Your basket is empty

Categories:
Narrow my search:

Results 1 to 20 out of a total of 3414
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76

Psyché

Christophe Rousset

Classical - Released January 13, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

Hi-Res Booklet
From
HI-RES$21.99
CD$16.99

Legros, haute-contre de Gluck

Reinoud Van Mechelen

Classical - Released September 22, 2023 | Alpha Classics

Hi-Res Booklet
From
HI-RES$16.49
CD$10.99

La Harpe Reine: Concertos for Harp at the Court of Marie-Antoinette

Xavier de Maistre

Classical - Released October 21, 2016 | harmonia mundi

Hi-Res Booklet
From
HI-RES$14.49
CD$10.49

Haydn : L'Impatiente

Julien Chauvin

Classical - Released October 4, 2019 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason
The Haydn series continues with the Paris Symphony No. 87. Julien Chauvin and his orchestra keep shaking us up with historical instruments listening to Haydn’s works and several other forgotten scores from the same period. All of them were commissioned for the Concert de la Loge Olympique - ancestor and model for Julien Chauvin and his musicians – and all of them sank into oblivion during the 19th century, except for Haydn’s symphonies. The record offers an opportunity to experience some rare works of Grétry, Lemoyne and Ragué, and to revive the success that they once knew. © Aparté
From
HI-RES$31.79
CD$24.59

Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Céphale et Procris

Reinoud Van Mechelen

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

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76

Écho & Narcisse

Hervé Niquet

Classical - Released August 25, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

Hi-Res Booklet
From
CD$12.45

Paul Wranitzky: Symphonies Opp. 37, 50 & 51

NDR Radio Philharmonic

Classical - Released November 4, 2022 | CPO

Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or
According to current research, Paul Wranitzky composed at least 47 symphonies for which sources have been preserved. The Symphonies, Op. 50 and Op. 51 belong to Wranitzky's last series of symphonies. They were published in late 1804 by Wranitzky's main publisher, André, in Offenbach. The Symphony in D major, Op. 37, was published by the same publisher in November 1799. All three works recognizably follow Haydn's model in structure, movement types, and thematic formation, though not without setting individual accents. For example, the opening and closing movements are not thematic in the true sense of the word; Wranitzky treats his motivic material more like a musical construction kit : identical material is used in different places with different functions. The motivic material is deliberately kept simple, but possesses enough specificity to give the individual movements motivic coherence. And once again, the composer's "melodic ingenuity, the effectively juxtaposed rhythms and the effectively exploited orchestral apparatus" (klassik.com on the first volume). © CPO
From
HI-RES$18.09
CD$15.69

Benedetto Marcello: Sinfonias & Cantatas

La Floridiana

Classical - Released June 16, 2023 | deutsche harmonia mundi

Hi-Res Booklet
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76

Bastien et Bastienne · La Servante maîtresse

Gaétan Jarry

Classical - Released September 8, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

Hi-Res Booklet
From
HI-RES$12.79
CD$10.19

Legacy

Christian-Pierre La Marca

Classical - Released January 20, 2023 | naïve

Hi-Res Booklet
Christian-Pierre La Marca’s Legacy offers a stunning exploration of the connections between Italian and Viennese classicism through some of the best cello pieces composed by Porpora, Haydn and Mozart. During the 18th century, the instrument began to emerge from the orchestra, moving away from its status as an accompaniment instrument to become a solo one in its own right. Surrounded by the wonderful musicians of the Concert de la Loge directed by Julien Chauvin, La Marca is in his element here. The baroque pitch and period instruments are fertile ground for him, and he’s free to lose himself in his full-bodied and tuneful playing.The musician’s affinity for the voice is no secret, and he’s particularly interested in transcribing vocal expression onto his instrument. The cellist maintains impeccable accuracy, notably in the transcription of ‘Danse des ombres heureuses’ by Gluck, a piece that has guided him since childhood. He forms the perfect duo with tenor Philippe Jaroussky in ‘Giusto Amor, tu che m’accendi’, taken from Porpora’s Gli orti Esperidi. The entire album maps out the heartfelt ties that bind La Marca to other performers: Jaroussky, Le Concert de la Loge, and even his brother, violist Adrien La Marca, who features on this interpretation of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante. The recording is wrapped in an indescribable warmth, and it’s evident that the performers have thoroughly enjoyed working together. When stylistic artistry meets sheer joy, you know you’re in for a treat. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz
From
HI-RES$31.79
CD$24.59

Maurice Yvain: Yes!

Les Frivolités Parisiennes

Classical - Released March 22, 2024 | Alpha Classics

Hi-Res Booklet
From
HI-RES$21.99
CD$16.99

Paradise Lost

Anna Prohaska

Classical - Released April 10, 2020 | Alpha Classics

Hi-Res Booklet
The gestation of this project lasted two years. Anna Prohaska and Julius Drake finally concentrated their research on the themes of Eve, Paradise and banishment. Some songs were obvious choices, such as Fauré’s Paradis, in which God appears to Eve and asks her to name each flower and animal, or Purcell’s Sleep, Adam, sleep with its references to Genesis. But Anna Prohaska also wished to illustrate the cliché of the woman who brought original sin into the world and her status as a tempter who leads man astray, as in Brahms’s Salamander, Wolf’s Die Bekehrte or Ravel’s Air du Feu. In Das Paradies und die Peri, Schumann conjures up the image of Syria’s rose-covered plains. Bernstein also transports us to the desert with Silhouette.. John Milton’s seventeenth-century masterpiece Paradise Lost was the inspiration for Charles Ives and Benjamin Britten, also featured in this very rich programme that constitutes an invitation to travel and reflection. © Alpha Classics
From
HI-RES$12.79
CD$10.19

Monteverdi: Daylight. Stories of Songs, Dances and Loves

Rinaldo Alessandrini

Classical - Released November 5, 2021 | naïve

Hi-Res Booklet
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76

Cadmus & Hermione

Vincent Dumestre

Classical - Released May 1, 2021 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

Hi-Res Booklet
Jean-Baptiste Lully's Cadmus & Hermione of 1673 was arguably the first true French opera, telling a tragic story (Lully and his librettist Philippe Quinault called it a tragédie en lyrique), employing Italian-style recitatives, and collecting the varied music and dance forms of Louis XIV's opulent court into a coherent narrative that at once celebrated Louis (he is conflated with Cadmus of Thebes) and moved beyond the ceremonial nature of earlier French dramatic music. It's a sprawling work, with five acts, an overture, and a sizable Prologue with its own overture; highlights include a dragon that eats Africans, a monster snake, and a full complement of Greek gods and goddesses. Realization of the work has, until now, been beyond the means of early music performance groups, and this is the world premiere recording of the opera, made in 2019 and based on a 2008 performance at Versailles Palace by some of the same performers. The leader is Vincent Dumestre, conducting the Le Poème Harmonique orchestra and the vocal ensembles Aedes. The forces are large enough to capture the splendor of the music (thankfully, no one-voice-per-part techniques here), and Dumestre is alert to the huge variety of musical devices Lully brings to bear on his story; there are dances, big choruses, bagpipes, and much more. Cadmus & Hermione may be a difficult work to bring to life for modern audiences, but Dumestre keeps things moving along and probably comes as close as anyone could. Of course, anyone interested in the life of the French court in the 17th century will find this an essential acquisition that will keep giving and giving. © TiVo
From
HI-RES$38.99
CD$29.29

Luigi Cherubini: Les Abencérages

Orfeo Orchestra

Classical - Released November 11, 2022 | Bru Zane

Hi-Res Booklet
Cherubini's Les Abencérages, premiered in 1813, heralds the spectacle and extravagance of Romantic grand opera. From the Alhambra gardens to the battlefield, the action skillfully intertwines political conspiracies with a love story. Underpinned by the energy and timbres of period instruments, this recording demonstrates the work's modernity and it's musical qualities. Anaïs Constans valiantly tackles the demanding role of Noraïme, while Edgaras Montvidas displays his lyric tenor voice in a series of sublime airs whose beauty was already hinted at by none other than Roberto Alagna in a recital disc released in 2003. Around this couple, a plethoric cast of soloists (Dolié, Sargsyan, Williams, Martin, Lavoie, etc.) achieves the same high standards of French diction and style. The Hungarian conductor György Vashegyi, flanked by the Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra, reveals here another key milestone of French Romantic opera. © Bru Zane
From
HI-RES$18.09
CD$15.69

Handel

Sonya Yoncheva

Opera Extracts - Released February 3, 2017 | Sony Classical

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 Sterne Fono Forum Klassik
The young Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, trying to break out from a pack of singers of Eastern European or Russian origin, here takes on one of the black-belt level assignments: an album of Handel arias. The results draw on Yoncheva's previous experience in Baroque repertory (she was a protégée of conductor William Christie) and validate her signing by the major Sony label. Yoncheva has many things going for her, including an ineffable diva quality that serves her well with these substantial Handel heroines. Some of these roles were written for the powerful voice of the castrato (the opening "Se pietà di me non senti" was first sung by the greatest countertenor of the age, Senesino) and Yoncheva's rather metallic voice doesn't yet have that kind of depth. But her voice is growing, and she has something else to offer here: Handel's women call for dramatic intelligence, and Yoncheva has that in spades. Sample her work in the arioso "Pensieri, voi me tormentate" (Thoughts, you torment me), a torrent of panic and resolution from the fine early opera Agrippina, about the mother of Nero. That's one of two selections from Agrippina, and most of the arias are in pairs, giving Yoncheva the chance to inhabit each character a bit. The arias are mostly in Italian; with those in English you can tell that Yoncheva is not a native speaker, but you can't quite pin down her origin. The final "When I am laid in earth," by Henry Purcell, may seem tacked onto a program of Handel, but the long and the short of it is that Yoncheva's deliberate reading draws you into this aria as few of the hundreds of other recordings of it do. The recording benefits from live-wire sympathetic accompaniment from the Academia Montis Regalis under Alessandro De Marchi, and it fulfills one of the original functions of recordings: it makes you want to pay money to see the star live on-stage.© TiVo
From
HI-RES$17.49
CD$13.99

Kathleen Ferrier Plays Brahms, Mahler & Gluck

Kathleen Ferrier

Mélodies - Released May 5, 2014 | Praga Digitals

Hi-Res Booklet
From
HI-RES$69.79
CD$63.09

Over-Nite Sensation

Frank Zappa

Rock - Released September 1, 1973 | Frank Zappa Catalog

Hi-Res Booklet
Love it or hate it, Over-Nite Sensation was a watershed album for Frank Zappa, the point where his post-'60s aesthetic was truly established; it became his second gold album, and most of these songs became staples of his live shows for years to come. Whereas the Flo and Eddie years were dominated by rambling, off-color comedy routines, Over-Nite Sensation tightened up the song structures and tucked sexual and social humor into melodic, technically accomplished heavy guitar rock with jazzy chord changes and funky rhythms; meanwhile, Zappa's growling new post-accident voice takes over the storytelling. While the music is some of Zappa's most accessible, the apparent callousness and/or stunning sexual explicitness of "Camarillo Brillo," "Dirty Love," and especially "Dinah-Moe Humm" leave him on shaky aesthetic ground. Zappa often protested that the charges of misogyny leveled at such material missed out on the implicit satire of male stupidity, and also confirmed intellectuals' self-conscious reticence about indulging in dumb fun; however, the glee in his voice as he spins his adolescent fantasies can undermine his point. Indeed, that enjoyment, also evident in the silly wordplay, suggests that Zappa is throwing his juvenile crassness in the face of critical expectation, asserting his right to follow his muse even if it leads him into blatant stupidity (ironic or otherwise). One can read this motif into the absurd shaggy-dog story of a dental floss rancher in "Montana," the album's indisputable highlight, which features amazing, uncredited vocal backing from Tina Turner and the Ikettes. As with much of Zappa's best '70s and '80s material, Over-Nite Sensation could be perceived as ideologically problematic (if you haven't got the constitution for FZ's humor), but musically, it's terrific.© Steve Huey /TiVo
From
HI-RES$16.59
CD$14.39

Mozart: String Quintets K. 515 & 516

Quatuor Ébène

Quintets - Released March 10, 2023 | Warner Classics

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or
The 2004 edition of the ARD International Competition in Munich saw the paths of violist Antoine Tamestit and members of the Ebène Quartet cross. A meeting of champions on a day to remember, with these artists taking first place in their respective categories. Their collaborations have multiplied over the years, finally converging on a first joint recording entitled Round Midnight, which ended with a sumptuous rendition of Schoeberg’s Transfigured Night.But in this case the new ensemble is committed to the genius of Mozart, through his Quintet No. 3 K.515 and No. 4 K.516. In the first, the group explores the highly contrasting moods in Mozart's writing, alternating between the abundant energy of the first and fourth movements, and the melancholic lethargy of the second and third. A roller coaster of emotions, guided by clever playing and a lovely, enveloping tonality. On the other hand, Quartet K.516 has darker colours, the key of G minor in Mozart's work often being associated with distress and sorrow. It took on a particular meaning in 1787, at a time when the composer was worried about his father's health. The Ebène quartet and Tamestit draw a striking chiaroscuro from the score, magnified by intelligent choices with regards to the tempi, leaving room for perfect spaces that allow the piece to breathe. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz
From
HI-RES$29.79
CD$25.59

Glass: Cocteau Trilogy

Katia Labèque

Classical - Released February 23, 2024 | Universal Music Division Decca Records France

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Qobuz Album of the Week
Philip Glass' three operas based on films by Jean Cocteau, inspired by the composer's youthful experiences in Paris, are among his most variegated works and perhaps among the ones most likely to win over those unpersuaded by the composer. This release took shape as Katia and Marielle Labèque performed concerts devoted to two-piano arrangements of numbers from these operas in 2020 and 2023; the arrangements are by Glass colleague Michael Riesman. Many recordings of Glass have come from his own orbit, but this one, released by the Deutsche Grammophon label and a presence on classical best-seller charts in early 2024, shows the value in opening up the field. The Labèques bring a fluent but lively quality to the music that illuminates the material out of which the operas are woven. Sample the ragtime-like opening, "Le café," from Act I at the beginning. Elsewhere, one hears echoes of Gluck, Bach, and more, all superimposed on Glass' characteristic repeating patterns. The durable popularity of Katia and Marielle Labèque, still at the top of the duo piano heap, is remarkable, and it has occurred in part because the sisters are unafraid to take on new repertory. Here, they have done a spectacular job.© James Manheim /TiVo