Firstrate Ensemble Accompanied harpischord sonatas by Charles Avison - recommended by ROBERT ANDERSON '... both brilliant and sensitive ...'

As a lifelong admirer of Geminiani, Marcello, and Rameau, Avison tended to underplay the greatness of Handel, and was briskly dismissive in 1760 of recent musical imports: 'Sorry am I to instance the innumerable foreign Overtures, now pouring in upon us every Season, which are all involved in the same Confusion of stile.' Avison CDs are not yet outnumbering those of Handel on my shelves, but my respect for the works of this Newcastle composer increases by leaps and bounds. His writing for the harpsichord is both brilliant and sensitive, as readily recognised by Gary Cooper...

HARPSICHORD

UNITED KINGDOM