Choral, Handel (composer)
-
Special offer. Handel: Theodora
RecommendedLisette Oropesa (Theodora), Joyce DiDonato (Irene), Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian (Didymus), Michael Spyres (Septimius), John Chest (Valens), Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev
This is now the benchmark Theodora; it is optimally cast, dramatically intense and luminously beautiful. Its world-class principals use their fine vocal qualities to deepen their characters.... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 28th October 2022
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2022
-
BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2022, Recording of the Month
-
Sunday Times, 10 Best Classical Albums of 2022
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2023, Winner - Choral
-
Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Female Singer of the Year (Oropesa & DiDonato)
-
Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Male Singer of the Year (Spyres)
-
Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Conductor of the Year
-
-
Special offer. Handel: Messiah
Hilary Cronin (soprano), Helen Charlston (mezzo), Alexander Chance, Nathan Mercieca (countertenors), Guy Cutting (tenor), Frederick Long, Edward Grint (bass-baritones), Irish Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Peter Whelan
My spirits were uplifted almost throughout the recording. A current of gentle zephyrs refreshes every bar of the music...Complementing the instrumental vitality is the invigorating choral singing... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2026, Editor's Choice
-
BBC Music Magazine, May 2026, Choral Choice
-
-
Special offer. Handel: Samson
RecommendedJoshua Ellicott (tenor), Sophie Bevan(soprano), Fflur Wyn (soprano), Mary Bevan (soprano), Jess Dandy (contralto), Hugo Hymas (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass), Vitali Rozynko (bass-baritone)
Dunedin Consort, John Butt
Butt has created the best Samson ever...These choral forces make for a vibrancy unique among Samson recordings…Butt’s deep grasp of both Handel’s rhetoric and of large-scale structure turns... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2019
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2019, Nominee - Baroque Vocal
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2019, Editor's Choice
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2019, Critics' Choice
-
Gramophone Awards, 2020, Finalist - Choral
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Choral
-
-
An English Coronation, 1902-1953
RecommendedEdward VII, George V, George VI, Elizabeth II
Gabrieli, Paul McCreesh
Some may find the extensive spoken liturgy excessive but such is Simon Russell Beale’s compelling delivery that the sheer beauty of the words offers a musical diversion of a different kind.... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, June 2019, Editor's Choice
-
Presto Editor's Choice, May 2019
-
Diapason d’Or, September 2019, Nouveauté
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2019
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2019
-
Limelight Magazine Recordings of the Year, 2019, Nominated - Vocal
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2019, Nominee - Choral
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2019, Critics' Choice
-
Gramophone Awards, 2020, Finalist - Choral
-
-
A thoughtful assembly of music depicting affliction and repentance on the one hand and joy and desire on the other. The recording finds Sabine Devieilhe on sparkling form. Bach and Handel do... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2021, Recording of the Month
-
Presto Editor's Choice, November 2021
-
BBC Music Magazine, January 2022, Choral & Song Choice
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Baroque Vocal
-
-
Each member of Jonathan Cohen's vocal lineup is a Baroque specialist...Each anthem begins with an instrumental Sonata which the 11-piece orchestra delivers with fine despatch. —
Awards:
-
BBC Music Magazine, September 2025, Choral Choice
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2026, Nominated - Baroque Vocal
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2026, Shortlisted - Choral
-
-
Ardent, brilliant, stately: mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey probes the inner states of the mythical Cretan princess Ariadne…Cohen adds hugely to these performances, in the Haydn especially. Cohen... —
Awards:
-
Record Review, 14th March 2020, Record of the Week
-
BBC Music Magazine, April 2020, Choral & Song Choice
-
Gramophone Awards, 2020, Finalist - Recital
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
-
-
In this dazzling album, Sandrine Piau crowns her legacy as a Baroque prima donna...her informed additions subvert the original melodies and unleash a ferocious vocalism...Correas and the band... —
Awards:
-
Presto Editor's Choice, January 2022
-
BBC Music Magazine, March 2022, Opera Choice
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Baroque Vocal
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2023, Nominated - Vocal
-
-
Special offer. Handel: Italian cantatas
RecommendedSabine Devieilhe (soprano), Léa Desandre (mezzo)
Le Concert d'Astrée, Emmanuelle Haïm (harpsichord, organ and conductor)
This production is a delight throughout…Haïm retains control by preparing both the scores and the sopranos’ ornaments, her vision giving this carefully wrought performance a fiery intensity,... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
-
Presto Editor's Choice, November 2018
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2018, Recording of the Month
-
BBC Music Magazine, February 2019, Choral & Song Choice
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2020, Finalist - Vocal
-
-
This is perfect ground for Lindsey and Cohen, both extremely accomplished and transformative performers of Baroque music...Her extraordinary vocal evocations are complemented throughout by the... —
Awards:
-
Presto Editor's Choice, May 2021
-
Gramophone Magazine, July 2021, Editor's Choice
-
BBC Music Magazine, September 2021, Opera Choice
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Baroque Vocal
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2022, Shortlisted - Vocal
-