New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-up - 10th November 2017
Good things appear to come in pairs today: we have two contrasting recitals of French repertoire from sopranos Mary Bevan and Sabine Devieilhe, two recordings featuring Fretwork (Gibbons’s complete consort anthems on Signum and a programme of Thomas Tallis with Alamire on Obsidian), and two outstanding Wagner operas (the third instalment of the ‘Naxos Ring' from Jaap van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and Die Walküre from this year’s Salzburg Easter Festival on DVD and Blu-ray).
The live performances which these recordings capture were described by the San Francisco Chronicle as ‘nothing short of magnificent’ – and after the recent crop of lean, fleet-footed Schumann recordings we’re finding Tilson Thomas’s more spacious, Romantic approach a refreshing change!
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Performed on period instruments, this new arrangement of Bach’s unfinished masterpiece is scored for two violins, viola, cello, harpsichord and organ, presented in different combinations for each individual movement.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The coloratura soprano explores the concept of exoticism in French opera and song, with excerpts from Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Delibes’s Lakmé and Massenet’s Thaïs, plus melodies by Debussy, Koechlin and Maurice Delage.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
French repertoire also makes up the lion's share of Mary Bevan and Joseph Middleton’s recital on the theme of travel; the disc centres on the poetry of Baudelaire and Goethe, including well-known settings by Duparc, Fauré and Debussy and rarities by Rollinat, Séverac and Bréville.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This collection of works by ‘The Father of English Church Music’ includes the world premiere recording of an early version of Gaude gloriosa dei mater with a text attributed to Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife Katherine Parr, which received its first ever performance earlier this year.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
In Chains of Gold: The English Pre-Restoration Verse Anthem, Vol. 1
Fretwork, His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts, Magdalena Consort, Peter Harvey
The first volume of this new survey of early seventeenth-century verse anthems focuses on the music of Orlando Gibbons, including well-known examples such as This is the Record of John and Behold, thou hast made my days as well as comparative rarities like Do not repine, fair sun.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Wagner: Siegfried (CD)
Simon O’Neill, Matthias Goerne, David Cangelosi, Werner Van Mechelen, Heidi Melton; Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
The third instalment of the acclaimed ‘Hong Kong Ring’ was recorded in concert this January – the live performance was praised at the time for the ‘magisterial command’ of Jaap van Zweden and the ‘exceptional stamina and admirable musicianship’ (Classical.Net) of Simon O’Neill as the fearless hero.
Available Formats: 4 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Wagner: Siegfried (Blu-ray)
Simon O’Neill, Matthias Goerne, David Cangelosi, Werner Van Mechelen, Heidi Melton; Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
The third instalment of the acclaimed ‘Hong Kong Ring’ was recorded in concert this January – the live performance was praised at the time for the ‘magisterial command’ of Jaap van Zweden and the ‘exceptional stamina and admirable musicianship’ (Classical.Net) of Simon O’Neill as the fearless hero.
Available Format: Blu-ray Audio
Wagner: Die Walküre (DVD)
Peter Seiffert, Georg Zeppenfeld, Vitalij Kowaljow, Anja Harteros, Anja Kampe, Christa Mayer; Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann
Filmed at this year’s Salzburg Easter Festival, this strongly-cast Walküre recreates Herbert von Karajan’s 1967 staging of the work via video backdrops of the original sets; the Financial Times observed that ‘there is an absolute polish to this performance that is exceptional’.
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Wagner: Die Walküre (Blu-ray)
Peter Seiffert, Georg Zeppenfeld, Vitalij Kowaljow, Anja Harteros, Anja Kampe, Christa Mayer; Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann
Filmed at this year’s Salzburg Easter Festival, this strongly-cast Walküre recreates Herbert von Karajan’s 1967 staging of the work via video backdrops of the original sets; the Financial Times observed that ‘there is an absolute polish to this performance that is exceptional’.
Available Format: Blu-ray
Released in anticipation of his centenary next August, this 100-CD box presents Bernstein’s American Columbia recordings in new remasterings, and includes landmark interpretations of Beethoven, Mahler, Strauss, Verdi and works by twentieth-century American composers as well as many of his own major compositions.
Available Format: 100 CDs
Our dedicated Naxos New Release Brochure returns this week, where you can browse, read about, and listen to excerpts of all the exciting Naxos releases out today. As well as the latest instalment from the Hong Kong Ring cycle, highlights include world premiere recordings of choral works by George Dyson and Timothy Hamilton, Shostakovich's complete score for The Gadfly, and a box set released to celebrate Gerard Schwarz's 70th birthday.
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
