Classical Music

British Cellist Jamie Walton explores the unique atmosphere of Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh to perform Britten's Three Solo Suites for Cello. The Suites are the summation of the long-standing friendship between Britten and Rostropovich, with the passionate third in particular inspired by the Russian cellist's rich and romantic performances of Bach's unaccompanied suites.

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These works show some of the breadth and range of Britten's choral writing, embracing the masque from his opera Gloriana, his own take on the English part song tradition in Five Flower Songs, and his last work for unaccompanied voices, Sacred and Profane. The latter sets medieval texts described herein as 'a mixture of the devotional and the rumbustiously secular'.

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This recording brings together three youthful masterworks all composed by Benjamin Britten before his 30th birthday. Originally released in 2005 'Britten: Les Illuminations' has been re-issued as part of Linn's ECHO series which offers a second chance to enjoy the best of the label's award-winning catalogue. These are highly insightful performances, widely considered to be modern reference versions to set next to Britten's own. Clio Gould and the ensemble demonstrate playing of impressive unanimity of purpose, joyous intensity and clarity of detail. The ensemble is joined by the Royal Philharmonic Society's 2012 'Singer of the Year' Toby Spence, for two of Britten's most popular song cycles. Toby Spence's voice is ideally suited to the wide-ranging demands that Britten makes on it; his tonal freshness and acutely observed articulation of the words are absorbing. Martin Owen, whose horn playing has drawn comparisons with Dennis Brain, is equal to every one of the near-impossible tasks set him by Britten in the Serenade. Re-defining the string orchestra, Scottish Ensemble inspires audiences with vibrant and powerful performances. Scottish Ensemble is the UK's only professional string orchestra, built around a core of twelve outstanding string players. The ensemble is known both in the UK and internationally for it's versatility and ambitious programming. Performing standing up, the individual layers bring an energetic and passionate dynamic to every performance.

The greatly sought-after tenor James Gilchrist pairs with pianist Anna Tilbrook to continue his highly acclaimed exploration of British song with a new recording of Benjamin Britten works. As stated by the times following his work with Finzi, Leighton, Vaughan Williams, Gurney, Bliss, and Herbert, "As an interpreter of English song, Gilchrist is often in a class by himself."

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Classical Music

Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge/Lachrymae/Two portraits/ Simple Symphony. This programme is largely devoted to striking works of a youthful Britten, the great British composer. The extremely talented European Camerata orchestra is conducted by violinist Laurent Qu nelle, and has only been recorded once before.

Explore this debut album by Lisa Archontidi-Tsaldaraki & Panayotis Archontides, which brings together both well and lesser-known repertoire for violin and piano from the first half of the 20th Century.

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Melly Still's production for Glyndebourne finds the "delicate balance between whimsy and mysticism" (Daily Telegraph) at the heart of the opera, which Vladimir Jurowski conducts "with lustrous style: you can hear the birds in the score, feel the sunshine and thrill to the starlit night sky in the final scene" (Opera Today).

Directed by Robin Lough. Starring Jeremy Carpenter, Clive Bayley, Mark Stone.

Classical Music