Henze’s Das Flofl der Medusa is in some ways a work with a troubled and turbulent history. It is defined by the time in which it was written – 1968 – a period of student protest throughout central Europe. Its first performance was abandoned because the Hamburg chorus refused to perform under the Red Flag which had been placed on stage; and Henze himself decided he wouldn’t conduct it at all after police stormed the concert hall to remove protesters, among them the librettist Ernst Schnabel.
Category: Recordings
Berthold Goldschmidt: Beatrice Cenci, Bregenzer Festspiele
Berthold Goldschmidt’s Beatrice Cenci at last on DVD, from the Bregenzer Festspiele in 2018, with Johannes Debus conducting the Wiener Symphoniker, directed by Johannes Erath, and sung in German translation.
Sandrine Piau: Si j’ai aimé
Sandrine Piau and Le Concert de la Loge (Julien Chauvin), Si j’ai aimé, an eclectic collection of mélodies demonstrating the riches of French orchestral song. Berlioz, Duparc and Massenet are included, but also Saint-Saëns, Charles Bordes, Gabriel Pierné, Théodore Dubois, Louis Vierne and Benjamin Godard.
The VOCES8 Foundation is launched at St Anne & St Agnes
Where might you hear medieval monophony by the late 12th-century French composer PÈrotin, Renaissance polyphony by William Byrd, a vocal arrangement of the stirring theme from Sibelius’s tone poem Finlandia, alongside a newly commissioned work, ‘Vertue’ (2019) by Jonathan Dove, followed by an arrangement of the Irish folksong ‘Danny Boy’ and a snappy rendition of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘One Note Samba’ arr. for eight voices by Naomi Crellin, all within 90 minutes?
Gerald Finzi Choral Works
From Hyperion, Gerald Finzi choral works with the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, conducted by Stephen Layton. An impressive Magnificat (1952) sets the tone.
Herbert Howells: Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge has played a role in the evolution of British music. This recording honours this heritage and Stephen Cleobury’s contribution in particular by focusing on Herbert Howells, who transformed the British liturgical repertoire in the 20th century.
Mieczys?aw Weinberg: Symphony no. 21 (“Kaddish”)
Mieczysław Weinberg witnessed the Holocaust firsthand. He survived,
though millions didn’t, including his family. His Symphony no. 21
“Kaddish” (Op. 152) is a deeply personal statement. Yet its
musical qualities are such that they make it a milestone in modern
repertoire.
Kenshiro Sakairi and the Tokyo Juventus Philharmonic in Mahler’s Eighth
Although some works by a number of composers have had to wait uncommonly lengthy periods of time to receive Japanese premieres – one thinks of both Mozart’s Jupiter and Beethoven’s Fifth (1918), Handel’s Messiah (1929), Wagner’s Parsifal (1967), Berlioz’s RomÈo et Juliette (1966) and even Bruckner’s Eighth (1959, given its premiere by Herbert von Karajan) – Mahler might be considered to have fared somewhat better.
Lise Davidsen sings Wagner and Strauss
Superlatives to describe Lise Davidsen’s voice have been piling up
since she won Placido Domingo’s 2015 Operalia competition, blowing
everyone away. She has been called “a voice in a million” and
“the new Kirsten Flagstad.”
Nicky Spence and Julius Drake record The Diary of One Who Disappeared
From Hyperion comes a particularly fine account of Leoš Janáček’s song cycle The Diary of One Who Disappeared. Handsome-voiced Nicky Spence is the young peasant who loses his head over an alluring gypsy and is never seen again.