Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

The four cantatas on this recording are dated 1725, a year during which Bach appears to have devoted himself less regularly than previously to the writing of cantatas. Whatever the reason might have been for this, the cantatas that he did compose are far from being routine affairs. Lobe den Herren (Praise to the Lord), BWV 137, is a case in point: in it Bach includes the original text of the famous hymn, and also uses the familiar melody in all five movements to a greater or lesser degree. To impose such limitations must have been a challenge to himself as a composer, and the imagination and technical skill with which he fulfilled his task are striking. Another impressive moment is the opening movement of Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV79. This was written for the Feast of the Reformation, and with its horns and timpani it conveys a festive magnificence suitable to the occasion. The remaining two cantatas are both associated with a biblical allegory. In the case of BWV 168, the parable of the Dishonest Steward gives Bach the opportunity of composing a thunderous demand for a reckoning of accounts in the opening bass aria Tue Rechnung!, as well as letting the tenor sing about interest and capital in the most beguiling manner in the aria Kapital und Interessen. BWV164 on the other hand deals with the parable of the Good Samaritan, with the expressive alto aria Nur durch Lieb und durch Erbarmen... ('Only through love and through pity') providing an emotional centre, with its accompaniment of two flutes.

A singular voice in 20th century music, Allan Pettersson ignored all the prophecies, so common during his lifetime, concerning the death of the symphony. Instead, and in spite of great personal hardships, he kept on composing in the genre for almost 30 years, from the First Symphony in 1951 to the Seventeenth, left unfinished at his death in 1980. For a long time, the results of his struggle went without recognition, and it wasn't until Antal Doráti championed Symphony No. 7 in 1968 that Pettersson's name became known to a wider audience. Christian Lindberg -- himself a great individualist in Swedish music -- here conducts three of Pettersson's earliest works: eight of the Barefoot Songs and two of the three concertos for string orchestra. The 24 Barefoot Songs for voice and piano (1943--45) are Pettersson's settings of his own poems, and as such form a singularly profound portrait of the composer. Their importance can be measured by the fact that Pettersson throughout his life returned to themes from the collection, reusing them in his large-scale works. It was Doráti who suggested the orchestration of eight of the songs, a task with which he was entrusted by the composer. The two concertos for strings were composed in 1950 and 1956 respectively, and already indicate the very individual road that Pettersson would take as a composer of orchestral works. These often technically demanding scores are given vibrant performances by the Nordic Chamber Orchestra under their chief conductor Christian Lindberg. The team is joined by the eminent Swedish baritone Anders Larsson in the expressive Barefoot Songs, music which brings to mind a plea made much later by the composer: 'When will the angel come and give back the song to your heart, so simple and so clear that a child will stop crying?'.

Giovanni paolo cima;Francesco Turini; G.B. Buonamente; Dario Cast London Baroque The Trio Sonata in 17th Century Italy.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.


Villa-Lobos' late masterpiece, Forest of the Amazon, began life as a Hollywood film score, the majority of which was never used. So he developed the music into a huge, 80-minute-long, multi-movement suite that serves both as a tribute to his homeland and a fitting culmination of his personal musical voice. The work has everything: luscious orchestration, great tunes, a "primitive" male choir chanting in a primordial language, some lovely songs for soprano, and passages of wordless vocalise for the same singer evocative of exotic birdsong. Does it sound "Hollywood-esque"? Yes, but only to the extent that Villa-Lobos often works in a similar idiom anyway. More significantly, the piece is chock-full of contrast--but there are also recurring elements (the War Dance, for example) that help to bind it together and give it shape. It's not just 80 minutes of "atmosphere".

The only competition for this recording, for which a new edition of the score was specially prepared, comes from Alfred Heller's very good Moscow recording, which contains a touch less music. Certainly in terms of sheer sonic opulence, the performers' ability to project the style with total confidence and commitment, and the excellence of the singing (soprano Anna Korondi is superb), this vividly engineered SACD sets a new standard. If you've been collecting this Brazilian music series (and you certainly should be), then this new release will be self-recommending. It's simply magnificent.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Pinturas de Tamayo is the result of American composer Steven Stucky's encounter with the art of the Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo. Initially struck by the painting 'The Great Galaxy' - reproduced on the cover of this CD - he chose this and four other paintings as his points of departure for a five-movement suite, which although it is far from pictorial certainly offers as much colour and poetry as the paintings themselves. In Spirit Voices for percussion and orchestra, Stucky has instead explored mythical beings from around the world, including Coyote, the trickster god of the Navajo Indians, mountain goblins of Japanese folk culture, and the Scottish bean nighe, a female wraith portending death. Written for the performers on this disc, the score consists of seven movements in which the percussionist sometimes plays a soloistic role, and in others is integrated into the orchestra. Closing the disc is Stucky's Second Concerto for Orchestra for which he received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Music. It was written for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, a team that Stucky worked closely with over a long period of time. While the Concerto is not based on any extra-musical images, it is very much a result of this collaboration, which Stucky signals both with musical references and in the title of the first movement: 'Overture (with Friends)'. The present recording is the first of all of these works, and was made in the presence of the composer. Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Lan Shui have appeared on a number of highly acclaimed discs for BIS, most recently a performance of Rachmaninov's Second Symphony which caused the reviewers to describe the orchestra as 'wonderful' (klassik-heute.de), 'world-class' (International Record Review) and 'sensational' (Scherzo). A previous collaboration between the orchestra and the celebrated percussionist Evelyn Glennie entitled Oriental Landscapes contains three works for percussion and orchestra described by one reviewer as 'ideal vehicles for Glennie's familiarly faultless musicianship.'

Classical Music