"Johann Sebastian Bach used the recorder in two Brandenburg concertos and some twenty cantatas and oratorios, but alas, he left us no sonata with harpsichord," say Julien Martin and Olivier Fortin. Arranging chamber music for a variety of instrumental ensembles was a widespread practice in the eighteenth century. Bach himself seems to have created a number of works that did not necessarily require the use of a specific instrument. Here Julien Martin and Olivier Fortin, musical partners for many years, present the Sonata in F major, originally written for transverse flute and continuo, transcriptions of the Trio Sonata for organ No. 3 in E minor, the Partita for violin No. 2 in G minor, and the Chorale 'Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland', whose extensive ornamental flourishes elongate and transform the chorale melody to the point of rendering it unrecognisable.

Organist Frederick Hohman continues his all-Bach organ works series with Volume 5, recorded on April 29, 2024 on the 2023 Taylor & Boody pipe organ at Ancilla Domini Chapel in Donaldson, Indiana USA.

Spain's Siglo de Oro, the Age of Gold, gave rise to some of the greatest sacred choral music of the Renaissance. Lead, Kindly Light is devoted to the music of two outstanding Spanish composers, exploring majestic works by Crist�bal de Morales, famed throughout Europe and in the New World, and the exquisite polyphony of Sebasti�n de Vivanco, whose intricately crafted counterpoint adorned services at the cathedrals of �vila and Salamanca during the late 1500s. Contrasting and complementing these 16th-century masterpieces are spellbinding settings of words by Saint John Henry Newman: Sir James MacMillan's Nothing in Vain for soloists and double choir, and the world premiere of Kerensa Briggs' Lead, kindly light, specially commissioned for this album.

Spanning 500 years from the exquisite simplicity of Thomas Tallis' perfect miniature O nata lux through Britten's jubilant Festival Te Deum to Cheryl Frances-Hoad's majestic O come let us sing unto the Lord, this album celebrates the hope and anticipation that comes with the beginning of a new day. Arise my love perfectly complements Magdalen's first album on CORO, Peace I leave with you, which celebrates music written for the end of the day.

J. S. Bach The English Suites BWV 806-811 Zhu Xiao-Mei piano After a six-year hiatus, acclaimed pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei returns with a deeply personal and masterful recording of J.S. Bach's English Suites. This release completes her heartfelt journey through Bach's piano compositions, marking another significant milestone in her extraordinary career. This project is the culmination of years of meticulous preparation and an intimate relationship with the music. Zhu Xiao-Mei's approach is characterized by a profound connection to each piece, allowing her to bring out the subtleties and nuances that make Bach's work so timeless. Her dedication to living with the music day-by-day ensures a performance that is both authentic and deeply resonant. J. S. Bach The English Suites BWV 806-811 CD 1 1-7 8-17 18-24 CD 2 1-7 8-14 15-22 Available worldwide English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808 English Suite No. 1 in A major, BWV 806 English Suite No. 2 in A minor, BWV 807 English Suite No. 5 in E minor, BWV 810 English Suite No. 4 in F major, BWV 809 English Suite No. 6 in D minor, BWV 811 The English Suites, with their blend of lively orchestral and delicate intimate moments, have a special place in Zhu XiaoMei's heart. She describes them as "a music of intimacy," making this recording particularly unique. Despite the challenges, including pandemic-related delays and finding the perfect piano, her dedication to authenticity shines through in every note. Zhu Xiao-Mei's insightful and sensitive performance invites you into a world of subtlety and depth, offering a refreshing contrast to today's fast-paced musical landscape. This album is not just a completion of her Bach recordings but a milestone that underscores her exceptional artistry and unwavering devotion to Bach's timeless music.

Recorded live at Boston's magnificent Symphony Hall, CORO brings together on one album the Handel and Haydn Society's recordings of Haydn's early Symphonies Nos. 6, 7 & 8. Known as Le matin, Le midi and Le soir, the three works, written shortly after Haydn joined the court of Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy, are amongst the most striking of the composer's early symphonies. Characterised by unusual virtuoso writing across the orchestral ensemble, all three works feature extensive solo passages for the wind, horn and strings, including rare solo writing for the�double bass�and�bassoon, and demonstrate Haydn's emerging skill as a master of symphonic writing.

Featuring timeless melodies from Guide me, O thou great redeemer (known to millions as 'Bread of heaven') to Abide with me, this stunning collection of�some of the best-loved hymns of all time�from The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, accompanied by the College's magnificent Eule organ, offers a glimpse into the daily musical life of this celebrated choir.

Gluck's Orphee et Euridice is a masterpiece of the operatic canon, inspired by one of the most mysterious and cruel stories in Greek mythology. The gods allow Orpheus to descend into the underworld to revive his beloved wife Eurydice, but on condition that he must not look at her while returning. This production from Florence re-imagines this myth as a story for our times. It explores each character anew, highlighting the music and text as a more sophisticated psychological thriller than previously imagined, creating a moving and transformative narrative with which we can all identify.

On this 2012 recording, previously available on Decca, Robert Hollingworth leads his celebrated ensemble, I Fagiolini, on a journey unearthing incredible lost works from the late Renaissance and early Baroque, adding to their acclaimed 'Colossal Baroque' series on CORO. 1612 - the death of Giovanni Gabrieli, master of the 'Massive Baroque' and most brilliant of Venetian multi-choir composers but also the publication of Lodovico Grossi da Viadana's very modern four-choir Vespers collection. I Fagiolini's recording remains the only version of these spectacular Vespers as well as of Giovanni Gabrieli's unparalleled military-evoking Magnificat for seven choirs (meticulously researched and reconstructed by Hugh Keyte) and replete with fanfares and canon blasts.

Handel's Messiah needs no introduction. This mighty yet majestic masterpiece is the most popular oratorio ever written and includes, arguably, the most famous chorus of all time-the iconic Hallelujah! Handel was a master chorus writer and for Messiah he certainly pulled out all the stops, placing the choir front and centre throughout. Although it has become synonymous with Christmas, Messiah was originally written as an Easter offering, bursting onto the stage of the Musick Hall in Dublin in April 1742. Taken from it's Award-winning 2008 complete recording of Messiah (COR16062), this collection from The Sixteen celebrates the wonderful choruses that have given so many singers, both amateur and professional, such joy and inspired an enduring love for this epic work.

In an age of resurgent conflict and frenetic demands on our attention, Angel of Peace offers a slice of tranquillity in many forms courtesy of luminous, purifying music traversing six centuries. This album centres on the power and beauty of poetry in music, bringing together the exquisite simplicity of the songs of 12th-century Abbess Hildegard of Bingen with John Taverner's joyous large scale antiphons composed some 400 years later. Leap forward to more recent times and we hear new settings by Will Todd and Anna Clyne of words by Cardinal Newman and Rainer Maria Rilke. Commissioned for solo violin with choir, both works heighten the intensity of the poetry through the fascinating musical dialogue between strings and voice. Arvo Part, marking his 90th birthday, brings us full circle with his serene clarity. These timeless voices resonate with our deepest need for stillness and with each work we hope to share a moment of peace and connection through the timeless language of music.

This compilation of the greatest sacred compositions for bass and organ finds it's ideal performers in singer Gunther Groissbock and Matthias Giesen on the Bruckner Organ in St. Florian. The repertoire spans from J. S. Bach through Haydn and Mozart to Bruckner and Brahms and ends with the conclusion of the oratorio "The Book with Seven Seals". Here, two of the most powerful instruments meet, not in conflict, but complementing each other to create a sound experience of exceptional quality. Three centuries come to life in the great Basilica of St. Florian, radiating their brilliance within the unique acoustics of this exalted church. Clemens Horak, Manuel Huber and Wolfgang Vladar, all members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, complement the outstanding duo Groissbock/Giesen as instrumentalists.

Johann Kuhnau-Bach's immediate predecessor as Thomaskantor-in an 8-CD box that offers more than a mere collection of works: the individually issued recordings from 2013 to 2022 by Opella Musica, Camerata Lipsiensis, and Gregor Meyer are brought together as a complete sacred corpus with editorial coherence, making audible how Leipzig's church music takes shape at the threshold of the eighteenth century and beyond. From intimate, chamber-scaled pieces to representative festive compositions, one can trace how compositional technique, the relationship between voices and instruments, and the overall sonic architecture gain definition in the early decades of the eighteenth century-a sounding point of reference for what Bach would later adopt and develop in Leipzig.

Voices of Thunder features a range of spectacular choral pieces that showcase Magdalen College Chapel’s new Eule organ. Following on from Peace I Leave with You, this new album combines the sublime voices of The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, with the new and exciting sonorities of the Eule organ. The recording includes music from Joseph Haydn to Judith Weir, as well as Arvo Pärt’s atmospheric Beatitudes, Libby Larsen’s playful I Will Sing and Raise a Psalm, and Hubert Parry’s thunderous Blest Pair of Sirens. The Eule organ was built by Herman Eule Orgelbau of Bautzen in Germany and is the first Eule organ of its kind to have been built in the UK for almost 100 years.

REVIEW:

The installation of a new pipe organ, like any long-awaited new arrival, is always best marked with some kind of celebratory fanfare such as this splendid, generously filled disc. This disc is a triumph for the Magdalen musicians and an equally enjoyable experience from both choral and organ points of view.

— Gramophone

Festival organ, grand organ, monumental organ - when it comes to talk in Klosterneuburg about Johann Freundt's masterpiece from 1642, people almost exclusively use these superlatives. As the musical jewel of the Augustinian Canons' monastery Klosterneuburg, it radiates far beyond the borders of Austria and is an important tourist attraction for organ enthusiasts in Central Europe. If intending to portray such a magnificent instrument as the festival organ in the context of a CD, one soon has to deal with the phenomenon of being "spoilt for choice". If you look at the European repertoire for organ from around 1642, you quickly realize that much of it can be performed very well on Johann Freundt's Great Organ. Even if you look a few decades or centuries further back, you will still discover pieces in the organ literature that harmonize wonderfully with the festival organ. This portrait CD is intended to give a small insight into the great variety and possibilities of the organ and also demonstrate it's modernity. After all, it is up to us whether an instrument is considered modern or not. In the opinion of the author of these lines, this organ can be played much more authentically than many a new organ, on which, in today's opinion, "anything can be played". Johannes Zeinler

One of Gubaidulina's special merits is that at the end of the 1970s she discovered the sound characteristics and expressive possibilities of the bayan, a button accordion that had previously only been popular as a folk music instrument in Russia, and established it as an instrument of contemporary music through numerous inspired compositions. She was supported and accompanied in this endeavour by bayan performers such as Friedrich Lips in Moscow and the Swiss Elsbeth Moser, who taught in Hanover. The creation of the Triple Concerto for violin, cello and bayan can be traced back to a suggestion by Elsbeth Moser. For the five movements of the duo composition Rejoice! For violin and cello (1981), Gubaidulina chose various quotations from the writings of the Ukrainian 'travelling philosopher' Grigori Skoworoda (1722-1794), who called for poverty and self-deepening as a prerequisite for finding God. The composer explained: "The theme of my work is the metaphorical representation of the transition to another reality, expressed through the juxtaposition of normal sound and harmonics." Due to the unmistakable religious references it was not possible to premiere the work until 1988 and the premiere took place in Finland.

Sensual - that's undoubtedly the word that best describes the music on this album dedicated to the early works of Josquin des Prez. In his early thirties, the composer was already developing a unique sense of sound and language. He knew how to make rhythms resonate, rendering them sometimes enveloping, sometimes liberating. His melodies are full of life - sometimes gentle, sometimes sinuous - and his duets seem to be made of glances exchanged between voices. Josquin composes with great finesse, playing on the contrasts between the intimate and the radiant. As in the art of his time, even when he addresses religious subjects, his music retains a sensual beauty, full of emotion and humanity.

Recognizing the centenary of the Anglo-Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford's death, this new album from The Sixteen includes a number of premiere recordings of his Irish Folksongs and Partsongs.

Stanford is celebrated both nationally and internationally as a composer of great diversity. He composed a substantial number of concert works, including seven symphonies, but he is best-remembered for his choral works. Stanford's writing for voices is exquisite and his imaginative storytelling is ever-present in his Irish Folksongs where he captures everything from fiery revenge to passionate love with equal effectiveness.

Stanford's dedication to the poetry of Mary Elizabeth Coleridge also stands out-he was drawn to the lyricism of her poetry and the imagery she conjures up-something that is clearly heard in his Opus 127 settings. Much of her poetry is marked by a sense of loss and change, nowhere better portrayed than in The Guest with its unsettling narrative.

The applause continues, even some cheers can be heard: definitely get out again, take a grateful bow! And present some more? Something full of verve and vigor to increase the enthusiasm even more? Or would you prefer something calm and soothing for the soul? - Although encores have certainly not been at the heart of musical performances, they are most often an integral part during the conception stage of a concert evening's program. As sort of an encore to his lifetime's achievements, Robert Wolf, who was principal flute player of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra for almost 40 years, and his daughter Agnes Wolf, piano, pay tribute to the wide range of encore pieces from his many years of concert activity on the present CD "ENCORE". In addition to original works by W.A. Mozart, M. Blavet, C. Debussy, M. Ravel and J.S. Bach, there are also arrangements of well-known pieces by C.W. Gluck, F. Schubert, D. Shostakovich, G. Faure and J. Lanner, among others.

Harry Christophers has been at the forefront of choral music for the last 45 years and this album, in celebration of his 70th birthday, demonstrates the breadth of his musical passions and the wealth of repertoire he has recorded over the years. Featuring 39 tracks hand-picked by the conductor, the works on this collection document Harry Christophers' life in music-from his early years as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, through his time at Magdalen College, Oxford, and subsequent founding of The Sixteen, to more recent years as Artistic Director of America's renowned Handel and Haydn Society. This collection charts his discovery as a boy of Purcell and Poulenc to his enduring love for the music of Victoria and Handel and his celebrated partnership with James MacMillan. Each track holds special significance and the stories behind the choices are documented in notes especially written by Harry Christophers for this album.

J.S. Bach: Cello Suites

The cellist Roger Morelló has intercalated three sarabands from the Suites for Cello Solo by Johann Sebastian Bach. The first is the one included in the Suite No. 1, whose prelude served as primary material for the work by Marc Migó. The second saraband that appears is the one from the Suite No. 2, which is in the key of D minor, and the third is the E flat major saraband. Along with these pieces, we encounter the Suite for Cello Solo by Gaspar Cassadó – a renowned Casals pupil and one of the most legendary violoncellists of the twentieth century as well as a composer. Along with this piece, Morelló has added his cello arrangement of an original work for viola da gamba from Les voix humaines by Marin Marais, which is the piece that lends this album its title. Side by side with these historical references that have become timeless, Roger Morelló includes two contemporary works. One of them is formed by the Variations on the name of Casals by Marc Migó, a work commissioned by Morelló himself, to whom it is also dedicated. The other contemporary composition that Morelló wanted to include on this album is a work that he commissioned from Elisenda Fábregas, who in turn dedicated it to him. It has Catalan dances as its title and consists of four dances.

We're worried by it, stressed out from it, frightened of it - and yet we're fascinated by it. Chaos has always been perceived as a threat, but also as the foundation of life. Various creation stories explain how the world arose out of disorder, out of "mayhem". In like manner, it is anarchic spirits in particular that are credited with the ability to create masterpieces of creative art. This conception was perhaps most neatly expressed by Friedrich Nietzsche: "You must have chaos within you, if you are to give birth to a dancing star." The present album is made up of works which, if you like, harbour the sound of chaos. Originally written for a wide variety of instruments, these pieces are arranged here for string quartet and are connected by improvised interludes - linking passages for which the Hungarian composer Samu Gryllus has provided the basis. The Chaos String Quartet emerged from the iconic violist joke: "Well-established, world-famous string quartet looking for a new first violin, second violin... and cellist." That's exactly how it happened. On Cornwall's rugged coast, during a Prussia Cove masterclass, after an illuminating lesson, a sight-reading session, and a candlelit dinner, Sara invited Susanne to form a quartet. After that first conversation, it took some time to find two other brave musicians, both beyond their mid-twenties, who were willing to embark on the exciting, sometimes complex, and risky adventure that is a string quartet. Fortunately, Eszter and Bas joined soon after, with great enthusiasm. As usual, naming proved a challenge. Some suggested using the first violinist's surname; others, a Greek god. A few warned, "Don't start with A - there are too many." Then came a provocative idea: why not call it Chaos? Furthermore, the quartet enjoys inspiring the next generation, sharing it's experience as Young Artists in Residence at Vienna's University of Music and Performing Arts, cheekily sparking a little chaos among the artists of tomorrow. Their recognition as BBC New Generation Artists (2023-2025) and regular appearances at venues like Wigmore Hall, Musikverein, and Concertgebouw illuminate a journey where unpredictability becomes inspiration-reminding us that from the origins of chaos can emerge music of unique order and profound beauty.

The harpsichord concertos of J.S. Bach form the origins of the keyboard concerto genre that was to continue to flourish through the music of his sons, C.P.E. Bach and J.C. Bach, and onwards. Here, celebrated keyboardist Steven Devine is joined by members of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in this recording that features the Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, Concerto in A major BWV 1055, and the Concerto in D major BWV1054, together with a new reconstruction by Steven Devine of the Concerto in D minor BWV 1059.

Bachkantaten - broken eyes

Missa Criolla, by Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez (1921-2010) is a Spanish vernacular setting of Roman mass liturgy. Navidad Nuestra, composed in 1964, is subtitled"A folk drama of the nativity based on rhythms and traditions of Hispanic America"

Jean Langlais was born on February 15, 1907, in La Fontenelle, Brittany, France. He became blind from the age of two. Sent to the Paris National Institute for the Blind Youth in 1918, he studied piano, violin, harmony and organ with great blind teachers (among others Albert Mahaut and Andre Marchal). Later on, he entered the Paris National Conservatory of Music in the Marcel Dupre's organ class, obtaining a First Prize in 1930. In 1931, after studying improvisation with Charles Tournemire, he received the "Grand Prix d'Execution et Improvisation des Amis de l'Orgue". He completed his studies obtaining a Composition Prize in Paul Dukas' class at the Paris Conservatory in 1934. In 1945, he became the successor to Cesar Franck and Charles Tournemire at the prestigious organ tribune of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris. He gave countless concerts worldwide, and was a prolific composer. He died on May 8th, 1991 in Paris. Langlais' distinctive style combined traditional harmonies with contemporary techniques. His compositions often feature intricate organ textures and colourful harmonies, influenced by his background as a church musician. Langlais was also known for his use of modes and complex rhythms, which added to the unique character of his music. His works often have a strong emotional intensity and sense of drama, with frequent shifts in mood and dynamics. This is the third volume of the complete organ works includes sonatas, suites, Noels, the Symphony "Alla Webern", and many miscellaneous shorter works. Played by 3 excellent Italian organists: Giorgio Benati, Fausto Caporali and Alessandro Perin. The extensive booklet includes information on the organs used on this album.

Blind from the age of two, a prodigiously gifted student, Jean Langlais (1907-91) produced an immense quantity of music. His organ works alone exceed in number those of JS Bach. Many have hardly ever been performed. Perhaps not more than half a dozen works are regularly played or recorded today, which is what makes this new complete survey of his organ music so invaluable, as the authoritative document of a high point in the distinguished lineage of the French organ heritage. The second volume of this complete survey opens with the third and last of his organ symphonies, among the most imposing and yet overlooked of his major works. More familiar are the Gregorian-inspired Suite medievale, the Triptyque, and the Triptyque Gr�gorien, whose flowing melodies share a spirit of Catholic mysticism with briefer meditations such as the Pri�re des Mages, the Incantation pour un Jour Saint and the Palm-Sunday voluntary Dominica in Palmis. As a collection of character pieces, Mosaique shows off Langlais's versatility, by turns solemn and joyful, songful and stormy. This sheer variety of form alone makes him stand out among French 20th-century composers for the organ. Throughout his life, Langlais wrote in many different styles and, true to his ideal, still retained the ability to surprise. This major project has been undertaken jointly by the Italian organists Giorgio Benati, Fausto Caporali and Alessandro Perin. Benati is a former student of Langlais, and Caporali has a string of successful French organ recordings to his credit. They have made these new recordings on Italian instruments, lending Langlais an 'Italian accent' while faithfully observing his expressive and registration markings in his scores. Booklet notes for each piece have been written by Giorgio Benati.

Gottlieb Muffat’s oeuvre, dedicated almost in its entirety to keyboard instruments and skilfully straddling the stile antico and stile moderno, deserves more detailed attention than it has ever been afforded. The majority of sources containing music by Muffat are unpublished, with only two collections published at the composer’s own behest during his years in the Emperor’s service in Vienna. One of these is the Componimenti Musicali per il Cembalo (Augsburg, 1739).

This collection contains 6 Suites and a Ciacona with 38 variations for solo harpsichord. The composer describes these seven works as capricci or galanterie to be performed in the stile moderno and to suit modern tastes. Although arranged in the conventional order of Allemande–Courante–Sarabande–Gigue, Muffat also added various optional dances, displaying no shortage of innovation. The first movements are introductory in nature, often fugal in form and varying in style and pace: Ouverture (Suites 1 and 5), Prelude (Suite 2) and Fantaisie (Suites 3, 4 and 6). The seventh piece in the collection, the Ciacona con 38 Variazioni, is a special case. As Christopher Hogwood suggests in his introduction to the modern edition (Orpheus, 2009), the Ciacona could be another tribute to the imperial family, as the number of variations matches the age Charles VI’s niece, Maria Amalia, would have been on 22 October 1739.

Muffat’s interest in contemporary harpsichord composition is most clearly evident in his transcription and reinterpretation of works by George Frideric Handel, based on a manuscript copy of the Suites des pièces pour le clavecin he held in his library. Muffat reworked the suites in Handel’s collection, suggesting new ornamentation, distributing the notes differently between the hands, changing the clefs and sometimes note values, and adding slurs and cadenzas. He then applied everything he had observed while rewriting Handel’s suites to his own Componimenti musicali: including a table of ornaments, which the composer asks be played with ‘art and discretion’; he considers the positioning of the player’s hands on the keyboard in his writing and avoids using multiple clefs on one line to prevent confusion; he describes the optimum way to use the thumb for accidentals; and he provides the correct technical interpretation of trills and slurs.

Study of the Componimenti reveals what could be defined as a pedagogical intent, as well as a clear desire to make the score unambiguous and accessible by means of his introductory instructions. The collection contributed greatly to setting a new benchmark for keyboard writing in the lands of the Viennese Empire.

If gospel music was a corporation and not a music genre, James Cleveland would have been it's big boss. He was certainly America's greatest gospel music star, and he reigned over the circuit for almost 40 years. He fostered the mass choir boom that is so popular today, and instigated such major events as Aretha Franklin's "Amazing Grace" album (a worldwide best-seller). This selection of Cleveland's best recordings finally highlights the work of a great musician about whom we know too little.