At first glance Charles Ives and Gustav Mahler make unusual bed fellows. But on this excellent CD from BIS they flank a song cycle by Helen Grime to form a…
Category: Recordings
Sumptuous performances of Schnittke and Pärt from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Another coupling of Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt from BIS brings together three unaccompanied choral works of the 1980s. Two close contemporaries, their spiritual journeys coincided with the revival of…
Respighi Songs: Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini
In 1913, Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) became professor of composition at the Liceo Musicale di S Cecilia in Rome, a post he held for over a decade. One of his students…
Cinquecento present an outstanding collection of music by Heinrich Isaac
After hearing this excellent disc which Cinquecento have devoted to the music of Heinrich Isaac, I was compelled to find other recordings. How seldom the music of this Flemish-born composer…
An intriguing debut album from L’Escadron Volant de la Reine – Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger: Il tedesco a Roma
Rome, the 1620s. Johann Hieronymus (Giovanni Girolamo) Kapsberger, virtuoso theorbist, singer and esteemed composer is at the peak of his fame and influence. Born to German parents in Venice in…
Songs of Travel and Home: a very personal debut album from baritone Julien Van Mellaerts
For his debut recital album, Julien Van Mellaerts has compiled a programme of English, French and New Zealand song which, the baritone explains, ‘shows a quasi-autobiographical insight into my life…
The Complete Songs of Fauré Vol. 4: varied performances highlight vocal diversity
The final instalment of Signum’s four-part Fauré exploration comes, as previously, with the ever-reliable collaborator Malcolm Martineau. This disc’s two dozen plus songs are shared by a luxury line-up of…
This is not a lullaby: Dutch soprano Channa Malkin challenges and soothes
The Dutch soprano Channa Malkin explores aspects of motherhood and maternal love in This is not a lullaby, an album of songs by Mieczysław Weinberg, Sir John Tavener and her…
Les Talens Lyriques present an inspiring premiere recording of Lully’s Ballet royal de la Naissance de Vénus
In Le Maître a danser, a dance manual which was published in Paris in 1725, Pierre Rameau wrote of the saltatory prowess of the French King, Louis XIV (1643-1715) and…
Heartfelt: truth and directness from Roxanna Panufnik
This Signum Classics recording of a selection of Roxanna Panufnik’s chamber music, for varied vocal and instrumental forces, is titled Heartfelt – and it is indeed a generous programme, sincerely…