Search - Muzio Clementi, Giovanni Battista Viotti, Francesco Pollini :: Italian Harp Music

Contentment

J. Kara Russell | Hollywood - the cinderblock Industrial cubicle | 07/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This wonderful collection of music spans late Baroque to Romantic harp music. Except for expatriot Bochsa, it is all Italian composers. This CD is so good I don't know where to start!



Firstly, this collection is put together in a very smart way. Following the historic trajectory gives it a marvelous flow. Just after the midway point, are some pieces of harp with violin, which gives us an added element to prevent "sameness". Then it progress back in solo harp to the Romantic pieces so different in style from the early pieces, but chosen beautifully to contrast in style but of the same tone.



This creates a CD that is uniform enough to play during a dinner party without being too distracting, but also has the variety to make it enjoiable and interesting enough to just sit and listen to at the end of a hard day.



Claudia Antonelli is accomplished enough to have had several modern Italian composers write pieces for her, so what a gift to have her focus on the works of historic Italian composers. She has the kind of light touch that I aspire to as a harpist, lyrical and deft. She handles the complex Baroque pieces with simplicity that lets them flow.



I wish this CD gave the information about her harp... it sounds as if it may have been played on an early harp. In any case the harp used has a tone and resonance which sounds historically "right" and gives an extra dimension to the pieces. It may have been the style of recording, because that same "sound" makes the violin sound a bit thin.



This is a lovely CD either to introduce someone to harp music, to a variety of music time periods, or for the accomplished music lover. Contented sigh."