Peter Langberg - Voice of the City: Oslo City Hall Carillon - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

This captivating album was originally conceived by horn players Stephen Stirling and Tony Halstead (the latter a superb pianist), who had located Dennis Brain's personal collection of music (now owned and curated by lawyer and horn player Mark Andrews.) During his all too short life, Dennis Brain accumulated a unique and fascinating collection of horn concertos, music for horn and piano, chamber music and scores. Many of these had been sent to him by the composers, whilst other music was acquired himself. The music in this recording contains English, French and German repertoire for horn and piano (plus a violinist in one item) that is largely and unjustifiably unknown, and in most cases previously unrecorded, giving a delightful and superbly performed 78 minutes' worth of listening.

Domenico Scarlatti, one of the most fascinating composers of the Baroque era, was born in Naples on October 26, 1685 - the same year as J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel. He was the sixth of ten children of the famous opera composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Domenico, who showed exceptional talent at an early age, began his musical journey under the guidance of his father. He became one of the most influential composers and harpsichordists of his time. Canadian-born pianist Christyna Kaczynski-Kozel presents ten of Scarlatti's highly innovative, virtuoso and technically demanding sonatas on this album. Sometimes they are characterized by a lively and upbeat character, sometimes by a melancholy mood, sometimes they are profoundly introverted or they convey a serious lyricism and melody. Many sonatas also contain folkloristic elements such as castanets or drums, guitars and hunting horn scenes. The technical difficulties are considerable rapid key changes, arpeggios, repeated notes, trills, plus large leaps spanning several octaves and hand-crossing.

Various Artists - Carillon Bells of Britain / Various [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/01/1999