The music of Harold Darke and Maurice Duruflé might seem curious bedfellows on this recent disc from Guildford Cathedral Choir, with girls’ and men’s voices, issued by Regent. Yet both these relatively…
Category: Recordings
World-Premiere Recording, under Richard Bonynge, of Alfred Cellier’s Once-Beloved 1886 Operetta Dorothy
Alfred Cellier is a largely forgotten figure today, but his Dorothy (1886), a “pastoral comedy opera in three acts,” ran for 931 performances, thanks in part to an excellent cast.…
Sir William Walton: a centenary Façade from SOMM and the Orchestra of the Swan
The critics condemned the ‘entertainment’ as a ridiculous hoax. Noel Coward stormed out. After the show, one disgruntled elderly lady was rumoured to be lying in wait for the ‘soloist’…
Iestyn Davies and Arcangelo: Bach cantatas
In 2017, Iestyn Davies added an MBE, for his services to music, and a Gramophone Award, for his Hyperion recording with Jonahan Cohen and Arcangelo of three of Bach’s solo…
Canciones: Bach-Brouwer – cultural fusions from Andreas Scholl and Edin Karamazov
The mere mention of the word ‘crossover’ can be enough to raise the hackles of classical music lovers for whom the genre-splicer suggests not a genuine instinct for synchronous musical…
The Other Erlking: Nicholas Mogg and Jâms Coleman present the songs and ballads of Carl Loewe
A cursory scan down the contents list of The Other Erlking, recently released by baritone Nicholas Mogg and pianist Jâms Coleman on the Champs Hill label, might mislead, titles such…
Es ist ein Ros: Dresdner Kammerchor sing Praetorius
Some composer-anniversaries are feted – it sometimes seems as if Beethoven 250 is still running – and other musical milestones do not emerge from the shadows. 2021 was the 50th,…
Singing of surpassing beauty from The Dunedin Consort: Ich habe genug
Here’s a disc of outstanding solo performances from the Dunedin Consort of three of J.S. Bach’s finest cantatas. John Butt’s musicians have already garnered considerable critical acclaim, and two of…
Gallic elegance from Les Arts Florissants in Charpentier’s Un Oratorio de Noël
Originally issued almost forty years ago, this re-release reminds us of the ease and certainty with which William Christie navigates his way through uncharted French Baroque territory at a time…
Arvo Pärt: Passio
Given the cult following Arvo Pärt has attracted over the last thirty years, it is interesting to note how seldom the chaste landscape of Passio – with its relatively modest…