Pavans and galliards by the Elizabethan master of melancholy, complemented by a new recording of Benjamin Britten’s magnificent Nocturnal inspired by both Dowland’s music and by the playing of Julian Bream. After the success of ‘The Golden Age of the Guitar in Europe’ (2CD, 96157), Brilliant Classics releases a second album by the French guitarist Pascal Boëls, a unique collection of music by 17th and 20th-century English masters. In a booklet introduction, the guitarist explains how he sees Dowland as ‘a universal genius, eternal wanderer who – already! – knew how to rub shoulders with all facets of the human soul.’ Pascal Boëls plays a personal selection of Dowland’s piece originally written for solo lute, pieces which embody a spirit of introversion such as the ‘Forlorn Hope’ Fancy and the ‘Lachrymae’ Pavan which became famous across Europe, much imitated and adapted by other composers of the day.

Lightening the mood are also the kind of courtly dances and romances which delighted the composer’s aristocratic patrons such as the Earl of Essex and King Christian of Denmark. The English guitarist Julian Bream played Dowland’s pieces on the guitar from an early stage of his career, and made a best-selling album of them for RCA. It was this antique palette of gentle, musing expression that inspired Benjamin Britten to write a Nocturnal for guitar which builds as a sequence of eight variations towards (rather than away from) the Dowland song on which they are based. The resulting work, according to Bream, was the greatest solo work ever written for guitar, exploring a slippage between wakeful and dream states with a subtle ambiguity between major and minor harmonies and a language that bridges the divide between the 17th and 20th centuries.

Transcending the barriers of time, two 20-th century composers dialogue with a genius who lived centuries earlier. An immense painter, sculptor, architect, Michelangelo (1475-1564) wrote poetry expressing turmoil, restlessness, personal and professional anger, written in an energetic and passionate language. Both Dimitri Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten found inspiration in his texts, and by setting them to music they show their own feelings in a highly personal and characteristic way. - This new recording presents the "7 Sonnets Op. 22" by Benjamin Britten, and the Michelangelo Suite Op. 145 by Dimitri Shostakovich, both intensely expressive and dramatic, each in his own unique musical language. - Sung by Mark Milhofer and Mirco Palazzi, Marco Scolastra is their piano partner. Mark Milhofer's recording of the Folk Songs by Britten for Brilliant Classics received many excellent reviews, including a "Recommended Recording of the Month" on Musicweb.

This album pays tribute to composer Benjamin Britten, who will be commemorated in 2026, the 50th anniversary of his death. It was conceived by conductor Lawrence Foster who, with Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, showcases the British composer's impressionism tinged with post-Romanticism. The programme includes his sublime Illuminations, based on Rimbaud's poem, often performed by tenors but originally created by a soprano in 1940. Here, the young and very promising French soprano Julie Roset is the soloist, giving a very engaging performance. Another famous piece by Britten, Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, commissioned by the British Ministry of Education in 1945, is a set of variations on a theme by Purcell that showcases each family of instruments in the orchestra. Although the Sinfonia da requiem (1940) was commissioned by the Japanese government to celebrate the 2600th anniversary of the Mikado dynasty, Britten dedicated it to the memory of his parents. Finally, the Choral dances from Gloriana are taken from the opera-tribute to the Queen of England, who was crowned six days before the premiere on 8 June 1953.

The collaborative efforts, the mutual emulation and inspiration of Sir Antonio Pappano and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome have spanned 18 years, led to one of the world's greatest and most versatile virtuoso ensembles and to acclaimed live and studio recordings showcasing an eclectic selection of symphonic and choral music. Their repertoire features already legendary performances of Verdi's Requiem and Quattro pezzi sacri. In addition, their recording of Bruckner's 8th Symphony features here for the very first time! This box brings together all the recordings that the British conductor Sir Antonio Pappano (b.1959) made with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in the years from 2005 to 2022 for Warner Classics.

Today one of the most highly respected string quartets, the Belcea were established in 1994 at the Royal College of Music in London and studied with the Chilingirian, the Amadeus, and later the Alban Berg quartets. Today one of the most highly respected string quartets, the Belcea were established in 1994 at the Royal College of Music in London and studied with the Chilingirian, the Amadeus, and later the Alban Berg quartets. They recorded for EMI Classics across nearly a decade, between 2000 and 2009, bringing about tremendous versions of quartets by Schubert, Britten, Bartók, and Mozart, to name a few.

"The Belcea Quartet throw every fibre of their beings into the most vivid projection of the masterpieces they undertake." - The Independent "These recordings form a crucial part of our life as a quartet and we hope that over the ensuing years they haven't lost their freshness and sense of adventure." - Krzysztof Chorzelski, violist of the Belcea Quartet

A scintillating achievement... Sabina Cvilak's soprano has the focus... Bostridge brings piercing sincerity... Keenlyside - sonorous, commanding... an important issue: Noseda's judgement of pace is unerring, and the orchestra and chorus simply superb. (BBC Music 4). "LSO and Chorus are on cracking form, the soloists are as good as you will get... No one should be without (Britten's) but 50 years later, Noseda's dramatic, pulsating account represents another landmark." (Financial Times). "Noseda seeks to take the audience from the edge of consciousness to the blazing fires of the battlefield... Bostridge spins a beautiful line... Keenlyside is excellent throughout... Decisive and confident, Sabina Cvilak has the Slavic edge that has seemed hard-wired into the part since the incomparable Vishnevskaya." (Gramophone). "[Noseda] brings a strong sense of Italianate lyricism to bear on the score, reminding us of Britten's debt to Verdi... choral singing is fervent and intense, the playing fierce and sensitive." (The Guardian). "Another essential recording." (The Times).

Benjamin Britten had a rare genius for setting words to music, becoming one of the most successful choral composers of the 20th Century... Voices and organ make a mystical union, spotlighting their sonorous incompatibilities... Rejoice: Once again the composer extracts a first-rate performance" "Gloriana Dances: choral singing of such quality... balance of the recording... exceptionally life-like and satisfactory, and the sound as good as I have heard... no carol is more perfect in it's simplicity than his Hymn to the Virgin... I also enjoy Britten's church music from New College, Oxford, directed by David Lumsden. This includes the Hymn to St Cecilia." (Gramophone)

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Britten: Rape of Lucretia (The)

Britten: War Requiem

Britten' song cycles form a substantial and important part of his work. The Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo belong to the period when Britten had begun to set foreign languages in an attempt to broaden his musical horizons.

Britten, B.: War Requiem / Penderecki, K.: Threnody To the V

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

BRITTEN: Violin Concerto / Cello Symphony

BRITTEN: A Ceremony of Carols / Friday Afternoons