# Some more baroque I may enjoy please?



## FPwtc (Dec 3, 2014)

I am going through a baroque phase and listening to Albinoni, Bach, Handel, Corelli and Telemann. Beyond these heavyweights are there any other interesting composers in a similar vein I may enjoy please? I prefer instrumental to vocal music. 

Thanks!


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Not my area of expertise, but I'd try Heinichen.


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

This is my area of expertise. Both Scarlattis are great. The elder for his concertos and operas, the younger almost entirely for his hundreds of keyboard sonatas. Try Count Unico van Wassenaer. He studied with Corelli and wrote what were, in my opinion, some of the greatest Concerti of the baroque. For many, many years his concerti were thought to be by Pergolesi. Try also Schieferdecker's Suites. They're freakin' amazing, only recently recorded, and largely better, IMHO, than many of the orchestral suites by Telemann. He married Buxtehude's daughter (who had been "offered" to JS Bach). There's also the various British baroque composers starting with Purcell and the composers who followed on Händel's coat tails---William Boyce especially. Some of the earlier works by Quantz are still very steeped in the Baroque (before King Frederick forbade polyphony among his musicians), like his recently discovered Flute Quartets. They are high baroque masterpieces. (He studied with Vivaldi I think). There's also Fasch. Bach actually listed Fasch as a composer whom he admired. His compositions are always of a high quality and sometimes he nails it.

There's also Gottfried Heinrich Stözel. A really amazing composer who is as high baroque as you could possibly get without being a JS Bach. Bach was said to have spoken favorably of Stözel.






Also Sylvius Leopold Weiss, as close as you could get to JS Bach on the Lute. There are dozens of Lute Suites by Weiss and they are all beautiful---works of genius really. Bach arrranged one of Weiss's suites for Trio and the work was long thought to be by JS Bach. It was said that Weiss used to visit Bach and had friendly musical competitions with him.

Check back in if you need more....


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

I found Heinrich Biber a trip. Here is his Battalia a 10.






You should also try some Rameau.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

It's not my preferred era either but in addition to the names mentioned in the OP I rather like the ten _Nouveaux concerts/Les goûts réunis_ by François Couperin (by 1724):


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

A nice discovery of mine one year ago was the german Johann Fux. He's the famous writer of _Gradus ad Parnassum_, and his polyphonic music instantly appealed to me.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I noticed Vivaldi absent from your list. I am very partial to Pinnock's Vivaldi:


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## Gallus (Feb 8, 2018)

Purcell, Purcell, Purcell


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Louis Couperin is my favorite French baroque composer with Rameau a close second.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

FPwtc said:


> I am going through a baroque phase and listening to Albinoni, Bach, Handel, Corelli and Telemann. Beyond these heavyweights are there any other interesting composers in a similar vein I may enjoy please? I prefer instrumental to vocal music.
> 
> Thanks!


instrumental baroque?
Biber - The Rosary Sonatas + Harmonia artificiosa
Purcell - Fantasias for Viols
Pachelbel - Hexachordum Apollinis
Rameau - harpsichord music
Couperin - Pieces de clavecin
Froberger - harpsichord music
Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre - harpsichord music


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

If you're looking for more solo instrumental works Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini wrote a plethora of violin sonatas. You might very well have already heard the Devil's Trill Sonata.


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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

Another English contemporary of Handel, John Stanley, probably bets known for his organ voluntaries but he also composed organ and Harpsichord concerti, and violin and flute sonatas. Many of these works are on youtube but his vocal/choral works don't appear to have been recorded.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

No-one has mentioned Zelenka yet but if Baroque choral music is your thing he has much to offer. Or how about moving to the Baroque-Classical interface - CPE Bach. Or ... OK, you have heard the big hitters (Bach, Handel, Telemann etc) but how much of their music have you heard. They wrote a lot and much of it is very worthwhile.


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## FPwtc (Dec 3, 2014)

Thanks so much for all these fantastic suggestions!!


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

FPwtc said:


> Thanks so much for all these fantastic suggestions!!


though I would not limit myself to instrumental only, since some of the best baroque music is vocal. I would definitely recommend to at least try
Pergolesi - Stabat Mater
Purcell - King Arthur + Fairy Queen
Biber - Missa Bruxellensis + Missa Salisburgensis 
Zelenka - Requiem in C + his 6 masses
Lully - Grand motets + Armide
Rameau - Les Boréades
Charpentier - spiritual music
etc


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Obviously Vivaldi ahead of all others. Here are a few pieces I'd recommend:

"Alla Rustica" violin concerto RV 151
Concerto for Violin and Cello RV 547
Concerto for 2 Violins and Cello RV 565
Concerto Grosso in D RV 562a/P. 444 (preferably the latter from Marriner)
Flute Concertos Op. 10 
Four Seasons 
Gloria RV 589
Dixit Dominus RV 594
Dominae ad adjuvandum me RV 593

There are scores of others as well.

Purcell Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary


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## FPwtc (Dec 3, 2014)

vtpoet said:


> This is my area of expertise. Both Scarlattis are great. The elder for his concertos and operas, the younger almost entirely for his hundreds of keyboard sonatas. Try Count Unico van Wassenaer. He studied with Corelli and wrote what were, in my opinion, some of the greatest Concerti of the baroque. For many, many years his concerti were thought to be by Pergolesi. Try also Schieferdecker's Suites. They're freakin' amazing, only recently recorded, and largely better, IMHO, than many of the orchestral suites by Telemann. He married Buxtehude's daughter (who had been "offered" to JS Bach). There's also the various British baroque composers starting with Purcell and the composers who followed on Händel's coat tails---William Boyce especially. Some of the earlier works by Quantz are still very steeped in the Baroque (before King Frederick forbade polyphony among his musicians), like his recently discovered Flute Quartets. They are high baroque masterpieces. (He studied with Vivaldi I think). There's also Fasch. Bach actually listed Fasch as a composer whom he admired. His compositions are always of a high quality and sometimes he nails it.
> 
> There's also Gottfried Heinrich Stözel. A really amazing composer who is as high baroque as you could possibly get without being a JS Bach. Bach was said to have spoken favorably of Stözel.
> 
> ...


This is fantastic! Thanks very much all of these wonderful sounds


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## FPwtc (Dec 3, 2014)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I noticed Vivaldi absent from your list. I am very partial to Pinnock's Vivaldi:


Oh yes I love Vivaldi! How could I miss him out?


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Legrenzi - De Lalande - Leclair - Clerambault - Saint Colombe


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## Ras (Oct 6, 2017)

*Johann Friedrich Fasch*



FPwtc said:


> I am going through a baroque phase and listening to Albinoni, Bach, Handel, Corelli and Telemann. Beyond these heavyweights are there any other interesting composers in a similar vein I may enjoy please? I prefer instrumental to vocal music.


I like these recordings of the German Baroque composer Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758):


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## Ras (Oct 6, 2017)

*F. Barsanti*

I like these two recordings of the Italian Baroque compser Francesco Barsanti (1690-1772):


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## Ras (Oct 6, 2017)

Art Rock said:


> Not my area of expertise, but I'd try Heinichen.


Goes well with Heineken!


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## FPwtc (Dec 3, 2014)

Wow so much good stuff, my list gets longer


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

Art Rock said:


> Not my area of expertise, but I'd try Heinichen.


I heartily second Johann David Heinichen. Listen to the Reinhard Goebel: Musica Antiqua Köln recordings of his Concerti. Archiv: 437 549-2










Available to listen on Spotify here:


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

^ that's the one I have.


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

I agree that Antonio Vivaldi is the most glaring omission on your list. I'd suggest that you try the following music:

1. "L'Estro Armonico" 12 Concertos, Op. 3--there are four recordings that I've especially liked, but Ottavio Dantone's set is at the top of my list of favorites:

--Accademia Bizantina, with violinist Stefano Montanari, led by Ottavio Dantone: 




--The English Concert, led by Trevor Pinnock:









--Ensemble 415, led by violinist Chiara Banchini (selected L'Estro Armonico concerti for 4 violins): 




--L'Europa Galante, led by violinist Fabio Biondi: 




2. Le Quattro Stagioni, or The Four Seasons: There have been so many exceptional recordings, it's difficult to choose just one. Here are the period performances that have been my favorites over the years:

--Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca, led by violinist Giuliano Carmignola, on the Divox Antiqua label: 



. By the way, the Vivaldi series by Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca on Divox Antiqua is excellent and worth collecting. Some listeners, like myself, prefer Carmignola's Divox recordings to his later Vivaldi recordings for Sony, but there are some real gems in the Sony series, too (such as Carmignola's two CDs of Vivaldi's late violin concertos, with the Venice Baroque Orchestra under Andrea Marcon). He has also made some excellent Vivaldi recordings for DG Archiv (see below). (In addition, if you find that you like Sonateri de la Gioiosa Marca in Vivaldi, you may be interested in their most recent "Vivaldi in the Mirror" release: 



.)

--The English Concert, led by Trevor Pinnock: 




--The Academy of Ancient Music, led by Christopher Hogwood (with each season played by a different violinist): 




For less conservative period performances,

--Drottingholm Baroque Ensemble, led by violinist Nils-Erik Sparf, on the BIS label: 




--La Serenissima, led by Adrian Chandler: 




Lastly, I've liked two modern instrument recordings of The Four Seasons, if you find that you don't especially care for the sound of period instruments:

--Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, led by violinist Iona Brown: I've most liked Brown's earlier Philips recording, which I prefer to her later Hännsler recording--though that one is very good too, but not as great, IMO: 



.

--Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, with violinist Alan Loveday, led by Sir Neville Marriner--a classic: 




Of course, there are many more excellent recordings of The Four Seasons, I could go on ...

3. Double Concerti, Concerti per vari strumenti, and Concerti con molti strumenti:

--Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, with violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock, etc., led by Nicholas McGegan: 



. This is one of my favorite Vivaldi discs: https://www.amazon.com/Vivaldi-Dive...enstock+mcgegan&qid=1579292730&s=music&sr=1-1

--Ensemble Zefiro, led by Alfredo Bernardini: This is another favorite Vivaldi disc: 




--Ensemble Zefiro, Oboe & Bassoon Concerti: 




--L'Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi--volume 1: 



--L'Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi--volume 2: 




--La Serenissima, led by Adrian Chandler:










On modern instruments:

--6 Double Concertos, played by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, led by Sir Neville Marriner: 




--Guitar Concertos, Los Romeros & the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, led by Iona Brown (these concerti were originally composed by Vivaldi for the mandolin): 




4. I Concerti di Dresda (more concerti con multi istromenti)--Concerti written for Vivaldi's pupil, Johann Pisendel, and his Dresden Hofkapelle (an early version of the Staatskapelle Dresden): These are among Vivaldi's most underrated works, IMO. There have been a number of excellent recordings that I've liked:

--The English Concert, led by Trevor Pinnock--this is a favorite Vivaldi CD of mine (& it is included in the Pinnock Vivaldi bargain box set):













--Freiburger Barockorchester, led by Gottried von der Goltz: 




--Les Ambassadeurs, led by Alexis Kossenko: 




(Plus, there's an Ensemble Zefiro CD of music by multiple Baroque composers that worked in Dresden, in addition to Vivaldi: 



.)

5. Concerti for two violins:

--Gli Incogniti, with violinists Giuliano Carmignola & Amadine Beyer--this is one of my favorite Vivaldi recordings of recent years: 



. Plus, Carmignola has recorded more of the concerti for two violins with violinist Viktoria Mullova on the DG Archiv label, and that CD is equally worthwhile:





https://www.amazon.com/Vivaldi-Doub...+vivaldi+archiv&qid=1579289066&s=music&sr=1-1
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Mar09/Vivaldi_Mullova_4777466.htm

--Il Pomo d'Oro, with violinists Riccardo Minasi & Dmitry Sinkovsky: 




--Aston Magna, with violinists Stanley Ritchie & Jaap Schröder: This was one of my favorite Vivaldi recordings on LP back in the 1980s, but the older CD may need a new remastering now, I'm not sure...?, though the original sound engineering was excellent: https://www.amazon.com/2-Concerti-Sonatas-Antonio-Vivaldi/dp/B000009HYR

6. 6 Violin Concerti, Op. 11:

--Academy of Ancient Music, with violinist Stanley Ritchie, led by Christopher Hogwood--this is my favorite Vivaldi recording from Hogwood & the AAM:





https://www.amazon.com/Vivaldi-Violin-Concerti-Op-11/dp/B00000E546

7. 12 Violin Concerti, "La Cetra", Op. 9:

--The Raglan Players, with violinist Monica Huggett, led by Nicholas Kraemer: 



--Holland Baroque, led by violinist Rachel Podger: 




8) 12 Violin Concertos, "La Stravaganza", Op. 4, nos. 1-12:

--Arte Dei Suonatori, led by violinist Rachel Podger::








(By the way, Arte Dei Suonatori has recorded an excellent set of Handel's 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, with Martin Gester, on the BIS label, which I'd strongly recommend: not only for the performances, but as essential Baroque music, if you don't know these works: https://www.amazon.com/Handel-Concerti-Grossi-Op-6/dp/B001B3HDK0. Speaking of which, you should definitely try to hear Arcangelo Corelli's 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, as well: 



, plus Corelli's beautiful Violin Sonatas: Op. 5: 



 and 



, if you haven't already.)
--Modo Antiquo, led by Federico Maria Sardelli, with violinist Anton Martynov: 



. (Btw, Modo Antiquo has also recently made an excellent recording of Corelli's Op. 6, which is a bit less conservative than Pinnock's 'classic' Op. 6: 



--The English Concert, led by Trevor Pinnock: 




For future reference: other groups that have made excellent Vivaldi recordings include L'Arte dell'Arco, led by Ferderico Guglielmo, La Magnifica Comunità, led by Enrico Casazza: 



, and the Imaginarium Ensemble, led by violinist Enrico Onofri: 



.

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/vivaldi-le-passioni-delluomo
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org/cd_reviews/dhm_88697767592.html

The excellent Vivaldi series put out by the Naive label is well worth exploring, too (& I've already mentioned some CDs from Naive's Vivaldi Edition above).

ETC.

I'm sure there is some overlapping of specific works among the various recordings that I've listed above, so you'll have to sort all that out, if you become interested in purchasing any of the recordings after listening to them.

II. Besides Vivaldi, I recommend the music of the following composers:

1. Eustache du Caurroy--Fantasies (instrumental): Du Caurroy is a very underrated French composer, who was an important bridge between the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras: 




2. Jan Dismas Zelenka: 6 Trio Sonatas for 2 Oboes, Bassoon & Continuo--for me, the 1st choice here is a toss up between (1) Ensemble Zefiro's set, on Arcana, and (2) Paul Dombrecht, Chiara Banchani & co., on Glossa (originally released by Accent):

--Ensemble Zefiro, part 1:



--Ensemble Zefiro, part 2: 



https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Dismas-Z...dismas+zelenka&qid=1579293842&s=music&sr=1-12

--Paul Dombrecht & co.:




https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Dismas-Z...dismas+zelenka&qid=1579293981&s=music&sr=1-29

However, the period recordings by Collegium 1704, led by Vaclav Luks, and Ensemble Marsyas, led by Monica Huggett: 



, are very good, too. (Otherwise, the Zelenka series from Il Fondamento, and Collegium 1704, are worth exploring.)

To make the choice even more difficult, there have been two excellent recordings of Zelenka's Trio Sonatas on modern instruments, as well:
https://www.amazon.com/Zelenka-Trio...ger+zelenka+ecm&qid=1579294829&s=music&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Dismas-Z...+dismas+zelenka&qid=1579293842&s=music&sr=1-5

3. Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber--Die Rosenbranz-Sonaten, or "The Mystery (or Rosary) Sonatas" for violin:

--Musica Antiqua Koln, led by violinist Reinhold Goebel:








https://www.amazon.com/Biber-Myster...=music&sprefix=biber+music,popular,176&sr=1-9

The entire Biber series from Musica Antiqua Köln on Archiv is excellent, and has been boxed--although I see the once bargain set has become pricier on Amazon, unfortunately: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FTNC2AE/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

4. Johann Heinrich Schmelzer--yet another exceptional Baroque composer whose music is well worth exploring:









https://www.amazon.com/Solo-Violin-...hann+schmelzer&qid=1579295296&s=music&sr=1-17

5. Henry Purcell, Fantasias for Viols: I'd recommend that you sample from the following three recordings, in order to find out which one you like best:

--Hesperion XX, led by Jordi Savall: 



--Fretwork: 



--Phantasm: 




ETC.

Well, that should keep you busy for a good while. I hope that you make some wonderful discoveries from my above list.


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