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Haendel: Israel in Egypt
Arsys Bourgogne
Classical - Released June 17, 2010 | Eloquentia
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Handel: Coronation Anthems
Rias Kammerchor
Classical - Released April 28, 2023 | harmonia mundi
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Just in time for the coronation of King Charles III comes this release, featuring music written for the coronations of George II in 1727 and of George I before him. The Handel works, written for the 1727 event, are the pure public Handel, with imposing choral-orchestral chords interspersed with straightforward but not simple episodes of counterpoint. They are meant to be crowd-pleasers, and indeed, they are; they're hard to ruin. What is on offer here from the RIAS-Kammerchor Berlin and the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin under conductor Justin Doyle are elegant but undersized performances characteristic of the Continental historical performance movement. Reports from Handel's time indicated an orchestra of 160; here are but 20 players. The choir, at 36 singers, is closer to Handel's 40, and this veteran group delivers a rich, satisfying sound with a rounded tone from the smaller solo group (not indicated in the score but often performed as it is here). The anthem The Lord Is a Sun and Shield is not by Handel but by William Croft, and one will be struck by how close it is to Handel stylistically. The overture to Handel's Occasional Oratorio, HWV 62, serves as an overture to the whole program, and there is a typically odd Chaconne by John Blow as an interlude. These are less-splendid but highly enjoyable performances for reliving the coronation atmosphere.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Handel: Israel in Egypt, HWV 54
Apollo's Fire
Classical - Released October 6, 2023 | Avie Records
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Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt, HWV 54, bombed at its first performance in 1739 and was heavily revised by Handel. The revisions go even further here, in what is marked as an adaptation by Apollo's Fire director Jeannette Sorrell. She makes wholesale cuts, removing numerous arias, consolidating others, and leaving only a few recitatives. Sorrell retains, however, the three-part structure of Handel's first attempt (the librettist was probably Charles Jennens of Messiah), consisting of the "Lamentations by the Israelites for the Death of Joseph," "Exodus," and "Moses' Song." She also keeps the chorus-heavy quality of Handel's originals. The nearly three-hour oratorio usually heard is sliced to just over 74 minutes. All this might seem an unwarranted intrusion, but Handel himself obviously struggled with the material of this oratorio, which isn't one of his more commonly heard works. And lo, Sorrell's reworking succeeds solidly, creating convincing dramatic arcs where they previously existed only in outline. The ten plagues are shortened considerably but make more of an impact in their abbreviated form. The greatest strength here is the choral writing, in many places the equal of anything in Messiah. Apollo's Fire is a rather underrated choral-orchestral group from the U.S. Midwest that offers a satisfyingly good-sized choir with clear text articulation and a fine sense of expressing what they are singing about. A strong offering that will be appreciated by Handel lovers during the 2023 holiday season and beyond.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Handel: Messiah
Monteverdi Choir
Classical - Released January 1, 1983 | Decca Music Group Ltd.
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The Qobuz Ideal Discography
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Handel: Israel in Egypt
Choir of King's College, Cambridge
Classical - Released April 11, 2000 | Decca Music Group Ltd.
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Handel: Messiah
London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released October 9, 2007 | LSO Live
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Zappa In New York
Frank Zappa
Rock - Released October 29, 1977 | Frank Zappa Catalog
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Zappa in New York was recorded in December 1976 at the Palladium and originally intended for release in 1977. It was held up due to arguments between Frank Zappa and his then-record label, Warner Bros. When the two-LP set finally appeared in March 1978, Warner had deleted "Punky's Whips," a song about drummer Terry Bozzio's attraction to Punky Meadows of Angel. The Zappa band, which includes bassist Patrick O'Hearn, percussionist Ruth Underwood, and keyboard player Eddie Jobson, along with a horn section including the two Brecker brothers, was one of the bandleader's most accomplished, which it had to be to play songs like "Black Page," even in the "easy" version presented here. Zappa also was at the height of his comic stagecraft, notably on songs like "Titties & Beer," which is essentially a comedy routine between Zappa and Bozzio, and "The Illinois Enema Bandit," which features TV announcer Don Pardo.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
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Tchaikovsky : Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Excerpts) - 9 Sacred Pieces, TH 78
Sigvards Kļava
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released June 14, 2019 | Ondine
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Tchaikovsky's sacred music is not often performed, although he was religious (even if in a somewhat blurry way) and was willing to let himself in for a hassle by writing the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41, in 1878: it was promptly banned by the Russian Orthodox Church, which considered it too modern. Indeed, Tchaikovsky wrote a textbook on church music composition and seems to have contemplated a kind of reform of church music. That went nowhere, but this gorgeous setting of an Orthodox liturgy was performed quite often during its own time in non-liturgical settings. The abridged version here is quite effective. Sample "Dostoyno yest" ("Hymn to the Mother of God") for an idea of what he was thinking: the work keeps the opening chants and much of the traditional sound, but Tchaikovsky introduces Western harmonies with the intent of a quietly lyrical effect. Big Russian choirs have recorded the work, but the lighter sounds of the 24-voice Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Klava seem ideal here, probably resembling the Moscow art societies that first performed the music, and more likely in keeping with the spirit in which Tchaikovsky composed it. Also included are nine a cappella sacred pieces that really let the Latvian Radio Choir show what it can do: this group has a precision and grace that are hardly matched anywhere in the world these days. The choir may be better suited to Tchaikovsky than to Rachmaninov, whom it has also recorded, but check them out, whatever it takes. Ondine's sound engineering, at St. John's church in Riga, is absolutely exemplary. An exceptional choral release.
© TiVo
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Handel: Coronation Anthems
Hervé Niquet
Classical - Released August 19, 2022 | Alpha Classics
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‘Well, what a surprise – a divine surprise! I have delighted in immersing myself in the world of Handel for more than forty years now. But I must admit that I experienced yet another lesson in strength and joy when I toured and recorded the Dettingen Te Deum and the Coronation Anthems’, says Hervé Niquet. As a lover of large orchestral formations, he has assembled a number of instrumentalists and singers close to the (gigantic) forces used at the premiere, with a large band of oboes, bassoons and trumpets, and assigned the solo arias to the entire ‘chapel’. Niquet speaks of ‘the glittering power of this ceremonial music concocted by a Handel conscious of placing the best of his genius at the service of the crown and of history’, and he in turn invests all his enthusiasm and expressiveness in these works combining ‘grace and strength’. Fans of Champions League football will recognise in Zadok the Priest the theme of that competition’s anthem! © Alpha Classics
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Stephane Deneve conducts Debussy
Stéphane Denève
Symphonies - Released May 1, 2012 | Chandos
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Stéphane Denève has established himself as a versatile maestro with a highly varied repertoire, from concert fare to operas, but his recordings have revealed him to be a specialist in French orchestral music, notably in his coverage of works by Albert Roussel and Guillaume Connesson. This double hybrid SACD from Chandos offers Denève's interpretations of the orchestral works of Claude Debussy, and the lavishly detailed and expressive performances by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra show a conductor and an orchestra in complete sympathy with the music. Because the presentation by Chandos is first-rate from an audiophile perspective, with spectacular reproduction and close-up, credible presence, the listener is immersed in Debussy's dazzling colors from the opening of Images, and surrounded by fully dimensional sonorities throughout the album, which includes such other masterpieces of impressionist music as Jeux, Nocturnes, La Mer, Printemps, and Prélude à l'après-midi d'une faune. When the clarity of the notes, the richness of the timbres, and the depth of the orchestra's sound are appreciated altogether, it's truly a seductive experience, and Debussy's lush and atmospheric music achieves its potential in this impressive package. Indeed, it's difficult to pull away from these gorgeous performances, so prepare to listen to both SACDs in one long, leisurely sitting. It's that good.© TiVo
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The Mothers 1971
Frank Zappa
Rock - Released March 18, 2022 | Frank Zappa Catalog
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True Genius
Ray Charles
Soul - Released September 10, 2021 | Tangerine Records
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In the year of his 90th birthday (which he would have celebrated on the 23rd of September 2020 had he not died in 2004), Ray Charles is honoured with a new 90-track compilation box set. Just another compilation like all the rest? Yes and no. Ray Charles is undoubtedly one of the most-compiled artists in the history of music. Published by Tangerine, the label that the musician set up at the end of the 50s to keep the rights to his songs, this box set starts out like all the others: with the post-Atlantic hits, Georgia On My Mind, Hit The Road Jack, One Mint Julep, Busted... These are timeless treasures of proto-soul, but there doesn't seem to be much novelty here. The rest is much more interesting, and much rarer: tracks recorded between the second half of the 1960s and the 2000s, many of which were only released on vinyl, never reissued on CD and until now unavailable on digital. This is the first time that Ray Charles' lesser-known years have been given the compilation treatment in this way, and it is a revelation. In the 90s and 2000s, the production of his songs had a synthetic feel, and they did not age too well. These rarer songs are often hidden gems of southern soul, flavoured with country and wrapped in sumptuous symphonic orchestrations. Whether he is singing the Muppets (It's Ain't Easy Being Green) or Gershwin (Summertime, a duet with Cleo Laine), Ray Charles is always deeply moving. Now, the dream is to hear reissues of all these albums in their entirety. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz
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Handel: Acis and Galatea
Christian Curnyn
Opera - Released June 1, 2018 | Chandos
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This isn't an opera, strictly speaking; this Acis and Galatea by Handel, most likely dating from 1718, is much more a part of the very English genre of the "masque", or pastoral divertimento. That said, its hour-and-a-half running time is redolent of a lot of operas... It seems that Handel wrote it for a rich private patron, in those politically turbulent days when the Royal Theatre had more bad days than good; James Brydge, the count of Carnarvon, had assembled a little troupe of singers and musicians at his manor, as well as a choir, which allowed him to offer purely private musical entertainments of high quality. Of course, the work is sung in English; the orchestration, which is very original, calls for inter alia a soprano recorder for the songbirds; and it unfurls a number of theatrical "tricks" to highlight the personalities of the various characters. Twenty years later, Handel would revise his work for public performances in London, but this is a recording of the 1718 original. Elegance, sensuality, a strong dose of humour in spite of the often-sombre subject matter: this is the best of Handel, and it should be noted that the composer used almost none of his normal "recycling": apart from an aria, all the music here is original, and was not re-used in any other works. Acis and Galatea was one of Handel's most-performed works in his own lifetime, which rather prevented him from re-using any of the tunes too often, as he might have been able to do with a lesser-known piece. The Early Opera Company conducted by Christian Curnyn proves here that private lyrical enterprises, supported by crowdfunding and generous subscriptions from patrons have got a long and happy future ahead of them still. © SM/Qobuz
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Handel: Messiah
The Sixteen
Classical - Released September 1, 2008 | Coro
Admirers of Harry Christophers and his exemplary choral ensemble The Sixteen will no doubt have the highest expectations for this 2008 Coro release of George Frederick Handel's Messiah, especially because the group is almost ideal in size, sonority, and technical mastery to render this work in the best period performance style. Even the most demanding listeners will not be disappointed in this recording because Christophers' scholarship is impeccable, and he leads the performance with sharp Baroque rhythms, brisk tempos, vivid interpretations, and a great flexibility in instrumental combinations, which gives the music greater richness through doublings of the stings with woodwinds and supplies a pleasantly varied basso continuo. The four vocalists -- soprano Carolyn Sampson, alto Catherine Wyn-Rogers, tenor Mark Padmore, and bass Christopher Purves -- are all seasoned Handelians, and their arias are eloquent in expression and beautifully delivered with a tasteful modicum of ornamentation, but no more than that. The most thrilling highpoints are the glorious choruses in which The Sixteen sounds utterly seraphic in its pure tone and pristine in its transparent lines. As if this extraordinary performance of Messiah was not enough to compel purchase, the special edition set includes a bonus CD that offers attractive excerpts from Coro's numerous Handel titles. This set is highly recommended for aficionados of recordings of Messiah and newcomers alike.© TiVo
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Blue Eye Samurai (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series)
Amie Doherty
Film Soundtracks - Released October 27, 2023 | Netflix Music
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Music for Royal Occasions
London Symphony Orchestra
Symphonies - Released May 5, 2023 | LSO Live
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Guitar Recital: Raphaël Feuillâtre
Raphaël Feuillâtre
Classical - Released June 14, 2019 | Naxos
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Dall'Abaco and the Art of Variation
Elinor Frey
Classical - Released February 9, 2024 | Passacaille
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Endeavour Variations
Matthew Slater
Soundtracks - Released March 24, 2023 | Redrocca
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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Karl Bartos
Germany - Released February 9, 2024 | Bureau B
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Karl Bartos joined Kraftwerk during their Autobahn tour and played a crucial role in the band as they laid the groundwork for synth pop, electro, and techno. He helped write many of the group's most iconic and best-loved songs, including "The Model," "Computer Love," and "Metropolis," a haunting tune inspired by Fritz Lang's 1927 dystopian classic of the same name. Decades after leaving the band and sporadically issuing efforts ranging from Kraftwerk-style electropop to guitar-driven pop-rock (as Elektric Music), Bartos decided to compose a score for another key work of the German Expressionist cinema movement, Robert Wiene's 1920 horror touchstone The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Telling the tale of a respected yet mad hypnotist who drives a somnambulist to commit murders, the dark, visually striking film is often interpreted as a commentary on German society's obedience to authority. Bartos' 75-minute score is obviously meant to be heard while watching the film itself (it's in the public domain, so it's easy to view online for free), so that all of the tracks sync up with the corresponding scenes. As such, the track titles generally spell out the moods of the individual pieces. Both parts of "At the Funfair" sound like playful circus music, the "Scary Memories" are appropriately spooky, tracks like "Arrest of the Suspect" and "Interrogation" are tense and suspicious, "Cesare's Attack and Escape" gets dramatic and alarming, and so forth. It all fits the film to a tee, and makes for a riveting audio-visual experience. Unfortunately, when listened to on its own, most of the score is indistinguishable from the type of generic background music heard on any number of children's programs on public television, as it largely consists of preset keyboard tones and simplistic melodies. Yet there are moments that stand out, like the buzzy synths and excited crowd chatter of the "Funfair" tracks, and the hypnotic, post-minimalist rhythms and choral arpeggios of "Lunatic Asylum" and the title theme. Bartos' score to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a treat for film buffs, but most Kraftwerk fans will likely find it underwhelming.© Paul Simpson /TiVo
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