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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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Liturgie de Saint Jean Chrysostome
Yevhen Savchuk
Sacred Vocal Music - Released July 1, 2009 | Brilliant Classics
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Chandos Anthems
Gaétan Jarry
Classical - Released August 26, 2022 | Château de Versailles Spectacles
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Booklet
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Handel: Messiah
London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released October 9, 2007 | LSO Live
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Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37
Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Choir
Classical - Released November 24, 2023 | Fuga Libera
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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: 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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Britten: Peter Grimes, Op. 33
Edward Gardner
Opera - Released September 1, 2020 | Chandos
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Booklet
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Gramophone: Recording of the Month
‘The burly Aussie tenor is now even more identified with this ill-fated protagonist than Peter Pears, the first Grimes. And everywhere Skelton has sung the part, whether at English National Opera, the Proms, the Edinburgh festival or now on this international tour of a concert staging mounted by the Bergen Philharmonic, the conductor has been Edward Gardner. Theirs is one of the great musical partnerships, and they continue to find compelling new depths in this tragic masterpiece.’ – Richard Morrison (The Times) This studio recording was made following the acclaimed production at Grieghallen, in Bergen, in 2019 (repeated in Oslo and London and reviewed above). Luxuriant playing from the Bergen Philharmonic and a stellar cast under the assured direction of Edward Gardner make this a recording to treasure. © Chandos
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Handel: Messiah
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Sacred Oratorios - Released October 16, 2020 | PentaTone
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Handel’s Messiah has been adored by the English since it premiered. It’s a masterpiece in the British repertoire and has never been eclipsed. It’s been sung in every possible style, in every possible size. “Bigger is better” seems to be the general rule of thumb and the number of musicians and singers has approached the thousands. Attending one of these huge performances, Haydn was inspired to write his own oratorio: Die Schöpfung (The Creation).Recorded in January 2020 in Berlin’s famous Jesus-Christus Church, where so many legendary performances have been recorded, this new version uses the ‘reasonable’ size of its 1742 Dublin premiere. The fabulous RIAS-Kammerchor and the Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin joined forces for the occasion with an amazing English vocal quartet consisting of Julia Doyle (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor) and Roderick Williams (bass).After their three editions devoted to Handel's Concerti grossi, the Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin continues to invest in the music of the most English of German composers. Just to give you a taste of what it’s all about, the RIAS-Kammerchor has been led by English choirmaster Justin Doyle since 2016. Here he gives an intimate reading of Messiah, conducting an incredible choir and orchestra that are among the best in the world at performing this music. Berlin was treated to this at the Philharmonie for the 2020 New Year Concert a few days before this recording. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Handel: Messiah, HWV 56 (Live)
Collegium 1704
Classical - Released April 19, 2019 | Accent
Booklet
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Valentin Silvestrov: Sacred Works
KYIV Chamber Choir
Classical - Released November 2, 2009 | ECM New Series
Ukrainian composer Valentine Silvestrov is frequently grouped with other Eastern European composers like Arvo Pärt, Giya Kancheli, and Henryk Górecki (with the British John Tavener sometimes thrown in), as a "holy minimalist." The composers have very different and individually recognizable styles, but they do have in common harmonic languages anchored in tonality (or modality), austerity of means, and a predilection for works with a contemplative, mystical tone. One characteristic of the Silvestrov works on this ECM release made up of sacred pieces, most of which are recorded here for the first time, is the composer's tendency to create clearly defined melodic lines surrounded by a radiant haze of sustained notes. The cloud of sound is sometimes static, but it generally shifts in surprising ways, supporting the melody with subtly unpredictable harmonies. It's easy to hear works' roots in Orthodox liturgical chant, but Silvestrov's free-floating harmonies give the music an individual and distinctive character. It's a sound that's not quite like what any of the other mystical minimalists are doing, but it is likely to strike a chord in listeners who love Pärt, Kancheli, and Gorecki. While the music included on this album rewards close and focused attention, and it is not all slow and quiet (particularly the exuberant setting of Psalm 150), its overall character of soulful spirituality could make it an appealing aid to meditation. The Kiev Chamber Choir, led by Mykola Hobdych, has a sound that is at once earthy and serenely pure. This is obviously deeply felt music, in the tradition of the passionate chants of the Orthodox Church, and the choir sings with intensity and unreserved emotion. The acoustics of the Cathedral of the Dormition in Kiev are beautifully suited to this repertoire, with warmth and plenty of resonance, but with enough clarity that the words are understandable. ECM's engineering is characteristically immaculate.© TiVo
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Silvestrov: To Thee We Sing
Latvian Radio Choir
Classical - Released October 9, 2015 | Ondine
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The career of the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov goes back to the days of suppression of modernist styles by Soviet authorities. He has been underexposed in the West compared with other Eastern European composers working in accessible idioms. This may be because he is not readily classifiable or marketable among the minimalists or among the neo-Romantics, but instead has forged an individual language drawing on both, as well as on Slavic sources. This collection of a cappella choral pieces from the 1990s and 2000s is a good introduction to his rather inward late style. Silvestrov may write hypertonal music if it fits the text (such as the Ave Maria, which appears twice in this set of mostly sacred pieces), refer to Rachmaninov's sacred music, or employ static textures as needed. His palette has subtle shades such as the distinction between chant and song in the Two Sacred Chants and Two Sacred Songs, both from 2006; the songs, naturally enough, have a more purely melodic idiom. But his pieces tend to end luxuriously in big stacks. The closest comparison might be Henryk Górecki, but lovers of Pärt's music should also check this out. The Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Klava is an ideal ensemble for this music, with brilliant highs that resound in the unidentified but excellent space employed by Ondine for its recording. The booklet is also worthwhile, containing a biography of Silvestrov that will be news to many listeners outside the vicinity of the composer or performers.© TiVo
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Le Messie
Academy of Ancient Music
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released October 31, 2006 | Naxos
Booklet
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5 de Diapason -
4 étoiles du Monde de la Musique
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Berio To Sing
Les Cris de Paris - Geoffroy Jourdain
Classical - Released April 2, 2021 | harmonia mundi
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Booklet
Few twentieth-century creators have been as inventive as Berio in their relationship with the history of music, with popular and ancestral traditions, drawing material, as he did, from both Beatles hits and the soundscapes of street and market. Here Geoffroy Jourdain paints the portrait of an explorer with a passion for the human voice. Truculent and volcanic in Sequenza III (performed with panache by Lucile Richardot), lyrical and caressing in E si fussi pisci, solemn and spellbinding in Cries of London. "Berio To Sing" throws open the doors to a colourful universe, extravagantly playful and, in a word, exhilarating! © harmonia mundi
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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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Byrd: Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets (1611)
The Sixteen
Classical - Released October 7, 2022 | Coro
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Booklet
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Gramophone: Recording of the Month
The Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets of 1611 was William Byrd’s final publication. And what a superbly fitting culmination to a lifetime of musical service it is! As well as being packed with variety and invention – including both sacred and secular music and using a range of forces from small trios to consorts to full choir – it is probably the happiest, most serene collection of music Byrd ever produced. The Sixteen is joined by celebrated viol consort, Fretwork, for this complete recording of William Byrd's 1611 Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets. © The Sixteen
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Christmas with Boney M.
Boney M.
Pop - Released December 1, 1981 | MCI
Christmas with Boney M is a 2007 re-release of a highly sought-after Christmas record by '70s Euro-disco legends Boney M which featured disco adaptations of traditional Christmas songs like "When a Child Is Born," "White Christmas," "Jingle Bells," "Little Drummer Boy," and many others. The reissued version adds a number of unreleased tracks.© Sergey Mesenov /TiVo
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Copland: Old American Songs, Canticle of Freedom & 4 Motets
Michael Tilson Thomas
Classical - Released June 23, 1987 | Sony Classical
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The Qobuz Ideal Discography
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Handel: Belshazzar
William Christie
Classical - Released October 21, 2013 | Les Arts Florissants
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Booklet
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4F de Télérama
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