Johann Kuhnau - Neuer Clavier-Ubung, Vol. 1 - Gabriele Micheli

Most known as the last Thomaskantor in Leipzig before Bach, Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722) was a man of many talents - composer, harpsichordist, theorist, writer and lawyer. As was later said of him, he "displayed an element of medieval universality and mastered music, law, theology, rhetoric, poetry, mathematics and foreign languages’ (Schering, 1926). "Scheibe put him alongside Handel, Keiser and Telemann as one of the major German composers before Hasse and the Grauns, and Mattheson, paying equal tribute to his musicianship and his erudition, claimed never to have known his like as composer, organist, chorus director and scholar. Among his pupils were such great figures as Fasch, Heinichen and Graupner.
Kuhnau's surviving music belongs to two categories: keyboard music, nearly all published by 1700, and sacred music, mostly cantatas and all of it unpublished. His secular vocal works are all lost. The Neue Clavier-Übung the first part of which (the one in major keys) is presented on this CD strongly influenced keyboard music of the time. As the title suggests, these compositions were meant primarily for his pupils, as exercises for very advanced practitioners.

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Giovan Battista Ferrini - Opere per Clavicembalo - Roberto Loreggian

A native of Florence, Giovan Battista Ferrini (c 1601-1674) also called "Giovanni della spinetta" is known as a Roman musician where he worked in different church establishements. He may be considered  as one of the more interesting Italian keyboad composers of the generation between Frescobaldi and Bernardo Pasquini, his main fault being that he left no printed works. Although he served as an organist as well, most of his "tabulatures" existing in manuscripts are thought to be written for the harpsichord or, indeed, spinet. These compositions fall into three categories - free improvisations (toccatas and tastate), dances and partitas on airs popular at the time.

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