Robert Casadesus (1899-1972) is today almost considered an American pianist - he based himself there from the Second World War onwards and he is known today through the huge number of recordings he made for US Columbia from 1940 until his death, but as a musician and pianist he was French to the core. He had studied at the Paris conservatoire with Isidor Philipp and Louis Di�mer and his combination of immaculate technique, a light and brilliant touch and the refined elegance of his interpretations reveal why he was considered one of the greatest French pianists of the century. Casadesus began his recording career for French Columbia in 1928 and all his recordings for that label, until he left for the USA, are included here for the first time. Particularly noteworthy is a previously unpublished studio recording of Mozart's 'Coronation' concerto. He excelled in Mozart and Chopin and in French repertoire and all are well-represented in this collection. There are also noteworthy chamber collaborations in the Debussy cello sonata and Faur� Piano Quartet.

2019 will see the 500th commemoration of the death of one of the greatest geniuses humanity has produced: Leonardo da Vinci, scientist, inventor, painter – and musician. Doulce Mémoire, having devoted themselves to Renaissance music for the past 30 years, have decided to pay homage to Leonardo. Their founder-director, Denis Raisin Dadre, an eminent specialist in the music of the period and a great lover of pictorial art, has devised an original programme: ‘Rather than just make music from the time of Leonardo, I’ve taken my cue from the paintings themselves. I’ve worked on what could be the hidden music of these pictures, what musical pieces might be suggested by them….’ He chose around fifteen paintings, many of which are now in the Louvre: The Baptism of Christ, The Virgin of the Rocks, Portrait of Isabella d’Este, Portrait of an Unknown Woman (La belle ferronnière), Saint Anne, St John the Baptist… and of course La Gioconda. He then matched them with works by Jacob Obrecht (1457-1505), Josquin Desprez (1450-1521), laude for the Annunciation. There are also some frotolle, and songs to texts by Petrarch accompanied by the lira da braccio, an instrument Leonardo played himself. This recording comes with a handsome booklet, including reproductions of the pictures by Leonardo, some in detail, giving an intimate insight into them; there is also a text by Denis Raisin Dadre explaining his selection.

The history of coffee is fascinating! From the opening of the first establishments in Constantinople in the middle of the sixteenth century to the appearance and diffusion of the drink in Europe in the following century, coffee and coffee houses were highly fashionable. Two composers devoted a cantata to the topic. Gottfried Zimmermann opened his famous coffee house in Leipzig in 1715 and organised concerts there. Around 1735, Bach composed his famous cantata ‘Schweigt still, plaudert nicht’, which was probably performed there. It depicts the humorous dispute between a father and his daughter over her consumption of coffee. In Paris, Nicolas Bernier’s cantata Le Caffé (1664-1734) praised the beverage and its many virtues. The ‘Coffee Road’ Olivier Fortin has mapped out here makes a detour to London around 1660, where the composer Matthew Locke frequented the Turk’s Head Coffee House and promoted a string fantasia. Fortin has chosen to organise this album like a fasil, a ‘suite of pieces’ in traditional Ottoman music, with taqsims (improvisations) interspersed among the compositions and played on such instruments as the ney flute, the Arab violin and the yayli tanbur.

Sandrine Piau’s first recital for the ALPHA Label, with Susan Manoff, proved an enormous hit (Diapason d’Or of the year, Choc of the year, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice). Her new project is a recital with orchestra celebrating French songs from the period when they moved from the private salon to the concert hall. Planned in partnership with the Palazzetto Bru Zane, this programme evokes anticipation, desire, pleasure, memory, in short all the vagaries of love experienced by a romantic heroine. To verses of the poets Hugo, Lamartine, Gautier, and Verlaine, Sandrine Piau has selected song settings by Saint-Saëns (‘L’attente’, ‘Papillons’), Massenet (‘Extase’, ‘Aimons-nous’), and Vierne, as well as by the rarely-heard Dubois, Guilmant, and Bordes. Julien Chauvin and his period instrument ensemble combine these songs with orchestral pieces (the ‘Pavane de la belle au bois dormant’ from Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, and Debussy’s ‘Danse profane’ for harp and orchestra). The album also presents excerpts from Nuits d’Été by Berlioz, and ends with the famous classic ‘Plaisir d’amour’ by Martini.

-----

REVIEW:

With her silvery tone, immaculate sense of line and telling if understated way with words, Piau is very much at home in this repertory. Chauvin and his orchestra are outstanding throughout, unearthing subtleties in music that is often quite simply but always effectively scored. It’s a most engaging disc.

– Gramophone

Also Available: Lyrita - Celebrating Fifty Years Devoted To British Music - Set Two

In Set One strong choices are made time after time. Alwyn’s Magic Island is in fact Prospero’s island - from The Tempest. The English Dances beguile and enchant. They are drawn from an LP and then from an extended CD which found Lyrita orchestral recording standards at their utter peak. The Russian Scenes are well done although ultimately they are a collection of exotic postcards and dances. The Benjamin Overture is a playful piece in the manner of the lighter examples by Barber and Bax. It comes as no surprise to discover that it was used as the overture to Benjamin’s opera Prima Donna. Berkeley’s crisp Serenade for Strings is presumably authoritative with the composer at the helm. Bliss conducting a suite from his Adam Zero seems underwhelming as music and as a performance - Handley’s version is much better. The delightful Bridge Suite for Strings is lovingly done by Boult. Similarly sumptuous and achingly poignant is A Shropshire Lad. Finzi’s Eclogue, Howells’ Merry-Eye and Hadley’s One Morning in Spring speak for themselves. The Forgotten Rite by John Ireland is a subtle, poetic and completely convincing piece. It’s interesting that this first set has only one bleeding chunk from a larger piece and that is the second movement of Busch’s Cello Concerto. The Cello Concerto is a strong work and makes quite a discovery among the rich crop of new Lyritas in 2008. Although issued on CD in the early 1990s the Foulds Mantras - of which we here have the Mantra of Bliss - is amongst the most radical and impressive. Then again Foulds was an extraordinary composer whose significance is international. Light music is represented by shapely performances of Coates’ From Meadow to Mayfair, Gibbs’ Fancy Dress and the Coleridge Taylor Valse. Fredman’s reading of the famous Delius Walk is to be treasured. He would have made an estimable Song of the High Hills had the opportunity been offered. Lyrita are the only label to provide Holst’s tangy Japanese Suite and, audaciously enough, it’s here in this set. From the 19th century comes Sterndale Bennett’s Caprice and the remarkable Variations on a Hungarian Air by Hurlstone. Henry Wood’s orchestration of the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D Minor was originally presented under a pseudonym, Paul Klenovsky. Oh how those Russian names legitimise British talent! Gipps’ Horn Concerto is played by the very talented David Pyatt. Would that Lyrita had also recorded her other concertos. Don’t forget her works for Clarinet (1940); Viola (Jane Grey Fantasy, 1940), Oboe (1941), Violin (1943), Piano (1948), Violin and Viola (1957) and Contra-Bassoon (Leviathan) and the five symphonies (1942, 1945, 1965, 1972, 1982). Names much associated with Cheltenham are represented by the Yorick overture, the Jabez and The Devil and the only recently vinyl-liberated Hoddinott Welsh Dances (Set 2).

- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International


Lyrita - Celebrating Fifty Years devoted to British Music - Set One

CD 1 [73:53]
William ALWYN Symphonic Prelude - The Magic Island - LPO/Alwyn [10:11]
Malcolm ARNOLD English Dances - Set 2 - LPO/Arnold [9:49]
Bach orch. Henry WOOD Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - LPO/Braithwaite [9:49]
Granville BANTOCK Russian Scenes - LPO/Wordsworth [14:13]
Arnold BAX Northern Ballad No.1 - LPO/Boult [10:09]
Arthur BENJAMIN Overture to an Italian Comedy - RPO/Fredman [6:17]
William Sterndale BENNETT Caprice in E - Malcolm Binns (piano) LPO/Braithwaite [13:17]

CD 2 [75:21]
Lennox BERKELEY Serenade for Strings - LPO/Berkeley [13:14]
Arthur BLISS Adam Zero - Suite - excerpt - LSO/Bliss [8:53]
Frank BRIDGE Suite for String Orchestra - LPO/Boult [20:50]
William BUSCH Cello Concerto (II) Raphael Wallfisch (cello) - RPO/Handley [6:51]
Geoffrey BUSH Overture - Yorick - NPO/Handley [8:30]
George BUTTERWORTH A Shropshire Lad Rhapsody - LPO/Boult [8:38]
Eric COATES From Meadow to Mayfair Suite (excerpt) - NPO/Boult [8:14]

CD 3 [74:28]
Samuel COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Valse de la Reine - LPO/Wordsworth [4:32]
Arnold COOKE Jabez and The Devil - Suite - LPO/Braithwaite [18:02]
Frederick DELIUS The Walk to the Paradise Garden - LPO/Fredman [10:53]
Gerald FINZI Eclogue Peter Katin (piano) - NPO/Handley [10:32]
John FOULDS Mantra of Bliss - LPO/Wordsworth [13:06]
Cecil Armstrong GIBBS Fancy Dress - Dance Suite - RPO/Joly [17:20]

CD 4 [67:58]
Ruth GIPPS Horn Concerto - David Pyatt (horn) LPO/Braithwaite [17:14]
Patrick HADLEY One Morning in Spring - LPO/Boult [3:56]
Alun HODDINOTT Welsh Dances Set 2 - NYOW/Davison [9:04]
Gustav HOLST Japanese Suite - LSO/Boult [11:01]
Herbert HOWELLS Merry-Eye - NPO/Boult [8:52]
William HURLSTONE Variations on a Hungarian Air - LPO/Braithwaite [10:36]
John IRELAND The Forgotten Rite - Prelude - LPO/Boult [7:05]

rec. 1966-2007. ADD/DDD
LYRITA SRCD.2337 [4 CDs: 73:53 + 75:21 + 74:28 + 67:58]

This album takes the listener on a musical journey through Morocco. From the Berber traditions of the Rif and Atlas Mountains, to deeply spiritual Sufi music and the improvised street music of Marrakech, Morocco is a land of musical riches. The tracks on this release have been curated from ARC music's vast catalog of world music, and include artists like Nour Eddine, Abdesselam Damoussi, Rachid Halihal, the Altaf Gnawa Group, and many others. Julia Beyer is responsible for compiling the works on this album, and Diz Heller, once again, presents stellar mastering.

The 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci falls on May 2, 2019. Probably the greatest polymath of all time, Leonardo was also a musician and revered music as the only serious rival for his divine 'science' of painting. Marking this significant anniversary and the legacy of this forward-thinking 'Renaissance Man, ' I Fagiolini combines art, music and science in Leonardo: Shaping the Invisible, a major new touring and recording project conceived with Leonardo expert Professor Martin Kemp. Inspired by Leonardo's relentless curiosity, 'Shaping the Invisible' explores his best-loved images through the prism of music by Tallis, Howells, Victoria, Bach, Monteverdi, Janequin, and more. The project also includes a new commission from composer Adrian Williams and Gillian Clarke, the former National Poet of Wales, provoked by Leonardo's scientific discoveries. In true I Fagiolini style, there are a few post-production surprises in store, whilst the concert tour includes projections of Leonardo's beautiful art.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; a historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This is volume fourteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. Folk songs from the Monba and Lhoba peoples of the Tibet Autonomous Region. These celebrational love songs of the Monba and the Jia yi jia and Bai li songs of the Lhoba, are played on a range of traditional instruments such as the Da beng, Jew’s harp and double-tube flutes.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. Folk songs from the Tujia and Sui peoples of Hubei and Guizhou Province. This album features ‘inserting chant’ songs and south songs of Changyang by the Tujia peoples, and various ancient songs of the Sui. All played on traditional instruments such as mouth organs, bronze drums, gongs and suona, as well as the popular dongdong kui (bamboo clarinet), that dates back thousands of years. This is volume seventeen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With fifteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. The Kazakhs pass on their pastoral lifestyle from generation to generation, their music is delicate and their dance mellow and enchanting. There is a saying that ‘music and horses are the two wings of the Kazakhs’. Kyrgyz music however draws influence from Persian-Arabia, with brighter tones and sharper playing. For the audience who are not familiar with the music from Xinjiang, it is also easy to distinguish the songs between the two minorities in this album by their accompanying instruments. The tunes of Kazakh and Kyrgyz are accompanied by dombra and komuz respectively. As representative instruments for the minorities under discussion, the two are very popular among their peoples.

This series explores China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in this recording are folk songs of five minority ethnic groups of Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang—Mongol, Daur, Oroqen, Evenki and Hezhen. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. Folk songs from the Uyghur peoples of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This album features six folk songs from the Yili region in northern Xinjiang, five folk songs from Kashgar and Artux in southern Xinjiang and two excerpts from the Uyghur Twelve Muqam. All are played on traditional instruments such as rewap, dap, tembor and dotar. This is volume eighteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

Silk Baroque presents a musical encounter between Wu Wei and Holland Baroque, performing a programme that ranges from Baroque greats such as Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann and Rameau to Chinese traditional tunes, all tied together by the musicians’ openness to improvisation, experimentation and cultural exchange. Wu Wei plays the sheng, an extraordinary ancient Chinese mouth organ, which looks like a bundle of bamboo reeds cased in a metal bowl. It is a miracle of harmony, melody and rhythmic possibilities, and Wu Wei’s abilities fully bring out the sheng’s beauty: whispering, charming, and compelling.

Age-old traditions come together in performances that sound fresh and contemporary. Silk Baroque carries listeners into a lively, enticing and fascinating sound world. Holland Baroque is an original and innovative baroque orchestra that approaches baroque repertoire through a fresh and contemporary approach, with a focus on improvisation and collaborations with outstanding artists from different traditions. On their first PENTATONE release, they work together with Wu Wei, who dazzles audiences worldwide with his virtuosic sheng playing.

While globalization advances, all countries staunchly retain two unique features: their distinctive national flag and a bonding national anthem. The anthems reflect an enormous indigenous diversity, but relatively few are generally known by citizens of other nations, making any comprehensive compendium a source of endless interest and discovery. We invite you to take a musical tour of Naxos’ definitive set of national and regional anthems, from Algeria to Kuwait. Lapland to Zanzibar, and all stops in between. You’ll be delighted by the gems that are waiting to be discovered and compiled into either personal or family favorites. And you can check out the flags in the process with our informative supporting booklets! Welcome to the Naxos set of The Complete National Anthems of the World.

The Greek word 'kosmos' is our ethos in a nutshell. It means the world, the universe, people, order from chaos, honour and is also the name of a flower. Kosmos transcends boundaries, and connects people from all around the world. With our shared passion for music from across the globe -from Argentina to Japan-we create bridges between classical and non-classical music, and our music dances across them. All the music on this album is arranged and composed together by us for our signature combination of violin, viola and classical accordion. This recording is a one-off performance, just as each and every one of our concert performances is always novel and singular. Kosmos is a trio of award-winning, international musicians who have performed worldwide, with live broadcasts on national radio including BBC Radio and Classic FM. They regularly tour international festivals (including Poland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Scotland, Channel Islands). In 2018 acclaimed composer Errollyn Wallen wrote a Triple Concerto for Kosmos, which was premiered at the Jersey Royal Opera House and Chichester Cathedral. Their previous album released by Nimbus, Pomegranate, was highly acclaimed as 'a delight from start to finish' by Guy Rickards of Gramophone Magazine.

Kadialy’s captivating kora skills originate from his long family history of Kouyate griots. Embracing the art of traditional storytelling, via the 21-stringed kora, he draws on his past heritage for inspiration while creating his own uplifting compositions. In the Senegalese society, ‘aado’ stands for ‘moral customs and values’. Kadialy’s enchanting songs touch on these principles and reflect on the Mandinka culture.“...Admirable skill and precision.” (Songlines #125) “Kadialy’s skillful and emotional playing of the kora produces some peaceful ethereal and yet highly melodic rhythms which I truly love.” (The Folk Roots) “Kadialy Kouyate’s kora playing soothes the soul with its beautiful melodies and deep messages from the griot tradition of West Africa.” (Penny Black Music, Nicky Crew)

Bringing together the music of Wales and the Khasi Hills in North East India, 'Sai-thaiñ ki Sur (the weaving of voices in Khasi) is a unique cross-cultural collaboration. Between 1841 and 1969, hundreds of men and women left Wales to establish and maintain the first Welsh Overseas Mission in the Khasi and Jaiñtia Hills. This three-year album project explores the folk songs, poetry, missionary hymns, folklore, and resultant culture of the crossing of Wales and India. Welsh songwriter Gareth Bonello (The Gentle Good) has recorded this poetic, beautiful album with artists from the indigenous Khasi community.

The Cuban classical pianist Yamile Cruz Montero and the Greek jazz drummer Christos Asonitis are a couple in life and in music. Although they come from two different musical worlds, they have found a common language. Both of them arrange classical to contemporary Cuban piano music with great precision and feeling, such as compositions by Aldo López Gavilán, Andrés Alén, José Maria Vitier & Ernán López-Nussa for piano and percussion. They present the traditional and popular Cuban music styles and fuse them with influences from world music. Some of the works leave space for improvisation, which the two musicians use with creative enthusiasm. The international duo has already played live in Cuba, Germany, Great Britain and Greece. They are very proud to present their debut album as a creative duo: Rapsodia Cubana.“Magical, authentic, touching” (The New Listener)

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This album features ballads from the She, wandering love songs from the Miao, and lullabies from the Li peoples. All played on traditional instruments such as the suona, lu sheng and yehu. This is volume fifteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With fifteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. The Uzbek and Tatar peoples both live in Xinjiang province and speak Turkic languages. The population of Chinese Uzbeks is around ten thousand, which is approximately three times that of the Tatars. The majority of these two peoples live in the northern and western regions of Xinjiang province. The Uzbek music displays its artistic charm with complex melodic variations and gorgeous ornaments. Their instrumental music mainly includes interludes of Shashmaqam and dutars accompany all the Uzbek musical pieces. The music of the Tatars is the gemstone in Xinjiang’s musical crown, with many of their songs being popular among different ethnic groups. In this album, the accordion accompanies all the Tatar songs. The kubyz, the brass jew’s harp, is another popular instrument among them and they also perform on an instrument similar to a long end-blown flute, the qurai.

The Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet and multiple Grammy-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin join forces for an uncommon album of music for strings and guitar from the Baroque to the mid-20th century. Souvenirs of Spain & Italy is the first joint recording by these renowned artists and marks Isbin’s Cedille Records debut. The program spotlights Italian-born composers influenced by Spanish idioms. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet, Op. 143, is a seldom-heard gem demanding virtuosity from every player. Written for guitarist Andrés Segovia, it’s “an urbane work, rich in vibrant themes and dialogues among individual lines,” critic Allan Kozinn writes in the liner notes. Isbin and the Pacifica play Emilio Pujol’s guitar arrangement of Antonio Vivaldi’s lute Concerto in D Major, RV 93. Isbin’s guitar work in the dreamlike, meditative Largo movement features her own Baroque ornamentation. Luigi Boccherini’s Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet in D Major, G. 448, melds the emerging classical style of late 18th-century Vienna with hints of Spanish flamenco. Spanish composer Joaquín Turina’s string quartet movement, La Oración del Torero, Op. 34, evokes the fervor of a matador’s private prayer before entering the bullring.

REVIEWS:

At least since the days of lutes and viols composers and performers recognized and exploited the favorable combination of plucked and bowed strings. And yet we don’t often hear such a lineup these days; if we do it’s usually the same relatively small roster of works, most notably including the Vivaldi concerto heard on this recording, justly popular for its catchy, lively outer movements and beguiling (oft used, and abused) Largo. While the list of most commonly performed pieces may not be extensive, you may be surprised to learn, as I was, that the rather special genre highlighted on this program–guitar and string quartet–boasts more than 300 works, ranging from the 18th century to the present, by composers from Boccherini to Brouwer, Diamond to Dougherty. (I learned this from an article in the Spring 2019 issue of Classical Guitar magazine, which I recommend to anyone interested in this subject.)

The rest of the program assembled here, by an it-doesn’t-get-any-better-than-this group of musicians, constitutes an easy and engaging introduction to this repertoire, beginning with another favorite, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Quintet Op. 143, written in 1950 for Andrés Segovia. Much of its popularity certainly stems from its knowing, skillful writing for this particular combination of instruments that showcases the guitar while also exploiting the textural, melodic, and harmonic possibilities of the string quartet, especially memorable in the affecting second movement, Andante mesto, which the composer declared to be his “favorite”. Nowhere is the guitarist’s voice more articulate or expressive as here, or in the following Scherzo.

Boccherini is another big name, and his D major quintet, like his many other “guitar” quintets, was fashioned from already existing, non-guitar chamber works. It’s a fine piece whose chief attraction is its–very attractive–final movement, appropriately titled “Fandango”, which is definitely a crowd-pleaser, enhanced by castanets and tambourine. While there’s no denying the sheer, easy pleasure of listening to the above-mentioned guitar/strings pieces, I found one of my favorites–next to the Castelnuovo-Tedesco slow movement and Boccherini Fandango–to be Turina’s 1925 work La oración del torero (The bullfighter’s prayer), originally written for a type of Spanish lute quartet, but later arranged by the composer (as heard here) for string quartet. It’s moody and gay and colorful and dramatic and eloquent–the sort of piece you would be grateful to hear in any string quartet recital. Who cares if it doesn’t remind you of a prayer, or a bullfighter: it’s an excellent piece.

Sharon Isbin needs no introduction to any classical guitar fan, or to anyone who’s paid more than casual attention to the classical music and performance scene since the 1980s. One of the world’s greatest advocates for her instrument, award-winner, teacher (founding director of the guitar department at Juilliard), pioneer in new repertoire, Isbin’s appearance here informs the music with an authority–enlivened by her unique ornamentation and occasional improvisatory licks–that elevates the performances far beyond the merely respectable or routine efforts of some of her very competent colleagues. And the Pacifica Quartet, commanding its own list of impressive achievements and honors, is a more than worthy partner. Perhaps we may even look forward to a further exploration of guitar/string quartet repertoire by these musicians? Brouwer? Daugherty? Miguel Bareilles? Gabriela Lena Frank? Thanks for this–and we’ll be watching.

– ClassicsToday (10/10; David Vernier)

This release on Chicago’s Cedille label features mostly well-worn pieces for guitar and ensemble; the ensemble here is the Pacifica String Quartet. The most familiar of all is the Vivaldi Guitar Concerto in D major, RV 93, heard here in an arrangement by Emilio Pujol and tinkered with by Isbin herself. Her execution here is flawless, and the effect is haunting. This is a treat for fans of Isbin, who’s doing more teaching than recording these days.

– All Music Guide (James Manheim)

Welcome to The Sixteen's 40th anniversary album. Can it really be 40 years since a fledgling group of singers gave their first concert in May 1979? To celebrate this milestone, we have chosen 40 tracks which have defined this acclaimed ensemble over the last four decades and which display it's incredible versatility, as well as the sheer range of music and styles it has covered. Featuring music from the last 600 years and with personal recommendations from The Sixteen's members both past and present, as well as the longest-serving members of the administrative team, this beautifully packaged album promises to be the must-have collection for all fans of choral music. "Forty years on, The Sixteen's supple, fastidiously nuanced soundworld continues to serve 'ancient' and 'modern' with aplomb." (BBC Music Magazine)

China's rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With nineteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the 'complete works' of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China's heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This series explores China's rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in these recordings are folk songs from the Tibetan peoples of Qinghai province and the Tibet autonomous region. Beautiful folk singing, atmospheric soundscapes of nature and varied traditional instruments are heard in this colorful album from Tibet.

Piano Music - Schumann, R. / Mozart, W.A. / Beethoven, L. Va

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With a total of twenty albums, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This is the concluding volume of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. It features banquet and hua’ersongs of the Hui; folk songs of the Manchu, featuring the Ba jiao gu (octagonal drum); dingba tunes of the Xibe, accompanied by the feite kena; lyrical songs of the Korean peoples, including songs from Arirang tune group; and sea songs of the Gin peoples accompanied by the duxianqin.