Cinquecento – a class act in the sacred music of Jacob Regnart: Missa Christ ist erstanden

Thanks to two recordings by the Vienna-based Cinquecento issued on Hyperion, the name of Jacob Regnart (c.1540-99) has become more familiar.  On this showing the Flemish-born composer will continue to…

The Tree: themed tribute disc from the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge

This celebrated choir occupies the lion’s share of an album shared with Yale Schola Cantorum and former members and friends of the college.  It comprises live performances drawn from chapel…

Stylish performances in Handel’s The Choice of Hercules and Dettingen Te Deum

This disc of concert recordings made during the 2018 Göttingen International Handel Festival comprises a pair of late choral works from the German-born composer.  One secular, the other sacred, each…

Handel: a debut solo album from countertenor Barnaby Smith

In August 2021, as part of VOCES8’s Live From London Summer 2021 Festival, countertenor Barnaby Smith, soprano Mary Bevan and the The Illyria Consort (led by violinist Bojan Čičić) presented…

In the Bleak Midwinter: Christmas Carols from King’s

For those who like a physical recording of a world-renowned Christmas broadcast, this recent disc from the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge will provide a timely reminder of exceptional circumstances.…

Passion: operatic mix ‘n’ match from Véronique Gens

Passion is an imaginary opera built around the music of Jean-Baptiste Lully, and three of his pupils and contemporaries.  It’s the result of discussions between Baroque specialist Véronique Gens and…

Thomas Schippers and the NHKSO: beauty, opulence and power – the legendary Osaka Die Walküre debuts on CD

The American conductor Thomas Schippers is a name largely unknown to many people. There may be several reasons for this. He died relatively young – at 47 – from lung…

An Akhnaten for our times from the Metropolitan Opera

Philip Glass’s major operas are hardly well represented on CD. Indeed, until recently only a single recording of each of Satyagraha and Akhnaten was available – and in the case…

Lucy Crowe & Anna Tilbrook venture into new musical territory

Emotionally charged songs by Richard Strauss interleaved with youthful offerings by Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg form the basis for Lucy Crowe’s first disc with Linn under the title Longing.…

Mixed delights from The King’s Consort in Purcell’s Birthday Odes for Queen Mary

Between the years 1689 and 1694 Henry Purcell conceived six successive Birthday Odes for Queen Mary who, until her death in 1694, ruled jointly with her husband William of Orange.…