Beyond Fantasia

Though Bach’s set of six Sonatas and Partitas represents the pinnacle of writing for the solo violin, the Baroque repertoire was rich in compositions for the unaccompanied violin, much of which remains little explored. On this recording Augusta McKay Lodge, hailed as ‘the real thing, a true virtuoso’ (Seen and Heard), explores masters of the genre such as Biber, Locatelli and Pisendel but delves deeper to include the impassioned works of Nicola Matteis, the Franco-Italian warmth of Thomas Baltzar and a series of other long-overshadowed works by their contemporaries.

SWEGAS were a British 'progressive' brass-rock band that existed between 1969 and 1971. They played all the major venues in the UK and made several tours of Italy and Germany where they were extremely popular. The name of the band is derived from an Anglo Saxon word for music. Swegas began life as a rehearsal band in 1969. They were put together by Brian (Joe) Spibey and Nick Ronai who had been members of the Fulson Stilwell Band before joining the soul band, Cat Road Show. The original Swegas band consisted of Joe Spibey (trumpet), Nick Ronai (trombone), Alan Smith (Tenor Sax), Jonny Toogood (guitar) plus a few pick up players. Mid 1969 they advertised for an Organist and Bass Guitarist and Keith Strachan and Roy Truman applied and got the gig.

Emmanuel Pahud is one of the truly great flautists. With this gorgeous recital, he proves himself a magical programmer, too, intertwining Baroque composer Telemann’s 12 Fantasias with lesser-known works written between 1917 and 2017. Pahud’s rich, lucid tone caresses Telemann’s timeless miniatures as it does Arvo Pärt’s stunningly simple Estländler, Ferroud’s exotic Impressionist jewels, or Takemitsu’s floating, meandering Air. Music by Nielsen, Berio, Honegger, and a startling, wild, virtuosic work by Pintscher give us a colourful window onto a lesser-explored musical landscape, brought to a wondrous close by Marais’ Les Folies d’Espagne variations.