The Golden Age of English Polphony Composers: Fayrfax Robert                  Taverner John                  Sheppard John                  Mundy William When The Sixteen embarked upon their recording career back in 1982, few would have been able to predict quite how successful they would become, or how far they would go towards rehabilitating the little-known and barely recorded music of these four master composers of the sixteenth century. In this their 30th anniversary year, we join them in celebrating a Golden Age of Polyphony, and of music-making, by presenting their twelve discs of this repertoire in an attractively packaged (and priced) 10-CD remastered set.

• Wykonawca The Sixteen
• Data premiery 2009-01-01
• Nośnik CD

In their survey of the trio sonata, the four members of London Baroque have already visited France, England and Germany before arriving at the actual birthplace of the genre – Italy in the 17th century. There the years around 1600 had seen ground-breaking developments in vocal music, such as the seconda prattica characterised by the clear division between a single melodic line and a supporting continuo bass. Now instrumental music was becoming important in its own right, and soon the violin was recognized as the ideal vehicle for a new style which is obvious already in the very first trio sonatas, such as Giovanni Paolo Cima’s Sonata a tre from 1610. The term ‘trio sonata’ is a later expression, and in 17th-century Italy the terms commonly used were ‘Sonata a due’ (two melody instruments plus continuo), and ‘Sonata a tre’ (three melody instruments – usually two soprano and one bass – plus continuo). The form could also vary, from ‘free’ sonatas to sets of variations, chaconnes and passacaglias. From this almost bewildering variety, London Baroque has selected 16 works which chart the development from the origins of the genre to its ‘coming of age’ with Arcangelo Corelli, in the 1680s. Already famous in his own lifetime, when he was one of the most influential composers in all of Europe, Corelli is an exception among the composers featured here: many of his colleagues are all but forgotten today, and little is known about their lives. There are also great gaps in our knowledge about the music itself – for instance regarding the instrumentation (what kind of cello would have been used?) and the use of ornaments. In such uncharted waters, London Baroque provides much-needed and expert guidance, as testified to in a review of their recording of sonatas from 17th-century France on the German website Klassik Heute: ‘Everything that one might possibly wish for in a performance of this music is present here: charm, elegance, eloquence, force, flexibility, fire, intimacy, and most importantly: soul.’

• Wykonawca London Baroque
• Data premiery 2012-10-01
• Nośnik CD

Although well known and highly regarded in his lifetime and in the years following his death in 1596, the music of Philippe Rogier is largely known (especially to English audiences) through one motet alone, Laboravi in gemitu meo. But there is much to explore in this genuinely underrated composer. Philippe Rogier was one of a long line of Flemish composers who worked at the Spanish court. The high regard that the musically astute Philip II held for Rogier was not misplaced, because he is one of the most fascinating and rewarding composers of the late sixteenth century: extraordinarily versatile, capable of plumbing the emotional depths in his penitential works (of which there are many) as well as exalting the heights in his festive music. The main work on this disc includes the parody mass Missa Ego sum qui sum, based on a motet by Gombert. It must rank as one of the finest settings of the Mass ordinary of the late sixteenth century, dazzling in its invention and sheer beauty. Gombert had been one of the most influential composers of the post-Josquin period, developing a style of composition based on continuous imitation and almost relentless expressivity with an extraordinarily high level of dissonance. Rogier’s Mass seems to be a tribute to this style. Two twelve-part accompanied motets are recorded here, pointing to a well-developed polychoral tradition at the Spanish court. The remaining motets on this recording represent different facets of the composer: desperate cries in the pentitential works and sheer exuberance in Cantantibus organis, a motet in honour of St Cecilia. The much admired choir of King’s College London and their director David Trendell appear in their Hyperion debut.

• Wykonawca Various Artists
• Data premiery 2010-01-01
• Nośnik CD

Matthias Bamert’s ‘Contemporaries of Mozart’ project is one of Chandos’ longest-running and most successful series. The unquestionable genius of Mozart has tended to eclipse the accomplishments of many other composers who were writing at the same time as he. Many of these composers, successful in their day, suffered neglect in subsequent decades and in some cases were almost forgotten. Matthias Bamert’s series has shown just how rich this area of the repertoire is, and each of the CDs has received superb critical acclaim. This uniquely compiled box set comprises five of the most successful CDs in the series to date (many of the works are poorly represented in the catalogue, if at all) and provides an ideal introduction to the repertoire – at bargain price. Each CD offers a wealth of classically elegant melodies wrapped up in imaginative orchestration.

• Wykonawca London Mozart Players
• Data premiery 2010-07-01
• Nośnik CD

The San Francisco-based Cypress String Quartet, known equally for its innovation and its elegant performances, debuts on AVIE with a recording of its namesake work, a set of 12 love songs scored for string quartet, coupled with the composer's expansive G major Quartet, No. 13. Known internationally through touring and a dozen acclaimed recordings, the Cypress String Quartet traverses repertoire from J.S. Bach to world premieres of works they have commissioned from such composers as Jennifer Higdon, Kevin Puts, and Elena Ruehr.

• Wykonawca Cypress String Quartet
• Data premiery 2013-03-01
• Nośnik CD

The late seventeenth century was a period of great change in English music. This was a time when the influences of Italian music were ever-increasing, brought to England by Italian composers such as Draghi, Haym and Matteis, and their German contemporaries Pepusch and Handel. In this new release we explore how the English composers, Purcell, Weldon and Croft, responded to Italian music and incorporated the style into their own works. The two works by Purcell, Sonata in G minor and The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation, perfectly illustrate his mastery of the Italian style. This is especially evident in the latter, which Purcell wrote in the style of an Italian cantata. This distinctive blend of English and Italian influences also became evident in the works of many European composers in England, as they adopted the native English style and form. In fact the English legacy can be heard in the music of Draghi, Courteville, Matteis, Handel, Pepusch and Haym, almost as clearly as in the music of their English contemporaries. Draghi’s sonata is a prime example of this, it seems to have been influenced by English consort music, and its short, contrasted sections and unexpected harmonies are far removed from the sonatas composers were writing in Italy at the time. The works on this release are performed by Peter Holman’s early music group, The Parley of Instruments, which today is recognised as one of the leading exponents of Baroque music. The Parley’s trail-blazing work in English eighteenth-century music has led to collaborations with soloists such as Catherine Bott, Crispian Steele-Perkins and Elizabeth Wallfisch. On this release, the group is joined by soprano Philippa Hyde, with Peter Holman, conductor and founder of the Parley of Instruments.

• Wykonawca Hyde Philippa
• Data premiery 2011-01-10
• Nośnik CD

various composers recital: Albéniz, Alkan, Busoni, Dukas, Godowsky, Hamelin, Kapustin, Liszt, Medtner, Rzewski, Schubert

• Data premiery 2007-01-01

The prodigious flowering of musical culture in the Imperial Court of Vienna in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is undoubtedly a phenomenon unique in the history of the city: four successiveemperors were themselves in their leisure time active musicians, and also enjoyed an excellent reputation as composers! This Cd shows us their musical world, with music both by the emperors and by their court composers. The wonderfull soprano Michaela Rieder performs a fine choice of the arias from operas that were staged at the Viennese court. As the founding members of the Calamus Consort are specialists of the early clarinet, they have chosen to perform fascinating pieces which involve chalumeaux and 18th century clarinets. All members of the group are often performing as soloists all over Europe, but also in ensembles and orchestras. They teach as lecturers in Vienna University, the Royal Academy of Music, Trossingen and the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main.

• Wykonawca Riener Michaela , Schlader Ernst , Calamus
• Data premiery 2012-06-01
• Nośnik CD

Music lovers are familiar with his Vienna operettas, yet little-known is the fact that Franz von Suppč (1819 - 1895) also left behind many noteworthy sacred works. The young men's ensemble, the Lords of the Chords, and organist Jens Wollenschläger present Suppčs Missa Dalmatica, dedicated to the composer's native land of Dalmatia. This work for three men's voices and organ, with its charming, unusual character, occupies a special place in the history of 19th century church music.

• Wykonawca Lords of the Chords
• Data premiery 2011-03-01
• Nośnik CD

The Cardinall’s Musick finished 2010 in a blaze of glory with their Gramophone Recording of the Year award for the last volume of their Byrd Edition. Only the second time in thirty years that an Early Music recording has received this prestigious accolade, it is a fitting tribute to the soaring artistry of the group and their director, Andrew Carwood.Their eagerly-awaited next disc features music from late sixteenth-century Rome and ranges from Allegri’s Miserere, surely the best-known and best-loved work of this period, to a rarely-performed or recorded oddity. Seven Roman musicians came together (or were brought together) to write a Mass-setting where they each contributed different sections. The resulting work, the twelve-voice Missa Cantantibus organis, is a tribute both to Cecilia (the patron saint of music) and to Palestrina. The seven composers each take themes found in Palestrina’s motet of the same name and use them as the starting point for their new compositions. Palestrina himself is among the seven, with Giovanni Andrea Dragoni, Ruggiero Giovannelli, Curzio Mancini, Prospero Santini, Francesco Soriano and Annibale Stabile being the other six. All seven composers were prominent maestri in Rome and most appear to have had contact with Palestrina either as choristers or pupils.

• Wykonawca The Cardinall's Musick
• Data premiery 2011-01-10
• Nośnik CD