New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-up - 30th June 2017
A distinguished quartet of singers celebrate the rarely heard songs of Donald Swann, while mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg explores the music of the Venice Carnival of 1729. Bach from conductor Maasaki Suzuki and pianist Vladimr Ashkenazy also feature in this week's round-up.
Walton: Violin Concerto, Partita & Hindemith Variations
Anthony Marwood (violin), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra follow up their definitive account of Walton's symphonies with another outstanding album. From the sunlit Mediterranean lyricism of the Violin Concerto to the rousing Spitfire Prelude and Fugue, this is the composer at the height of his power.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Bach - Secular Cantatas VIII
Hana Blažíková (soprano), Hiroya Aoki (alto), Charles Daniels (tenor) & Roderick Williams (bass), Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Both works included in this eighth volume of Bach's secular cantatas celebrate Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Both are richly scored with trumpets and timpani, and here receive suitably festive performances from Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Donald Swann: Songs
Dame Felicity Lott (soprano), Kathryn Rudge (mezzo), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), Christopher Glynn (piano)
Swann but no Flanders: this economically priced collection celebrates the unique talents of a gifted songwriter whose settings of poets from Burns to Betjeman are ripe for revival. The quartet of distinguished singers is luxury casting.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This second instalment in Noriko Ogawa’s survey includes the very early Three Sarabandes, the two sets of Flabby preludes for a dog, and the suite Sports et divertissements. Often regarded as one of the finest examples of Satie’s art, this consists of a prelude and 20 musical snapshots depicting different sports and leisure activities, including golf, fishing and dancing.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Carnival of Venice in 1729 was quite unlike any other. Over a period of two months, opera houses went into a frenzy of competition to show off the most famous singers of the day, including the legendary castrato Farinelli. Several of the most fashionable composers rose to the occasion, writing ravishing music for spectacular productions which often pitted the singers against each other in breathtaking displays of virtuosity.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The latest instalment in a series which continues to garner the highest critical plaudits. The Orlando Consort bring their customary virtues of ‘supreme text-sensitivity and beauty of tone’ (Early Music Today) to another recital showcasing the breadth of Machaut’s musical and poetic inventiveness.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Released in celebration of the great Russian pianist’s 80th birthday (06 July 2017) this set of the French Suites continues Ashkenazy’s extraordinary journey through the major keyboard works of JS Bach.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict (DVD)
Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Béatrice), Paul Appleby (Bénédict), Philippe Sly (Claudio), Sophie Karthäuser (Hero), London Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Antonello Manacorda
Through the eye of French director Laurent Pelly this expression of Berlioz’s undying admiration for the Bard - his adaptation of Much Ado about Nothing as an opéra comique - becomes an elegant treatise on love and music, designed in shades of grey with 50s-era costumes.
Available Format: DVD Video
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict (Blu-ray)
Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Béatrice), Paul Appleby (Bénédict), Philippe Sly (Claudio), Sophie Karthäuser (Hero), London Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Antonello Manacorda
Through the eye of French director Laurent Pelly this expression of Berlioz’s undying admiration for the Bard - his adaptation of Much Ado about Nothing as an opéra comique - becomes an elegant treatise on love and music, designed in shades of grey with 50s-era costumes.
Available Format: Blu-ray
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