Vittorio Rabagliati - Alfano: Suite romantica; Una danza; Divertimento - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

In 1738 the acclaimed violinist and composer Michele Mascitti (1664-1760) published in Paris his ninth collection of sonatas. The seventy-four-year-old Neapolitan musician was at the end of his long and celebrated career, but not of his creative powers. Dedicated to the Crozat family, which was to be Mascitti's patron until the end of his life, the twelve sonatas for violin and bass op.9 are fine examples of the graceful blend of Italian and French styles that made this composer so popular in France. With the world premiere of eight sonatas from Mascitti's op. 9, the Quartetto Vanvitelli carries on the rediscovery of this music that Hubert Le Blanc likened 'to the warbling of the nightingale'. After the success of their interpretation of Mascitti's op.8, greeted as 'a jewel of interpretation that exalts with grace, elegance and, more importantly, finesse of touch, the individual stylistic experimentation of Mascitti' (A111), the ensemble Vanvitelli makes with this recording another decisive step towards the full appreciation of this remarkable and unjustly forgotten composer.

With this new program, The Playfords are returning to their roots. And once again draw from the infinite pool of the English Dancing Master by John and Henry Playford. From the cheerful, carefree, dreamy or even melancholic InchCountry Dance TunesInch the musicians have selected pieces of music that are related to the topic of onions. A topic that the ensemble feels particularly committed to, not least because it was founded in Weimar, where the famous onion market takes place every year. And so a musical menu with garlic and onions is created. Of course, not all ingredients can be revealed, but they include, among other things recipes set to music, texts about dishes where garlic & onions are essential, plus music by the English Dancing Masters with pieces such as Nutmigg and Ginger, Gathering Peascods, All in a Garden Green, Pepper's Black and other compositions and hits of the 17th century related to culinary and botany. The whole thing is served with a dash of improvisation, the main stylistic device of the ensemble.

Bach's St. Matthew Passion, according to the arrangement by Felix Mendelssohn dating from 1841, graces this splendid live recording. The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, with Chief Conductor Jan Willem de Vriend, has expanded it's repertoire to cover music from four centuries. The use of period instruments in the Classical repertoire gives the orchestra a distinctive and highly individual character.