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Parry: Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, Blest Pair of Sirens

London Mozart Players

Choral Music (Choirs) - Released September 8, 2023 | Chandos

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Gramophone: Recording of the Month
Hubert Parry's Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, from 1880, here receives its world-recorded premiere. Perhaps recording companies thought there wouldn't be much of a market for a heavy 19th century choral work with, it must be said, a ponderous text by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Prometheus was a play intended to be read, not performed, just to give an idea). How wrong they were. This release made classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2023, and it is altogether enjoyable. At the time, Parry was under the spell of Wagner, whom he traveled to Bayreuth to meet. That influence certainly shows up in Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, with its basically declamatory text, partly through-composed music, wind-and-brass-heavy orchestration, and splashes of chromaticism. Yet what is remarkable is that the music does not come off as an imitation of Wagner at all. Rather, it uses elements of his style to match a specific kind of English literary text. The work gradually disappeared, but it would be surprising if Elgar, whom it clearly prefigures, did not know it well. The performances here are luminous, with William Vann using the lighter-than-expected London Mozart Players to create transparent textures against which he can set the substantial voices of Sarah Fox, Sarah Connolly, and other soloists. Parry did write some shorter pieces that remain in the repertory; one of these, Blest Pair of Sirens, is included here as a finale. However, the Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound are the main news here, and this performance, showing how this kind of thing should be done, may generate a new life for the work. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Écho & Narcisse

Hervé Niquet

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

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Purcell & Locke : Orchestral Works

Lorenzo Ghirlanda

Classical - Released May 10, 2019 | deutsche harmonia mundi

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Founded in 2015 by Swiss conductor and trombonist Lorenzo Ghirlanda, the German-based Vox Orchester is made up of around twenty young professional musicians from ten different countries, who have all grown up learning instrumental techniques and modes of playing characteristics of baroque music. Lorenzo Ghirlanda’s credo is that listening – and playing – ancient music is like discovering “new music”, because the young musicians’ fervour safeguards them from any form of routine or preconception. And it is precisely in this spirit that the Vox Orchester’s musicians author this album dedicated to Purcell and Locke’s music written for Shakespeare’s plays. While his texts have long conquered the entire planet, English music has often remained confined within the island’s borders. Recorded in 2018 in the auditorium of Radiotelevisione svizzera in Lugano, this music is the work of two English composers, prior to Handel’s arrival in London. Ghirlanda and his musicians’ interpretation aims to highlight the international nature of baroque music at that time, and more precisely the Italian influence Monteverdi, and later Corelli, had on European productions. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Jacques Offenbach : La Vie parisienne (5 septembre 1954)

Jules Gresssier

Classical - Released April 15, 2014 | Ina, musique(s)

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Purcell: King Arthur

Alfred Deller

Classical - Released January 1, 1979 | harmonia mundi

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Purcell : King Arthur

Alfred Deller

Classical - Released January 1, 1979 | harmonia mundi

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A Life of Surprises (Remastered)

Prefab Sprout

Pop - Released October 6, 1992 | Sony Music CG

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Prefab Sprout was always too good for the radio. Hearing the band's immaculate, gorgeously crafted pop songs alongside disposable, unimaginative records seemed like blasphemy. Perhaps many American radio programmers felt the same way, as most of this best-of compilation is obscure to U.S. listeners. While Two Wheels Good and From Langley Park to Memphis are superior purchases, A Life of Surprises is an engaging introduction to a group that is nowhere near as bizarre as its name. Much has been said about Paddy McAloon's warm, comforting voice, but like Paul Heaton of the Housemartins and the Beautiful South, his soothing croon can sometimes hide some pretty depressing lyrics. "When Love Breaks Down" is classic '80s new wave heartache: teary-eyed synthesizers, downtrodden basslines, and McAloon's whispery talk create a film noir atmosphere of deep sadness. The lyrics are sharpened by his adult observations. "When love breaks down/You join the wrecks/Who leave their hearts for easy sex," McAloon sings. The brutal honesty of those lines easily elevate "When Love Breaks Down" to the top class of breakup songs. Even more powerful is "Goodbye Lucille No. 1 (Johnny Johnny)," sung from the perspective of a man trying to make a close friend get over a girl who has rejected him. The words are frank and painfully realistic as McAloon doesn't sugarcoat the dialogue. McAloon rips into his buddy's futile romantic fantasies and lets the hard light of reality shine upon him: "Ooh Johnny Johnny Johnny you won't make it any better/Ooh Johnny Johnny Johnny you might well make it worse." If this sounds dreary it should be noted that Prefab Sprout isn't one of those grim British raincoat bands. The group has a number of wonderfully upbeat moments, such as on the exhilarating "Hey Manhattan!" and "Cars and Girls," a clever commentary on Bruce Springsteen's preoccupation with automobiles and women.© Michael Sutton /TiVo
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Purcell: The Fairy Queen, 1692

Gabrieli Consort

Classical - Released April 10, 2020 | Signum Records

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Purcell’s The Fairy Queen is based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a play not frequently performed in the late 17th century, nor very well regarded (“the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life” – Samuel Pepys’ diary, 1662). Despite this, the play would go on to work well within an opera, as the characters of Pyramus and Thisbe could conjure up singing and dancing accomplices. Purcell’s masterful composition, Gabrieli’s first-class performance, and McCreesh’s superb interpretation demonstrate why their recordings are seen as some of the best in classical music today. Gabrieli are world-renowned interpreters of great vocal and instrumental repertoire, from the Renaissance to the present day. Founded by Paul McCreesh in 1982, Gabrieli have both outgrown and remained true to their original identity: whilst the ensemble’s repertoire has expanded beyond any expectation, McCreesh’s ever-questioning spirit, expressive musicianship and a healthy degree of iconoclasm remain constant and are reflected in the ensemble’s dynamic performances. Gabrieli’s repertoire includes major works of the oratorio tradition, virtuosic a cappella programmes and mould-breaking reconstructions of music for historical events. Above all, Gabrieli aims to create thought-provoking performances which stand out from the crowd. © Signum Records
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Sex 'N' Jazz

Gare du Nord

Pop - Released January 1, 2010 | Columbia - Legacy

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50°50'03.5"n 10°56'46.1"E (Bach Organ Landscapes / Arnstadt, Brandis, Zschortau)

Jörg Halubek

Classical - Released January 19, 2024 | Berlin Classics

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Meyerbeer: Robert le Diable

Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine

Classical - Released September 23, 2022 | Bru Zane

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Gramophone: Recording of the Month
For his last season at the helm of the Opéra de Bordeaux, Marc Minkowski—always keen to conduct forgotten works which have, in some way, marked the history of music—sets his sights on Robert le Diable, Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera which was a true social phenomenon in 19th century France. The Palazzetto Bru Zane - Centre de musique romantique française has followed suit by officially publishing this concert version, which also features some excellent vocal soloists. Admired by Balzac, Sand and Dumas, this ‘grand opéra à la française’ (great French opera) faded into obscurity after the First World War. Its creator became a sort of pariah – one met with both condescension and mockery. With its ‘seductive and haunting melodies’ (Alexandre Dratwicki), it’s nevertheless a flamboyant work that greatly inspired his contemporaries, such as Verdi, who referred to it in La Traviata. The extraordinary impact of Robert le Diable was such that it was performed a great many times on every continent. A true one-man band, Marc Minkowski has invested himself entirely in this undertaking, learning this vast score practically by heart and conducting it with his usual power and conviction. The international cast is full of surprises thanks to their deep understanding of the work and the protagonists’ fantastic pronunciation. This new release, to the credit of the Bru Zane label, revitalises our knowledge of this work that’s scarcely mentioned in specialised dictionaries. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Debussy: Estampes, Pour le piano, Piano Works

Alain Planès

Classical - Released February 22, 2007 | harmonia mundi

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Bercy 95

Johnny Hallyday

French Music - Released December 2, 2022 | Universal Music Division Mercury Records

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Tchaikovsky: All-Night Vigil & Other Sacred Choral Works

Latvian Radio Choir

Choral Music (Choirs) - Released May 1, 2020 | Ondine

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This album presents a sequel for the album of Tchaikovskys sacred choral works by the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Kava. These two albums together form the composer's complete sacred works for the choir. The All-Night Vigil, Op. 52 for mixed choir, also known as the "Vesper Service", was written between May 1881 and March 1882. It was first performed by the Chudovsky Chorus conducted by Pyotr Sakharov in Moscow at the concert hall of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition on 27 June 1882. Tchaikovsky described the work as "An essay in harmonisation of liturgical chants". For this work the composer carefully studied the tradition of musical practice in the Russian Orthodox Church, which could vary considerably from one region to another. This beautiful, yet rarely recorded work is accompanied by four other choral works all written during the same decade: Hymn in Honour of Saints Cyril and Methodius as part of commemorations of the 1000th anniversary of the death of Saint Methodius, A Legend, originally coming from the collection "Sixteen Songs for Children", Jurists Song, for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in St Petersburg, and The Angel Cried Out, a beautiful traditional Russian Orthodox Easter hymn and Tchaikovskys final choral work. © Ondine
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Mahler: Symphony No. 3 & Lieder (Les indispensables de Diapason)

Leonard Bernstein

Symphonic Music - Released June 30, 2023 | Les Indispensables de Diapason

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Monteverdi & Marazzoli : Combattimenti !

Vincent Dumestre

Classical - Released October 21, 2010 | Alpha Classics

Booklet Distinctions Choc de Classica
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Samuel Barber : An American Romantic

Conspirare

Classical - Released October 23, 2012 | harmonia mundi

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason
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La Flûte Enchantée

Hervé Niquet

Classical - Released April 23, 2021 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

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