The largest amount of organ music that has survived from earlier members of Johann Sebastian Bach's family was penned by Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694), a cousin of J.S. Bach's father and also the father of Maria Barbara, J.S. Bach's first wife. It is a collection of chorale preludes spread out over the liturgical year, although it is not possible to state that the collection is as ambitious and complete as that of Johann Sebastian's own (incomplete) Orgelbüchlein. The majority of these chorales can be found in the Neumeister Collection; this also contains a number of Johann Sebastian's early works that bear clear links to compositions by his first father-in-law.

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir/Jean Sébastien Valléee -"Remember: 130 Years of Canadian Choral Music" / 2024 marks the 130th anniversary of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, one of Canada's oldest, largest and most recognized choral ensembles. Currently under the direction of Jean-Sébastien Vallée, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is proud to celebrate it's anniversary with the release of the album, Remember. Many of the works featured on this double CD set are pieces of Canadian choral music history that have a symbolic or special meaning for the choir. Virgin Music Group; Virgin Music International; Classical

Regarded as one of Europe's leading horn players, Martin Owen appears as a soloist and chamber musician all around the world. He currently holds the position of principal horn at the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, and Haffner Wind Ensemble, having served as principal horn of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, on a temporary contract, as solo horn of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Mozart composed all of these pieces for the virtuoso horn player Joseph Leutgeb (or Leitgeb) (1732 - 1811). Leutgeb was born in Vienna and established his reputation as a soloist there before working in Salzburg, where Mozart made his acquaintance. Martin Owen writes: 'In this recording, we have attempted to portray a more youthful vigour in the earlier works (indeed, of Joseph Leutgeb himself, for whom they were written) compared to the Concerto in D, in many ways a swan song for both soloist and composer, in which I hope our performance shows more depth of tone and a higher level of maturity. I was intrigued by the fact that in 1990, sixty bars of music were uncovered in a Sotheby's auction, which were later confirmed as belonging to the concert Rondeau, KV 371 - when I was young, I only knew the work without these bars and always felt that there was too abrupt a change into the next section! Now it makes complete sense.'

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kirill Karabits, joined by an outstanding cast led by Corinne Winters, present the world premiere recording of Thomas de Hartmann's lost opera Esther. Often written by candlelight during the Nazi occupation of Paris, Esther was composed as de Hartmann-a non-Jewish Ukrainian expatriate-lived through the unfolding horrors of the Holocaust. He perceived profound parallels between those events and the Biblical story of Esther as dramatized in Jean Racine's play, from whose text he adapted the libretto. Esther is perhaps the only major musical work composed contemporaneously as a direct artistic response to the Holocaust. Bringing this long-neglected work to life has been a rewarding undertaking, involving extensive engagement with the composer's handwritten score and the preparation of a new modern performing edition. This process required close study of de Hartmann's orchestral writing and stylistic language. Esther is a distinctive work that bridges opera and oratorio, it's dramatic momentum shaped through extended monologues, choral commentary, and a triumphant final ensemble. Richly orchestrated, it reflects the full breadth of de Hartmann's artistic development-from his early training in Saint Petersburg and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky, and Taneyev, to later creative periods in Munich and France, and his search for a deeply personal musical language. Esther, the composer's largest and most ambitious later work, stands as a summation of his eclectic, polystylistic approach and a compelling rediscovery for today's performers and listeners. This album marks the next chapter of the Thomas de Hartmann Project, bringing the composer's music back to the listening audience.

An ArkivMusic Exclusive in North America! This special edition book with inserted CD presents Dacapo Records’ complete EMP Series with the electronic music of Else Marie Pade. The series offers a fresh perspective on Pade’s music, featuring previously unavailable works, including reel-to-reel tapes, compositions from her tenure at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation and new digitised versions of pioneering works. The book includes a large collection of texts about her electronic works, with QR codes to the corresponding digital albums in Dacapo Records’ EMP Series and a CD with five selected electronic works.

eventy-seven+ minutes of classics in superb sound - includes all the (UK best-seller) original LP plus 30 minutes with favorites of the Royal Marines and Grenadier Guards ! 5055354419669 AOTL1966.2 36612994 7.59 10.98 .20 ALTO COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/12/2018 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/8/4/9/3819488.jpg 6 1 N RICHTER,MAX WHITE BOY RICK / O.S.T. 028948360321 DEGRB002907402.2 36614318 11.09 13.95 .21 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON COMPACT DISCS POP SOUNDTRACKS & FILM SCORES 09/21/2018 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/2/9/9/3819924.jpg 0 1 N TERFEL,BRYN DREAMS & SONGS 2018 release. 'Music is such a special language. There's a connection with music and words, evoking our deepest memories and keenest hopes - our dreams and songs to sing.' - Sir Bryn Terfel. 028948355143 DEGRB002894802.2 36614646 11.09 13.95 .22 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 10/19/2018 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/57/3565057-2655028.jpg 0 1 N FOREST OF THE LOST SOULS FOREST OF THE LOST SOULS Two strangers meet in a forest notorious for suicides and decide to learn more about each other. Soon it becomes clear that one of them is there for a much more disturbing reason, and is actually a psychotic killer there to prey upon others and end their sorrow for them. 760137164395 WIEY1643DVD 36614844 10.03 14.95 .17 WILD EYE RELEASING DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE HORROR / SCI-FI / FANTASY 10/09/2018 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/0/0/0/3820005.jpg 0 1 N DUNCAN,CRAIG COLONIAL CHRISTMAS 2018 holiday release. Early American holiday favorites featuring Fiddle, Hammered Dulcimer, Whistles, Guitar, Mandolin, and Accordion. Craig Duncan's talents on violin, fiddle, hammered dulcimer, mandolin, guitar, bass, and viola can be heard on numerous Nashville recordings. A graduate of Appalachian State University and Tennessee State University, Craig is a member of the North American Fiddler's Hall of Fame and Who's Who in Music and Musicians. He's written 30+ music instruction publications for Mel Bay Public. 792755616024 GHIL556160.2 36616190 9.03 13.49 .19 GREEN HILL PROD. COMPACT DISCS POP CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 10/19/2018 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/6/2/0/3820261.jpg 378 1 N MULLOVA,VIKTORIA PART: TABULA RASA FRATRES PASSACAGLIA DARF ICH 880040420125 ONXC4201.2 36616442 14.94 21.98 .11 ONYX CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 09/28/2018 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/23/3565223-2622964.jpg 1 1 N BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE A series of mysterious catastrophes sweep the globe, causing worlds scientists to conclude that beings from another planet are attacking earth. Two earth space ships damage attackers, giving the world time to prepare for gigantic battle in outer space. 043396544918 SOYM9654491BR 36617357 23.55 26.99 .15 SONY BLU-RAY MOVIE HORROR / SCI-FI / FANTASY 10/02/2018 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/91/3565391-3638147.jpg 0 1 N RIDER RIDER After a tragic riding accident, young cowboy Brady (Brady Jandreau), once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, is warned that his competition days are over. Back home, Brady finds himself wondering what he has to live for when he can no longer do what gives him a sense of purpose: to ride and compete. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for a new identity and tries to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America. 043396546561 SOYM9654656BR 36617395 23.55 26.99 .15 SONY BLU-RAY MOVIE WESTERNS DRAMA 08/28/2018 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/95/3565395-3638167.jpg 4 1 N BOB MARLEY & FRIENDS / VARIOUS BOB MARLEY & FRIENDS / VARIOUS Bob Marley & friends double CD features rare songs from the master himself plus tracks from Desmond Dekker, The Wailers, Lee Perry, Peter Tosh and many more. 5311500722060 LSRM1145732.2 36608584 10.36 14.99 .23 LASER MEDIA COMPACT DISCS POP REGGAE / REGGAETON V/A COMPILATIONS 10/05/2018 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/9/4/9/3819492.jpg 0 2 N ROUTENBERG,SCOTT SUPERMOON Critically acclaimed Scott Routenberg is an award-winning composer and a jazz pianist whose exquisite touch and marvelous taste are breathtaking! Many of these original compositions were written spontaneously in the presence of his children, completed the same day in order to capture the moment and paint an impressionistic picture of youthful energy, inquisitiveness, love and beauty. 099402731926 SUM731.2 36608782 11.57 15.99 .20 SUMMIT RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 09/07/2018 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/2/4/9/3819429.jpg 0 1 N DAY6 UNLOCK Japanese CD + DVD pressing features a trading card. Warner. 2018. 4943674286966 WEAJ4286966.2 36612451 25.26 38.99 .48 WEA JAPAN COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC J-POP 10/26/2018 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/9/7/9/3819797.jpg 0 2 N SIR THOMAS BEECHAM / ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA FREDERICK DELIUS: 11 FAVOURITES Contains Delius' most essential statements. Summer Night on the River, On Hearing the First Cuckoo, Brigg Fair and the Irmelin Prelude are simply magical in their effect, and Beecham's interpretations arise out of the depths of the music itself... passages such as the introduction to Brigg Fair, seem to be outside time, one yet again wonders at the poetic rightness of every nuance, the delicately exact textural balance. His identification with the composer is so complete that one is not sure whom to credit for some features... This (collection) must surely be recognised as a gem. Sleigh Ride and the Marche Caprice are entertaining enough, but all the rest are wonderful Delius - and conducted by someone who has remained the one and only Delius interpreter. Each performance is superb." (Gramophone)

You certainly may be forgiven for not knowing the works of 18th century French composer/violoncellist Jean Baptiste Masse, but you may be suspected of faulty aesthetic development if you don't immediately fall under the seductive spell of these fine, often outstanding, works for two cellos and continuo.

In the general musical sense, these pieces (Masse actually wrote five volumes of cello sonatas) are well crafted and thoroughly engaging compositions that combine elements of French and Italian style; as cello works, they represent a significant developmental stage in the history of virtuoso cello playing, posing substantial and nearly equally distributed technical demands on both performers. Cellists Douglas McNames and Vivian Barton, along with harpsichordist Karen Flint, take to these six four-movement sonatas with just the right blend of seriousness and abandon to impress us with the music's artful dialogues and daring virtuosic forays. The two soloists approach the music with a certain deliberateness in articulation that, combined with the astonishingly realistic, clearly detailed, resonant sound, gives an almost palpable presence to each instrument and to all the individual lines.

Although Bach got sounds like this out of only one cello (with no continuo), Masse's sonatas are in their way no less extraordinary for their ability to entertain and frequently amaze. This is a wonderful disc; a celebration of the cello; a real find. 

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

REVIEWS:
BBC Music (3/98, p.72) - Performance: 3 (out of 5), Sound: 3 (out of 5) - "Liszt's symphonic poems call for performances that blend flamboyance and exalted lyricism - or, in other words, that revel in Romantic empathy....Fortunately, Michael Halász and the New Zealand Symphony offer real performances rather than unimaginative run-throughs....The orchestra...plays with considerable fire in extrovert passages..."

Energetic and entertaining; a must for Gottschalk groupies.

CD 1*
Réponds-moi, Danse Cubaine, Op. 50 (1859) [2:37]
Printemps d'Amour, Mazurka, Caprice de Concert, Op. 40 (1855) [4:31]
Marche de Nuit, Op. 17 (1855) [5:07]
Ses Yeux, Célèbre Polka de Concert, Op. 66 (1865) [4:32]
La Jota Aragonesa, Caprice Espagnol, Op. 14 (?1853) [4:14]
Le Bananier, Chanson nègre, Op. 5 (?1848) [3:03]
Ojos Criollos, Danse Cubaine, Caprice Brillante, Op. 37 (1859) [2:46]
Orfa, Grande Polka, Op. 71 (?1863/64) [2:39]
La Scintilla (L'Énticelle), Mazurka Sentimentale, Op. 20 (1848/53) [3:18]
Marche Funèbre, Op. 61/64 (1853/54) [5:46]
La Gallina, Danse Cubaine, Op. 53 (1859/63) [2:24]
Radieuse, Grande Valse de Concert, Op. 72 (?1863/64) [5:35]
Grande Tarantelle, Op. 67 (?1865) [5:01]
CD 2**
Souvenirs d'Andalousie, Caprice de Concert sur La Caña. Le Fandango et Le Jaleo de Jerez (1851) [4:17]
Le Banjo, Grotesque Fantasie, Caprice Américain (?1854/55) [4:03]
Grand Scherzo (1869) [4:56]
Pasquinade, Caprice (1863) [3:40]
Berceuse, Cradle Song (1861) [4:47]
Tournament Galop (?1850/51) [3:13]
Mazurk [3:47]
'Union' Paraphrase de Concert on the National Airs, The Star Spangled Banner, Yankee Doodle and Hail Columbia (1852/62) [8:41]
The Last Hope, Méditation Réligeuse (1854) [6:01]
Scherzo Romantique (1851) [3:50]
Le Mancenillier, West Indian Serenade (?1849/50) [5:22]
The Dying Poet, Meditation (?1863) [6:43]

 
I count M. Louis Moreau Gottschalk among my most joyful and refreshing musical discoveries of recent years. It all started with a second-hand CD of the Irish pianist Philip Martin playing, among other things, Le Banjo, Le Bananier and the jaw-dropping Tremolo. That was followed by a Naxos recording of the orchestral music – review – and, most recently, by Martin’s set of the complete piano music ( review). In a spirit of discovery I was only too keen to hear this Nimbus collection, from two pianists who are new to me. It’s been around for a while, but what makes this set rather special is that CD 1 is devoted to four-handed versions of these showpieces; and that promises to be very entertaining indeed.
 
So it proves. The Chicago-born Alan Marks and British partner Nerine Barrett get off to a terrific start with Réponds-moi, a now sparkling, now seductive little Cuban number. Anyone who knows the two-hander will be astonished by the ebullience and invention on display here. The piano sound is clear and unfettered, making it ideal for such spontaneous writing and playing. The music-box tinkle of Printemps d’Amour is especially attractive, that quicksilver treble a real delight. What a marvellous sense of collective music-making, and how well these players get to the open, easeful heart of these works.
 
Rhythms are always impeccable, those in the early Marche de Nuit and Le Bananier superbly sprung. I’m delighted at how the oft winsome character of Gottschalk’s creations is so well caught and characterised. Dances – whether central American or central European – trip off the keyboard in a most disarming way. The imperious mien and Mediterranean warmth of that Spanish caprice are brought out in full. Occasionally, in Orfa for instance, I miss Martin’s more thoughtful, introspective playing style, in which rhythms and textures are more subtly done. Really that’s a minor caveat when Marks and Barrett’s musicianship is otherwise so polished and pleasing.
 
The first CD ends with a triple flourish. After the Cuban smokiness of La Gallina – simply breathtaking in its quick-fire delivery – and that giddy little Radieuse waltz, comes a crowning tarantella. Marks faces formidable competition in disc two which, recorded several years earlier, sounds a little brighter than the first. Make no mistake, the playing here is very assured, and Marks only yields to Martin in pieces such as Le Banjo. Here the Irishman’s control of touch and dynamics is unrivalled. The American is rather less nuanced or revealing. Then again, he just melts one’s heart with the charming Pasquinade – shades of Tremolo, surely – and the cradle song.
 
It’s an invidious task comparing these two pianists in this repertoire. I wouldn’t want to be without either of them. Just listen to Marks’s runaway rendition of the Tournament Galop and that medley of American patriotic tunes and you’ll hear what I mean. Yes, Martin has the better, fuller recording and a surer, more intuitive way with this music, but Marks certainly captures the generous, larger-than-life nature of these pieces very well indeed. In spite of some lovely touches neither pianist can save the rather maudlin Last Hope and Dying Poet; still they’re hardly dross, and both pianists’ versions are feelingly done.
 
I see from the rather skimpy liner-notes that Alan Marks died in 1995, which is a pity as I’d have liked to hear more Gottschalk from him. That said, it’s the four-handers that offer the greatest and most consistent musical rewards; the solos are somewhat intermittent in their appeal. Fine, atmospheric recordings though.
 
Energetic and entertaining; a must for Gottschalk groupies.
 
-- Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International

The appearance of Fauré's Requiem in the 1880s, a decade during which the composer's most successful compositions were songs and piano pieces, can on I y be explained by the fine choral music which preceded it. The Messe basse represents Fauré at his most practical. Written in conjunction with the French composer and organist André Messager (also at one time assistant to Widor at St Sulpice) during a holiday in Normandy in 1881, the Messe basse was composed for the modest forces of a local church. A setting of the motet O salutaris hostia and the Kyrie were Messager's contribution; the remaining movements of the Ordinary, without the Credo, were set by Fauré. When revising the score in 1906 Fauré adapted the violin and harmonium accompaniment for organ, at the same time excising the Gloria and replacing Messager's Kyrie with one of his own. The final version of the Messe basse is one of the few existing settings of the mass for female voices and organ. The youthful Cantique de Jean Racine dates from 1865 when Fauré was studying with Saint-Saëns at the Ecole Niedermeyer in Paris. The Cantique earned Fauré a premier prix in composition and is a testament to the young composer's melodic genius and to his penchant for rich textures. This recording is an attempt to move Fauré's liturgical music from the concert hall to the church. In particular, the reconstruction of nineteenth-century French ecclesiastical pronunciation and the restoration of Fauré's preferred phrasing are just two of the most useful elements in the search for the composer's intentions. To those familiar with the more expansive versions of Fauré's Requiem there will inevitably be unfamiliar textures in this performance. However, few of Fauré's romantic gestures are lost in the chamber version, and moreover, the reserved translucence of the instrumentation emphasizes the fact that the Requiem -and indeed all the choral music recorded here - was originally designed for liturgical performance.

REVIEW:

"Conga-Line in Hell" is one of those rare discs that not only makes thematic sense but also happens to be hugely enjoyable from beginning to end. The disc's somewhat alarming title is taken from the delightful opening piece from 1994, the Uruguayan Miguel del Águila's sly conga that layers Latin American dance rhythms over a repeating piano figure (think Philip Glass, but with a sense of humor). Don't let the title (or the cover art) put you off: this is a great sampler of new and 20th-century music from the Americas, an area that has long been of interest to Joel Sachs, who is probably best known for his work in New York directing two new-music groups, Continuum and the New Juilliard Ensemble. His conducting on disc, as in live concerts, always is sharply articulated and well-thought-out. The Camerata de las Américas is a top-notch group of players who sound as if they've been playing this repertoire forever (showing incredible tightness and focused sound), but also as if they are still completely entranced by the many charms of this music.

And so they should be; it's a terrific program. The Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, whose early works were heavily influenced by Messiaen and Berio, eventually turned to the music of his youth for inspiration. 1988's Danzón No. 4 is one result, in which the melody is sinuously carried by the oboe, flute, and saxophone, fed from a spring of strings and percussion. Conlon Nancarrow, the American who left for Mexico and who perhaps is the best-known name in this group of composers, is represented by 1943's First Piece for Small Orchestra, a rhythmically piquant but tonally blues-flavored work. The Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra's 1997 piece Cuentos (Tales) spans three evocatively-titled movements: the explosive shrieks of "Lenguas desconocidas (Unknown Languages)"; "Lo que pasó en las nubas (What Happened in the Clouds)", reminiscent of Messiaen's shimmering textures; and "Batata-Coco", a wild mambo homage to the great bandleader Pérez Prado.

Another composer to make use of Caribbean dance sounds is Nadia Boulanger's Cuban student Alejandro García Caturla, whose First Cuban Suite from 1932 draws as much from the son, comparsa, and danza styles as it does from Stravinsky. (Listen to the ominous opening of the movement titled "Comparsa" and compare it to the first sounds of the Rite of Spring.) Another piece from the '30s rounds out the program: 1937's Flôr de Tremembé (Tremembé Flower) by Brazilian composer Mozart Camargo Guarnieri, which starts out in something of a fugue propelled by Brazilian percussion, then blossoms into a festive whirl of color. The sound is great: wide, but still very crisp.

--Anastasia Tsioulcas, ClassicsToday.com

Those who lament the austere, dispassionate, "scholarly" approach that more often than not informs today's original-instrument performances of Bach cantatas will find much to rejoice in Masaaki Suzuki's grand and heartfelt, if not overly devotional conceptions. For instance, as you listen to the opening Sinfonia of Christ lag in Todesbanden you're immediately struck by the emotive delicacy of the string playing and how perfectly it introduces the subject's necessary resolve and sadness. Moments later when the chorus enters and the momentum shifts, the urgency of the ensemble likewise changes to deftly communicate just the right measure of boldness and hope. Throughout the piece Suzuki's uncanny ability to extract every nuance from Bach's sublime score recalls the efforts of Karl Richter, Günther Ramin, Fritz Werner, Karl Ristenpart, and Helmut Winschermann--bygone patricians of this repertoire who were equally considerate of the music's every emotion, from deepest angst to overwhelming joy. Though BWV 4 is one of Bach's most famous and oft-recorded cantatas, Suzuki's rendering of it ranks with the very best.

The two other cantatas offered--Nacht dir, Herr, verlanget mich BWV 150 and Der Herr denket an uns BWV 196--also receive outstanding performances. In BWV 150, soprano Yumiko Kurisu's seamless and spirited rendering of the aria "Doch bin und bleibe ich vergnügt" is a marvel, as is the fifth-movement trio "Zedern müssen von den Winden", expertly performed by countertenor Akira Tachikawa, tenor Koki Katano, and veteran Dutch bass Peter Kooy. Also noteworthy is Suzuki's brilliant negotiation of the complex rhythms of the chorale "Meine Augen sehen stets zu dem herren", imparting a rarely heard uplifting quality to the setting. BWV 196 is highlighted by the final chorale "Ihr seid die Gesegneten", where Suzuki's sensibly dignified conclusion impresses more favorably than the overly exuberant let's-get-it-over-with treatment Konrad Junghänel and the Cantus Cölln offer in their fairly recent Harmonia Mundi recording (type Q1384 in Search Reviews).

BIS's sound is of audiophile quality, with an expansive yet detailed sound stage that spectacularly complements Suzuki's grand realization. As Volume 1 in a complete traversal of Bach's sacred and secular cantatas, this auspicious entry offers the promise of an extraordinary and very important cycle that shouldn't be missed by anyone who loves these works. This is the kind of Bach rarely heard anymore--performances that make you want to devote time to them, to listen at lifelike levels and follow the text religiously.
-- ClassicsToday.com