Voices of Summer Sale
Celebrate the season with the Voices of Summer Sale at ArkivMusic! Discover over 600 vocal favorites—from soaring choral masterpieces and intimate vocal ensembles to unforgettable opera performances—all 25%–30% off for a limited time.
Discover music from Shostakovich, Schumman, Monteverdi and more; as well as stellar performances from Jamie Barton, Bach Collegium Japan, Voces8 and many more!
Shop the sale now before it ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, August 11th, 2026.
653 products
Ostinato / Vincent Dumestre, Le Poeme Harmonique
The Ostinato literally went through ages... It's a musical process founded on the repetition of a rhythmic, or melodic, or harmonic formula. It's the 'weft' of passacaglias, ciacconas... and of very popular works such as Ravel's Boléro, or Pachelbel's Canon. This process also inspired a lot of pop musicians, or minimalist American composers. Vincent Dumestre chose this way to propose, as much to 'fans' as to the general public, a thematic route within the best Poème Harmonique's recordings. It's at the same time a sort of Poème Harmonique's portrait, proposed at a very attractive price...
Willaert: Chansons; Madrigali; Villanel / Malfeyt, Romanesque
RICERCAR could not miss Willaert's anniversary... This recording of Willaert's secular repertoire gives us a very different vision of his work, compared to his religious music well illustrated by the Vespro della Beata Vergine recording (RIC 325). Here, we can appreciate a musician singing love with sweetness, describing pleasures of the life with a little smile, even sometimes with a bit of salacity. Recorded by Romanesque in 1994, this CD can be listened to with a lot of pleasure. No competition in the market for this recording!
Veit: Du bist wie eine Blume
Wagner: Operatic Chamber Music
Indecent Music: Myths and Stories from Humanism
Madrigali accomodati per concerti spirituali
Durante: Neapolitan Christmas Vol 2
Last year at this time (received just before Christmas but not to appear until several months into the year), I reviewed the first disc of Neapolitan Christmas music by Francesco Durante recorded by the Kölner Akademie under Michael Willens. My recommendation at that time was that this sort of music, commonplace in Naples during the 18th century, ought to be made more available. After another season of the usual Messiah overload and unending Archangelo Corelli Christmas Concerto performances on the radio (along with the other usual popular and traditional seasonal detritus), it was good to obtain this sequel, one sure to provide a measure of novelty as well as a proper complement to the holidays.
Durante, one of the major figures of galant Naples and a teacher to many a great Classical era Italian composer (Pergolesi, Piccinni, among others), was himself thoroughly immersed in the vibrant Neapolitan musical scene, of which the Christmas season was particularly favored for a wide variety of works. Here, conductor Willens continues his quest to revive Durante’s contributions through four sacred works, including a traditional pastorale, a sort of short cantata consisting of an introductory chorus, a pair of recitatives, an aria, and a final duet. The “brief” Laudate pueri , a single movement setting of Psalm 113, was entitled “il Grottesco” by Abbate Fortunato Santini in the 19th century, and although the name has stuck, there is certainly nothing “grotesque” about the lyrical piece, so one doesn’t really know what Santini was thinking. The Mass is typical of the period in Naples, with a setting of only the Kyrie and Gloria, although each is subdivided into individual movements. Here, Durante expands his spare string orchestra to include pairs of horns (in the two “Kyrie eleison” movements and the final “Cum sancto spiritu” fugue), oboes, and trumpets (in, you guessed it, the Gloria movement, though Durante uses both horns and trumpets in the Quoniam), offering a rich texture that foreshadows that of the Classical period.
The pastoral Cito Pastores is mainly homophonic, with the gently susurrating rhythms of a compound meter Siciliano. The opening aria is in a lengthy, strophic form that stays mainly in the principal key, clearly meant for meditative thought. The soprano aria that follows (after a short recitative) has light coloratura for the voice, nothing especially daunting, but rather nicely flowing. The final duet has the soprano and alto beginning in a soft minor key, but rapidly changing to Vivaldian parallel thirds with the final text “Gloria sit in caelo.” The Laudate pueri begins with a rather stark unison scalar descent which goes beyond the octave to the third below, a neat and rather distinctive harmonic twist, and while the bulk of the work is a series of nicely homophonic lines, the “Sicut erat” begins contrapuntally but devolves quickly into a series of neat suspensions with antiphonal effects. The Litany is highly reminiscent of Vivaldi in its parallel thirds and suspensions above an insistent ostinato that changes the harmony constantly. Here the purity of the vocal line, now with the soprano and alto echoing each other, now in tandem, overshadows the lighter string accompaniment to give a more ethereal sound. Finally, the Mass is a kaleidoscope of various early styles, with the syncopated violins above the chordal sound of the horns and voices in the Kyrie contrasting with the very severe fugue of the Christe. The Gloria, with its melismatic opening in the voices and echoes from the oboes, strings, and trumpets, sounds again very Vivaldian, but the suspensive “Et in terra pax hominibus” is a solemn and darker interlude. In many of the movements, such as the “Domine deus” and “Que sedes,” one hears echoes of Giovanni Pergolesi’s famed Stabat Mater , in one instance I seemed to hear a direct quote (but who is quoting from whom is another issue entirely, of course). The interplay between the horns, trumpets, and oboes in the “Quoniam” could have been written by Handel, although the insistent trills that conclude the introduction in both brass instruments add an element of novelty.
The Kölner Akademie has reduced its forces for this disc down to a bare minimum. For the orchestra, only pairs of violins and one on a part for the lower strings, while the soloists also double as the chorus. This lends the music a rather more transparent sound. Although there is plenty of opportunity for mistepping, the clarity and careful attention to intonation lend these pieces a perfect balance. Willens, who edited the Mass and Litany, keeps his tempos moving but at a sedate pace that is rather closely aligned to the precise phrasing of the music. Both tenor Alberto ter Doest and bass Thilo Dahlmann have relatively little to do, since female voices predominate. Monica Piccinini has a clear and accurate voice which blends nicely both with her equally adept partner, alto/mezzo-soprano Ursula Eittinger, and the reduced ensemble. This gives the recording a well-integrated quality that lets Durante’s creativity speak for itself. Even if this were not Christmas music, this disc would come highly recommended as a part of any early Classical period collection. It is a must for a truly memorable musical experience.
FANFARE: Bertil van Boer
Thuille: Selected Songs / Trekel, Höll
Ludwig Thuille was one of the leading operatic composers of the Munich School. Despite his lifelong friendship with Richard Strauss, Thuille remained a lesser-known Austrian composer during his short life and career.
Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Caldara: Cantatas / Ose, Cencic, Ornamente 99
Capriccio now presents Cencic’s 3 previous CDs of cantatas by Vivaldi, Scarlatti and Caldara on the label in new packaging and a bonus documentary DVD which includes interviews and video clips.
Komm, Susses Kreuz!: The German Viol In Fantastic Dialogues
,,The Stylus Phantasticus is the most free and unrestrained type of playing" said Johann Mattheson in 1739. Around 1700 this style was transfered from the organ to the chamber music where the viol played an important role. Famous viol virtuosos, like August Kühnel, tried to draw attention to the instrument with their compositions. Dieterich Buxtehude also wrote charming trio sonatas in which a viol was required explicitly as second solo voice. Finally the great Johann Sebastian Bach used the gamba in his St Matthew Passion. Frauke Hess and her colleagues develop the blaze of color of Baroque viol music with their new recording.
Touched / Calmus Ensemble
Calmus Ensemble is one of the most successful a cappella ensembles on the international scene. For their new album touched, the singers from Leipzig have chosen songs and lieder from several centuries on themes which never fail to touch our hearts, and have arranged them for their own forces with the utmost skill. What results is a vocal CD in a class of its own: Sting stands alongside Henry Purcell, Michael Jackson next to Adriano Banchieri, and Elton John beside Monty Python. The ensemble describes the concept in the CD booklet as follows: “As far as themes go, nothing whatsoever has changed: love, longing, pain, but also joy, pleasure and exuberance. That which touches our hearts, which moves us, has been convincingly expressed in music since time immemorial. Then as now, songs were one thing above all – a living expression of the soul! In this common ground the boundaries of the two eras of music on this recording become blurred.” We’re offering you the opportunity to contemplate the texts and music of two very different epochs in a new light and from new perspectives. The CD is a must for lovers of a cappella singing! - Carus-Verlag
Great Day!
Salve Regina Del Signor Monteverde - Newly Discovered Pieces
Mozart: Coronation Mass
Liederabend 1968 / Arroyo, Hokanson
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REVIEW:
American soprano Martina Arroyo is much acclaimed as an opera singer, especially in the Verdi repertory. Here is a rare opportunity to hear her in recital at the 1968 Schwetzingen Festival.
– American Record Guide
Heimliche Liebe Romantische Musik für Chor und Orchester
Kraus: Choral Music
American Classics
Bernhard Paumgartner conducts Mozart
Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch
Testamentum
Great European Choral Works / The Sixteen
"Let these glorious sounds fill your ears and lift your spirits." GRAMOPHONE "Outstanding...astonishing stylistic and expressive range." BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE "One of the finest choirs of our day." GRAMOPHONE This disc features music from over a dozen composers representing ten countries from Palestrina's Assumpta Est Maria and Monteverdi's Beatus Vir to excerpts from Poulenc's Sept Répons des Ténèbrae and Frank Martin's Mass for Double Choir. This disc provides a superb collection of works from some of Europe's most celebrated composers and, alongside the first disc in this set, Great British Choral Works, is the perfect introduction to The Sixteen's wonderful music
Cafe (Orient meets Occident)
