Neapolis Ensemble - 77 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Inchsupreme poet of the luteInch (Gramophone) Hopkinson Smith creates a subtle, intimate dialogue between Dalza and Spinacino, witnesses of the instrument's flourishing culture in Italy at the dawn of the 16th century. Hopkinson Smith, that indefatigable pioneer for over forty years, eager hunter of the most distant scores and defender of restoring often-obscure manuscripts, will stop at nothing in his exploration and revival of the huge repertoire of his instrument. In this recording, his art, underpinned by a vast historic knowledge together with a profound faith in intuition, examines the first music printed for the lute, and some of the first sources for the instrument to have reached us. In a perfectly symmetrical programme structured around a central piece by Marchetto Cara, the Swiss-American lutenist intertwines pieces inspired from popular dance by Joan Ambrosio Dalza and several free-form ricercari by Francesco Spinacino, taken from collections of tablatures published in Venice in 1507 and 1508. Album Tracks 2. Recercare 6 5. Caldibi Castigliano 21. Tastar de Corde

Recorded in Naples at the church of Sant'Anna dei Lombardi in July 2011, this live album from the Neapolis Ensemble presents a selection of Neapolitan music spanning four centuries. The music on Lo Guarracino ranges from traditional melodies and dances of the 15th and 16th centuries to an 18th century Classical aria by Leonardo Vinci. In pursuit of an ideal mix classic and traditional music, the Neapolis Ensemble performs on both classical instruments like the violoncello and baroque flutes and popular instruments like the tambourine, mandolin and guitar. The group performs in a wide range of venues - from opera houses to ethnic music festivals - ever reinventing the traditional Neapolitan musical repertoire.

Having recorded the 'great' French quartets of Debussy and Ravel (ALPHA295), the Van Kuijk Quartet now takes another path and explores treasures by Faure, Debussy, Satie, Ravel and Poulenc that were originally composed for piano or voice. The mark of the string quartet is secretly apparent in this programme, which includes Debussy's Petite Suite pour piano à quatre mains, Ravel's famous Pavane pour une infante defunte and well-known songs by Poulenc, Faure and Satie in transcriptions made especially for this recording by Emmanuel Francois, the Quartet's violist, and by Jean-Christophe Masson and Gildas Guillon. The Quartet also asked the jazz pianist and composer Baptiste Trotignon to create a work that would freely resonate alongside the styles of the composers whose works had been transcribed. An entire universe has now been re-created without any nostalgia or pastiche behind the first names of these composers, Ces Messieurs. The Van Kuijks have woven their instruments in and around these miniatures and here unfold a programme that is all lightness and delight. Album Tracks 1. C., FP 122/1 2. Fêtes Galantes, FP 122/2 3. Fleurs, FP 101/6 4. Les Chemins de L'amour, FP 106-La 5. Hôtel, FP 107/2 6. Fancy, FP 174 7. Ces Messieurs Francis 8. Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte, M.19 9. Ces Messieurs Maurice 10. Je Te Veux 11. Ces Messieurs Erik 12. Petite Suite, L.65 13. Ces Messieurs Claude 14. Les Berceaux, Op.23/1 15. Clair de Lune, Op.46/2 16. Après Un Rêve, Op.7/1 17. Mandoline, Op.58/1 18. Ces Messieurs Gabriel