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Bach, J.S.: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 (Highlights)
Haenssler Classic Aug 2006
CD
$18.99

MARY LOU WILLIAMS

FOLKWAYS RECORDS

$17.16 May 30, 2012

So versatile that she was able to sustain a professional career for more than thirty years, jazz pianist, composer and arranger Mary Lou Williams ran the gamut from Dixieland to swing, bop and avant-garde. This album is among her 1960s avant-garde works, with intimate piano combos and vocal jazz choruses; it includes her well-known cantata, The Black Christ of the Andes (also available remastered and reissued on SFW40816 as a CD, complete with extensive liner notes and historic photos).

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MARY LOU WILLIAMS
FOLKWAYS RECORDS May 2012
CD
$17.16

Bach: Christmas Oratorio / Otto, Mainz Bach Orchestra and Choir

Naxos

$14.99 ~~$29.99~~ Save 50% Oct 12, 2018

J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio was written for the Christmas season of 1734, and although it incorporates music from earlier works it belongs firmly among his timeless large-scale compositions. The development of the oratorio, which was to become a new musical form in Protestant church services at that time, was stimulated by Bach’s compositions, particularly by the unusual form of his six-part Christmas Oratorio. From its famously joyful opening ‘Jauchzet frohlocket’ to the arrival of the Wise Men from the East, this work’s enduring popularity has long proven its status as a choral ‘evergreen.’ For the conductor Ralf Otto, flexibility, diversity and transparency of sound have always been essential to his work with choirs and orchestras. The conductor’s reputation is based on his gift for interpreting different musical styles, from the Renaissance through the music of today. This recording follows the April 2018 release of Bach’s St. John Passion with the Bach Choir and Orchestra of Mainz conducted by Ralf Otto. MusicWeb International wrote: “the Bachchor Mainz is a fine ensemble: it shows great flexibility in those turbae which are performed at a high speed, and produces a surprisingly transparent sound, also thanks to the good acoustic of the Christuskirche in Mainz.”

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Bach: Christmas Oratorio / Otto, Mainz Bach Orchestra and Choir
Naxos Oct 2018
CD
~~$29.99~~ $14.99

Bach: Mass in B Minor / Christie, Les Arts Florissants

HARMONIA MUNDI

$27.99 Apr 13, 2018

A MusicWeb International Recording of the Month!

This is a marvellous new B Minor Mass and it is, without a doubt, the most French-sounding version of the piece to have yet come my way.

That might sound like a lazy stereotype. After all, it’s performed by that most renowned Francophile among musicians, William Christie, who has dedicated his life to rehabilitating the French Baroque and whose efforts have meant that names such as Lully, Rameau, Charpentier and Marais have been not only rescued from their specialist niche but have been given an uncontested place among the concert programmes of the Anglo-Saxons. With his ensemble Les Arts Florissants he has become one of the greatest champions of that music, so it’s hardly surprising that some of the interpretative dust of the French Baroque should rub off onto his Bach.

It’s not just a trope to describe his Bach as Gallic, however. It’s there right from the start. The opening Kyrie is the most mellifluous and honeyed I have heard since the advent of historical performance practice. The two great fugues proceed with cultured smoothness that sounds as though they have one eyebrow perpetually raised. It’s a sound of which, I suspect, Lutheran Bach would have profoundly disapproved. I rather liked it, however, and as a change from what has become the norm of period practice I found it very effective.

That’s only one example of one of the performance’s wider traits. Throughout, it has an elegance, an élan, a nonchalance, almost, that would make them seem entirely at home if performed in the court of ancien regime Versailles. The solos with their instrumental obligatti, for example, sound refined and polished in a manner that is a hundred miles away from the church and more from the realm of the theatre. There’s nothing wrong with that, though, and it’s in keeping with Christie’s vision. My favourites included Katherine Watson in the Laudamus te, with a wonderfully dusky violin, and André Morsch’s playful combat with the horn in the Quoniam. Tim Mead’s lovely countertenor is a repeated highlight, be it slotting into Watson’s soprano in the Christe or sustaining a blisterinly poignant Agnus Dei at the end.

Not only are the orchestral and instrumental playing super throughout, but the choral singing is top notch, too. That, however, will come as no surprise to those how know and love the work of Les Arts Florissants, and it’s great to hear them tackling one of the central works of the German repertoire. It’s a Teutonic world that they can’t be too practised in, but they bring something remarkably distinctive to it.

The main reason for the performance’s success, however, is Christie himself. Bringing his lifetime’s experience to the B Minor Mass must, surely, have been a labour of love rather than an expectation, and the results are wonderful. There is majesty aplenty in the Gloria, whose opening casts off the mellifluousness of the preceding Kyrie as though emerging into a new light, producing rumbustious, gloriously winning tone that brought a broad grin to my face, as did the outer bookends of the Credo. The Sanctus is taken at a rapid pace, with brilliantly detailed violin inflections to enliven the texture, and the final Dona nobis pacem is brilliantly paced.

Perhaps the highlight of the work is the Easter sequence, however, and, in particular, the Crucifixus. Here you get the unmistakeable whiff of the Opéra, because Christie slows down the pace and stresses the beat with what comes close to string (and voice) sforzandi in a way that surely mimics the nails being repeatedly battered into Christ’s suffering body. It’s this movement that will tell you whether this performance is for you. Some might find it vulgar or too overtly theatrical. I thought it wonderful, an example of the conductor using his experience in the theatre to enlighten and deepen his vision of Bach.

Choose for yourself, but I thought this the most memorable B Minor Mass to have come my way since the (entirely different) performance from John Butt and the Dunedin Consort. Explore it and be surprised.

– MusicWeb International (Simon Thompson)

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Bach: Mass in B Minor / Christie, Les Arts Florissants
HARMONIA MUNDI Apr 2018
CD
$27.99

MISSA CHRIST REGIS GENTIUM
Cyprés Records Jan 2002
CD
$20.99

CHRISTMAS ORATORIO
Amati Jan 2012
CD
$32.99

Graupner: Das Leiden Jesu - Passion Cantatas / Solistenensemble Ex Tempore, Barockorchester Mannheimer Hofkapelle
CPO Aug 2009
CD
$36.99

Swayne: Stations of the Cross / Nieminski

Resonus Classics

$18.99 Apr 03, 2020

Resonus Classics is proud to release the world premiere recording of Giles Swayne’s epic organ work Stations of the Cross with acclaimed organist Simon Nieminski. Recorded on the Matthew Copley organ of St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral in Edinburgh, this extensive solo work is at the pinnacle of virtuosic organ repertoire, with each of its fourteen movements representing an episode in the story of the Passion of Christ. Composed during autumn 2004 and early 2005, and one hour in length, Stations is one of the most significant and substantial organ works composed in recent times. Focusing on those human aspects of the Passion most important to Swayne, he has created an intensely powerful and descriptive work.

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Swayne: Stations of the Cross / Nieminski
Resonus Classics Apr 2020
CD
$18.99

Webber: Requiem; Barber: Adagio

BR Klassik

$19.99 Oct 18, 2024

Andrew Lloyd Webber is world-famous as the composer of the musicals Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, but his Requiem has also achieved international acclaim. Winner of a Grammy Award, this grand-sounding masterpiece of contemporary classical music, written in 1985, is dedicated to the memory of Webber's late father. The recording of a concert by the Munchner Rundfunkorchester on June 15, 2023, a tribute to the British composer who celebrated his 75th birthday in March 2023, is now presented on CD by BR-KLASSIK. This live recording from the Herz-Jesu Church in Munich features the Bavarian Radio Chorus accompanied by a select ensemble of soloists, under the baton of principal guest conductor Patrick Hahn. There was much surprise when Andrew Lloyd Webber presented his Requiem to the public in 1985. Although classical composers had repeatedly ventured into the spheres of the so-called "light muse", hardly any path led in the other direction - from musicals or operettas to the sublime heights of sacred music. The fact that a composer like Franz von Suppe also wrote a requiem as well as operettas is a rarity. Lloyd Webber's career in the "serious" genre, however, was laid in his cradle: his father, William Lloyd Webber (1914-1982), had worked his way up from humble beginnings to become one of the leading church musicians of his day. He encouraged the classical training of his sons Andrew (b. 1948) and Julian (b. 1951), an excellent cellist. Andrew found his niche in the entertainment industry. His song "Try it and see", written for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest, was not yet a hit, but from a pop cantata he developed his first successful piece Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968), and from the concept album Jesus Christ Superstar, in which "Try it and see" also found a new home, he created the rock musical of the same name (1971). With Evita (1976), Cats (1981), Starlight Express (1984) and The Phantom of the Opera (1986), Lloyd Webber repeatedly demonstrated his flair for contemporary material that lent itself to a new kind of treatment and appealed to a wide audience. By the mid-1980s, he was the most commercially successful composer of musicals. As Requiem Masses had been abolished in Anglican England since the Reformation, the composer did not have to consider liturgical functionality or ecclesiastical suitability. Verdi had demonstrated that the texts of the Latin Requiem Mass provided an excellent model for grand opera. And Lloyd Webber found inspiration for the lyrical dimension with hit potential in composers such as Gabriel Faure. The texts of the Requiem were rearranged with a sense of dramaturgy. The repeated insertion of the pithy lines "Requiem aeternam" and "Dies irae" gave them a fundamental, leitmotif-like character. The theatrical potential of the sequence ("Dies irae") was expanded, as it had been with Verdi, into a kaleidoscope of human emotions in the face of death and the Last Judgement. In a poll conducted by BBC Radio 4 a few years ago, listeners voted Barber's Adagio for Strings the "saddest piece in the world". There is no doubt that it's broad musical lines have an elegiac, almost religious tone - something the composer himself emphasised in the choral version, written as an Agnus Dei. However, the Adagio's association with farewell and mourning was not intended by Barber, who conceived of his work as purely instrumental. It has however been used on repeated occasions to mark the deaths of prominent Americans, including Alfred Einstein, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. As funeral music, the Adagio has also been a feature of several films since the 1980s, and two lines of tradition have emerged. On the one hand, the Adagio is often associated with the death of a main character, as in the final transfiguration of the Elephant Man in David Lynch's film of the same name (1980) or, in a light-hearted alienation of the theme, in The Fabulous World of Amelie (2001), where the heroine imagines her own death being televised. On the other hand, the austere serenity of the Adagio is contrasted with images of violence and suffering, most emphatically in Oliver Stone's anti-war film Platoon (1986). All these traditions came together in the days after September 11, 2001, when Barber's Adagio was played over and over again by American radio and television stations - both as a tribute to the victims of the attacks and as a musical expression of American patriotism. Particularly memorable was the live performance on September 15, 2001, when the American conductor Leonard Slatkin conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Last Night of the Proms in London, leaving the hushed audience deeply moved. Thanks to it's melancholic yet comforting sound, the Adagio for Strings was often the piece of choice internationally during the Covid-19 pandemic to commemorate the many victims - online or "open air", on radio and television, and at concerts and other events.

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Webber: Requiem; Barber: Adagio
BR Klassik Oct 2024
CD
$19.99

BIRTH OF CHRIST (DIE GEBURT CH
Haenssler Classic Nov 1997
CD
$32.99

Richafort: Missa O Genitrix; Missa Veni Sponsa Christi

Musique en Wallonie

$20.99 Nov 15, 2024

Jean Richafort was thrust into the limelight by the success of his works, a fine reputation and his encounters with powerful figures such as Louis XII, Anne de Bretagne and Francois Ier. However, he remains mysterious regarding his origins and his professional choices. His works circulate widely, are copied and quickly disseminated: no fewer than 200 sources, both printed and handwritten, contribute to his fame. Moreover, his compositions are so appreciated that they inspire new works by leading composers from Mouton to Palestrina. The corpus of Jean Richafort's works consists of three masses, around thirty motets and about fifteen songs. Discover, in this recording, the composer's Missa O Genetrix and Missa Veni Sponsa Christi performed by the Cappella Mariana.

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Richafort: Missa O Genitrix; Missa Veni Sponsa Christi
Musique en Wallonie Nov 2024
CD
$20.99

CHRISTMAS CHORALS
Bayer Jan 2012
CD
$20.99

Schumann: The Roots & The Flower - Counterpoint in Bloom / Christensen

OUR Recordings

$10.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 50% Sep 03, 2021

Although Robert Schumann’s public role in the Bach revival is less well known than that of Felix Mendelssohn, Bach’s music would play an influential effect throughout his life. Schumann would in turn, arrange and perform many of Bach’s works including adding piano parts to the Solo Violin Sonatas and Cellos Suites and trumpets to the St. John Passion! In 1843 he and Clara rented a custom-made pedalflügel - a dreadnought of an instrument combining a Friedrich Wieck grand piano with a pedal keyboard that enabled Schumann’s to play Bach’s organ music at home. During one of his periodic bouts of depression, Schumann became gripped by what he called Fugenpassion and shortly thereafter his obsession with Bach would blossom in the Canons and Fugues of Opp. 56 and 58. The curious name of this album references Carl Nielsen’s advice to fellow composer Ture Rangström, namely, to get down to the roots of a piece so that it would truly flower. And so following Nielsen’s advice, acclaimed organist Jens E. Christensen, a master of styles ancient and modern, dug deep to uncover the roots of Schumann’s imagination for this truly extraordinary program, a lovingly cultivated German-Danish, Piano-Organ, Baroque-Romantic hybrid, that will no doubt become a perennial favorite for fans of Schumann’s most florid contrapuntal creations.

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Schumann: The Roots & The Flower - Counterpoint in Bloom / Christensen
OUR Recordings Sep 2021
CD
~~$21.99~~ $10.99

American Opera Classics - Adams: I Was Looking... / Simon

Naxos

$29.99 Oct 18, 2005

In 1998, I reviewed the composer-led excerpts from John Adams’s collaboration with poet and activist June Jordon (1936–2002), I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky. The title is a quote from a survivor of the 1994 Northridge earthquake in southern California. Here we have the whole work. In the earlier review, I assumed what was missing was connecting dialogue, a mistake corrected by one of Fanfare’s many frighteningly alert readers. In fact, the entire work is sung, and here the designation is “song play,” which seems to describe the form quite accurately. The work has much in common with pieces like Brecht-Weill’s Das kleine Mahagony or, more recently, the Rice-Lloyd Webber collaborations, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, in that the songs operate more or less as commentary to the onstage action. Like the Brecht-based Weill works, there is a great deal of implied and explicit social criticism, something that five years into the Bush administration seems much less quaint now. The problems with the work remain. The cardboard characters and their largely clichéd interactions keep everything at arm’s length, something compounded by the tendency of the songs to comment on the action rather than embody it. In addition, for all of its cleverness, Adams’ pastiche score rarely rises to the kind of immediate melodic impact one finds in Weill, Sondheim, or LaChiusa.

The plot, taken from the John Adams Web site, is as follows: in mid-1990s Los Angeles, David, a preacher, sings about his many love affairs and his current girlfriend, Leila. Dewain is arrested by Mike, a homophobic cop, for stealing two bottles of beer while trying to reach his lover, Consuelo, who is afraid that her son has been arrested by the INS. Tiffany videotapes the arrest; she wonders why Mike is not more receptive to her advances. Dewain resists arrest and Mike has him charged with a felony, meaning he could go to jail for 45 years under the “Three Strikes” law. At his trial, David, his lawyer, tries to explain his client’s point of view. After questioning Tiffany, Rick begins to be attracted to her. David visits Dewain in jail, where Dewain tells him he’s decided to go to law school. Leila wonders if David will ever settle down. As act II opens, Leila and David are making out on the couch in David’s office in his church when an earthquake hits. Leila is knocked unconscious. Mike visits Tiffany’s house; she asks him why he hasn’t been more forward, and he has a crisis of sexual identity; Rick suddenly appears, and she asks him out instead. Dewain, in his cell, recounts how the walls split open and he could see the outside, but, realizing that he was better off working inside the system, he did not escape. Consuelo tells him she is going back to El Salvador to fight for political freedom; Dewain decides to stay in Los Angeles. Lying in David’s arms, Leila begins to recover.

At the time of the premiere, Peter Sellars, the original director, offered up the hope that the work would become the play of choice for high schools everywhere. That seems as unlikely now as it did then (should anyone care, the high school musical of choice, once the rights become available, will be William Finn’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), in part because of the sexual and sometimes heavy-handed political content as well as the sheer difficulty of the music. For all its flaws, the work gains enormously in stature when heard complete and, to set the show in context, it is a whole lot more interesting musically than Rent or any of the Andrew Lloyd Webber “rock operas.”

The performance is very fine. Darius de Haas, returning from the original cast, as David the preacher and Kimako Xavier Trotman as Dewain, the gang member, are the only Americans in the cast. It would be idle to pretend that anyone could replace Audra McDonald as Consuelo but Martina Mühlpointner is very good. If you listen closely, some of the singers have slight accents, occasionally making their words a fraction less distinct but, frankly, you have to listen for it and it makes no impact at all on the overall success of the enterprise. As before, the work is recorded like the musical that it is rather than in the defined space more commonly associated with classical music. Therefore, a discussion of recording quality is really beside the point. Extensive notes and a detailed synopsis cued to the individual numbers are included, but no text.

FANFARE: John Story

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American Opera Classics - Adams: I Was Looking... / Simon
Naxos Oct 2005
CD
$29.99

Bonds: Credo; Simon Bore the Cross / Merriweather, Dessoff Orchestra

Avie Records

$19.99 Feb 03, 2023

New York City-based The Dessoff Choirs, instrumental in re-establishing the music of 20th-century African American composer Margaret Bonds with the world-premiere recording of her Christmas oratorio, The Ballad of the Brown King, present two more Bonds premieres: new orchestrations of her cantata, Simon Bore the Cross, created with long-time collaborator and friend Langston Hughes, and the large-scale Credo set to prose by W.E.B. Du Bois. Akin to The Ballad of the Brown King, which centered around the dark-skinned king Balthazar who journeyed to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus Christ, Bonds' and Hughes' North African Simon carried Jesus's cross on the way to Calvary, giving African American audiences an opportunity to see themselves within the biblical canon. Credo bears Bonds' evocative vocal writing style infused with elements from various black musical genres. The first complete performance of the work was given in 1973, to rave reviews: "Credo verified her talent, her sensitivity, her proficiency as orchestrator and her concern for the Negro spiritual" (Los Angeles Times). Written during the last decade of Bonds' life, neither work was performed in its entirety during the composer's lifetime. With this release – coinciding with Black History Month – conductor Malcolm J. Merriweather, The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra and soloists, soprano Janinah Burnett and bass-baritone Dashon Burton, bring Margaret Bonds' beautiful and spiritual music back to life, conveying a powerful message that remains poignant and relevant for music lovers today.

REVIEWS:

The Dessoff Choirs have been at the center of New York cultural life since 1924 and they have done us a service with this release. Bass Baritone Dashon Burton and soprano Janinah Burnett don’t so much sing this music as champion it, turning that noun into a verb with every note of every phrase. (Ms Burnett sounds like a young Leontyne Price.) Malcolm Merriweather, who also conducts the New York Philharmonic Choir, brings all the moving parts together nicely...I am envious of their experience and would have been proud to add my voice to theirs.

-- American Record Guide

The youthful sounding choir is actually very good indeed singing with good ensemble and attack but also sensitivity when required. The recording was made for/by the choir and licensed to Avie for distribution...

...I can imagine the second work – Simon Bore the Cross – being popular amongst choral societies of every country and continent. This is written for organ, strings and harp alongside the choir and is a substantial work in eight sections running just shy of 40 minutes. This tells the story of the crucifixion from Jesus’ trial through to his death and in a Postlude, the Resurrection. For the text Bonds turned to Langston Hughes who was the source and guiding influence for many of her works. In the fourth and fifth sections; Who is that man? And Don’t you know, Mary? Langston explicitly underlines the belief that Simon of Cyrene [a city in Northern Africa] was Black – the latter movement includes the text; “black men will share the pain of the cross, black men will share the pain, in a world… that’s filled with trials and troubles.” The following Walkin’ to Calvary has rather moving echoes of the meditative chorales in the great Bach settings of the Passions with Burnett joining the chorus to touchingly sing; “Thank you, brother Simon, Thank you for helping brother Jesus”. This culminates in penultimate movement The Cruxifixion a powerful setting of an existing Spiritual. Here and throughout the work the organ makes a rather thunderous but impressive contribution and the simpler instrumentation of strings and harp alone alongside the organ works rather well.

Whilst the influence of popular music in general and spirituals in particular is very evident there is something in the vocal writing; lyrical lush and grateful to sing that brought to mind John Rutter’s style of communicative composing. In essence this is not complex music but neither does it intend to be – it carries an extra-musical message that is best conveyed in direct, intelligible and engaging music. Again the committed singing of the Dessoff choirs adds to the overall impact of the work. The liner lists conductor Malcolm J. Merriweather as having edited and arranged Simon Bore the Cross but there is no further elaboration as to exactly what or how much he had to do to bring the work to the performance we hear here. But again it is a good indication of the level of engagement and belief in this music by the performers.

Full texts in English only are provided along with the usual artist biographies and performer lists of both choirs and orchestra. Overall this is an impressive presentation of two major scores by a composer who is gradually becoming recognised for her contribution to both the field of music and social equality – the liner quotes a letter from Bonds to Langston Hughes; “Together Simon Bore the Cross and Credo encourage all to embrace the true concept of Brotherhood toward people of color throughout the world”.

-- MusicWeb International

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Bonds: Credo; Simon Bore the Cross / Merriweather, Dessoff Orchestra
Avie Records Feb 2023
CD
$19.99

Monteverdi: Messa a quattro voci et salmi of 1650, Vol. 1 / Christophers, The Sixteen

Coro

$10.49 ~~$20.99~~ Save 50% May 27, 2016

The music of Monteverdi is revolutionary, heralding in the Baroque era. For the first time, with Monteverdi’s compositions, deep personal emotion was being heard in sacred vocal works. This collection was released after the composers death as the Messa a Quattro voci et salmi, and was composed during Monteverdi’s time serving as director of music at St. Mark’s in Venice. The Sixteen has gained critical acclaim for their previous recordings of Monteverdi’s work, including a Grammy nomination for the ensemble’s 2014 recording of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610.

-----

REVIEW:

There is no shortage of first-rate music here, dispelling any notion that the Messa et Salmi only consists of pieces that Monteverdi himself did not think were worthy of preserving for posterity. The Sixteen’s performances have the group’s usual unfussy directness; the sound has no churchy over-resonance about it, either, so that the intricacies of the writing are always perfectly clear.

– Guardian (UK)

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Monteverdi: Messa a quattro voci et salmi of 1650, Vol. 1 / Christophers, The Sixteen
Coro May 2016
CD
~~$20.99~~ $10.49

Images Of Christ / John Rutter, Cambridge Singers
Collegium Records Jan 1993
CD
$18.99

Stainer: The Crucifixion / Gilchrist, Bailey, Brown, Et Al

Naxos

$19.99 May 17, 2005

Although John Stainer borrowed some ideas from Bach's Passions for setting his "meditation" on the Crucifixion of Christ, unfortunately the manner of the work's opening wasn't one of them. Instead of engaging the audience/congregation and setting the mood with a strong choral statement, Stainer opted to begin with many minutes of recitative and solo singing, occasionally punctuated by some very staid, musically unremarkable choral interjections. What should be a profoundly moving, serious scene is introduced with no solid musico/dramatic context, and the actual musical ideas--especially the meandering melodies--are common rather than exceptional. I realize that this work has long held a place of great reverence by many singers and congregations, but this is due more to its being tailor-made for regular parish church choirs and organists (and we can always use more of those kinds of pieces!) than for its musical depth or sophistication.

Whatever the case, millions of people love Stainer's Crucifixion--or more accurately, most love it for its one shining moment, the chorus God so loved the world, and rightly so, for these famous words from John 3: 16, 17 never have been more affecting or effectively rendered in music. Somehow, even though the rest of the work sounds stylistically dated in its predictable late-Romantic harmony, melodramatic expression, and often quaint language ("Fling wide the gates, for the Saviour waits" is one of the cornier phrases), this chorus holds up even today and stands on its own as a small masterpiece.

Not surprisingly, Timothy Brown and his first-rate Clare College Choir (along with organist Stephen Farr) deliver very fine performances, sounding as if they truly are among those who love this work (and the complementary Guildford Cathedral acoustics also are an asset). Tenor James Gilchrist is less convincing, his expression often overly mannered--although, given the nature of the music he has to work with, I suppose we can't blame him! Likewise, bass Simon Bailey tries hard to find something musically profound in his solos, but in the process his wide vibrato becomes distracting. In sum, this Crucifixion is as good as the one recorded by the Peterborough Cathedral Choir on Resonance, and, dare I say it, if you like this work, you'll find what you're looking for here.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

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Stainer: The Crucifixion / Gilchrist, Bailey, Brown, Et Al
Naxos May 2005
CD
$19.99

Bach: St. John Passion

Music and Arts Programs of America

$32.99 Jun 01, 2010

Two CD set. Fritz Lehmann became conductor of the Händel Festival in Göttingen in 1934, and held numerous conducting posts, the last one in Göttingen (1946-1950). He subsequently was a teacher at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich (from 1953). a consummate conductor, he led notable performances in Oratorio, opera, and symphonic literature, ranging from the Baroque period to the 20th century. He died at age 52 of a heart attack during a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Especially noted for his Bach and Handel interpretations, he made numerous acclaimed Bach cantata recordings for DGG. He left no studio recording of the St. John Passion so we are fortunate that this live performance, with the highly experienced soloists Julius Patzak as the Evangelist and Gerard Souzay as Christ, was taped.

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Bach: St. John Passion
Music and Arts Programs of America Jun 2010
CD
$32.99

Elgar: The Apostles / Imbrailo, Groves, Coote, Elder, Halle Orchestra

Halle

$32.99 Sep 01, 2012

BBC Music Magazine: Recording of the Year and Choral Winner of the year: 2013.

Performed beautifully. Everyone is on quite spectacular form.

The 2011/12 season was a memorable one for the Hallé and its Music Director Sir Mark Elder who was celebrating his twelfth season with the Manchester based orchestra. What was for me a rather uninspiring Beethoven cycle was overshadowed by three unforgettable performances that will serve to increase the Hallé Orchestra’s burgeoning international reputation. In November 2011 the Bridgewater audience were treated to John Adams’s Harmonium for chorus and orchestra (1980/81) a setting of poems by John Donne and Emily Dickinson. Next, in collaboration with the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in April 2012 Sir Mark took the Hallé into the pit at the Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays for a spellbinding production of Bernstein’s feel-good musical Wonderful Town starring actress/singer Connie Fisher. Back home at the Bridgwater Hall on 5 May 2012 we were treated to this inspirational performance of Elgar’s The Apostles. Dedicated ‘ To the Greater Glory of God’ The Apostles is a large-scale two part oratorio for soloists, choir and orchestra written in the English choral tradition. Elgar selected his own texts from the Bible and the Apocrypha. Elgar himself introduced the oratorio at the Birmingham Triennial Festival in 1903.

I was present that Saturday May evening reporting on The Apostles for Seen and Heard International and this review is essentially based on that report. Together with a number of friends we had travelled down to witness a performance that will live long in the memory. Thankfully the Hallé’s performance under Sir Mark was recorded together with a rehearsal for patching purposes. As expected the performance was taken extremely seriously and far more hours than normally allocated for rehearsal were clocked up.

Prior to the start there was an uplifting feeling of keen anticipation in the packed hall. It’s a shame that the listener not present on the night cannot also share that sense of expectancy. Eschewing histrionics, one hardly noticed Sir Mark on the podium, just getting on with the job of directing this substantial work. This was a highly assured account all the more impressive given the task of bringing the massed forces together in a coherent way. I particularly admired the unerring control of the massive dynamic extremes with tempi that felt judicious. Potency and beautifully incisive playing demonstrated the orchestra’s ascendant prowess.

In radiant voice the choirs made a significant contribution to the evening’s success. This was matched in passionate commitment by the sextet of well chosen soloists. Standing out magnificently was Jacques Imbrailo as Jesus. He solidly projected his richly mellow and expressive timbre with immense purpose. A fine choice as the First Narrator/John was Paul Groves who was notable for his steady bright and clear diction. Brindley Sherratt’s Judas was well powered, polished and authoritative. Although acceptable bass-baritone David Kempster in the role of Peter at times became rather swamped by the choir and orchestra and would have benefited from a greater amplitude and clearer diction. Rebecca Evans as the Angel Gabriel/Virgin Mary was bright with a moderately warm sound and sang with affecting piety. Evans’ vibrato was noticeable but never intruded. Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote as Mary Magdalene/Second Narrator has a substantial amount of text to sing. She was in glorious, reverential voice, well projected throughout.

Right from the orchestral Prelude to the scene The Calling of the Apostles the choir intoning the words from St. Luke’s Gospel To preach the acceptable year of the Lord sent a shiver down the spine. We were left in no doubt but that we had embarked on a visionary journey. The programme notes for the concert asserted that a genuine shofar player had been found. This caused much discussion amongst many audience members and subsequently on internet message boards. If people expected a traditional Hebrew Ram’s horn instrument that wasn’t what soloist Bob Farley played. From my seat it looked like a crossbreed of some sort of long straight brass trumpet that I would guess was around 6ft long becoming slightly angled just before the start of the bell. Nevertheless the playing, by the soloist positioned at the side of the hall, made a splendid impact both sonically and theatrically. The shofar can be heard to memorable effect at the start of CD 1 track 3.

At the beginning of Part 2 the solemn orchestral Introduction to the scene of The Betrayal of Christ was remarkable, with the doom-laden brass being lightened by the strings and winds then darkening again with all the drama of a Puccini opera. Depicting the crucifixion, the disturbing Golgotha section featured weighty orchestral textures especially the shadowy-toned brass and percussion. The electrifying final section The Ascension of Christ to heaven in his resurrected body required all the forces uniting in a colossal Alleluia. This was one of the most moving things I’ve experienced in classical music.

Released on the Hallé’s own label I found the sound quality of the Hallé/Elder disc highly satisfying. To the infuriation of many audience members an errant clapper virtually instantaneously at the end of both halves ruined the special moments of contemplation. Thankfully I can report that the patching session has successfully removed the unwanted racket. Michael Kennedy’s booklet notes are as authoritative as I would expect from this Elgar scholar. It’s good to see that a full libretto is included in the booklet. Some incorrect numbering against the part two text is the only glitch I found with this issue.

The rival recordings of The Apostles include the digitally re-mastered analogue 1973/74 account from the Kingsway Hall, London under the baton of Sir Adrian Boult with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir on EMI. Then there’s the 1990 digital recording from St. Jude on the Hill, Hampstead, London by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Richard Hickox on Chandos. Both are very fine performances. Of the two I favour the Boult/EMI for its splendid singing and sense of reverential awe. On the down-side Boult’s singers may sound dated to some listeners and the LPO’s distinctive bottom-heavy sound can be off-putting. On balance the recording of The Apostles that I will reach out for the most will be this new Hallé release. It’s performed beautifully throughout and achieves an otherwise elusive spirituality. Everyone is on quite spectacular form. If proof were needed of the importance of The Apostles then this release is the evidence.

-- Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

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Elgar: The Apostles / Imbrailo, Groves, Coote, Elder, Halle Orchestra
Halle Sep 2012
CD
$32.99

Vivaldi: Glorias / Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Et Al
Nimbus Apr 2003
CD
$20.99

Lully: Atys / Christie, Les Arts Florissants [Blu-ray]

Naxos AudioVisual

Blu-Ray

$20.48 ~~$40.99~~ Save 50% Sep 17, 2021

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Atys, a tragédie en musique, became known as the ‘king’s opera’ due to Louis XIV’s fondness for it. The work stands as a testament to the Sun King’s courtly refinement, as well as his moves to make France the center of European artistic culture. The opera’s themes of romantic dilemmas and ultimate tragedy, set amidst the poetic atmosphere of Ovid’s classical mythology, create the perfect vehicle for a narrative filled with dramatic intensity combined with a myriad of moving and expressive arias and duets. William Christie conducts this acclaimed production – hailed by The New York Times as being ‘as satisfying it is bold’.

REVIEW:

The role of Atys is physically as well as vocally taxing, but is here superbly realised by the German tenor, Bernard Richter, while the French soprano, Emmanuelle De Negri, is an excellent Sangaride, with the creamy voice of the mezzo, Stephanie D’Oustrac, as Cybele completing the love triangle. The cast list is large, and with the Compagnie Fetes Galantes providing the dancers, the stage is at times totally filled. The reviews at the time of filimg (2011) were suitably euphoric regarding the casting, and equally of the presence of the period instrument orchestra, Les Arts Florrissants, with the idiomatic conducting of William Christie. The filming itself is immaculate in its ideal mix of full stage and close-up images, while the sound quality is gorgeous.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

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Lully: Atys / Christie, Les Arts Florissants [Blu-ray]
Naxos AudioVisual Sep 2021
Blu-Ray
~~$40.99~~ $20.48

Monteverdi: Il Ritorno D'ulisse In Patria / Christie, Rice, Rensburg, Cornwell, Les Arts Florissants

Dynamic

DVD

$36.99 Jan 01, 2011

"This is now the best version of Monteverdi's Return of Ulysses" -- Anthony Pryer, BBC Music Magazine

CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI (1567 – 1643):
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Dramma in musica in three acts

Kobie van Rensburg; Christine Rice; Cyril Auvity; Joseph Cornwell; Umberto Chiummo; Juan Sancho; Xavier Sabata; Ed Lyon; H. Bayodi-Nirt; Robert Burt; Marina Rodriguez-Cusí; Claire Debono; Luigi De Donato

Les Arts Florissants/William Christie

Pierluigi Pizzi, director; Roberto Maria Pizzuto, choreography
Recording: Teatro Real, Madrid, April 2009
NTSC All Region; DD 5.1/LPCM 2.0; 16:9; Approx. 175 mins.
Subtitled in Italian, English, German, French & Spanish

• Once again William Christie, Les Arts Florissants (celebrating their 30th anniversary at the time of this recording,) and Pier Luigi Pizzi converge as an inspired team in an exciting production.
• First Spanish performance of the opera on DVD and the second of the staged Monteverdi trilogy by the Teatro Real company, co-produced with La Fenice.
• This critically acclaimed new release of "L’Orfeo" on DVD has drawn worldwide attention.
• DVD includes interviews to W. Christie, K. van Rensburg and C. Rice.

"Last year we gave a performance here in the Teatro Real of Monteverdi’s Orfeo, this year we have Ulisse and next year Poppea. We’re no longer in Mantova and we’re no longer in the Court of the Prince. We’re in Venezia and essentially [at] the beginning of the public opera house. We’re also at the beginning of what will become opera seria, that’s to say beyond the instrumental colors, the great dances and the great pageants, [are] the beautiful effects of the singing, it’s bel-canto and so the orchestral accompaniment becomes simpler.
This is the essential difference between Orfeo and these last...two operas that were composed toward the end of his life. Orfeo is the beginning of the 17th century, the very beginning, the first ten years [and] he’s a young man, and Poppea and Ulisse are works of old age when he became a resident in Venezia. When Monteverdi was Maestro di Cappella of San Marco he is writing essentially for the new phenomenon, the Venetian opera house." - from William Christie’s interview 2008 included on in the DVD

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Monteverdi: Il Ritorno D'ulisse In Patria / Christie, Rice, Rensburg, Cornwell, Les Arts Florissants
Dynamic Jan 2011
DVD
$36.99

Bach, J.S.: Organ Music (Organ Music for the Christmas Seaso
Centaur Records Jul 2009
CD
$18.99

VIVUM - YOJO CHRISTEN PLAYS GERSHWIN HUMMEL &

EUROARTS

$17.42 Sep 15, 2023

When Yojo Christen plays the piano, his eyes light up and you realise that for him there is nothing more beautiful, nothing more significant in this world. The love story between the pianist and music started early, because as soon as Yojo could walk, he was drawn to the fascinating black grand piano in his family's living room. Yojo was taught early on by his stepfather, the successful concert pianist and composer Franz Hummel. In his youth, Hummel himself was a student of the famous Mozarteum piano professor Hans Ehlers, who in turn was a grand-disciple of Franz Liszt through his studies with Moriz Rosenthal and placed great value on teaching his students all of Liszt's secrets and playing techniques. Yojo on this CD Recording "For this CD, I have chosen a musical composition that deviates from the usual conventions. George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", a very original homage to early American jazz, is followed by a contemporary work. It is Franz Hummel's second piano concerto with the title, "War and Peace", to which he asked me to contribute the finale. From my composition IRINI (Peace), for which I won the second and audience prizes at the International Diabelli Composition Competition in Munich at the age of 18, I created an orchestral version especially for this purpose: the third movement of the piano concerto. In 2016, I premiered the work with the Regensburg Philharmonic under Tetsuro Ban, whose recording I may publish here with the orchestra's permission. The musicians masterfully realized the truly difficult score with great dedication and profound skill. As a third stylistic variant, I have given room to my desire for romanticism and recorded the four Impromptus op. 90 by Franz Schubert. I would like to present these natural, naive-philosophical gems, whose profound simplicity can move one to tears, to Schubert lovers as well as to the pop-trained ear.

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VIVUM - YOJO CHRISTEN PLAYS GERSHWIN HUMMEL &
EUROARTS Sep 2023
CD
$17.42