2019 Holiday Gift List

Every year at this time, I create a list of suggestions for holiday gift giving. Starting November 24th and continuing through December, you can audition some of my recommendations from the annual Sunday Baroque Holiday Gift List. All of us at Sunday Baroque wish you and yours a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season filled with laughter, peace and an abundance of good music!

-Suzanne

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SIX EVOLUTIONS (Sony 54652)

Johann Sebastian Bach – 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites, Yo-Yo Ma – cello

This superb CD is returning to the SB Gift List from last year – the first time I have repeated a recording from one year to the next. The performance is THAT good, and Yo-Yo Ma’s artistry is THAT extraordinary. Johann Sebastian Bach’s 6 unaccompanied cello suites are the “holy grail” for all serious cellists. They are technically demanding and musically complex. This is Yo-Yo Ma’s third recording of Bach’s cello suites, and it is the centerpiece of his current focus. THE BACH PROJECT is the cellist’s ambitious goal to perform all six suites in 36 locations around the world. He is using them to, “…speak to our common humanity.”

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J.S.BACH – AVI AVITAL (Deutsche Grammophon 483 6590)

Avi Avital – mandolin, Kammerakademie Potsdam (Potsdam Chamber Academy)

Mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital turns his virtuosic attention on Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concertos (and one Sonata) arranged for mandolin. These are thoughtful and respectful renditions that reveal a new aspect to the instrument’s range of capabilities.

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GOTTFRIED FINGER – MUSIC FOR EUROPEAN COURTS AND CONCERTS (Ramee RAM1802)

Robert Rawson, The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen

The delightful British period instrument ensemble continues its exploration of music by undeservedly overlooked baroque era musicians. This time, they turn their attention to playing a cross-section of music by Moravian-born composer and virtuoso viol player Gottfried Finger. For anyone already familiar with the well-known baroque era music and musicians, this is a worthy supplement, played by a fine ensemble.

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BACH – OUVERTURES FOR ORCHESTRA (Naive OP30578)

Rinaldo Alessandrini, Concerto Italiano

This 2-CD set includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Four Overtures (BWV 1066-1069), and Overtures by two of his cousins, Johann Bernhard Bach and Johann Ludwig Bach. These two members of the extended Bach family represent important influences in Johann Sebastian’s musical upbringing. What marvelous insight into the familial tradition of music, performed by a top-notch group!

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ANTONIO VIVALDI CONCERTI PER VIOLINO VII “PER IL CASTELLO” (Naive OP7078)

Alessandro Tampieri – violin, Accademia Bizantina

Volume 62 of the Vivaldi Edition recording project, which seeks to illuminate approximately 450 Vivaldi autograph manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale in Turin, Italy.

At the end of his life, Vivaldi went to Vienna, where he sold some concertos to Count Vinciguerra Tommaso Collalto, a Venetian nobleman who lived in a castle in Moravia (the ‘castello’ of the title). This recording features the five surviving concertos of that collection. You can listen to Suzanne’s interview with Vivaldi Edition’s Artistic Director Susan Orlando about the project.

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ANTONIO VIVALDI CONCERTI PER VIOLONCELLO III (Naive OP30574)

Christophe Coin – cello, L’Onda Armonica

This recording is Volume 61 of the Vivaldi Edition recording project of 450 Vivaldi autograph manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale in Turin, Italy. Cellist Christophe Coin is a champion of Antonio Vivaldi’s music, and is working on recording all of Vivaldi’s cello Concertos. This installment of his project is a collaboration with period instrument group L’Onda Armonica.

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GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL – JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN (PBP-11)

Nicholas McGegan, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale

George Frideric Handel’s 1743 oratorio is not well known, and this performance features a cast of terrific soloists, backed by an outstanding orchestra and chorus, to bring it to life. Despite its popularity in Handel’s lifetime, this is only the second recording of this lovely work. If you’re a fan of Handel’s music, this is a perfect way to augment your impression of his work.

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CONCISE DICTIONARY OF MUSIC (Four Nations 2019)

Andrew Appel, Four Nations Ensemble

Four Nations Ensemble’s 2-CD set explores lovely chamber music gems by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Bohm, Johann Casper Ferdinand Fischer, Pietro Locatelli, Francois Couperin, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, and Jean-Joseph Cassanea de Mondonville. The individual members of Four Nations Ensemble are such fine musicians, and their collaboration is a pleasure to hear.

To purchase the CD, click the link and fill out the form or send email to Andrew@fournations.org.

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MUSIQUE & MUSICIENS A WESTMINSTER DE TALLIS A BRITTEN (Harmonia Mundi HMX 2908552.53)

Various ensembles, including: Stile Antico, Fretwork, Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Collegium Vocale Gent, Academy of Ancient Music, Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, Rias Kammerchor

This 2016 recording is a cross-section of choral music connected to Westminster Abbey, through music and musicians in the 16th century through the 20th century. While it is not all baroque era music, it is an appealing celebration of the evolution of the choral tradition.

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