SACD, Alia Vox (label)
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Beethoven Révolution Vol. II
RecommendedSymphonies 6 to 9
Sara Gouzy (soprano), Salome Fischer (alto), Mingjie Lei (tenor), Manuel Walser (baritone), Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Nacional de Catalunya, Jordi Savall
The performances were evolved over a series of ‘academies’ interrogating every aspect of the score. His interpretive decisions nonetheless feel organic rather than didactic…the finale of the... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, February 2022, Recording of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2022, Finalist - Orchestral
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Symphonic Music
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Building a Library, December 2022, Also Recommended - Beethoven 9
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Mozart Requiem
Rachel Redmond (soprano), Marianne Beate Kielland (mezzo-soprano), Mingjie Lei (tenor), Manuel Walser (bass), Le Concert Des Nations, La Cappela Nacional de Catalunya, Jordi Savall
A deep sense of urgency and inevitability characterises a thoroughly unsentimental account in which dry, clipped strings contrast with a richly powerful chorus. —
Awards:
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Record Review, 13th May 2023, Record of the Week
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International Classical Music Awards, 2024, Nominated - Choral
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Mozart: Serenades, Notturno in D major & Ein musikalischer Spass
RecommendedLe Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall
Savall sets some brisk tempos, particularly for the slow movement of Eine kleine Nachtmusik, but they're convincing. …it's vivid playing from everyone, well defined in outline and responding... —
Awards:
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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There’s real musicality here at the service of imaginative phrasing, with just enough added force to keep everything animated. A “Great” Symphony without longueurs is rare but this is one. —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2022, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Symphonic Music
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Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
Lina Johnson (soprano), Olivia Vermeulen (mezzo-soprano), Martin Platz (tenor), Manuel Walser (bass), La Capella Nacional de Catalunya, Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall
Vibrato and coloration of voices, solo and choral, are especially well matched with each other and with the instrumental resources. —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, December 2023, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Choral
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Mozart : Great Mass in C Minor
Giulia Bolcato (soprano), Elionor Martínez (soprano), Marianne Beate Kielland (mezzo-soprano), David Fischer (tenor), Matthias Winckhler (bass-baritone), Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Nacional de Catalunya, Jordi Savall
This is a thoughtful account of a complex, fragmented score. Savall and Guglielmi have prioritised the work's spiritual sincerity while preserving its grandeur, bringing a satisfying coherence... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, March 2026, Choral Choice
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Catalonia’s resonant Château de Cardona sometimes makes the bassline heavy, the vigorous timpanist often forgets the crucial Beethovenian difference between one f and two, and the editor clipped... —
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Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross (Orchestral version, 1786)
Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall
Savall shows an awareness not only of the music's sense of drama, but also of its nobility of expression, solemnity and imaginative use of sonority. This is as good a performance of the original... —
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Haydn: The Seasons
Lina Johnson (soprano), Tilman Lichdi (tenor),
Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Jordi Savall
the orchestra is one of the principal joys of this set: from the gloriously transparent string section to the slender-toned Classical-era clarinet, deliciously clucking oboe and all-important... —
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The strings have a particularly inviting elastic, ‘gutty’ sound, free of the sparkle and sharp attack of metal-strung instruments. The mellow-toned period woodwind are particularly beautiful,... —
