Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - December 2018
Three of Handel’s Italian cantatas from soprano Sabine Devieilhe, mezzo Léa Desandre and Emmanuelle Haïm on Erato take pride of place this month; Devieilhe despatches a breathtaking Armida abbandonata, Desandre is an impassioned Lucrezia, and the two come together for a deliciously sensual account of the pastoral cantata Aminta e Fillide.
Editor’s Choices also include François-Xavier’s Roth’s contribution to Harmonia Mundi’s exceptional Debussy Centenary Edition with the period instruments of Les Siècles (one of our Top 10 Recordings of 2018), and the young French guitarist Thibaud Garcia’s Bach Inspirations: you can watch his video-interview with Katherine here.
Recording of the Month
Handel: Italian cantatas
Sabine Devieilhe (soprano), Léa Desandre (mezzo) Le Concert d'Astrée, Emmanuelle Haïm
'Both singers have unblemished voices of beautiful quality: Sabine Devieilhe, as Aminta, pellucid and free-soaring, Léa Desandre with a dark flare in her high mezzo…Le Concert d’Astrée, under Emmanuelle Haïm’s animating direction, are far more than mere accompanists…Playing with words as well as tones, the crucial cello continuo is always acutely alive to singers and text…A disc that even amid fierce competition is a Handelian winner.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Editor's Choices
'Both works are essentially about desire, and their sensuality is heightened here not only by their juxtaposition but by the dark warmth of Les Siècles’ period-instrument sound and the restrained intensity of Roth’s interpretations…The women’s voices from Les Cris de Paris are exquisitely integrated into the textures rather than seeming detached, as is sometimes the case.'
Available Formats: CD + DVD Video, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'The impulse, the imperative, of this Mahler Sixth is extraordinary – a headlong ride to the abyss with every rhythm and counter-rhythm fiercely articulated…the playing of Currentzis’s heavily augmented MusicAeterna is pretty hair-raising throughout…Currentzis’s headlong approach is unforgiving and feverishly exciting.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Dvorak: Piano Trios Nos. 3 & 4
Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Tanja Tetzlaff (cello) & Lars Vogt (piano)
'I’m no fan of ‘all star’ chamber music projects but the virtuosity here is entirely at the service of the music, capturing the full symphonic grandeur of Dvořák’s vision without ever sounding like anyone is playing for effect. It’s always chamber music, and it’s helped by Ondine’s lifelike acoustic…This disc sounds, and feels, like a recording born of love, and I urge you to listen.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Gowers conveys the fundamental musicality of the work. There is a sense here that he feels the music, that he shares much of Messiaen’s vision and that he knows exactly what he wants the music to say to the listener, whether or not the organ makes the sort of sound Messiaen might originally have had in mind.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'In his flowing, pellucid interpretations Garcia himself seems to be inspired by Bach’s name, and throughout much of the programme there’s a compelling tension between the rippling enunciation of lighter paragraphs and the precipitous propulsion of more dramatic passages. This is most obvious in Garcia’s thrilling, magisterial performance of Bach’s D minor Chaconne.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Wang is one of the most impressive pianists of her generation; she never loses her head, and her colours are original without being wilful…[In the Ligeti] Wang offers a tour de force of quasi-orchestral detail…Anyone hitherto more put off than drawn in by Yuja Wang’s glamorous image may have to do some rethinking in the light of this recital. Fabulous piano sound, too.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Elgar: The Music Makers & The Spirit of England
Dame Sarah Connolly, Andrew Staples, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Andrew Davis
'There’s a wholly idiomatic sensibility, collaborative zeal and unity of vision that mark out this sumptuously engineered Chandos newcomer as something rather special…Connolly’s delivery of the closing lines distils an aching intimacy not matched since Janet Baker’s sublime contribution on Boult’s recording…Davis’s glorious pliant conducting evinces total conviction.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'This exquisite late-Renaissance Portuguese polyphonic repertoire is as richly expressive as it is politically poised…This beautiful new album from The Marian Consort is surely one of the best one-to-a-part ensemble recordings of this repertoire. Throughout the programme they nurture a warm blend while drawing out long polyphonic threads to expressive ends.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Saint-Saëns: Ascanio
Chœur et Orchestre de la Haute École de Musique de Genève, Chœur du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Guillaume Tourniaire
'The score is magnificent, if uneven. The dramaturgy wobbles in places…The recording, meanwhile, is tremendous in the way it captures the excitement felt by singers, players and audience in the rediscovery of a significant work by a composer whose output is still in a process of re-evaluation…Gauvin’s Duchesse dispenses scorn and seduction in equal measure…It’s a major achievement and highly recommended.'
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (DVD)
Ermonela Jaho (Cio-Cio San), Marcelo Puente (Pinkerton), Scott Hendricks (Sharpless), Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki); Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier
'Jaho’s vocal performances is touching. Hers is not a sumptuous soprano, glossing Puccini’s rich lyric lines, but the colours she brings to her portrayal are astonishing…Pappano – arguably today’s greatest Puccinian conductor – draws ardent playing from the ROH Orchestra…The production’s simplicity allows one to focus on the central performances and, with a Butterfly as heartbreaking as Ermonela Jaho’s, it serves its purpose handsomely.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Blu-ray)
Ermonela Jaho (Cio-Cio San), Marcelo Puente (Pinkerton), Scott Hendricks (Sharpless), Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki); Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier
Sound format: LPCM 2.0, DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
Available Format: Blu-ray
Reissue/Archive of the Month
'A chance to revel in the virtuosity of the young Wilhelm Backhaus, including the first complete Chopin Études.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
