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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | JS Bach: Harpsichord Concertos Nos. 1, 4, 6 & 7
Having wowed the critics with their 2011 recording of ‘JS Bach Easter and Ascension Oratorios’ Retrospect Ensemble return to the studio to record Bach’s Harpsichord Concertos. Director Matthew Halls takes on the role of soloist, having proved both his keyboard virtuosity and affinity with Bach’s harpsichord music in his debut solo recording ‘J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations’ which IRR named ‘Outstanding’. In 2010 the 35-year-old was announced as The Oregon Bach Festival’s next artistic director, due to his ‘international reputation in the worlds of choral and early music [and] consummate skill as a Bach interpreter.’ He shall assume the role in 2013. Founded by Matthew Halls, Retrospect Ensemble takes its musicians and audiences on an exciting journey, exploring the repertoire of four centuries and embracing the practices, styles and aesthetics of former ages with renewed vigour and a fresh approach. Retrospect has performed at concerts across Europe and the Far East and has established an exciting partnership with the Korean National Opera. Matthew Halls has established himself as one of today’s leading young conductors. A former Artistic Director of The King’s Consort, he has conducted in prominent venues including the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; the Cité de la Musique, Paris; and the Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels. “The choice of one-to-a-part strings, while not confirmed by hard contemporary evidence, would avoid crowding out the coffee-drinking clientele. But such lean forces also create transparent textures, balancing perfectly with the harpsichord...Halls's sparkling articulation, even at quite moderate tempos, generates enormous exuberance” BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 ***** “All in all, this is a recording that makes you sit up and listen, both for the verve of the ensemble playing and the range of colours and dynamics Halls produces, and for the sheer ear-popping brilliance of their chosen repertoire.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 24th October 2012 “Halls directs the performances from the harpsichord, never dominating the tuttis, but exploiting a free-ranging fantasy in his stylishly decorated solo passages. The concertos sound pristine and revealed anew, like cleaned Old Master paintings. More, please.” Sunday Times, 18th November 2012 “The brightness and rightness of the sound is what strikes you immediately...The harpsichord has tone and resonance, yet is not so closely miked that the strings sound like they have been banished to an outer realm; instead they have pleasing presence, offering a rich complementary texture in which you can hear every line...this is a joyful and invigorating release.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013 “This release fizzes with energy. I’ve long preferred hearing these concertos played on a modern piano. But listening to Matthew Halls’s harpsichord performances have made me completely reassess the music...Here, the music’s character is sparkier, more pugnacious. Halls’s exuberant solo line sparks and glitters, pitched against the Retrospect Ensemble’s immaculate, small-scale backing.” The Arts Desk, 9th March 2013  BBC Music Magazine
Disc of the month - December 2012 |
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| |  | Glenn Gould plays Bach: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 & No. 7
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| |  | Bach - The 7 Concertos for Harpsichord & Strings
Ivor Bolton (harpsichord & director) St James’s Baroque Players | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Bach - Concertos for Harpsichord & Strings
Ivor Bolton (harpsichord & director) St James’s Baroque Players “crisp, clear-sighted approach to the music, all of which proceeds at a proper tempo and, where appropriate, with a spring in its heels. The slow movements are sensitively expressive…. This is basically how such works would have been heard in their own time, you may feel this is the way it should be…. The strings are 'authentic' and respectful of every element of style….I thoroughly enjoyed this disc and ….the superb recording.” Gramophone | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Swing, Sing & Think - David Fray records J.S. BachA film by Bruno Monsaingeon
This absorbing 95-minute documentary about the young French pianist David Fray is directed by Bruno Monsaingeon, the distinguished filmmaker whose previous collaborations with Virgin Classics include DVDs with Piotr Anderszewski and Valery Sokolov, and whose past subjects have included David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Yehudi Menuhin and Glenn Gould. This DVD complements Fray’s second CD release on Virgin Classics, a collection of Bach concertos, and it includes Live footage from the audio recording sessions of the concertos BWV 1055,1056 et 1058 (the CD also includes BWV 1052 in D minor). Issues discussed on screen with Fray, an artist of formidable intellectual energy, include his relationship with the music of Bach and his views on directing an orchestra – here the Bremen-based Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie – from the keyboard The Austro-German repertoire is of great importance to the pianist, whose personal heritage includes Czech, Polish, Spanish, French, Finnish and Jewish strands. He has said that: “If, over my life, I can play all the works of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Brahms and Schumann, then I shall be very happy!” but describes Bach as “a pinnacle; both a beginning and an end”. 2008 has been an important year for Fray, bringing his New York debut and his marriage (in July) to the Italian actress Chiara Muti, daughter of conductor Riccardo Muti. His first CD release on Virgin Classics, a thought-provoking juxtaposition of Bach and Boulez, came in may 2007 and in April 2008 it brought him the Best Newcomer Award from BBC Music Magazine. The recital also prompted Gramophone to speak of his: “unselfregarding mastery and musical maturity and the “intimate, poetic spell” cast by his Bach with its “gorgeous tone and ravishingly shaded trills.” The New York Times found it a “superbly played and thoughtful program … In both Bach and Boulez, Mr. Fray displays an articulate touch, splendid command of shadings and nimble finger work. The youthful freshness of the performances is especially appealing. Mr. Fray is not intimidated by either giant ... He brings a fluid sense of rhythm and much sparkle to Bach's D major Partita … [the] account of Bach's D minor French Suite is also captivating,” while the “playful, crystalline and wondrously delicate account” of Boulez’s 12 Notations” was summarised as “breathtaking”. ‘Fray’s debut is marked by an imaginative collation, Bach and Boulez, played with vibrant imagination. He pushes the boundaries but resists the merely quirky. Impeccable technique allows him to speak from the heart with deceptive ease.’ BBC Music Magazine Running Time: 133 mins Format: NTCS 16:9 Sound: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Original Version: French, English Subtitles: French, English | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Bach - Piano Concertos
This collection of Bach concertos is the French pianist David Fray’s second recording for Virgin Classics. His first, with its thought-provoking juxtaposition of Bach and Boulez, was released in May 2007 and in April 2008 brought him the Best Newcomer Award from BBC Music Magazine. The recital also prompted Gramophone to speak of his: “unselfregarding mastery and musical maturity,” and the “intimate, poetic spell” cast by his Bach with its “gorgeous tone and ravishingly shaded trills.” The New York Times found it a “superbly played and thoughtful program … In both Bach and Boulez, Mr. Fray displays an articulate touch, splendid command of shadings and nimble finger work. The youthful freshness of the performances is especially appealing. Mr. Fray is not intimidated by either giant … He brings a fluid sense of rhythm and much sparkle to Bach's D major Partita … [the] account of Bach's D minor French Suite is also captivating,” while the “playful, crystalline and wondrously delicate account” of Boulez’s 12 Notations” was summarised as “breathtaking”. 2008 has been an important year for Fray, bringing his New York debut, his marriage (in July) and a documentary about him by distinguished filmmaker Bruno Monsaingeon. Now comes this collection of four of Bach’s six concertos for keyboard, with Fray directing the Bremen-based Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie from the piano. The Austro-German repertoire in general is of great importance to the pianist, whose personal heritage includes Czech, Polish, Spanish, French, Finnish and Jewish strands. He has said that: 'If, over my life, I can play all the works of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Brahms and Schumann, then I shall be very happy!” but describes Bach as “a pinnacle; both a beginning and an end”. ‘Fray’s debut is marked by an imaginative collation, Bach and Boulez, played with vibrant imagination. He pushes the boundaries but resists the merely quirky. Impeccable technique allows him to speak from the heart with deceptive ease.’ BBC Music Magazine “Fray's command of colour and imaginative highlighting is intoxicating, and there is a freshness which makes for indisputably rewarding listening.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2008 **** “his intelligent phrasing and emotional language are what one would expect of a much older pianist, but they are presented with a healthy dose of Young Man vigour and fun. It is playing which carries the impression that something profound is being communicated.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 22nd October 2008 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Bach - Harpsichord Concertos
The new album features some of Bach's most memorable music, recorded with one player per part. The concertos were originally written for harpsichord and strings, and Accademia Bizantina has returned to the original scoring to achieve an intimate dialogue between the solo instrument and accompanying strings. “Compared to Mortensen's blend of eloquent virtuosity and tasteful discretion, the playing of Accademia Bizantina seems hard and unyielding, though there are nevertheless moments of great beauty.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2008 *** “…Ottavio Dantone and his Italian colleagues provide beautifully transparent and balanced renderings. Most successful… are the slow movements where Dantone lets the music breathe with a degree of genuine lyricism.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2008 “...here is a triumphant vindication of the authentic approach from the Milanese harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone and his Accademia Bizantina. His performances are free-flowing within the confines of the language, and he is not afraid to indulge in expressive fantasy, notably in the cool, pizzicato-dominated largo of the F minor Concerto BWV 1056. He is accompanied by just five energetic string players - one to a part - but the effect never sounds insubstantial, and the recording neatly integrates soloist and "orchestra".” The Telegraph, 16th August 2008 “Directing from the keyboard, Dantone avoids obtruding mannerisms and keeps the music dancing. Any novelty lies instead with the Accademia’s abbreviated forces – five string players, one to a part.” The Times, 18th July 2008 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Volume 36 of the Glenn Gould Complete Jacket CollectionBach: Keyboard Concertos Volume 2
The Canadian musician Glenn Gould was undoubtedly one of the greatest pianists of all time. To mark the 75th anniversary of his birth, and the 25th anniversary of his death, Sony BMG Masterworks presents this seminal artist’s vinyl recordings as re-mastered CDs, designed to replicate the exact artwork of the original gramophone records in miniaturised form. Already issued as part of an 80-CD box set (88697130942), these albums are now being made available individually. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Bach - Harpsichord Concertos BWV1052-1059
“The great Bob va Asperen's single string band works wonders in the enchanting E and A major concertos but sounds a shade underwhelming in the mighty D minor.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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