Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Named after an eminent scribe at the court in Madrid, the Guerra Manuscript contains over one hundred secular songs from the second half of the seventeenth century. The anthology is a valuable repository of music from anonymous sources but also from Spain's very finest Baroque composers, such as Juan Hidalgo and Jose Marin. These expressive songs, largely on poetic and mythological themes, are performed by some of the world's leading interpreters of the genre, whose first volume in this series [8.570135] received great acclaim. The tenor Juan Sancho has collaborated with conductors including William Christie, Gustav Leonhardt, Jordi Savall, Andrea Marcon, Fabio Biondi, Allan Curtis, Richard Egarr and Diego Fasolis. Founded and directed by the Galician harpist Manuel Vilas, the Ars Atlantica ensemble is focused on Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Includes song(s) by Frank Bridge. Soloist: John Charles Thomas (voice).
Includes work(s) by May Brahe, John Scott. Soloist: John Charles Thomas (voice).

Classical Music

Classical Music

(Avail: 10/1) No, he's not related to Bjork. This classic vocalist is captured here performing tunes such as "Dreams of Long Ago," "Lilla Princesessa," "Serenata," Today," "Love Me And the World Is Mine" and "The Sunshine of Your Smile." the competition for this release is light for configuration and medium for repertoire. Oh, did I mention that some of the aforementioned songs are sung in Swedish? This should sell even more records due to the resurgence of ABBA in pop culture (haha).

Commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Stanford Lively Arts to go on a program with his piece the little match girl passion, death speaks draws it's initial inspiration from the work of Schubert - specifically the song "Death and the Maiden." The five-part "death speaks" features Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Bryce Dessner (The National), Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) and Nico Muhly, and was produced by Bryce Dessner. "[Connects] the dots between Romantic morbidity and emo rock." - New York Times

The Complete Italian Radio Recordings (Live)

Classical Music

The Lute was introduced into Europe from the Easy during the Medieval Era and maintained it's popularity throughout the seventeenth century. The repertoire of songs for voice and lute accompaniment composed during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries was extensive, with European countries developing their own individual styles.

Lovely rich, dark tone, exquisite enunciation … glorious songs brilliantly performed.

Roderick Williams has already recorded the Finzi song-cycles I Said to Love, Let Us Garlands Bring, and Before and After Summer on Naxos. Here he continues the sterling work.

English solo song is a deceptive genre. Although the songs often appear simple, in actual fact they are not easy to pull off effectively. For them to work, every nuance must be brought out, every slightly inflection must be spot-on, every word invested with the right emotion. Williams is no stranger to English solo song and always gets to the heart of the work. Here he is, as always, beautifully sympathetic, awake to all nuances of the text – listen to wonderful shades of light and dark in When I set out for Lyonesse, to the poignancy in Lizbie Brown and the chilling intensity in Clock of the Years. He demonstrates excellent versatility – from the rumbustious Rollicum-Rorum, scintillatingly performed – through to the intense and serious (Ode on the Rejection of St. Cecilia), or the beautifully tender – The Birthnight.

This is the only version of By Footpath and Stile currently available. It was Finzi’s earliest Hardy setting, written in 1921-22, and was later withdrawn by the composer, whose plans to revise it were not fully seen through. The work was abandoned until Finzi’s friend, the composer Howard Ferguson edited it for republication. Although not as convincing as Finzi’s later Hardy settings, it nonetheless demonstrates the composer in the process of finding his own “voice”. The songs are deftly crafted, and often deeply moving. It is scored for string quartet accompaniment, sensitively performed here by the Sacconi Quartet.

Williams has a lovely rich, dark tone, and exquisite enunciation that facilitates his excellent communication of the words and the meaning. He is well accompanied by Iain Burnside. Glorious songs, and brilliantly performed.

-- Em Marshall, MusicWeb International

The distinguished English composer Maurice Greene was appointed Master of the King’s Music in 1735. He soon composed a series of 25 sonnet settings taken from the collection of 89 Amoretti (‘little loves’) written by Edmund Spenser, one of the greatest poets of the Shakespearean age. These settings show Greene to have been a master of word-painting technique, and a subtle colourist with a sensitive ear for Spenser’s verse. This jewel of a collection is also historically important, as it can be considered one of the earliest song cycles in the history of English music.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Great conductors often bring out the universality of music with particular clarity, a gift especially present in Klaus Tennstedt. Particularly known for his singular interpretations of the symphonies of Bruckner and Mahler, this recording reveals that Tennstedt was an equally adept interpreter of the symphonies of Haydn and the music of Mozart.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

When the Russian art historian and critic Vladimir Stasov declared in 1867 ‘how much poetry, feeling, talent, and intelligence are possessed by the small but already mighty handful of Russian musicians’, the five nationalist composers to whom he referred adopted the nickname with pride. Though each developed his own personal style, they remained committed to forging a truly Russian musical tradition, not least through pieces such as these songs. Russian bass Mikhail Svetlov is a winner of the Viotti International Competition and has been principal soloist of the legendary Bolshoy Theatre of Moscow for more than a decade.