Search - Giuseppi Antonio Brescianello, Cetra Barockorchester Basel :: G.A. Brescianello: Concerti, Sinfonie, Ouverture

Excellent Music from a Lesser Known

Ross Kennett | Narooma, NSW Australia | 03/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brescianello was an Italian composer who spent many years working in Stuttgart. There is only one published work, Opus 1, but other unpublished manuscripts have been recently discovered.

This CD has 3 of the published works and 4 of the rediscovered, two sinfonie for two violins, viola and basso continuo; three concertos for violin, violin and oboe and violin and bassoon; an overture and finally a chaconne. This makes for a nicely varied program. The two sinfonies and the three concertos are very much in the Italian style of Vivaldi, although the cadenza in the third movement of the concerto for violin and oboe seems a bit out of place, we are not told if this was by Brescianello or by the soloist, David Plantier. The overture is in the French style, but sounds like it was written by an Italian, rather than a German such as Telemann. The cover notes say that the chacone is a tribute to Muffat, but it doesn't sound like the only Muffat I have, which is fortunate, as that is a set of six boring concerti grossi.

All the works are melodious and joyful, they will easily hold your attention, and are very well played by La Cetra Barockorchester Basel. The sound is excellent. I have no hesitation in giving this CD a strong recommendation and five stars."

A hidden gem from Stuttgart

Morten Fuglestad | Norway | 12/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello's exceptional gifts in music apparently caused quite a stir in it's times. Reinhard Keiser's thinly disguised envy caused trouble for this exceptional composer, as did the cenophobic sentiments stirred by fellow musicians. His position was prestigious - cappelmeister at the dukeal court of Würtenberg. The competition for such a lucerative positions was appearantly stiff and engendered much jealusy among his German colleagues.



La Cetra has produced a fabulous CD, which reveals a composer in total comand of his powers. In Brescianello's concertos his fine poetical gifts comes to the fore in the slow movements. While the fast movements are well-written with interesting cadenzas for solo instruments and non-conform basslines pushing the music forward with drama and elan. This is a proof that Italians after Vivaldi could produce extremely effective music without yielding the complexity of a well-written bass.



The Overture (suite) is in a completly different style. Brescianello apperently kept French and Italian style distinctly apart from each other. The Overture is as French as any French composer would compose it(here I differ in opinion from the reviewer Ross Kennett).



The improvised cadenzas (especially in the e minor concerto for oboe & violin) seems idiomatic and full of interesting ideas, and wears well even to repeated listening (which is not to be taken for granted as some cadenzas are too artificial and others are too simple or banale).



La Cetra's playing is superb and this recording has a fantastic follow-up in the Venturini-CD on Zig Zag (2006). If you are only buying two CDs of baroque music, let it be these two!"

Give a rarely heard composer a try

Steven J. Snodgrass | Hyattsville, MD United States | 05/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This historically informed performance of music by rarely heard composer Brescianello is worth taking a chance on something new. It's a fine production by Harmonia Mundia. The opening track and the chaconne are especially worthy."