Scarlatti Bonizzoni

By the time that Alessandro Scarlatti was writing the two serenatas recorded here by Fabio Bonizzoni and La Risonanza and inaugurating an exciting new series on Glossa, that celebratory cantata form, often employing allegorical characters, had been in existence for a mere half century. Scarlatti, as Bonizzoni says, “was one of the main sources of inspiration for Handel whilst the latter was in Italy, and this creates a real continuity with what we have been doing in the recent past”; notably the much-admired septet of recordings devoted to the Saxon composers Italian chamber cantatas.

Generally, the CDs dedicated to Domenico Scarlatti’s harpsichord sonatas are made to include the widest possible sampling of different aspects of the composer’s work, from the youthful pieces, full of vitality, to the mature compositions which give priority to melodic qualities, by way of the works which feature daredevil virtuosity. This is not the case here. After years of preparing his incursion into the world of Scarlatti, the exquisite Fabio Bonizzoni concentrates on the late works of the composer, in the belief that it is there that the real masterpieces are to be found. Extremely beautiful, profound, deeply felt and introspective music on a disc which clearly standsout in every respect.

Haendel n’a que 21 ans lorsqu’il quitte l’Allemagne pour l’Italie. C’est pour répondre à l’invitation du prince Jean Gaston de Medicis qu’il arrive à Rome en 1706 possédant déjà une culture musicale influencée par les courants italiens. Ces années en Italie seront des années de pur bonheur, il y fera la connaissance de Corelli et des Scarlatti, n’hésitant pas à se mesurer à Domenico dans une joute musicale dont il triomphera.

This is the first volume in a complete survey of Bach's harpsichord concertos, recorded by La Risonanza and Fabio Bonizzoni in one-to-a-part practice performance.

Renowned in his day as a virtuoso keyboard player, Bernardo Pasquini (1637-1710) was the most important Italian composer of keyboard music between Frescobaldi and Domenico Scarlatti. In that capacity his output has output has been surveyed by Brilliant Classics with authoritative collections of his sonatas for harpsichord (94286) and for two organs (94347). However, Pasquini also composed more than 70 cantatas – most of them for one and two voices with continuo accompaniment, of the concise and dramatic kind written by the young Handel after he arrived in Rome in 1706.