Charles Avison: 12 Concerti Grossi (1994)

Charles Avison's concertos after Domenico Scarlatti -- often referred to as the "Avison Scarlatti concerti" -- are a landmark in British music. It's sometimes hard to get a grip on what makes them Avison, and indeed, in older recordings, one can find them accredited to Scarlatti alone with Avison merely indicated as an arranger, if at all -- certainly they have unjustly overshadowed Avison's own, very fine, original concerti. Despite his industrious achievement in producing keyboard sonatas, Scarlatti never composed a ... Read More

Charles Avison's concertos after Domenico Scarlatti -- often referred to as the "Avison Scarlatti concerti" -- are a landmark in British music. It's sometimes hard to get a grip on what makes them Avison, and indeed, in older recordings, one can find them accredited to Scarlatti alone with Avison merely indicated as an arranger, if at all -- certainly they have unjustly overshadowed Avison's own, very fine, original concerti. Despite his industrious achievement in producing keyboard sonatas, Scarlatti never composed a single concerto -- Avison made this set of 12 by arranging and adapting Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas and through adding movements of his own -- they really should be considered original works of Avison, as here, but there are still plenty strands of Scarlatti DNA in the mix. No matter how you "splice" it, just about the best recording ever offered of the Avison/Scarlatti is this exceptionally fine one by Roy Goodman and the Brandenburg Consort for Hyperion, made yet more attractive... Read Less