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Araja & Pellegrini: Harpsichord Works / Bissolo
Brilliant Classics

Araja & Pellegrini: Harpsichord Works / Bissolo

$13.99

Details

Composer
Francesco Domenico Araja, Ferdinando Pellegrini
Artist
Enrico Bissolo
Format
CD
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Feb 11, 2022
Catalog #
BRI96482
UPC
5028421964829

About

This recording provides a comparison of the keyboard music of two composers born in Naples whose careers took them beyond national borders. Francesco Araja was born in 1709 and became capellmeister and court composer to Tsarina Anna in St. Petersburg; Ferdinando Pellegrini whose birth probably dates back to 1715, lived and worked in Lyon, London and Parisa. While Araja’s life and musical production are essentially tied to the theatre, he achieved fame through sacred music. The turning point in Araja’s career came with an offer from the Neapolitan violinist Pietro Mira to work in St. Petersburg as a court musician. He was also named choirmaster upon his arrival in Russia, a position he held for many years. His musical production, apart from the operas and cantatas he composed for the Russian court, consists of an oratorio and a collection of Capricci for the harpsichord. The latter, featured on this recording, are extremely free compositions with a varied character, sometimes brilliantly virtuosic. In the absence of well-defined musical form, they consist rather of a series of episodes, or tableaux, with the common thread being the compositional skill through which Araja demonstrates his deep knowledge of the instrument and its performing technique. Details on Pellegrini’s life are scarce. After his birth in Naples there are traces of a relocation to Rome, where the records of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia document his enrolment in 1743. After Rome, Pellegrini moved to France. Further testimony places Pellegrini in Paris (until 1762) in the serviace of Alexandre Le Riche de la PouplinieÌre. La PouplinieÌre’s brother-in-law, the Abbeì de Mondran, wrote of Pellegrini as “a true demon at the keyboard”. Pellegrini composed a series of sonatas for solo harpsichord. The style is galant, characterized by elegant phrasing, melodic invention and repetitive accompanimental formulas.

Tracklist 21 tracks

  1. 1 Capricci in F Major 02:22
    Track
    1
    Title
    Capricci in F Major
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Francesco Araja
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  2. 2 Capricci in A Major 04:30
    Track
    2
    Title
    Capricci in A Major
    Duration
    04:30
    Composer
    Francesco Araja
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  3. 3 Capricci in B-Flat Major 05:04
    Track
    3
    Title
    Capricci in B-Flat Major
    Duration
    05:04
    Composer
    Francesco Araja
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  4. 4 Capricci in F Major 04:59
    Track
    4
    Title
    Capricci in F Major
    Duration
    04:59
    Composer
    Francesco Araja
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  5. 5 Capricci in D Major 03:25
    Track
    5
    Title
    Capricci in D Major
    Duration
    03:25
    Composer
    Francesco Araja
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  6. 6 Capricci in C Major 02:32
    Track
    6
    Title
    Capricci in C Major
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Francesco Araja
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  7. 7 Capricci in C Major 03:55
    Track
    7
    Title
    Capricci in C Major
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Francesco Araja
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  8. 8 Capricci in B-Flat Major 05:11
    Track
    8
    Title
    Capricci in B-Flat Major
    Duration
    05:11
    Composer
    Francesco Araja
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  9. 9 I. Andantino 04:51
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Andantino
    Duration
    04:51
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  10. 10 II. Minuetto 01:24
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Minuetto
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  11. 11 I. Andante spiritoso 03:37
    Track
    11
    Title
    I. Andante spiritoso
    Duration
    03:37
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  12. 12 II. Minuetto 01:38
    Track
    12
    Title
    II. Minuetto
    Duration
    01:38
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  13. 13 I. Andantino 01:01
    Track
    13
    Title
    I. Andantino
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  14. 14 II. Allegro 02:09
    Track
    14
    Title
    II. Allegro
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  15. 15 III. Menuet 02:33
    Track
    15
    Title
    III. Menuet
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  16. 16 I. Andante spiritoso 01:48
    Track
    16
    Title
    I. Andante spiritoso
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  17. 17 II. Allegro moderato 03:55
    Track
    17
    Title
    II. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  18. 18 I. Senza indicazione di tempo 04:40
    Track
    18
    Title
    I. Senza indicazione di tempo
    Duration
    04:40
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  19. 19 II. Minuetto, Trio 02:12
    Track
    19
    Title
    II. Minuetto, Trio
    Duration
    02:12
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  20. 20 I. Senza indicazione di tempo 02:54
    Track
    20
    Title
    I. Senza indicazione di tempo
    Duration
    02:54
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo
  21. 21 II. Minuetto, Trio 02:32
    Track
    21
    Title
    II. Minuetto, Trio
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Ferdinando Pellegrini
    Performer
    Enrico Bissolo