Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
A small orchestra specializing in music of the Baroque and Classical eras, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields became one of the most popular ensembles in the entire field of classical music, making albums that topped classical charts and even made an impact in pop. The group's seamless sound was identified in the minds of many listeners with that of Baroque music itself.
The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (the name has been spelled both with and without the hyphens, and with and without the period after "St") was formed in 1958 by violinist Neville Marriner, who was interested in exploring the then largely new field of Baroque music with a group of other musicians. Performing without a conductor until market forces dictated that Marriner take the post, the group played its first concert on November 13, 1959, at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and took its name from that venue. The orchestra began recording in 1961 on the L'Oiseau-Lyre label, championed by its founder, Louise Hanson-Dyer, and at first, finding more success with recordings than with concert appearances. The Academy moved to the early music-oriented Argo label in 1965. Appearances on the BBC Proms programs brought the group to a wider public, and in 1970 it incorporated, under the direction of Marriner and other founders, as a fully professional ensemble. Soundtrack performances in BBC television films added to the Academy's financial stability. Although he took up the conductor's baton, Marriner preferred to lead the orchestra from the first violinist's chair, and as violinists Iona Brown and Kenneth Sillito took over the group's direction on occasion, they followed the same practice in Baroque works. After Sillito's retirement in 2012, violinist Joshua Bell was named the music director. Pianist Murray Perahia has been the principal guest conductor since 2000; Perahia had for some time led the group in conductorless performances of Mozart and other Classical-period piano concertos.
The Academy's repertory also expanded over time, coming to include the Wagner Siegfried Idyll and even contemporary works. The original Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra grew to include several subgroups, the Chamber Ensemble (formed 1967), which focused on small-group chamber music for strings, and a larger grouping that could include as many as 45 musicians. A Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields, formed in 1975 for a tour performance of Bach's Mass in B minor, BWV 232, grew into an independent organization. The Academy continued to perform at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and added a short Royal Festival Hall Season as its popularity grew.
However, recordings remained at the center of the group's activities, and to date, it has issued more than 500 albums. Its recording schedule often involved more than a dozen albums a year. The orchestra moved to the Philips label in 1971; it has since recorded for Decca, London, ASV, and other labels. One milestone was the orchestra's 1984 recording of the score for the film Amadeus, which topped classical charts, appeared on pop charts, and remains one of the best-selling classical albums of all time. In 2019, the Academy, with young pianist Jan Lisiecki conducting from the keyboard, issued a complete recording of Beethoven's piano concertos on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
11 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Wagner: Tannhäuser
Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe
Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maurice Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole, Pavane pour une Infante défunte, Daphnis et Chloé
Pierre Monteux, London Symphony Orchestra, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Symphonic Music - Released by Praga Digitals on Jan 1, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Les Troyens (The Trojans)
Sir Colin Davis, Jon Vickers, Josephine Veasey, Berit Lindholm, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1970
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
George London, Leonie Rysanek, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Antal Doráti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
Marilyn Horne, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La Traviata (Highlights)
Sir Georg Solti, Angela Gheorghiu, Frank Lopardo, Leo Nucci, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Dec 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: Norma
Maria Callas, Vittorio Gui, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Nov 28, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Tosca
Maria Callas, Carlo Felice Cillario, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Tito Gobbi
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Sep 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Peter Grimes
Jon Vickers, Heather Harper, Jonathan Summers, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Il Trovatore (highlights)
José Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo