Today's new releases include a live recording of Tippett's A Child of Our Time from the London Philharmonic Orchestra on their own label, Mozart's Idomeneo from Sir Simon Rattle in Munich (with Andrew Staples in the title-role and Magdalena Kožená as his son) on BR Klassik, Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto and Symphony No. 5 from Alessandro Carbonare, the Bergen Philharmonnic and Edward Gardner on Chandos, and an 'imaginary Schubert quintet' from Sandrine Piau and Quatuor Psophos on Alpha.
Mozart: Idomeneo
Andrew Staples (Idomeneo), Magdalena Kožená (Idamante), Sabine Devieilhe (Ilia), Elsa Dreisig (Elettra), Linard Vrielink (Arbace), Allan Clayton (High Priest of Neptune), Tareq Nazmi (Voice of the Oracle); Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
Idomeneo has long occupied a special place in Rattle's affections: preparing to conduct the opera at Glyndebourne back in 2003, he described it to The Guardian as 'the work in which Mozart shows he can do anything he wants...It is a kind of dark night of the soul.' This recording was made from concert-performances in Munich in December 2023, shortly after he took up the position of Chief Conductor.
Available Formats: 3 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto, Helios & Symphony No. 5
Alessandro Carbonare (clarinet), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
This third instalment of Gardner's Nielsen series from Bergen comprises Helios (written on a trip to Greece whilst the composer's sculptor wife Anne Marie was sketching the treasures of the Acropolis), the Clarinet Concerto which Nielsen wrote for his friend Aage Oxenvad in 1928, and the two-movement Fifth Symphony from the early 1920s. Previous volumes have been welcomed for their 'inner clarity and exemplary balance' (Gramophone on Symphony No. 4) and 'thrilling bursts of drama' (BBC Music Magazine on Pan and Syrinx).
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Schubert: Quintette Imaginaire
Sandrine Piau (soprano), Quatuor Psophos
A lifelong Schubert-lover, the French soprano has always been especially drawn to the composer's string quartets, and views this project as 'an imaginary quintet' in which her voice blends with the sonorities of the strings. The programme includes the posthumously-published Quartettsatz in C minor, the slow movement of the 'Death and the Maiden' Quartet, and Jacques Gandard's arrangements of 'Viola', 'Ganymed', 'Der Musensohn', 'Der Jüngling und der Tod', and 'Erlkönig'.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Tippett: A Child of Our Time
Nadine Benjamin (soprano), Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Kenneth Tarver (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone); London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Edward Gardner
Following a Gramophone Award-winning recording of The Midsummer Marriage and riveting accounts of the Piano Concerto (with Steven Osborne) and Symphony No. 2, Gardner and the LPO present Tippett's secular wartime oratorio, captured live at the Royal Festival Hall in November 2022. Reviewing the performance, The Arts Desk applauded 'Gardner’s mastery of the big-choir sound – with stupendous high-impact moments, but filigree detail as well', whilst the Evening Standard singled out the 'authentic colour' of the London Adventist Chorale and the 'stylish expressivity' of soprano Nadine Benjamin.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Campra: Requiem & Miserere
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Christie is a long-term champion of André Campra (1660-1744), whom he describes as 'a remarkable and very singular personality' who bridges the gap between Lully and Rameau; the Requiem is believed to have been composed in 1694, shortly after he took up the position of maître de musique at Notre-Dame de Paris, whilst the Miserere dates from his later years as sous-maître at the Chapelle royale de Versailles. The recording was made in 2023 to celebrate Christie's 79th birthday; reviewing the results this week, The Times noted that 'performances are as direct and heartfelt as you’d expect from Christie'.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Lindberg and Aho: Clarinet Concertos
Julian Bliss (clarinet), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Taavi Oramo
Bliss describes these concertos as 'two of the greatest of the 21st century' thanks to their combination of 'extreme virtuosity and beautiful, breathtaking writing'; in a four-star review this week, The Guardian judged the performances to be 'absolutely immaculate'. Lindberg's concerto was premiered by its dedicatee Kari Kriikku in 2002 and has been hailed as 'a brilliant blend of traditional and contemporary techniques' by the Los Angeles Times; Aho's work was commissioned by Martin Fröst in 2005 and received its first performance in London the following year, with Osmo Vänskä conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Chopin: Mazurkas, Vol. 1
Ingrid Fliter (piano)
The Argentinian pianist took the silver medal at the XIV International Chopin Piano Competition in 2000, and has remained devoted to the composer throughout her career: her discography includes a Gramophone Award-nominated recording of the concertos with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Jun Märkl, a set of the Nocturnes which impressed The Scotsman with its combination of 'fresh naivety and mature authority', and a disc of the Preludes which prompted The Telegraph to declare that 'Fliter understands these pieces from the inside'. This first of two volumes of Mazurkas includes the early Opp. 6 and 7, as well as the later sets Opp. 50, 59 and 63.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Henriëtte Bosmans: Cello Concertos 1 & 2 - Poème
Raphael Wallfisch (cello), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ed Spanjaard
Born in Amsterdam in 1895, Bosmans was the daughter of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's principal cellist (who died when she was a baby) and piano teacher Sara Benedicts. The two Cello Concertos were composed during the 1920s: No. 1 was dedicated to Marix Loevensohn (who took up the Principal Chair at the Concertgebouw after reports of his death in World War One proved to be false), whilst No. 2 was written for and premiered by cellist, conductor and future Resistance-member Frieda Belinfante, Bosmans's partner for seven years.
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
William Lawes: Lighten Mine Eies
Robin Pharo (viola da gamba), Ensemble Près de Votre Oreille
Formed by gambist Robin Pharo in 2017 and based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Ensemble Près de votre oreille ('close to your ear') has been praised by Fanfare for its 'rich sound and clarity' and 'thoughtful and reflective' interpretations of music by Marin Marais on Château de Versailles Spectacles, and now makes its debut on Harmonia with a programme dedicated to English composer, violist and Royalist soldier William Lawes (who died in the English Civil War). The repertoire includes 'Music, the master of thy art is dead' (an elegy for John Tomkins), 'O my Clarissa', and a selection of the 'Choice Psalmes put into musick' which Lawes compiled with his brother Henry.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Arvo Pärt: And I Heard a Voice…
Ene Salumäe (organ), Vox Clamantis, Jaan-Eik Tulve
Released to mark the Estonian composer's 90th birthday (which falls next Thursday), this album takes its title from a work which composed in memory of his 'good friend and supporter' Konrad Veem (who spent two decades as Archbishop of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Stockholm), and also includes the Nunc dimittis, O Holy Father Nicholas, the 7 Magnificat-Antiphons, Für Jan van Eyck, and the Kleine Litanei. Vox Clamantis and Tulve have worked closely with the composer for twenty-five years; their ECM New Series recording The Deer’s Cry was lauded by BBC Music Magazine as a 'grippingly authentic and superbly sung collection [which] may now be the finest single-disc introduction to Pärt’s music'.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mahler: Songs of Fate
Anna Lucia Richter (mezzo), Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Jordan de Souza
After warmly received albums of Schubert and Monteverdi as a soprano, Richter transitioned into the lyric mezzo fach during the lockdowns of 2020; reviewing her recent recording of Brahms Lieder (which earned her a nomination for Female Singer of the Year at the Opus Klassik Awards), BBC Music Magazine noted that she has cultivated 'a warmly sensual sound which is multi-dimensional without heaviness'. Back in 2021, Richter told Presto that she was particularly looking forward to exploring Mahler's song cycles once she'd settled into her new vocal identity: this album fulfils her dream of tackling Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Kindertotenlieder.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Rameau: Castor Et Pollux
Judith van Wanroij (Télaïre), Véronique Gens (Phébé), Reinoud van Mechelen (Castor), Tassis Christoyannis (Pollux); Orfeo Orchestra, Purcell Choir, György Vashegyi
Vashegyi presents Rameau's third opera in a new edition prepared by the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, based on the original 1737 version of the score (Rameau reworked the piece substantially for its first revival in 1754, jettisoning the original prologue altogether and crafting a new first act which more clearly outlined the backstory). The Hungarian conductor's Rameau recordings have been widely feted for their 'imagination and rhythmic vitality' (BBC Music Magazine on Les fêtes d'Hébé), 'thoroughly idiomatic direction' (Opera Magazine on Les Indes galantes), and 'fizzing inventiveness and sophisticated beauty' (Gramophone on Dardanus).
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
