BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - September 2017 Choices
A great month for baroque music of all varieties, with Ann Hallenberg's breathtaking album of arias by Albinoni, Giacomelli, Leo, Orlandini, Porpora and Vinci taking pride of place as Recording of the Month, and music by Telemann and Bach occupying the top Concerto and Instrumental slots. One of our office favourites (and best-sellers of the month!) also makes the grade - Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort making their recording debut with the long-forgotten Sonate da Camera by Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli (you can read Katherine's in-depth interview with Bojan about the project here).
Recording of the Month
'This music is electrifying...In re-inventing Senesino's whispered pathos, or Faustina's heated protests, Hallenberg shows us why Baroque opera stars were idolised...Collective virtuosity is the lifeblood of Baroque music. Hallenberg is dazzling, but as part of a shared project. This performance brings us music never heard before, executed with a rare intensity.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Orchestral Choice
'Pacing can be tricky in the Molto moderato opening movement, but Slatkin's astutely pitched tempo allows both a coherent sense of forward momentum and adequate elbow room for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra strings to phrase eloquently. Heavy brass and timpani make their solemn impact...[a] tautly argued, rhythmically bouyant version of Copland's Symphony, one of the most cogent currently on the market.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Concerto Choice
'These felicitous, multi-instrument works show Georg Philipp's endlessly fertile and capricious imagination...The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin has led the vanguard of Baroque performance since 1982. Telemann's music is a perfect showcase for its virtuoso soloists as well as their sensitivity as chamber musicians...A delicate musical tapestry, fit to adorn the finest court banquet.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chamber Choice
'Čičić's distinctive sound - sweet, slightly dry and exquisitely centred - is ideal for the taut beauty of Carbonelli's solo lines. Crucially, Čičić fleshes out the composer's ideas, filling rests and cadences with large dollops of his own making. His band helps him enormously, not least with their additions and sexy realisations. The future of the Illyria Consort is bright.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Instrumental Choice
'Her affinity with [Bach's] idiom is everywhere palpable in this recording...Eschewing flashy showmanship, she focuses instead on drawing a limpid cantabile sound, and on making the rhythms dance...Mei's phrasing is beautifully tapered, lending a natural ebb and flow to the music. In short, these are honest and deeply affectionate performances, set to become a classic.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Choral Choice
Opera Choice
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict
Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Paul Appleby; London Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Antonello Manacorda, Laurent Pelly (director)
'This is Pellyland, a deeply satisfying comic world with its own style conjured up for Glyndebourne by one of the most assured opera directors at work today...The LPO rise magnificently to the challenge of Berlioz's vibrant orchestration and daring harmonies...d'Oustrac is a perfect Béatrice, a comic actress with impeccable timing who relishes every word...Appleby's Bénédict is much more than the bluff soldier.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict
Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Paul Appleby; London Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Antonello Manacorda, Laurent Pelly (director)
Also available on Blu-ray
Available Format: Blu-ray
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
