New Performance CD Releases
Schubert - Mass No. 5 and Magnificat (Naxos 8.572114)Schubert's fifth Mass setting is arguably his most songful and inventive. His integration of the soloists and chorus, mastery of fluid harmonies and idiomatic treatment of the orchestra's woodwind section give the Mass a symphonic quality whose influence can be seen in Bruckner. Schubert's C major setting of selected versicles from the Magnificat is a more Haydnesque piece, recalling the joyfully expressive music of The Seasons.
Click here to buy "Mass in A Flat / Magnificat"...Brahms - German Requiem (Apex 2564-67717-6)
Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem is a conspicuously human (even humanist) work. Eschewing the traditional Requiem text, Brahms selected his own words from the German Luther Bible, and the work's emphasis is very much on the comfort of the bereaved, rather than on interceding for the dead. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (with soloists Janet Williams and Thomas Hampson) in this re-release.
Click here to buy "German Requiem"...
... or click here to view all Performance CDs by Brahms
John Rutter - "A Song in Season" (Collegium COLCD135)
This latest collection of works by John Rutter - the undisputed king of contemporary classical choral music - contains newer, previously unrecorded pieces pieces including the Winchester Te Deum, the Wells Jubilate and "Look at the World". The works range right through the Church's year and might well provide inspiration for seasonal concerts and services.
"The first full album of new Rutter for seven years ranks among the finest releases on the Collegium label. One of the year's recorded choral highlights." - Andrew Stewart, Classic FM Magazine
Click here to buy "A Song in Season"...
... or click here to view all Performance CDs by Rutter
Karl Jenkins - "This Land of Ours" (EMI 509093)
Karl Jenkins returns to his roots in the Land of Song with this strongly Welsh-tinted collection. Placed alongside selections from Jenkins' ever-popular "The Armed Man" and Requiem are traditional Welsh-language favourites such as Myfanwy and Suo Gan. The performers, too, fly an unmistakably Welsh flag - comprising male voice choir with brass band accompaniment. Cymru am byth!
"Jenkins' powerful use of surging vocal arrangements infused with drama is here in abundance. He's on top form with this interperative collection, aided by some of the UK's very best musical and vocal performers." - James McLaren, BBC Wales
Click here to buy "This Land of Ours"...
... or click here to view all Performance CDs by Jenkins
Karl Jenkins - "The Armed Man" - Special Edition with DVD (EMI 2172962)
A new, digitally remastered recording of Jenkins' masterpiece "The Armed Man", complete with a DVD of the live performance, is here accompanied by an exclusive recording of his new composition, "For the Fallen". This work lasts just under five minutes and is a setting of the Laurence Binyon poem recited every Remembrance Day. Evidently written from the heart, it opens with a viola solo, and features Jenkins' regular solo soprano of choice, Hayley Westenra.
"[A] mature work... performed here with strength of feeling by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the London Symphony Orchestra" - Charlotte Gardner, BBC Music
Click here to buy "The Armed Man" - Special Edition...
... or click here to view all Performance CDs by Jenkins
Karl Jenkins - Stella Natalis (EMI 6886482)
Karl Jenkins’ new piece for choir and orchestra, Stella Natalis, is a Christmas gift to music lovers of all stylistic and spiritual backgrounds. Joy to the world, arrangements of carols from around the globe, completes the album’s universal message of peace and goodwill.
Click here to buy "Stella Natalis"...
... or click here to view all Performance CDs by Jenkins
Eric Whitacre - Light & Gold (Decca 2743209)
The new CD by the fresh new composer Eric Whitacre - under his own baton - containing Five Hebrew Love Songs, Three Songs of Faith and some of Whitacre's best-known works such as "Sleep", "Water Night" and "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine". Performers include the King's Singers, the Pavao Quartet, Laudibus, the Eric Whitacre Singers and soloists Grace Davidson and Stephen Kennedy.
"To call Mr Whitacre a phenomenon is to sell his rapid ascent short" - New York Times
"Extraordinarily beautiful" - The Times
"Soars to new celestial heights" - Classic FM
Click here to buy "Light & Gold"...
... or click here to view all Performance CDs by Whitacre
Bach, J.S. Christmas Oratorio - Jazz arrangement by Bill Dobbins (Signum SIGCD215)
A unique disc from two versatile and distinctive groups of performers: The King’s Singers and and the WDR Big Band perform a new jazz version of JS Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, arranged and directed by Bill Dobbins. Recorded live in concert last year, this performance captures the timeless and versatile nature of Bach’s work, retaining the integrity of the original whilst presenting it in wholly new setting. Both groups are Grammy award winners; The King’s Singers, famed for their precision and sound, and the WDR Big Band, one of Europe’s leading jazz-ensembles.
"Yes, you did read that correctly. In a move that some will see as a stroke of genius and others as the height of musical blasphemy, Mr Dobbins has re-imagined Bach's immortal masterpiece from a jazz perspective. In the process the weighty three-hour original has been slimmed down to a little under two hours, and if the Singers' German occasionally betrays their English roots, the whole is nevertheless an intriguing and utterly gripping musical vision." - The ChoraLine Team
Click here to buy "J.S. Bach - Jazz Christmas Oratorio"...
... or click here to view all CDs of works by J.S. Bach, including the "normal" version of the Christmas Oratorio - why not buy both together for a fascinating and original Christmas gift?
Ian Venables - Song Cycles including "On the Wings of Love" (Naxos 8.572514)
British composer Ian Venables is fast establishing a reputation as one of the leading lights of contemporary vocal music. This CD reflects his particular affinity for solo songs with piano, though in the first of the two cycles he also adds a clarinettist to enhance each song's mood, and British tenor James Gilchrist is a refined and sensitive soloist.
"Genuinely personal and... profound. Venables' setting of 'At Malvern' is haunting and hypnotic." - George Hall, BBC Music Magazine
Click here to buy "On the Wings of Love"
Carl Orff - Carmina Burana, cond. Daniel Harding (Deutsche Grammophon 4778778)
Recorded live in Munich with the Choir and Symphony Orchestra of Bavarian Radio, this CD captures the energy of the live experience and has an immediacy that studio recordings can lack. The performance was singled out for particular praise for the clarity of the verbal delivery - both from the choir and from the soloists (Patricia Petibon, Hans-Werner Bunz and Christian Gerhaher).
"Lean, modern choral singing... rhythmically tense... Petibon is wonderful... Gerhaher masterly... Harding discovers the truly medieval immutable quality of 'Carmina Burana' " - Suddeutsche Zeitung
Click here to buy this recording of "Carmina Burana"...
... or click here to view Performance CDs of Orff
Sir Simon Rattle - The Nutcracker (EMI 6463852)
To celebrate 30 years of recording with EMI, legendary British conductor Sir Simon Rattle has released a new recording with the Berlin Philharmonic of Tchaikovsky's timeless and enchanting "Nutcracker Suite". In addition to the standard release on two CDs, there is also a special "Experience Edition" available, with a range of bonus features including exclusive interviews and downloads, access to live concert footage and a 60-page booklet.
"Rattle is always heartflet and expansive, and the playing of the Berliners is glorious." - The Sunday Times
Click here to buy "Simon Rattle - The Nutcracker"...
...or click here to buy the Experience Edition!
Isabel Suckling - The Choirgirl (Decca 2747075)
At just 11 years of age choirgirl Isabel Suckling is the youngest classical artist ever to sign a record deal. This debut album includes collaborations with Bryn Terfel and Andre Rieu, while plans are also afoot to tour with her mentor Aled Jones.
"Prepare to be enchanged by the voice of The Choirgirl Isabel" - Classic FM"
"Isabel's voice is pure and angelic... this is a breathtaking album" - Aled Jones"
Click here to buy "Isabel Suckling - The Choirgirl"
The Nuns of Avignon - "Voice": Chant from Avignon (Decca 2748264)
The Nuns of the Abbaye de Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation won a worldwide search for the world's finest female singers of Gregorian chant. Members of a strict order, the nuns do not leave their convent, and do not permit visitors - but their enchanting voices can now be heard worldwide.
"Simply heavenly" - Classic FM
Click here to buy "Voice: Chant from Avignon"
Susan Boyle - "The Gift" (Sony 886 9772 0772)
Having performed for the Pope during his September visit to the United Kingdom, Scottish singing phenomenon Susan Boyle stays in religious mood with this collection of classic spiritual and seasonal songs, both traditional and contemporary.
Susan explains: "When making this album, I really wanted the songs to touch hearts. Music has always been a companion to me, particularly on special occasions. I wanted there to be a mix of songs that would flow with all our moods this holiday season. As much as the season is a time for reflection, it is also a time for fun and enjoyment with those closest to us."
Click here to buy "Susan Boyle - The Gift"
Russell Watson - La Voce (Sony 88697773392)
Russell "The Voice" Watson returns in spectacular form from his recent illness - with, as he says, a reinvigorated vocal "engine" as a result: "The tumour could have been growing for 10-15 years in my nasal cavity, so I went from a V8 to a V12!" The selection is mostly in Italian, and includes arrangements of the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, Giazotto's Adagio (the famous work formerly attributed to Albinoni) and works by Rachmaninov and others.
"The silky strings of the Rome Sinfonietta are the perfect accompaniment to this collection of Italian love songs." - Classic FM
Click here to buy "Russell Watson - La Voce"
The Priests - Noel (Sony 88697757292)
The Priests' enchanting first album of carols features all the Christmas classics you know and love - perfect easy listening for Christmas Day!
Click here to buy "The Priests - Noel"