High-Res FLAC Archives - Page 11 of 30

A Rose Magnificat

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Paul McCreesh leads the Gabrieli Consort in a collection of works that explores the diverse and extensive body of works dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary over the centuries. Music by Tallis, MacMillan, Howells and Leighton frames the world premiere of a new work by the young British composer, Matthew Martin: a setting of the Magnificat, interpolated with verses from the atmospheric medieval poem ‘There is no rose’.

Gabrieli are world-renowned interpreters of great vocal and instrumental repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day. Formed as an early music ensemble by Paul McCreesh in 1982, Gabrieli has both outgrown and remained true to its original identity through its live performances and award-winning recordings for their Winged Lion label.
Limelight's Vocal Recording of 2018 ★★★★★ Choir and Organ Another winner from the Gabrieli’s… this CD is thoroughly to be recommended - Cathedral Music Magazine The Gabrieli Consort, under McCreesh, give an outstanding performance that is caught in superb sound by the Signum engineers - iClassical Excellent recorded sound sets the seal on another outstanding issue from this outstanding team - BBC Music Magazine another triumph, helped by the wonderful acoustic of Romsey Abbey, captured with typical skill by the expert engineers of Signum - MusicWeb International

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Vivaldi • Handel

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Signum Records are proud to present the debut orchestral recording from Grace Davidson, one of the UK’s leading British sopranos specialising in Baroque music. She is joined by some of Europe’s leading Baroque musicians from the Academy of Ancient Music to perform a selection of works by Handel and Vivaldi, with performaces led by violinist Bojan Čičić under artistic director Joseph Crouch.

Grace won the Early Music Prize while studying singing at London’s Royal Academy of Music. Since then, she has worked with the leading Baroque ensembles of our day, singing under the batons of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Paul McCreesh, Philippe Herreweghe and Harry Christophers. Her discography includes a decade of CDs with The Sixteen, many of which feature her as soloist – Handel’s Jeptha (as Angel), Dixit Dominus, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Pianto della Madonna, and the Lutheran Masses of Bach.
Davidson is outstanding for her seraphic purity and evenness of tone - Gramophone The voice is radiantly fresh and clean - The Times Grace Davidson…voice seems to have been especially created to sing baroque music - Cross Rhythms Each performance carves out an atmosphere of thoughtful, reflective poise capturing the settings' interior spirit - Classical Source

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Tanguero: Music from South America

Price range: £8.00 through £12.00

Guitarist Christoph Denoth returns to disc on Signum with a new disc of works inspired by South America, centred on the iconic tango.

The continent of South America, with its diverse countries and various lines of historical development, has stimulated the creation of many musical traditions. But throughout the heterogeneous patterns of culture, the guitar has a central part to play as a national instrument in all South American countries. This selection (titled tanguero, describing one who sings or dances the tango) brings together many of the styles and genres of that vast continent in a colourful blend of melodies, rhythms, and harmonies.
★★★★ The imagination and intensity of the original music shines - Planet Hugill What makes Denoth’s offering a must-have is a musical sensitivity exemplified as much by his curation as by his playing - Gramophone
Denoth brings lyricism and fire to his performances - BBC Music Magazine

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Niobe

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Renowned British composer Richard Blackford sets the Greek fable of Niobe to music in the premiere recording of his new violin concerto, performed by Tamsin Waley-Cohen with the Czech Philharmonic under conductor Ben Gernon.

In the myth, Niobe, who has seven daughters and seven sons, mocks Leto, goddess of motherhood yet mother of only two children - Apollo and Artemis. In revenge, Apollo murders Niobe’s sons, while Artemis kills her daughters, and her husband Amphion, king of Thebes, commits suicide. Niobe in grief turns to Zeus for help, who takes pity and turns Niobe to stone; she continues to weep, however, for eternity, her tears flowing as a stream from the rock.

Waley-Cohen comments: “The Greeks saw Niobe as a warning against hubris, but what happened to her can also be interpreted today as a tale about the overly severe punishment of women judged to have stepped out of line. Her punishment seems so brutal, as does the punishment that many women face today around the world. Richard’s concerto is an incredibly powerful piece and a story that is so relevant to women’s issues today.”

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RACHMANINOV SYMPHONY NO.3 & SYMPHONIC DANCES: Live in Concert

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Marking their latest collaboration with their conductor laureate Vladimir Ashkenazy, the Philharmonia return to disc with a stellar live-performance of two late works by Rachmaninov – the Symphonic Dances and Symphony No. 3 in A Minor. This release is third and final in a new series of Rachmaninov’s symphonic works, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy in live performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Performance ★★★★ Recording ★★★★★ - BBC Music Magazine A very fine issue indeed. It is something of a privilege to hear this great veteran still having so much to say about music so close to him - MusicWeb International
The previous volumes of Symphony No. 1 (SIGCD484) and No. 2 (SIGCD530) were met with critical acclaim:

Perhaps the most satisfying of all [Ashkenazy’s recordings of the Symphony] - BBC Music Magazine

Ashkenazy knows how to shape detail and soar in the big melodic moments. The Philharmonia sound is muscular and alert, from the opening woodwind solos to the mighty, stirring symphonic tutti of the finale - The Observer

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Vaughan Williams: Mass in G Minor

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Andrew Nethsingha and The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge mark the centenary of the 1918 Armistice with a new recording of choral works by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Many of the works were composed in the years immediately following the event, including O clap your hands, Lord, thou hast been our refuge and the Mass in G minor which leads the programme.

Vaughan Williams turned his attention to liturgical music following his service as a wagon orderly during the Great War. Ursula Vaughan Williams, his second wife and biographer, wrote that such work ‘gave Ralph vivid awareness of how men died’. It is perhaps unsurprising that in many of the texts to which he turned after the 1918 Armistice, the fragility and weakness of humanity becomes a recurrent theme. Despite being described as a ‘confirmed atheist’ by the philosopher Bertrand Russell, his heightened exploration of Christian texts, symbols, and images after the War might rather be understood both as an attempt to grapple anew with what might lie, as he put it, ‘beyond sense and knowledge’, and to search for consolation in religious and other inherited traditions amid a world irrevocably changed.
I admire both the outstanding quality of the treble line and the excellent sense of ensemble - Cathedral Music Magazine The great virtues of the disc are the way it brings RVW's into a different focus yet also emphasises the transcendent mysticism which is the essential core to the music - Planet Hugill This is a very fine disc indeed. Andrew Nethsingha has chosen the music with great discernment and conducts it with evident commitment and understanding - Music Web International

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The Nutcracker & I,

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Pianist Alexandra Dariescu presents a reimagining of the classic ballet tale of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, with Alex herself taking the role of Clara, now a little girl longing to fulfil her dream of becoming a pianist. Alexandra performs extracts from the ballet in transcriptions by luminaries including Mikhail Pletnev and Percy Grainger, interspersed with narration from TV presenter Lindsey Russell in a new version of the story by Jessica Duchen.

The lavish book-bound release includes illustrations by Adam Smith, adapted from Yeast Culture’s cutting-edge digital animation that accompanies the show’s live performances.
A pleasant and entertaining experience for children - Gramophone The perfect Christmas disc for tiny humans - BBC Music Magazine

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Celestial Bird

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

One of the UK’s most lauded composers, Roxanna Panufnik celebrates her 50th birthday with a new release of her previously unrecorded choral music, performed by leading British choir Ex Cathedra under Jeffrey Skidmore. Known for her interest in world music, the programme includes performances from Indian arts organisation Milapfest on Unending Love, as well as the a recording of Child of Heaven: Dawn Chorus III – a new commission from Ex Cathedra that sets a Hymn to Dawn from the Rig Veda.

Roxanna has written a wide range of pieces including opera, ballet, music theatre, choral works, chamber compositions and music for film and television which are regularly performed all over the world. This disc follows the 2017 release of 99 Words (SIGCD519), combining works by Panufnik and Sir John Tavener.
★★★★ Beguiling and soothing, it’s Panufnik at her most individual - Classical Source ★★★★ Very exciting - All Music A pleasurable disc - Gramophone
The work is elegantly-shaped and full of warmth, rather like this disc as a whole - BBC Music Magazine

This album is a fine and nicely varied birthday gift from Ex Cathedra to Roxanna Panufnik - Music Web International

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Telemann: Solo Fantasias

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

One of the greatest finds of the 21st century for the early music world, Telemann’s 12 Fantasias for Viola da Gamba were considered lost until the discovery of an original print in a private collection in Germany in 2015. Perhaps some of the composer’s finest work for solo instrument, they are described by soloist Richard Boothby as being “... by turns virtuosic and expressive, Telemann uses all the techniques of the instrument to create satisfyingly complete Fantasias that are full of diversity.”

One of the UK’s leading exponents of early music, Richard Boothby founded the Purcell Quartet in 1984 and was a founder member of Fretwork in 1985. Since then his career has been bound up with these two groups with whom he records and tours; and through whom he plays the broadest range of repertory for the instrument from the earliest music to the latest contemporary music commissioned for viols.
Performance ★★★★ Recording ★★★★ A disc instinct with affectionate insights - BBC Music Magazine A very smooth and elegant reading - Early Music Review

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Praise My Soul

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Hymns are a living link with the past, yet they still find freshness and relevance in the twenty- first century. Saint Thomas Aquinas comments that ‘hymns are the praise of God with song; a song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice’ and this explains neatly the vital place that hymnody has enjoyed throughout the ages, and continues to do so today. Praise my soul celebrates this glorious tradition of hymnody and showcases some of the hymns heard in Jesus College Chapel in their own regular pattern of choral services. Some of these, including Drop, drop, slow tears and Glory to thee, my God, this night have been sung regularly for hundreds of years. Others such as All my hope on God is founded or Christ Triumphant have become classics over the last half-century.

The Choir of Jesus College Cambridge return to disc on Signum with their seventh release, and their first under choral director Richard Pinel.
A magnificent disc of fine hymn tunes and outstanding music making - MusicWeb International

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The Organ of St Bavo, Haarlem

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Joseph Nolan marks his 10th release on Signum Classics with a recording on the remarkable 1738 Christian Muller organ of St Bavo in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Housed in one of the most spectacular organ cases in the world, the instrument's renowned clarity of tone makes it perfectly suited to Reubke's Sonata on the 94th Psalm, which forms the heart Nolan's programme alongside works by Bach, Buxtehude and Mendelssohn.

British-Australian organist and choral conductor Dr Joseph Nolan has been hailed by ABC Classic FM as ‘an extraordinary musician’, by BBC Radio 3 Record Review as ‘Magnificent’ and by Gramophone as ‘perceptive and intensely musical’. A nominee for Artist of the Year, Limelight Magazine also awarded Joseph its coveted ‘Recording of the Month’ for his ninth disc for Signum Records from St Etienne du Mont, Paris (SIGCD470), the church and organ of Maurice Duruflé – the first time in the history of the magazine that an organ disc has been awarded this distinction.
★★★★★ Reubke's Sonata on the 94th Psalm rings out here with robust brilliance - Choir and Organ A wonderful accomplishment - Gramophone This could well prove to be the organ disc of the decade - Music Web International

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Grabmusik / Bastien und Bastienne

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Continuing their complete Mozart opera recording cycle, The Mozartists’ latest release shines a light on two early opera works by Mozart. Bastien und Bastienne is the only one of Mozart’s operas to have been written for performance in a private house rather than a theatre. Commissioned at some point in mid-1768 by the renowned and controversial German physician Franz Anton Mesmer, it tells the tale of two young shepherds, Bastien and Bastienne, being reconciled in love by the fortune teller and magician Colas after Bastien has briefly been lured away by the attractions of a noble lady from the city. This new recording uses Mozart’s original 1768 setting of the libretto by F. W. Weiskern & J. H. F. Müller, the provenance of which was only established in the 1980s. The orchestra is the star of the show - BBC Music Magazine Ian Page and his crack team are clearly having a lot of fun, which comes across in this excellent recording. It's a treat to experience - Gramophone Page’s Classical Opera project goes from strength to strength - The Sunday Times If you are looking for a superb performance of one of Mozart’s young productions then this is very much the best place to invest - Music Web International A little jewel not to be missed! - Crescendo (France) Heavenly! - Stretto (Holland) Ian Page's subtle and dynamic gesture makes all the difference, and places his musical output among that of the best Mozartian interpreters of today - Classique News (France) This CD is an ideal point of discovery both for those curious about Mozart’s earlier works and the Mozart connoisseur alike- BSECS

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Sibelius / Rachmaninov

Price range: £12.00 through £21.00

The Chineke! Orchestra return to disc on Signum in a new live orchestral recording from the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Drawn from exceptional musicians from across the continent, the orchestra is part of the Chineke! Foundation – a non-profit organisation that provides career opportunities to young Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) classical musicians in the UK and Europe. Their motto is ‘Championing Change and Celebrating Diversity in Classical Music’.

The Chineke! Orchestra is the brainchild of Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, FRAM, who says: ‘My aim is to create a space where BME musicians can walk on stage and know that they belong, in every sense of the word. If even one BME child feels that their colour is getting in the way of their musical ambitions, then I hope to inspire them, give them a platform, and show them that music, of whatever kind, is for all people.’

In this live concert recording under conductor Roderick Cox they perform Sibelius’s 2nd Symphony and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3, featuring multi-award-winning pianist Gerard Aimontche.
The playing of both works... is most pleasing, the colours vivid, the excitement palatable, while Aimontche's sweeping reading of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 3 astutely combines the intimate and epic, his tone never forced - The Sunday Times An excellent follow-up to their first recording for Signum Classics - BBC Radio 3 Record Review

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Concertos by Dell’Abaco, Porpora, Marcello, Tartini & Telemann

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Founded in 1973 by Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert has been a leading light in the performance of Baroque and Classical music for for over 40 years. Under their present Artistic Director Harry Bicket and with distinguished guest artists they continue to perform with the passion, sophistication and technical mastery established at their creation.

Such is the commitment and passion that their players bring to every performance. Drawn not only from home-grown talent, The English Concert can boast a truly international cast of musicians. Soloists in their own right, and backed-up by scholarly knowledge of style and genre, the close-knit relationship between their musicians makes for a truly special blend of sound. This new recording features the talents of these soloists in performances of Concertii by Telemann, Marcello, Dall’Abaco, Tartini and Porpora.
Performance: ★★★★ Recording: ★★★★★ Here's that increasing rarity: A Baroque disc with no conceptual axe to grind, no over-arching theme - save for giving the members of The English Concert a concerto moment in the sun - and seemingly out to do little more than delight (which it does so in spades) - BBC Music Magazine [Harry] directs from the harpsichord, bringing both vitality and cohesion to the performances - Andrew Benson-Wilson A nice way to spend 70 minutes of your time - Gramophone

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Schubert Swansong

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

Christopher Glynn continues his series of late Schubert song cycles in English, joined by celebrated soloists Sir John Tomlinson, Sophie Bevan, Julian Bliss and Alec Frank-Gemmill.

Titled by the works first publisher following Schubert’s death, Swansong (Schwanengesang) D 957 sets sets the words of poets Ludwig Rellstab, Heinrich Heine and Johann Gabriel Seidl in songs that cover a variety of different emotional states. The lighthearted Love Message (Liebesbotschaft), with its rippling accompaniment, addresses a murmuring brook with the hope of true love. The bone-chilling Doppelgänger with its stark, slowly tolling chords, finds the protagonist crazed with a nocturnal vision of himself agonizing at the empty doorstep of his lost love. Renowned for his clear diction and powerful voice, Sir John Tomlinson brings his insight and nuance to these profound works.

Reminiscent of the scoring for The Shepherd on the Rock and composed in the same year, On the River (Auf dem Strom) combines soprano and horn in a setting of a poem by Ludwig Rellstab. Originally given to Beethoven who did not live long enough to set it, Schubert took up the words in a work that is a subtle homage to the composer.

The 1828 work The Shepherd on the Rock (Der Hirt auf dem Felsen) sets words by Wilhelm Müller and German playwright Helmina von Chézy, and was composed in gratitude to the soprano Anna Milder-Hauptmann. Here performed by Sophie Bevan and Julian Bliss, it tells the story of a shepherd lamenting the distance between him and his beloved before a reflection on loneliness and grief. The final section celebrates the arrival of spring in a hopeful conclusion.

The creamy clarity of both Alec Frank-Gemmill’s horn and Julian Bliss’s clarinet sound is a perfect foil for Sophie Bevan’s exquisite, rounded legato - BBC Music Magazine

Christopher Glynn’s playing is excellent throughout - Gramophone

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Resilience

Price range: £8.00 through £14.00

The Calidore Quartet present their first disc on Signum Records – a collection of quartets by Janáček, Prokofiev, Golijov and Mendelssohn.

The pieces were the products of four compelling personal narratives: an escape from the NAZI eastern offensive in WWII, a life caught in the crosshairs of a surge of violence in the Middle East, the sudden death of one’s closest friend and the struggle of being trapped in a loveless marriage. Felix Mendelssohn and Leoš Janáček turned to their art to find an outlet for their personal grief while Sergei Prokofiev and Osvaldo Golijov used their compositions to make sense of a world that was turned upside down by violent conflict.

Because of and despite these origins the works are imbued with emotional potency, and the quartet hope that that these works can provide “a message of hope because they illuminate the human potential to create beauty even in the darkest of circumstances.”
Superb young quartet presents a timely and thought-provoking programme - The Strad Precision needn't inhibit expression; these lively, intelligent performances of an attractive and thought-provoking programme offer compelling proof - Gramophone Superb, rhythmically alert playing, the players’ collective virtuosity always at the service of the music - The Arts Desk The Calidore Quartet successfully capture the emotional charge of this powerful work, bringing resilience to a suitably stirring close - BBC Music Magazine If the recording is comparable to what this admirable group displayed last week, the loud ovations after the concert were completely justified - Seen and Heard International Never do these players lose sight of the fact that the music, for all its violence and passion, should be a thing of beauty - MusicWeb International

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