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With a title inspired by Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ (the opening scenes of which were filmed on the church steps), ‘Midnight at St Etienne du Mont’ explores the music of Duruflé, who was Titular Organist there from 1929 until his death in 1986. As well as Duruflé’s own Suite Op. 5, at the centre of the programme is the premiere recording of David Briggs’ Le Tombeau de Duruflé – a brilliant work built on plainsong themes that Duruflé so loved himself. British-Australian organist and choral conductor Joseph Nolan has been hailed by ABC Classic FM as “an extraordinary musician”, BBC Radio 3 CD Review as a “virtuoso”, and Limelight Magazine, Australia as a “remarkable musician”. In 2016 he was awarded the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government for services to French music. ★★★★★ A recording much to be prized as much for its intelligent planning and unusual repertoire as for the musicianship Joseph Nolan displays throughout - The Organ ★★★★ The entire programme is well chosen, expertly played, on an appropriate instrument, and recorded in good quality sound. It deserves to be heard by a wide audience and this 4* release is certainly in the running for our Collector’s Choice award next month - iClassical Certainly a significant release! - Cathedral Music Magazine It is easy to imagine being shut into the church through the night luxuriating in this evocative music - Lark A brilliant work built on plainsong themes that Durufle so loved himself - Northern Echo -
Wells Cathedral Choir under Matthew Owens explore and celebrate the life and works of the late British composer Sir John Tavener (1944- 2013), in a new programme centred around his Missa Wellensis The disc features several world-premiere recordings of works commissioned especially for the choir, including his Preces and Responses and They are all gone into the world of light.
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The Mozartists continue their series of Mozart Operas on Signum with Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto, K. 87 (74a). As well as the complete opera, this 4CD digipak release includes a bonus disc featuring the original versions of a number of arias from the opera that Mozart subsequently changed in the final version.This splendid achievement, a genuine rival to Christophe Rousset's star-studded 1999 Decca version, is given added documentary value by the inclusion of a fourth CD containing the original versions of eight arias the teenage Mozart changed at the behest of his cast - Opera Magazine Nobody has done more to open our ears to the seeds of genius in the young Mozart than Ian Page, by the simple expedient of taking his early music seriously - Opera Now This performance is as committed and engaging if you could wish for; the hours – almost four if you include those extras – fly by. It’s almost budget price as well with essay texts and translations - BBC Radio 3 Record Review Ian Page nurtures a performance that crackles, beguiles, thrills and moves by turns exactly as Mozart's opera requires - Gramophone This excellent recording is probably the one that Mozart completists will want to have - Daily Telegraph -
"As technology becomes ever more inextricable with our existence, it has evolved the art around us. But to me music has stayed quite binary here - either traditional instruments or synthesised textures - sometimes layered together, but still separate. What if we could evolve more seamlessly between different sounds? Production allows us to do things we couldn’t in the concert hall, and over the last few years I’ve been experimenting with transforming sounds, developing a series called Morphations - of which Evolutionary Etude is the first. Recorded in 2023 with the brilliant violinist Fenella Humphreys, the Philharmonia and Tenebrae choir, and collaborating with Jon Opstad on synth design, Evolutionary Etude takes the form of a traditional classical arpeggiated study, but where the violin (and at times the orchestra) actually evolves into a synth and back again. I hope it feels like something you’ve never quite heard before!" - Rebecca Dale -
The first release in a new partnership between Classical Opera and Signum Records begins with Mozart’s remarkable sacred singspiel Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, composed when he was just eleven. The music is full of tender beauty, dynamism and descriptive flair, and the young composer’s innate sense of understanding and sympathy for the human condition already shines through.
The story follows the efforts of The Spirit of Christianity (Andrew Kennedy) – aided by Divine Justice (Cora Burggraaf ) and Divine Mercy (Sarah Fox) – to win back the heart of a Lapsed Christian (Allan Clayton) as he lies fast asleep. In opposition to this however stands The Spirit of Worldliness (Sophie Bevan), who urges the Christian to forget what The Spirit shows him and to follow her pleasure-seeking philosophies. As Justice and Mercy withdraw to observe, The Spirit of Christianity seeks to win back the lapsed Christian, but will this lost soul be able to resist the temptations of indulgence and short-term satisfaction that Worldliness offers?
After listening to this recording of such a rarity, I began to wonder whether this work has ever had a finer performance than this one. We'll never know what Mozart's original team sounded like, but he'd have been lucky to have assembled a team as skilful, well balanced and neatly contrasted as this one - MusicWeb International -
The Mozartists continue their recording cycle of the complete operas of Mozart with Il Re Pastore – a youthful work that shines with the richness of its orchestration, its inexhaustible melodic inspiration and its dazzlingly ingenious score.Disc of the Month: A major reason for the success of the series to date is the strong sense of ensemble Ian Page creates among his singers, with many of whom he works regularly...beautifully paced and sung, the ensemble is both directed and sung to near perfection - Opera Magazine Effortlessly entertaining...so much zip and zest from the players - BBC Radio 3 CD Review Classical Opera [treat] this work seriously on its own terms, and they reveal its many beauties with a touch of love - Music Web International Performed with energy and spirit by Ian Page and his lively forces - The Sunday Times Wonderful music so beautifully performed - Early Music Review Mozart's delightful early opera comes up fresh as new paint in this fleet, beautifully recorded new set - Classical Music Magazine It is hard to imagine hearing another performance as convivial and life-affirming as this - Gramophone -
The Mozartists present an unprecedented survey of Mozart’s childhood stay in London from 1764-65. The wide-ranging programme includes Mozart’s remarkable first symphony (composed when he was eight years old), along with his two other London symphonies and his first concert aria. The repertoire also explores music that was being performed in London during Mozart’s stay, including works by J. C. Bach, Thomas Arne, Abel, Pescetti, Perez, George Rush and William Bates, many of which have not previously been recorded. The album features an outstanding line-up of soloists comprising sopranos Ana Maria Labin, Anna Devin, Rebecca Bottone, Martene Grimson and Eleanor Dennis, mezzo- soprano Helen Sherman, tenors Ben Johnson and Robert Murray and harpsichordist Steven Devine. The album was recorded live during a weekend of performances at London’s Milton Court in February 2015 as part of the opening season of MOZART 250, and includes over a dozen world premiere recordings. Presto Classical's Top 100 Recordings of 2018 This ingenious “musical exploration of Mozart’s childhood visit to London” interweaves three early symphonies and the concert aria K21 with music performed in the city during the family’s stay - The Sunday Times Vigorous vocal music by Thomas Arne, a dazzling harpsichord concerto from JC Bach, and a Carl Friedrich Abel symphony as tastily rich as a chocolate éclair - The Times Ian Page with his handpicked orchestra of around 20 players, is a dab hand at this sort of stuff - Classic FM Page draws lively and engaging performances from his orchestra, and the results certainly charm, whilst the programming ensures that there is much of interest as it illuminates musical life in 1760s London so wonderfully - Planet Hugill As ever, Page draws lively and engaging performances from his orchestra, and the results certainly charm - The Epoch Times -
Julian Bliss performs the Clarinet Concertos of Mozart and Nielsen – often thought of as the two greatest such works in the repertoire: twin examples of what can be achieved by composers who have been truly inspired to write for the clarinet, using its uniquely expressive qualities to produce enduring and comprehensively masterly compositions. Alongside these Julian Bliss presents two of his own clarinet arrangements of two Mozart arias, Der Liebe himmlisches Gefu?hl, K. 119 and Non che non sei capace, K. 419. The brilliant Julian Bliss continues to demonstrate his considerable talent ... A youthful addition to the many excellent versions of the Mozart already available, and a fine introduction to the Nielsen for those who are not familiar with it - Classic FM Highly recommended - Northern Echo Bliss integrates the bottom register smoothly, in a performance matching that of the Nielsen in flair, intimacy and spontaneity - BBC Music Magazine -
Following on from his JS Bach Complete Organ Works collection performed on the organ at Trinity College Cambridge, David Goode returns with an album of organ works by WA Mozart. It is well known that Mozart highly esteemed the organ as an instrument (for example, his famous ‘King of Instruments’ remark) and enjoyed improvising at length. However, this sadly did not translate into writing for the instrument. Organist David Goode explores these works, and those which even may not have been intended for organ, and discusses in his programme notes how best to render them for two hands and feet, and how to register them suitably. “His unquestionable intellectual affinity with the music is matched by energy and elegance. This is a recording not to miss.” - Organists' Review, ★★★★ - “...There are charming little pieces ranging from the early Londoner Skizzenbuch to the late gem of an Andante in F, K616. The two big works are impressively played, making the most of the neo-classical Metzler organ at Trinity College, Cambridge” - BBC Music Magazine ★★★★ "Goode's undertaking is a success in every respect, since, in addition to the quality of the performances, it shows us a Mozart who, even in timbres not usually associated with him, maintains his sonic universe...A recording that is worthwhile for Mozart fans, of course, but also for those curious about the instrument." - Ritmo -
Under the direction of Margaret Faultless the OAE shine on these new recordings of Mozart’s horn Concertos, featuring sublime performances by Roger Montgomery on the natural (valveless) horn. As well as lesser-known gems of Mozart’s horn repertoire, at the centre of the collection comes the lyrical fourth horn Concerto (K.495), featuring thrilling fanfares and brilliant dialogue between the solo instrument and orchestra.
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Julian Bliss joins the Carducci String Quartet in performances of two seminal works – Weber’s Clarinet Quintet in B flat Major, Op. 34 and Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K.581.
Performance ★★★★ Recording ★★★★ Bliss tackles the score with a piercingly pure, vibrato less tone - BBC Music Magazine Aesthetically sensitive and technically excellent... this is a performance that carries with it a weight of authority from all musicians - Classical Ear -
Continuing the company’s critically acclaimed complete cycle of Mozart operas on Signum Classics is the release of Zaide. One of very few of Mozart’s works to be written without a commission, Mozart completed fifteen numbers before abandoning the work to fulfil the commission for Idomeneo. These include two searing melodramas, some superb ensembles and a sequence of arias including the celebrated “Ruhe sanft”.Allan Clayton brings energy and definition to his singing… Excellent sound - BBC Music Magazine -
The central thread linking all the works featured in this recording is their assimilation of various elements of Jewish music, whether directly stemming from Chassidic folk traditions, or relating to material directly associated with religious worship. Each composer responds to this music in different ways, attempting in varying degrees to integrate it within the structural conventions of a Western European musical mainstream. By doing so, the music projects a multitude of emotions and feelings. “There is not enough music which highlights and celebrates the diverse background of composers and the fact that this album focuses on Jewish musical traditions makes it a hugely important progression in how the classical music industry is moving into a more culturally representative industry.” - Jocelyn Lightfoot, Managing Director of LCO ★★★★★ Performance ★★★★★ Recording "What a difference great playing can make!...it presents a very satisfying programme, framed by some of the richest cello playing I've heard from Simca Heled…It's an important release, well documented by Erik Levi in the booklet, and flawlessly done" - BBC Music Magazine "A most enjoyable listening experience" - AUSTA National Journal -
Alfonso Ferrabosco, born in Greenwich to an Italian composer father of the same name, was the pre-eminent viol player of the early 17th century, and his lyra viol publication mostly for solo viol is the largest, most important & technically challenging publication for viol for nearly a century. It was published in the same year at the Shakespeare Sonnets, and may share a dedicatee, in Henry Wriothsley, Earl of Southampton. Ferrabosco worked extensively with Ben Jonson on his plays and masks, in some of which Shakespeare acted. The lyra viol was an English invention of only a few year before this work, and it had become bit of a craze, with many works published in the first 15 years of the century. It’s first referred to in a play by Ben Jonson in 1599, Cynthia’s Revels, and at this time probably had sympathetic metal strings running underneath the bridge and through a hollow fingerboard.Lyra-viol music is really the beginning of the journey that ends in the Bach suites for ‘cello and violin. "These are intimate performances of intimate music, yes; but the writing and the playing as such that chordal and contrapuntal textures, beefy bass lines and flute like cantabiles just about do the job of an entire consort of viols…There are some juicy pizzicato passages redolent of the lute…[Morikawa] her stylish duetting is a welcome contribution to this enjoyable release" - Gramophone ★★★★ Performance ★★★★ Recording "The preludes and dance numbers are played with vigour and stateliness, and with just the right amount of rustic edge. Boothby also brings out the melancholic quality of Ferrabosco's music - a style that was highly fashionable in late-Elizabethan and early-Jacobean England" - BBC Music Magazine RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH "He has also made a number of excellent recordings of music for solo viol…Now we have a very impressive disc…Just how beautiful and subtle such music can be is evidenced perfectly on this disc" - Musicweb International -
One of the pinnacles of nineteenth-century pianism, Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition broke new frontiers in its writing for the piano through its use of ringing bell-like sonorities, dramatic juxtaposition of registers and dynamics, its approach to resonance, percussive octaves and rapid hand-alternations, and sheer grandeur of sound. Introducing new ideas about virtuosity that owe much to orchestral thinking in the ways the full range of the piano’s tone-colours are explored, this work requires immense stamina through combining great finger dexterity with unbridled power. Mussorgsky’s masterpiece is coupled here with works by Ravel and Messiaen – composers who were indebted to the innovations of their Russian predecessor. Miroirs comprises a set of five pieces evoking contrasting moods and pianistic characters. Far from being Impressionist – a movement with which Ravel had little real affiliation –the ‘Mirrors’ of the title suggests more Symbolist associations in that the individual pieces explore ambiguities between supposed reality and ‘reflected’ simulation. Ravel was particularly fascinated by a line from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: ‘the eye sees not itself, but by reflection, by some other things.’ An unusually non-descriptive work for Messiaen, without religious references or bird- song, Cantéyodjayâ is about musical process and is constructed as a mosaic-like collage in which a jaunty rhythmic refrain is contrasted with a multiplicity of contrasting ideas, many of which are re-workings from his gargantuan Turangalîla-Symphonie. ★★★★ An absolute humdinger - The Daily Mail Donohoe's brightly faceted interpretation [of Cantéyodjayâ], whose chiselled textures and sharply defined lines make this, for me, by some distance the highlight of the disc - Gramophone This recording confirms Donohoe's reputation as one of the foremost pianists of today, and comes highly recommended - The Northern Echo -
Mark Williams leads the Choir of the Jesus College Cambridge through an evocative selection of choral works inspired in varying ways by the songs of Solomon. Songs of love have been written from the earliest records of human existence. None are more passionately ecstatic than the Song of Solomon, which occupies a unique place in the Holy Bible in both style and content. It contains lyric poems of love and courtship, as might have been sung at Jewish weddings. For Christians, these poems speak to the beauty of the union of Christ and his ‘bride’, the Church. The present collection presents a diverse group of choral works written between the 16th century and the present day, with most inspired by this unique sacred text. Under Mark Williams direction, the choirs make a clear elegant and focussed sound, and clarity is very much the watchword in the performances - MusicWeb International This CD features both the Jesus College Choir (top line women) and the all-male Chapel Choir. The two sounds are well differentiated, the fresh clarity of the boys contrasting with the more mature sounds of the young women - Choir and Organ Superlative singing - Northern Echo