Patrick Cohen - Satie: A Selection of Piano Pieces - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

David Haas - God Is Here [COMPACT DISCS] date 03/14/2006

Louis XIV enjoyed holding private concerts for himself; performed by the musicians in his service. In 1714; François Couperin composed an ensemble of short pieces for this very purpose; brought together in four Concerts; each one a marvel of the King's Chamber Music. By turns dancing or mysterious; the pieces by Couperin; who presided over the harpsichord during these musical moments in the twilight years of the Sun King's reign; form a veritable compendium of Grand Siècle music. They dazzle like never before at the hands of Patrick Cohën-Akenine and his Folies Françoises

Bach's Cello Suites are his only works for solo cello but are central to the repertoire and remain unequalled in their expressive musical depth. Dor Gidon Amran, the virtuoso mandolinist who has recorded his own unique arrangement of Paganini's 24 Caprices on Dynamic (CDS8038), has now arranged Cello Suites Nos. 1-3 for the mandocello. This is a baritone instrument of the mandolin family, but much larger than a mandolin, whose strings are tuned exactly like those of the cello. Being played with a plectrum, the mandocello belongs to a very different sound world to the cello, offering a unique perspective on these great works.