Seattle Baroque

This CD is a well-chosen sample of Biber’s finest ensemble music. One of the supreme violinists and virtuoso composers of the 17th century, much of Biber's work remains underplayed and relatively obscure. However, as Burnley wrote, over 100 years after many of the pieces on this disc were composed, ‘of all the violin players of the last century Biber seems to have been the best, and his solos are the most difficult and most fanciful of any music I have seen of the same period’.

This opera-pretending-to-be-oratorio (opera was banned in Rome during the period in which the work was composed) offers an excellent way to discover and appreciate Alessandro Scarlatti’s vocal/dramatic facility and his engaging manner of setting melody to appropriately varied, effectively complementary accompaniment. We enter the famous Abraham/Sarah/Hagar/Ishmael story (from Genesis, chapter 21) at the point where Abraham’s wife Sarah insists that he must banish the slave Hagar and her son Ishmael to protect their own son Isaac’s inheritance.

A native of San Francisco, American conductor and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell began studying piano at age nine, and she also took up the violin. By 16, she had formed her own ensemble, and began studying composition and conducting. She attended Oberlin Conservatory on a scholarship, and studied harpsichord with Lisa Crawford and conducting with Robert Spano.

A marvelous treatment of Pachelbel's lesser known works with a definitive performance of the all-too famous Canon. Too many interpreters of the Canon use the wrong tempo for this work, too slow and sentimental. This group does not and they have made it possible to listen to this work without gagging. They also do a wonderful job of presenting Buxtehude's chamber music. This composer is too often associated with ponderous Baroque organ music.

To celebrate its 50th Anniversay, harmonia mundi presents 50 masterworks in the development of Western classical music, performed by undisputed masters in their field. This set features over 36 hours of music (all complete works, no excerpts) of music in audiophile-quality sound, elequently packaged in a deluxe boxed set and offered at a very low price. Whether you are an inquisitive novice or a discerning connoisseur, you will be thrilled to experience the sonic triumphs of the world's most innovative independent label.