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Track(s) taken from CDH55005

Concerto per quartetto No 1 in F minor

composer

European Union Chamber Orchestra, Eivind Aadland (conductor)
Recording details: March 1988
Il Palazzo Gangi, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Produced by Ben Turner
Engineered by Tryggvi Tryggvason
Release date: April 1989
Total duration: 10 minutes 16 seconds
 

Reviews

‘Stylishly played and naturally recorded … I urge you to share the pleasure I have had from this record’ (Gramophone)

‘Elegant listening’ (American Record Guide)
Francesco Durante (born Frattamaggiore 1684, died Naples 1755) was a pupil of Alessandro Scarlatti at the Conservatorio di San Onofrio, but also studied at Rome under Pasquini. His compositions combine the severe style of the Roman school with the melodic imagination of the Neapolitan. Most of his works are sacred, many surviving only in manuscript, and during his life little was published. Yet this F minor Concerto Grosso fully reveals Durante’s talents, and indeed bears comparison with the best examples of Handel and Corelli. Each movement captures a mood by the tension of unexpected harmonies and instrumental colours. Already the opening chromaticisms are ominous, then the double fugue is vivid in its rhythms and sequences. The mood of the fourth movement is plaintively romantic in its use of a solo quartet and the finale, while simple in texture, is rich in tension.

from notes by Hyperion Records Ltd © 1988

Élève d’Alessandro Scarlatti au Conservatorio di San Onofrio, Francesco Durante (Frattamaggiore, 1684– Naples, 1755) étudia également à Rome auprès de Pasquini. Ses compositions, qui combinent le style austère de l’école romaine à l’imagination mélodique de l’école napolitaine, sont, pour la plupart, sacrées—beaucoup ne survivent que sous forme manuscrite, très peu ayant été publiées de son vivant. Pourtant, le présent Concerto grosso en fa mineur, qui donne la pleine mesure des talents de Durante, soutient la comparaison avec les meilleurs exemples de Haendel et de Corelli. Chaque mouvement capture une atmosphère par la tension d’harmonies et de couleurs instrumentales inattendues. Déjà, les chromatismes initiaux sont menaçants, puis la double fugue apparaît, avec ses séquences et ses rythmes éclatants. L’atmosphère du quatrième mouvement est plaintivement romantique dans son usage d’un quatuor solo, tandis que le final est simple de texture, mais riche en tension.

extrait des notes rédigées par Hyperion Records Ltd © 1988

Francesco Durante (geb. 1684 in Frattamaggiore, gest. 1755 in Neapel) war ein Schüler Alessandro Scarlattis am Conservatorio di San Onofrio, hat aber auch in Rom unter Pasquini studiert. Seine Kompositionen verbinden den strengen Stil der römischen Schule mit dem melodischen Einfallsreichtum der neapolitanischen. Durante schrieb vorwiegend Sakralwerke, die oft nur als Manuskript erhalten sind, denn zu seinen Lebzeiten wurde kaum eines publiziert. Das Concerto Grosso in f-Moll bringt sein Können jedoch bestens zur Geltung und hält sogar dem Vergleich mit den besten einschlägigen Werken von Händel und Corelli stand. Jeder Satz fängt dank der Spannung überraschender Harmonien und instrumentaler Klangfarben eine bestimmte Stimmung ein. Schon die einleitende Chromatik gibt sich ominös, und die anschließende Doppelfuge steckt voller lebendiger Rhythmen und Sequenzen. Die Stimmung des vierten Satzes, in dem ein Soloquartett zum Einsatz kommt, ist leidvoll romantisch, und das Finale mag strukturell schlicht sein, wirkt jedoch ausgesprochen spannungsreich.

aus dem Begleittext von Hyperion Records Ltd © 1988

Francesco Durante (1684–1755), allievo di Alessandro Scarlatti al conservatorio di Sant’Onofrio, studiò anche a Roma con il Pasquini. Le sue composizioni musicali mescolano lo stilo severo della scuola romana alla fantasia melodica della napoletana. Scrisse per la maggior parte musica sacra, molta della quale sopravvive solo in forma di manoscritto. In vita pubblicò poco. Questo concerto grosso in fa minore ne rivela comunque tutto il talento, e regge anzi il confronto con i migliori esempi della produzione di Haendel e di Gorelli. Ogni movimento cattura uno stato d’animo per la tensione delle armonie inaspettate e dei colori strumentali. Già in apertura i cromatismi sono sinistri; poi la doppia fuga è vivida di ritmi e di sequenze, l’umore del quarto movimento si fa languidamente romantico nel suo impiego di un assolo di quartetto, ed il finale, pur semplice nella tessitura, è denso di tensione.

Hyperion Records Ltd © 1988

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