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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Mozart: Requiem Realisations
DISC 2 Mozart’s Requiem: An Audio Documentary 1 Chapter 1. Mozart in 1791 and the commissioning of the Requiem 2 Chapter 2. The Composition of the Requiem 3 Chapter 3. Reception
1SACD & 1CD The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge under conductor Stephen Cleobury presents a compelling second release. Here it performs Mozart Requiem (Süssmayr edition), followed by complete movement realisations by leading composers and musicologists including Michael Finnissy, Robert D. Levin and Duncan Druce. The recording features a stellar line up of guest soloists – Elin Manahan Thomas, Christine Rice, James Gilchrist, Christopher Purves – and the Academy of Ancient Music. The release also features a unique bonus audio documentary about Mozart’s Requiem, narrated by Elin Manahan Thomas (soprano soloist, who recently toured with Eric Whitacre), with commentary illustrated by extracts of both the Requiem and the works that inspired it. The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge is one of the world’s foremost choirs and unquestionably among the most widely heard. It owes its existence to King Henry VI, who envisaged the daily singing of services in his magnificent chapel. This remains the Choir’s raison d’être, and is an important part of the lives of its 16 choristers, who are educated at King’s College School, and the 14 choral scholars and two organ scholars, who study a variety of subjects in the College. The Choir has been a breeding ground for numerous professional singers, two of whom – James Gilchrist and Christopher Purves – appear as soloists on this recording. “The alternative realisations are interesting and convincing, the boldest one Michael Finnissy’s rather Romantic-sounding Lacrimosa. And Stephen Cleobury’s performance of the Süssmayr edition is pretty splendid – the boys’ voices of the Choir of King’s College brilliantly incisive, matched by astringent period orchestral forces.” The Arts Desk, 27th April 2013 “A suitably scholarly project from the Choir of King’s College...The boy trebles are slightly tuneless in places, but the singing generally has vigour, Stephen Cleobury keeps the tempos brisk and the soloists are excellent.” The Times, 13th April 2013 **** | 
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| |  | Filmed live in the Basilica Cathedral Saint-Denis, Paris, France, in July 2011
Directed by Louise Narboni The St. Matthew Passion is the third part of ‘The Soli Deo Gloria Collection’ conducted by the American John Nelson who is well known for his interpretations of Romantic works. This monumental piece, composed by J.S. Bach, recounts the dramatic story of the capture and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, it presents a profound, dramatic, lyrical and contemplative work. The concert features the excellent Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, as well as two internationally acclaimed choirs: the Schola Cantorum of Oxford (one of the oldest choirs in the UK) and the Maîtrise de Paris with origins back in the 12th century. Directed by Louise Narboni and filmed twice with 7 HDTV cameras in the Basilica Cathedral Saint-Denis – a unique, monumental masterpiece of Gothic art. The DVD also includes the Documentary “John Nelson’s Saint Matthew Passion - The Journey” by Louise Narboni as a Bonus - showing intense rehearsals and interviews with John Nelson. Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9 Sound formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.0, DTS 5.0 Region code: 0 Languages: English Subtitles: German, French, English Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 177 mins + 52 mins (BONUS) |
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Susan Gritton (soprano), Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano), Peter Auty (tenor), Alastair Miles (bass) & David Goode (organ) BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Concert Orchestra, The Bach Choir, BBC National Chorus of Wales, Brighton Festival Chorus, CBSO Youth Chorus, Côr Caerdydd, Eltham College Boys’ Choir, Huddersfield Choral Society & London Symphony Chorus, Martyn Brabbins On 17 July 2011 over 800 performers gathered in London’s Royal Albert Hall to give a rare performance of Havergal Brian’s Symphony No 1 in D minor—‘The Gothic’. Tickets for this Prom sold out within 24 hours, and so it gives us great pleasure to make this live recording available to all. It’s a pretty phenomenal work. Responding to the challenge set by Sir Henry Wood, the composer has thrown just about every known orchestral instrument into the mix, then adding a double chorus of over 500, plus children’s choirs, for an hour-long Te Deum—the church’s blazing Hymn of Thanksgiving—which makes up the symphony’s finale. Whether or not you were lucky enough to be there on the night, this is a recording not to be missed. “As ideas tumble forth in Havergal Brian’s epic scheme, you cannot help admiring his fervour in getting it all down on paper. It remains one of the oddities of the English symphonic repertoire, but Martyn Brabbins and his legions of players and singers do it proud.” The Telegraph, 2nd December 2011 **** “Hyperion's release is a perfect one, of a great event, a magisterial work and an encapsulation of the enormous difficulties of the project as a whole...[Brabbins emphasises] the kaleidoscopic variety of speeds, textures and invention in the score. Aided by Hyperion's sensational sound, details which barely registered before become crystal clear...I cannot recommend it strongly enough.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2012 “credit to Martyn Brabbins for overseeing a performance which emphatically does not play it safe: enabling the piece to be appreciated for a formal evolution as oblique and purposeful as is its emotional progression...the discreet but intent control exerted over the vast numbers leaves no doubt as to his conviction. That the capacity audience betrays so few sign of its presence says much in itself.” International Record Review, January 2012 “Where to begin? This is a hugely impressive record of a great performance, but I’m not convinced that this is great music. But you can’t help feeling thankful that once in a generation we’re given the chance to hear something of this magnitude and judge the results for ourselves” The Arts Desk, 11th February 2012 “the best [recording] yet. There's an ongoing buzz of Proms atmosphere that grips from start to finish; and the recorded sound succeeds phenomenally at somehow fitting Brian's hugest climaxes alongside the delicate scoring of other passages into a convincing perspective. Under Brabbins's forthright direction, even the work's poorer passages (and whatever Brian's fanatical supporters say, there are plenty) don't sprawl.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Sung in Italian
Recorded: Teatro Real, Madrid, April 2009. This is the second Monteverdi opera with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, made possible by collaboration between Dynamic and Teatro Real. Dedicated to the performance of Baroque music on original instruments, the vocal and instrumental ensemble Les Arts Florissants is one of the most renowned and respected early music groups in Europe and around the world. The DVD also features interviews with William Christie, Kobie van Rensburg and Christine Rice. “Les Arts Florissants and William Christie have an individualised spontaneity yet breathe as one.” The Independent Picture Format: 16:9 Audio Format: DD 5.1 / LPCM 2.0 Region Code: 0 – All regions Running Time: 175 Min approx Notes: I – GB - D - F Subtitles: I - GB - D - F - SP “The staging, direction and costumes are elegant, always adding a layer of explanation; the lighting is atmospheric but never murky; and the sound is clear and resonant. Above all, this production shows pace, coherence and understanding.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2010 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on the 25th & 30th April and 3rd May 2008.
John Tomlinson (The Minotaur), Johan Reuter (Theseus), Christine Rice (Ariadne), Andrew Watts (Snake Priestess), Philip Langridge (Hiereus), Amanda Echalaz (Ker), Rebecca Bottone, Pumeza Matshikiza, Wendy Dawn Thompson, Christopher Ainslie, Tim Mead (Innocents) The Royal Opera Chorus & The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano (conductor) & Stephen Langridge (stage director) This world premiere of a gripping new work by composer Harrison Birtwistle and librettist David Harsent, commissioned by The Royal Opera, brings the monstrous, Greek mythological character to the stage. John Tomlinson stars as the Minotaur, part man, part beast, trapped in his labyrinth and constrained by his bloodthirsty role there, longs to discover his true identity and his own voice. Athens must pay a blood sacrifice to Crete and among the innocents is Theseus, who has come to challenge the violent Minotaur, but who also attracts the attention of Ariadne, half-sister and keeper of the monster; it is with her help he succeeds. Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House. ‘Thanks to a superb cast and impeccable playing under Antonio Pappano, the evening is a glittering success. …what Birtwistle has done is give us one opera inside another. The outer one is strident and earthbound; the inner one – ending with the Minotaur's Caliban-like dying aria – burns with visionary fire.’ The Independent Extra features: Documentary: ‘Myth is universal'. Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery. Running time 175 mins Region code All regions Video codec: AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size: BD50 Picture format 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound format 2.0 & 5.0 PCM (TBC) Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “This opera, premiered at the Royal Opera last April, seems to me to be a masterpiece, of the kind that one feels the greatness of before one has a complete understanding of it. …the Minotaur is a terrifying and pained figure. This performance is the climax of John Tomlinson's career, in a part written with his huge, gravelly voice in mind. The other compelling figure is Ariadne... Christine Rice, bearing the weight of exposition and of suffering, uses her wonderfully rich mezzo to stunning effect.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2008 ***** “The filming reinforces the strengths of Stephen Langridge's tightly controlled, potently expressive production in an economical yet atmospheric setting, with the whole ensemble totally engaged in the drama's dark enterprise. Repeated hearings underline that, in the end, this tragedy is the more convincing for the way its turn towards pathos does not involve any false consolation.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009 “Birtwistle's latest large-scale music drama, written for Covent Garden, is a quite different experience on DVD: what might have been planned by composer and stage director to be witnessed from a distance is shown in unsparing close-up.
But this seething, monumental reinvention of one of the most disquieting Greek myths – with a pithy libretto by David Harsent – is neither betrayed nor diminished by this excellent film.
Only in its final stages does the opera's focus shift decisively to the doomed Minotaur from the scheming Ariadne, and the drama's most essential point is that this Ariadne – as different from Strauss's as Birtwistle's Orpheus is different from Gluck's – is in her own way as much of a monster as the half-man/half-bull. These demanding roles are projected with maximum musical eloquence by Christine Rice and Sir John Tomlinson, no doubt because – as Rice makes clear in the absorbing 30-minute documentary that accompanies the performance – what is demanding is also intensely rewarding to singers prepared to commit themselves to a steep learning curve. Equal commitment is evident in Johan Reuter's Theseus, the conventions of heroic posturing given new depth and relevance in text, music and vocal acting alike.
We see little of Antonio Pappano and his orchestra, but the excellent sound never lets us escape the inexorable magnetism of the instrumental continuum.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Respighi - Rome Trilogy
Respighi: | Il tramonto Recorded: 11-23 January 2007, Sala Santa Cecilia, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome Christine Rice Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Roma, Antonio Pappano Pines of Rome Recorded: 10 & 12 November 1984, Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti Fountains of Rome Recorded: 10 & 12 November 1984, Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti Roman Festivals Recorded: 10 & 12 November 1984, Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti The Birds Recorded: 30-31 January 1976, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner Trittico Botticelliano Recorded: 30-31 January 1976, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner La Sensitiva Recorded: 22 & 24 February 1990, Henry Wood Hall, London Dame Janet Baker City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, Sussex, on 17th August 2002.
Anne Sofie von Otter (Carmen), Marcus Haddock (Don José), Laurent Naouri (Escamillo), Lisa Milne (Micaëla), Mary Hegarty (Frasquita), Christine Rice (Mercédès), Colin Judson (Remendado), Quentin Hayes (Dancaïre), Hans Voschezang (Moralès), Jonathan Best (Zuniga) The Glyndebourne Chorus & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philippe Jordan (conductor) & David McVicar (stage director) David McVicar’s exhilarating production, with Sofie von Otter in the title role, restores the Opera Comique to Bizet’s masterpiece. Philippe Jordan, in his Glyndebourne debut, conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Glyndebourne Chorus and a cast which includes Marcus Haddock, Laurent Naouri and Lisa Milne. ‘Under the shrewd direction of McVicar, Anne Sofie von Otter gave us a gypsy of mercurial temperament, a tease, a dangerous flirt, and a woman intensely conscious of her sexual magnetism and of her public notoriety.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Violent, passionate, superbly played…Glyndebourne’s Carmen is simply gripping’ The Sunday Times Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 228 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.1 DOLBY TRUE HD
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES
“In the grip of violent emotions, Anne Sofie von Otter paints a complete 'Carmen'” Los Angeles Times “A fantastic two-disc set...a performance that truly is what opera theoretically aspires to be: sung drama” New York Times “Violent, passionate,superbly played…Glyndebourne's Carmen is simply gripping” Sunday Times “Under the shrewd direction of McVicar, Anne Sofie von Otter gave us a gypsy of mercurial temperament, a tease, a dangerous flirt, and a woman intensely conscious of her sexual magnetism and of her public notoriety” The Telegraph | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Stage Director: David McVicar
Will Hartmann (Tamino), Dorothea Röschmann (Pamina), Diana Damrau (Königin der Nacht), Franz-Josef Selig (Sarastro), Simon Keenlyside (Papageno), Ailish Tynan (Papagena), Adrian Thompson (Monostatos), Thomas Allen (Sprecher), Gillian Webster, Christine Rice, Yvonne Howard (Drei Damen), Alan Oke, Graeme Broadbent (Zwei Geharnischten), Matthew Beale, Richard Van Allan (Zwei Preisten), Zico Shaker, Tom Chapman, John Holland-Avery (Drei Knaben) The Royal Opera Chorus & The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Sir Colin Davis This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players.
PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 182 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.1 PCM AUDIO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES
“‘Diana Damrau’s supremely sung Queen of the Night oozes class, while Simon Keenlyside’s profoundly human, touchingly sympathetic view of Papageno deserves an Olivier Award.” Classic FM Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Respighi - The Roman Trilogy
"I feel very honoured and privileged to be able to conduct this music with the Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia not only because it's my orchestra now but because the Fountains and the Pines of Rome were written for this orchestra and were premiered by this orchestra. And the Roman Festivals were premiered by the New York Philharmonic with Toscanini conducting but this orchestra played the Italian premiere." Antonio Pappano “Pappano's gift to constantly delve well beyond the reputation these tone-poems have as technically brilliant display pieces devoid of deeper content. Try to listen, for instance, to the plangency of the woodwind playing at the rapt opening of 'Fountain of Valle Giulia', or the translucent sifting of textures in a magical 'Villa Medici Fountain', without becoming riveted.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ***** “What more appropriate orchestra to record the three Roman colour-scapes of Respighi than Rome's greatest orchestra under its music director, Antonio Pappano? In every way this new version is more than a match for the fine Dutoit version of the trilogy (Decca). As in Italian opera, Pappano has a natural feeling for flexible phrasing without exaggeration, and here he has even more resilience in his springing of rhythms than Dutoit, while the fine EMI recording offers clean separation and a wide dynamic range to match even the brilliant Decca.
It adds to the attractions of the disc that as a bonus Pappano offers the lovely setting of Shelley in translation for mezzo and strings, Il tramonto ('The Sunset'), beautifully sung with clear, firm tone by Christine Rice. Dutoit puts the trilogy pieces in his chosen order while Pappano presents them in chronological order, ending with the noisiest – and least inspired – Roman Festivals.
Nonetheless, Pappano conducts that, as he does the earlier two pieces, with all the flamboyance needed for such boldly extrovert music.
These are unashamed picture-postcards in music, and the images they evoke are always exceptionally vivid. One slight reservation is that the recording of a nightingale that the adventurous Respighi includes towards the close of the 'The Pines of the Janiculum' is so faint you can barely hear it. Pappano's trilogy now stands as a model for a colourful and ideal coupling, particularly with such an apt fill-up as Iltramonto.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “What more appropriate orchestra to record the three Roman colour-scapes of Respighi than Rome's greatest orchestra under its music director, Antonio Pappano? As in Italian opera, Pappano has a natural feeling for flexible phrasing without exaggeration. ...while the fine EMI recording offers clean separation and a wide dynamic range to match even the brilliant Decca. ...as a bonus Pappano offers the lovely setting of Shelley in translation for mezzo and strings, Il tramonto ("The Sunset"), beautifully sung with clear, firm tone by Christine Rice.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Elgar: Symphony No. 1
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