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Chants d' Espagne, Op. 232

Al Goranski

Classical - Released February 7, 2023 | Al Goranski

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Nuits

Véronique Gens

Classical - Released April 3, 2020 | Alpha Classics

Hi-Res Booklet
As the symbiosis between the art of the poet and that of the composer, the French mélodie became the jewel of the salons of the ‘Belle Époque’. By placing a string quartet and a piano around the singer, Chausson’s Chanson perpétuelle, Lekeu’s Nocturne and Fauré’s La Bonne Chanson oscillate between chamber musical intimacy and orchestral ambition. Alongside these famous pioneering pieces, this programme devised by the Palazzetto Bru Zane champions a return to the art of transcription, so popular in the nineteenth century, with the aim of expanding the repertory for voice, strings and piano in order to unearth some forgotten treasures. Hence Hahn, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, La Tombelle, Ropartz, Louiguy and Messager all appear in a programme whose guiding thread is the emotions of nocturnal abandonment: the charms of twilight, the trajectory of dreams, the terror of nightmare or the exhilaration of festive occasions. Alexandre Dratwicki has made these arrangements in the style of the nineteenth century. Appropriately enough, the programme ends with La Vie en rose, for this music offers a kaleidoscope of all the colours of human feeling. The texture of solo strings and piano sets Véronique Gens’s incomparable storytelling artistry in a new ligh. © Alpha Classics
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Isaac Albéniz: Iberia (for Solo piano & Orchestrated Version) & Other Piano Works

Alicia de Larrocha

Classical - Released June 1, 2013 | Praga Digitals

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason
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Chants Anarchistes de la Guerre D'espagne (Cantos Anarquistas de la Guerra Civil) Española)

Frente Popular

Military Music - Released August 15, 1936 | International Music Corporation Ltd.

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Chanson bohème

Adrien La Marca

Classical - Released October 29, 2021 | La Dolce Volta

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This is the story of two young musicians who met during the Coronavirus lockdown, of all things. Daniel Hope invited the French violist Adrien La Marca to appear on his Arte programme "Hope@home" last December. For the first time, his duo partner was the German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken. And already the idea was born: why not work together on a new project that transcends the frontiers of countries and musical genres? The result was a new programme featuring classical music, French traditional music, film music and chansons, which the pair have now recorded... At the heart of the recording are the Albumblätter of the Bohemian-German composer Hans Sitt, a violist and contemporary of Johannes Brahms. These "album leaves" are masterpieces of salon music that are far too rarely found in concert programmes. Alongside them are other little gems by Antonín Dvořák, Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky and Brahms himself, but also French delicacies by Francis Poulenc and Erik Satie. More modern repertory is represented by Frank Bridge, Nadia Boulanger and Philip Glass. The two famous chansons, Hubert Giraud’s Sous le ciel de Paris and of course Aznavour’s La Bohème, exude a special charm. An album offering profundity, surprising associations, yet also a typically "bohemian" light-heartedness that enabled the two artists – but not only them! – to forget the dreariness of concert-deprived times. © La Dolce Volta
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Oblivion

Astor Piazzolla

Tango - Released December 15, 1994 | eOne Music International Classics

A slightly older release from Astor Piazzolla on the old Atoll label. A number of tracks feature Jose Angel Trelles singing, along with the band that Piazzolla had put together. The tangos are, as always, perfection (this is what Piazzolla did, and he did it very well). There are some relative rarities here, such as "Jeanne Y Paul" and "Olhos de Resaca." among others. The orchestration can become a bit too dense from time to time (such as on "Oblivion 2"), but the craftsmanship is still generally superb. In general, this album contains works that are somewhat denser than Piazzolla's usually sparse style, and perhaps at a lower tempo than much of his work. The vocal work by Trelles is reminiscent in ways of Horacio Ferrer's work in the Maria de Buenos Aires opera (and indeed, a few of the songs Trelles sings are from the opera), and in many ways simply similar to a flamenco singer. The album is perhaps more rare than much of Piazzolla's work, which has in large part been re-released, but it may be worth the effort to find for a collector. For newcomers, a multitude of other albums would stand in rather better as an introduction. © TiVo
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Chants et rythmes d'Orient, Vol. 4 & 5

Alain Kremski

Classical - Released January 1, 1989 | naïve classique

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Rêves d'Espagne

Hervé Billaut

Classical - Released September 10, 2021 | Eloquentia

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Chants de la guerre d'Espagne

Cobla De Barcelone

World - Released November 23, 2017 | Le Chant du Monde

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Abdel Rahman El Bacha: Arabesques

Abdel Rahman El Bacha

Classical - Released February 9, 2018 | Mirare

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Ellipses

Anastasia Kobekina

Duets - Released June 10, 2022 | Mirare

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Anastasia Kobekina suggests the history of the cello through ellipses, jumps in time between pieces from the 18th century, among the very first written for this instrument alone (Boccherini, Fesch, Galliard), and others from our time (Thierry Escaich, Jules Matton) which draw their writing processes and their sound palettes from the ancient repertoire. Whether it is a question of nostalgia, sometimes ironic, of homage or of intellectual and artistic transmission between composers, the compositions for cello are never born ex-nihilo. By returning to the sources of the Baroque era, composers write the present and the future of the cello. Anastasia Kobekina blurs the boundaries by building indescribable bridges between their so diverse writings. © Mirare
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Mademoiselle Duval: Les Génies ou les Caractères de l'Amour

Camille Delaforge

Classical - Released February 9, 2024 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Passacalle de la Follie

Christina Pluhar

Classical - Released February 17, 2023 | Warner Classics

Hi-Res Booklet
The music on this album by countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, keyboardist Christina Pluhar, and Pluhar's ensemble L'Arpeggiata might qualify as obscure, with composers ranging from the barely moderately known (Robert de Visée, Marin Marais) to all but unheard-of, except by specialists. Pluhar's aim might indeed be called specialized; she seeks to illustrate the role of the passacaglia in the French air de cour ("court air") of the 17th century. The air de cour is not a common subject for recordings in itself beyond French Baroque circles, but surprise, surprise; this is an album of great general appeal that landed on classical best-seller lists in early 2023. The key to its appeal is that Pluhar and Jaroussky cast an entirely new light on the music of the French court, which has the reputation of having the mood of a closed-in hothouse. The perception of the instrumental music of the era comes from the gloomy rooms of the film Tous les matins du monde: that of the vocal pieces from the recollections of anyone who has visited Versailles. The perceptions are not incorrect, but what Pluhar and Jaroussky show is that the French tradition was bending under breezes coming from the south in the form of the passacaglia, here given its original Spanish name of passacalle. This dance, as it did elsewhere, introduced virtuosity into the French instrumental tradition, and there are several impressive works by de Visée here, handled confidently by members of L'Arpeggiata. Even a vocal piece like Michel Lambert's Ma bergère est tendre et fidèle, with its conventional shepherdess text, takes on a new sensuousness. All the pieces are passacaglias or closely related to them, yet the variety of treatments ensures that the program never drags. Jaroussky is the star draw here, though in truth, it is Pluhar's show, and she lives up to her reputation for delivering compelling programs.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Messiaen : L'œuvre pour orgue, Vol. 2

Louis Thiry

Classical - Released March 1, 1972 | La Dolce Volta

Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or - 4F de Télérama - Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros - Choc de Classica
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Marin Marais: Folies d'Espagne, La Rêveuse & Other Works

Jean-Guihen Queyras

Duets - Released January 27, 2023 | harmonia mundi

Hi-Res Booklet
It is hard to shake the feeling that Alexandre Tharaud and Jean-Guihen Queyras are committing a radical crime of lèse-majesté here. However, this is soon forgotten after you hear the first bars of their new album. They are understandably enthralled with Marin Marais’ fabulous music, and have thus decided to put their own spin on it by transcribing it for their own instruments: a modern piano and cello.This joyful transgression is in keeping with the interpretations from the beginning of the last century, when Fritz Kreisler and his peers were not afraid to play—or even pastiche—the music they loved without any concern for historical accuracy. These two musicians, on the other hand, are ‘historically informed’. They’ve listened to Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Jordi Savall, Ton Koopman and Hopkinson Smith whilst recreating Marin Marais’ music in their own way, adapting it to instruments that would have been unknown to him.Under their nimble fingers, ‘Les Folies d’Espagne’ becomes a frantic dance, ‘Le Badinage’ sounds like something straight out of a Watteau painting, and ‘Opération de la taille’ is almost humorous. Here, Alexandre Tharaud and Jean-Guihen Queyras share their love for subtle and refined music, speaking to listeners on a level that goes beyond that of a mere reconstruction. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Poétesses symphoniques

Orchestre national de Metz

Symphonies - Released January 27, 2023 | La Dolce Volta

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or - 4F de Télérama
The revival of French music by women has proceeded more slowly than in Britain or the U.S., but this release by the Orchestre National de Metz under conductor David Reiland seems likely to change that. The works involved are all engaging, at the very least. All are by composers who also worked in smaller forms; it is especially valuable to have performances of their orchestral works, and A Little Summer Suite by Betsy Jolas here receives its world premiere. The first three works come from the transition from late Romanticism to the modern era. The symphonic poem Andromède by Augusta Holmès will please those who wish Wagner had written more orchestral music, and the Femmes de légende of Mel Bonis are compact and evocative pieces, more general portraits with Eastern-style elements than programmatic tone poems, depicting Cleopatra, Shakespeare's Ophelia, and the biblical Salomé. The two pieces by Lili Boulanger, edgily modern-impressionist tone poems of a spring morning and a sad evening, are probably the best-known pieces here, but even these do not appear on symphonic programs as often as they should. The best, however, is saved for last: A Little Summer Suite was composed in 2016 by the then 90-year-old Betsy Jolas, who, as of 2023, was still at it. Serially organized but loosely modeled on Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, it consists of brief movements depicting a summer walker strolling from one scene to another. The "Strolling Away," "Strolling About," "Strolling Under," and "Strolling Home" movements represent permutations of the basic material. Jolas calls herself the last survivor of the Boulez-Stockhausen generation, and those composers would certainly be delighted by this charming work. This is a valuable release of great general interest.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Tissé

Marion Rampal

French Music - Released February 25, 2022 | Les Rivières Souterraines

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Porque existe otro querer

Marina Viotti

Mélodies - Released April 14, 2023 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet
This program of love songs from mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and guitarist Gabriel Bianco boils down a variety of music to the combination of voice and guitar, with most of the songs arranged by Bianco himself. To perform the likes of Fauré on a guitar is unusual, but it works in this context, where the performers draw entirely unexpected connections between French music, Latin American popular song, and more. It is a bold program, and it is gorgeous. Viotti's voice is a magnificent instrument, warm and rounded but with a haze that hints at many experiences in the world. Her experience extends from opera to metal; she is neither French nor Spanish nor Latin American, but it would be hard to find a singer more suited to this project. Bianco's guitar is an agile thing, capable of hanging back or jumping into the dialogue. The words "Porque existe otro querer" ("because another love exists") come from a Cuban popular song of 1945, Dos Gardenias, that was composed by Isolina Carrillo and also recorded by Buena Vista Social Club, Daniel Santos, and others. One could start by sampling that, or one of the Siete canciones populares españolas of Falla, the original locus point for the grand fusion the performers are seeking. The players conclude with the zippy La danza of Rossini and a German song by Pauline Viardot that somewhat breaks the romantic mood, but by that time, it hardly matters; the listener will be totally satisfied. Aparte delivers excellent studio sound that captures all the many shades on display. © James Manheim /TiVo