The son of a Weimar-based organist, Johann Krebs (1713-1780) entered the Thomasschule in Leipzig under the tutelage of Capellmeister Bach at the age of 12 in 1726. There he remained for the best part of a decade, and a glowing testimonial from Bach commended his talents on the clavier, violin and lute, as well as in composition. Krebs never attained the Leipzig post which his instrumental talents deserved, but he served as an organist in several churches south of Leipzig through the course of a long and distinguished professional life which reached fruition as organist at the court of Prince Friedrich of Gotha-Altenburg from 1755 onwards. The inveterate traveler and commentator Charles Burney reported that ‘M. Krebs of Altenburg, scholar of Sebastian Bach, has been much admired for his full and masterly manner of playing the organ.’ The style of Krebs’s own music reflects the transitional period in which he lived. The hand of the master lightly guides the cosmopolitan elegance of the three partitas on album 1 of this collection. Krebs compiled a Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice) of his own in 1744, from which Michele Benuzzi performs a C major suite and, six lively Italianate sonatas. A volume of six suites from 1746 shows the influence of the galant style which was coming into fashion at the time, embodied by the output of Bach’s most accomplished son, Carl Philipp Emanuel. Several more suites here are sophisticated examples of Krebs’s mastery in the ‘French and Italian taste’ as well as demonstrating the fluency of his keyboard writing and the craftsmanship of his counterpoint.
This important collection joins several other albums of little-known keyboard music from the period, recorded for Brilliant Classics by Michele Benuzzi. A student of Ottavio Dantone, he has performed the complete sonatas of Scarlatti and given recitals at major festivals in Europe and Asia.
The Mozart symphonies on this album were recorded within two weeks at the European Music Festival Stuttgart in September 2006. More than 20 symphonies, ranging from the earliest to the last ten, were chosen to represent the superb range of the composer's output. The aim was to recreate as far as possible the playing style of the period. Roger Norrington used the exact orchestra size of each symphony at it's first performance (the smallest was a mere 18 players!). Tempos followed the most recent research. Bow strokes, articulation and phrasing were carefully studied, and of course the orchestra played quite without the 20th century vibrato. Every album in this edition contains a symphony from the early, the middle and the late period. The last four symphonies, however, were played in a much grander, and experimental, manner (24 violins and 16 woodwinds).
During the past century Russian Orthodox vocal music has experienced two periods of rebirth. The first, which began in the last years of the 19th century, consisted of a return to the popular sources of religious chant in the znamenny chant tradition passed down from its origins in ancient Byzantine chant and maintained by churches and choirs across Russia until the 17th century, when rulers such as Catherine the Great began to look westwards for cultural identity. Composers such as Kastalsky, Chesnokov and Grechaninov repudiated the Italian and French influences which had shaped the work of Classical and Romantic-era composers such as the Sacred Concertos of Bortniansky. repudiated the Italian and French influences which had shaped the work of Classical and Romantic-era composers such as the Sacred Concertos of Bortniansky. This renaissance was foreshadowed by Tchaikovsky’s setting of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in 1878 – in its time a controversial work, rejected by the Church – and reached its zenith with the two sacred cycles by Rachmaninoff: another setting of the Liturgy and then his religious masterpiece, the Vespers (All Night Vigil) of 1915. Once more suppressed by the 1917 Revolution, an authentic strain of Russian sacred music had to wait until the era of glasnost in the late 1980s and early 90s Rybin Male Choir could once more be formed to sing and record the repertoire that is their country’s musical inheritance, and most of these recordings date from the early 90s, first released on the ‘Saison Russe’ imprint for its renewal. Ensembles such as the of the Chant du Monde label, long unavailable and now reissued here for the first time.
Osmo Vänskä has been described as ‘our greatest living Sibelian’ (The Sunday Times, UK), a reputation which is founded not least on his two symphony cycles on disc, both released by BIS. The first one was recorded in 1996-97 with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, and firmly established Vänskä as a force to be reckoned with. 14 years later he returned to the studio for a second cycle, now with the Minnesota Orchestra, of which he has been music director since 2003.
The Minnesota recordings were released on three discs during the years 2012 – 2016 to critical acclaim: besides top marks from reviewers around the world, the series garnered distinctions such as Editor’s Choice (Gramophone), Orchestral Choice (BBC Music Magazine) and Recording of the month (MusicWeb International). The disc of Symphonies Nos 2 and 5 was included on the New York Times list of the Best Classical Music Recordings of 2012 and nominated to a Grammy for Best Orchestral Recording, an award which its sequel (Nos 1 & 4) received the following year. Recommended by the German web site Klassik.com upon its release, the final album, with Symphonies Nos 3, 6 and 7, was recently included on Gramophone’s list of ‘Top 10 Sibelius recordings’. The three releases have now been gathered into a box set, with the addition of the same team’s 2016 recording of Kullervo, Sibelius’s first large-scale orchestral work and sometimes called his ‘choral symphony’.
Past praise for previously released volumes included in this set:
Sibelius: Symphonies No 1 & 4 / Vanska, Minnesota:
The passion and sweep of the First is even more electric than in the Lahti First. The Fourth emerges equally well as a hugely powerful utterance. With superb sound as always from BIS, this new disc has set the bar for all to follow and past ones to be measured against.
– Gramophone
Sibelius: Symphonies No 2 & 5 / Vanska, Minnesota:
These fearless, magnificently played performances, recorded in astonishing detail by the BIS engineers, and accompanied by an authoritative note by Robert Layton, join a very exclusive and elevated class of the finest recordings of these works.
In her twenty years with The Royal Ballet, Argentine dancer Marianela Nuñez has excelled in iconic ballet classics, Company heritage works and modern creations. A Company Principal for 16 years, she has performed all the leading roles in the classical, dramatic and contemporary repertory. This collection showcases her exceptional mastery in four quintessential roles. In Swan Lake, she brings to life the beautifully tragic Odette and her rival Odile. She perfectly portrays the young lover Lise in La Fille mal gardée, and brings bravura and vivacity to the role of Kitri in Carlos Acosta's production of the classical Don Quixote. She is transcendent as Giselle, one of the most challenging and demanding roles in the repertory. With peerless technical skill and compelling performances by the whole Company, this collection celebrates an exceptional dancer in her prime. ".. a jovial and entertaining showcase for classical dancing at it's most demanding and exuberant. One of the pleasures of this ballet is to be tickled by Minkus's infectiously melodious score... Marianela Nuñez and Acosta delivered sparky, engaging performances" (The Times (Don Quixote)) "If the acting is superb, it's given real authority by the dancing. Muntagirov and Nuñez are technically thrilling; she, at her finest moments, can combine an absolute mastery of the choreography, with the illusion that she's dancing it for the first time." (The Guardian (Giselle))
This collection brings together three extraordinary ballets by Kenneth MacMillan, one of the 20th century’s most influential choreographers whose work forms a pillar of The Royal Ballet’s repertory. MacMillan pushed the boundaries of dance, and these three signature works exemplify his searching genius: the emotional intensity and rich physicality of his choreography, through vivid crowd scenes and passionate pas de deux; the daring and the darkness of his complex and fascinating characters; and the mesmerizing, sensuous music to which his steps were always created. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound. "Lovers of classical ballet should, without question, go and see the Royal Ballet’s magnificent production of Manon. Ballet sceptics, meanwhile, should see it at least twice." (The Telegraph - Manon) "Such is the breathtaking impact of this production, with consistent excellence to savour from both principals and the corps, magnificent costumes and stage scenery and spot-on camera direction from Ross MacGibbon that criticism is effectively silenced. If you have been waiting for a truly outstanding Romeo and Juliet to appear on Blu-ray, then look no further." (International Record Review - Romeo & Juliet)
The Great Classics series from Naxos is the perfect introduction to myriad genres of classical music. Comprising both complete and compiled selections from the greatest works in the repertoire, the boxes are bursting with wonderful pieces of music, both recognizable and unfamiliar. The boxes take the listener on a thrilling tour of some of the world's most dramatic musical media, encompassing music from six centuries and featuring sensational performers. All boxes come with a fascinating booklet with detailed information on the genre itself, chronological placement of each work, and a comprehensive study of the music. A fitting celebration of 25 years of superb music from Naxos, the world's favourite classical label.
The brief and dazzling life of MCM Records was a labor of love that captured many treasured live performances from the last flowering of the classic Chicago Blues age. With this 8 CD box set you get a front seat to shows in the vibrant blues clubs of Chicago in the 70's. These energetic and raw live recordings capture both to-be-legendary performers and others, and were recorded by french blues afficionado Marcelle Morgantini on reel-to-reel. When Morgantini came into some money on her 50th birthday, her only wish was to go to Chicago and record the blues. To that end, she made live recordings of many blues greats including Magic Slim, Big Mojo Elem, Jimmy Dawkins, John Littlejohn, Eddie Clearwater, Eddie Taylor, Bobby King, Jimmy Johnson, Luther Johnson and many more, remastered for this special box set.
The term "chamber music" broadly implies music on an intimate scale performed by a limited number of musicians. The heart of civilized 18th-century European musical culture is best represented by that most perfect of forms the string quartet, developed by Haydn and Mozart into models of elegance and expressive balance. Embracing instruments new for his time, Mozart’s chamber music also resulted in sublime masterpieces such as the Clarinet Quintet, but it was Beethoven who expanded the length and complexity of the string quartet to its limits. Beethoven left an indelible mark of progress and change on every genre of music, and both the ‘Archduke’ Trio and ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata are milestones in chamber music history.
Beethoven’s romantic independence of spirit and powerfully personal musical language was carried forward by Schubert and Mendelssohn, both of whom introduced emotion-enhancing literary sentiments into their expressive range. The symphonic proportions of Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet places it at the pinnacle of the classical line through Mozart and Beethoven, but romantic ideals in music were already being applied to the cause of national identity. Antonín Dvorák’s ‘Dumky’ Trio takes its name from a ballad of lament, integrating national dance elements to create a distinctive Czech and Bohemian flavor. The move away from German stylistic examples by the Russian ‘mighty handful’ can be heard in Borodin’s soulful String Quartet No 2. Innovation in chamber music can be found everywhere, but there are few such works as striking as César Franck’s Violin Sonata, a flawless synthesis of classical proportion and the spirit of romanticism in its cyclic development of a single theme.
This collection of great chamber music brings together nine giants of music in works which reveal their most immediate and individual expressive worlds: proof if ever any was needed that less can be much, much more.
150 German Folksongs / Prey, Schreier, Dresden Kreuzchor, Thomanerchor Leipzig
Capriccio
CD
$21.99Aug 30, 2011
A festive concert of great voices, this Volkslied-Edition offers on 5 CDs the most famous and most beloved German folksongs, performed by well known singers like Hermann Prey, Peter Schreier, and famous choirs, especially boys choirs, such as the Dresden Kreuzchor, Thomanerchor Leipzig and the Regensburger Domspatzen. A well done edition for all friends of choir music offered for a verys special price!
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