The release of this set of Sonatas sees the completion of the recording of all of Charles Avison’s orchestral and chamber works. All have received excellent critical acclaim. The Opus 5 Sonatas were written in 1756 and Opus 7 in 1760 and influences of Rameau and Corelli are evident, amongst others. It can be said that Avison’s sonatas are a true gem of eighteenth century music and firmly reinforce the claim that he was one of the most important native British composers in that century.

Comprised of some of Europe’s leading musicians and soloists, the Avison Ensemble performs works from the baroque and early classical periods.

The Ensemble is unique in having its own composer, along with a substantial repertoire of his music, as yet unperformed in modern times. Miraculously they have added to this repertoire with the recent acquisition of two of Avison’s original workbooks, which contain many unpublished works by Avison and other 18th century composers.

The Ensemble have chosen to perform on period instruments in order to recreate as closely as possible the distinctive ’sound world’ that Charles Avison would have known. For more details please visit www.avisonensemble.com

This recording features Gary Cooper (harpsichord), Pavlo Beznosiuk and Caroline Balding (violins) and Robin Michael (cello).



Other albums in our Avison series: DA1210   DA1211   DA1213   DA1214