Sinfonie e Concerti, Brescianello, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, David Plantier & Václav Luks, Harmonia Mundi France, HMC 905262 (2003)

Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello (1690-1758)
Concerti, Sinfonie, Ouverture
Sinfonia in F major for 2 violins, viola and basso continuo
Concerto in G minor for violin, oboe, strings and basso continuo


Concerto in E minor for violin, strings and basso continuo
Ouverture in G minor for 2 oboes, 2 violins, viola and basso continuo
Sinfonia in D major for 2 violins, viola and basso continuo
Concerto in Bb major for violin, bassoon, strings and basso continuo
Chaconne in A major for 2 violins, 2 violas and basso continuo
Brescianello comes from the time of an illustrious generation of composers active in the first half of the 18th century, being born a few years later than figures such as Bach, Handel, Telemann and Rameau. Hailing from Italy he spent much of his active career as the kapellmeister at the southwestern German Württemberg courts of Dukes Eberhard Ludwig and Karl Eugen in Stuttgart. The Baroque Concertos and Sinfonias (and a Chaconne) performed by La Cetra demonstrate Brescianiello’s command of music from his own country (there are certain echoes of Vivaldi, for example) and also of the French orchestral language in the tradition of German composers of the time. Much of Brescianello’s biographical origins and of his compositions has been lost, which has forcibly hindered previously either a full evaluation of his musical merits or merely placing him in the context of other Baroque luminaries.

(now in Glossa Catalogue)