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Domenico Scarlatti Archive

SOLER: Con. for Two Harpsichords & CHAMBONNIERES: 8 Harpsichord Suites – both Brilliant

SOLER: Con. for Two Harpsichords & CHAMBONNIERES: 8 Harpsichord Suites – both Brilliant

by | Jan 28, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

Two harpsichord collections of great note. ANTONIO SOLER: Six Concertos for Two Harpsichords – Agustin Alvarez & Eusebio Fernandez-Villacanas – Brilliant 95327, 57:09 (9/2/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: JACQUES CHAMPION DE CHAMBONNIERES: Eight Harpsichord Suites – Franz Silvestri, harpsichord – Brilliant 95339 (2 CDs) (10/28/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Soler studied with Domenico Scarlatti and is almost as much fun as Scarlatti.  They both worked for the Spanish court, though Italian musicians, and in a letter Soler says that he was a scholar of Scarlatti. Soler created many harpsichord sonatas for his royal pupil, just as Scarlatti did. He even dedicated one of these concertos to the Infant of Spain Don Gabriel de Borbon. And what better than a sonata for a single harpsichord than a concerto for two of them! It really sounds great on headphones or in the car, but is still most enjoyable sitting in front of a good system. Despite the “two organs” of the title of these six concertos, there is evidence that they were often done on two harpsichords. The custom of the time was that music for keyed instruments was indistinctively played on whatever instrument with keyboard was available. The form of the […]

CHARLES AVISON: Concerti After Scarlatti – Accademia Mandolinistica Pugliese – Digressione Music

CHARLES AVISON: Concerti After Scarlatti – Accademia Mandolinistica Pugliese – Digressione Music

by | Dec 9, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

CHARLES AVISON: Concerti After Scarlatti – Accademia Mandolinistica Pugliese – Digressione Music DCTT63, 75:05 [Distr. by Naxos] (10/28/16) ***½: (Leonardo Lospalutti, director/ Mauro Squillante; 1rst mandolin / Gaetano Ariani; 2nd mandolin / Valerio Fusillo; mandolo / Antonio Barracchia; mandocello) Charles Avison’s Scarlatti Concerti treated to an all-mandolin extravaganza. One might imagine that, when Domenico Scarlatti finally published his epochal “essercizi per gravicembalo” in 1742, his fame would have soared back in his native Italy. There, his work would have found both a cultivated audience and the keyboard virtuosi capable of the radical demands of the new music. Moreover, the name Scarlatti would have been a well-recognized brand. But as it happened, it was in England that Scarlatti’s music had the largest influence. Scarlatti was, to quote Burney, “the wonder and delight of every hearer who had a spark of enthusiasm about him, and could feel new and bold effects intrepidly produced by the breach of almost all the old and established rules of composition” (Kirkpatrick, Domenico Scarlatti). Of course, the London music scene was already dominated by Handel and Geminiani.  Continental composers enjoyed a great period of commercial success in the 18th Century. However, the way Scarlatti made his way […]