Capella Vocalis - Christ Ist Geboren - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Carlo Zecchi (1903-1984) studied with both Busoni and Schnabel and had a brief, but meteoric, career as a soloist, before switching in 1942 to conducting, with occasional forays into chamber music. Like his fellow Italians Michelangeli, Vidusso and Fiorentino, he possessed an immaculate technique, which gives his playing a sense of lightness and ease in even the most difficult passages. The recorded Liszt etudes are almost unrivalled in their virtuosity and in Scarlatti and Bach the evenness of his finger-work has to be heard to be believed. But he was a poet and a colorist too, as the more lyrical works of Chopin, and the Debussy Poissons d'or reveal. Sadly, Zecchi's recorded repertoire is small and this includes an example of every piano work he recorded on 78s. Long known as a cult pianist to a select few, it is hoped these new transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn will bring his small but priceless legacy of piano recordings to a wider audience.

Iridescent musical sketches of Spain by Claude Debussy and Manuel de Falla are brought to life by the rich and elegant artistry of pianist, Vanessa Perez. Vanessa Perez is praised for her bold performing style aligned to sensitivity. Conductor Zubin Mehta said of her InchHer level of musical perception and artistic awareness impressed me as much as her total command of the keyboard.Inch Perez's album InchChopin PreludesInch reached number 5 on the Classical Billboard Charts. This album, which puts her zeal and passion on display, is sure to gain the attention of music critics and novice music lovers alike.

This is The Sound and the Fury's second album with masses by Johannes Ockeghem. The composer develops his art from the contrast between different modes as well as the contrapuntal combination of identical melodies. Despite the complicated compositional techniques used, the overwhelmingly emotional experience of Ockeghem's music continues to fascinate even after 500 years. The Sound and the Fury was founded in 2005. An Anglo-German vocal group convening in Brixen and Vienna, the ensemble specializes entirely in performance of renaissance polyphony of the Franco-Flemish school.