Frescobaldi: Corrente

Claudio Monteverdi and Girolamo Frescobaldi were two of the most influential musical figures in 17th-century Italy; while the former's boundary-pushing madrigals, operas and sacred works changed the course of Baroque vocal music irrevocably, the latter was one of the first – and most prominent – composers to devote serious attention to composing for the keyboard.

This new recording celebrates the influence that these two composers continue to exert over performers and audiences today -- and the fascination that their music inspires -- through a selection of motets and instrumental pieces, performed with precision and authority by Il Pegaso and Maurizio Croci. Of particular interest are a handful of new discoveries: three Marian antiphons by Monteverdi, preserved in a music print held at the Biblioteka Uniwersytecka in Wroclaw, Poland, and pieces drawn from a recently-unearthed notebook of Frescobaldi's, including early stages of extant works.

With the addition of several better known compositions, this intriguing collection illuminates some less familiar aspects of both composers' oeuvres, and places recent musicological discoveries within reach of listeners. In their debut recording, the new ensemble Il Pegaso, led by Maurizio Croci, deliver performances invested with passion and expertise.

Other information:

- A rare and exciting opportunity to hear recently-discovered pieces by Monteverdi and Frescobaldi, performed by experts in 17th-century Italian music.

- The debut recording by new ensemble Il Pegaso.

- Recorded in February 2012.

For the first time, this budget priced 6 CD collection re-presents Segovia’s highly-prized recordings made for American Decca in the 1940s and 1950s, when he was arguably at the height of his powers. Here are the first six albums released by the label in that now legendary series, presented for the first time in original LP couplings and with their striking original-sleeve artwork: Andrés Segovia Guitar Solos; An Andrés Segovia Recital; An Andrés Segovia Concert; An Andrés Segovia Program; An Evening with Andrés Segovia; Andrés Segovia Plays…

Many of these 80+ tracks are appearing on Deutsche Grammophon for the first time. The set has been newly remastered, with a minimum of intervention, from original tapes or tape copies of original glass masters. Like the best whisky, Segovia’s art is unfiltered on these CDs. The results reveal a new intimacy and delicacy in these six classic recitals that are wholly captivating.

The package: Mini-LP sleeves (front and back), CD booklet (in the style of the The Martha Argerich Collection) has new liner notes by Segovia expert Graham Wade comprising introduction and annotations on each of the albums, with colour minis.