When was the last time you were really furious? With baroque orchestra La Sfera Armoniosa led by Mike Fentross, soprano Channa Malkin explores the raw power of anger through the intense and heart-wrenching music of Antonio Vivaldi. From hidden operatic gems to the fierce In furore iustissimae irae, this album channels rage into beauty. Inspired by Channa's journey as a woman and mother, it reveals how moving through intense emotion can open the door to compassion, clarity, and catharsis.

Here We Are finds acclaimed jazz vocalist Lori Williams at the heart of a soulful, cross-continental collaboration with top-tier European jazz artists. Born out of friendships from the Poysdorf Summer Jazz Workshop, the album blends original songs and timeless standards with Brazilian grooves, romantic ballads, and classic swing. Williams' warm, expressive voice shines across each track whether delivering heartfelt lyrics or improvising with grace and nuance. Backed by a band that listens and responds as one, Here We Are is a celebration of connection, creativity, and the joy of making music together.

In this debut album, baritone Jonas Muller and the Tomasi Musso Guitar Duo have recorded Schubert's Winterreise. The arrangement for two guitars creates a special new three-dimensional chamber music constellation, which certainly demands a different approach to singing from the singer, who must now internalise what the piano used to bring out. This is particularly in keeping with the idea that Winterreise is not simply a collection of songs composed by a travelling French horn player, but that the existential encounter between the stranger and the hurdy-gurdy man gives rise to new songs that have never been heard before and can only be sung together.

Son of the better-known Georg Muffat, Gottlieb was also hawked around the courts of Europe by his father as a boy wonder of music, anticipating the course of Mozart's early years under the self-interested care of Leopold. However, when at home, Gottlieb Muffat grew up in Vienna under the careful tutelage of Johann Joseph Fux, master of music at the Hofkapelle, a relationship which deepened once Georg died in 1704, when Gottlieb was just 14 years old. In due course Fux pulled strings to get his talented pupil an official post, and this album of keyboard partitas offers ample proof that his faith in Gottlieb Muffat was justified. Their date is uncertain: during his lifetime, only two collections of his music were published, and after 1739 he seems to have broken off composition, focusing his energies on performing and teaching at the Hofkapelle. Listeners familiar with the keyboard partitas by JS Bach will find a certain degree of common ground in the elegant sequence of French-style dances which are headed by a more exploratory Prelude. Muffat's counterpoint may not be so rigorous, but his ear for a well-turned melody offers satisfying reward in it's own right. The use of French, English and even Spanish titles to individual movements underlines the imaginative and fanciful qualities of the collection: see for example Postillon in the Suite in F major; Coquette in the Suite in A major; a Hornpipe in the Suite in D minor and the Intrada to the Suite in F. As well as enthusiastically received albums of Pasquini, Gabrieli, Vivaldi and above all Frescobaldi, Roberto Loreggian has previously recorded the 1739 collection of Componimenti Musicali to which this new recording forms a sequel. Of his collection of Partitas by Telemann, Fanfare commented: 'Without seeming driven, his playing is lively and well-articulated, and he is always sensitive to Telemann's stylistic variety, whether it is tending, at any given moment, to the courtly or to the common.'

Debut album by a young talented Russian guitarist. Well constructed programme based on Leo Brouwer and Agustin Barrios. An engaging listening from start to end, thanks to the Kurenchakova's prowess and eloquence and to the warmly resonant recording. "Lux Amoris Aeterni" ("The Radiance of Eternal Love") is an album about divine love in the language of music, expressed through the gentle timbre of the classical guitar.

The Yale Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1965 by a group of students who saw the growing potential for a large orchestral ensemble to thrive on campus. With a spirit for promoting new music and performing underrepresented composers alongside works of the standard Western canon, the orchestra has become a destination for students who wish to perform orchestral music at the conservatory level while taking advantage of all that Yale - a liberal-arts institution - has to offer. In it's more than fifty years, the orchestra has performed in some of the most hallowed music halls in the United States from Carnegie Hall in New York to Benaroya Hall in Seattle, toured twelve countries including Turkey, Russia, Brazil and Mexico, and premiered over fifty works of new music by composers including Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, and Caroline Shaw. YSO alumni have music careers in major orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and the Berlin Philharmonic. The YSO is led by William Boughton, who is in his seventh and final year conducting the orchestra.

For her first project at Cypres, young Belgian pianist Cassandre Marfin thinks big and has come up with Jusqu'a la nuit, a triptych devoted to chromesthesia, one of the many forms of synesthesia known to date. Synesthesia refers to the general alliance of two senses within the brain of an individual. Chromesthesia, on the other hand, refers specifically to the association between colours and sounds. Each volume of this trilogy is dedicated to a primary colour: blue, yellow and red. This first volume focuses on blue, which is undoubtedly the colour most present in music and the one most appreciated in the Western world. According to Cassandre Marfin, it evokes the world of night and dreams, something intangible and indefinite. It is a source of multiple representations in our imaginations. Through a skilfully conceived programme, the pianist associates this colour with ideas, metaphors and compositional systems that allow us to form our own personal impression of blue.

On February 1, 2025, Ivan Repusic, chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, directed Boris Papandopulo's 1942 Croatian Mass for soloists and a cappella choir in Munich's Prinzregententheater with the Bavarian Radio Chorus. BR-KLASSIK is now presenting this outstanding interpretation of the impressive sacred composition on CD as a live recording. The Croatian composer and conductor Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991) worked as a choirmaster, conductor and opera director in Split, Rijeka, Zagreb and Sarajevo. He created more than 400 compositions, spanning almost every genre. Although of Greek origin, Papandopulo was deeply rooted in the Croatian musical tradition, and his broad stylistic spectrum extended to neo-classicism, jazz, pop and folk music. His works combine elements of Croatian folk music with twelve-tone music and demand a high level of virtuosity. Papandopulo completed his training in Zagreb and at the New Conservatory in Vienna, spending the majority of his life in Croatia. The Croatian Mass is a sacred work in the spirit and style of centuries-old Croatian vocal music as well as being a practical choral composition. It is composed without orchestral or organ accompaniment, as Croatian choral music is almost exclusively sung a cappella. Papandopulo composed the mass for the First Croatian Choral Society Kolo, which he directed from 1928 to 1934 and again from 1938 to 1946. He completed his Croatian Mass in 1938, and it premiered in Zagreb on April 1, 1942, performed by the Croatian Choral Society Kolo under the composer's direction. Although the Croatian translation of the Roman Catholic liturgy gives the work a certain national flavour, the piece is primarily influenced by the tradition of old Dalmatian church hymns. Composed in a polyphonic style, it's syllabic and diatonic text settings are generally characteristic of Croatian vocal music.

Edward Cowie is one of the most notable voices in contemporary music and considered by many to be the "leading contemporary composer of music that is related to the natural world" (Fanfare). A remarkable polymath, Cowie is renowned as a composer, visual artist, and natural scientist. Because They Have Songs is the fourth in Cowie's epic series of duo-works featuring cycles of stunning 'sonic portraits' of birds he has encountered on his travels across the world, exploring the relationships between the bird singers, and where and how they sing. It follows three highly acclaimed releases featuring birds of the UK (Bird Portraits MSV 28619), Australia (Where Song Was Born MSV 28620) and the US (Where the Wood Thrush Forever Sings MEX 77104), each highlighting 24 distinct bird species. This latest release, the fifteenth to feature his music on the Metier label, is devoted to 24 avian wonders of Africa. The title of the album is taken from a traditional African text which says, "Why do birds sing? Because they have songs". Edward Cowie went on safari to remote parts of Botswana, across dense bush and open plains where giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and antelope roam, through vast wetlands, majestic rivers and lakes, and shrub-dotted deserts. On his journey he sketched what he saw (included in the album booklet) and transcribed the natural sounds of insects, the noises of animals in movement, and the magnificent and powerful voices of African birds in all their moods and colours. The result is a vibrant and awe-inspiring interweaving of not only the sounds of singing creatures but also the rich environment in which they sing. The album has revelatory performances from Gerard McChrystal, justly hailed as a "magician" on saxophone, partnered with Richard Shaw's superb craftsmanship on piano, a comprehensive coupling of technique and imagination. Cowie's earlier albums in the bird song sonic portrait series received resounding praise worldwide and are poised to become iconic chamber masterpieces on the global stage: "You may well be thinking 'but Messiaen has already done it'. But Cowie's approach is gentler, almost more loving." -MusicWeb "imaginative, captivating and really very moving" -The Strad "Cowie is an endlessly inventive composer and this is a treat" -BBC Music Magazine

In 2014, the Museum Kleines Klingental in Basel presented the exhibition "Hans Huber and Basel's musical life around 1900". In 2015, the exhibition provided the impetus for the founding of the concert series "Basel composes" at the Museum Kleines Klingental. The idea was to create a platform for chamber music by composers who were born, lived or worked in Basel. Since then, numerous ensembles have performed works by well-known, unknown and forgotten composers from Basel. At the centre of this anniversary recording are compositions by Hans Huber, which were the starting point of the concert series, played by Andrea Wiesli, who has been particularly committed to promoting Basel's musical culture in the Klingental with the Trio Fontane. On the occasion of the exhibition, a concert series was organised as part of the accompanying programme with music by Hans Huber, by composers who influenced his music or were his pupils and friends. To realise this chamber music series, the Museum Kleines Klingental, advised by the pianist Andrea Wiesli, decided to acquire a historical Bluthner grand piano from around 1875. The Museum Kleines Klingental is located in the founding building of the Klingental Dominican convent dating from 1274. In 1929, the Cantonal Monument Preservation Office moved into the former convent. It founded the Museum Kleines Klingental in 1939. The large refectory, the former convent kitchen, the small refectory as well as the "Schaffnei" and the roof truss from the construction period of 1274 are particularly impressive.

Much of Arlene Sierra's compositional output centers on the natural world, addressing the subjects of landscape, evolutionary biology, and the sounds, processes and behavior of birds and insects. Arranged into three books, Sierra's Birds and Insects comprises 15 movements composed across a twenty-year period. The three books are performed brilliantly here by pianists Steven Beck (Books 1 and 2) and Sarah Cahill (Book 3). The album is the fourth in Bridge's ongoing Arlene Sierra series.

Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) was, during his lifetime, just as renowned and beloved as his contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach. However, unlike the "Bach Revival" that began in 1829, Graupner's rediscovery only started in the early 20th century. To this day, a significant portion of his over 2,000 works remains unpublished. Pandolfis Consort, founded by violist Elzbieta Sajka-Bachler and performing on period instruments, presents three of Christoph Graupner's more than 1,400 church cantatas, featuring Austrian soprano Lisa Rombach. The texts are based on the works of Georg Christian Lehms (1684-1717), and the mood of these cantatas-titled "Angst und Jammer" ("Fear and Misery"), "Furcht und Zagen" ("Dread and Trembling"), and "Verleih, dass ich aus Herzensgrund" ("Grant That I May from the Depths of My Heart")-inspires this album's title: "Lamentare". As interludes, two of Graupner's instrumental chamber works are featured: excerpts from "Entrata per la musica di tavola" in G minor (GWV 468) and the Sonata in G minor (GWV 724).

Cellist Louise Dubin's new collection of French cello works include pieces by masters Debussy, Faure and Koechlin, side by side with rarities by the lesser known Auguste Franchomme (1808-1884), and contemporary composer Philippe Hersant (b. 1948). Ms. Dubin's last award-winning album was devoted to the compositions of Franchomme. This new recording features both Franchomme's arrangements and original compositions.

On December 1, 2024, Ivan Repusic, chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, conducted a concert performance of Frano Parac's opera Judita at Munich's Prinzregententheater. This two-act, seven-scene opera is about the siege of a city by brutal foreign invaders. The biblical story of Judith, who liberates her homeland of Bethulia from it's Assyrian occupiers by killing Holofernes, certainly has parallels with Croatian history, particularly that of the city of Split. From the mid-15th century onwards, the country repeatedly fought against incursions by the Ottoman Empire - and Split in Dalmatia was particularly vulnerable to the attacks of the Turks, who advanced to it's gates. The poet Marko Marulic (1450-1524) alludes to these events in allegorical form in his epic Judita, completed in 1501. One of the earliest poetic works in the Croatian language, it established Marulic's reputation as the father of Croatian literature. To celebrate the 550th anniversary of the author's birth in 2000, and in commemoration of the 1, 700th anniversary of the foundation of Split, Frano Parac, a composer born in Split in 1948, chose the epic Judita as the basis for his first opera. It premiered on July 14, 2000 at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. The live recording made in December 2023 is now being released on CD by BR-KLASSIK, supplemented by Dance of the Baroness (Ples Barunice) from Parac's 1985 dramatic ballet Carmina Krležiana, based on texts by the expressionist-modernist writer Miroslav Krleža. First published in 1990 in a piano version, the dance is a rewarding and effective piece for pianists - and it's orchestral version is equally impressive.

Another discovery unearthed by Brilliant Classics, and another name to add to the library of French-Baroque masters, from the voraciously inquisitive mind and virtuoso hands of Fernando de Luca. Who was Hubert Renotte (1704-1745)? He was born and died in the Belgian city of Liege, and for the last decade of his life served as the titular organist of the cathedral there. Accordingly he wrote a good deal of church music, which remains as overlooked as his output for keyboard. This in itself encompasses not only organ music but the distinctively Franco-Italian style of the harpsichord pieces presented for the first time on record in the present album. The C major Suite is launched in dazzling style with 'Les Roulades et Harpeggio', living up to it's title with cascades of sequences up and down the keyboard. Renotte must have been quite the technician, as well as a composer of great taste and refinement. Perhaps he had a sense of humour, too, to judge from the third movement of the suite: 'Les Bagatelles Ou Les Folies de Liege & Menuet en Suite Des Bagatelles'. Again, true to the title, Renotte presents a series of sharply etched, fantastical sketches, which we might now hear as proto-Beethovenian in their oblique and disconcerting wit. The Suite concludes with, literally, 'Le Torrent', another sparkling cataract of notes. Whether or not Renotte ever intended them to be played in sequence this way - the music survives in manuscript, and there is no sign that they were published - the other pieces are also gathered up by key signature. There are 17 such pieces in D major, including a 'Pastorella' whose charming character belongs to the association of the key with country manners. On this new recording, Fernando de Luca plays a modern copy by Claudio Capone of a Blanchet harpsichord from 1754. While Jos van Immerseel recorded an LP-length selection of Renotte's works, this is the first time that the composer's surviving keyboard music has been recorded complete. The album represents another feather in the cap for a musician who has done a great deal to revive forgotten names from 18th-century music with complete surveys of their music on Brilliant Classics, among them Dufour, Foucquet, Jollage and Siret. '[De Luca] thinks outside of the box, and he clearly is a man with discerning tastes. These extend to his playing, which is clear-headed and disciplined, but never rigid. "Charm" is such an overused word, but I cannot think of a better one to describe this music and these performances.' (Fanfare on the Jollage album, January 2024)

Antonio Vivaldi's musical production for bassoon comprises no less than thirty-nine solo concertos. Within the musical landscape of it's time, this impressive musical legacy stands out like the silhouette of a mountain shrouded in mystery. If we consider that in Italy there is almost no evidence of the bassoon being used in the solo form after the 1680s, Vivaldi's contribution acquires a significance that is both extraordinary and enigmatic. When and for which events were his concertos composed and performed? And also, for which performers was such a vast, original and technically demanding production intended? It is not easy to find an answer to such questions. The composer's renewed interest in this instrument must have then derived from an encounter with a first-rate virtuoso, someone whose talent helped to stimulate the creation of an original repertoire, characterised by an extremely high technical and qualitative standard. These were definitely performers who were able to work in close contact with the composer over a sufficiently long period of time. Indeed, Vivaldi's writing was influenced and modelled on their technical skills, as testified by the eight concertos included in this recording.

Australian pianist Rob Hao makes a striking debut with an album that explores how music from different times and styles can interact and inspire new ideas. At the heart of the recording is the premiere of Palimpsest 571, Hao's original work completing Franz Schubert's unfinished Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor, D. 571. Rather than trying to imitate Schubert's style exactly, Hao embraces the gap between past and present, creating a continuation that respects the mood and mystery of the original fragment while adding a fresh, modern voice. The album also features a set of piano etudes by British composer Alison Kay, whose minimalist and atmospheric pieces invite listeners to experience sound and silence in new ways. Alongside these contemporary works are carefully chosen pieces by Chopin, Schubert, Schubert-Liszt, and Michael Finnissy's challenging English country-tunes. Chopin's final nocturnes showcase his gift for blending long, flowing melodies with delicate harmonies, revealing the emotional depth he reached late in life. Schubert's impromptu and Liszt's piano transcription of Der Muller und der Bach bring vocal storytelling to the piano, highlighting the instrument's expressive power. Finnissy's English country-tunes is a powerful and intense piece that explores English folk traditions with virtuosic energy, moving between moments of lyricism and dramatic intensity. This mix of works demonstrates how composers and performers continue to build on musical traditions, layering new ideas over old, and keeping classical music vibrant and alive. This album offers a rich listening experience that invites reflection on how music evolves -shaped by both history and the creative present.

HORN TRIOS from MOZART to PIAZZOLLA and beyond (Volume 2) is the second installment of a compendium of horn trios from the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries - an amazing "anthology" of original and arranged repertoire for the trio ensemble of horn, violin and piano. This is not the kind of recording project consisting of the "obligatory" Brahms Horn Trio in the company of 2 or 3 other much-recorded works. While the Brahms Trio is included (in Volume 1), the concept is a lot more ambitious. Presenting a 4-centuries, 2-volume collection where each album encompasses a double-disc compilation, the artists explore a strikingly-interesting array of diverse styles and genres, where even the sheer number of different nationalities of the composers (representing 12 different countries in Vol. 1 and 11 countries in Vol. 2) brings instant awe. In Volume 1 we heard trios by composers from the United States, Canada, England, Germany, Austria, France, Liechtenstein, Argentina, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Morocco, while Volume 2 presents music by composers from the US, UK, Australia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Argentina and Czechia. Among the 15 works in Vol. 1 we heard 8 world-premiere recordings, while Vol. 2 is literally brimming with world-premieres: among the 13 works in Volume 2, there are 11 world-premiere recordings. The three artists offer breathtaking interpretations. Hornist Howard Wall, whose storied career includes not just his legendary reputation as a long-time member of two of America's most prestigious orchestras - the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra, but also an impressive discography of chamber and solo discs, brings a symphonic dimension to his own transcriptions of music by Piazzolla, Stravinsky, Bach and John Coltrane. Violinist Elmira Darvarova is equally "at home" in Mozart (as a former concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera, where she accompanied the world's greatest singers in a multitude of Mozart operas) and in Piazzolla (having attained a Grammy nomination for one of her many Piazzolla albums), as well as everywhere else (including world music, with her album based on Indian Ragas debuting as No. 3 on Billboard) and she possesses not just an incredibly strong and full tone, but also a magnificent level of sensitivity which fascinates with the limitless range of dynamics and sophisticated phrasing. Pianist Thomas Weaver, whose own horn trios (one in each volume) mesmerize with atmospheric moods, and whose translucently-textured playing has been hailed for his recent album of Hungarian composers (recorded together with Elmira Darvarova), shines in each piece with sublime virtuosity and fierce artistic commitment. This is a "not to be missed" album release, which has been eagerly anticipated in the "horn universe" and elsewhere, leaving open the possibility of a future Volume 3 as a conclusion to this terrific project.

The guitar duo of Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan presents a new album of their original arrangements of 19th and 20th century piano repertoire. Lyrique features the works of Edvard Grieg, Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie, Germaine Tailleferre, John Cage, and Federico Mompou. Though varied in style, these pieces invite listeners into a rich and multifaceted dialogue with the concept of 'lyrical' in instrumental music. The guitar's rich tonal palette and nuanced capacity for expression brings new life to these iconic works.

Julius Benedict studied with Hummel and Weber, beginning as a virtuoso pianist and then becoming a conductor and operatic composer. In 1835 he moved to England where he spent the next 50 years as a much-admired composer, teacher and writer. His most famous work is the opera The Lily of Killarney but the music for his own instrument displays a precocious talent. This is most evident in the Piano Sonata No. 1 in E major, where novelty and beguiling modulations co-exist with the influence of his teachers. The smaller pieces exhibit his taste, finesse and maturity, while the Andante and Rondo Brillante is a glittering showpiece.

As a Japanese cellist, Michiaki Ueno wishes to introduce the world to the remarkable body of music composed in his homeland. At first glance, this might seem like a conventional statement - something anyone might say. Yet, when we consider his background, the words take on a different weight. Born in Paraguay (1995) and raised in Spain during his early years, Michiaki Ueno was captivated at the age of four by a video of Yo-Yo Ma. He received his first cello as a Christmas gift when he was five - marking the beginning of his musical journey. For someone like Ueno, Japan was both his homeland and a distant, unfamiliar place. "I never really thought deeply about Japanese culture," he reflects. "When Europeans spoke kindly about Japan, I was embarrassed to realize how little I actually knew." As he matured, Ueno found himself increasingly compelled to confront and contemplate his cultural identity. Unlike those who grow up immersed in Japan and take it's environment for granted, Ueno approached it as something external something to be consciously examined, understood, and deliberately chosen. It is perhaps through the very act of performing works by Japanese composers that he engages in this thoughtful process of selection.

In a time of widespread crisis and social upheaval, this album by the title "In The Spirit of Freedom" by composer and musicologist Joachim Brugge aims above all to emphasize the idea of inspiring subjects - instead of stagnation through mainstream and routine. The idea of freedom naturally forms the indispensable prerequisite for a self-determined life, as shown in the first piece "In The Spirit of Freedom", with references to Ludwig van Beethoven and Walt Whitman. "In The Spirit of Brahms" thematizes an adaptation of individual works by Johannes Brahms, such as some waltzes from Op. 39 and the Violin Concerto, Op. 77. "In The Spirit of History" reflects the seemingly self-evident availability of almost 1000 years of music history in the digital age, with a recourse from the Middle Ages (Perotin) to the 19th century (Edvard Grieg). Finally, "In The Spirit of Fairy Tales" opens up a final perspective on motifs from Finnish fairy tales (in the spirit of Jean Sibelius), with a broad spectrum of fascinating characters, stories and music. The chamber ensemble Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie is conducted by Alexander Drcar, and is supported by soloists Thomas Oberleitner, trumpet, Rodrigo Alegre Vargas, tenor und Monja Heuler, harmonica.

Idil Biret's first concerto recording

SOMM Recordings is thrilled to collaborate once again with the Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman piano duo following their highly praised six-volume recording of the nine symphonies by Beethoven arranged for piano duet by Xaver Scharwenka-about which International Piano says, "These readings afford unmitigated pleasure... The articulation and voicing of the players persuades us into thinking we're in the middle of an unleashed virtuoso orchestra." Now, these award-winning South African-born artists present music for two pianos and piano duet from their adopted country, highlighting works by Gustav Holst and Edward Elgar. In the early 1910s, Holst became interested in astrology, and he conceived the idea of a suite for orchestra based on the solar system's individual planets. Originally, he composed The Planets on the piano, using the instrument in his newly-built, sound-proofed room in the music wing at St Paul's Girls School as well as the piano at his home in Thaxted. This version for four hands, two pianos was scored by two of his colleagues at St Paul's, Vally Lasker and Nora Day, who acted as amanuenses, because Holst suffered intermittently from painful neuritis in his right hand. Following the resounding success of the orchestrated version of The Planets, the original piano duet score was overlooked, though it was eventually published separately in 1949-51. In 1979, Holst's daughter, Imogen, reissued the complete two-piano arrangement in one volume, and Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman perform this version here. Elgar's renown was such that, at the height of his fame, several established musicians were commissioned by publishers to make piano transcriptions of his orchestral music. This was no mean feat, given that Elgar's scores are scrupulously marked as to how he wanted every phrase-sometimes even every bar or note within that phrase-to be played. It was the composer, arranger, and conductor, Otto Singer II, who made the transcription for piano four-hands of Elgar's 1905 Introduction and Allegro, scored originally for solo string quartet and string orchestra. Singer's insight and skill are evident in techniques like transferring string double-stopping to spread keyboard chords, and his piano four-hands version is admirably true to Elgar's evolving contrapuntal and harmonic ideas. In Victorian England, the marriage of a tradesman's son to the daughter of a Major-General in the British Army, who was eight years his senior, might not have appeared a perfect match. Yet, the marriage of Edward Elgar and Caroline Alice Roberts turned out to be a love-match. In 1888, as a wedding present, Edward presented to Carice, as he called her, Salut d'Amour. This enduring melody has inspired numerous arrangements for widely varying instrumental combinations, including this one for piano duet.

In the heart of Baroque Rome, the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the principal Marian sanctuary of the Eternal City. For centuries it has guarded not only the relics of Jesus's cradle and swaddling-clothes, but also the celebrated marble Nativity Scene by Arnolfo di Cambio (1291), the first of it's kind in the history of art, thus earning it the title of "Bethlehem of the West". Here, in 1707, Alessandro Scarlatti was employed as maestro di cappella. Though a brief appointment - it lasted little more than a year - it was long enough to leave a deep impression, above all on the repertoire for Christmas, which was celebrated in the basilica with particular solemnity. For the 300th anniversary of the composer's death, Giulio Prandi and Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri dedicate their fifth album for Arcana to Scarlatti's unique, splendid music for a Roman Christmas.