Alejandro Casal - Sebastian de Albero: 6 Recercatas Fugas & Sonatas - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Johann Krieger (1652-1735) won the esteem of Handel, no less, for the skill of his counterpoint and the inventive power of his organ music. For the theorist Mattheson, Krieger was likewise the pre-eminent exponent of complex counterpoint in his generation. Yet music-lovers have hitherto been able to sample Krieger's work only in excerpted compilations. The present album occupies a unique place in the catalogue as by far the most extensive recorded survey of Krieger, containing his two published collections of keyboard music. Album 1 is filled with the six harpsichord suites which were published in 1697 in Krieger's home town of Nürnberg, though by then the composer himself was employed as an organist in the Saxon town of Zittau a post he filled for 54 years until his death. The Suites are themselves prefaced by an elaborate fantasia, and they contain the standard sequence of dance numbers - allemandes, courantes, sarabandes and gigues. Published two years later, the Anmuthige Clavier-Übung was probably written earlier, and functions as a small library of preludes, ricercares, fugues, fantasias, toccatas and a chaconne, which are not grouped together by key. Both collections make clear that Krieger deserves to rank with Fischer, Kuhnau and Pachelbel as one of the outstanding German keyboard composers of the generation before Bach. Boccaccio has paid careful attention to the details of old fingering techniques; the resultant variety in phrasing and articulation gives new life to figurations that with a more modern legato approach can seem plain. As his own booklet note explains, he has also taken considered decisions about when discreet ornamentation can enhance the music's impact and when to let Sweelinck's notes

Katy Lied - Steely Dan's gold-selling fourth studio album now on UHQR!Definitive reissue Ultra High Quality Record, the pinnacle of high-quality vinyl!45 RPM LP limited to 20, 000 numbered copiesMastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie GrundmanPressed at Quality Record Pressings using 200-gram Clarity Vinyl®Purest possible pressing and most visually stunning presentation and packaging!Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton PrintingKaty Lied, Steely Dan's fourth studio album, originally released in 1975 by ABC Records, was certified gold-selling and peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. charts. The single 'Black Friday' also charted at No. 37. Pitchfork noted '(Katy Lied) captures Steely Dan in the thick of it all, still hungry and energized by their early burst of creativity but not taking anything for granted. Before Katy Lied, Steely Dan was a rock band, but this is the record where they became something else.'Founded by core members Walter Becker (bass) and Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards), Steely Dan's popularity rose throughout the late 1970s on, and their seven albums throughout that period of time blended elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop. Steely Dan created a sophisticated, distinctive sound with accessible melodic hooks, complex harmonies and time signatures, and a devotion to the recording studio. Becker and Fagen, with producer Gary Katz, gradually changed Steely Dan from a performing band to a studio project, hiring session musicians to record their compositions. The duo didn't perform live between 1974 and 1993. But their popularity nevertheless grew throughout the '70s as their albums became critical favorites and their singles became staples of Adult Oriented Radio and pop radio stations.Katy Lied was notable for Becker and Fagen being intially unhappy with the album's sound quality owing to

A. Casella - Pezzi Pno (9)/Studies (6)/& [COMPACT DISCS] date 08/25/1998