Al Fresco series

"What a difference when this much-advertised work of art is performed with the highest degree of accuracy by four skilled musicians who have studied it carefully, in a quiet room where the sound of every note cannot escape the listening ear, and in the presence of only two or three attentive persons! But, of course, in this case no éclat, no brilliant modish success is to be thought of, nor is conventional praise to be obtained! Here political ambition can have no part to play, nothing to gain, nothing to bestow, nothing to give and nothing to take – in contrast to public concerts of the modern kind, where such factors exert such an almost constant influence." – Journal des Luxus und der Moden (June 1788)

“The players relish their period instruments' unusual resonances - incisive bowing and charged exchanges abound - and the sound engineers faithfully capture them.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2007 ****

“NOTHING QUITE LIKE THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE: A DISC DEVOTED ENTIRELY TO MACHAUT’S SONGS, ALL PERFORMED WITH VOICES ALONE. ONLY THE TEXTED LINE IN THE MANUSCRIPTS IS SUNG WITH TEXT; THE REST ARE VOCALIZED…IT WORKS VERY WELL” – DAVID FALLOWS (GRAMOPHONE) · “MORE THAN 600 YEARS ON, IT IS STILL STRANGE AND WONDERFUL MUSIC” – ANDREW CLEMENTS (THE GUARDIAN)

Basle Cathedral was packed on two Sunday evenings in the autumn of 1962 to hear Fournier play the complete set of Bach Suites. “One man and four stirings mesmerizing more than 2000 people … an indescribable palette of colours, or contrasts … an extraordinary demonstration of thought, of mastery, of style.” Few listeners to Fournier’s Bach performances have been able to forget them; the audience before the isolated figure high on the square platform in the nave of Basle Cathedral was no exception. In the hands of this half-sceptical believer whose vocabulary was so often religious (he called the Suites “the cellist’s breviary”), an epicurean whose work was ruthlessly self-disciplined, the Suites distilled Bach’s humanity and his indestructible faith, the sensuality and the spirituality fused in sound.” – Angela Hughes, Pierre Fournier: Cellist in a Landscape with Figures (1998) Quotes taken from reviews in Basler Nachrichten (29 October 1962), Basler Volksblatt (30 October, 23 November 1962)

“Fournier's rendition of the Cello Suites displays more aristocratic, more 'refined' playing than Casal's, but its equally dedicated. It's also recorded with a fullness of tone which still makes the instrument sound almost alarmingly present.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2007 ****

“Stark contrast between detached notes and languorous lines, together with extreme tempos, create a highly-charged performance. Interpretations have a freshness unrivalled since this disc's first release.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ****

"a Fascinating Programme, Played With Zeal And Precision. Recommended" (Gramophone)

“Dixit Dominus Is A Sure Winner: It’s No Wonder That The Italians Were Taken Aback By The Sheer Boldness Of Handel’s Genius. You Can Positively Hear Him Stretching His Musical Wings In This Music.” – Stanley Sadie

“Soloists clearly relish their vocal pyrotechnics, showing off the qualities through which they later became top names. Absence of sleeve notes undermines appreciation of the work.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ****

“DURING THIS VISIT, THESE YOUNG LADIES WERE SO OBLIGING AS TO SING ME A SALVE REGINA, LATELY SET BY THEIR FATHER, IN DUO. IT IS AN EXQUISITE COMPOSITION, FULL OF GRACE, TASTE AND PROPRIETY.” SO WROTE THE ENGLISH TRAVELLER CHARLES BURNEY IN 1772. THE “FATHER” WAS JOHANN ADOLF HASSE, ONE OF THE 18TH CENTURY’S MOST FAMOUS COMPOSERS – AND HERE HE IS IN “A DELIGHTFUL PROGRAMME, THOUGHTFULLY PUT TOGETHER AND VERY WELL EXECUTED” (GRAMOPHONE)

“Hasse's unique combination of fire, lyricism and elegance is perfectly captured here. Bernarda Fink, however, weighs down her line with dramatic excesses, marring an otherwise commendable disc.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ***

“THIS IS ONE SUCH: ITS COMBINATION OF SCARLATTI’S INEXHAUSTIBLE AND UNPREDICTABLE INVENTION WITH TREVOR PINNOCK’S VITALITY AND RHYTHMIC ENERGY MUST SURELY LIFT THE SPIRITS OF EVEN THE MOST JADED LISTENER …A WINNER OF A DISC!” – LIONEL SALTER (GRAMOPHONE)

“He might not possess the abandon of a Skip Sempé of the fiery passion of Pierre Hantaï, but Trevor Pinnock is guilelessly persuasive negotiating Scarlatti's digital landmines with ease.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ***

"PURCELL’S GRANDEST ACHIEVEMENT, HIS MOST COLOURFUL SCORE, WITH AN EMOTIONAL RANGE FROM WIT TO MYSTERY AND MUCH IN BETWEEN. “VINTAGE PURCELL, IN A PERFORMACNE THAT SHOWS NO SIGNS OF AGE, CONVEYS EVERYTHING BUT THE ELABORATE STAGE DIRECTIONS” – GRAMOPHONE