantôt viriles et décidées, souvent rêveuses et nostalgiques.

Stillness and repose lie at the epicenter of the latest of violinist Angèle Dubeau’s series of “Portrait” recordings, a celebration of that master of atmosphere, Max Richter. Richter, whose credits include the soundtracks to Waltz with Bashir and Shutter Island, writes postminimalist music—richly scored, with gently undulating rhythms, beautiful, shifting modal harmonies, and subtle electronic effects. There’s often an elegant simplicity to Richter’s music, as in the cyclical “Autumn Music 2,” but there are thrilling moments, too, as pulsating electronic drums emerge from the darkness in “The Journey, Not the Destination.”

1997 completely replayed version of this heavy prog masterpiece; the first concept album of Rock in Spanish, at least on these shores. Featuring the original line up, guests and orchestral arrangements, it also includes two previously unreleased tracks from a never issued future album. Musically the band turned hard-psycho, with chirping driven guitars et al. "Genesis", "Las Guerras", "Profecнas" and especially "Libros Sapienciales" turned into Vox Dei standards.

Who today has heard of Max d'Ollone? He studied with Massenet, was a contemporary of Richard Strauss, composed operas and cultivated a sensuous and deeply Romantic approach to vocal music. The Prix de Rome competition gave him the opportunity to compose several impressive cantatas and pieces for chorus and orchestra, characterised by a combination of grandeur and refinement.

Throughout a long and extremely productive career, Georg Philipp Telemann harboured a great affection for the overture-suite, consisting of a French overture followed by a number of dances and character movements. Tempering the rigid model inherited from the French tradition with his own rich powers of invention and playfulness, he remained true to the form long after it had gone out of fashion.

It is a familiar fact that Antonio Vivaldi was a prime mover in the creation of the solo concerto, but what is less well known is that he also was the leading exponent of the older concerto a quattro – music in four parts, with several players to a part, intended for what we nowadays would call a string orchestra with continuo. As Vivaldi expert Michael Talbot explains in his informative liner notes, these works are notable not only for their beauty, but also for their experimental character and for providing the most important examples of fugal writing in Vivaldi’s instrumental music. It is not known when Vivaldi started to write them, but most of the almost fifty concertos probably originate from the 1720s and 1730s. .

The performances on this lovely album of vocal and instrumental music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier make it a recording that should delight the composer's fans and anyone who loves the music of the Baroque. Listeners should be warned that the packaging and even the composer's titles create expectations of music of a very different character from what is actually presented. The three Leçons de Ténèbres of the title, scored for bass and chamber orchestra, refer to baleful texts taken from the Lamentations of Jeremiah describing the fall and abasement of Jerusalem, and were written for services on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Holy Week, the darkest days in the Christian liturgical calendar.