The large-scale Bach Organ Landscapes project featuring J.S. Bach's entire organ oeuvre recorded on a range of instruments aims to provide an overview of organ-playing and organ-building traditions that were key to Bach's composing. With a keen eye to the unique cultural organ legacy of the places associated with Bach, Halubek has placed Bach's original sound at the heart of his project. The recordings are accompanied by digital material that offer an almost tactile access to the great composer's sound universe.

Over the course of more than half a century, Wolfgang Rübsam has consistently brought new insights to bear on the keyboard music of Bach, firstly in sets of the canonic organ music for Philips, then the same for Naxos. In the last few years, his musicianship and understanding of Bach enriched by those decades of experience, he has turned to the harpsichord/piano repertoire for Brilliant Classics. A series of critically acclaimed albums has shed new light on The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas and Toccatas with Rübsam’s performance of them on a lautenwerk – a ‘lute-harpsichord’ with a distinctive chime and colour which Bach himself would have been familiar with. Rübsam now returns to the organ, with new transcriptions and recordings of two Orchestral Suites and Chaconne from the D minor Partita for solo violin. While the Chaconne has attracted transcribers and arrangers ever since the 19th century, drawn magnetically to its evolving variations on a ground bass which accumulate an emotional power unusual even for Bach, the Orchestral Suites are much less often encountered outside their original garb. Yet we can be sure that Bach himself would have embraced Rübsam’s idea with enthusiasm. The Suites themselves are compilations of dances, probably not all originally designed for their eventual destination as high-class entertainment music for the concert series at Café Zimmermann in Leipzig, and Bach repurposed some of their movements as sinfonias and even choruses for his church cantatas. As in his fairly free transcription of the Chaconne, Rübsam has made full use of the instrument at his disposal, a magnificent Casavant instrument (1998) at the Church of St. Louis, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The booklet includes a full disposition for the organ as well as an essay introducing both the works and Rübsam’s uniquely imaginative approach to them. ‘If the sound of the lute-harpsichord highlights Bach’s debt to French lute music, especially in the First Prelude, the instrument clarifies that homage while Rübsam’s interpretation transcends it.’ (Fanfare, November 2018, The Well-Tempered Clavier, 96750)

For nearly 20 years, Seraphic Fire’s Christmas concerts have heralded the change of seasons for our audiences in South Florida, and there is no piece more associated with these yearly musical celebrations than Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. Written by Elizabeth Poston, English composer and purported World War II spy for the Allies, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree takes a Federal-era American text and clothes it in music so simple, that it could easily be an 18th-century colonial hymn. With its elegant treble-voice verse and luxurious ending canon, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree has become an indispensable part of Christmastide for thousands of our friends in our hometown of Miami, FL, and beyond.

With Poston’s masterpiece as our polestar, this new holiday recording by Seraphic Fire celebrates the simple and the authentic. From Praetorious’s double choir setting of In dulci jubilo and Gottfried Wolter’s spine-tingling Maria durch ein Dornwald ging, to familiar American carols arranged by composer contemporaries of Seraphic Fire (including Susan LaBarr, Edwin Fissinger, Timothy Takach, and Seraphic Fire’s founder Patrick Dupre Quigley), this new recording hopes to introduce new settings of old melodies that will hopefully become instant classics in your Christmas soundscape. Each Seraphic Fire Christmas program is special, and we hope that The Apple Tree: Christmas with Seraphic Fire will continue our tradition of bringing peaceful, tuneful contemplation to our beloved audiences, near and far. – James K. Bass

PRJCT Amsterdam and its artistic director Maarten Engeltjes present two of the greatest vocal works of the baroque era: Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus. While Vivaldi’s virtuosic piece contemplates the helplessness of people when God does not support their efforts, Pergolesi’s portrait of the weeping Mary at the Cross embodies what the “nameless” parents of a deceased child go through. In the Stabat Mater, Engeltjes’s counter-tenor blends together seamlessly and soothingly with Shira Patchornik’s soprano voice, resulting in an interpretation that is both profound and deeply relatable.

PRJCT Amsterdam is a young, innovative baroque ensemble centred around counter-tenor Maarten Engeltjes, and founded in 2017. Engeltjes is one of the most sought-after counter-tenors of today, working with several of the most esteemed early music groups and conductors. After having won multiple major baroque competitions, soprano Shira Patchornik is quickly establishing herself as an important singer on the opera and concert stage. All artists make their Pentatone debut.

These classic Vox recordings feature two former music directors of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in their prime - Walter Susskind (Smetana) and Jerzy Semkow (Rimsky-Korsakov). Newly remastered from the original tapes.

In the discussion on women and classical music, perhaps no other instrument draws such a strong association with feminine stereotypes as the harp. Once the instrument of choice for respectable young ladies, it was considered suitable for the domestic sphere and the world of private salons. And yet, as the harp made it's way out of the home and into the concert hall, it's publicity was championed by male performers, playing the music of male composers. Often overlooked are the women-performers and composers alike-who revolutionized the instrument and gave it a solo voice. Birds of Paradise celebrates the artistic voices of women as both performers and creators. This album showcases living composers Reena Esmail and Angelica Negron and legendary harpist and composer Henriette Renie. Featured works include Renie's Trio, the first major work written for this combination of instruments, alongside the world premiere recording of Negron's Ave del paraiso and the first recording of Esmail's Saans as arranged for harp, violin, and cello. Listeners are invited to experience this dynamic sound world, full of color and warmth, created and performed by women.

Hildegard And Her Sisters, Katelyn Bouska, piano. After our first success with Women and War and Peace, Katelyn Bouska put a big smile on my face when she mentioned a second project she wanted to do with Yarlung Records. Kate can play any genre, and we discussed an album celebrating the great composer, mystic, poet, philosopher, scientist, rabble-rouser and visionary abbess Hildegard von Bingen. Hildegard is the first composer for whom we have a definite name in the European canon. She was born in 1098 and died in 1179 at 81 years of age. I was even more enthusiastic when we discussed that Kate and Yarlung would commission new music for the project in Hildegard's honor. To help place Hildegard in wider European history, she was born a mere 32 years after the Battle of Hastings, 47 years before the start of construction of Chartres Cathedral, and Henry IV was Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire after inheriting Charlemagne's throne in Aachen. Kate wanted to return to Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts where we made our first recording together. Aaron Egigian was able to secure dates over Easter Weekend, March 29th, 30th and 31st, 2024, when the concert hall, Kate and our team were available. My fellow recording engineer Arian Jansen and I set up for the recording before Kate arrived, and while I do not believe in frequent divine intervention for such things, we asked Hildegard to "bless the more than 50 vacuum tubes" that we would need to be working perfectly for the recording. With or without Hildegard's intercession, all vacuum tubes worked beautifully for the duration without hiss, pop or crackle. Because Hildegard is best known for her vocal music, we decided to record this album as if Kate's piano were a full choir, stretching from far left to far right in the soundstage. Thanks to the superb acoustics in Samueli Theater, you may hear ambience and extreme high and low notes on Kate's keyboard expanding outside your speakers in your listening room. Unconventional as this may be for a solo piano recording, this was intentional such that the listener can experience more of the sound Kate enjoyed sitting at the piano, as if our ears are Kate's ears while she plays.

In 1700, Corelli published his 12 violin sonatas, Opus 5, in Rome. A veritable revolution in violin technique, they won the admiration of eminent composers (Bach, Dandrieu, Couperin) and greatly influenced the French (Francoeur, Leclair, Senaillé, Quentin), who were to try their hand at this virtuoso and brilliant Italian style. At the end of the 1730s, the first six sonatas of opus 5 were"adapted to the transverse flute with the bass" by a Parisian publisher. The level of virtuosity they demanded was quite innovative at the time. This display of virtuosity is also to be found in the compositions of Jean-Baptiste Quentin, known as Le Jeune. We have very little biographical information on Quentin himself, but all his work is greatly inspired by Italian music and is heavily influenced by Corelli. Anna Besson has made the world's first recording of his sonatas, with the help of two other eminent performers of the new Baroque generation, Myriam Rignol on viola da gamba and Jean Rondeau on harpsichord…

Johann Sebastian Bach, though largely unaffected by the trends of his time, reimagined many older forms with striking originality, shaping the course of Western music. Among his innovations is the sonata for a melodic instrument (such as the viola da gamba) and obbligato harpsichord, where both parts engage in equal dialogue-a model later expanded by his sons and composers like Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Following their acclaimed first album dedicated to Corelli's Sonatas Op. 5, Teodoro Bau and Andrea Buccarella now present their second duo recording: the Sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord by J.S. Bach, each revealing a unique stylistic approach within a unified form.

Step into a world of musical elegance with this release featuring solo piano interpretations of the most famous compositions by J.S. Bach. This album is a celebration of Bach's genius, showcasing the intricate beauty and emotional power of his work through the expressive medium of solo piano. Performed by Tim Allhoff who has collaborated with an impressive array of musicians and ensembles, including Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Robbie Williams, Jules Buckley, Vision String Quartet, and many more, this collection promises to deliver a rich listening experience that bridges tradition and innovation. Each piece is thoughtfully crafted to highlight the depth and complexity of Bach's compositions, making them accessible and captivating for both seasoned listeners and newcomers alike.

With an ever-increasing awareness of the excellence that defined her career, Florence Price is finally receiving the recognition that she deserves. Price won the Wanamaker Prize in 1932, and she was the first Black woman to have a symphony premiered by a major American orchestra. Price was a gifted student, pianist, and organist. She graduated from high school in Little Rock, AR, at age 14. At age 16, she graduated from the New England Conservatory (as the only double major in her class) with degrees in organ performance and piano pedagogy. Price wrote music for everyone– across a range of styles and abilities, and for a variety of forces. Beyond the Years hones in on Florence Price the composer of songs. ONEcomposer has cataloged nearly 150 of her songs (to date), only about half of which have been published.

Beyond the Years highlights Price’s affinity for themes of faith, nature, love, and loss. Amongst Price’s treasures in the archives at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, is her well worn copy of Vaccai: Practical Method of Italian Singing, a symbol of her fastidious commitment to writing idiomatically for the voice.

As performed by Karen Slack and Michelle Cann, these songs are receiving new life in the hands of two of the greatest artists of our generation.

Jean-Baptiste Dupont performs transcriptions of works by Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ of Saint-Sernin. The layering of composition, transcription, instrument, and interpretation emphasizes the polyphonic depth and dynamic colouring of the pieces. Timeless masterpieces merge with the expressive potential of the Cavaille-Coll organ, itself a masterpiece of the 19th century.

Eva Zalenga, winner of the German Music Competition, makes her GENUIN debut with an album featuring colorful and striking music for soprano and diverse instrumental ensembles. Highlights include a world premiere recording of Ignaz Lachner's work, a rare find by Darius Milhaud, and renowned repertoire such as Schubert's "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen" and songs by Rebecca Clarke and Pauline Viardot. Eva Zalenga's "fine, light, and lyrical" soprano brings fresh interpretations to these works. Another standout is the revised version of Isabelle Aboulker's "Je t'aime", developed directly with the composer.

On one side, Francesco Corti, one of the most internationally acclaimed harpsichordists and protagonist of five acclaimed albums released by the Arcana label. On the other, Ilya Gringolts, making his debut for the same label: a violinist of extraordinary versatility, committed to contemporary music but also animated by a deep passion for the Baroque repertoire and historically informed performance. Proof of this is his recording of Locatelli's Il labirinto armonico (2021), which was awarded the Diapason d'Or and selected as Editor's Choice by Gramophone. Two artistically different but complementary personalities, united for years in a successful partnership, tackle a milestone of chamber music: the first great example of concertante sonatas for keyboard and melodic instrument. Completing the programme is Tertia deficiens, a piece by contemporary composer and Baroque violinist Andrew McIntosh (Grammy nominee), commissioned specifically for this project with the aim of creating an evocative bridge between past and present.

Florence Price had worked for some years as a silent film organist before she won admiration in 1932 for her Symphony No. 1 in E minor. Works for organ form one of the largest parts of her output; the Sonata attests to her virtuosic command, as does the Passacaglia and Fugue which, while clearly indebted to Bach, reveals personal ideas of her own. Price's gift for writing miniatures is also obvious - Adoration has heartfelt melodic beauty, and the dainty Caprice exemplifies light music at it's best. Variations on a Folksong is a tour-de-force and her only organ work to be based on a pre-existing melody, a spiritual. A digital EP featuring four additional miniatures for organ is also available for streaming and download (9.70389).

An exciting listening adventure: The "Ten Preludes" by Sofia Gubaidulina from 1974 merge with the Allemandes from Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites into a fascinating dialogue between past and present.

The three Suites recorded on this CD (BWV 1007, BWV 1008 and BWV 1010) were transcribed for guitar by the performers themselves, following a practice customary for Bach and absolutely familiar to him (the Fifth Suite for cello has come down to us in two versions, one for cello and one for lute: we are not sure which came first). One should therefore recognise the full aesthetic legitimacy of the guitar transcription of these compositions, a practice, moreover, that has now been established for decades. This procedure is ultimately legitimised by the primacy, in Bach’s language, of the harmonic and contrapuntal dimension over their sonic realisation, a primacy that led Ferruccio Busoni, for whom the concept of “transcription” occupies a position of absolute centrality in his aesthetic thought, to transcribe for piano not only numerous compositions for organ by Thomaskantor, but also the Chaconne from the Second Partita in D minor for solo violin. With specific regard to the guitar, one cannot fail to mention the name of Andrés Segovia, who transcribed for his instrument and recorded in 1946 the highly famous Chaconne.

Second instalment in the ongoing complete Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) symphony cycle by Tapiola Sinfonietta and conductor Janne Nisonen includes the composer's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5. Often remembered in music history as Beethoven's 'right hand', these new recordings by the Tapiola Sinfonietta reveal a major symphonist. The first volume in the series has received oustanding reviews in the German music press.

Naples and Venice were two of the most important centers for music in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. On this new recording of baroque recorder concertos from Italy, the Bremen Baroque Orchestra and Clara Guldberg Ravn once again demonstrate their great joy of playing and the highest quality of baroque performance practice. In addition to well-known works by Antonio Vivaldi and the recorder evergreen by Giuseppe Sammartini, the young Danish recorder player has also ventured into rather unknown baroque works by the Neapolitan Nicola Fiorenza and the Swede Johan Helmich Roman.

Andreas Staier’s informed and inspired interpretations have left their mark on the discography of both the harpsichord and the fortepiano and have enabled us to see Bach, Mozart and Schubert in a completely new light. This is Staier’s first solo album of a projected series for Alpha Classics, in which he also presents his own compositions for the first time. “Two motifs connect the works in this recording: the first is a ancient cantus firmus, a melody in long notes […] the second is the interval sequence of octave, fifth, sixth, and third. […] Anklange, my six pieces for harpsichord, grew out of several conversations I had with the composer Brice Pauset about what it means to compose in our time, and in particular what it implies to compose for historical instruments. This led me to ask myself how I could express and capture my own conception of music in notes, marked as it is not only by Byrd, Bach and Schubert, but also by the music of the 20th and 21st centuries."

REVIEW:

This release is a good example of Andreas Staier’s intelligent program building, both intellectually and musically speaking. Two motifs form a thread that runs through most of the works assembled here. One is the note sequence E–F-sharp–A–G-sharp–F-sharp–E that appears in Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer’s E major Prelude and Fugue from Ariadne Musica, Bach’s E major Prelude and Fugue from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book II, plus Froberger’s Fantasia II and Ricercar IV (the latter transposed to begin with G). The other motif is based on a sequence of intervals: octave, fifth, sixth, and third. Other pre-Bach composers include Louis Couperin and Johann Joseph Fux

At the recital’s midpoint, Staier features his own six pieces for harpsichord composed in 2020 that comprise a suite entitled Anklänge. His style forgoes tonality for the most part, yet his boundless palette of sonorities, his dramatic registral deployment, and his instincts for when and how to leave space all generate palpable tension and release. The fourth piece, for example, makes arresting use of thick spread chords that resonate for a long time under the fingers, while No. 6 features aphoristic lines that unfold like skywriting, with plenty of air between each utterance.

Indeed, resonance and breathing room characterize Staier’s performing style, which revels in the colorful variety of stops offered on his harpsichord modeled after a 1734 Hieronymus Albrecht Hass model. You’ll notice this in how Staier times and differentiates his arpeggiations of chords throughout the Couperin Pavane, as well as in the melting impact of his masterful finger legato in the Froberger Meditation. Surprisingly, Staier takes a forthright tempo for the aforementioned Bach Fugue, where his octave couplings have a rather upholstered effect that, for my taste, works against the music’s reflective and vocally oriented nature. Still, Staier remains the masterful instrumentalist and thinking musician that has long enamored me to his extensive and wide-ranging discography.

-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)

Founded in 1951 by Erwin Lehn, The SWR Big Band has been nominated for a Grammy several times and received the German Jazz Award (Gold) in 2015. Over the course of the years, it collaborated with artists like Quincy Jones, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Gary Burton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Curtis Stigers, Jacob Collier, Patti Austin, Roy Hargrove, Sammy Nestico, Ivan Lins, Paula Morelenbaum, Joo Kraus, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Bob Florence, Rob McConnell, Slide Hampton, Maria Schneider, Frank Foster, Bill Holman and Bob Mintzer. The album SWR Big Band live at the Elbphilharmonie from 2018 is one of the longest running bestsellers of the label. The collaboration between Sammy Nestico and The SWR Big Band began 2004, when the composer was already 80 years old. Soon it developed into a real friendship. No less than five albums have been released in the years until his death, all of them bestsellers of the SWRmusic catalogue. They additionaly made a key contribution to raising international awareness of Nestico's late creative phase. The music he wrote for The SWR Big Band sports both funky sounds and elements of fusion, combining swing, a pinch of soul and an emotional orchestral expression. The music moves artfully between reduced combo sounds and opulent textures. This sense of mutual understanding was created during the decade-plus period of collaboration between the composer and the orchestra, a collaboration built not only on notes, but also on intuition.

Bach's trio sonatas, once written as teaching pieces for his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann, show Johann Sebastian Bach at the zenith of his compositional art: three independent voices engage in a captivating dialogue, combining cantabile melodic lines with an artful yet natural-sounding counterpoint - all embedded in an experimental formal design and balanced proportions. Martin Neu makes this core repertoire his own with his lively and eloquent interpretation on the Ahrend organ in Herzogenaurach. The unusual directness and proximity to the pipework of the organ, combined with the excellent acoustic conditions, create a unique sound experience. For the first time, this is also available immersively in Dolby Atmos - a sonic innovation that allows the music to be experienced with unprecedented intensity.

Though naturally closely associated with the organ and harpsichord, Bach had a special relationship with the violin, his father's instrument, throughout his life. Moreover, we know that he was a highly skilled player, performing regularly at the court of Weimar, and probably also at Kothen and Leipzig. He wrote and transcribed concertos and sonatas for violin, but above all created the unprecedented collection of Sonatas and Partitas for solo instrument. And it is precisely for this vehicle of pure virtuosity that Marco Serino's new project offers four masterpieces, only one of which - the Partita No. 2, the most ambitious work in the group - has survived in a version for violin. Both the first two Suites for cello and the Toccata and Fugue BWV 565, however, already boast an important tradition of violin transcriptions. Pervaded by the virtual polyphony so characteristic of the celebrated Sei solo, these extraordinary pieces, which are presented from a different perspective than usual, celebrate this art of transformation pursued by the artists of the Baroque as an ideal of continuous and fruitful metamorphosis.

Even their genesis seems mysterious: manuscripts of Johann Sebastian Bach's toccatas have not survived. However, it is assumed that the works were composed in the years of his Arnstadt and early Weimar period, when Bach was gradually working his way up to become a renowned organist. And it is no wonder that he chose the toccata as the playground for his development: since the days of the Roman Girolamo Frescobaldi, the toccata was a kind of musical laboratory in which one could try out anything with impunity. There are virtuosic, glittering improvisations next to strict but extremely energetic fugues, expressive arias next to lively, folksy dances. Bach has thus compiled entertaining suites and potpourris with great freedom, but always allowing them to breathe under great dramatic arcs. Jonathan Ferrucci is certain that the toccatas are among Bach's most interesting piano works. 'He is bubbling over with ideas and always creates abrupt contrasts when you least expect them. There is this wild, youthful energy with which he explores all the affects and formal possibilities of the music of the time. And when I play, I feel as if I'm composing the music together with Bach in the moment - that's because of this incredible spontaneity and his delight in invention.' Born in Florence to Italian-Australian parents, Ferrucci's childhood was already characterised by the glorious history of the Renaissance and Baroque periods and the vast Australian landscape.

Pianist Luisa Imorde, deeply inspired by Brahms, presents an album of his works, contextualizing his music with pieces that influenced him, like those by Bach and other Baroque composers. Through her sensible and virtuosic playing she engages with musical traditions, creating a dialogue between compositions and earlier works, just like Brahms had done before her.

The son of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), Carl Philipp Emanuel, described his father’s Sonatas BWV 1014–1019 as among the best works his father ever wrote and continued to perform them extensively after his father’s death. This is music of implication and inference, the emotions no less real for their apparent lack of specificity. There is pleasure in the paradox: even without a text, the music sings. “They still sound very good and give me much joy, although they date back more than fifty years. They contain some Adagios that could not be written in a more singable manner today”, writes C. P. E. Bach. In these new recordings, some of the greatest exponents of Baroque music in the Nordic countries, violinist Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch and keyboardist Tuija Hakkila join forces. Tuija Hakkila plays copy of a Gottfried Silbermann fortepiano 1747 by Andrea Restelli — J. S. Bach played one of his fortepianos in 1747 in Potsdam for Frederick the Great and his court musicians.

Originally issued on the 2LP set Nativity in 1976, this classic Vox recording is a fine example of Robert Shaw’s expertise as a choral conductor. The album features a selection of carols, choral works and orchestral Christmas favourites performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Produced by the legendary Elite Recordings team of Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz, and newly remastered from the original analogue tapes in high-definition.

Her Story rather than "His Story": On her new GENUIN album, the remarkable Austrian pianist Mitra Kotte reexamines music history, placing women composers of the 19th and 20th centuries at the forefront. How many people truly know the works of Dora Pejacevic, Louise Farrenc, Cecile Chaminade, or Emilie Mayer as they deserve? Mitra Kotte, a prizewinner at international competitions, sheds light on a long-overlooked chapter of music. With great passion and the highest technical mastery, she introduces us to exquisite gems and profound works that leave us marveling both visually and aurally!

Concerto Copenhagen, the renowned baroque ensemble, is set to release their third album on Berlin Classics, featuring a fresh exploration of Haydn symphonies. The album highlights Haydn's Symphonies No. 47 "Palindrome," No. 44 "Trauer," and No. 43 "Merkur." Known for their innovative interpretations, Concerto Copenhagen brings a new spirit to these classical masterpieces. Haydn, who composed 140 symphonies throughout his life, played a pivotal role in shaping the classical music form and style, influencing giants like Mozart and Beethoven. This album promises to offer a captivating journey through Haydn's enduring legacy.

“[Bach] speaks to us in his work in such clear terms that we may quite well call these fugues poems. (…) These have warmth, quiet joy, love. And running through all the poems, dressed in different guises, is the main theme, creating order, binding the work as a whole together: it is a safe bond in all its diversity. Over all lies the proximity of death.” (Enzio Forsblom)

In this new recording, Bach’s final magnum opus is played by Aapo Häkkinen on a harpsichord built in 1614 by Andreas Ruckers the Elder (1579–?1652) and which belonged to the composer John Blow (1649–1708), organist of Westminster Abbey and former teacher of Henry Purcell. A tradition exists that G.F. Handel had also played this harpsichord.