DIVERTIMENTO K.334 & OBOE QUAR

La Gamme heralds the long-awaited return of Sonnerie to the trio format. The all-French program of music by Marais and Forqueray recalls the Songs of the Auvergne and the beautiful French countryside. Huggett, Bejamin, and Johnstone deliver expert phrasing and highly nuanced performances, allowing virtuosity and clarity to remain in impeccable balance.

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Following its Linn debut which saw the ‘revitalization of an iconic group’ (Choir & Organ), Gothic Voices presents The Dufay Spectacle, featuring special guest Andrew Lawrence-King. In a pageant of versatility featuring France’s greatest pre-Renaissance composer we enter the world of a grand New Year’s Day wedding feast, full of optimism and vision, tempered by playful emotional hardship, the music teasingly exploring the relationship between both, solemnized with some of Guillaume Dufay’s greatest motets and a festive use of instruments to mark the splendor of the occasion. From this final flourish of the mediaeval era we hear in Dufay’s quintessential Burgundian virtuosity how its musical richness has reached the point when it is about to burst into the new artistry and ideas of the Renaissance. The Dufay Spectacle celebrates this artist’s genius with an eclectic show of frolicking and passionate robustness, plaintive devotional ardor, with slow, dark rhythms, upbeat cascades of melody, and thrilling complex rhythms. As the central chanson rings out its New Year’s promise ce jour de l’an is indeed a day to celebrate.

Classical Music

For his second recital harpist Sivan Magen performs some of the greatest French masterpieces written for harp at the turn of the last two centuries, by Fauré, Caplet, Tournier, and others. Praised by the press as ‘a magician’ (New York’s WQXR), whose ‘virtuoso playing conjures astonishing color and dynamic range’ (The Daily Telegraph), Sivan Magen is the only Israeli to have ever won the prestigious Int’l Harp Contest in Israel. Sivan Magen’s Britten recital was listed in the New York Times’ ‘Best Recordings of 2012’, whilst his Linn debut ‘Fantasian’ was awarded five stars by BBC Music Magazine.

Say It Isn't So is a joyful celebration of the impeccably crafted songs of Irving Berlin and the unique partnership between Claire Martin and the late Richard Rodney Bennett. Lifelong friends on and off stage, Martin and Bennett recorded three studio albums and enjoyed acclaimed concert performances in a collaboration that flourished over two decades. Recorded in New York, Say It Isn't So is their last recording together and one of which Claire is immensely proud. Bennett's skillful arrangements highlight why Berlin was widely considered one of the greatest American songwriters of all time and brilliantly showcase Claire's assured and expressive voice. Claire and Richard's previous duo albums, When Lights are Low and Witchcraft, received wide critical acclaim, 'their albums set the standard for classic interpretations of popular songs' (The Observer).

Classical Music

Classical Music