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JANSMUSIC RECOMMENDED RECORDING

The Georgian Concert - Charles Avison: Concerti from Opus 9
Divine Art 2-4108
No.1 in G; No.9 in C minor; No.7 in E flat; No.8 in B flat; No.4 in G minor; No.6 in E minor

This CD has already been reviewed very highly in the music press, and I find myself having to agree with the general consensus.  The first adjective I can find to describe this recording is "precise".  The playing is incredibly precise, with an almost telepathic relationship between the players.

I wonder why Avison isn't more well-known? - he could certainly write music! Although I don't know any of his other works, so maybe these are the only shining stars in his catalogue (I'm happy to be corrected). Avison organised subscription concerts in Newcastle and Durham - what better opportunity to try out your own music.  Apparently he wrote around 60 concerti.

They are very simple in orchestration, all quite short - movements rarely exceeding 3 minutes.  They have been grouped together quite nicely on the CD, both in instrumentation (harpsichord for the first 3, organ for the rest) and in terms of key relationship. Avison liked to use his whole palette when composing, varying instrumentation, texture, mood to create an exquisite collection of concerti, but what is really special about this CD is the performance.  The faster movements, such as track 3, the allegro of Concerto 1, simply bounce along with a sense of rhythm so perfect that you could set a metronome by them, while the slower movements have some lovely drawn out suspensions.  It's a recording full of life, which brings out the individual characters of each movement - the lilting arias that end 3 of the concerti, the playful allegros and the lighthearted minuets.