Vocal
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Susan Johnson's Previously Recorded Live Performances
Finzi: Love's Labour's Lost, Let Us Garlands Bring & Other W
Seasons: Oliver Davis; Antonio Vivaldi
Buxtehude: Opera Omnia XIV - Vocal Works Vol 5 / Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman's survey of the entire works of Buxtehude seems to be getting more enjoyable and exciting with each release. Here we are at what must be (just under) about two-thirds of the way through - volume 14, the fifth in the series of the composer's vocal works. The five high soloists and a tenor and bass are lively, confident, sensitive - the dialogue in Bedenke Mensch das Ende [tr.5] is a good example of real, studied drama - and technically brilliant (listen to the ensemble singing and pacing towards the end of Jesu, komm, mein Trost und Lachen [tr.7], for instance). They infuse their performances with joy, depth, clarity, devotion and the other emotions required by the glorious - yet almost unknown - writing of Buxtehude … essentially Germanic but with the inevitable influence of Italy in general and Monteverdi in particular also much in evidence.
Some of the works on this CD were recorded as long ago as 2007 and 2008; the booklet is unusually unforthcoming about which and where. This suggests that Koopman may be 'collecting' from Buxtehude's œuvre at this stage in the project. But there is nothing about the collection on this generous and amply-recorded CD to make us think we're experiencing the 'also-rans' or dregs. This is music of great exactness: penetrating, striking and original. Buxtehude's gift for melody, structure and the creation of complex, subtle yet highly meaningful textures is in evidence from first note to last.
Only three or four of the works presented here are otherwise available - in compilations and on DVD, for example. So there is every reason to acquire this CD without hesitation - even were its performances not of the extremely high calibre that they are. Each of the soloists has something definite, communicative and enriching to offer. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra is also on typically excellent form.
The new impetus given to music after the devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) by the evolving Geistliches Konzert (sacred concerto) is also responsible for much of the measured yet unmistakable vivacity of Buxtehude's choral writing here … usually a short instrumental introduction, an impactful, self-contained and focused Biblical phrase or section of text is explored by one or more soloists - with instrumental 'support' rather than intricate comment in its own right. A true point of departure for and from the church cantata. The musicians involved in this excellent CD from Challenge thoroughly understand the idiom of the Geistliches Konzert.
This CD has other forms which are as striking by their then innovative nature at Buxtehude's time as by their 'stability' and overseeing command of the blend of musical form and idea with text are to us now. These include the strophic arias and ciacconne; and the concerto-aria cantatas ( Je hoher du bist [tr.1] and Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe [tr.2]). One senses Buxtehude's delight at the freedom of expression which these forms afford him. And the performers' responsiveness and involvement … Buxtehude was laying all sorts of ground for others - not least Bach. But he was also writing devotional music for local 'consumption' and probably specific occasions in Lübeck. So the singers need to steer a fairly narrow course between emphasising the historical moment in which the music was written; and its more general meaning. They do. At the same time, their singing and playing have a modern touch … it's immediate, 'edgy' almost, the singers' articulation of the all-important texts are crystalline, liquid, limpid - without ever being florid.
The acoustic is clean, though perhaps a touch too dry for the not ostentatious but peacefully declamatory nature of some of the music. The booklet with notes by Christoph Wolff is highly informative and has the texts in German (and Latin for Jesu, dulcis memoria) and English. If you're already collecting this cycle, don't hesitate for a second. If you want to sample historically significant and beautiful music from the under-performed Buxtehude, this is a great place to start.
-- Mark Sealey, MusicWeb International
Io vidi in terra
Bringing together three of the most renowned practitioners of historically-appropriate performance of Early Music and Baroque repertoires, the Sono Luminus release of Io Vidi in Terraprovides a rare immersion into a mysterious world that, despite its relative obscurity in the perspectives of 21st century observers, shaped almost every aspect of music as it blossomed in subsequent generations. José Lemos shares his passion for the Italian vocal music of the 17th century with friends and frequent collaborators Deborah Fox, theorbist and baroque guitarist, and GRAMMY®-nominated harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, as well as with listeners throughout the world.
Médée, Arianne, Circé, Héro... / Mellon, Barcarole
This recording, Déesses Outragées (offended Goddesses) presents the destinies of women in love, betrayed, abandoned or despairing. Agnès Mellon brings out all the fire and passion of these works.
Dinos Constantinides: Music for Soloists & Orchestra
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas (Complete), Vol. 3 - Bwv 22, 23, 54,
Kirchner: media vita in morte sumus
GUIDO D'AREZZO: Ode to Phyllis / Ut queant laxis
German & French Songs / Perry, Lemaire
Soprano Janet Perry hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She began her career with lessons on piano and violin at a young age. In her adulthood she has found resounding success, having recorded several major works under Karajan’s baton, including Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Beethoven’s 9th symphony, and Bruckner’s Te Deum. Perry writes of the works chosen, “...classical music has truly made me who I am today. It has been a constant companion since my earliest childhood... The songs of Mozart Debussy, Faure, Duparc, and Strauss have been in my repertoire for a long time, we are old friends who enjoy music-and the silence between the notes, together.” Perry is accompanied by pianist Jean Lemaire, who specializes in accompaniment and chamber music. He frequently performs throughout Europe, the USA, Japan, and South America.
Mozart: Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail
Venezia Stravagantissima / Sempe, Capriccio Stravagante
Schubert: Schwanengesang, Songs After Seidl / Christoph Pregardien, Andreas Staier
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A superb, satisfying Schwanengesang that’s up there with the greatest
There are singers who seek to imbue Schubert Lieder with more gravitas, often accompanied by a sense of the world about to end. Christoph Prégardien is not of that ilk. For him, it seems, Schubert was a life-affirming optimist. In this world you can endure the slings and arrows and still be certain that the future will be better. So this marvellous Schwanengesang is essentially a honey-toned, sunny experience.
-- Gramophone [4/2009]
Felicity Lott Sings Chausson, Ravel & Duparc
Andriessen: Anais Nin, De Staadt / Atherton, Zavalloni, London Sinfonietta
An exciting start to a new orchestral collaboration for Signum Records, this disc is the first of a new series with the London Sinfonietta - one of the world's elite contemporary music ensembles with a reputation built on the virtuosity of its performances and ambitious programming. This live recording brings together the UK premiere of Anaïs Nin, a new work for soprano and small ensemble, alongside his famed work De Staat. Anaïs Nin is a monodrama based on the diaries of the same famed author, as well as those of her lovers (Antonin Artaud, René Allendy, Henry Miller and her own Father). A sometimes disturbing tale of desire and passion, Andriessen felt that the music should "closely track the irony, despair and passion of this brilliant, many-sided woman". ' ... [Anaïs Nin's] resonance is profound and disturbing. By pairing it in concert with an invigorating performance of Andriessen's early masterpiece, De Staat, whose concern with the individual body and the body politic bears strong parallels, the Sinfonietta showed the Dutch composer at his searching best.' Guy Dammann, The Guardian (Review of the concert from which this recording was made)
Vocal Recital: Swait, Andrew / Bowman, James - BRITTEN, B. /
Beethoven, L. Van: Lieder Und Gesange
Modern Fairy Tales
Stuck: Tirannique Empire / Novelli, Marzorati, Les Lunaisiens
'Impatience', 'Jealous Mars' and 'Héracliet & Démocrite' are three French Cantatas composed between 1706 and 1714 by Jean-Baptiste Stuck (1680-1755), also known as Batistin. This composer of Tuscan origin spent most of his career working for the Régent and his ambition was to 'unite the taste for Italian music with French texts'. The theme of this record is jealousy, which contrives to somehow disturb the harmonious landscapes of a French garden...
The Complete Songs of Faure, Vol. 1
Some of the UK’s best singers come together for this album, which is the first release in a series profiling the complete songs of Gabriel Faure. Pianist Malcolm Martineau heads up this project, performing beautifully. This release follows his critically acclaimed series of The Complete Poulenc Songs. Vocalists featured on this release include Lorna Anderson, Nigel Cliffe, Ann Murray, John Chest, and more.
Viardot: Melodies
Kapsberger: Labrinto d'Amore / Reinhold, Dunford
The 'Eric Clapton of the lute' (BBC Magazine) comes back to the Alpha microphones, this time with the soprano Anna Reinhold. Here, Thomas Dunford applies his truly prodigious virtuosity to the eight Toccatas from the first book by Meister Kapsberger, giving us a veritable concert such as the composer himself might have proposed with, in counterpoint to the toccatas, a few of he loveliest airs by Caccini, Merula et al. The beauty of Anna Reinhold's voice (a young talent noticed especially in William Christie's 'Jardin des voix') has a freshness and energy that bring to mind the young performers at work in Alpha's earliest recordings. This goes to prove that there still remains much distance to cover in the discovery of Baroque art.
Bousset: Cantates Spirituelles
