Frescobaldi brilliantly combines improvisation and architecture. These qualities resonate with the discography of harpsichordist Christophe Rousset, whose choice of repertoire and interpretation are adventurous and serious at the same time. Frescobaldi’s counterpoint goes along with the finest art of singing, inherited from the Italian madrigal, and the flexibility of his language highlights the virtuosity of his compositions. Christophe Rousset recorded toccate and partite on a beautiful and original harpsichord of the late 16th century. Its sound faithfully testifies for the significant place of this First Book of harpsichord pieces in the nascent modernity of Frescobaldi. If the modal harmonies are still old-fashioned, the free beat and subtle melodies make it an indisputable baroque master, admired from Italy to France and Germany: Bach is said to have had a copy of his Fiori musicali! This new disc by Christophe Rousset reveals the first treasures composed specifically for the harpsichord. Its repertoire was served from the beginning by musicians whose expressive boldness recalls in a musical way Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro. © Aparté

Issued without advance notice 17 days after Kendrick Lamar's riveting 2016 Grammy Awards performance, untitled unmastered. consists of eight demos that are simply numbered and dated. Apart from segments previewed at the Grammys and late-night television appearances, there was no formal promotion. A postscript, it's (artfully) artless in presentation -- not even basic credits appear on the Army green liner card in the compact disc edition -- yet it's almost as lyrically and musically rich as To Pimp a Butterfly. The dates indicate that the majority of the material was made during the sessions for that album, and the presence of many of its players and vocalists is unmistakable. This was assembled with a high level of care that is immediately evident, its components sequenced to foster an easy listen. Track-to-track flow, however, is about the only aspect of this release that can be called smooth. After an intimate spoken intro from Bilal, the set segues into an urgent judgment-day scenario with squealing strings and a resounding bassline as Lamar confronts mortality and extinction with urgent exasperation. He observes terrifying scenes all the while sensing possible relief ("No more running from world wars," "No more discriminating the poor"). untitled unmastered. offers this and other variations on the connected themes of societal ills, faith, and survival that drove the output it follows, with Lamar at his best when countering proudly materialistic boasts with ever-striking acknowledgments of the odds perilously weighted against his people. Remarkably, this hits its stride in the second half. The stretch involves a rolling, ornamented retro-contemporary production from Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (with vocal assists from Bilal and Cee Lo Green), a stitched suite that is alternately stern and humorously off the cuff (featuring Egypt, five-year-old son of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, as co-producer and vocalist), and a finale of Thundercat-propelled funk. Even while coasting over the latter's breezy and smacking groove, Lamar fills the space with meaning, detailing a confrontation with sharp quips and stinging reprimands. While Lamar referred to these tracks as demos, and not one of them has the pop-soul appeal of "These Walls" or the Black Lives Matter protest-anthem potential of "Alright," untitled unmastered. is no mere offcut dump. It's as vital as anything else its maker has released.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

This new recording presents the complete unpublished works for harpsichord and organ, a collection of Toccatas, Canzonas, Correntes, Sonatas and Ricercares. With this release Roberto Loreggian completes his Frescobaldi odyssey. The son of an organist, he was born in the northern city of Ferrara into a wealthy family. His employer, the Duke Alfonso II d’Este was obsessed with music, and spent several hours a day listening, spending considerable financial resources into music making at court. Young Frescobaldi obviously thrived in this environment for he soon took up employment for the Duke of Mantua, and later became organist to the Medici in Florence from 1628-34. He then went even further by moving to Rome to work for the Barberini family of Pope Urban VIII. In this elite society he mingled with such names as Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Pietro da Cortona. Although Frescobaldi was influenced by numerous earlier composers such as the Neapolitans Ascanio Mayone and Giovanni Maria Trabaci and the Venetian Claudio Merulo, his music represents much more than a summary of its influences. Aside from his masterful treatment of traditional forms, Frescobaldi is important for his numerous innovations, particularly in the field of tempo: unlike his predecessors, he would include in his pieces sections in contrasting tempi, and some of his publications include a lengthy preface detailing tempo-related aspects of performance. Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) remained the organist at St. Pietro's in Rome for a good part of his life. A decade on from the release of this much praised, definitive edition, Loreggian has returned to Frescobaldi and gathered up many much less well-known pieces to be found in manuscript collections across Europe. In some cases these are alternative or earlier versions of published works. One hallmark of the Frescobaldi style is its restlessness, or appetite for change which speaks to our age even more than his own. Even within the established form of a given genre such as a toccata, Frescobaldi bends and stretches the rhetoric, leaps forward in harmony and holds back the phrase with a sophistication worthy of ancient rhetoricians such as Cicero. It follows naturally that these pieces were created in a method of continual transformation. While following the course of his compositional style invites the listener on a journey of more than academic interest, the appeal of this set resides no less in the sheer fertility of invention on offer. Frescobaldi always encouraged his performers to play with spontaneous freedom, a kind of liberated intensity, which requires complete immersion in the style and the world of this music to pull off successfully. Roberto Loreggian has taken a no less imaginative approach to his choice of instruments for this substantial projects, especially in the choice of organs. CDs 1 and 4 are recorded on a 1998 Zanin organ built for the Chiesa di S.Caterina, in Treviso; CDs 3 and 6 on a well preserved but spicily mean-toned instrument from 1565 in the Basilica palatina di Santa Barbara at Mantova. These are both large instruments, affording formidable weight as well as the high, bright stops which predominate in the registration of this music. The set is an essential acquisition for anyone with more than a passing interest in early keyboard music. © Brilliant Classics

The Bat for Lashes universe is one that is all its own. When seeking inspiration for the album, the British singer and producer Natasha Khan wrote and directed a short film. Put together between LA, London, her native Brighton, and Woodstock in New Jersey (where she has a home studio), the whole of The Bride will be performed in a very particular way, like the first singles, which were first performed live in churches. The album itself narrates the story of a woman who watches her husband die en route to their marriage, a theme that is sometimes particularly melancholy (Joe’s Dream). Between the overuse of reverb and lilting vocals, the album is nevertheless pretty and destabilising, which showcases the genuine artistic method that is at work. The producer Dan Carey (Nick Mulvey) and musician Ben Christophers have both supported Natasha Khan, to iron out the creases in this otherwise well-conceived whole.