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Presto News - 17th March 2008Stunning new Haydn Creation from Paul McCreesh |
 The Creation is quite possibly Haydn’s single greatest achievement. He wrote it towards the end of his life (between 1796 and 98), having spent the previous forty years gaining international popularity with his symphonies, quartets and keyboard sonatas. As the title suggests, Haydn’s oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the biblical Book of Genesis. Haydn’s inspiration for the work came from visits to England during the early 1790s where he had be blown away by the power of large-scale performances of Handel's Israel in Egypt, Messiah and his other choral works. It is also worth noting that, despite several attempts, Haydn never achieved any real international fame for any of his operas and so the Creation gave him a slightly different approach in which to display his talents of writing for singers. Generally performed in German, there is some evidence to suggest that Haydn also had English in mind when he composed the work. However as the manuscript is lost it is unlikely we’ll ever know for sure. The first edition (published in 1800) had the English loosely printed above the German, but the text setting was poor and the grammar frequently garbled. What is certain though is that Haydn wished for the immediate impact that can only be achieved by performing a work in the audience’s own language. This can be seen by the fact that, within a few years of the premiere, versions had appeared not only in French and Italian but also in Czech, Hungarian, Russian and Swedish.  Paul McCreesh with the Gabrieli Consort and Players For his new recording out today with the Gabrieli Consort and Players, Paul McCreesh has revised the text to fit Haydn’s rhythms more closely and rewritten the recitatives “as Haydn might have done had he been more familiar with the English language”. The new disc features an orchestra of 113 players and a choir of nearly 100 and is quite simply stunning. There can be few recordings that can sound so uplifting, overwhelming, charming or comforting as this. The soloists are all first class with Mark Padmore and Miah Persson particularly irresistible. You hear the majority of the text easily, with the accompanying booklet filling in any gaps. I really can’t recommend this highly enough and I fully expect it to go on and win several awards this year. DG have provided an E-Player for you to hear excepts (which can be accessed via the link below) but they’ve compressed the sound a bit too much so the result is a bit thin sounding, so I’ve put in the chorus which ends Day 3 as well which shows off the Handelian grandeur perfectly.
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 Haydn: The Creation (sung in English)Ruth Massey, Paul Harvey, Mark Padmore, Miah Persson, Neal Davies & Sandrine Piau, Gabrieli Consort, Gabrieli Players & Chetham's Chamber Choir, Paul McCreesh |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
listen (Chorus: "Awake The Harp, The Lyre Awake")New Releases17th March 2008 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Bach - Cantatas for the Liturgical Year Volume 6La Petite Band, Sigiswald KuijkenThe Cantatas BWV 18 and BWV 23 were intended for the two last Sundays before Lent, the “Sexagesima” and “Estomihi” Sundays. In these performances Sigiswald Kuijken follows the thesis that the cantatas were written for solo singers, because Bach very often had no choir at his disposal. |
 Daniel & Henry Purcell - Chamber MusicEnsemble MediolanumHenry Purcell has enjoyed enduring fame whereas his brother Daniel has been completely eclipsed over the course of the centuries. However, Daniel was also a successful composer in his day as you can hear on this disc. |
 Brahms - Piano Concerto No.1 & Hungarian Dances for piano 4 handsNicholas Angelich & Frank Braley, Frankfurt Sinfonie Orchestra, Paavo JarviFor his fifth recording on Virgin Classics, Nicholas Angelich furthers his exploration of the Brahms masterpieces for piano. Following the global critical acclaim of his two piano recital and two chamber albums, he tackles the great demanding work of Brahms’ youth, the Piano Concerto in D minor. Angelich couples this complex work with what are considered Brahms’ most popular works, the Hungarian Dances, accompanied by the French pianist Frank Braley. |
 Gershwin- Rhapsody in Blue & Ravel - Piano Concerto in D major (for the left hand)Pascal Roge (piano), RSO Wien, Betrand de BillyThe press gave the highest possible accolades to the recording of Gershwin’s Concerto in F and Ravel’s G major Piano Concerto (OC601). Pascal Rogé now continues his pairing of Gershwin and Ravel. A French sense of sound and an authentic feeling for the jazz rhythms of this music predestine Pascal Rogé for this repertoire. |
 Simon Rattle - SzymanowskiThe music of the great Polish composer Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) has, until recently, been relatively neglected. Sir Simon Rattle's recordings, gathered together here for the first time, brought it before a new and receptive audience. This 4-CD set contains all the Szymanowski recordings that Sir Simon has made for EMI Classics. The collection contains some of the composer's best-known works: the two Violin Concertos, The Song of the Night, the beautiful Stabat Mater and the exquisite Love Songs of Hafiz. The set also contains Rattle's complete recording of the opera King Roger. |
 Simon Rattle - Debussy & RavelRattle is no more at home than when conducting masterpieces from the 20th-century repertoire and in this set of 5 CDs he can be heard performing works by two great French masters. From Debussy's revolutionary Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune to Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, Rattle takes us on a journey through the world of French impressionist orchestral music. All the most notable larger works are here: Debussy's Images, La mer, La boîte à joujoux; Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Ma mère l'oye, Boléro and the two Piano Concertos. |
 Glazunov - Orchestral FantasiasThe USSR Symphony Orchestra, Evgeni SvetlanovThese works date from the short period of 1887/89. They show Glazunov in full control of his unique talent for orchestral writing. Scored for large orchestra these are colourful and intoxicating compositions. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 15th March 2008 |
Building a Library - Biber: Rosary Sonatas (Mystery Sonatas) |
 First ChoiceJohn Holloway (violin), Davitt Moroney (chamber organ & harpsichord)), Stephen Stubbs (lute/chitarrone), Andrew Lawrence-King (harp/regal), Erin Headley (gamba/lirone) |
CD of the Week |
 Handel: Amadigi di GaulaMaria Riccarda Wesseling, Elena de la Merced, Sharon Rostorf Zamir & Jordi Domenech Al Ayre Español Orquestra, Eduardo López Banzo (harpsichord and conductor) |
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