Byrd and the Bird
$40.00
Pre-order nowAvailable: Apr 24 add to cart
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Byrd and the Bird
Giovanni Antonini (recorder), Sheng-Fang Chiu (recorder)
[ Alpha Classics / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 24 April 2026
Pre-order your copy NOW!
Giovanni Antonini and Shen-Fang Chiu form a leading recorder duo who enjoy exploring varied and unexpected repertoires. This album is named after a piece composed by Giovanni Sollima in 2024: it pays tribute to William Byrd and combines the tenor recorder with the sopranino recorder, the perfect imitator of birdsong.
This programme spans the ages, from the art of diminution and improvisation in the 15th century to Bartók's duets from the 1930s - originally composed for two violins - via the refined duets of Jacques Hottetere in the 18th century and a sonata by Telemann from 1727.
Don't miss Nuovo ricercare No. 4 (1973) by Amico Dolci, child prodigy of the flute and son of the great sociologist and pacifist Danilo Dolci. The two instrumentalists have mischievously chosen to highlight this quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet: '[playing the recorder] is as easy as lying: control these holes with your fingers and thumb, blow with your mouth, and it will produce the most eloquent music...'
Tracks:
Béla Bartók - 44 Duos for 2 Violins, Sz. 98, BB 104: No. 35, Rutén Kolomejka
Anonymous - Aquila Altera
Béla Bartók - 44 Duos for 2 Violins, Sz. 98, BB 104: No. 11, Gyermekrengetéskor
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4 : Gravement - Gay
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4 : Allemande
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4 : Rondeau, Tendre. "Les Tourterelles". Gracieusement
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4 : Rondeau, Gay
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4 : Gigue
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4 : Passacaille
Jacob van Eyck - Der Fluyten Lust-Hof: Amarilli Mia Bella
Anonymous - Constantia
Béla Bartók - 44 Duos for 2 Violins, Sz. 98, BB 104: No. 31, Ujévköszöntő 4
Amico Dolci - Nuovo ricercare No. 4: I. Il Dialogo Cerca di Uscire dal Convenzionale
Amico Dolci - Nuovo ricercare No. 4: II. Con Astio Reciproco
Amico Dolci - Nuovo ricercare No. 4: III. Come Due Colori si Fondono in Uno
Amico Dolci - Nuovo ricercare No. 4: IV. Voci: La Prima Serena; La Seconda Pettegola, Tediosa
Béla Bartók - 44 Duos for 2 Violins, Sz. 98, BB 104: No. 10, Rutén Nóta
Anonymous - Indescort
John Baldwin - The Baldwin Commonplace Book, R.M.24.d.2: A Duo
Anonymous - Honte, Paour, Doubtance
Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata No. 5 in D Minor Op. 2, TWV 40:104: Largo
Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata No. 5 in D Minor Op. 2, TWV 40:104: Vivace
Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata No. 5 in D Minor Op. 2, TWV 40:104: Grazioso
Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata No. 5 in D Minor Op. 2, TWV 40:104: Allegro
Thomas Preston - Upon La Mi Re
Giovanni Sollima - Byrd and the bird
