The new opus "Wonder Women" by L'Arpeggiata and Christina Pluhar is dedicated to women. On the one hand, it is a homage to all the wonderful female composers of the 17th century, but also to all the talented female musicians of all times who too often had to hide their talent behind their husbands or give up their careers too early. On the other hand, Christina Pluhar also draws her inspiration from the traditional music of South America and Italy and looked for songs that tell stories about extraordinary, strong, courageous but also sad women. First and foremost is the wonderful Mexican song "La Bruja" (The Witch), which symbolizes the freedom of all women at all times and in all cultures. Celebrate women in all their facets and with all their talents together with Luciana Mancini, C�line Scheen, Benedetta Mazzucato, Vincenzo Capezzuto, Christina Pluhar and L'Arpeggiata!

GLUCK: ORFEO ED EURIDICE

CONCERTI GROSSI OP 6 NOS 1 2 4 & 6 / VAN WASSENAER

MORS ET VITA

BELLINI: LA SONNAMBULA

This is the most successful recording in the Erato history: Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto and Clarinet Concerto by the most wonderful cast of the 1960s, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Lily Laskine for the first one, and Jacques Lancelot for the second, all accompanied by Jean-Fran�ois Paillard and his chamber orchestra. A recording full of refinement and elegance which particularly suits to these two works. On January 7th we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Jean-Pierre Rampal's birth, the leading flautist of his time who brought his instrument to the firmament and made it so popular around the world. Flautist Eugenia Zukerman said of him after he died in 2000: "He played with such a rich palette of color in a way that few people had done before and no one since. He had an ability to imbue sound with texture and clarity and emotional content. He was a dazzling virtuoso, but more than anything he was a supreme poet."

Laurence Equilbey, conducting her period-instrument Insula Orchestra, champions more music by Louise Farrenc, a prominent and pioneering composer in 19th century Paris. This set completes the cycle with Symphony No. 2 in D Major Op. 35 and two overtures: Overture No. 1 in E minor, Op. 23 and Overture No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 24. The Financial Times states,.The score is so well written that it deserves a prominent place in the history of the early Romantic symphony... Equilbey and the Insula orchestra gave it a fleet, fiery performance. Their crusading spirit lived up to the day's billing".

CAGE2 is the title of Bertrand Chamayou's new album - he calls it the twin brother of his most recent Letter(s) to Erik Satie - both recorded at the Miraval studios. CAGE� is also the title of a performance Bertrand Chamayou conceived with dancer and choreographer �lodie Sicard, featuring 12 pieces composed by John Cage for prepared piano, in the period between 1940 and 1945. John Cage wrote all the pieces of this album for dance solos: for the American dancer Syvilla Fort, for dancers and choreographers such as Val�rie Bettis, Wilson Williams, Pearl Primus, Jean Erdman, but also for the terrific Merce Cunningham. Bertrand has also delivered brilliant booklet notes on Cage, the genesis of the prepared piano and the pieces themselves.

Handel: Messiah (2xCD + Bonus DVD) / "A lifetime of performing Messiah has brought me enough courage to record this singularly famous piece of music. With the finest musicians and soloists on the planet surrounding me, I'm finally ready to lay down my personal interpretation for posterity." The American conductor John Nelson, especially famed for his interpretations of Berlioz, conducted Handel's most celebrated oratorio at Coventry Cathedral in the heart of England in November 2022. "In today's turbulent world, I hope that this concert of Messiah in this symbolic location can be a powerful message of hope." The performance is now released as a three-disc set - comprising the audio version (2 CDs) and the video (1 DVD). Nelson's chosen version of the score reflects Messiah's evolution over the period from 1741 (the original autograph) to the early 1750s, when a 'standard' version of the oratorio took shape. In addition, the CDs offer eight bonus tracks - alternative versions of now-familiar arias. Joining John Nelson are the historically informed orchestra and choir of The English Concert, soprano Lucy Crowe, countertenor Alex Potter, tenor Michael Spyres and bass Matthew Brook. As the Times wrote of the performance: "From shadowy strings in 'For behold, darkness shall cover the earth' to gilded trumpets and exuberant timpani in the final chorus, this was Handel straight from the opera house: dramatic and eloquent."

The first album from Nathalie Stutzmann as conductor features Dvor�k's well known Symphony No. 9" From The New World". Nathalie Stutzmann studied conducting with legendary Finnish teacher Jorma Panula, and has benefited from the mentoring of Simon Rattle and the late Seiji Ozawa. She holds two major posts in the USA - Music Director at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra - and has guest engagements with the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bayreuth Festival amongst others. Simon Rattle told the NY times: "Nathalie is the real thing. So much love, intensity and sheer technique."

Max Emanuel Cencic Fantastic Cencic - Even in an age of thrilling countertenors, Max Emanuel Cencic stands out for the heroic scale and brilliance of his voice, his expansive lyricism, and his imagination and enterprise in choice of repertoire. Cencic has excelled as both a soprano and a mezzo-soprano, and Fantastic Cencic showcases his extraordinary interpretative range - from the great and lesser-known masters of the Baroque to the bel canto of Rossini and composers of the Romantic era from Schubert to Strauss. The third of these three CDs comprises recordings from the early 1990s, shortly after Cencic left the Wiener S�ngerknaben, which are released here for the first time.

John Eliot Gardiner TITLE: Purcell: King Arthur (2CD) Label: PRX/Warner Classics/Parlophone - With it's lavish music and elaborate staging, the semi-opera King Arthur is one of the master-pieces in Purcell's works. On a text by the poet John Dryden very freely inspired from Arthurian legend and specifically devised for him, Purcell created a work of great expressive intensity which includes many of his most beautiful and well-known arias The importance of Monteverdi to John Eliot Gardiner is signalled by the fact that, when he founded a choir in 1964, it was for a performance of Monteverdi Vespers. The Monteverdi Choir went on to celebrate it's 50th anniversary in 2014 with a performance of the same work. Units Per Set: 2

Emmanuelle Ha�m TITLE: Handel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo (2CD) - Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, an unstaged serenata composed for a ducal wedding in Naples in 1708, is not to be confused with the slightly more operatic Acis and Galatea, written in London in 1718. Both adapt a tale from Ovid's Metamorphoses, the Italian work is bolder in conception and far more virtuosic than it's English pastoral counterpart and features some of Handel's finest arias Units Per Set: 2

Edward Higginbottom TITLE: Lalande: de Profundis, Grands Motets (2CD) Michel-Richard de Lalande was the leading composer of sacred music at the French court during the 17th Century. His Grands motets - he composed 77 - dominated the repertory of the Royal Chapel during his lifetime and after, until the 1770s in the programmes of the Concert Spirituel in Paris. His works are marked by both expressive harmonic vocabulary and contrapuntal mastery, which is exemplary in this set.

ST JOHN PASSION