Storace / Cera - Selva Di Varie Composizioni D'intavolatura - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Girolamo Frescobaldi is one of the most extraordinary figures in the history of music for harpsichord and organ, and had an enormous influence on other composers up until Bach. His brilliant toccatas reveal an inner world that fascinates today's listener. Frescobaldi's inspiration was born at the court of Ferrara and reached maturity in Rome, where the composer found himself among the major artists of the time who were actively creating a new artistic language. This 7-album set includes the four collections by Frescobaldi which, due to their exceptional innovative strength, have left the greatest mark on the history of music for the keyboard. A pupil of Leonhardt and Tagliavini, Francesco Cera is today recognized as one of the leading specialists in Frescobaldi, whose music he has helped to disseminate through concerts and master classes in Europe and the United States. Part of the music was recorded in the excellent acoustics of the Sala della Vigna in the Delizia di Belriguardo, the summer residence of the Este dukes, where the very young Frescobaldi was often present. Cera has chosen nine priceless instruments, including the Guglielmi organ of 1615 in the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella in Rome, and a copy of the harpsichord by Nicolò Albana, Naples 1584. The art historian Denis Grenier has been entrusted with the task of illustrating seven works of art that testify to the link between the music of Frescobaldi and the art in Rome of his time.

This program gives full justice to the modernity of Carlo Gesualdo, covering both his sacred music and his madrigals. It reproduces all the subtlety and chromaticism of his music, strictly respecting the temperament used in the composer's time. An added attraction is the music of his contemporary Ascanio Maione, scored for harp, harpsichord and organ.

Taxidermists are two friends from Massachusetts. Guitarist and singer Cooper Handy and drummer Salvadore McNamara have been playing together since they met (on Myspace) in 2007. Honesty Box is the compulsive, insistent music of 21-year-old kids who grew up on Polvo not Pearl Jam, the Kinks not Kanye eight propulsive tracks which never lose momentum, convulsing into ecstatic sludgy outbursts when you least expect it. This record captures the spirit of Western Mass for a new generation. This is the fourth Taxidermists LP, but the first available outside Massachusetts, and the first in Hi-Fidelity. Written on a farm in Hadley, perfected on tour, and recorded by Elisha Wiesner at his Studio Double Platinum on Martha's Vineyard. Mastered by the legendary Bob Weston in Chicago.