Sharon Isbin Plays Baroque Favorites For Guitar

1	Lute (Chamber) Concerto,
2	Lute (Chamber) Concerto,
3	Lute (Chamber) Concerto,
4	Concerto for violin, stri
5	Concerto for violin, stri
6	Concerto for violin, stri
7	Adagio, for violin, strin
8	Guitar Concerto, for guit
9	Guitar Concerto, for guit
10	Guitar Concerto, for guit
11	Concerto for harpsichord,
12	Prelude for lute in C min
13	Cantata No. 147, "Herz un
Sharon Isbin Plays Baroque Favorites For Guitar
1.	Lute (Chamber) Concerto, for lute (or guitar), 2 violins & continuo in D major, RV 93 11:46
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Sharon Isbin and Zurich Chamber Orchestra
	Conducted by Howard Griffiths
	Additional Notes: arranged for guitar & chamber orchestra~arranged by Pujol, Emilio~edited by Isbin, Sharon
2.	Concerto for violin, strings & continuo No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041 13:45
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Sharon Isbin and Zurich Chamber Orchestra
	Conducted by Howard Griffiths
	Additional Notes: transcribed by Bergström, Mats~transcribed for guitar & orchestra~edited by Isbin, Sharon
3.	Adagio, for violin, strings & organ in G minor, T. Mi 26 (composed by Remo Giazotto; not by Albinoni) 7:57
	Composed by Tomaso Albinoni
	Performed by Sharon Isbin and Zurich Chamber Orchestra
	Conducted by Howard Griffiths
	Additional Notes: arranged by Duarte, John~arranged for guitar & orchestra
4.	Guitar Concerto, for guitar, strings & continuo in A major (arranged from Trio Sonata in C major, RV 82) 10:22
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Sharon Isbin and Zurich Chamber Orchestra
	Conducted by Howard Griffiths
	Additional Notes: arranged for guitar & chamber orchestra~arranged by Pujol, Emilio~edited by Isbin, Sharon
5.	Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056: Adagio 2:56
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Sharon Isbin and Zurich Chamber Orchestra
	Conducted by Howard Griffiths
	Additional Notes: transcribed for guitar & chamber orchestra~transcribed by Tureck, Rosalyn
6.	Prelude for lute in C minor, BWV 999 (BC L171) 2:16
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Sharon Isbin
7.	Cantata No. 147, "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben," BWV 147 (BC A174): Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring 2:56
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Sharon Isbin and Zurich Chamber Orchestra
	Conducted by Howard Griffiths
	Additional Notes: arranged for guitar & chamber orchestra~arranged by Duarte, John

Barnes & Noble

Baroque music is a specialty of Sharon Isbin's (she studied for a decade with the pianist and Bach scholar Rosalyn Tureck), and so this disc of popular works by Vivaldi, Bach, and Albinoni is especially welcome. As anyone who has heard her many fine recordings knows, Isbin is a superb guitarist, and the many qualities one admires in her playing -- the wide range of colors, the crisp articulation, the warmth of tone, and her winning way with a melodic line -- are fully on display here. She offers transcriptions of concertos by Vivaldi and Bach, along with shorter gems, including Albinoni's famous Adagio, Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" from Cantata 147, and the beautiful Adagio from Bach's F Minor Keyboard Concerto, which features some stylish ornamentation from the guitarist. Isbin brightens her tone in the graceful fast movements, while in the slow, lyrical passages, she responds with a lighter touch and some memorably delicate and eloquent playing. Clear, full sound and sensitive support from the Zurich Chamber Orchestra complete this first-rate recording. Don't hesitate to pick it up. EJ Johnson

All Music Guide

The "Baroque Favorites for Guitar" title of this CD implies that it might be a greatest-hits compilation or a collection of tunes aimed at newcomers to classical music, and the presence of the not-really-Albinoni "Adagio" among the contents reinforces this impression. In fact, it is nothing of the sort. It is the product of a long study on Isbin's part (of course, this isn't the kind of detail the marketing department is looking for!), study that has resulted in quite distinctive music making. The album includes mostly transcribed concertos, with a few solo works. Isbin worked with Bach pianist Rosalyn Tureck, learning about Baroque ornamentation and devising ways to transfer keyboard practices idiomatically to the guitar. Tureck did one transcription here (of the Adagio from Bach's "Keyboard Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056"); others were done by Isbin and her student Mats Bergstrom. They are highly effective, restrained, unsentimental renderings that display Bach's contrapuntal lines with maximum clarity. For two Vivaldi concertos that included lute parts, Isbin turns to arrangements by Catalan guitarist Emilio Pujol; they deliver real melodic lushness while allowing Isbin room to apply ornamentation lessons learned. The accompaniment by the Zürcher Kammerorchester hangs discreetly in the background like a well-trained butler. Is Sharon Isbin a has-been? Not from the evidence of this fine disc -- she seems instead to be breaking new ground as a performer. James Manheim