New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-up - 17th February 2017
This week's selection includes a recording of Handel's Catone on Glossa, starring Sonia Prina in the title role. Choral highlights include Monteverdi from Les Arts Florissants, and Britten and Byrd from The Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge. Saint-Saëns from cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand and continuations of Barry Douglas's series of Schubert piano works and Miklós Spányi's C P E Bach series also feature.
Handel: Catone
Sonia Prina (Catone), Lucia Cirillo (Marzia), Riccardo Novaro (Cesare), Kristina Hammerström (Arbace), Roberta Invernizzi (Emilia), Auser Musici, Carlo Ipata
Despite being busy with writing his own operas, Handel strove to present London audiences with selections from Italian operas by other composers. One result was Catone in 1732, with music by Leo, Hasse, Vivaldi, Vinci and Porpora as well as by Handel himself. The pasticcio’s plot functions admirably, and the arias are stunning.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Barry Douglas continues his exploration of Schubert’s piano music, exploring works written in the last years of the composer’s short life, including the intimate melodies and contrasts of the Impromptus, and the monumental Sonata in A with its extraordinary range and technical challenges.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No.1 - Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3
Emmanuelle Bertrand (cello), Pascal Amoyel (piano), Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, James Gaffigan
Saint-Saëns wrote three sonatas for the cello, but unfortunately the last two movements of the Third Sonata have been lost and what is left survives only in manuscript. Emmanuelle Bertrand and Pascal Amoyel play it here with emotion and total respect. The Concerto also included is one of the ‘musts’ of the cello repertoire.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This final volume in the trilogy from Les Arts Florissants contains the best-loved gems of a composer who had become maestro di cappella at St Mark’s in Venice, and finally entered the priesthood. The madrigals methodically explore the possibilities offered by the rapidly developing practice of basso continuo and by an unprecedented exploitation of solo voices.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Taking note of CPE Bach's instructions regarding the choice of instrument for the rondos recorded here, Miklós Spányi performs them on a tangent piano, an early form of the piano. The strings of the tangent piano are struck by small wooden slips (‘tangents’) and the basic sound is reminiscent of the harpsichord. Spányi combines the rondos with Sonatas 4 and 6 from the first collection.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Led by Mark Williams, the Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge continue their critically-praised series of recordings on Signum with this new recording of works by British composers Benjamin Britten and William Byrd. The choir's sixth release on Signum, previous discs by the Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge have drawn near universal praise from critics.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Royal Ballet Principals Federico Bonelli, Laura Morera and Steven McRae dance the lead roles in a new ballet based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This ambitious theatrical collaboration brings the novel to life with spectacular period sets and a newly commissioned score by Lowell Liebermann.
Available Format: DVD Video
Royal Ballet Principals Federico Bonelli, Laura Morera and Steven McRae dance the lead roles in a new ballet based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This ambitious theatrical collaboration brings the novel to life with spectacular period sets and a newly commissioned score by Lowell Liebermann.
Available Format: Blu-ray
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
