Orlando di Lasso

A new recording from Die Singphoniker for the cpo listening audience – hymns by di Lasso! This globe-trotting renowned German vocal ensemble was founded 3 decades ago by 6 singers who were students at the Munich College of Music. The rapid spread of hymns throughout Christendom is owed to St. Benedict who incorporated them into monastery life.

Texts inspired by the dramatic events of Holy Week and Easter, set to music by some of the greatest Renaissance composers are the basis of this new hybrid SACD from Stile Antico. Included are two settings of the poem 'Woefully arrayed': the first by William Cornysh, the second composed for Stile Antico in 2009 by John McCabe (b. 1939). This is its first recording and Stile's first foray into contemporary music.

Stile Antico is the benchmark ensemble of young British singers, working without a director and conducting much of their own artistic research for their programmes and concise, yet entertaining booklet notes. Much in demand in concert, the group performs regularly throughout Europe and North America. Their recordings on harmonia mundi have enjoyed great success, winning awards, including the 2009 Early Music Gramophone Award for Song of Songs.

Their performances have repeatedly been praised for their vitality and commitment, expressive lucidity and imaginative response to text. Stile Antico’s recent engagements include débuts at the BBC Proms, London’s Wigmore and Cadogan Halls, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, early music festivals in Boston, Bruges, Barcelona and Utrecht, and at the Cervantino Festival in Mexico. The group has toured extensively with Sting, appearing across Europe, Australia and the Far East as part of his Dowland project 'Songs from the Labyrinth', and is regularly invited to lead courses at Dartington International Summer School.

GRAMMY® Award winners in 2009, The King’s Singers are one of the world’s most celebrated ensembles. Their programming concept in this disc is unique: built upon the individual clauses of The Lord’s Prayer, beginning and ending in plainchant, it ranges over the centuries to explore the spiritually charged text. Chant is at the heart of the programme, and each composer’s setting illuminates the others, shedding rich interpretative light on the poetic and devotional aspects of the prayer.

One of the world’s most celebrated ensembles, The King’s Singers have a packed schedule of concerts, recordings, media and education work that spans the globe. Championing the work of both young and established composers, they are instantly recognisable for their spot-on intonation, impeccable vocal blend, flawless articulation of the text and incisive timing. They are also consummate entertainers: a class act with a delightfully British wit.

12pp booklet with texts

Last year the Dresden Kreuzchor completed a recording project of works for the great festivals and seasons of the church year. This release gives the opportunity to own the entire programme as a boxed set. Every lover of choral music will appreciate this beautifully produced set which includes a 100 page brochure with all the choral texts.

Featuring five of The Sixteen’s most celebrated recordings, The Italian Collection is a sumptuous anthology of music. From Allegri’s hauntingly beautiful Miserere to the virtuosity, vibrant colour and dynamic energy of Handel’s Dixit Dominus, this collection spans three centuries of glorious Italian choral music.

Little-know treasures such as Anerio’s glorious 12-part setting of the Stabat Mater sit side by side with Palestrina’s Assumpta Est Maria and Lotti’s Crucifixus. 14 different composers are represented here and they worked for some of the most splendid musical establishments Italy had to offer including St Mark’s in Venice and the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

A beautifully packaged set, which compliments perfectly The Sixteen's newest series of Palestrina CDs on CORO.

Josquin, Brumel and Lassus were truly European composers, leaving their origins to work in the top establishments of Aix-en-Provence, Ferrara, Rome and Munich. Their music has a unique sonority which will astound you all - from the depth of expression and fascinating texts of Josquin (prepare yourselves for the surreal nature of Praeter rerum seriem) to the overtly decorative mass movements of Brumel’s Missa Et ecce terraemotus where the 12 parts interweave in extensive imitation and thrilling tracery, culminating in the extraordinary harmonic stillness of Lassus’s Timor et tremor and his gorgeously evocative 12-part setting of Aurora lucis rutilat.