Search - Frescobaldi, Vartolo :: Keyboard Music

Baroque keyboard masterpieces well performed

R. Rockwell | Brooklyn, NY USA | 07/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is difficult to believe that I am the first to review this recording. Frescoboldi is considered one of the masters nof baroque keyboard composition. Although the works on these CDs were composed early in his career, it is difficult to believe that these works could be surpassed in the brilliance of their emotional tone.

I always have difficulty concentrating on more that about twenty minutes of harpsichord performances never matter how good. I listened to these CDs over a period of a day or two. Sergio Vartolo performs about half on harpsichord and half on organ.

I have found with experience that Naxos CDs that I have bought have always surprised me with their quality. This CDS would be in my collection even if they were full priced."

Realizacion de primer orden

J. Luis Baigorria Castillo | 10/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Con este album doble, Sergio Vartolo concluye su integral de las obras para teclado de Girolamo Frescobaldi, iniciada hace más de 10 años en el sello italiano Tactus. Aquí Vartolo nos revela los dos libros juveniles de Frescobaldi: Fantasie (Milan, 1608) y Ricercari (Roma, 1615).



El estilo de estas composiciones tempranas recuerda las piezas de John Bull e incluso las "diferencias" y "tientos" de Antonio de Cabezón.



Vartolo nos obsequia una lectura reservada, quizá severa, pero dotada de un extraordinario fuego interior. La nobleza, la probidad y la destreza técnica se conjugan en esta extraordinaria interpretación.



Quisiera añadir el placer auditivo que garantizan los instrumentos empleados: un clavicémbalo italiano de colores nítidos (copia) y el maravilloso órgano de Willem Jansen, de Pistoia (1660's).

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Frescobaldi: The Bird in the Choir Loft

edouard pinaud | USA | 11/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are interested in music of the Renaissance period, and if you like a lithe harpsichord alternating with a stately soul-searching organ, then this record is certainly for you. The sound production for the harpsichord is rich and warm here, so it will not grate on your ears and nerves after five minutes. You can stay the course until the end. Tempi are generally slow, which I like. Sometimes harpsichord music seems tailored (or interpreted?) for trumpeting the sheer digital dexterity of the performer. Witness, for example, some of the keyboard sonatas by Domenico (not Alessandro) Scarlatti, as performed by the gifted Wanda Landowska. Many of these just leave me gasping for air, as countless melodic ideas are jam-packed into a two-minute framework, although this, too, has its charms, a few days of the week. Frescobaldi is much more even-keeled. The melodic ideas have space to unwind, which I appreciate, every day of the year.



I bought this record in conjunction with "Frescobaldi: Keyboard Music From Manuscript Sources," also issued by the Naxos label. I am greatly pleased with both, as you will be. I only wish there was still more Frescobaldi to be acquired. Must search....



A curious note: on "Canzoni Francesi Canzone V" (Disc #2, Track #15), a wayward bird obviously lodged itself in the choir loft or into the organ works, the day this particular recording was made. The track begins with the bird chirping up a storm, just as Sergio Valtolo begins his fine performance. The bird then stops, only to return with more fervor later. I doubt Frescobaldi's score calls for this, unless he simply anticipated Olivier Messiaen by several centuries! In that case, Frescobaldi was much more avant-garde than we originally thought. Believe me, though, the first time I heard it, I truly thought that a bird had somehow gotten into my house. I was scrambling like someone in a Hitchcock film.



I'm surprised the folks at Naxos left the bird in the final "mix," but in the end I'm very glad they did. Far from ruining the piece, the fine-feathered friend adds a special performance element to the whole. Counterpoint, perhaps! And you'll enjoy this record just as much as this bird evidently did!"