BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - October 2021 Choices
Yet more accolades for Sean Shibe's mesmerising Camino (featuring music by Falla, Satie, Mompou, Poulenc and Ravel) in the October issue, as the Scottish guitarist's debut album on Pentatone is named Recording of the Month - reviewer Steph Power praises the 'luminous simplicity' of Shibe's interpretations, and observes that his thoughtful programming 'illuminates not just the individual composers but, with the lightest of touches, sites their music within a changing cultural landscape far greater than each'. (Evidently many of our customers also share her enthusiasm - Camino was our best-selling recording for the month of August!)
Recording of the Month
'Vivid, beguiling and intensely intimate, [Mompou's] Suite compostelana offers both blueprint and guide for the musical-emotional pilgrimage signalled by the album title...In Shibe’s hands it exudes a powerfully restorative combination of wisdom and childlike wonder that extends throughout the album in waves of colour, through singing lines and crisp, evocative rhythms.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Orchestral Choice
'Rousset’s directorship, while suitably regal, is metrically fluid and pushes soloists and choir to rhetorical and dramatic extremes. Among the solo singers, soprano Deborah Cachet stands out for her fire, intensity and sumptuous timbres.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Concerto Choice
Sebastian Fagerlund: Nomade & Water Atlas
Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu
'Altstaedt gives a bravura performance [of Nomade] that captures every colour and nuance of the work, from the plaintive to the soaring to the percussive, while Hannu Lintu’s attentive reading opens up Fagerlund’s complex score with space and clarity.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chamber Choice
'Baldini produces an alluring tone that taps into the natural resonances of his instrument, and phrases with a natural instinct for cantabile espressivo. His sensitive and responsive partner, Pablo Rossi, who helps create the indelible impression that this elusive yet deeply rewarding music is among the finest ever written for violin and piano.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Instrumental Choice
'Steffan’s style is ultimately original and distinctive...Having dusted off these forgotten scores for her swansong recording, Mitzi Meyerson makes for a persuasive advocate...In sum, Steffan revels in all the expressive possibilities of the keyboards of his day; Meyerson responds with playing at once informed and joyous.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Choral & Song Choice
More Honourable Than the Cherubim
Mikhail Davydov (bass-baritone), PaTRAM Institute Male Choir, Vladimir Gorbik
'There’s no shortage of Orthodox choral discs, but here is one worth adding to anyone’s collection...Perhaps the choir’s USP is the number and quality of its bassi profundi (‘oktavists’). Those deep voices are frequently heard, and when assigned a melodic line are impressively focused as well as resonant.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Opera Choice
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo
Johan Linderoth (Orfeo), Ensemble Lundabarock, Höör Barock, Ensemble Altapunta, Fredrik Malmberg
'The singers’ intensity – and the bold, sometimes unusual distribution of instrumental parts – distinguish this Orfeo from earlier recordings. Linderoth probes Orfeo’s vulnerability from first bar to last...Yet it is Malmberg’s energy that gives this performance a brilliant edge.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Historical Choice
'Berkeley doesn’t altogether escape [Britten's] musical influence, but there’s an inherent flow to the drama...David Johnston leads a strong British cast, and inhabits the title role with confidence, if not always tonal sophistication, as the music moves between recitative, rhythmic tension and the lyrical, especially in the love duets with Eiddwen Harrhy’s Emma.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Jazz Choice
'With his blistering, note-packed shredding on electric guitar and Vinnie Colaiuta’s thunderous drumming on the opening track, ‘As The Spirit Sings’, the years simply roll back...Eighty next year, the fusion guru is on the form of his life.'
Available Format: CD
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
