New Releases

Here Spohr manifests himself not as a serial producer from the nineteenth century’s age of virtuosity but as a highly imaginative composer who lent a unique imprint to each and every one of his concertos. Brought together in this new box set are the Violin Concertos with the Concertanti for two violins and orchestra.

Gramophone: ‘Hoelscher has the elegance and almost cantabile qualities going hand in hand with Spohr’s composing for the violin’.

Thanks to the commitment of Maestro Riccardo Muti and under his direction, the opera in two acts 'I due Figaro' saw its first modern staging in Salzburg, then in Ravenna and now it is also available in CD.

Born in Altamura, in the province of Bari, Saverio Mercadante studied in Naples, where his family settled. Together with Vincenzo Bellini, he is considered the most representative member of the 19th century Neapolitan School. He remained for a long time in the shadow of the four great operatic composers (Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi). Only in recent years have musicologists began to look at his role in the development of Italian Belcanto. I due Figaro' presents an amusing subject which by affinity forms a trilogy with Rossini's 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' and Mozart's 'Le Nozze di Figaro'. The six characters are presented each with its own solo performance, mixed with more complex orchestrated parts. The genuine melodic vein of the Neapolitan School is evident in the play and it makes use of several stylistic levels which reflect the characters' social status.

Live recording from Teatro Aligheri, Ravenna, in June 2011. Essays by Giovanni Carli Ballola and Paolo Cascio; libretto, pictures and biographies are included in the sumptuous booklet. Quality packaging and presentation. Wonderful singing.

With 'Il Spiritillo Brando' from La Ritirata comes an opportunity to enjoy exciting performances from a new name on the Spanish early music scene as well as a thrilling ride across the terrain of the Spanish and Italian courtly instrumental traditions as the Renaissance danced its way into the Baroque.

Not since the days when brothers José Miguel and Emilio Moreno made their first recordings for Glossa has any Spanish musician been invited to figure on the label from El Escorial. This is now changing with the arrival of the talents of Josetxu Obregón and his Spanish colleagues from La Ritirata – counting amongst them the best in the younger string, plucked-string, wind and keyboard players from the country – as they bring us the dance rhythm delights of Andrea Falconieri, whose music leads the way into contributions from the likes of Diego Ortiz and Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde; permitting the individual members of La Ritirata to demonstrate their virtuosic skills and commitment to the music that they perform. This includes Josetxu Obregón himself, who as a cellist, delights in music from late 17th century exponents of the cello in Giuseppe Maria Jacchini, Giovanni Battista Vitali and Domenico Gabrielli. As the title implies, 'Il Spiritillo Brando' evokes both the social dancing which will have taken place in the court of the Spanish viceroyalty in Naples itself, and the mischievous duendes which roamed the streets, animating all the proceedings in the vicinity!

The young Spanish viola da gamba player Fahmi Alqhai is a further new musician to join that select group of artists who define and shape the world of Glossa. With his ensemble Accademia del Piacere, Alqhai has, for some years now, been turning away from the well-worn pathways in order to explore new possibilities in terms of presentation and interpretation in his musical work; a good example of this has been his recent and highly-successful collaborative activities with the cantaor Arcángel.

In his first recording for Glossa, 'Rediscovering Spain' – fantasías, diferencias & glosas, Alqhai is aiming to go far beyond the customary 'authentic' approach of interpretation (for him a notion which is becoming increasingly empty). In this way, Accademia del Piacere sets out to recover and bring up to date in all its aspects the common practice of musicians from the 16th and 17th centuries – a time when any composition provided the opportunity or excuse for trying out all the possibilities of commentary, paraphrase and creating glosas around original material (often composed by others and in many cases created with these ends in mind).

Recorded in a studio in Sevilla over the course of many weeks, in spectacular sound and with attention to the finest of details, this album involves no less than 15 instrumentalists as well as the soprano Raquel Andueza, who features in three pieces. 'Rediscovering Spain' is presenting a repertory known to one and all but in a completely different light, and with a freshness and an energy which will undoubtedly turn this release into a genuine landmark achievement.