Marc-Antoine Charpentier Histoires sacrÈes with Ensemble Correspondances, conducted by SÈbastien DaucÈ, at St John’s Smith Square, part of the London Festival of the Baroque 2018. This striking staging, by Vincent Huguet, brought out its austere glory: every bit a treasure of the Grand SiËcle, though this grandeur was dedicated not to Sun God but to God.
Author: Anne Ozioro
Grands motets de Lalande
MajestÈ, a new recording by Le PoËme Harmonique, led by Vincent Dumestre, of music by Michel-Richard de Lalande (1657-1726) new from Alpha Classics. Le PoËme Harmonique are regular visitors to London, appreciated for the variety of their programes. On Friday this week, (11/5) they’ll be at St John’s Smith Square as part of the London Festival of Baroque, with a programme titled “At the World’s Courts”.
Perpetual Night – Early English Baroque, Ensemble Correspondances
New from Harmonia Mundi, Perpetual Night. a superb recording of ayres and songs from the 17th century, by Ensemble Correspondances with SÈbastien DaucÈ and Lucile Richardot. Ensemble Correspondances are among the foremost exponents of the music of Versailles and the French royalty, so it’s good to hear them turn to the music of the Stuart court.
Hubert Parry and the birth of English Song
British music would not be where it is today without the influence of Charles Hubert Parry. His large choral and orchestral works are well known, and his Jerusalem is almost the national anthem. But in the centenary of his death, we can re-appraise his role in the birth of modern British song.
Camille Saint-Saens: MÈlodies avec orchestra
Saint-SaÎns MÈlodies avec orchestra with Yann Beuron and Tassis Christoyannis with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by Markus Poschner.
Hans Werner Henze : The Raft of the Medusa, Amsterdam
This is a landmark production of Hans Werner Henze’s Das Flofl der Medusa (The Raft of the Medusa) conducted by Ingo Metzmacher in Amsterdam earlier this month, with Dale Duesing (Charon), Bo Skovhus and Lenneke Ruiten, with Cappella Amsterdam, the Nieuw Amsterdams Kinderen Jeugdkoor, and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, in a powerfully perceptive staging by Romeo Castellucci.
Schubert Schwanengesang revisited—Florian Boesch, Wigmore Hall
Schwanengesang isn’t Schubert’s Swan Song any more than it is a cycle like Die schˆne M¸llerin or Winterreise. The title was given it by his publishers Haslingers, after his death, combining settings of two very different poets, Ludwig Rellstab and Heinrich Heine. Wigmore Hall audiences have heard lots of good Schwanengesangs, including Boesch and Martineau performances in the past, but this was something special.
Les FunÈrailles Royales de Louis XIV recreated at Versailles
Les FunÈrailles Royales de Louis XIV, with Ensemble Pygmalion, conducted by RaphaÎl Pichon now on DVD/Blu -ray from Harmonia Mundi. This captures the historic performance at the Chapelle Royale de Versailles in November 2015, on the 300th anniversary of the King’s death.
Mahler Symphony no 9, Daniel Harding SRSO
Mahler Symphony no 9 in D major, with Daniel Harding conducting the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, new from Harmonia Mundi. A rewarding performance on many levels, not least because it’s thoughtfully sculpted, connecting structure to meaning.
Mahler Symphony no 8—Harding, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
From the Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, a very interesting Mahler Symphony no 8 with Daniel Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The title “Symphony of a Thousand” was dreamed up by promoters trying to sell tickets, creating the myth that quantity matters more than quality. For many listeners, Mahler 8 is still a hard nut to crack, for many reasons, and the myth is part of the problem. Mahler 8 is so original that it defies easy categories.