I have long imagined a recital program dedicated to the opposing themes of heaven and hell, spiritual and corporal, saints and sinners, writes pianist Andrew von Oeyen of his album Angels and Demons. Combining works conceived for solo keyboard with transcriptions of music from the orchestral, operatic and choral repertoires, he takes the 'angelic' route with Bach (transcribed in one instance by Busoni), Debussy, Faur� and Messiaen, and the 'demonic' route with Liszt, Saint-Sa�ns and Edward MacDowell. As he leads the listener on a journey into the darkest corners of human emotion, but also towards rapture and catharsis," the American-born pianist proves an assured and inspiring guide. After all, in the words of the Chicago Tribune, "He leaves you convinced that he can do absolutely anything he likes with a keyboard." AvO

The setting of the novella Cavalleria Rusticana by the Sicilian writer Giovanni Verga by the Italian opera composer Pietro Mascagni (1863 - 1945) is regarded as the birth of a new style in Italian opera, "verismo", which gained great popularity throughout Italy from it's premiere in May 1890. In terms of content, Italian verismo is in the tradition of French naturalism and depicts the unadorned life of the simple, impoverished bourgeoisie at the turn of the century. The award-winning Spanish opera soprano Saioa Hern�ndez and the Orquestra Titular del Teatro Real under the direction of Carlo Montanaro invite you on an unforgettable musical journey of discovery through the aria world of Italian verismo and present a colorful, nuanced and melodic firework display of glamour and gold. The arias have been carefully selected and compiled by Saioa. The album comprises some of the most important verismo arias and offers a representative cross-section of the world of verismo.

With The Royal Wind Music, we will make the music of the most famous composer of the Netherlands sound like it never sounded before. Our ensemble is often compared to a "walking organ". The idea of how the 'Sweelinck Organ' sounded in his own hands in the Old Church in Amsterdam stimulates our interpretation of his beautiful keyboard works. His vocal works are equally suitable for our much loved interpretations of vocal polyphony. Performed on our instruments built by Adriana Breukink, Bob Marvin, Monika Musch and Adrian Brown we can beautifully imitate the timbre of a choir. This new programme reflects the breadth of Sweelinck's diverse oeuvre. But not only will we introduce some of our most favourite keyboard and vocal works of the master: contemporary reflections on Sweelinck's music will contextualise these early works and transport us to the Amsterdam of today. The 'fantasy' Dance for Orpheus of Amsterdam, originally composed for us by Aspasia Nasopoulou, is a contemporary comment and amalgamation of instrumental and vocal playing, scored for four recorders with one of the players (Irene Sorozabal) doubling as a soprano soloist to boot. An improvisatory soundscape called Chain Reaction is a musical interplay and modern take on the theme of Mein Junges Leben hat ein End, one of Sweelinck's most famous works.

Harmonia mundi is proud to welcome the exceptional countertenor Carlo Vistoli as a new exclusive artist. Here he joins the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin to explore some of Vivaldi's finest sacred music. Alongside the famous Nisi Dominus and Stabat Mater, the quasi-operatic motet, In furore, shows the extravert, theatrical side of Vivaldi's genius, for the purposes of edification, to be sure, but also for our greater delight.

Bach, in his time, could never have envisioned his music being recorded. When we first embarked on our journey with the Oxford Bach Soloists, our focus was not on recording. We were immersed in the live experience, discovering Bach's vocal works chronologically, in real-time. It was about living the music as all those who performed and heard it did, tracing his steps through each note and phrase. Featuring two of our core Soloists, Nick Pritchard and Yu-Wei Hu, this album presents three of Bach's Cantatas. These include possibly his earliest vocal work, Christ lag in Todesbanden (BWV 4), his only extant tenor cantata, Ich armer Mensch (BWV 55), and the much-beloved cantata, Ich habe genug, showcased here in it's arrangement for high voice and flute (BWV 82.2). This recording is a celebration of our journey with Bach, and an invitation to experience his timeless music through our own journey of dedication and discovery.

In the last quarter of the 16th century, the madrigal spread well beyond Italy. Over 85 books of Italian madrigals were printed in Antwerp, mainly by Pierre Phalese the younger, giving a place of choice to both Italian and local composers. Thanks to research into the collections published at the time, La Compagnia del Madrigale is unveiling the world premiere of works taken from the volumes that made the genre such a success. It reveals their full potential and establishes the madrigal as a cosmopolitan art form.

Geminiani's Sonatas op.5 are particularly significant, marking milestones in my musical journey. What fascinates me about Geminiani is his propensity for unpredictable, asymmetrical and improvisatory style - both as a composer and as a performer. This inspired our own improvisatory approach to ornamentation, continuo realization and timing during the recording session. Geminiani's The Art of Playing the Guitar contains the most comprehensive example of basso continuo realization on the cello, a practice I encouraged in this recording.

I do not believe that there is a 'right' and a 'wrong' instrument on which to perform Beethoven's Sonatas Opus 2. What matters is the musical result. It depends on the alchemy that is created between the performer and the instrument. I extensively tried various modern copies of fortepianos from 1795 - 1800, trying to get closer to the sound and expressive world of early Beethoven. However, with the opportunity of having a Graf fortepiano (No. 429) in my studio, restored in 2023, I was able to prepare this recording on that instrument, playing it regularly for a year and achieving a kind of familiarity with it's action and timbral response that I have grown fond of - Roberto Prosseda.

Jean Richafort was thrust into the limelight by the success of his works, a fine reputation and his encounters with powerful figures such as Louis XII, Anne de Bretagne and Francois Ier. However, he remains mysterious regarding his origins and his professional choices. His works circulate widely, are copied and quickly disseminated: no fewer than 200 sources, both printed and handwritten, contribute to his fame. Moreover, his compositions are so appreciated that they inspire new works by leading composers from Mouton to Palestrina. The corpus of Jean Richafort's works consists of three masses, around thirty motets and about fifteen songs. Discover, in this recording, the composer's Missa O Genetrix and Missa Veni Sponsa Christi performed by the Cappella Mariana.

At his arrival in Venice in 1613, Monteverdi, ever the tireless worker, finally found a challenge that suited him: he would compose every day, both sacred and secular music, for the glory of God or his patrons. In the twilight of his life, he gathered his works into a corpus, intended to inspire musicians during the celebration of religious services. This recording is a musical testament to his carefully preserved life's work. Vincent Dumestre and Le Poeme Harmonique pay tribute to the brilliant composer who set the tone for all 17th-century sacred music.

Although the music of Robert de Visee has transcended the ages, many scholars are still trying to unravel the mysteries surrounding the composer's life. Among them, Thibaut Roussel - accompanied by Perrine Devillers, Mathilde Vialle and Myriam Rignol - delights hearts with his own interpretation of the rich music of the greatest theorbist of the 17th century. Interwoven with pieces by contemporary composers, Robert de Visee's exquisite arias transport the listener to the pomp and splendour of the evenings at the court of Louis XIV.

A great composer and his angelic singer: a history of crossed destinies. Marc'Antonio Orrigoni, one of the most famous castratos of his generation, rediscovered through an imaginary songbook collecting the arias composed for him by Alessandro Stradella. With Rome, Genoa, Modena, splendid opera theaters and magnificent palaces that form a gilded, glittering background. An incredible journey that will thrill you while rediscovering the hidden pages of the Golden Age of the Italian Seicento.

SWR Kultur New Talent is a promotion and support programme of the broadcasting corporation SWR aiming to help exceptional young talents launch their career through concerts, studio productions and media presence over a period of three years. The cellist Lionel Martin has been the 'New Talent' since 2021. In 2017 Anne-Sophie Mutter included him in her foundation of young, outstanding musicians. Since then they have performed together on numerous occasions and he toured with her and her scholarship holders throughout Europe, North and South America - where he performed not only in famous concert halls, but also for social projects in smaller locations. Following his CD debut in 2023 with repertoire by the British composer Tavener, Lionel Martin devotes the present album to Russian repertoire from the 19th and 20th centuries. All three composers on this album come from the same region, and all three struggled with their fate. Kabalevsky and Shostakovich were neighbors, they even lived in the same house for a while. Both dealt differently with the political regime - and the regime with them. Shostakovich was a thorn in the side of the Soviet power apparatus, and his music repeatedly and clearly criticizes those in power. Kabalevsky came to terms with the regime and even worked for it at times. Tchaikovsky also suffered from the conventions of his time and ultimately broke under the strain.

There Is Sweet Music is the idyllic title of the first AVIE release by the eight-voice Proteus Ensemble and their conductor Stephen Shellard, which surveys a selection of relatively rare part-songs by Sir Edward Elgar. Elgar maintained his dedication to composing part-songs throughout his life and imbued each of them with an inimitable character. Like the composer's celebrated "Enigma Variations", his part-songs bear an array of inspirations and dedicatees, including his wife Caroline Alice who penned the poem of the album's closer, "O Happy Eyes", shortly after she and Elgar were married. This early work became a companion to the song "Love," written eight years later and also dedicated to Caroline Alice. Elgar turned to famous poets and peers - Lord Byron for "Deep in my soul", Percy Bysshe Shelley for "O wild West Wind!", and Alfred Lord Tennyson whose poem "The Lotos-Eaters" provides the album's title track. English translations of Russian poems lend themselves to "Death on the Hills", "Love's Tempest" and "Serenade". Elgar frequently found inspiration in Italy, where he composed "Angelus', a song dedicated to his close friend Alice Stuart Wortley whom he called "Windflower" and whose spirit is enshrined in his Violin Concerto. Stephen Shellard's Elgarian epiphany began in 1990 when he joined Dr. Donald Hunt's choir at Worcester Cathedral as an Alto Lay Clerk. Dr. Hunt's inspired and devoted expertise in performances of works by Worcester's most famous musical son cast a life-long spell on Stephen that manifests itself in these beautiful performances with his Proteus Ensemble.

The Royal Danish Brass and Anders Johnsson