Misa en si Menor

Spanish clarinettist, composer, and teacher Antonio Romero y Andia was born in 1815 in Madrid. He made his debut at 14, and later became solo clarinettist and music director of the Royal Court Orchestra. He is now remembered primarily for the Clarinet key system that bears his name, as his compositional works, though high quality, were few in number. From 1849-1876, Romero was the Clarinet Professor at the Madrid Conservatory, where he wrote several his Complete Clarinet Method . Over 150 years later, it is still in popular use by schools and conservatories all over the world.

In light of the "chill-out" trend of the 1990s, major labels released many albums of slow, meditative pieces to appeal to listeners who wanted relaxing or reflective background music. Deutsche Grammophon's vaults are full of exceptional recordings of classical orchestral music, and the performances by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic are prominent in the label's catalog. The slow selections on Karajan: Adagio are in most cases drawn from larger compositions, though these movements are frequently anthologized as if they were free-standing works. Indeed, many have come to think of the Adagietto from Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 as a separate piece in its own right, largely because of its evocative use in the film Death in Venice. Furthermore, the famous Canon by Johann Pachelbel is seldom played with its original companion piece, the Gigue in D major, let alone in its original version for three violins and continuo; it most often appears in an arrangement for strings.

This classic set of recordings by Narciso Yepes was originally released as a box in 1992 and is now reissued in an economical box set. Supported by an evocative cover photo from of the Lion's Court in the Alhambra in Granada, this is a great anthology of guitar solo works and guitar concertos stretching from the 16th to 20th centuries.

Brilliant Classics is proud to bring to the market this unique 6-CD Set dedicated to the original music for solo guitar of the Paraguayan composer Agustin Barrios Mangore (1885 - 1944). Barrios is still revered in Paraguay, where he is seen as one of the greatest musicians of all time by many. John Williams has said of Barrios: "As a guitarist/composer, Barrios is the best of the lot, regardless of era. His music is better formed, it's more poetic, it's more everything! And it's more of all those things in a timeless way”.