In this release, the Capriccio Baroke Orchestra combines two different, yet complementary composers. Giovanni Lorenzo Gregori is credited as the first to use the term “concerto grosso.” It appeared as the title to his opus 2, recorded here. His contemporary, Alessandro Stradella, was no less innovative. Stradella’s compositions were major influences in the Italian Baroque. […]
Baroque music
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Telemann “Musicalisches Lob Gottes” leavened with Viol Fantasies
For this release, Simone Eckert takes a stripped-down approach to Telemann. Granted, Telemann’s sacred music sounds glorious with a large chorus and supporting orchestra. But the reality was different. Most German courts had modest resources, with only a few singers and a handful of instruments. The cantatas recorded here could all be considered chamber works […]
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Engaging performances of Barbara Strozzi by Aurata Fonte
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) was a remarkable woman. This talented Venetian was a renowned singer and composer. She hosted gatherings in her father’s house for the city’s intellectuals and artists. This was her venue for performing. But she’s known today for something else — her music. Strozzi published eight collections of vocal music between 1644 and […]
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Filippo Sauli Mandolin Partitas Real Baroque Gems
Little is known about Filippo Sauli. We know he was an Italian composer and instrumentalist. And that he was employed at the Habsburg court around 1710. Sauli’s six partitas are for solo mandolin. They explore the capabilities of the instrument and present many challenges. The partitas use mostly single-line melodies. Double and occasionally triple notes […]
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Les Escapades revive Georg Christoph Strattner sacred music
Georg Christoph Strattner is best remembered today for some of his hymn tunes. But in the late 1690s, he was a well-respected composer of many forms of sacred music. Strattner spent most of his professional life at the court chapel at Weimar. Like Heinrich Schutz, who was of the previous generation, Strattner blended the ideals […]
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L’Orfeo Bläserensemble continue to please with Telemann
It’s been two years since the release of volume one. And, I think, worth the wait. L’Orfeo Bläserensemble presents three more Georg Philipp Telemann written for winds. What I like best about this series is the sound of the ensemble. L’Orfeo Bläserensemble performs with period instruments. The result is a much warmer sound than that […]
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Christoph Graupner Easter Cantatas intimate and effective
Christoph Graupner wrote over 1,400 sacred cantatas. So there’s a lot to choose from — even for an album of just Easter cantatas. Christian Bonath has done a superb job programming a set of Holy Week cantatas that span decades of Graupner’s output. And each one receives a recording world premiere. Just to run down […]
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Mexican Baroque masterworks by Juan De Lienas
The Newberry Consort has assembled an impressive body of recordings over the years. But this one is a real standout. The consort explores the repertoire of the Mexican Baroque. Specifically, music from a 17th Century manuscript collection housed in a Mexico City convent. The primary composer is Juan De Lienas, who’s something of a cipher. […]
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Ensemble Klingekunst artfully perform Martin Christian Schultze
Martin Christian Schultze may be somewhat of a mystery, and the purpose of his collection may not be entirely clear. But there’s no doubt — at least to me — about the quality of these six sinfonias. They’re well-crafted works, played with enthusiasm and energy. The Trattamento dell’Harmonia was published in 1733, and the title […]