Bach: Harpsichord Concertos Part III Francesco Corti, Andrea Buccarella, il pomo doro

• Johann Sebastian Sebastian (1685 - 1750): Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Minor, BWV 1062:
• 1 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Minor, BWV 1062: I. - 03:23
• 2 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Minor, BWV 1062: II. Andante 05:38
• 3 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Minor, BWV 1062: III. Allegro assai 04:12
• Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Major, BWV 1061:
• 4 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Major, BWV 1061: I. - 06:39
• 5 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Major, BWV 1061: II. Adagio ovvero Largo 04:30
• 6 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Major, BWV 1061: III. Fuga. Vivace 04:59
• Harpsichord Concerto No. 8 in D Minor, BWV 1059 (Reconstr. F. Corti):
• 7 Sebastian: Harpsichord Concerto No. 8 in D Minor, BWV 1059 (Reconstr. F. Corti): I. Allegro 05:40
• 8 Sebastian: Harpsichord Concerto No. 8 in D Minor, BWV 1059 (Reconstr. F. Corti): II. Siciliana 03:42
• 9 Sebastian: Harpsichord Concerto No. 8 in D Minor, BWV 1059 (Reconstr. F. Corti): III. Presto 03:24
• Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Minor, BWV 1060:
• 10 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Minor, BWV 1060: I. Allegro 05:02
• 11 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Minor, BWV 1060: II Adagio 05:21
• 12 Sebastian: Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C Minor, BWV 1060: III. Allegro 03:18
• Total Runtime 55:48

Info for Bach: Harpsichord Concertos Part III

Francesco Corti and il pomo d’oro continue their acclaimed series of Bach harpsichord concertos, now moving to the works for two harpsichords, BWV 1060-1062, together with Andrea Buccarella. Compared to the previous two instalments, the accompanying ensemble is small, allowing for maximal transparency and focus on the soloists. The greatest discographic asset of this album is Corti’s arrangement of Bach’s unfinished concerto for harpsichord, oboe and strings in D Minor, BWV 1059. In his extensive contribution to the booklet, Corti explains why and how he used parts of Cantata BWV 35 to complete the score. Emmanuel Laporte performs the solo oboe.

Francesco Corti belongs to the most established harpsichordists of his generation, and releases his third PENTATONE Bach harpsichord concertos album, after releases in 2020 and 2021. He works together with the multi-award-winning ensemble il pomo d’oro, who also recorded three vocal recital albums with PENTATONE: Carnevale 1729 with Ann Hallenberg (2017), Prologue with Francesca Aspromonte (2018) and Handel – Apollo e Dafne & Armida abbandonata (2021). Andrea Buccarella and Emmanuel Laporte both make their PENTATONE debut.

"So is [Corti's reconstruction] a success? Listening to it here in context with three other authentic Bach concertos, I find myself not only accepting it at face value, but actually enjoying it more than the others. Corti’s sonic strategy works brilliantly." (BBC Music Magazine)

"There is no audible way of knowing who is who unless you happen to be following the score. So enjoyable is the music-making, however, that you’ll soon want to stop doing that and just listen." (Gramophone Magazine)

Francesco Corti, harpsichord
Andrea Buccarella, harpsichord
Emmanuel Laporte, oboe
Il Pomo d'Oro

Francesco Corti
Harpsichordist and conductor Francesco Corti was born in Arezzo, Italy, in a musical family in 1984. He studied organ in Perugia, then harpsichord in Geneva and in Amsterdam.

He was awarded at the International “Johann Sebastian Bach” Competition in Leipzig (2006) and at the Bruges Harpsichord Competition (2007).

As a soloist and conductor, he has appeared in recitals and concerts all over Europe, in the USA and Canada, in Latin America, in Asia and in New Zealand. He has been invited by festivals such as Mozart Woche and the Salzburger Festpiele, Musikfest Berlin, BachFest Leipzig, MusikFest Bremen, Utrecht Early Music Festival, Festival Radio France Montpellier. He has performed in halls such as Salle Pleyel and Thêatre des Champs Elysées (Paris), Bozar (Bruxelles), Konzerthaus (Vienna), Philharmonie (Berlin and Hamburg), Mozarteum and Haus für Mozart (Salzburg) and Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Teatro Real (Madrid), Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona). He’s a member of Les Musiciens du Louvre (Minkowski), Zefiro (Bernardini), the Bach Collegium Japan (Suzuki), Les Talens Lyriques (Rousset) and Le Concert des Nations (Savall).

Since 2018 he is principal guest conductor of il Pomo d’Oro. Among other projects with this ensemble, he has conducted European tours of Händel’s Orlando and Radamisto. His collaboration with Pomo d’Oro include numerous recordings. He is invited to lead Les Musiciens du Louvre, Tafelmusik, Freiburger Barockorchester, B’Rock and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. In 2021 he has conducted a new production of Händel’s Agrippina at the Royal Theater in Drottningholm (Stockholm, Sweden) and Monteverdi’s Combattimento in Cremona and Reggio Emilia (Italy). In 2022, he has conducted “Un Moto di Gioia. Mozart Concert Arias” staged by A. T. de Keersmaeker in Gent and Antwerpen (Belgium).

Starting January 2023, he will be musical director at the Drottningholm Royal Court Theater, where he will conduct a new production of Purcell’s Fairy Queen in August 2023.

His solo recordings include a CD of Louis Couperin Suites, the Partitas by J. S. Bach, Haydn Sonatas, the two piano quartets and the piano concerto K. 488 by Mozart, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solemnelle. Pentatone has recently published the first three volumes of Bach’s harpsichord concertos and Händel’s Apollo e Dafne with il Pomo d’Oro. His latest solo recordings (Arcana) “Bach: Little Books” and “Händel: Winged Hands” have received multiple awards and have been acclaimed by the international press. “Händel: Winged Hands” has been awarded a prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2022.

He has taught in masterclasses all over Europe, in Latin America and in Asia. Since September 2016, he is professor of harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Andrea Buccarella
Harpsichordist, organist and conductor, Andrea Buccarella is one of the most appreciated musicians and specialists for early music of his generation. He was born in Rome in 1987 and undertakes his first musical studies as Puer Cantor in the prestigious Sistine Chapel Choir (1997-2000). After obtaining the diploma in organ and organ composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, he graduates cum laude in harpsichord and historical keyboards under Enrico Baiano. He concludes his musical studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he achieves with full marks and distinction two Masters in harpsichord and historical keyboards, under the guidance of Andrea Marcon. In August 2018 he has been awarded the First Prize at the International harpsichord Competition Musica Antiqua Bruges, where he also won the Outhere Award, first Italian to have achieved these prizes in the history of the Bruges competition. An intense concert activity brought him to perform in important festivals and concert halls in Europe, the United States, Korea and Japan, both as a soloist on the harpsichord, organ and fortepiano, and as a conductor. In 2012 Andrea became the artistic director and conductor of Abchordis Ensemble. Since then, Andrea dedicated himself to a conscientious activity of research, aiming for the discovery of musical masterpieces of the past which are not performed in modern times, with special focus on the sacred, instrumental and operatic repertoire of 18th-century Italy. Under his guidance the Abchordis Ensemble won the First Prize at the International Händel Competition 2015 in Göttingen.

In September 2019 he released his debut album TOCCATA for the renowned label Ricercar (Outhere Music), which explores the history of the most emblematic form of Baroque music, from Claudio Merulo up to its apotheosis in Johann Sebastian Bach. Toccata has received high international critical acclaim and has been awarded with 5 stars on BBC Music Magazine (December 2019) and with the prestigious Diapason d’Or Découverte on Diapason Magazine (January 2020). Upcoming solo recordings include J.S. Bach’s Concerts for two harpsichords and strings BWV 1060-1062, with Francesco Corti and il Pomo d’Oro, J.S. Bach’s concert for 4 harpsichords and strings, with Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano, and the album FANTASIA, second chapter dedicated to musical forms for keyboards.

As conductor he has recorded for SONY Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (Stabat Mater and Dies Irae), Challenge Classics (Cieco Amor) and The Vivaldi Edition (Vivaldi, Cantate per Soprano I). Andrea has been invited to conduct several vocal and instrumental ensembles, including the Venice Baroque Orchestra, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, il Pomo d’Oro, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Kore Orchestra and others. In February 2020 he made his debut as conductor at the Musikverein Wien with the Venice Baroque Orchestra and Julia Lezhneva. In May 2022 he will conduct from the harpsichord J.S. Bach’s 6 Brandenburg Concerts BWV 1046-1051, on an Italian tour with the new European orchestra Frau Musika.

Booklet for Bach: Harpsichord Concertos Part III