12 Harpsichord Sonatas

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Maggie Cole plays these Scarlatti sonatas on two harpsichords, an antique Kirckman (1756), and a modern replica of a Ruckers. I don't think it's just my imagination that the Kirckman has a richer sound, having had a couple of centuries to develop. Cole is an exciting Scarlatti player. She zips dexterously through this nicely varied collection, most of the sonatas (but not all) arranged in Kirkpatrick pairs. Only two things could have improved this disc: embellished repeats, and more music (it runs 55:35). But what is here is pretty exciting. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

DEFINITIVE.......2006-04-19

Ralph Kirkpatrick pretty much brought the music of Domenico Scarlatti back from oblivion. If that was not enough, he practically made Scarlatti's sonati his own by his inspired playing of them. This is the reissue of his 1970 recording for Archiv playing the Reiner Schuetze instrument, with several more sonati than were on the original. Kirkpatrick's playing and the excellence of the remastering make this a real collector's item. There is passion without the saccharine sound some modern performances on piano have added.

Great Performances of Scarlatti's Sonatas for Harpsichord.......2004-11-20

Ralph Kirkpatrick was not only a distinguished performer of the harpsichord and teacher (He spent most of his adult life as a professor of music at Yale, after being trained in Europe as well as America.), but also became a superb scholar of Baroque music with his acclaimed biography of Scarlatti. Here in this relatively inexpensive CD are his riveting performances of 21 of Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas, recorded by Archiv (Deutsche Grammophon) in the mid 1960's. I can't single out one performance as a personal favorite, since all of these are quite good. Thanks to the latest digital 24-bit remastering, the sound quality is superb. Indeed, this fine CD is as excellent as the previously released Archiv CD sets of J. S. Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier", which Kirkpatrick played on the clavichord, not the piano.

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Corelli: Sonatas for Strings
Arcangelo Corelli , Robert Woolley , Jakob Lindberg , and Purcell Quartet
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Violin Sonatas Op 5
Corelli: Violin Sonatas, Op. 5
Handel: Complete Violin Sonatas
Corelli: Sonate a violino e violone o cimbalo, Op. 5
Geminiani: Concerti Grossi Op. 3 Nos. 5 & 6, Op. 7 Nos. 1-6

ASIN: B000089HBX
Release Date: 2003-03-25

Tracks:

Grave
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Grave
Vivace
Adagio
Allegro
Grave
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Vivace
Adagio
Allegro
Presto
Grave
Allegro
Adagio - Allegro
Allegro
Grave
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Allegro
Grave
Allegro
Grave
Allegro
Largo
Vivace
Allegro - Adagio
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Grave
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Grave
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Grave
Largo E Puntato
Grave
Allegro

Tracks:

Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Largo
Corrente. Allegro
Gavotta. Allegro
Allemanda. Adagio
Corrente. Allegro
Giga. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Allegro
Adagio
Allemanda. Presto
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Presto
Grave - Adagio
Giga. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Allegro
Sarabanda. Adagio
Tempo Di Gavotta. Allegro
Allemanda. Largo
Corrente. Allegro
Giga. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Allegro
Corrente. Allegro
Giga. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Largo
Sarabanda. Adagio
Tempo Di Gavotta. Allegro
Allemanda. Largo
Tempo Di Sarabanda. Largo
Giga. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Allegro
Sarabanda. Largo
Corrente. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Presto
Giga. Allegro
Ciaccona. Largo - Allegro

Tracks:

Grave
Allegro
Vivace
Allegro
Grave
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Grave
Vivace
Largo
Allegro
Largo
Vivace
Adagio
Presto
Grave
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Vivace
Grave
Allegro
Allegro
Grave
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Grave
Vivace
Largo
Allegro
Vivace
Allegro
Allegro
Grave
Presto
Adagio
Allegro
Grave - Allegro - Adagio
Vivace
Allegro
Allegro
Allegro

Tracks:

Preludio. Largo
Corrente. Allegro
Adagio
Allemanda. Presto
Preludio. Grave
Allemanda. Allegro
Grave
Corrente. Vivace
Preludio. Largo
Corrente. Allegro
Sarabande
Tempo Di Gavotta. Allegro
Preludio. Grave
Corrente. Allegro
Adagio
Giga. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda
Corrente. Vivace
Gavotta. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio
Allemanda. Allegro
Giga. Allegro
Preludio. Grave
Corrente. Vivace
Grave - Sarabanda. Vivace
Giga
Preludio. Grave
Allemanda. Vivace
Sarabanda. Allegro
Preludio. Largo
Corrente. Allegro
Grave
Tempo Di Gavotta. Allegro
Preludio. Adagio - Allegro
Grave
Tempo Di Gavotta. Presto
Preludio. Largo
Corrente. Allegro
Allemanda. Allegro
Preludio. Largo
Allemanda. Presto
Giga. Allegro

Average customer rating:

Recommended

Corelli: La Folia and Other Sonatas

Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Corelli: 12 Concerti grossi, op. 6
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series

ASIN: B000002ZJF
Release Date: 1993-11-12

Tracks:

Sonata da Chiesa in G, op. 1, no. 9: Allegro - Adagio
Sonata da Chiesa in G, op. 1, no. 9: Allegro
Sonata da Chiesa in G, op. 1, no. 9: Adagio
Sonata da Chiesa in G, op. 1, no. 9: Allegro - Adagio
Violin Sonata in C, op. 5, no. 3: Adagio
Violin Sonata in C, op. 5, no. 3: Allegro
Violin Sonata in C, op. 5, no. 3: Adagio
Violin Sonata in C, op. 5, no. 3: Allegro
Violin Sonata in C, op. 5, no. 3: Allegro
Sonata da Camera in A, op. 4, no. 3: Preludio (Largo)
Sonata da Camera in A, op. 4, no. 3: Corrente (Allegro)
Sonata da Camera in A, op. 4, no. 3: Sarabanda (Largo)
Sonata da Camera in A, op. 4, no. 3: Tempo di gavotta (Allegro)
Viola da Gamba Sonata in D: Preludio (Adagio)
Viola da Gamba Sonata in D: Allegro
Viola da Gamba Sonata in D: Adagio
Viola da Gamba Sonata in D: Vivace
Viola da Gamba Sonata in D,: Gavotta (Allegro)
Sonata da Camera in G (Ciaccona), op. 2, no. 12
Violin Sonata in D Minor (La Folia), op. 5, no. 12
Sonata da Camera in E Minor, op. 2, no. 4: Preludio (Adagio)
Sonata da Camera in E Minor, op. 2, no. 4: Allemanda (Presto)
Sonata da Camera in E Minor, op. 2, no. 4: Grave - Adagio
Sonata da Camera in E Minor, op. 2, no. 4: Giga (Allegro)
Sonata da Chiesa in A, op. 3, no. 12: Grave -- Allegro - Adagio
Sonata da Chiesa in A, op. 3, no. 12: Vivace
Sonata da Chiesa in A, op. 3, no. 12: Allegro
Sonata da Chiesa in A, op. 3, no. 12: Allegro
Sonata da Chiesa in A, op. 3, no. 12: Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Recommended.......2000-02-16

This selection of sonatas from Corelli's Op 1 to Op 5 is beautifully performed by the Purcell Quartet recorded here in 1986.

All of the works included fully justify their selection - if I had to pick out any in particluar however, in addition to 'La Folia' I would mention the Ciacona in E minor (Op 2 no 12). It should also be noted that the Op 5 Violin Sonata no 11 is included here in an anonymous arrangement for Viola da Gamba in D major.

Customer Reviews:

A Lot of Charming Clementi.......2006-11-30

These days, Clementi seems best known for his six Op. 36 sonatinas, which are included in this collection (as disc 12). Long-forgotten is his role as virtually THE first keyboardist who composed exclusively for piano, as well as his later piano-building enterprise. Once deemed Mozart's equal in improvisation by an Emperor, and the editor and publisher of numerous works by Beethoven, this composer of 110 sonatas (think late Mozart sonatas, rather than Beethoven sonatas) is still largely ignored, even after some championing by Horowitz for a time.

This nine disc set, a companion to the nine-disc Vol. 1 also recorded by Pietro Spada, aims to change that and puts forth the second half of virtually everything by Clementi. As such, it is not possible to review all of the music here. Nevertheless, some broad remarks may be made.

First, it should be noted that the discs in this set are also available individually. So if $110 seems a daunting price, one may graze the discs separately. Each runs about an hour. Additionally, there are a number of piecemeal recordings of different sonatas out there, including some by Horowitz. But since there is nothing definitively famous by Clementi, except perhaps his six Sonatinas, there's something very much to be said about having a complete collection by a single performer.

Second, it must be noted that the sound quality is a bit spotty at times. There's a kind of stuffy-nose tone on Disc 11 that can be a bit obtrusive. For example, the op. 34, no. 2 sonata's opening movement sounds suspiciously tinny. Perhaps Disc 11 is not enough to be a deal-breaker for the whole set, but certainly audiophiles will not be able to "hear around it" to get at the admittedly not uninteresting sonatas included on the disc; definitely a shame that these pieces should perhaps go overlooked for that reason, since the Op. 34 sonatas may be precisely the ones Horowitz was referring to when he declared Clementi as sometimes equal to Beethoven at his best.

Musically, Clementi dwells, stylistically and happily, between Mozart and Beethoven, oscillating smoothly from Classical to Romantic (as Beethoven did, but less extremely so). His sonatas are certainly "meaty," and generally run around 15 minutes, with a broad range of pianistic sentiments, expressions and charm. But perhaps what makes them most enjoyable is their liveliness. While self-evidently "Classical era" music, this is not Northern European Classical per se (Mozart, Haydn, early Beethoven); the verve of late Italian Baroque is still very much felt here. It is, more precisely, a Classicism that has not entirely foregone affective musical elements in favor of form.

The music is also, comparatively speaking, very easy to play, while nevertheless being trickier than a lot of Mozart at times. This is one reason it is not much recorded, and certainly not in a complete cycle like this. In fact, the six Sonatinas are best known precisely because countless piano students have essayed one or all of them in their graduating difficulty.

Which brings up one of the most wonderful things about this collection. Spada performs these pieces with an immense degree of good sense. Or perhaps the truth is that this is as far in the piano repertoire as he can go. If so, then thank goodness for it, since it is completely wonderful to hear a pianist not trying to turn these pieces into grand concert hall works by applying warp-speed tempos and a too-precious technique. These are not virtuosos pieces, and needn't be played as such, for the same reason that Bach's tiny Minuet in G Major should not be turned into a virtuoso showpiece either.

This is nowhere so perfectly apparent as on Disc 12, which presents all six of the famous Sonatinas. Presented with grace, simplicity, and all of the charm of a student recital (in the best and most accomplished sense of the word), Clementi's most-played, least-recorded pieces are given a wonderful airing. If, indeed, the Sonatinas are the only pieces you know by Clementi, then the recordings here will not only be rewarding, but might certainly tempt one to check out the rest of his body of work.

Elegance without conceit, charm without gush, simplicity without simple-mindedness--Spada brings out the most elemental, basic joys to be found in music that Clementi himself wrote into his works. One cannot compare him to the titanism of Beethoven's loftiest sonatas, or the structural genius of Mozart, but neither was he aiming for it. There's a sweetness and fanfare to his music that is just plain good-natured, something like the kind of big-hearted humanness in Schubert (with the emotional outbursts in a more restrained register, however). Or, putting it another way, in almost fourteen discs (in Vol. 1 and 2), there are only three sonatas in a minor key.

Overall, while it's easy enough to imagine these many pieces being played better, it's very difficult to imagine them being played more ideally.

Corelli: 12 Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord

Average customer rating:

Corelli: 12 Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord
Grumiaux , and Castagnone
Manufacturer: Philips/Universal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Faure: Violin Sonatas Op. 13 & Op. 108/Frank

ASIN: B00002456S
Release Date: 1998-09-04

Tracks:

No. 1 In D - 1. Grave - Allegro
No. 1 In D - 2. Allegro
No. 1 In D - 3. Adagio
No. 1 In D - 4. Allegro
No. 2 In B Flat - 1. Grave - Allegro
No. 2 In B Flat - 2. Vivace
No. 2 In B Flat - 3. Adagio
No. 2 In B Flat - 4. Vivace
No. 3 In C - 1. Adagio
No. 3 In C - 2. Allegro
No. 3 In C - 3. Adagio
No. 3 In C - 4. Allegro
No. 3 In C - 5. Giga. Allegro
No. 4 In F - 1. Adagio - Allegro
No. 4 In F - 2. Vivace
No. 4 In F - 3. Adagio
No. 4 In F - 4. Allegro
No. 5 In G Minor - 1. Adagio
No. 5 In G Minor - 2. Vivace
No. 5 In G Minor - 3. Adagio - Vivace
No. 5 In G Minor - 4. Giga. Allegro
No. 6 In A - 1. Grave
No. 6 In A - 2. Allegro
No. 6 In A - 3. Allegro
No. 6 In A - 4. Adagio
No. 6 In A - 5. Allegro
No. 7 In D Minor- 1- Preludio. Vivace
No. 7 In D Minor- 2- Corrente. Allegro
No. 7 In D Minor- 3- Sarabande. Largo
No. 7 In D Minor- 4- Giga. Allegro
No. 8 In E Minor- 1- Preludio. Largo
No. 8 In E Minor- 2- Allemanda. Allegro
No. 8 In E Minor- 3- Sarabande. Largo
No. 8 In E Minor- 4- Giga. Allegro
No. 9 In A- 1- Preludio. Largo
No. 9 In A- 2- Giga. Allegro
No. 9 In A- 3- Adagio - Tempo Di Gavotte. Allegro
No. 10 In F- 1- Preludio. Adagio
No. 10 In F- 2- Allemande. Allegro
No. 10 In F- 3- Sarabande. Largo
No. 10 In F- 4- Gavotta. Allegro
No. 10 In F- 5- Giga. Allegro
No. 11 In E- 1- Preludio. Adagio
No. 11 In E- 2- Allegro
No. 11 In E- 3- Adagio - Vivace
No. 11 In E- 4- Gavotta. Allegro
No. 12 In D Minor- 1. Adagio - Allegro

Pierre Hantaï Plays Bach, Bull, Frescobaldi, Scarlatti, Telemann (Box Set)

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Pierre Hantaï Plays Bach, Bull, Frescobaldi, Scarlatti, Telemann (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Astree
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Galliardes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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Scarlatti 3
Bach: Le Clavier bien tempéré, Premier livre
Scarlatti: Sonatas
Scarlatti, Vol. 2
Spanish & Portuguese Harpsichord

ASIN: B0000CNTK6
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Scarlatti: The Cat's Fugue & Sonatas for Solo Harpsichord

Average customer rating:

Scarlatti for (nearly) everyone
Exciting Scarlatti, with tremendous feeling
Comparone's Scarlatti
Scarlatti for the hard rock fan

Scarlatti: The Cat's Fugue & Sonatas for Solo Harpsichord

Manufacturer: Lyrichord Discs Inc.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004GOXH
Release Date: 2000-03-28

Tracks:

Son in f, Kirkpatrick 239; Longo 281
Son in f, K.187; L.285
Son in f, K.183; L. 473
Son in b, K. 27, L.449
Son in b, K. 197; L.147
Son in b, K. 409; L.150
Son in f#, K. 25; L.481
Son in D, K. 45; L. 265
Son in D, K. 118; L. 122
Fugue in g: Cat's Fugue, K. 30; L. 499
Son in g, K. 12; L. 489
Son in C, K. 340; L. 105
Son in G, K. 201; L. 129
Son in e, K. 233; L. 467
Son in B flat, K. 545; L. 500
Son in d, K. 213; L. 108
Son in d, K. 517; L. 266

Customer Reviews:

Scarlatti for (nearly) everyone.......2005-06-06

Elaine Comparone's Scarlatti disc is, in my opinion, a very fine effort. I was moved to write by the efforts of a previous reviewer who considered the recording "Scarlatti for the hard rock fan." I think this is an exceedingly unfair assessment, and after reading the liner notes to Comparone's CD, I think I know what may have suggested it; there, we are told that this artist "enjoys standing at the harpsichord to play" and even has had a special stand built to allow this. "As inspiration" for this, the notes continue, "she cites Vermeer, along with the fact that she is a member of the rock and roll generation." It may be that the image of a rock and roll keyboardist pounding on an electronic synthesizer so colored this reviewer's impression of the disc that he felt moved to give it a largely negative review.

I do not mean to say, however, that his observations are completely invalid. It is true that Ms. Comparone does play Scarlatti in a largely steady tempo, though this is certainly not always the case (for example, in the B Minor sonata K. 197). But it seems to me that this kind of performance style is valid for this composer, as it would not be for music in a more subjective vein, such as C.P.E. Bach or the late Romantics. I could do with a touch more differentiation of phrasing in a piece like the G Minor sonata K. 12 with its many repeated phrases, which may make the unwary listener suppose that his or her CD has somehow become "stuck in one groove" in the manner of an old vinyl LP record. However, since this presumably is what Scarlatti wrote, I cannot fault Ms. Comparone as the messenger of the music.

I think there are a good many beauties on this disc, starting with the very first track (F Minor sonata K. 239). Those thinking that they will hear "rock and roll Scarlatti" in Ms. Comparone's playing are quite misjudging the effect of the CD, in my opinion.

Exciting Scarlatti, with tremendous feeling.......2004-10-17

Few harpsichordists have the special affinity for the music of Domenico Scarlatti as Elaine Comparone. Prepare to be moved by her performance of these great keyboard works.

Comparone's Scarlatti.......2000-08-24

This review follows on the heels of the review by B. Lehman, and is intended to help balance the scale in the interests of a little more objectivity than Lehman was hoping to display. I am not a fan of rock music and I abhor loud flashy pieces, but I love the energy, and technical prowess that Comparone brings to the harpsichord, and to these pieces by Scarlatti. I have listened to this recording many times (without "zoning out). I cast my ballot for this kind of "red-blooded" harpsichord music.

Scarlatti for the hard rock fan.......2000-05-11

First off, since the Amazon page's list is incomplete, here's what's on this disc: the sonatas in F minor, K 239/L 281; F minor, K 187/L 285; F minor, K 183/L 473; B minor, K 27/L 449; B minor, K 197/L 174; B minor, K 409/L 150; F# minor, K 25/L 481; D major, K 45/L 265; D major, K 118/L 122; G minor (Cat's Fugue), K 30/L 499; G minor, K 12/L 489; C major, K 340/L 105; G major, K 201/L 129; E minor, K 233/L 467; Bb major, K 545/L 500; D minor, K 213/L 108; D minor, K 517/L 266.

These are given in extraordinarily steady performances, fast tempos, and clear recorded sound. Now, how is it as a musical experience? Really it depends what you're looking for as a listener.

Comparone plays to the bottom of the keys with a firm touch, often to the point of driving the jacks loudly into the rail. Metric values are exactly as they appear on the page, and the notes have an inhuman evenness to them. For large sections or for entire pieces, Comparone picks a single articulation and delivers it consistently; her expressive contrasts come from occasional changes of manual rather than from varying her touch or pointing the rhythm. Her hands are exactly together: no rubato or subtle staggering of attacks. The music is presented in huge paragraphs. This interpretive style can perhaps be called neutral and objective: the bare notes are expected to make the musical points by themselves.

If you like that sort of thing in your Scarlatti, this disc probably rates five stars. The playing comes across as "superhuman," and will probably please anyone who thrives on heavily produced rock music. Every note is put into place against a mental click track (whether through real-time performance or in the editing, we don't know and it doesn't matter). There are no rhythmic surprises whatsoever, and everything comes across as hard-driven and flashy. If your idea of high energy performance is loud and fast playing with startling digital precision, this is for you. There will be some listeners who hear this disc as "awesome": the technical feat is indeed something to marvel at in its own right.

If instead you expect a harpsichordist to deliver phrases like a singer or a wind player, or to react to the individual compositions with a natural-sounding variety of expression, you will probably not enjoy this disc. With that expectation, the playing here is "subhuman" and rates one star: ultimately lifeless. Where is the improvisatory whimsy, the breathing, the delicacy, the sense of gesture? The mechanistic precision is of course astonishing, but to what end? This approach reduces Scarlatti's music to finger exercises, and makes most of the sonatas sound the same as one another. This disc doesn't seem like a set of *performances* where the music moves along on its own momentum, growing like an organic creature. It's a collection of cleanly played notes all in a row. If you've heard a few measures, you know how the rest of the piece is going to go in its unrelenting consistency. It is far too easy for a listener to "zone out" while this disc is on, and to realize much later that it is still playing and nothing has changed in the universe (except that time seems to be moving very slowly). The machinery whirs along merrily like a car on cruise control, and the scenery seems not to matter. Are we there yet?

This is a bright and shining product, very slick. Is it also musically satisfying? That depends what satisfies you. In case it's not already painfully clear reading between the lines: I personally had hoped to hear more in the music than I found here. But "your mileage may vary." (And I'm trying to review this with the same spirit of objectivity that Comparone gives this music.)

Tracks:

Allegro Assai
Larghetto
Presto
Allegro Di Molto
Allegretto. Tempo Di Menuetto
Allegro
Adagio
Rondo. Allegro
Allegro Spiritoso
Rondo. Presto
Allegro Maestoso
Andante. Tempo Di Menuetto
Allegro Assai
Larghetto Con Moto
Presto
Allegro
Rondo. Allegretto

Lou Harrison: Solo Keyboards - Complete Harpsichord Works, Music for Tack Piano & Fortepiano

Average customer rating:

Good but not Exciting

Lou Harrison: Solo Keyboards - Complete Harpsichord Works, Music for Tack Piano & Fortepiano

Manufacturer: New Albion Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Harrison: Piano Concerto/Suite For Violin, Piano And Small Orchestra

ASIN: B000062TBP
Release Date: 2002-03-26

Tracks:

Allegro Moderato
Adagio, Arioso
Estampie
Pastorale
Quadrille
Chorale
Homage to Milhaud
Jahla
Gigue & Musette
Sonata I (Moderato)
Sonata II (Allegro)
Sonata III (Moderato)
Sonata IV (Allegro)
Sonata V (Moderato)
Sonata VI (Allegro)
I. Medium Fast
II. Slow
III. Fast
IV. Medium Slow
V. Grand
I. Sonata - Air - Sonata Da Capo
II. Ground
III. Round for the Triumph of Alexander
Triphony
A Twelve-Tone Morning After to Amuse Henry
Largo Ostinato

Album Description

Complete harpsichord works with music for tack piano & fortepiano in historic and experimental tunings

Customer Reviews:

Good but not Exciting.......2002-08-02

This CD is not a bad CD. The music is extremely well played and the repertoire is interesting, but it just seems to be lacking in the spark that I associate with Lou Harrison.

This recording is dominated by harpsichord music in just intonation with a few pieces for fortepiano and a couple of tack piano pieces thrown in for variety. Most of the works are in Harrison's Baroque/Eastern style. The first piece on the CD is a longish suite based on Baroque dance forms. The effect is rather like Rameau or Couperin, all elegance and grace. The six sonatas are obviously modeled on the Scarlatti sonatas. These are also charming works. The final few works on the CD are from aHarrision's earlier period. There is even a spoof on 12 tone music just for fun.

So what's the problem? I think that, because of the similarity of timbre in this recital, the disc begins to sound rather grey after a while. The harpsichord as an instrument, tends toward a deadening consistency of tone color. Most players reslove this by creating programs by diverse composers, or programs of Bach, who seems to defy boredom. Harrision is a good composer, but without the tonal contrasts of his ensemble pieces, this CD begins to fall flat after a while.

This is a CD for the completist only I think. People new to Harrision would do better to buy the Piano Concerto or La Koro Sutro. Both of these pieces provide a better introduction to the work of this marvelous composer.

Avison: 12 Concerti Grossi after Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (English Orpheus, Vol 28) /The Brandenburg Consort * Goodman
Average customer rating:

buy the dyad version on Hyperion 2 for the price of one

Moves in the wrong direction

Hitherto unknown to me

A Fine Baroque Release (from a relatively unknown composer)

great

Avison: 12 Concerti Grossi after Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (English Orpheus, Vol 28) /The Brandenburg Consort * Goodman
Charles Avison , Roy Goodman , and The Brandenburg Consort
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Charles Avison: Twelve Concertos, Op. 6

ASIN: B000002ZYA
Release Date: 1995-01-17

Tracks:

Con No.1 in A: Adagio
Con No.1 in A: Allegro
Con No.1 in A: Amoroso
Con No.1 in A: Allegro
Con No. 2 in G: Largo
Con No. 2 in G: Allegro
Con No.2 in G: Andante
Con No.2 in G: Vivace
Con No.3 in d: Largo Andante
Con No.3 in d: Allegro Spiritoso
Con No.3 in d: Vivace
Con No.3 in d: Allegro
Con No.4 in a: Andante
Con No.4 in a: Allegro
Con No.4 in a: Largo
Con No.4 in a: Vivace
Con No.5 in d: Largo
Con No.5 in d: Allegro
Con No.5 in d: Andante Moderato
Con No.5 in d: Allegro
Con No.6 in D: Largo (Unknown)
Con No.6 in D: Con Furia
Con No.6 in D: Adagio
Con No.6 in D: Vivacemente

Tracks:

Con No.7 in g: Adagio
Con No.7 in g: Allegro
Con No.7 in g: Adagio
Con No.7 in g: Allegro Affettuoso
Con No.8 in e: Adagio
Con No.8 in e: Allegro
Con No.8 in e: Amoroso
Con No.8 in e: Vivace
Con No.9 in C: Largo
Con No.9 in C: con Spirito/Andante
Con No.9 in C: Siciliana
Con No.9 in C: Allegro
Con No.10 in D: Grazioso
Con No.10 in D: Allegro
Con No.10 in D: Adagio
Con No.10 in D: Giga (Allegro)
Con No.1: in G: Con Affetto
Con No.11 in G: Allegro
Con No.11 in G: Andante Moderato
Con No.11 in G: Vivacemente
Con No.12 in D: Grave temporegiato
Con No.12 in D: Largo Tempo Giusto
Con No.12 in D: Allegro Spiritoso
Con No.12 in D: Lentemente
Con No.12 in D: Temporegiato
Con No.12 in D: Allegro

Amazon.com

In the days before composers were protected by copyright laws, publishers, players, and other composers could steal whatever music they liked and pass it off as their own. Some of them, however, were slightly more honest, and others, like Avison, both honest and commercially astute. Scarlatti's 30 keyboard sonatas created a sensation when they were published in England. So Avison took them and arranged them as concertos for strings, thereby bringing the music to a wider public. In making these arrangements, Avison completely recomposed much of the music, adding his own ideas where necessary to create a balanced concerto form. The result is a fresh, entertaining collection, vivaciously performed here on "authentic" instruments. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

buy the dyad version on Hyperion 2 for the price of one.......2007-01-21

this is a great recording, and now it's coming on the dyad 2X1 on Hyperion, so wait a little bit and get it for $20.

Moves in the wrong direction.......2005-05-07

Sure, Avison was a nice guy to credit Domenico Scarlatti as the source for his arrangements--or else callously exploitative--there was no copyright in the 18th century. But Avison's concerti are definitely arrangements of, not original compositions based on, Scarlatti's sonatas. This is not Stravinsky-Pergolesi but Mussorgsky-Ravel, only with a much less talented version of Ravel.

Avison's arrangements smooth out (dumb down) the rhythmic and harmonic originality of the originals. Avison's versions make nice background music, but anyone interested in the ragged edges of the most original composer of the 18th century should listen to any solo keyboard rendition (say Pieter-Jan Belder's) of Scarlatti's K. 26 and compare it to the insipid version of Davison's Concerto #1, movement 4.

Avison's quest to make things too easy for the listener is only half of what I criticise. Another reviewer noted that Bach transcribed or took themes from his contemporaries. Think hard: how many of Bach's transcriptions or Fugues based on Vivaldi or Albinoni or Reinken can you remember? They are student works, steppingstones on the way to great original music like the Italian Concerto.

Sometimes a tight transcription of a work to a more restricted medium is good. The best performance I've ever heard of Mozart's Seranade in G, K 525 (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) is that by the Guarneri Quartet with Bassist Julius Levine--one to a part! It's tight in a way no orchestra can ever achieve. But imagine Beethoven's C major Rasoumovsky Quartet IV, or whatever YOUR favorite quartet movement might be. Now imagine it played by a symphony string section. No matter if the conductor is Furtwaengler or whoever, the orchestra can never achieve the precision of one to a part.

Scarlatti wrote these sonatas for a solo keyboard player. They exploit the possibilities of the instruments (both harpsichord and Florentine piano) and the precision a single player can provide (yeah, listen again to Avison #1, IV--he calls it "Allegro" but Scarlatti called for "Presto").

So why do I give this recording 4 stars? The performance is excellent. I'd pay to hear that violinist do SOLO arrangements of Scarlatti sonatas that kept that solo edge. If you like well-shaped baroque string orchestral music with distinctive themes, this performance is excellent. But if you want to get with the most original genius of the generation of 1685, listen instead to a solo performance by piano, guitar, harpsichord that can recreate Scarlattispace.

Hitherto unknown to me.......2002-03-05

I am especially fond of baroque style classical. Avison was, prior to my Christmas purchase of this set, unknown to me. I like these very much.

More than Bach? Mozart? Telemann? Hard to say, inasmuch as I have decades of familiarity with them. As well? Absolutely.

A Fine Baroque Release (from a relatively unknown composer).......2002-02-12

Hyperion is a great label for unearthing little-known Baroque gems, and Roy Goodman (with his Brandenburg Consort) comes through again with their recording of Charles Avison's 12 Concerti Grossi (1744).

Avison, a fine English composer, based his concertos on sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (another Baroque composer). But Avison was by no means a plagerist. It wasn't uncommon for Baroque composers to build upon or rearrange the works of their contemporaries (Bach did this with some of Vivaldi's compositions). Here, Avison took Scarlatti's musical ideas and 'ran with them,' so to speak. The result: beautiful music that embodies the Baroque period.

These 12 concertos are stately and elegant, and rank right up there with the works of Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi. Unfortunately, this 2-disc set is also expensive, so unless you love Baroque music, I'd focus on Bach, Vivaldi, etc., before purchasing these discs. But if you're interested in rounding out your Baroque collection, I would definitely recommend this exceptional recording.

great.......2001-04-23

What makes this recording by the Brandenburg Consort wonderfully unique is the fact that the pieces are played on period-instruments versus more modern strings. This attention to detail gives this reading of Charles Avisons'works a wonderful resonance; indeed, Goodman's version had much life to it, as the faster movements are played with great spirit. The drawback of the recording, to some, is that some of the slower movements come across as a quite choppy. I personally do not feel that way, taking into consideration that Avison's linear writing style inherently makes the slower movements not as smooth as the faster movements. It does not detract from the overall feel from this fine recording.

Meant more for the purists who would rather hear authentic period instruments, this cd is still highly recommended for those seeking out great Baroque period works. A wonderful disc.

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