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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Tchaikovsky: Liturgy of St John Chrysostom
‘There is nothing like entering a church on a Saturday, standing in the semi-darkness with the scent of incense wafting through the air, lost in deep contemplation searching for an answer to those perennial questions, wherefore, when, whither and why?’ These words, from one of Tchaikovsky’s own letters, sum up the spirit behind the glorious Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op 41. The work is steeped in the Orthodox tradition, the choral writing provides that sense of transparency and simplicity demanded by the text, and the resulting ambience is rich in the manner familiar to Western listeners from works such as Rachmaninov’s Vespers. This recording also includes ten choruses to texts many of which are taken from the Liturgy. The first nine were published together in 1885, while the tenth, The angel cried, was lost shortly after its first performance in 1887 and only rediscovered thirteen years after the composer’s death. “I would go so far as to say that this recording carries more musical conviction than any of its rivals” Classic CD | 
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| |  | Fauré: Requiemand other choral music
“Recommended without hesitation” Classic CD “Ethereally beautiful” Penguin Guide “Outstanding” The Independent | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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“Rich and atmospheric, a blissfully unhurried reading” BBC Music Magazine “A most beautiful performance, very well sung and recorded” Penguin Guide “Outstanding. A performance that is at once perceptive, sympathetic and finely sung” Gramophone Magazine “An outstanding version—the finest of all” International Record Review | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Musicand other works
Vaughan Williams: | Serenade to Music Elizabeth Connell (soprano), Amanda Roocroft (soprano), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Martyn Hill (tenor), Maldwyn Davies (tenor), Anne Dawson (soprano), Linda Kitchen (soprano), Alan Opie (baritone), Gwynne Howell (bass), Sir Thomas Allen (baritone), Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzosoprano) & John Connell (bass) Five Mystical Songs Sir Thomas Allen (baritone) Fantasia on Christmas Carols Sir Thomas Allen (baritone) Flos Campi Nobuko Imai (viola) |
“Performances like these don’t come along very often; each one is an absolute winner, and with rich, atmospheric recording quality the satisfaction is of a very special quality” CD Review “Strongly recommended!” Fanfare “Profoundly moving” Gramophone Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Berlioz held traditional religion in contempt, but something of the biblical story of Herod’s massacre of the innocents and the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt seems to have struck a chord and resulted in one of his most beautiful works. Indeed, Berlioz compared his ‘trilogie sacrée’ to the illuminations in medieval missals: he saw it as an aid to contemplative devotion. L’Enfance du Christ is one of Berlioz’s most popular and enduring works. The renowned Corydon Singers and Corydon Orchestra, under their conductor and founder Matthew Best, are joined by a first-class team of soloists. 2 CD's for price of 1. Originally issued on CDA66991/2 “Matthew Best's version offers a keenly dramatic view...Jean Rigby is a young-sounding Mary, with Gerald Finley warm and expressive as Joseph...An ideal choice for those who want an intimate view and a superb modern recording” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition “No previous recording has moved me like this one - magical - heavenly” The Independent “Luminous Berlioz, with some superb soloists” Classic CD “This new recording of Berlioz's appealing work well stands comparison with its much-praised predecessors” Gramophone Magazine “The recording is surely the best available” BBC Music Magazine “An engaging and moving recording with superb singing from soloists Alastair Miles, Jean Rigby and Gerald Finley” Classic FM Magazine “Best treats L'enfance du Christ as overtly operatic, not so much by cast movements or varied microphone placings as by his pacing of the action and by encouraging his artists to throw themselves wholeheartedly into the emotions of the story.
He gets off to a tremendous start with a superb reading by a black-voiced Alastair Miles as a Herod haunted by his dream and startled into belligerent wakefulness by the arrival of Polydorus.
Later, there's desperate urgency in the appeals for shelter by Joseph (an otherwise gently lyrical Gerald Finley), harshly rebuffed by the chorus. And, throughout, there are spatial perspectives – the soldiers' patrol advancing (from practically inaudible pizzicatos) to centrestage and going off again; and a beautifully hushed and atmospheric faraway 'Amen' at the end. Balance in general is excellent.
The clear enunciation (in very good French) of nearly everyone is a plus point. The chorus's response to the mood and meaning of words is always alert and sensitive, matched by the nuanced orchestral playing. The scurrying of the Ishmaelite family to help, played really pianissimo, is vividly graphic; and their home entertainment on two flutes and a harp, which can mark a drop in the interest, here has great charm. But overall it's Best's pacing which makes this recording distinctive.
This recording stands comparison well with its much-praised predecessors.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Mendelssohn - Choral Music
“Singing of an exceptionally high quality.” Gramophone Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Beethoven: Cantatas
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| |  | Liszt: Missa Choralis
Thomas Trotter (organ), Elizabeth Atherton, Jane Bovell (sopranos), Harriet Webb (mezzo soprano), Jeanette Ager (contralto); John Bowley, Andrew Peter King (tenors), Leigh Melrose (baritone), Nicholas Warden (bass) Corydon Singers, Matthew Best | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Duruflé: Requiem
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