New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 23rd October 2020
Tody's new releases include world premiere recordings of Dussekâs late Messe Solemnelle from Richard Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music and Hahnâs early opera L'Ăźle du rĂȘve from HervĂ© Niquet and the MĂŒnchner Rundfunkorchester, plus Schumann and Klengel Cello Concertos from Raphaela Gromes, and John Sheppardâs Media vita from the Choir of New College Oxford.
Handel: Messiah
Julia Doyle (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor) and Roderick Williams (baritone); RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie fĂŒr Alte Musik Berlin, Justin Doyle
Like John Butt and the Dunedin Consortâs 2006 recording, this period-instrument Messiah aims to recreate the scale and intimacy of the workâs 1742 premiere in Dublin, with a choir of just 32; the recording was made at Berlinâs Jesus-Christus-Kirche this January, shortly after these artists performed the piece at the Berlin Philharmonie on New Yearâs Day.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Klengel, Schumann: Romantic Cello Concertos
Raphaela Gromes (cello), Julian Riem (piano); Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Carter
In the wake of her widely-praised recording of Straussâs cello sonata and song transcriptions with Julian Riem earlier this year, the German cellist opens her new album with the composerâs early Romance for Cello and Orchestra, followed by Julius Klengelâs Cello Concerto No. 3, Schumannâs Cello Concerto, Brahmsâs Hungarian Dance No. 5, and a transcription of the slow movement of Clara Schumannâs Piano Concerto.
Available Format: CD
The Edinburgh-based chamber ensembleâs first recording exploring the kinship between Handel and his Italian, Scotland-domiciled contemporary Francesco Barsanti was praised in Gramophone for its âenormous spirit and joyâ when it appeared in 2017, and this volume presents the second instalment of Barsantiâs Op. 3 Concerti Grossi alongside Handelâs overture to Atalanta, and a selection of Old Scots Tunes.
Available Format: CD
Following their debut recording Resilience (featuring music by Prokofiev, JanĂĄÄek, Golijov and Mendelssohn), the young American quartet present a programme of works inspired by âthe intersection of music and languageâ: Caroline Shawâs Three Essays, Schumannâs String Quartet No. 3 in A minor, and Shostakovichâs String Quartet No. 9. Look out for Davidâs interview with the players about the project next week.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
The Emersons make their first appearance on Pentatone with Schumann's three string quartets, written in the summer of 1842 and first performed as a birthday-present for his wife Clara (though the composer would later dedicate the works to Mendelssohn upon publication). Founding member Eugene Drucker observes that he and his fellow players âhave lived with this music since [their] early yearsâ, but this is their first recording of the complete set.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Herrewegheâs Bruckner symphonies with the Orchestre des Champs-ĂlysĂ©es have been praised for their âclarity of textureâ (Sunday Times) and âlightness of treadâ (BBC Music Magazine), and now he turns to two large-scale sacred works: the Mass No. 2 (composed in 1866 for the inauguration of a votive chapel in Linz Cathedral) and the Te Deum of 1881, much admired by Mahler and Hans Richter.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Dussek: Messe Solemnelle
Stefanie True (soprano), Helen Charlston (mezzo), Gwilym Bowen (tenor), Morgan Pearse (bass); Choir of the AAM, Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr
Described in this weekâs Sunday Times as âa hugely worthwhile discovery of an unknown work by one of Mozartâs most gifted younger contemporariesâ, this is the first-ever recording of the Bohemian composerâs last major work, written for the name-day of Nicolas II, Prince EsterhaÌzy, in the early 1800s. The recording uses a new scholarly edition prepared from Dussekâs original manuscript by Egarr and Reinhard Sieger.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Alex Woolf: Requiem
Nicky Spence (tenor), Philip Higham (cello), Iain Burnside (piano), Vox Luna, Alex Woolf
This is the world premiere recording of Woolfâs Requiem, written in 2018 to commemorate the end of the First World War and first performed at Holy Trinity Church, Chelsea; named BBC Young Composer of the Year in 2012, Woolf is currently a postgraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music, where his teachers and mentors have included David Sawer, Colin Matthews, Huw Watkins, and the late Oliver Knussen.
Available Format: CD
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Folk Songs Volume 1
Mary Bevan (soprano), Nicky Spence (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), Jack Liebeck (violin), William Vann (piano)
The first instalment of a projected series encompassing the eighty folk songs in English which the composer arranged for voice and piano or violin, this album features fifteen world premiere recordings. The first half of the disc is devoted to the Folk Songs from Sussex from 1912, collected by Percy Merrick from Lodsworth farmer Henry Hills around twelve years earlier. Read our recent interview with the artists and researcher John Francis here.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Sheppard spent part of his career in Oxford (though he was based down the road at Magdalen rather than at New College), and the celebrated choir make their Linn debut with his masterpiece Media vita. Itâs preceded by six motets on texts from the Old Testament, four of which - A solis ortus cardine, Inclina Domine, Iudica me Deus and Confitebor tibi - are world premiere recordings.
Available Format: CD
Hahn: LâĂźle du rĂȘve
HĂ©lĂšne Guilmette, Cyrille Dubois, Artavazd Sargsyan, AnaĂŻk Morel, Thomas DoliĂ©, Ludivine Gombert; MĂŒnchner Rundfunkorchester, ChĆur du Concert Spirituel, HervĂ© Niquet
Composed when Hahn was still in his teens, this âidylle polynĂ©sienneâ was premiered at the OpĂ©ra Comique, and prompted Massenet to tell the young man that âto have written that, you must be a poetâ. Set in Tahiti, the opera prefigures elements of Pucciniâs Madama Butterfly in its depiction of a French naval officer who seduces and abandons a young Polynesian girl, whilst the score is shot through with the influences of Bizet and Massenet.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Picture format: 1080i/30
Sound format: PCM Stereo 2:0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5:1
Available Format: Blu-ray