Choral, Oratorios & Passions, Handel (composer)
-
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
-
-
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
-
-
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
-
-
Handel: Semele
RecommendedLouise Alder (Semele), Hugo Hymas (Jupiter), Lucile Richardot (Juno/Ino), Carlo Vistoli (Athamas), Gianluca Buratto (Somnus/Cadmus), Emily Owen (Iris), Angela Hicks (Cupid), Peter Davoren (Apollo)
English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Alder is riveting in the title role as she mutates from soft seductress to vain brat to crushed victim, applying a range of styles to develop her character...Richardot’s intensity equals Alder’s,... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, September 2020, Editor's Choice
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd October 2020
-
BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2020, Opera Choice
-
The Times Records of the Year, 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: La Resurrezione
RecommendedLucy Crowe (Angel), Sophie Bevan (Mary Magdalene), Iestyn Davies (Mary Cleophas), Hugo Hymas (John the Evangelist), Ashley Riches (Lucifer)
The English Concert, Harry Bicket
La Resurrezione is one of Handel’s greatest works, and Harry Bicket has gifted us its greatest recording...Bicket and his stellar cast embrace Handel’s radical approach, turning sacred figures... —
Awards:
-
Record Review, 2nd April 2022, Record of the Week
-
BBC Music Magazine, July 2022, Recording of the Month
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2022
-
-
The wealth of virtues in Coote's recital include her intuitive sense of apposite, well-proportioned ornamentation and a sure feeling for just tempo...Occasionally I found her vibrato and vocal... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2014
-
Opera, November 2014, Recording of the Month
-
-
The Sound of the Trumpet
RecommendedPeter Hurford (organ), Alan Stringer (trumpet), Gwynne Howell (bass), John Wilbraham (trumpet), Philip Jones (trumpet), Leslie Pearson (organ), The Michael Laird Brass Ensemble, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, London Festival Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner, Elgar...
Awards:
-
Penguin Guide, Rosette
-
-
Special offer. In War & Peace
RecommendedHarmony Through Music
Joyce DiDonato (mezzo)
Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev
Though the top of her voice is wiry under pressure, her coloratura is tightly sprung, her diction is flawless, and her phrasing of the often underrated poetry is sympathetic and sophisticated…Il... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, November 2016, Editor's Choice
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2016
-
Gramophone Awards, 2017, Winner - Recital
-
ECHO Klassik Awards, 2017, Winner
-
Grammy Awards, 60th Awards (2017), Nominee - Classical Solo Vocal Album
-
Opera, January 2017, Recording of the Month
Purchase product
Downloads
Audio formats guide -