One must get past the clich� ('Vivaldi composed the same concerto 500 times') to understand the extent to which composer, instrument and genre form an indissoluble whole; and that is what Th�otime Langlois de Swarte and the musicians of Le Consort have set out to do. From his early youth in Venice to his last days in Vienna, the 'red-haired priest' pushed back technical and academic boundaries, constantly creating new narrative forms: the journey of a lifetime.

This new album rounds off the complete recording of the symphonies of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach that the musicians of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin began over two decades ago. The final batch offers the quintessence of his art, revealing the full originality of Johann Sebastian's inspired son, whose freedom and inventiveness paved the way for Haydn and Mozart.

The sublime reflection of a human being faced with his own finitude and what comes afterwards, Mozart's Requiem reaches beyond the realm of music to attain universal resonance. Raphaël Pichon's interpretation of this testamentary work, nurtured by a seminal experience with stage director Romeo Castellucci and punctuated by earlier sacred pieces of Mozart, is overwhelmingly moving

Graham Ross and the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge celebrate the 500th anniversary of Palestrina's birth in style, recording for the very first time an album of outstanding works by the Roman master that are still little-known. To add resonance to their program, they pair settings of the same texts by three of Palestrina's English contemporaries: William Byrd, Robert White, and William Mundy.

The sublime reflection of a human being faced with his own finitude and what comes afterwards, Mozart's Requiem reaches beyond the realm of music to attain universal resonance. Rapha�l Pichon's interpretation of this testamentary work, nurtured by a seminal experience with stage director Romeo Castellucci and punctuated by earlier sacred pieces of Mozart, is overwhelmingly moving.

A world removed from the grand and awesome visions of the Last Judgement that so often characterize settings of the Mass for the Dead, Brahms conceived a work of 'consolation for those who are suffering'. Having spent more than ten years absorbing this German 'humanist' requiem, this album's performers have meticulously shaped every bar of this compact work, achieving a form of polyphonic transparency that confounds the senses and transcends the universality of it's message.

Pierre Gallon's new program portrays a night of music, hovering between fantasies and poetic dreams of the English Renaissance. His keyboards - harpsichords, a virginal and a toy piano - create a mosaic of nocturnal visions, interspersed with the fantastic and unexpected. As a contemporary counterpoint, Bernard Foccroulle's Night (2023) reveals the light of a new dawn.

Gustavo Gimeno and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra ascend the heights of two of Bart�k's musical peaks: his dazzling Concerto for Orchestra and infamous Miraculous Mandarin, here presented in it's complete version. As a pendant, the sediments by Canadian composer Emilie Cecilia LeBel, commissioned by the Orchestra, is a fascinating meditation on nature, it's stratas, and the collective memory it holds within.

From the Fantasie Op. 17 - a pinnacle of lyricism and virtuosity - to the irresistible Carnival Scenes from Vienna, via the Humoreske that bubbles over with invention, Nikolai Lugansky explores three of Schumann's iconic masterpieces for piano: a compelling panorama of an intensely personal musical world, mingling passionate outbursts with ironic daydreams and poetic depths.

Newly arrived in Paris, where he meets again his ex-pupil Marie-Antoinette, Gluck decides to court the Parisian public by revising one of his great Viennese successes: Orfeo ed Euridice. More than a simple adaptation to the French language and taste, his Orph�e et Eurydice proves to be an out-and-out aesthetic revolution. This operatic wind of change has been recaptured for us to rediscover by Paul Agnew, Les Arts Florissants and three exceptional soloists.

The Rhine hymned by women's voices A major source of inspiration for writers and painters (Hugo, Nerval, Heine, Eichendorff, Turner) and above all composers throughout Romantic Europe, the legends of the Rhine still enthral our imaginations even today. The Ensemble Pygmalion and Rapha�l Pichon invite us on a fantastic voyage through famous works (including Wagner) and others, much more rarely recorded, that are absolute gems of the repertory for female voices.

When Leopold of Anhalt-C�then died in 1728, his former Kapellmeister had not forgotten the five brilliant years he had spent in the prince's service. He dedicated to his memory a mourning cantata almost entirely based on the music of two major works of the mid-1720s, the Trauer-Ode and the St Matthew Passion. Although the score is lost, the wordbook and other sources of information have now made it possible to reconstruct the work. Rapha�l Pichon's first recording for harmonia mundi was voted recording of the year at the 2015 Victoires de la Musique Classique awards.

In this double album, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Pascal Amoyel and the Quatuor Parisii explore the musical world of late Schubert in all it's nuanced light and shade. Here with the well-known Arpeggione Sonata, the stupendous String Quintet, and selected songs arranged for cello and piano, the album becomes a poignant journey during which we see beauty yield to the inevitability of fate.

The superlative Pygmalion chorus are at the center of this new recording of the St. John Passion. Their striking presence radiates throughout the work, their exemplary articulation and collective energy moulding the drama and carrying it's emotional charge. Rapha�l Pichon's flexible yet precise direction restores it's original dramatic arc, instilling the peerless team of soloists with the same demandingly high standards of musical narrative and truth. This Passion wins out through it's clarity of gesture and compellingly forceful actualization.

In 1786, Haydn composed The Seven Last Words of Christ for orchestra. Ten years later he produced a stunning choral version, which Justin Doyle and the RIAS Chamber Choir and Konzerthausorchester Berlin now invite us to rediscover. Together with four exceptional soloists, they reveal all the dramatic power of the work, it's expressive intensity and liturgical fervour.

An oceanic dialogue between two composers from the first wave of the modern musical era: such is Aline Piboule's daring new solo venture. Here the epic La Mer sprays it's rainbow of colors as idiomatically as if Debussy had written it for solo piano, like D'un cahier d'esquisses and the famous Clair de lune. In echo, John Ireland's piano triptychs, Sarnia and Decorations, conjure up the Channel Islands in bewitching musical poetry.

The empathy between Robert and Clara Schumann, Joseph Joachim and Johannes Brahms engendered one of Romanticism's most fruitful artistic friendships. With the aim of mining the precious jewels of that unique intimacy, three great artists have devised a program in the form of a poetic conversation; here chamber music once more becomes shared human emotion in it's purest expression.

From the tenderness of Faur�'s songs to the famous Sonata by Franck, via Honnor�, B�sser and Enescu, the viola here champions the French School in it's widest sense: full of lyricism, sophistication and intensity, here is a program to match the abilities of Timothy Ridout and his partner at the piano, Jonathan Ware.

In this third volume of the series, A Life in Music, Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants take us to C�then (1717-1723) where Bach enjoyed one of the happiest times of his life. With a group of distinguished soloists, they help us rediscover some of the outstanding works of these inspiring years, including the famous Cantata the composer dedicated to his patron and friend, Prince Leopold.

For the third volume of their Schubert 200 series, Samuel Hasselhorn and Ammiel Bushakevitz celebrate the composer's refound exuberance. After the sunlit summer of 1825, 1826 was a year of renewal for Schubert, bringing an astounding rush of artistic energy. These Lieder, pitched between nostalgia and quiet confidence, sing of a hope transcending the vagaries of life.

The music for Assassin's Creed is here re-invented for piano, with the inspired playing of Nicolas Horvath. Recorded on a historic piano that formerly belonged to Nadia Boulanger, this album presents the iconic themes of the saga in a new artistic dimension, while totally respecting the milieu of the game. A landmark event, uniting musical demands with the culture of the video game.

For three decades Alexandre Tharaud and Jean-Guihen Queyras have shared their rich and rare musical friendship with harmonia mundi. From Marin Marais to Debussy and Berg via Schuber, this anniversary double-album brings together some of their finest recordings. For the occasion they have also recorded several new pieces, including the Britten Sonata, Faur�'s �l�gie, and Weill's Youkali.

The Curious Bards immerse us in the 18th-century popular music of Ireland and Scotland, with reels, jigs, songs and dances that circulated in the oral tradition and in print, from the airs of Turlough O'Carolan to the great collections of the period. Impelled by an irresistible energy and underpinned by historical research, this album restores the vitality of this music that lives for the dance, for the preservation of folk memory, and for sharing with others.

Juliette Hurel and Isabelle Moretti present an inspired selection of French music for flute and harp, featuring key masterpieces alongside some rare delights. From the intensely vocal melodic line of Faur� and Debussy's playful exploration of timbres and resonances to the subtly sculpted writing of Jean Cras, this recital highlights the virtuosity and expressive verve of a duo of great stylistic finesse.

From the lyricism of Bloch's Schelomo to the modernity of Lutoslawski's Cello Concerto, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Gustavo Gimeno explore the cello's lyrical side, revealing itself as prayer, lament, or murmur. In contrast, the Polish composer's Concerto for Orchestra celebrates vitality and collective energy. This program is a journey from inner song to orchestral power.