With this 40th-anniversary disc celebrating four decades since its formation by the still-current director Jeremy Backhouse, Vasari Singers is now officially middle-aged. But with this twenty-eighth CD, there’s no sign…
Category: Recordings
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi
The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge / Stephen Layton Stephen Layton uncovers a rich seam of choral jewels in this collection of sacred music by Finnish choral composer and translator…
Liszt/Thalberg Opera Transcriptions & Fantasies: Marc-André Hamelin
‘Thalberg is the first pianist in the world – Liszt is unique.’ So declared, somewhat ambiguously, the impressively named Princess Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso in her Parisian salon after hearing…
King’s College Cambridge: Bruckner – Mass No.2 in E minor/Motets
While religious convictions are not necessarily a prerequisite for composers of sacred music (the agnosticism of Vaughan Williams was no barrier to his Mass in G minor nor Fauré’s atheism…
Messe Da Pacem: Music by Pierre Villette, Yves Castagnet & Maurice Ravel
Under Rupert Gough, the Choir of Royal Holloway is long acknowledged as one of the country’s most respected university ensembles and has an impressive reputation for illuminating hidden corners of…
Sturm und Drang #2: Ian Page and The Mozartists
Ian Page does like a long-term project. Alongside Classical Opera’s MOZART 250 project – which won’t reach a conclusion until 2041 – the conductor is in the process of completing…
Henry Purcell, Royal Welcome Songs for King Charles II Vol. III: The Sixteen/Harry Christophers
The Sixteen continues its exploration of Henry Purcell’s Welcome Songs for Charles II. As with Robert King’s pioneering Purcell series begun over thirty years ago for Hyperion, Harry Christophers is recording two Welcome Songs per disc.
Anima Rara: Ermonela Jaho
In February this year, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho made a highly lauded debut recital at Wigmore Hall – a concert which both celebrated Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and honoured the career of the Italian soprano Rosina Storchio (1872-1945), the star of verismo who created the title roles in Leoncavallo’s La bohËme and Zaz‡, Mascagni’s Lodoletta and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Requiem pour les temps futurs: An AI requiem for a post-modern society
Collapsology. Or, perhaps we should use the French word ‘Collapsologie’ because this is a transdisciplinary idea pretty much advocated by a series of French theorists – and apparently, mostly French theorists. It in essence focuses on the imminent collapse of modern society and all its layers – a series of escalating crises on a global scale: environmental, economic, geopolitical, governmental; the list is extensive.
¡d·m Fischer’s 1991 MahlerFest Kassel ‘Resurrection’ issued for the first time
Amongst an avalanche of new Mahler recordings appearing at the moment (Das Lied von der Erde seems to be the most favoured, with three) this 1991 Mahler Second from the 2nd Kassel MahlerFest is one of the more interesting releases.