Ali-Zade / La Strimpellata Bern - Various Works - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Accademia Strumentale Italiana was founded in Verona in 1981 with the specific purpose of recreating the atmospheres of those ancient and illustrious academies, where the pleasure of meeting one another gave a special flavour to making music together. It's repertoire encompasses instrumental and vocal music ranging from the Renaissance to the early Baroque, performed according to strict philological canons, but without compromising it's ability to comunicate with the present. The Accademia has performed extensively in Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Germany and has been invited to several international festivals where it has always met with widespread critical acclaim. The pieces on this new are centered around a single idea comedy. Each piece has an element of humor and would have been used to lighten the mood on stage.

Various Artists - Music / Various [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/23/2002

Risonanze is the début solo album of London-based viola da gamba player Ibrahim Aziz, who is one of the greatest performers of the instrument of his generation. This recording is a performance of immense expression, expertly delivered on a viol made by English string maker Barak Norman in 1712. The album includes one of the highlights of the baroque era the Cello Sonata No. 2 by J.S. Bach as well as other baroque works. Risonanze also includes contemporary works, including one specially written for Aziz. Popular between the 15th-18th centuries, the viol has a unique quality of the sound through plangent tones of it's middle voice, silvery and vibrant high notes, and the depth of it's bass and human-like qualities. It's bow is played with a technique that discourages sharp attacks on the strings, but instead draws out and threads together each note like beautiful pearls on a maiden's neck, glowing with a silky halo. This quality of sound is not volume but resonance.