Johann Baptist Vanhal - Missa Pastoralis; Missa Solemnis

"One of the most curious aspects of Vanhal's large musical output is the surprising number of sacred works given that at no stage in his long career was he employed first and foremost as a church musician. Among these works are around fifty settings of the Ordinary of the Mass, a substantial body of work by contemporary standards. Haydn, for example, who like Vanhal cannot be considered a 'professional' church musician, composed a dozen Masses, half of them late in life and for very specific occasions. Leopold Hofmann, Vienna's leading church musician for much of his life, wrote over forty Masses although the exact number remains uncertain. We know that Vanhal enjoyed close associations with a number of monastic foundations and it is possible that they commissioned works from him from time to time. Nonetheless. it cannot be discounted entirely that he wrote many of these works front inner conviction. There was certainly little financial gain to be had in composing church music in comparison with other genres and Vanhal, the most important and successful freelance composer in Vienna. would have been only too well aware of this.

"[...] In stylistic terms there is a strong kinship between [the Missa Solemnis] and the Missa Pastoralis that goes far deeper than instrumentation. Both works display a similar complexity of internal musical organization, one which takes precedence over the structure of the text, notably in the long Gloria and Credo movements. Vanhal takes care to set the text intelligibly but, like all composers. he devotes special care to sections like the Qui tollis, Et incarnates and Agnes Dei. The two Masses also include some thrilling contrapuntal writing for the chorus. the high point being the brilliant concluding Dona nobis fugue of the C major Mass.

"Long after his death and when his multitude of symphonies, quartets and concertos lay forgotten, Vanhal's Masses and motets continued to be performed in cathedrals and churches throughout Austria, Bohemia and the South of Germany. Their survival into the age of Brahms and Wagner was not due solely to the forces of conservatism at work in the church but rather a testament to the enduring artistic worth of the music." (Dr. Allan Badley. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Tower Voices New Zealand, Aradia Ensemble, Uwe Grodd

1. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Kyrie
2. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Gloria
3. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Credo
4. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Sanctus
5. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Benedictus
6. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Agnus Dei
7. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Kyrie
8. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Gloria
9. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Credo
10. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Sanctus
11. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Benedictus
12. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Agnus Dei

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Gioacchino Rossini - Petite Messe Solennelle

"Rossini called his 'little composition' the 'last mortal sin of my old age,' refer-ring back to the title of his multivolume anthology of over 150 chamber music miniatures, the 'Niches de vieillesse'. In this way he also emphasized that eyewinking, entirely (self-directed) ironic distance that speaks out of the coquettish postscript addressed to the Almighty, with which the last page of the score closes: 'Dear God — voilà,' he wrote, 'this poor, little Mass is now finally finished. Is it really sacred music [musique sacrée] or damned music [sacrée musique]? I was born for the opera buffa, as you certainly know! Little knowledge, a bit of heart, that is all. Therefore, be praised and grant me paradise.' We do not know whether the [plea to] God came to fulfilment, but these lines, which have fun with their play on the suggestive double meaning of the word sacré ('sacred', but also 'damned'), give eloquent testimony to the ambivalence that Rossini saw even in the style of writing of his church music.

"[...] Authentic nineteenth-century church music, as only conceivable in the optimistic ambience of Mediterranean culture, upright and genuine, or an expression of misguided taste, like plastic flowers as altar decorations, artificial and bigoted? Opinions have long diverged when it comes to appraising Rossini's sacred music (as well as that of his compatriots). Especially to German ears, his church compositions offer too little of that humility toward the theological message in which the word enjoys undisputed precedence, and that one was accustomed to in the great, distinguished tradition from Schütz to Bach. Rossini, on the other hand, merely takes the liturgical text as the frame for his thoroughly graceful musical ideas, and as a general principle frees himself from the obligation to provide a painstaking textual interpretation. Naturally, this supposed incursion of the banality of the profane, indeed of the sensual into the devout aura of the reverential spirit clashes with the dogmatism of Middle-European religious understanding, and therefore must also be an eternal thorn in the flesh of the arrogant German aesthetics of music. Rossini was certainly aware of this when he offended Eduard Hanslick, the feared Viennese critic, by answering his question about the Mass with the remark: 'This is not music for you Germans. My holiest music is always only semi-seria.'

"We will never know for sure just how Rossini defined the term 'holy music' for himself, nor the meaning of a curious and singular performance instruction: 'Allegro cristiano' is the marking that the roguish composer wrote over the opening measures of the Credo. Tempo indication or confession of faith — what is meant here?" (Roman Hinke, tr. Howard Weiner. From the liner notes.)

Performers: RIAS Kammerchor, Marcus Creed

1. Petite Messe Solennelle: Kyrie: I. Kyrie
2. Petite Messe Solennelle: Kyrie: II. Christe
3. Petite Messe Solennelle: Kyrie: III. Kyrie
4. Petite Messe Solennelle: Gloria: I. Gloria In Excelsis Deo
5. Petite Messe Solennelle: Gloria: II. Laudamus Te
6. Petite Messe Solennelle: Gloria: III. Gratias
7. Petite Messe Solennelle: Gloria: IV. Domine Deus
8. Petite Messe Solennelle: Gloria: V. Qui Tollis
9. Petite Messe Solennelle: Gloria: VI. Quoniam
10. Petite Messe Solennelle: Gloria: VII. Cum Sancto Spiritu
11. Petite Messe Solennelle: Credo: I. Credo In Unum Deum
12. Petite Messe Solennelle: Credo: II. Crucifixus
13. Petite Messe Solennelle: Credo: III. Et Resurrexit
14. Petite Messe Solennelle: Credo: IV. Et Vitam Venturi
15. Petite Messe Solennelle: Prélude Religieux (Pendant L'Offertoire)
16. Petite Messe Solennelle: Ritournelle
17. Petite Messe Solennelle: Sanctus
18. Petite Messe Solennelle: O Salutaris
19. Petite Messe Solennelle: Agnus Dei

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Francesco Cavalli - La Calisto

"'La Calisto' received its premiere at the Teatro Sant' Apollinare, Venice, on 28 November 1651. It was Francesco Cavalli’s fifteenth opera, and his ninth to a libretto by Giovanni Faustini. As the mature fruit of its authors' collaboration, it was the culmination of one of the most productive and enduring partnerships in the history of the genre. Over the previous decade, that partnership had helped to establish many of the basic conventions of Venetian opera, some of which were to endure for centuries. The smallest theater in Venice, Sant' Apollinare was where in 1650 Faustini had started a new venture – after two years (of a three-year contract) as impresario at S. Moisè – to be joined by his brother Marco and other Venetian entrepreneurs. Calisto is one of the few seven-teenth-century operas for which we have substantial information about the production, thanks to the surviving account book of Marco Faustini: we know the names of the singers and the make-up of the instrumental ensemble (just two violins and continuo), and we have a record of the expenses for spectacular machines and scenography as well as itemized information about the preparation of the season, the run of the opera, the attendance figures – even the payments for the prima donna's gondola. Together with the printed libretto and the single surviving musical manuscript, which was used in the production by one of the continuo players, this wealth of evidence makes it possible to undertake a critical edition with a level of comprehension of the work and its text unusual for the period.

"Diverging from most of Cavalli and Faustini’s previous operas, Calisto is based on mythology. It combines two contrasting love stories involving the same Olympian goddess, Diana, which do not seem to have been associated in any previous source, whether ancient or modern. They concern the love between Jupiter (disguised as Diana) and the nymph Callisto; and that between Diana and the shepherd Endymion. The second story refers to still another mythological relationship, the love between Diana and Pan. Faustini articulates a brilliant plot which, while carefully respecting the essential elements of the Classical tradition, allows for the introduction of other elements typical of a Venetian operatic scheme; these include a number of comic and supporting roles, some of which have their own short, witty subplots. The opera was composed for the same season and cast as 'Eritrea' and premiered one month earlier than the usual opening date of the theaters (26 December), probably in order to preempt competition from the two other theaters operating in that season. The production was marked by tragedy: the leading male singer, the alto castrato Bonifazio Ceretti, who was to have sung Endimione, fell ill shortly before the first night and died a few weeks later, with the result that Cavalli was forced to adapt the role for a soprano and recast the production; two weeks later, on 19 December, Giovanni Faustini himself died. It is hard to imagine worse luck for a public entertainment, but nonetheless even after Faustini’s death the opera ran for four more performances. Although it is unclear how directly the double tragedy affected the production, the account book shows that it was a miserable failure: the opera was cancelled after eleven performances and never revived.

"Calisto's modern fortunes have been quite different. As part of Ray-mond Leppard’s rediscovery of Cavalli, it was produced at Glyndebourne in 1970, and there followed both a recording and an edition. Leppard’s score neither was nor pretended to be a critical edition, but was rather a thorough-going adaptation that had in mind a public whose expectations were substantially different from those of the original seventeenth-century audience. The production and edition generated interest in Cavalli’s music, and particularly in Calisto: slowly, over the following decades, the work found increasing popularity both in major opera houses and in smaller, academic venues; some performances were based on Leppard’s score, but many others used editions which never reached the press. The exception was Jennifer Brown’s critical edition, which was used in a number of productions beginning in the mid-1990s and has recently been published. The production for La Monnaie in Brussels in 1993, by René Jacobs and Herbert Wernicke, was also recorded and presented in a number of European cities in the following years, and represents the consacration of Calisto as an icon of Baroque opera. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Calisto has found its way into the repertory of opera houses around the world." (Álvaro Torrente. From the introduction to the 2012 Bärenreiter Verlag edition of the opera. Read in full here.)

Performers: Concerto Vocale, René Jacobs, Maria Bayo, Marcello Lippi, Simon Keenlyside, Graham Pushee

1.1. Prologo: Sinfonia. Lento - Presto
1.2. Prologo: Sinfonia. 'Alme Pure E Volanti'
1.3. Prologo: Sinfonia. 'Gran Madre, Ottima Duce'
1.4. Atto I, Scena I: Sinfonia/'Del Foco Fulminato'
1.5. Atto I, Scena II: 'Piante Ombrose'
1.6. Atto I, Scena II: 'De L'offese Del Foco'
1.7. Atto I, Scena II: 'Dunque, Giove Immortale'/'Verginella Io Morir Vo'
1.8. Atto I, Scena III: 'Come Scherne Acerbetta'
1.9. Atto I, Scena III: Sinfonia (Reprise)
1.10. Atto I, Scena IV: 'Sien Mortali O Divini'
1.11. Atto I, Scena IV: 'Non È Maggior Piacere'
1.12. Atto I, Scena V: 'Chi Non Ti Crederebbe'/'In Ricovro Più Ombroso'/'A Baciarsi Andiam, Sì Sì'
1.13. Atto I, Scena VI: 'Va' Pur, Va'pur, Va' Seco'/'Se Non Giovano'
1.14. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Improvisi Stupori'
1.15. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Serenati, O Core'/Scena VIII: 'Pavide, Sbigottite'
1.16. Atto I, Scena VIII: 'Parto, E Porto Partendo'/Scena IX: 'Non È Crudel, Ben Mio'
1.17. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Come Chiude Nel Petto'/Scene X
1.18. Atto I, Scena XI: 'Piangete'
1.19. Atto I, Scena XII: 'Interprete Mal Buona'
1.20. Atto I, Scena XIII: 'Ninfa Bella'
1.21. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Numi Selvatici'
1.22. Atto I, Scena XIV: Ballo De Orsi. Ciacona

2.1. Atto II, Scena I: Sinfonia. Grave/'Erme E Solinghi Cime'
2.2. Atto II, Scena II: 'Candidi Corridori'
2.3. Atto II, Scena II: 'Bella Quanto Crudele'/Sinfonia
2.4. Atto II, Scena III: 'Alfin La Tanto Rigida'
2.5. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Da Le Gelose Mie Cure Incessanti'
2.6. Atto II, Scena V: 'Sporgate Anco'
2.7. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Espirmerti Non Posso'
2.8. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Calisto, Anima Mia?'/Scene VII
2.9. Atto II, Scena VIII: 'Chi Condusse Costei'
2.10. Atto II, Scena IX: 'Cor Mio'
2.11. Atto II, Scena IX: 'Mercurio, Chi Disfoga'
2.12. Atto II, Scena X: 'Se Tu Nol Credi'/Scena XI: 'Fermati O Mobile'
2.13. Atto II, Scena XI: 'Oh Dio, Così Abbandoni'
2.14. Atto II, Scena XII: 'D'aver Un Consorte'
2.15. Atto II, Scena XII: 'Combattimento Di Ninfe E Satiri'

3.1. Atto III, Scena I: 'Restino Imbalsamate'
3.2. Atto III, Scena II: 'Da Le Sponde'
3.3. Atto III, Scena II: 'Ma Si Fa Gelo Il Sangue'
3.4. Atto III, Scena III: 'Racconsolata E Paga'
3.5. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Perfide, Ancora Osate'
3.6. Atto III, Scena IV: 'O Re De L'universo'
3.7. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Mio Foco Fatale'/'Beata Mi Sento'
3.8. Atto III, Scena V: 'Che Non L'ami Volete?'/Scena VI/Scena VII: 'Ti Segua Questo Dardo'
3.9. Atto III, Scena VII: 'Vivo Per Te Pietosa'
3.10. Atto III, Scena VII: 'Tanto, Dunque, Tu M'ami?'
3.11. Atto III, Scena VII: 'Dolcissimi Baci'
3.12. Atto III, Scena VIII: Sinfonia
3.13. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Le Stelle Più Belle'
3.14. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Mio Tonante'/'Vaga Amante'
3.15. Atto III, Scena VIII: Ciacona

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Nicola Porpora - L'Amato Nome: Cantatas Opus 1

"The publication of Porpora’s 'Nuovamente composte opre di musica vocale' (Cantatas op. 1) should be placed within this [18th century English] social and artistic milieu: designed as a collection of twelve Italian chamber cantatas on Arcadian subjects (six for soprano and six for alto), it was published in 1735, and dedicated to Prince Frederick. The collection, destined to become one of the Neapolitan musician’s most successful works, sets texts by Pietro Metastasio, and seems deliberately planned as a display of the composer’s different expressive, formal and stylistic skills, for all that it uses the large-scale alternating structures typical of the genre: Aria-Recitative-Aria or Recitative-Aria-Recitative-Aria. The edition itself was very well designed and luxuriously engraved, and includes corrections and variants inserted by Porpora himself during the printing runs. It was printed on high-quality paper and distributed without a cover price, as if intended as a valuable gift for connoisseurs: a “business card” for the poetic and musical world of which Porpora was considered to be one of the greatest representatives.

"On the front page of this refined little volume, Porpora states that the cantatas were newly composed, and personally approved by Prince Frederick’s 'delicate taste': although not known of in manuscripts copied before 1735, it is certain that part of the music was written before the composer arrived in Britain. One of his pupils, Giuseppe Sigismondo (1739-1826), attests in his 'Apoteosi della musica del Regno di Napoli' that: 'He [Porpora] set out for London together with his pupil Farinelli in order to compensate for Handel’s deficiency in heroic theatre. But being as shrewd as a fox, he completed his 12 cantatas with continuo and no other instruments [...] and as soon as he arrived in London he had them elegantly published in 1735.'

"[...] As opposed to what is usually stated, cantatas should not be regarded in any way as 'small opera scenes'. To the eyes of Porpora’s contemporaries, they were a reality in themselves, much closer to the ancient idea of 'musica reservata' than to something staged or in any sense theatrical. They were rather to be enjoyed by a few intimate connoisseurs, and to be enjoyed in detail and in depth. It was a genre designed for singers (often female) and instrumentalists, who were rarely professionals, but rather highly-trained amateurs, who in their performance engaged with a small number of listeners able to grasp two essential elements: the composer’s expertise in setting to music the poet’s words, and the performers’ expertise in exploiting the verbal and musical refinements scattered throughout the score. It is a small world, characterised by intimacy and intellectual tension, a world in which shepherds and nymphs express and live out an infinite variety of delicately-shaded emotions, with a deep connection to the eighteenth-century ideals of love and beauty, which are perfectly embodied in the verses and strophes of Metastasio, and in Porpora’s music." (Stefano Aresi. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Stile Galante, Stefano Aresi

1.1. Cantata V: I. 'Scrivo In Te L’amato Nome'
1.2. Cantata V: II. 'O Pianta Avventurosa!'
1.3. Cantata V: III. 'Per Te D’amico Aprile'
1.4. Cantata X: I. 'Oh Se Fosse Il Mio Core'
1.5. Cantata X: II. 'Se Lusinga Il Labbro E ’L Ciglio'
1.6. Cantata X: III. 'Mi Fa Barbara E Ingrata'
1.7. Cantata X: IV. 'Sento Pietade, Non Son Crudele'
1.8. Cantata VIII: I. 'Or Che Una Nube Ingrata'
1.9. Cantata VIII: II. 'Senza Il Misero Piacer'
1.10. Cantata VIII: III. 'M’intendi? Io Tutto Dissi: Ahi Qual Tormento!'
1.11. Cantata VIII: IV. 'Contemplar Almen Chi S’ama'
1.12. Cantata III: I. 'Tirsi Chiamare A Nome'
1.13. Cantata III: II. 'Se In Amor Che Sia Vicino'
1.14. Cantata III: III. 'Sì, Sì, Benché L’aspetto'
1.15. Cantata III: IV. 'So Ben Che La Speranza In Fronte A Chi S’adora'
1.16. Cantata IX: I. 'Destatevi, O Pastori: Ecco Il Mattino'
1.17. Cantata IX: II. 'Nei Campi E Nelle Selve'
1.18. Cantata IX: III. 'Tornerò Fra Le Gregge'
1.19. Cantata IX: IV. 'Silvio Amante Disperato'
1.20. Cantata VI: I. 'Già La Notte S’avvicina'
1.21. Cantata VI: II. 'Lascia Una Volta, O Nice'
1.22. Cantata VI: III. 'Non Più Fra’ Sassi Algosi'

2.1. Cantata XI: I. 'Oh Dio, Che Non È Vero: Ogni Gran Piaga'
2.2. Cantata XI: II. 'Quella Ferita Ch’io Porto In Seno'
2.3. Cantata XI: III. 'Passano I Fiumi E I Rivi'
2.4. Cantata XI: IV. 'Se Mi Prestasse I Vanni'
2.5. Cantata IV: I. 'Queste Che Miri, O Nice'
2.6. Cantata IV: II. 'Sei Mio Ben, Sei Mio Conforto'
2.7. Cantata IV: III. 'Credimi, Sì, Mio Sole'
2.8. Cantata IV: IV. 'Amo, Né Sarà Mai Che A Più Vezzosi Rai'
2.9. Cantata VII: I. 'Veggo La Selva E Il Monte'
2.10. Cantata VII: II. 'Le Direi Mormorando Fra’ Sassi'
2.11. Cantata VII: III. 'Poscia, Quando Il Pastor Guida La Greggia'
2.12. Cantata VII: IV. 'Ma La Selva, Il Monte, Intanto'
2.13. Cantata II: I. 'Nel Mio Sonno Almen Talora'
2.14. Cantata II: II. 'Pria Dell’aurora, O Fille'
2.15. Cantata II: III. 'Partì Con L’ombra, È Ver'
2.16. Cantata I: I. 'D’Amore Il Primo Dardo'
2.17. Cantata I: II. 'Fra Gl’amorosi Lacci'
2.18. Cantata I: III. 'Ch’io Mai Vi Possa Lasciar Di Amare'
2.19. Cantata XII: I. 'Dal Povero Mio Cor, Che Vuoi Speranza?'
2.20. Cantata XII: II. 'Mensogniera Dici: "Spera"'
2.21. Cantata XII: III. 'Pallido, Ancor Tremante'
2.22. Cantata XII: IV. 'Ha Scogli E Rie Procelle'

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Francesco Cavalli - Il Giasone

"Composers, arrangers, or copyists who must provide an easily readable score for study or performance purposes, rarely have the chance to come across such an extraordinary work as this 'Giasone'. Accurate editions of minor Western music works give us an increasingly detailed picture of this immensely rich cultural heritage, which belongs to the entire world. 

"Even though today his name is not as well-known as that of Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli (who at fourteen was engaged by Monteverdi as a chorister in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice) was undoubtedly an excellent opera composer. Around the middle of the 17th century Cavalli was, indeed, one of the most renowned composers, and his opera 'Il Giasone', first staged on 5th January 1649, met with great success and enjoyed several repeat performances. When we study this score attentively [...] the qualities of Cavalli cannot be missed. The writing, to our contemporary eye, appears flowing and consistent (an opera, then, was mainly based on the basso continuo line and the vocal one on top, while concertati, orchestral/instrumental accompaniment and interludes are rare), but Cavalli's musical temperament is very different from the static gravity of Monteverdi's works. Almost grotesque humour and theatrical effects are intrinsic qualities of this score, and they did provoke a positive response in the audience, at the opera's modern times premiere, at the Vlaamse Opera In Gent on 30th April 2010. Marianne Clement's staging, without gaudy effects but, in line with the music, entertaining and comical, was a success with the public, who made it clear they enjoyed the evening." (Alexander Kampe, tr. Daniela Pilarz. From the liner notes.)

"After seducing Queen Hypsipyle on the island of Lemnos and fathering twins on her, Jason and his Argonauts have arrived in Colchis to conquer the Golden Fleece. But since his arrival at the court of Princess Medea, Jason has spent every night in the arms of a mysterious woman, whose face he has never seen." (Full plot synopsis here.)

Performers: Symphony Orchestra Of Vlaamse Opera, Frederico Maria Sardelli, Christophe Dumaux, Katarina Bradíc, Robin Johannsen

1.1. Sinfonia I
1.2. Prologo: 'Quest’è Il Giorno Prefisso'
1.3. Sinfonia II
1.4. Atto I, Scena I: 'Dall’ Oriente Porge'
1.5. Atto I, Scena II: 'Delizie, Contenti Che L’alma Beate'
1.6. Atto I, Scena III: 'Se Dardo Pungente D’un Guardo Lucente'
1.7. Atto I, Scena IV: 'Ferma, Medea, Deh Ferma Le Fuggitive Piante'
1.8. Atto I, Scena V: 'Fiero L’amor L’alma Tormenta'
1.9. Atto I, Scena VI: 'Son Gobbo, Son Demo, Son Bello, Son Bravo'
1.10. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Voli Il Tempo Se Sa, Rotin Gli Anni Fugaci Al Corso Loro'
1.11. Atto I, Scena VIII: 'O Dio, Giason Arriva E A Me S’invia'
1.12. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Regina, In Questo Giorno Giurai Passar Nel Mostruoso Arringo'
1.13. Atto I, Scena X: 'I Miei Secreti Amori Son Palesi A Costei?'
1.14. Atto I, Scena XI: 'Giasone, È Qui La Sposa, È Qui Colei'
1.15. Atto I, Scena XII: 'Godi, Godi Bella Coppia Che ’l Diletto Tra Quei Nodi Si Raddoppia'
1.16. Atto I, Scena XIII: 'Isifile Infelice Del Bel Trono Di Lenno Esule Sventurata'
1.17. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Dell’ Antro Magico Stridenti Cardini'

2.1. Atto II, Scena I: 'Oreste Ancor Non Giunge, E Pur Ogni Momento'
2.2. Atto II, Scena II: 'Io Pur Ti Tocco, O Lido, Io Pur Ti Bacio, O Terra'
2.3. Atto II, Scena III: 'Ecco Il Fatal Castello'
2.4. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Effetti Singolari Favori Senza Pari!'
2.5. Atto II, Scena V: Combattimento
2.6. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Sei Ferito, Mio Bene?'
2.7. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Alla Nave, Alla Nave? Medea E Giason S’abbracciano?'
2.8. Atto II, Scena VIII: 'La Regina Di Lenno, Gran Pronipote Mia'
2.9. Atto II, Scena IX: 'Per Ritrovar Suo Onore, Benche S’oscuri Il Cielo E ’l Mar S’adiri'
2.10. Atto II, Scena X: 'Soccorso, Aiuto, Olà: Io Moro, Oimè, Pietà'
2.11. Atto II, Scena XI: 'Scendi, O Bella, Vieni Al Porto'
2.12. Atto II, Scena XII: 'O Dio, Ecco Giasone Con La Beltà Gradita'
2.13. Atto II, Scena XIII: 'Gradite Tempeste, Procelle Adorate'

3.1. Atto III: Sinfonia
3.2. Atto III, Scena I: 'Nel Boschetto Ove Odor Spirano, Vaghi Fiori E ’l Suol Ricamano'
3.3. Atto III, Scena II: 'Sotto Il Tremulo Ciel Di Queste Frondi, Intorno A Cui S’aggira'
3.4. Atto III, Scena III: 'Adoriamoci In Sogno, Anima Mia?'
3.5. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Il Porto, Il Lido, Il Pian, La Valle, Il Monte'
3.6. Atto III, Scena V: 'Giason'/'Besso'
3.7. Atto III, Scena VI: 'Perch’io Torni A Languir Mi Si Nega ’L Morir'
3.8. Atto III, Scena VII: 'Gioite, Gioite, Festosi, Festosi'
3.9. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Fra I Notturni Perigli, Signora, Ove Vai Tu?'/Scena IX: 'Besso Qui Non Appare, Ed Io Misera Anelo'
3.10. Atto III, Scena X: 'Perché Sospiri, Medea Gelosa, Perché T’adiri, Bella Amorosa?'
3.11. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Di Guerriero Drappello O Veggio O Veder Parmi'
3.12. Atto III, Scena XIII: 'Besso, Besso! Chi Mi Chiama?'
3.13. Atto III, Scena XIV: 'Tormento, Ove Mi Guidi? Ritorniamo A Giason'
3.14. Atto III, Scena XV: 'Non M'Affliger Così'
3.15. Atto III, Scena XVI: 'Ovunque Il Piè Rivolgo'
3.16. Atto III, Scena XVII: 'Giason Qui Parla'
3.17. Atto III, Scena XVII: 'Regina, Egeo, Amici, Supplicat'
3.18. Atto III, Scena XVIII: 'Non Ho Più Core In Petto'
3.19. Atto III, Scena XIX: 'Quante Son Le Mie Gioie'
3.20. Atto III, Scena XX: Ciaccona

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Nicola Porpora - Leçons de Ténèbres

"Porpora's great feeling for the text (also a feature of his operas), becomes more acute, more penetrating in his setting of the deeply moving and desolate words of the Prophet Jeremiah The composer no longer had the constraints of composing recitatives and arias, as in opera. but was free to express himself as he wished. The result is kaleidoscopic, a sort of rich musical rhapsody in which he explores all the expressive possibilities of the solo voice to the full. With consummate skill, he brings out all the pain and distress of the situations described in the biblical verses, dwelling on them for as long as he likes and paying no heed to form. Yet their structure seems simple and plain. It was important not to distract the congregation gathered in penitence in the church by the brilliance of the writing, but to draw its attention to the meaning of the text. The vocal virtuosity that was typical of the Neapolitan school, and notably of Porpora, is not lacking in this music, but it is always subordinate to the sacred nature of the words and their emotional context. 

"It may be useful at this point to take a look at the traditions of the liturgical celebration of Holy Week. The inside of the church, usually decorated with paintings and statues and glittering with light, was suddenly stripped of its riches and plunged into darkness. everything was draped with the purple of mourning, until the moment of the Resurrection. Even the organ was silent in commemoration of the death of Christ, and its front was covered with purple cloth. 

"Thus the Lamentations were performed in a climate of religious and mystical tension, in which the voice, no longer worldly, served to admonish and exhort. The instrumental support had to be in keeping with the general atmosphere. The organ was temporarily excluded, as were bowed instruments, their place being taken by the harpsichord or the chitarrone: sober-sounding instruments but ones that were nevertheless capable of supporting the dramatic singing of the soloist verging on oratory. These two Lamentations were not the only ones Porpora composed, but they are the only ones that are accessible to scholars. Others have been traced to various locations in Italy and other countries, but unfortunately, for various incomprehensible reasons, researchers are denied access to them, so they remain unknown. This deplorable situation shows the difficulties that can hamper and even put an end to research work, which, in this case, could have been of great musical and artistic value.

"The Six Latin duets do not show the same freedom and lively imagination as the Lamentations. These are far-reaching works, rich in chromatic harmonies and with extensive, expansive melodic lines. The seventeenth-century art of counterpoint is combined perfectly with a solidly based harmonic structure, in the form of a dynamic basso continuo supporting the development of the vocal parts." (Jolando Scarpa, tr. Mary Pardof. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Les Paladins, Jérôme Corres

1. Duetto IV: In Hoc Vexillo Crucis
2. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: I. Jod (Adagio)
3. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: II. Mannum Suam (Con Spirito)
4. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: III. Caph (Adagio)
5. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: IV. Omnis Populos (Adagio)
6. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: V. Vide (Adagio)
7. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: VI. Lamed (Adagio)
8. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: VII. O Vos Omnes (Adagio)
9. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: VIII. Quoniam (Allegro)
10. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: IX. Men (Adagio)
11. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: X. De Excesso Misit (Allegro)
12. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: XI. Num (Tempo Giusto)
13. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: XII. Vigilavit
14. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: XIII. Jerusalem (Adagio)
15. Duetto I: Crimen Adaequantum Constat
16. Duetto II: Rigate Lagrimis
17. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: I. Lamed (Adagio)
18. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: II. Matribus Suis (Andante)
19. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: III. Men (Largo)
20. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: IV. Cui Comparabote (Allegro)
21. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: V. Magna Est (Adagio)
22. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: VI. Nun (Andante)
23. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: VII. Prophetae (Con Spirito)
24. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: VIII. Samech (Adagio)
25. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: IX. Plauserunt Super Te (Allegro)
26. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: X. Heccine En Urbs (Moderato)
27. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: XI. Jerusalem (Adagio)
28. Duetto III: Mortis Causa Tu Fuisti, O Mortalis
29. Duetto VI: Ab Imo Pectore

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Joseph Haydn - Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-10

"Haydn's keyboard music was at first written for the harpsichord, with later works clearly intended for the pianoforte, as dynamic markings show. His career coincided with changes in the standard keyboard instrument, as the fortepiano and then the pianoforte, with their hammer action and dynamic possibilities gradually replaced the harpsichord and clavichord. At the same time there was a parallel change in instrumental forms, as the structure that has come to be known, among other titles, as sonata-allegro form, developed. Of the 47 keyboard sonatas listed by Georg Feder in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians of 1980, the first thirty were intended for the harpsichord. In addition to this, fourteen early harpsichord sonatas that have been attributed to Haydn are listed. Nine of the ten sonatas here included belong to this last group. The early twentieth century edition of the sonatas by Karl Päsler includes 52 surviving sonatas, in addition to this there remain eight sonatas apparently lost. Of these Christa Landon, in her Wiener Urtext edition on which numbering the present series of recordings is based, discounts three.

"In the absence of autograph copies of Haydn's early sonatas, authenticity may sometimes be a matter of speculation, while stylistic dating is difficult without sure criteria from compositions certainly written before 1766, the terminus post quem taken in the Wiener Urtext edition. Of the present sonatas the doubtful Sonata No. 8 was advertised by Breitkopf in 1763, Sonatas Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 7 in the Breitkopf catalogue of 1766 and Sonatas Nos. 5 and 6, among others, in the catalogue for 1767. Christa Landon forbears to speculate on exact dating apart from suggesting a date before 1766 for all the sonatas here included, taking as a standard example of a maturer style Sonata No. 29 in E-flat major, Hob. XVI:45, for which the date of 1766 is known. These early sonatas generally bear the title Partita or Divertimento." (Keith Anderson. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Jenő Jandó

1. Piano Sonata No. 1 In G Major, Hob. XVI:8: I. Allegro
2. Piano Sonata No. 1 In G Major, Hob. XVI:8: II. Menuet
3. Piano Sonata No. 1 In G Major, Hob. XVI:8: III. Andante
4. Piano Sonata No. 1 In G Major, Hob. XVI:8: IV. Allegro
5. Piano Sonata No. 2 In C Major, Hob. XVI:7: I. Allegro Moderato
6. Piano Sonata No. 2 In C Major, Hob. XVI:7: II. Menuet
7. Piano Sonata No. 2 In C Major, Hob. XVI:7: III. Finale: Allegro
8. Piano Sonata No. 3 In F Major, Hob. XVI:9: I. Allegro
9. Piano Sonata No. 3 In F Major, Hob. XVI:9: II. Menuet
10. Piano Sonata No. 3 In F Major, Hob. XVI:9: III. Scherzo
11. Piano Sonata No. 4 In G Major, Hob. XVI:G1: I. Allegro
12. Piano Sonata No. 4 In G Major, Hob. XVI:G1: II. Menuetto
13. Piano Sonata No. 4 In G Major, Hob. XVI:G1: III. Finale: Presto
14. Piano Sonata No. 5 In G Major, Hob. XVI:11: I. Presto
15. Piano Sonata No. 5 In G Major, Hob. XVI:11: II. Andante
16. Piano Sonata No. 5 In G Major, Hob. XVI:11: III. Menuet
17. Piano Sonata No. 6 In C Major, Hob. XVI:10: I. Moderato
18. Piano Sonata No. 6 In C Major, Hob. XVI:10: II. Menuet
19. Piano Sonata No. 6 In C Major, Hob. XVI:10: III. Finale: Presto
20. Piano Sonata No. 7 In D Major, Hob. XVI:D1: I. Tema (Moderato) With Variations
21. Piano Sonata No. 7 In D Major, Hob. XVI:D1: II. Menuet
22. Piano Sonata No. 7 In D Major, Hob. XVI:D1: III. Finale: (Allegro)
23. Piano Sonata No. 8 In A Major, Hob. XVI:5: I. Allegro
24. Piano Sonata No. 8 In A Major, Hob. XVI:5: II. Menuet
25. Piano Sonata No. 8 In A Major, Hob. XVI:5: III. Presto
26. Piano Sonata No. 9 In D Major, Hob. XVI:4: I. (Moderato)
27. Piano Sonata No. 9 In D Major, Hob. XVI:4: II. Menuet
28. Piano Sonata No. 10 In C Major, Hob. XVI:1: I. Allegro
29. Piano Sonata No. 10 In C Major, Hob. XVI:1: II. Adagio
30. Piano Sonata No. 10 In C Major, Hob. XVI:1: III. Menuet

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Joseph Haydn - Piano Sonatas Nos. 11-16 & 18

"The classical keyboard sonata developed during the eighteenth century, the changes in its form and content taking place during Haydn's life-time. This formal development took place during a period when keyboard instruments themselves were changing, with the harpsichord and clavichord gradually replaced by the new hammer-action fortepiano. There are some fourteen early harpsichord sonatas attributed to Haydn. Of his 47 later keyboard sonatas, dating from about 1765, the first thirty were designed for harpsichord and the next nine for harpsichord or piano. The remaining eight sonatas include seven specifically intended for piano and one for piano or harpsichord. The principal musical difference between music for harpsichord and that for the piano lies in the possibilities for gradual dynamic change, indications of which appear in Haydn's later sonatas.

"The sonatas included in the present volume have all been dated to a period before 1766. The order in which they are played follows that of the Wiener Urtext Edition of Christa Landon but does not necessarily  correspond to the order of composition, which must remain conjectural, in the general absence of autograph copies or external evidence." (Keith Anderson. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Jenő Jandó

1. Piano Sonata No. 11 In B-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:2: I. Moderato
2. Piano Sonata No. 11 In B-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:2: II. Largo
3. Piano Sonata No. 11 In B-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:2: III. Menuet
4. Piano Sonata No. 12 In A Major, Hob. XVI:12: I. Andante
5. Piano Sonata No. 12 In A Major, Hob. XVI:12: II. Menuet
6. Piano Sonata No. 12 In A Major, Hob. XVI:12: III. Finale: Allegro
7. Piano Sonata No. 13 In G Major, Hob. XVI:6: I. Allegro
8. Piano Sonata No. 13 In G Major, Hob. XVI:6: II. Minuet
9. Piano Sonata No. 13 In G Major, Hob. XVI:6: III. Adagio
10. Piano Sonata No. 13 In G Major, Hob. XVI:6: IV. Finale: Allegro Molto
11. Piano Sonata No. 14 In C Major, Hob. XVI:3: I. Allegretto
12. Piano Sonata No. 14 In C Major, Hob. XVI:3: II. Andante
13. Piano Sonata No. 14 In C Major, Hob. XVI:3: III. Menuet
14. Piano Sonata No. 15 In E Major, Hob. XVI:13: I. Moderato
15. Piano Sonata No. 15 In E Major, Hob. XVI:13: II. Menuet
16. Piano Sonata No. 15 In E Major, Hob. XVI:13: III. Finale: Presto
17. Piano Sonata No. 16 In D Major, Hob. XVI:14: I. Allegro Moderato
18. Piano Sonata No. 16 In D Major, Hob. XVI:14: II. Menuet
19. Piano Sonata No. 16 In D Major, Hob. XVI:14: III. Finale: Allegro
20. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:deest: I. Allegro
21. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:deest: II. Menuetto

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Tommy Flanagan - Moodsville Volume 9

A rare date with Tommy Flanagan as leader. He's joined by an amply skilled rhythm section of be-bop veterans Tommy Potter and Roy Haynes on bass and drums respectively. The selection of ballads is excellent and sensitively played by the trio, with Flanagan playing a solo rendition of Come Sunday.

Performers: Tommy Flanagan (pi), Tommy Potter (bs), Roy Haynes (dr)

A1. In The Blue Of The Evening
A2. You Go To My Head
A3. Velvet Moon
A4. Come Sunday
B1. Born To Be Blue
B2. Jes' Fine
B3. In A Sentimental Mood

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Red Garland & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Moodsville Volume 1

Another highly excellent set of ballads from Red Garland's trio, this time with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis appearing on saxophone. Garland's sensitivity for ballads is unparalleled and, with the accompaniment of the wonderful Sam Jones and Art Taylor, it seems impossible for him to miss. On the saxophone, Davis shows how his broad, breathy tone can be stretched out, languid and melancholic; a tone dripping with nectar.

Performers: Red Garland (pi), Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (t-sx), Sam Jones (bs), Art Taylor (dr)

A1. We'll Be Together Again
A2. Stella By Starlight
A3. I Heard You Cried Last Night
A4. Softly Baby
B1. When Your Lover Has Gone
B2. Wonder Why
B3. Blue Room
B4. The Red Blues

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Sonny Stitt & Eddie Davis - The Battle Of Birdland

Another classic saxophone "battle" record, this one a little more obscure. Pits one Eddie Davis (presumably before his jaws locked) against a familiar Sonny Stitt (see our last battle below). Both have big, aggressive tones, with Davis favouring a roaring, screaming tone over Stitt's rapid fire frenzy. Shirley Hoskins Collins, who wrote the liner notes for short lived label Roost, calls the battle a "complimentary exchange": certainly the two saxophonists compliment each other excellently in this stripped down organ combo, but one can tell the label 'battle' is appropriate here. This is not a mere Sunday evening duet.

Performers: Sonny Stitt/Eddie Davis (t-sx), Doc Bagby (og), Charlie Rice (dr)

A1. Marchin'
A2. S.O.S.
A3. Jaws
A4. I Can't Get Started

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Blue Mitchell - Blue Mitchell

Excellent 1971 Mainstream Records release from Blue Mitchell. The production has a dense, dirty quality to it that perfectly compliments Walter Bishop Junior's electric piano fuzz and drummer Dug Sides' phenomenal breaks. Joining Mitchell at the front is Jimmy Forrest, a pedigree tenor saxophonist who doesn't appear enough on this type of record. The style is immensely cool: a mixture of early seventies soul jazz and post bop; experimental, 'new' and danceable but still very tight and rooted in the tradition. Forrest has, at times, a more forward-thinking jazz-funk style that works as a perfect counterpoint to Mitchell's be-bop playing. Of particular note is Forrest's incredible sax lick towards the end of "Soul Village": one in a million.

Performers: Blue Mitchell (tp), Jimmy Forrest (t-sx), Walter Bishop Jr. (e-pi/pi), Larry Gales (e-bs/bs), Doug Sides (dr)

A1. Soul Village
A2. Blues For Thelma
A3. Queen Bee
B1. Are You Real
B2. Hi Hermano

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Richie Kamuca's Charlie

Another excellent and tragically as yet un-reissued late record from Kamuca on Concord Jazz. Compared to "Drop Me Off in Harlem" on the same label (find it below), "Charlie" takes a more modern and straight ahead approach (I would guess the very original format there may have been the brainchild of Dave Frishberg). Ray Brown is a veteran bassist, but his tone here screams mid to late 70s; the effect is not unpleasant though, nor do any of the veteran musicians here sound like anything but tip-top modern straight ahead jazz performers. Blue Mitchell's soulful, sensitive trumpet playing is forever welcomed alongside Kamuca, as is veteran west coaster Jimmy Rowles' piano. Donald Bailey is a very swinging, hard-hitting drummer who completes the modern 1970s sound here. A hidden gem.

Performers: Richie Kamuca (t-sx), Blue Mitchell (tp), Jimmy Rowles (pi), Ray Brown (bs), Donald Bailey (dr)

A1. Dizzy Atmosphere
A2. If You Could See Me Now
A3. Chi Chi
A4. Barbados
B1. Confirmation
B2. Blues In B Flat
B3. Medley: Willow Weep For Me/Everything Happens To Me
B4. Hot House

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Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt & Sonny Rollins - Sonny Side Up

Dizzy Gillespie heads this famous all-star horn frontline, backed by brothers Ray and Tommy Bryant on piano and bass respectively and veteran be-bop player Charlie Persip on the drum stool. Gillespie, of course, invigorates things with a fluent energy, a sense of effortless fun that no one else but a prince regent of jazz could muster. As his chosen lieutenants grapple for position through their extended (and impeccable) solos, Gillespie is content to soar above without a care in the world, blasting out wonderful vocals that shine like the sun on the title track.

Performers: Dizzy Gillespie (tp), Sonny Stitt/Sonny Rollins (t-sx), Ray Bryant (pi), Tommy Bryant (bs), Charlie Persip (dr)

A1. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
A2. The Eternal Triangle
B1. After Hours
B2. I Know That You Know

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Nick Drake - Pink Moon

Recorded in two brief late night sesssions, this is the final album from this troubled English singer. Drake's fingerpicked guitar and muffled, sanguine voice surely veiled some spiritual desperation. At twenty-eight minutes in length, with none of the eleven songs longer than four minutes, this a very short album, but Drake packs it with colour and feeling; the same wayward, freewheeling comfort that Dylan originated on "Girl From the North Country". There is plenty of occasion for joy and comfort, as well as for pain, as we hear Drake play his own elegy.

1. Pink Moon
2. Place To Be
3. Road
4. Which Will
5. Horn
6. Things Behind The Sun
7. Know
8. Parasite
9. Ride
10. Harvest Breed
11. From The Morning

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Kevin Drumm - Jury Prize

This release from Drumm leans towards pure noise, rather than electroacoustic based noise or drone/ambient with noise sections. Its something he does very well, and this is sonically very rich and engaging. Released on Karl Schmidt Verlag as a lossless digital file, although it does not seem to be available any longer. Artwork is excellent and very intriguing, see also the back cover here.

1. Schmickedtwice (Jury Prize)

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Johann Baptist Vanhal - Two Symphonies; Cello Concerto

"Johann Baptist Vanhal [...] numbers among the most productive composers of the eighteenth century. According to the current count, he composed at least seventy-seven symphonies, some sixty solo concertos, several hundred works for chamber ensembles and just as many works for piano, and in the category of liturgical music fifty-one masses and many more than a hundred shorter sacred vocal works. According to the Vanhal scholar Paul Bryan's tentative estimate, the total number of his works is to be reckoned at 1,377. If one can believe what early witnesses stated about the extent of his overall oeuvre, then some works exceeding this number must have been lost. The lexicographer Gottfried Johann Dlabacẑ (who knew Vanhal personally), for example, spoke of the existence of a hundred symphonies in his 'Künstler-Lexikon für Bömen' published in 1815. But Vanhal quite early made a name for himself not only with the overwhelming quantity of his works but also with their quality. Already in 1772, when Vanhal was thirty-three years old, the English music historian Charles Burney noted in his travel journal during his trip throughout Europe that he would not hesitate to name Vanhal's symphonies 'among the most complete and perfect compositions, for many instruments, which the art of music can boast.'" (Bert Hagels, tr. Susan Marie Praeder. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Camerata Schweiz, Howard Griffiths, István Várdai

1. Symphony In C Major: I. Allegro
2. Symphony In C Major: II. Cantabile
3. Symphony In C Major: III. Allegro Molto
4. Cello Concerto In C Major: I. Allegro Moderato
5. Cello Concerto In C Major: II. Adagio
6. Cello Concerto In C Major: III. Finale. Allegro
7. Symphony In E Minor: I. Allegro Moderato
8. Symphony In E Minor: II. Cantabile
9. Symphony In E Minor: III. Menuetto Ma Un Poco Allegretto
10. Symphony In E Minor: IV. Allegro

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Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts Of The Great Highway

Singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek's solo moniker. The songs here drift through an emotionally rich mind world, maintaining an urbane sound without going so far as to lose their Neil Young-esque 'Americana' feeling. The music is rich and varied beyond basic indie rock and the lyrics show an artistic maturity that one reviewer calls "a more languid form of timeless storytelling". Timeless is, perhaps, the right word. There is a feeling of Kozelek reaching into the past, singing songs from creased sepia toned family photo albums as the album cover suggests. There is rich emotion here, but also distance and a sense of growing insignificance.

1. Glenn Tipton
2. Carry Me Ohio
3. Salvador Sanchez
4. Last Tide
5. Floating
6. Gentle Moon
7. Lily And Parrots
8. Duk Koo Kim
9. Sí, Paloma
10. Pancho Villa

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Franz Schubert / Joseph Haydn - Piano Sonatas; Military March

"Franz Joseph Haydn's delightful little Sonata in A major, Hob. XVI: 30 saw the light of day in 1776 — a great re-volutionary year for Thomas Jeffer-son's America, a somewhat less successful one for George III's England, a storm- and stressful one for Goethe's Germany, but altogether a peaceful one for Haydn in Eszterhiza, Hungary. 

"[...] In February of 1823, when Franz Schubert was at work on the A-minor Sonata, D. 784, his life had just taken several significant turns. On the professional side, his greatest instrumental creation to date, the "Wanderer" Fantasy, D. 760, had been accepted by the publishers Cappi & Diabelli. Two years earlier this firm had published Schubert's Op. 1, Erlkönig, D. 328, his first real breakthrough to the public; now it seemed as if he also might finally gain recognition and acceptance as an instrumental com-poser. On the personal side, however, he had just encountered disaster: the first symptoms of syphilis had appeared — the disease that within six years would destroy him." (David Montgomery. From the liner notes.)

1. Joseph Haydn - Piano Sonata In A Major, Hob. XVI:30
2. Joseph Haydn - Piano Sonata In E-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:52: I. Allegro
3. Joseph Haydn - Piano Sonata In E-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:52: II. Adagio
4. Joseph Haydn - Piano Sonata In E-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:52: III. Finale. Presto
4. Franz Schubert - Piano Sonata In A Minor, D. 784: I. Allegro Giusto
5. Franz Schubert - Piano Sonata In A Minor, D. 784: II. Andante
6. Franz Schubert - Piano Sonata In A Minor, D. 784: III. Allegro Vivace
7. Franz Schubert - Military March, D. 733 No. 1

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Joseph Haydn - String Quartets Op. 71 & 74

"Whereas Haydn's earlier quartets had been designed for private performance, Op. 71 and 74 were tailored, at least partly, for London's Hanover Square Rooms, which seated up to 600 in comfort. And though they never overstep the bounds of true chamber music, the 1793 works are more obviously 'public' in manner than any of his previous quartets: boldly and spaciously conceived, with virtuoso writing for all the instruments, especially the first violin (played by Salomon himself), and flamboyant contrasts of texture, register and dynamics. 

"These extrovert tendencies were in part a response to the showy quatours concertants by, inter alia, Adalbert Gyrowetz and Haydn's former pupil Ignaz Pleyel that were so popular in London. Unlike Pleyel and Gyrowetz, though, Haydn was too much of a musical architect to allow virtuosity to run amok. Fast movements are tautly, often strenuously argued, reflecting the proximity of the London symphonies, while the slow movements of Op. 71 No. 2 and Op. 74 No. 3 are among Haydn's most searching. Another tendency of these quartets, so characteristic of late Haydn, is their highly adventurous sense of tonality, manifested both in remote modulations within movements, and by the choice of a key a third away from the tonic for the trios of Op. 74 Nos. I and 2, and the largo assai of Op. 74 No. 3." (Richard Wigmore. From the liner notes.)

 Performers: The London Haydn Quartet

1. String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 71 No. 1: I. Allegro
2. String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 71 No. 1: II. Adagio
3. String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 71 No. 1: III. Menuetto: Allegretto
4. String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 71 No. 1: IV. Vivace
5. String Quartet In D Major, Op. 71 No. 2: I. Adagio – Allegro
6. String Quartet In D Major, Op. 71 No. 2: II. Adagio Cantabile
7. String Quartet In D Major, Op. 71 No. 2: III. Menuetto: Allegro
8. String Quartet In D Major, Op. 71 No. 2: IV. Allegretto – Allegro
9. String Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 71 No. 3: I. Vivace
10. String Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 71 No. 3: II. Andante Con Moto
11. String Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 71 No. 3: III. Menuetto – Trio
12. String Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 71 No. 3: IV. Vivace
13. String Quartet In C Major, Op. 74 No. 1: I. Allegro
14. String Quartet In C Major, Op. 74 No. 1: II. Andantino
15. String Quartet In C Major, Op. 74 No. 1: III. Menuetto: Allegro – Trio
16. String Quartet In C Major, Op. 74 No. 1: IV. Vivace
17. String Quartet In F Major, Op. 74 No. 2: I. Allegro Spiritoso
18. String Quartet In F Major, Op. 74 No. 2: II. Andante Grazioso
19. String Quartet In F Major, Op. 74 No. 2: III. Menuetto – Trio
20. String Quartet In F Major, Op. 74 No. 2: IV. Presto
21. String Quartet In G Minor, Op. 74 No. 3 'Rider': I. Allegro Non Troppo
22. String Quartet In G Minor, Op. 74 No. 3 'Rider': II. Largo Assai
23. String Quartet In G Minor, Op. 74 No. 3 'Rider': III. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio
24. String Quartet In G Minor, Op. 74 No. 3 'Rider': IV. Allegro Con Brio

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Ignaz Joseph Pleyel - The Cello Concertos

"The date of genesis of the five cello concertos on the present CD falls into Pleyel's most mature Strasbourg and early Paris years as a composer. The earliest ones - Ben. 101 (1782-84), Ben. 104 (1788-89), and Ben. 105 (1790) - may have been composed and can have to do with the composer's concert organizing activities in Strasbourg; some of them were perhaps performed during his concert tours in London, too. The later ones - Ben. 106 (1797) and Ben. 108 (n.d.) - reflect commissions by music publishers or concert invitations in the first years of his stay in Paris.

"The tone of the works reminds of the elegant, sentimental and spectacularly virtuoso atmosphere of Boccherini's, Haydn's and his classical-early romantic contemporaries' concertos. They have a traditional structure in three movements: the large-scale sonata-like opening movement and the cantabile slow movement are followed by a sparklingly witty virtuoso closing rondo or sonata rondo. It is interesting to note that almost each piece was published and survives in several settings - and soloistic versions, respectively. A good example is the concerto in C major (Ben. 104) 1788-89 known in no less than nine contemporary printed versions for cello. Besides, its viola concerto form (one edition), fortepiano version (eight editions), a clarinet concerto variant (two editions), flute, oboe and bassoon versions (one edition each), string and wind combinations as double concertos (twelve editions) as well as a chamber version for violin and piano are known. As exceptions, only the earliest concerto in C major composed in 1782-84 and the manuscript concerto in C major (Ben. 108) of latest date (without date) on it occur only in a version for a single instrument. 

"Although several contemporary editions survive, the present CD offers the 'critical' versions of the concertos revised on the basis of autograph manuscripts. The Urtext editions and the cadenzas to the individual movements are by Péter Szabó."

Performers: Erdódy Chamber Orchestra, Zsolt Szefcsik, Péter Szabó

1.1. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 104: I. Allegro Vivace
1.2. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 104: II. Adagio
1.3. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 104: III. Rondo. Allegro
1.4. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 106: I. Allegro
1.5. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 106: II. Adagio
1.6. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 106: III. Rondo. Allegro Molto
1.7. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 108: I. Allegro
1.8. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 108: II. Adagio
1.9. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 108: III. Allegro Molto

2.1. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 101: I. Allegro
2.2. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 101: II. Adagio
2.3. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 101: III. Rondo
2.4. Cello Concerto In D Major, Ben. 105: I. Allegro Moderato
2.5. Cello Concerto In D Major, Ben. 105: II. Adagio Poco Andante
2.6. Cello Concerto In D Major, Ben. 105: III. Rondo. Allegro

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Ignaz Joseph Pleyel - Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Sinfonia Concertante

"The fact that Pleyel, like Haydn, paid tribute to the principle of experimentation is reflected in the first work on our recording. [...] [It] is doubtless one of his superior compositions. Jost Michaels ranks it as the most important clarinet concerto prior to Mozart. It is interesting to hear how Pleyel makes his way through the concerto with his simple initial theme; the path leads by way of an emotionally rich slow movement and in keeping with dramaturgical logic issues in the virtuoso release of the rondo. During the course of this work he exploits the whole palette of the clarinet. 

"The second Clarinet Concerto, very close to Mozart in its second movement, owed its composition to similar circumstances, to be specific, to the marketing of an already successfully tested basic idea For several instruments -in this case of a cello concerto - with Pleyel himself doing the marketing. What came first, the chicken or the egg, is a question that I would prefer to leave up to scholarship. It should be noted, however, that in the concluding movement of this concerto Pleyel designs the equivalent of an opera scene with cadences by Reimund Griesbacher, a recitative, and a seeming concluding stretta. Griesbacher, the director of Prince Großalkowitz's wind ensemble in Preßburg and Vienna around 1796, was renowned as a superb concert instrumentalist on the clarinet. 

"The Sinfonia Concertante arose in Pleyel's Paris circle of friends, represented by the Gebauer family, whose members often prevailed upon him to arrange older works for them, with these works then being published by them under his trademark name. The double concerto in all likelihood was published in this way with the author's approval." (Dieter Klöcker, tr. Susan Marie Praeder. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Sebastian Tewinkel, Dieter Klöcker, Sandra Arnold

1. Clarinet Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Major: I. Allegro
2. Clarinet Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Major: II. Adagio
3. Clarinet Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Major: III. Rondo
4. Clarinet Concerto No. 2 In B-Flat Major: I. Allegro Vivace
5. Clarinet Concerto No. 2 In B-Flat Major: II. Adagio
6. Clarinet Concerto No. 2 In B-Flat Major: III. Rondo
7. Sinfonia Concertante In B-Flat Major: I. Allegro
8. Sinfonia Concertante In B-Flat Major: I. Allegro

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Jan Ladislav Dussek - String Quartets

"Dussek is right to consider his quartets to be in his very own style. Perhaps Dussek is the only contemporary of Beethoven who was able to preserve his own style without suffering under the immense influence of the great classicist. Rather, Dussek can be seen as the first the Romantic composer (along with Prince Louis Ferdinand). After all, Schubert's very first, and still very much classical compositions overlap into the final months of Dussek's life, while the string quartets Op. 60 were written at a time which would hardly be called Romanticism in music history. Yet Dussek cannot be assigned to Classicism, neither in his character nor in his music, as the string quartets clearly document. [...]

"Perhaps the quartets later also suffered a certain déjà vu - they occasionally seem to remind us of better known, but always much later works. Easily they could be mistaken for music from the 1820s or 1830s. Their date of 1806 makes them all the more revolutionary, unprecedented and modern.

"The three quartets of Op. 60 are conceived as a cycle. The first quartet in G Major is in a lighter character, with only three movements, the middle of which is in the style of an Intermezzo with a virtuoso alla Polacca finale. The second quartet appears the most classical of the three. A certain closeness to Beethoven seems to be intended as the movement title Adagio pathetico reveals. The second subject is a direct quote from Haydn's op. 103. The third quartet points far into the future, with all elements of Romantic music already present. The slow movement is perhaps the most ingenious of the whole opus, as it appears to he almost late Romantic. Also notable is the tonality of the scherzo, which begins in C-sharp Minor yet settles in the home key of E flat, while the Trio is set in B major." (Johannes Gebauer. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Camesina Quartet

1. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 1 In G Major: I. Allegro Grazioso
2. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 1 In G Major: II. Larghetto Non Troppo Lento
3. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 1 In G Major: III. Rondo. Tempo Di Polacca Quasi Andante
4. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 2 In B-Flat Major: I. Allegretto
5. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 2 In B-Flat Major: II. Adagio Pathetico
6. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 2 In B-Flat Major: III. Menuetto. Non Presto E Semplice
7. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 2 In B-Flat Major: IV. Finale. Allegro Non Troppo
8. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 3 In E-Flat Major: I. Allegro Espressivo
9. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 3 In E-Flat Major: II. Adagio Non Tanto
10. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 3 In E-Flat Major: III. Menuetto. Scherzo. Con Moto Assai
11. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 3 In E-Flat Major: IV. Finale. Allegro Moderato

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Jan Ladislav Dussek - Piano Sonatas Op. 44 & Op. 77

"The Sonata Op.44 is not only a dedication to and a farewell with Dussek’s friend and musical contemporary Muzio Clementi. It is also a journey through all the musical styles and époques to which Dussek bore witness. The polyphony and the canonic imitations in the development of the 1st movement represent the heritage of the Baroque era. The clear lines of the rhetorical formulae in the 1st movement belong to the classical style of Haydn and Mozart. The exquisite coquetry of the dance in the Trio of the Menuet relate to the salon of the pre-Chopin times. And the last bars of the Sonata are blown away in an extraordinary gesture of farewell.

"The Sonata Op.77 (L’Invocation) deserves its reputation as one of the most outstanding of Dussek’s works. It is not free of the weaker traits of the earlier pieces: the clichés in form, the trivial appoggiaturas and sighs, the use of diminished 7th chords to express passion and tragedy, and the tonal monotony (especially in the 1st movement and the Menuet). Nevertheless, the emotional candor, the romantic impulse, the depressive melancholy in the presentiment of his coming death make up for the lack of invention in manipulating the musical material. Both in the 1st and the final movements, the music achieves dramatic heights only to break down and fall deep into resignation and despair. Dussek surpasses Beethoven and Schubert in the expression of subjective feeling. In this Sonata, he reaches out to the Romanticism of Chopin (3rd mvt.), Schumann (episodes of the Finale) and Brahms (Trio). Again and again, the listener is impressed by the fusion of baroque archaism, classical sonata forms, the novelty and expression of the melodic contour, the richness of the piano writing and the boldness in the use of all possible resources of the instrument. (Alexei Lubimov, tr. Liza Miller. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Alexei Lubimov

1. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, Craw 178: I. Introduzione. Grave - Allegro Moderato
2. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, Craw 178: II. Molto Adagio E Sostenuto
3. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, Craw 178: III. Tempo Di Menuetto Piuttosto Allegro
4. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, Craw 178: IV. Rondo. Allegro Moderato Ed Espressivo
5. Piano Sonata No. 28 In F Minor, Op. 77, Craw 259: I. Allegro Moderato, Ma Energico
6. Piano Sonata No. 28 In F Minor, Op. 77, Craw 259: II. Tempo Di Menuetto. Con Moto
7. Piano Sonata No. 28 In F Minor, Op. 77, Craw 259: III. Adagio Non Troppo, Ma Solenne
8. Piano Sonata No. 28 In F Minor, Op. 77, Craw 259: IV. Rondo. Allegro Moderato

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Johann Sebastian Bach - Mass In B Minor

"Owing to its complex genesis and source history, the B-minor Mass cannot be said to exist in a definitive form. True, the autograph score is the most important source for the work as a whole, but it contains subsequent inscriptions that can only be eliminated through a comparison with the earliest copyists’ manuscripts. Due to the poor condition of the original manuscript – which, although it was saved from further decay by conservatory measures, was too damaged for all the details to be reconstructed – it is impossible to determine the precise state of the manuscript at the time of Bach’s death. Even if this could be done, it would be necessary to intervene in Bach’s original, since Bach’s poor health prevented him from working out the second part of the Mass in every detail. We will have to trust that his son Carl Philipp Emanuel made his changes in the Berlin period with great reverence, close temporal proximity, and a solid knowledge of his father’s style, and that he limited them to what was absolutely necessary. On the other hand, his arrangement of the Credo for a Hamburg benefit concert in 1786 involved performance markings that primarily merit the attention of reception historians but allow no conclusions to be drawn regarding performances under Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Thus, the original score forms the decisive source for the movements from the Credo to the 'Dona nobis pacem'.

"A basic decision had to be made for the first part of the Mass consisting of the Kyrie and Gloria movements. All previous editions, as well as almost all recordings, have taken the autograph score as their primary source. However, in the Carus edition (edited by Ulrich Leisinger, Stuttgart, 2014; Carus 31.232) upon which the present recording is based, the readings set down by Bach in detail in the Dresden parts have been taken as the main text for the first part of the Mass. The Carus edition thus provides the best text for both parts, i.e., supplying that which was most elaborately wrought by Johann Sebastian Bach. By consistently following this distinction, the recording based on our new edition also enables not only the B-minor Mass as a whole but also the Dresden version of 1733 to be heard separately as a Kyrie-Gloria Mass on CD 1 – an option wholly neglected in musical praxis until now. It is especially charming to also study the alternative versions of those movements which Bach, during his many years of working on the piece, amended most extensively (these are to be found on the additional tracks on CD 2). The first version of the 'Domine Deus' (CD 2, 17) is notated in the score in plain version, while the Dresden parts contain charming Lombardic rhythms. In so doing, Bach assigned the part which was originally intended for two unison flutes to one solo flute. In the expansion of the work from the Missa of 1733 to the B-minor Mass, Bach’s largest modification was of the 'Quoniam' in which he made amendments in the autograph score to almost one fifth of the vocal parts. This amended version (CD 2, 18) is the one that has usually been heard in recordings up to now. The initial version of the Sanctus and 'Pleni sunt coeli', which was originally composed in 1724 for the unusual combination of three soprano voices, contralto, tenor, bass and orchestra, can be heard on this recording as well (CD 2, 19 – 20)." (Ulrich Lesinger, tr. J. Bradford Robinson & David Kosviner. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, Freiburger Barockorchester, Hans-Christoph Rademann

1.1. Missa: Kyrie. Kyrie Eleison I
1.2. Missa: Kyrie. Christie Eleison
1.3. Missa: Kyrie. Kyrie Eleison II
1.4. Missa: Gloria. Gloria In Excelsis Deo
1.5. Missa: Gloria. Et In Terra Pax Hominibus Bonae Voluntatis
1.6. Missa: Gloria. Laudamus Te, Benedicimus Te
1.7. Missa: Gloria. Gratias Agimus Tibi
1.8. Missa: Gloria. Domine Deus, Rex Caelestis
1.9. Missa: Gloria. Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi, Miserere Nobis
1.10. Missa: Gloria. Qui Sedes Ad Dexteram Patris
1.11. Missa: Gloria. Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus
1.12. Missa: Gloria. Cum Sancto Spiritu

2.1. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Credo In Unum Deum
2.2. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Patrem Omnipotentem
2.3. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Et In Unum Dominum
2.4. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Et Incarnatus Est
2.5. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Crucifixus Etiam Pro Nobiss
2.6. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Et Resurrexit Tertia Die
2.7. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Et In Spiritum Sanctum
2.8. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Confiteor Unum Baptisma
2.9. Symbolum Nicenum: Credo. Et Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum
2.10. Sanctus: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth
2.11. Sanctus: Pleni Sunt Coeli Et Terra Gloria Tua
2.12. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei & Dona Nobis Pacem: Osanna In Excelsis
2.13. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei & Dona Nobis Pacem: Benedictus Qui Venit In Nomine Domini
2.14. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei & Dona Nobis Pacem: Osanna In Excelsis
2.15. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei & Dona Nobis Pacem: Agnus Dei,Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi
2.16. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei & Dona Nobis Pacem: Dona Nobis Pacem
2.17. Domine Deus (Fassung Der Autographen Partitur)
2.18. Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus (Fassung Der Autographen Partitur)
2.19. Sanctus (Fassung 1724)
2.20. Pleni Sunt Coeli (Fassung 1724)

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