Peter Cornelius' groundbreaking sacred songs include Vater unser Lord’s Prayer , which adapts plainsong chant into a deeply personal musical language. The Marienlieder sacred and erotic vocabulary. Unusual for their numerous revisions, the Weihnachtslieder successful contributions to the Christmas music of Cornelius’s time. This is the last of a four-volume edition of Peter Cornelius’s complete songs.

The Moravian Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst is a dazzling example of the nineteenth-century violinist-composer, of whom the greatest was Ernst's sometime rival, Paganini. Indeed it was the Italian who persuaded Ernst to follow the life of a touring virtuoso, in which role he was to perform with the greatest musicians in Europe, earning the admiration of men such as Chopin and Mendelssohn. The Elegie sur la mort d'un objet cheri, mentioned by Tolstoy in the Kreutzer Sonata, was one of the best-known violin works of the century, and the Polyphonic Studies offer a compendium of violin technique on a par with the works of Paganini himself.

The Glogauer Liederbuch is a forgotten treasure a rich repository of fifteenth-century music. It contains 292 songs devotional chants and instrumental pieces which were performed by educated enthusiasts or students not by professional musicians. The collection also includes several pieces known as 'Schwanz' (tail) which probably designates them as dances ('schwanzen' being a derivation of 'tanzen' i.e. dancing). The music sung or played in this Lower Silesian monastic community originated in many different countries but all the pieces show a richly developed standard. The Liederbuch is the oldest known set of part-books from central Europe.

Thierry Lancino' vast Requiem is a challenging and eloquent contemplation on human mortality which the composer describes as 'both an epic fresco and sacred ceremony'. in a paradox which brings the Christian into dialogue with the Pagan, Lancino presents.

The forgotten man of Soviet music history, vilified in his day for having aspired to be a 'Russian Schoenberg', Roslavets began his career as one of the most rebellious of all Soviet avant-garde composers of the first two decades of the 20th century.

When planning your wedding, one of the most exciting and enjoyable experiences is selecting the music that will complement your special spring ceremony. Music will be an integral part of this unforgettable time, reflecting your style and personality through the events of the day. Perfect Spring Wedding, provides a variety of styles to choose from to make your ceremony complete.

Inspired by the 'father of the modern viola' Lionel Tertis, London-born composer Edwin York Bowen preferred the tone of this instrument to that of the violin. Encouraged by Tertis, his two widely contrasting Sonatas are pioneering in their use.

This selection of some of Wagner's finest orchestral excerpts opens with the 'storm-swept ballad' of Der fliegende Holle�nder, the opera which launched his epoch-defining later masterpieces. The entire span of Der Ring des Nibelungen is represented in this program, from the luminous rainbow bridge which leads the gods to Valhalla in Das Rheingold, the urgent drama of Die Walkure, and the atmospheric repose of the Forest Murmurs in Siegfried, to the tragic depths of Siegfried's Funeral March. This recording has been praised for it's 'radiant sensuousness'. (Gramophone) Volumes 2 and 3 in this series are available on 8.572768 and 8.572769.

HANDEL: Solomon, HWV 67

Includes work(s) for guitar by Federico Moreno Torroba. Soloist: Ana Vidovic.

Includes work(s) by Kosaku Yamada. Ensemble: Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Takuo Yuasa.

A programme of Prokofiev's shorter works that are rarely found beyond sets of the complete music, from Korean pianist DongKyu Kim, 1st prize winner at the 2010 San Marino International Competition.

Clarinet virtuoso Iwan M�ller succeeded in developing the possibilities of his instrument beyond it's limitations in Mozart's time into the modern clarinet, though his compositions have long been overlooked. The beautifully proportioned Clarinet Quartets Nos 1 and 2 form a complementary pair, placing lyrical ease and virtuoso refinement into 'impossible' keys as a demonstration of M�ller's innovations. The remaining works often follow an Italianate bel canto style, while his popular Souvenir de Dobb�ran is a prototype of the musical postcard genre.

Edvard Grieg' idiom is firmly rooted in Norwegian folk music, especially in his numerous short pieces. The Sl tter are Norwegian folk dances and tunes, originally played on the peasant violin, and notated by Johan Halvorsen.

Stokowski's Bach transcriptions have received a great deal of attention on disc lately, but this is one of the very few recordings that has the genuine flavor that Stoki himself brought to them. The obvious first question is: How do these versions compare to the "originals"? Can they be as good? The answer, quite simply, is "Yes, they can." Serebrier doesn't try to duplicate every gesture that Stokowski made. That would be impossible in any case, given the wide range of tempos and other variations among his own numerous recordings of these pieces. Take the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor: Stoki's own timings varied between about 12 minutes (in Philadelphia) to more than 14 in a later rendition. Serebrier takes about 13, which is similar to the tempo Stokowski adopted in his 1940s All-American Youth Orchestra reading (on Cala).


In general Serebrier is a bit swifter than his late mentor, particularly in such numbers as Komm süsser Tod and Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland, but speed isn't really the issue with Stokowski. What matters more is sonority, that special "Stokowski sound". The fact is, these orchestrations are not particularly original or imaginative. They are almost uniformly (indeed formulaically) based on strings as the principal voices, with woodwind and brass reinforcement as necessary. Heard in quantity, they risk sounding quite monochrome. Some, like the "Little" Fugue in G minor, use the winds in imitation of the organ, but there's nothing special in that. What makes them work is not how they are written, but rather how they are played. Take the famous Air from the Orchestral Suite No. 3. Listen to Serebrier summon that rich vibrato from the cellos, the shimmering texture of the seraphic violins, and the discreet touches of portamento: this is the true "Stokowski sound"--sensual, luminous, and warm.


Or take the almost apocalyptic entry of the full orchestra toward the end of the "Little" Fugue: Serebrier understands that theatrical flair, even bordering on vulgarity, makes these arrangements come to life. There's a sense of danger here--of almost, but never quite, crossing over the "bad taste" line--that makes listening so much more fun. The same sense of nearly garish drama characterizes this powerful performance of the Passacaglia and Fugue. It's worth pointing out, by the way, that it probably was a smart move to omit the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, for two reasons. First, it eliminates the temptation to make obvious and facile comparisons to Stokowski's half-dozen recordings of the most famous of all his Bach transcriptions; and second, it leaves hope that another disc may be forthcoming containing an equally rewarding mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar.


Aside from Bach, Serebrier includes Stokowski's own Two Ancient Liturgical Melodies, a sexy conflation of Veni Creator Spiritus and Veni Emmanuel, as well as the Handel and Purcell items. Dido's Lament sounds particularly dark and tragic in this performance. It's clear that the Bournemouth Symphony is having a great time reproducing these ultra-rich, Golden Age sonorities, and my only quibble concerns the principal oboe, whose clicking valves decorate his solos with excessive prominence. But then Stokowski himself made magic with every kind of orchestra and caliber of player, so this isn't a big issue. The engineering supports the interpretations particularly well, giving the strings the necessary sheen and allowing the climaxes to expand hugely. Like Serebrier's and Bournemouth's previous Stokowski project, dedicated to Mussorgsky, this new release is an unqualified triumph. [6/5/2006]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com