Les Arts Florissants
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Special offer. Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea
Sonya Yoncheva (Poppea), Kate Lindsey (Nerone), Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Cognitive dissonance reigns as gorgeous music engulfs a drama about moral implosion. —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2019, Opera Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2020, Nominee – Baroque Vocal
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2020, Nominee – Conductor of the Year
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J. S. Bach: A Life in Music Vol. 1
RecommendedArnstadt & Mühlhausen (1703-1708), Early Cantatas
Paul Agnew (tenor), Les Arts Florissants (early music ensemble), Miriam Allan (soprano), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Edward Grint, Maarten Engeltjes, Benjamin Alard (early keyboard instruments), Nicolas Kuntzelmann
With just one or two to a part, each musician is a leader here. The purity of the singers’ straight tones and the immediacy and depth of their individual reactions to lexical meaning are bracing,... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 5th April 2024
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Baroque Vocal
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Sunday Times, 20 Best Classical Albums of 2024
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There are some delightfully sparkling and engaging displays here...recordings of Monteverdi's very early madrigals are rare and this surpasses some...if not all. —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2015, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2016, Winner - Baroque Vocal
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Gesualdo: Madrigali, Libri Quinto & Sesto
Les Arts Florissants (early music ensemble), Paul Agnew (tenor)
Here, the singers zone in on Gesualdo’s final two anthologies (perhaps the rawest of all) with their usual crystalline clarity. —
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, Finalist - Early Music
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Gramophone Magazine, May 2023, Recording of the Month
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International Classical Music Awards, 2024, Nominated - Early Music
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Vivaldi: The Great Venetian Mass
Les Arts Florissants (early music ensemble), Paul Agnew (tenor), Sophie Karthäuser (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano), Renata Pokupić (mezzo-soprano)
The whole is expressively shaped by Paul Agnew, whose supple moulding of the musical lines and vivid contrasts of tempos serve, above all, to highlight the words...In sum, a creative idea that... —
Awards:
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Record Review, 25th June 2022, Record of the Week
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BBC Music Magazine, September 2022, Choral & Song Choice
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Nei Giardini d'Amore: Baroque Arias For Two Alti
RecommendedCarlo Vistoli, Hugh Cutting (countertenors), Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Carlo Vistoli brings both pathos and rage to Medea's vehement outpourings...Equally compelling is Hugh Cutting's interpretation of Vivaldi's Cessate, omai cessate. His youthful countertenor... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, September 2025, Vocal Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
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New. Bach: Köthen, A Life in Music, Vol. 3
Les Arts Florissants, Benjamin Alard (harpischord), Paul Agnew
This instalment manages to say something engaging about music that sits at the core of the canon; no mean feat. —
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New. Haydn: Harmoniemesse
Mélissa Petit (soprano), Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano), Bastien Rimondi (tenor), Andreas Wolf (bass-baritone), Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
What impresses in this recording is the restrained playfulness with which Haydn - and Christie - utilise these forces. The sprightly joy of the Gloria is especially infectious, set against the... —
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Campra's sacred music is built on a solid Renaissance understanding, it seems, and Christie knows this inasmuch as he finds a tempo that is at once tenderly rolling yet also stretches into eternity. —
Awards:
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International Classical Music Awards, 2026, Nominated - Baroque Vocal
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Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232
RecommendedKatherine Watson (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Reinoud Van Mechelen (tenor) & André Morsch (baritone)
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
This account was recorded ‘live’ at the Paris Philharmonie and there’s a sheen of polished spontaneity to it… Tempos are brisk and breezy…and Christie puts the ballet shoes on Bach, so that... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 30th March 2018
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Record Review, 17th February 2018, Recording of the Week
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The Guardian Classical Albums of the Year, 2018
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