Sir Neville Marriner

Sir Neville Marriner is one of the most versatile conductors of our time. Alongside his recordings of Baroque and Classical repertoire, he has also made a name for himself as an interpreter of Romantic orchestral music, as this compilation shows: it contains popular works from the highly colourful French and Russian repertoire, including new discoveries like Tchaikovsky's Barcarole, which can certainly hold a candle to the famous work of the same name by Offenbach, and the Berceuse by opera composer Benjamin Godard.

Martin Stadtfeld performs Mendelssohn, Schumann & Bach, with the renowned Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, under its founder, Sir Neville Marriner. This is the first Mendelssohn (1809-1847) disc from acclaimed, award winning German pianist Stadtfeld, who caused a stir in 2002, becoming the first German to win the 'International Bach Competition' in Leipzig. There are two CD's, with disc one being a x13 piece body of Mendelssohns work & then a bonus disc two containing x4 pieces of work, covering Schumann & Bach.

The story of the birth of Jesus more than two thousand years ago has been the source of inspiration for countless poets and musicians, as well as practitioners of other forms of art. The infant, born of a virgin in a lowly cattle shed, because there was no room in the inn; the angel of the Lord appearing to shepherds in the field and bringing them tidings of great joy; three kings, led by a star, bearing their precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh: these are elements of the Gospel narrative which have rekindled the imagination of successive creative artists, providing a wealth of vocal and instrumental music with which to celebrate the festival of Christmas.

The music, which is sung and played today in Christian churches and in concert halls, spans several centuries and embraces many styles, ranging from elaborate works such as the Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio) by Johann Sebastian Bach and L’enfance du Christ (The Childhood of Christ) by Hector Berlioz to simple hymns and carols.

With their typical clean, vital, buoyant style, Neville Marriner and the Academy bring a liveliness and joy to this selection, which begins and ends with the sound of church bells, and interweaves favourite carols with Christmas classics by Bach and Berlioz.

Studio recording, 1996

Most French operas from the middle of the 19-th century included ballets, as a lightweight intermezzo amidst the highly dramatic action of the opera. Jules Massenet was especially successful in the genre, and his ballet suites from his operas have surpassed the operas themselves in popularity. This CD contains the delightful and colourful suites from Le Cid,Thais and Cendrillon, evoking the atmosphere of the respective stories and fairytales of the operas.

Sir Neville Marriner and his Academy of St. Martin in the Fields perfectly capture the beauty, sensuality and drama of this immensely attractive music.

During the mid-19th century, it was traditional for all operas performed in Paris to have a ballet sequence inserted into one of their acts. One of the most prolific and celebrated opera composers of the era was Jules Massenet; this fantastic CD surveys ballet suites taken from three of his most popular works in the genre, all of which were written at the height of his career.

The release begins with one of Massenet’s most highly regarded compositions, the Le Cid suite of 1885. Based on the story of the Castilian nobleman Rodrigo, who was responsible for saving Spain through his defeat of the Moors, the work comprises a series of picturesque movements brimming with dance rhythms drawn from different regions, and is followed by the composer’s Cendrillon suite – a masterpiece of orchestral writing that draws its material principally from the Act 2 ball scene.

In the concluding suite, we move from Cendrillon’s fairy-tale enchantment to the spiritual Thaïs, which takes as its basis the tragic legend of a courtesanturned- saint and includes some of the French composer’s most sombre music. Although history has not taken kindly to all of Massenet’s operas, the suites heard here have remained enormously popular as concert pieces, testament to their quality and appeal. With Le Cid’s inventive use of percussion and Thaïs’s religious treatment of the organ, this collection abounds in colourful orchestration that recalls the grandeur of 19th-century Parisian opera. It’s an ideal purchase for the Romantic ballet connoisseur.

Scarcely any other orchestra has made more of a name for itself with records of Baroque music than Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields under Neville Marriner. With Handel's "Water Music" it plays one of the great Baroque composer's best-known works as a festive score, at once resplendent and sublime.

American cellist Lynn Harrell furnishes clear proof that Vivaldi's cello concertos are unfairly overshadowed by the famous "Four Seasons": these scores full of melodic elegance and virtuosity laid the foundation stone for the entire genre, which was then developed further by Joseph Haydn.