Frescobaldi: Aria detta la Frescobalda (1627)

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.

Frescobaldi is considered to be the grand master of harpsichord and organ music during the Italian Baroque. He was also master of the so-called stylus fantasticus, which allowed great freedom in tempo and structure. It demanded an interpretation which gave the impression that the artist was improvising in performance. Luca Guglielmi demonstrates the artistry of these compositions.

This disc of studio recordings made between 1956 and 1960 features one of the greatest and distinguished contemporary classical guitarists: Julian Bream. It seems extraordinary but the discography of his youth has only been partially re-mastered on CD. This recording features genuine rarities including the Lennox Berkeley Sonatina.

Richard Lester was described both by The Times and the Daily Telegraph as ‘one of our leading players’ and more recently acclaimed as ‘one of the greatest early music keyboard players of this or any other time.’ In 1981, Sir William Glock, former BBC controller of music invited him to perform a solo harpsichord recital at the Bath International Festival. Countless engagements at major international music festivals followed including the Bruges festival, Bath Bach festival and concerts at the Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and in 2007 a sell out solo recital at London's South Bank Centre.

Volume 4 of Segovia’s 1950’s American recordings is devoted in the main to his arrangements of music composed between 1535 and 1750. Although today it is customary to play this repertoire on reproductions of instruments authentically modelled on concepts of musicological research, Segovia preferred the 20th Century guitar to all other instruments as an expressive medium. To his interpretations of the 16th century works of Milan, Narvaez, Mudarra and Dowland, as well as the Baroque guitar of Robert de Visee and transcriptions from Scarlatti or Rameau, Segovia brings the same application of colour, variety of dynamics and rhythmic freedom as he applied to romantic pieces. This full blooded approach to early music was greatly appreciated during his lifetime and often provided one of the few opportunities for the general public to become acquainted with this area of the repertoire.