Rossi, M: Toccata settima

The title ‘Jazz and Pavane’ reveals the happy marriage between these two ebullient styles of music and on this recording, the musicians have chosen to highlight the two musical styles by featuring complementary couples: the two pairs of early instruments (cornetto, sackbut), and modern (trumpet, trombone). The early music is supported by organ/harpsichord,and the modern by percussion, bass and drums.

Continuing its work with young artists, CORO has the pleasure of announcing Musique Pour Mazarin! the debut recording by Le Jardin Secret, winners of both the first prize and audience prize at the Early Music Network Young Artists Competition 2007.

This talented young ensemble consisting of soprano, harpsichord, theorbo, viola da gamba and baroque cello, present a delightfully varied programme featuring a diverse mixture of French and Italian music that would have been heard at the court of the flamboyant Cardinal Jules Mazarin.

The juxtaposition of French and Italian works on this disc shows clearly the rich selection of music heard at Mazarin’s court in the late 1600s. They demonstrating the stark contrast between the French and Italian styles of the period with the added ingredient of political and cultural rivalry and intrigue - the Italian born Cardinal importing Italian culture into a resistant French context - contributes a little "piquancy" to the mix!

An acknowledged expert in the field of early keyboard instruments and music, Douglas Hollick was the first Organ Scholar at Hull University, studying with Peter Hurford. He subsequently studied in Paris with Marie-Claire Alain, and in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt. He has played widely in the UK and abroad, and teaches in Cambridge and at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

With an international reputation, and with many accolades from critics and scholars alike, Douglas Hollick was awarded a year 2000 Churchill Fellowship to visit North Germany and Denmark to research the organs and other keyboard instruments from the period of Buxtehude and the young J S Bach. Endlessly curious about the little known music of the 17th and 18th centuries, he has recorded music of the enigmatic French composer Christophe Moyreau (see Riverrun RVRCD 60), a CD entitled ‘Buxtehude, master and pupil’ (RVRCD 67) which places the great North German master in the context of some of his teachers and pupils, and a programme of music from the period of the French Revolution for harpsichord, square piano and organ (RVRCD 71).

Douglas Hollick made harpsichords professionally for some fifteen years up to 1990, and has also had some experience in organ building and early piano restoration. It is a 1986 harpsichord of his, based on Ruckers, which is used on this recording.