Fernando De Luca - Greene: Overtures & Lessons: Boyce: Voluntaries (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Overture I in D Major: I. Allegro Assai
02. Overture I in D Major: II. Andante
03. Overture I in D Major: III. Vivace
04. Overture II in G Major: I. (Andante) - Allegro
05. Overture II in G Major: II. Andante
06. Overture II in G Major: III. Allegro
07. Overture III in C Major: I. (Andante)
08. Overture III in C Major: II. Allegro Assai
09. Overture III in C Major: III. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
10. Overture IV in E Major: I. Con Spirito
11. Overture IV in E Major: II. Allegro
12. Overture IV in E Major: III. Moderato Allegro
13. Overture V in D Major: I. Allegro
14. Overture V in D Major: II. Andante Vivace
15. Overture V in D Major: III. Presto
16. Overture Vi in E-Flat Major: I. Con Spirito
17. Overture Vi in E-Flat Major: II. Allegro
18. Overture Vi in E-Flat Major: III. Moderato Presto
19. Lesson I in G Major: I. Allegro
20. Lesson I in G Major: II. Allegro
21. Lesson I in G Major: III. Vivace
22. Lesson I in G Major: IV. Allegro
23. Lesson II in D Major: I. Allegro
24. Lesson II in D Major: II. Andante
25. Lesson II in D Major: III. Allegro
26. Lesson III in G Minor: I. Vivace
27. Lesson III in G Minor: II. Allegro
28. Lesson III in G Minor: III. Tempo Di Gavotta
29. Lesson IV in C Minor: I. Presto
30. Lesson IV in C Minor: II. Vivace
31. Lesson IV in C Minor: III. Allegro
32. Lesson IV in C Minor: IV. Allegro
33. Lesson V in F Major: I. Allegro
34. Lesson V in F Major: II. Andante Vivace
35. Lesson V in F Major: III. Allegro
36. Lesson Vi in B-Flat Major: I. Allegro
37. Lesson Vi in B-Flat Major: II. Minueto Allegro - Vivace (Da Capo)
38. Lesson VII in F Major: I. Molto Allegro
39. Lesson VII in F Major: II. Allegro
40. Lesson VII in F Major: III. Andante
41. Lesson VII in F Major: IV. Allegro
42. Lesson VIII in D Minor: I. Aria Con Variationi
43. Lesson IX in F Major: I. Allegro
44. Lesson IX in F Major: II. Andante
45. Lesson IX in F Major: III. Allegro
46. Lesson X in A Minor: I. Allegro
47. Lesson X in A Minor: II. Vivace
48. Lesson X in A Minor: III. Molto Allegro
49. Lesson XI in A Major: I. Aria Con Variationi
50. Lesson XI in A Major: II. Andante
51. Lesson XI in A Major: III. Allegro
52. Lesson XI in A Major: IV. Allegro
53. Lesson XII in E Major: I. Allegro
54. Lesson XII in E Major: II. Vivace
55. Lesson XII in E Major: III. Aria Con Variationi
56. Lesson XIII in E-Flat Major: I. Allegro
57. Lesson XIII in E-Flat Major: II. Vivace
58. Lesson XIII in E-Flat Major: III. Allegro
59. Lesson XIII in E-Flat Major: IV. Allegro
60. Lesson XIV in C Major: I. Allegro
61. Lesson XIV in C Major: II. Vivace
62. Lesson XIV in C Major: III. Allegro
63. Lesson XV in F Major: I. Allegro
64. Lesson XV in F Major: II. Allegro
65. Lesson XV in F Major: III. Allegro
66. Voluntary I in A Major. Andante - Vivace
67. Voluntary II in F Minor. Largo - Andante
68. Voluntary III in A Minor. Largo - Andante
69. Voluntary IV in G Minor. Grave - Andante
70. Voluntary V in G Major. Andante - Vivace
71. Voluntary Vi in B-Flat Major. Andante - Vivace
72. Voluntary VII in E-Flat Major. Largo - Vivace
73. Voluntary VIII in C Minor. Largo - Vivace
74. Voluntary IX in E Minor. Largo - Andante
75. Voluntary X in D Minor. Largo - Andante
76. Voluntary XI in B Minor. Largo - Vivace
77. Voluntary XII in E Major. Largo - Vivace

A first-ever complete recording for keyboard collections which capture the elegance and cosmopolitan style of Georgian-era English music.
Maurice Greene (1696-1755) belongs to the generation that followed Henry Purcell and preceded Handel. Becoming organist of St Paul’s Cathedral in 1719, and in 1735 organist and composer to the Chapel Royal, he wrote a good deal of church music which is still in use today: memorably simple but effective anthems such as Thou visitest the earth and Lord, let me know mine end.
Much less well known – and most of it previously unrecorded – is Greene’s corpus of instrumental music. Published in 1745, his Six Overtures in Seven Parts alternate a slow and solemn French-style overture with fugal Allegros and elegant dance movements such as Minuets, Gavottes or Airs. The original orchestral scores have recently attracted a recording: Fernando De Luca has made his own arrangements for solo harpsichord, following a long-standing practice and retaining the essential exuberance of the Overtures while inflecting them with refined dynamic shading.
Rarer still are the 15 keyboard ‘Lessons’: Italianate suites which bear witness to a transition from the contrapuntal Baroque style to a more Galant idiom, under the influence of Italian exemplars such as Corelli and Geminiani, as well as the seductive charms of French culture which captivated the upper end of Georgian culture and society.
William Boyce (1711-1779) studied with Greene and followed in the footsteps of his teacher by attaining the same distinguished posts at St Paul’s and the Chapel Royal. Again principally known for his church music, he also wrote a collection of overtures which have retained popularity on the fringes of the catalogue. His Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord (published posthumously, in London, c.1779) represent one of the final great expressions of the genre in their refined counterpoint and graceful harmonies.
‘Harpsichordist Fernando De Luca does a splendid job,’ remarked the Fanfare magazine reviewer of the Brilliant Classics album dedicated to the music of Pierre-Claude Foucquet: one of many comprehensive collections through which De Luca has revived lesser known composers of the 18th century. This volume of Boyce and Greene stands as a notable addition to the library.