Various Artists - Jewels of the Baroque Era / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Spark plays Baroque music. That sounds simple, but is in fact highly complex. That's because when an ensemble like Spark approaches a past era, that can only come about with a fresh new perspective, bold reorientation and lots of delight in experimentation. It is not for nothing that the ECHO Klassik prizewinning formation enjoys a reputation for blending the old and the new, tradition and innovation, the familiar and the unheard-of in a unique manner. Consequently, on their upcoming InchBE BAROQUEInch the five exceptional musicians are not interested in simply arranging Baroque works for their formation. On the contrary in their new arrangements they aim to highlight new aspects, intensify moods and awaken unforeseen associations. Baroque manners are assimilated, spun and transformed into the musical language of the 21st century. Based on a number of masterworks by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and others, Spark creates it's very own Baroque tableau whose color spectrum ranges from almost true-to-the-original reproduction through to a completely new composition. Album Tracks 1. Neo Largo 2. The Arrival 3. Cantabile 4. The Eternal Second 5. Mrs. Keel 6. Where the Heart Feels Safe 7. Rondeau 8. Badinerie 9. Bourree I & II 10. Sheep May Safely Graze 11. Les Barricades Mysterieuses 12. The Last Step

Album Tracks 1. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte 2. Concerto Pour Violon No. 1 en Re Majeur, Op. 19 3. Prelude a L'apres-Midi D'un Fuane 4. Sonate Pour Flute, Violon Et Piano/ Sonata for Flute, Violin and Piano H. 245 5. Chant Du Menestrel's Song. Op. 71 6. Gymnopedie No. 1 7. Choros No. 1 8. Prelude No. 5 9. Concierto de Aranjuez 10. Symphonie de Chamre en Fa Majeur Op. 73A Pour Coders, Vents Et Hope 11. Concerto en Fa/ Concerto in F

The 17th and 18th centuries marked the era of Enlightenment, overseas exploration, unprecedented European economic expansion and a flourishing of art and culture, not to mention the birth of the greatest composers in history. From concertos to fantasias, suites to sonatas, Brilliant Classics presents a comprehensive and concise overview of this innovative and groundbreaking period in musical history, the Baroque era. The set opens with Venetian composer Tomaso Albinoni and his famous Concerti a5, in which he was the first Italian composer to use the oboe as the solo instrument in a concerto. He influenced J.S. Bach, who is fittingly the next composer to feature. Bach pioneered the Concerto Grosso form, with several soloists plus accompaniment, as opposed to just one. There is no better example of this than the famous Brandenburg Concertos, where solos are shared between a group of instruments and the various timbres of the different instruments make for varied and interesting pieces. In the first concerto, Bach employs horns, then mainly used as open-air hunting instruments, a twist on the refined concert piece performed in an elegant chamber setting. Bach also admired the work of Alessandro Marcello. Although Marcello's work is lesser known, his music is notable for it's forward-looking nature. Far from copying the styles and structures of his contemporaries, Marcello's music is unique in it's emotional impact; it's dark and tempestuous, inflicted with a romantic streak. Passing via selected works by Purcell, Corelli and Telemann, Alessandro Stradella's string sinfonias are found towards the end of the set. Stradella lived only to the age of 38 and yet he wrote over 300 works. He also found time to conduct a string of love affairs leading to his untimely demise at the hands of an assassin hired by a rival. Album Tracks 1. Concerto A5 in D minor, Op. 9 No. 2 2.