March 17 classical releases

Classical releases

MARCH 17

DISTRIBUTED LABELS: ACCENT RECORDS, ACTES SUD, ALIA VOX, APARTE, BELVEDERE, KINGS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, CHRISTOPHORUS, CSO RESOUND, EDITION CLASSICS, EVIDENCE CLASSIQUES, FRA MUSICA, GLOSSA, harmonia mundi, LA DOLCE VOLTA, LES ARTS FLORISSANTS, LSO LIVE, MARIINSKY, MIRARE, MYRIOS, NAÏVE, ONYX, PAN CLASSICS, PRAGA DIGITALS, RUBICON CLASSICS, SIGNUM CLASSICS, UNITED ARCHIVES, WIGMORE HALL LIVE

available March 17th 2017, order from Cinram

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

RAVEL: Daphnis & Chloé Les Siècles / François-Xavier Roth 'Daphnis and Chloé' is conceived as a ballet in one act and three parts, and tells the story of the love between the shepherd Daphnis and the shepherdess Chloé. A warlike tableau is framed by two pastoral ones: in the first, Daphnis and Chloé acknowledge their mutual love following a dance contest that provokes the jealousy of each of them in turn.

The interruption of a group of pirates, who abduct Chloé, puts an end to the rejoicing. The second tableau depicts the pirate camp; the captive girl is commanded to dance for her abductors. In the final tableau, Chloé is restored to Daphnis through a miracle of the god Pan, whom the nymphs have called on for help. After miming the tale of Pan and Syrinx, the young lovers let their joy burst forth in a General Dance of dazzling orgiastic virtuosity.

The orchestral forces are the largest Ravel ever employed and he adds a mixed chorus that sometimes hums and sometimes sings. As we have come to expect, François-Xavier Roth, in his début for harmonia mundi, has gone through Ravel's much-amended score with a fine-tooth comb and subsequently showed himself capable, in a ‘historically informed’ performance, of reproducing with the musicians of Les Siècles all the transparency and stylistic precision one could wish for in Ravel’s masterpiece.

Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: HMM905280 Barcode: 3149020528020 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Les Siècles, Ensemble Aedes Marion Ralincourt [flute] François-Xavier Roth

ADVERTISED IN GRAMOPHONE & BBC

"Daphnis et Chloé is part of the large-scale project we embarked on with Les Siècles in 2009: the odyssey of the Ballets Russes. To celebrate the centenary of that incredible artistic adventure, we wanted to reconstruct the Parisian orchestra that premiered these works in order to restore their original colours...As with each work of the Ballets Russes that we’ve played so far, we noticed just how remarkably the instruments of Ravel’s time, those French-built instruments typical of the early twentieth century, do justice to this music and make it meaningful!" FXR [from the booklet essay] Pt 1: 1 | Introduction 3’09 2 | Danse religieuse 5’15 3 | Vif - Danse générale 3’10 4 | Danse grotesque de Dorcon - Scène 1’51 5 | Danse légère et gracieuse de Daphnis 2’54 6 | Lent [devant le groupe radieux que forment Daphnis et Chloé enlacés] 1’42 7 | Danse de Lyceion 1’30 8 | Scène [Les Pirates] 1’46 9 | Nocturne [Une lumière irréelle enveloppe le paysage] 1’32 10 | Danse lente et mystérieuse des Nymphes 2’47 11 | Interlude 2’55 Pt 2: 12 | Introduction - Danse guerrière 4’31 13 | Danse suppliante de Chloé 3’37 14 | Lent [Soudain l’atmosphère semble chargée d’éléments insolites] 2’19 Pt 3: 15 | Lever du jour - Scène 5’38 16 | Pantomime [Daphnis et Chloé miment l’aventure de Pan et de Syrinx] 1’20 17 | Très lent [Chloé figure par sa danse les accents de la flûte] 2’34 18 | Chloé tombe dans les bras de Daphnis 2’19 19 | Animé - Danse générale 4’00

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

SCHUBERT: Fantasie in F Minor & other piano duets works for 4-hand piano

Andreas Staier, Alexander Melnikov "I have composed a big sonata and variations for four hands, and the latter have met with a specially good reception here, but I do not entirely trust Hungarian taste, and I shall leave it to you and to the Viennese to decide their true merit" So wrote Franz Schubert in 1824, evoking the popular 19th-century genre for 4-hands piano that publishers were always pestering him to write for. In his brief life Schubert devoted 32 compositions to this form and the least of these pieces, be it a ländler, polonaise or march, radiates with all of his finesse and sensitivity. Three are incontestable masterpieces, in the same rank as his sonatas or quartets: the Variations D813, the Fantasie D 940 and the Rondo D 951. All three date from the composer’s final years, a period that gave birth to his most accomplished works.

In concert, Andreas Staier and Alexander Melnikov have played Bach’s 'Well-Tempered Clavier', with Staier at the harpsichord, alongside Shostakovich’s '24 Preludes and Fugues', with Melnikov at the piano. Sharing a keyboard evidently suits them just as well; their unique musical complicity bringing together four hands and two immense talents.

Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: HMM902227 Barcode: 3149020222720 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Andreas Staier, Alexander Melnikov [fortepiano Graf by Christopher Clarke]

ADVERTISED IN BBC MUSIC

1-4 Fantasie Op.103 D940, F minor 5 Ländler D814 6 Marche Caractéristique D886 No. 1, C major 7-15 Variations on an original theme Op.35 D813, A flat major 16 Grande Marche Op.40 No. 3 D819, B minor 17 Polonaise Op.61 N° 1 D824, D minor 18 Rondo Op.107 D951, A major "Two very different but like-minded musicians, Andreas Staier and Alexander Melnikov, sat down together and offered a careful selection of these pieces...two musicians indulging in a Schubert feast of often outstanding quality...

They breathed together, evolved together, gave each other wings. It is such a pleasure watching music being made through teamwork, even in – particularly in – the smallest of teams...

Staier might as well have sung simultaneously, or instead of playing, such was his understanding and interpretation of those lines, behind which there is always a wordless Lied. The haunting opening theme in the Fantasy in F minor, D.940, with its pounding appoggiatura that stubbornly delays the perfect fourth interval that follows, defied any description."

Reviewed at Auditorio Nacional de Musica, Madrid on 23 September 2014, Laura Furones, Bachtrack

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

Catharsis Xavier Sabata

Label: Aparté File Under: Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: AP143 Barcode: 3149028099324 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Xavier Sabata [counter-tenor] Armonia Atenea/George Petrou [direction]

ALSO AVAILABLE: AP048 Bad Guys “Matchless, and highly recommended.”

The Guardian, 6/2/2013 *****

Around the year 1600, a group of Florentine aristocrats, inspired by ancient Greek drama, gave birth to opera. It was intended to move and glorify human passions in such a strong way that the spectator's soul would be cleansed of these passions in a process that Aristotle called 'catharsis'. Xavier Sabata, in his 3rd solo album for Aparté, grasps the cathartic mettle.

Sabata has rapidly established a reputation as one of the leading countertenors of his generation. Born in Avià, Catalonia, he trained as an actor at Barcelona’s Institut del Teatre, perfecting his vocal technique at the Escola Superior de Musica Catalunya and at the Musikhochschule, Karlsruhe, where his teachers were Hartmut Höll and Mitsuko Shirai.

After early successes working with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, he now also appears with such ensembles as Europa Galante and Collegium 1704 with conductors such as Fabio Biondi, René Jacobs, Jordi Savall, Fabio Bonizzoni, Ivor Bolton, Riccardo Minasi and Harry Bicket.

The Greek conductor George Petrou studied piano in Athens and at the RCM and RAM in London. He has gradually turned to conducting and is establishing a flourishing international career. He is the artistic director of the renowned Athens based Orchestra Armonia Atenea, with which he tours and records extensively, performing both on period or modern instruments.

ORLANDINI: Adelaide, Act I, Scene 12: 1 Recitativo "Ciò che donò la frode", 2 Aria "Alza al ciel pianta orgoglioso" CONTI: Griselda, Act III, Scene 3: 3 Recitativo "In te, sposa Griselda, mi uccido", 4 Aria "Cara sposa" TORRI: Griselda, Act III, Scene 14: 5 Aria "Vorresti col tuo pianto" VIVALDI: Il Farnace, RV 711, Act II, Scene 5: 6 Aria "Gelido in ogni vena", ORLANDINI: Adelaide, Act I, Scene 12: 7 Recitativo "O del moi caro ben", 8 Aria "Già mi sembra al carro avvinto" HANDEL: Admeto, HWV 22, Act I, Scene 1: 9 Introduzzione. Lentemento, 10 Recitativo accompagnato "Orride larve", 11 Arioso "Chiudetevi miei lumi" HASSE: La conversione di Sant'Agostino, Part II: 12 Recitativo accompagnato "Viver vogl'io sempre per te moi dio", 13 Aria "Or mi pento" ARIOSTI: Caio Mazio Coriolando, Act III, Scene 8: 14 Recitativo accompagnato "Spirate, o oniqui marmi", 15 Aria "Voi, d'un figlio tanto misero" CALDARA: Temistocle, Act III, Scene 3: 16 Aria "Ah, frenate il pianto imbelle", SARRO: Il Valdemaro, Act III, Scene 10: 17 Recitativo accompagnato "Sorte nemica!", 18 Aria "Quando onor favella al core"

AP093 I Dilettanti “[Sabata] has a rich and glorious tone, seemingly-limitless breath control and a formidable dramatic sense, all of which are fully deployed here.” Early Music Review, Dec 2014

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

BEETHOVEN: Missa Solemnis Op.123 Carolyn Sampson Marianne Beate Kielland Thomas Walker David Wilson-Johnson Cappella Amsterdam

Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: GCD921124 Barcode: 8424562211247 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Carolyn Sampson [soprano] Marianne Beate Kielland [alto] Thomas Walker [tenor] David Wilson-Johnson [bass] Cappella Amsterdam Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century Daniel Reuss [conductor]

The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century continues its vibrant music-making journey, very much in the spirit of its late founder Frans BrĂźggen, with specially invited conductors. In order to tackle Beethoven's mighty 'Missa Solemnis', the orchestra formed a partnership with highly-regarded Daniel Reuss, who has recorded a sizeable number of critically-acclaimed choral masterpieces, many of them with Cappella Amsterdam. This fine Dutch chorus is possessed of all the right skills to climb this glorious mountain of a work; notably vocal agility and stamina.

The chorus is joined by an outstanding quartet of soloists in Carolyn Sampson, Marianne Beate Kielland, Thomas Walker and David Wilson-Johnson. The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has significant experience performing the music of Beethoven on period instruments (and its current concert schedule embraces the symphonies, piano concertos and Fidelio), all the more necessary with such a demanding work.

This new recording comes with an elegant essay from Bas van Putten, but also by a fascinating series of images captured by photographer and violinist Annelies van der Vegt, taken across The Netherlands during the course of the orchestra’s concert tour with the Missa Solemnis.

1 Kyrie 2 Gloria 3 Credo 4 Sanctus 5 Agnus Dei Gramophone's video of the day 24/10/2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYvpMeaaS3A

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

Orazio VECCHI: Requiem Rubens’s funeral and the Antwerp Baroque

Graindelavoix, Björn Schmelzer

Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: GCDP32113 Barcode: 8424562321137 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Graindelavoix, Björn Schmelzer [director]

For his latest Glossa CD with Graindelavoix, Björn Schmelzer takes his lead from the funeral rites for the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens in 1640, which might well have encompassed the Requiem Mass by Orazio Vecchi as recorded here, to demonstrate two interconnected facets of Baroque Antwerp. The city was a major centre for music printing and Vecchi’s Requiem was brought out there, as were the other works presented on this disc: George de La Hèle, Duarte Lobo and Pedro Ruimonte (the recording ends with three successive Agnus Deis!). The other facet is that of the image of Rubens’s art: full of energy, seductive, optimistic and scintillating. The Northern Baroque par excellence.

Included in his recording are an intriguing booklet essay (about the “Baroque in disguise”) and a stylised selection of pictorial images. Schmelzer encourages the listener/reader to enter into this strange world of artistic clashes and ruptures; not least the fact that Vecchi, a composer better known for his secular music popular in Venice, would have had his sacred music performed in Antwerp. This is achieved with Graindelavoix’s customary uncompromising – often provocative – vocal sound, complete with artfully-executed ornamentation.

Orazio VECCHI: Missa pro defunctis: 01 Requiem aeternam 02 Kyrie 03 Si ambulem 04 Dies irae 05 Domine Jesu Christe 06 Sanctus 07 Agnus Dei 08 Lux aeterna 09 Libera me Domine (Paolo Bravusi) George de La HELE: Missa Praeter rerum seriem: 10 Kyrie 11 Sanctus 12 Agnus Dei Pedro RUIMONTE: Missa Ave Virgo Sanctissima: 13 Agnus Dei Duarte LOBO: Missa Dum aurora: 14 Agnus Dei ALSO AVAILABLE: GCDP32110 Machaut Messe de Notre Dame “shocking with visceral, stone-ground sonorities in exciting, idiosyncratic, dangerous, Marmite interpretations.”

Choir & Organ, January 2017 "compelling, because of the beauty of the voices and the evident care that has been lavished on so many details; provocative, because so many of those details will surprise, startle and perhaps infuriate.”

Gramophone Editor's Choice, June 2016

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

MONTEVERDI: Madrigali & altri canti Ballo delle Ingrate, Selva Morale, Combattimento di Tancrede...

Les Arts Florissants William Christie This box set assembles the complete Monteverdi recordings that William Christie and Les Arts Florissants made for harmonia mundi over some 15 years. Together, they constantly refreshed their inspiration at the wellspring of his finest and most famous madrigals, with a memorable incursion into the sacred repertory of the Selva Morale.

Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: HMX290877275 Barcode: 3149020877241 BUDGET Price Format: 4 CD Packaging: box set Les Arts Florissants William Christie

CD1: Altri Canti 1 | Altri canti di Marte (Libro VIII) 2 | Perchè t’en fuggi o Fillide (Libro VIII) 3 | Chiome d’Oro (Libro VII) 4 | Hor ch’el Ciel e la Terra (Libro VIII) 5 | Lamento della Ninfa “Non havea Febo ancora” (Libro VIII) 6 | Gira il nemico (Libro VIII) 7 | Amor che deggio far (Libro VII) 8 | Ballo: Tirsi e Clori (Libro VII) CD2: Il Ballo delle Ingrate - Libro Ottavo 1 | Ouverture 2 | Amore: De l’implacabil Dio 3 | Sinfonia 4 | Venere : Udite, Donne, udite 5 | Plutone: Bella madre d’Amor 6 | Amore e Venere: Ecco ver noi 7 | Ballo 8 | Plutone : Dal tenebroso orror 9 | Ballo 10 | Una delle Ingrate : Ahi troppo è duro Sestina - Lagrime d’Amante al Sepolcro dell’Amata - Libro Settimo 11 | Prima parte: Incenerite spoglie 12 | Seconda parte: Ditelo voi 13 | Terza parte: Darà la notte il sol 14 | Quarta parte: Ma te raccoglie 15 | Quinta parte: O chiome d’or 16 | Sesta et ultima parte: Dunque amata reliquie CD3: Selva morale e spirituale (1640) - Florilège / Anthology 1 | Gloria 2 | Chi vol che m’innamori 3 | O ciechi ciechi 4 | Adoramus 5 | Confitebor terzo alla francese 6 | Confitebor tibi Domine 7 | Laudate Dominum 8 | È questa vita un lampo 9 | Beatus vir CD4: Madrigali 1 | Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (Libro VIII). Torquato Tasso 2 | Mentre vaga Angioletta (Libro VIII). Battista Guarini 3 | Con che soavità (Libro VII). Battista Guarini 4 | Eri già tutta mia 5 | Quel sguardo sdegnosetto (Scherzi musicali) 6 | Tu dormi, ah crudo (Libro VII) 7 | Presso un fiume tranquillo (Libro VI). Gianbattista Marino 8 | Zefiro torna (Madrigali e canzonette [Libro IX]). Ottavio Rinuccini 9 | O come sei gentile (Madrigali e canzonette [Libro IX]). Battista Guarini 10 | Ardo, avvampo (Libro VIII)

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

MONTEVERDI: L'Orfeo La Venexiana / Claudio Cavina

Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: GCD920941 Barcode: 8424562209411 2 FOR 1.5 Price Format: 2 CD Packaging: digipack Emanuela Galli: La Musica / Euridice Mirko Guadagnini: Orfeo Marina De Liso: Messaggiera Cristina Calzolari: Proserpina Matteo Bellotto: Plutone Josè Maria Lo Monaco: Speranza Salvo Vitale: Caronte Vincenzo Di Donato: Apollo Francesca Cassinari: Ninfa Giovanni Caccamo, Makoto Sakurada, Claudio Cavina, Tony Corradini

As part of their comprehensive survey of the music of Claudio Monteverdi, Claudio Cavina and La Venexiana delivered an exceptional version of 'L’Orfeo', a reading which had been honed by their trailblazing interpretations of the composer’s madrigals.

This highly-esteemed recording of the favola in musica – critics applauded and fêted it in many different countries – subsequently dropped out of the catalogue and Glossa is very pleased to have the opportunity to return it there as part of this year’s 450th anniversary commemorations of the composer’s birth.

The seductive power of Claudio Cavina’s interpretation lay, in part, in his choice of orchestral colours but also in his shaping of the mythical story of the shared love of Orfeo and Euridice; the latter’s death and descent into the Underworld; and the former’s efforts to rescue from there. Into that reading Mirko Guadagnini excelled with nobleness in the title role, and Emanuela Galli brought sensuality to that of Euridice (and fervour to her Musica), whilst other key roles were taken

by Salvo Vitale, Marina De Liso and Josè Maria Lo Monaco. In keeping with his habits of the time Claudio Cavina also found a small part for he himself to sing: the third Shepherd in this case – a reminder not just of his own talents and legacy on record as a singer but of La Venexiana’s tight-knit ensemble approach also.

Claudio Cavina’s 'L’Orfeo' has lost nothing of its grandeur in the passing of the years and is recommendable today as when it was first issued in 2006.

CD I [52:34] Prologo Atto Primo Atto Secondo CD II [62:18] Atto Terzo Atto Quarto Atto Quinto

“Cavina’s wonderful account goes straight to the top of the list of recommended recordings.

Do not miss it.” Editor’s Choice, Gramophone, November 2007

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

BUXTEHUDE: Trio Sonatas Manuscrits d'Uppsala

La Rêveuse Dietrich Buxtehude was a key figure of the north German instrumental repertory for violin and viol. It was he who firmly established the prestige of the German trio sonata by introducing into it the stylus phantasticus, that highly contrasted and dramatic instrumental language in which imagination and virtuosity reign supreme.

1-3 BUXTEHUDE: Sonata in A-Moll, BuxWV 272 4-12 Dietrich BECKER: Sonata & Suite in D-Dur 13-14 ANON: Violadagamba Solo in D-Moll 15-19 BUXTEHUDE: Sonata III in G-Moll, Op. 2, BuxWV 261 20-24 Sonata in D-Dur, BuxWV 267 25-30 Sonata & Suite in B-Dur, BuxWV 273

Label: Mirare File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: MIR303 Barcode: 3760127223030 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack La Rêveuse Florence Bolton Benjamin Perrot

“This has got to be one of my recommendations of the month – flawless playing from all concerned…both in the suavity of sound, the perfect balance and neat interplay between the voices, and the keen sense of drama they bring to Telemann’s outstanding chamber music.”

Early Music Review, February 2015 [on Telemann Trios & Quartets with viola da gamba / La Rêveuse MIR267] “beautifully crafted pieces, fluid, suave, airy, varied. Under the direction of Benjamin Perrot, the members of La Rêveuse bring a Gallic elegance to their playing that serves the music beautifully.”

Sunday Times, [on Buxtehude Sonatas, MIR074]

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartets 2 No. 4 Op.83, No.6 Op.101, No.9 Op.117

Borodin Quartet The second volume of a tribute to violinist Rostislav Dubinsky (1923-97), keystone of the Borodin Quartet until 1974 when he emigrated to the West. The former Moscow Philharmonic Quartet was composed of orchestra members such as Rudolf and Nina Barshaï and Mstislav Rostropovitch who often played only for one season. Dubinsky however managed to keep the same Borodin Quartet together for 20 years. They acted as ambassadors of Russian music to the outside world. Although Shostakovich entrusted the premieres of 13 of his 15 quartets to the Beethoven Quartet, the Borodin Quartet earned them world acclaim, and their post-Beethoven rendering was quickly taken up by non-Slavic musicians.

1-4 String Quartet No. 4, Moscow USSR Radio Broadcasts January 1966 5-8 String Quartet No.6, Moscow USSR Radio Broadcasts January 1966 9-13 String Quartet No. 9, Moscow USSR Radio Broadcasts January & November 1966

Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: PRD250331 Barcode: 3149028083026 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Borodin Quartet: Rostislav Dubinsky Jaroslav Alexandrov [violins] Dmitry Shebalin [viola] Valentin Berlinsky [cello]

ALSO AVAILABLE: PRD250323 Shostakovich String Quartets 1, 2 & 5 “these arresting performances possess a devil-may-care spontaneity and adrenal flow.”

BBC Music Magazine, July 2016 ****

RELEASE DATE 17TH MARCH 2017

DVORAK: Serenades from Bohemia In memoriam Sir Neville Marriner [1924-2016]

Czech Nonet Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields Sir Neville Marriner First perfected by Mozart, the ‘classic’ serenade spread its wings with Dvorák: from village fête music and bandstand concerts to waltzes and minuets. A tribute to Sir Neville Marriner and the particular Czech approach to wind instruments.

1-5 Octet-Serenade in E B36, 6-10 Serenade for Strings in E Op.22, [ASMF, London, Nov 1965] 11 Serendae in D min Op.44 arr for nonet [1-5, 11 Prague, Czech Nonet, Sept 30, Nov 28-30 1998]

Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: PRD250371 Barcode: 3149028108224 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Czech Nonet Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields Sir Neville Marriner Ivan Klánsky, Pavel Hula, Vladimir Klánsky