ROMANTIC Heroines from the Revolution to the Empire

‘There is no French music between Rameau and Berlioz.’ This assertion is still made by a number of music lovers and even a few otherwise knowledgeable musicologists, but the wouldbe truth must now be tempered by the increasingly enthusiastic rediscovery of an entire chapter in the history of French music between 1770 and 1830. Here is a superb illustration of that in the fields of opera and the symphony.

Borghi and the musicians on this programme deliver superb performances drawn from both the worlds of opera and the symphony.
Release date: 30th Oct 2015

Tracklist:

Antonio Salierie - Les Danaïdes - Overture
Rodolphe Kreutzer - Ipsiboé - Anciens maîtres de la Provence
Christoph Willibals Gluck - Alceste - Divinités du Styx
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne - Phèdre - Hippolyte succombe
Johann Christian Bach - Amadis de Gaule - Bientôt, l'ennemi qui m'outrage
Christoph Willibals Gluck - Iphigénie en Tauride - Non, cet affreux devoir
Christoph Willibals Gluck - Orphée et Eurydice - Ballet des ombres heureuses - Air de Furie
Étienne-Nicolas Méhul - Valentine de Milan - Vaillant guerrier
Louis-Ferdinand Hérold - Lasthénie - Songez que dans le mariage
Gaspare Spontini - Olympie - Ô déplorable mère
Louis-Ferdinand Hérold - Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Zu Gast Im BLAUEN HAUS Trio sonatas from the Music Collection of Lucas Sarasin

Der Musikalische Gartens second recording A Visit to the Blue House: Trio Sonatas continues their exploration of the collection of 18th century Basel merchant Lucas Sarasin. Building on the strengths of their debut with the uncommon scordatura tuning, the depth of Lucas Sarasins music collection is further revealed with these trio sonatas that showcase the breadth of composers working in southwestern Germany and northern Italy, the two centers of instrumental chamber music of the day. The Blue House of the title references Sarasins home which doubled as a salon and performance space and this recording allows us indeed a visit to eavesdrop during a fertile time of transition that bridged the Baroque and Classical eras.

Release date: 23rd Oct 2015

The ensemble Der musikalische Garten creates a “fine garden filled with fresh and natural playing”, according to a review on the Bavarian Radio website. Just like there are different paths and unusual flowers to be discovered in any garden, so it is with the four musicians of the ensemble – Karoline Echeverri Klemm, Germán Echeverri Chamorro, Annekatrin Beller and Daniela Niedhammer – and their quest for new and unfamiliar musical directions. 

In addition to his comprehensive musical instrument collection, Lucas Sarasin (1730-1802) also maintained a substantial music library. A detailed inventory, which survives today, lists all the musical scores that were in Sarasin’s possession and meticulously categorizes then by genre, providing us with a unique insight into the music performed at the Blue House (home of Sarasin).