BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - Christmas 2020 Choices
Pick of the crop in the Christmas issue is a tribute to the late Sir John Tavener from Steven Isserlis and friends on Hyperion, featuring The death of Ivan Ilyich (inspired by a novella by Leo Tolstoy and premiered by Isserlis in 2013), the ‘mantra’ Mahámátar, Popule Meus - a Meditation, and the cellist’s own arrangements of the Three Shakespeare Sonnets and the Preces and Responses for eight cellos.
Other featured artists this month include Fatma Said, Kevin Kenner, Tabea Zimmermann, and the Smetana Trio.
Recording of the Month
Tavener: No longer mourn for me
Steven Isserlis (cello), Matthew Rose (bass), Abi Sampa (vocals); Philharmonia Orchestra, Trinity Boys Choir, Omer Meir Wellber
'These are among Tavener’s most powerful works. They are magnificently performed. Those simple points could easily be lost in the necessity of charting not just the diverse range of music and influences, but also the profoundly personal nature for Steven Isserlis of this remarkable disc. His effective arrangements of two choral pieces for an ensemble of eight cellos frame the disc...the Philharmonia under Omer Meir Wellber are assured advocates.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Orchestral Choice
'Just as with their outstanding exploration of Saint-Saëns’s orchestral music, Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra bring wit, vigour and colour to this effervescent music. Järvi’s exceptional experience ensures that favourite moments do not disappoint...The RSNO is on scintillating form, with idiomatically characterful woodwind, vibrant brass, luminescent strings and crisp percussion.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Concerto Choice
'Ever since winning the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1990, Kenner has stood out as an elegant Chopin player, and he captures the yearning of the opening movement as well as its musical urgency and momentum...These are performances of greater spontaneity than a conductor and orchestra would normally allow...once you’ve heard this, you may well prefer to think of these masterpieces as chamber music.'
Available Format: CD
Chamber Choice
'Even in 2020’s crowded field of Beethoven recordings, this one by the Smetana Trio stands out...all four works come across with vibrant, persuasive energy in the warm but clean acoustic of the studio...The truly striking thing is how seamlessly they work together…It all makes for an extensive palette, imaginatively applied but never overdone in these exuberant and hugely enjoyable performances.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Instrumental Choice
'Zimmermann’s playing is profoundly thoughtful, leading to flawlessly structured readings...Perhaps most remarkable is Zimmermann’s breathtakingly skilful performance of the Sarabandes in which the differentiation of detail within a contrapuntal texture sounds almost as if two instruments are playing...Superbly recorded in a richly resonant ambience, this is an unusual and compelling release.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Choral & Song Choice
El Nour
Fatma Said (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano), Burcu Karadag (ney), Rafael Aguirre (guitar), vision string quartet
'Clever arrangements allow us to encounter shared visions across France, Spain and North Africa...There’s no tacky Orientalism here...The breathy, soft-voiced ney (a Middle Eastern flute) brings magic to the sound...The Egyptian songs are clustered at the end. Abd al-Rahīm's Ana bent el sultan is huge fun, offering an Arabic soundscape with modernist touches...Recitals which combine innovation and appeal at this standard are a rarity. This is one to give all your friends.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Opera Choice
Handel: Semele
Louise Alder, Hugo Hymas, Lucile Richardot, Carlo Vistoli, Gianluca Buratto; English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
'Alder is riveting in the title role as she mutates from soft seductress to vain brat to crushed victim, applying a range of styles to develop her character...Richardot’s intensity equals Alder’s, but with less subtlety...Countering her bluster is Hugo Hymas’s warm tenderness as Jupiter, and an always-inventive finessing of Handel’s dense score by the band and choir...Despite Gardiner’s caprices, this Semele production is gorgeous, and among the best ever.'
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Christmas Choice
Johann Sebastian Bach: Christmas Oratorio
Stuttgarter Hymnus-Chorknaben, Handel's Company, Rainer Johannes Homburg
'There are numerous good recordings of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio to choose from, but this new one from Stuttgart has special things going for it. Not least of them is the Stuttgarter Hymnus-Chorknaben...They make a sound Bach would undoubtedly have approved of – fresh, enthusiastic and with a natural affinity for the Lutheran idiom...Homburg shapes an interpretation which glows joyfully from within, and lifts the heart in the sincerity of its emotions. A perfect way to celebrate the Christmas season in music.'
Available Format: 2 SACDs
Jazz Choice
'This set of animated new pieces moves through a wide range of inspired contemporary material with a rare combination of celebratory energy and grace. That said, we should expect this from any project directed by Renee Rosnes, whose far-sighted melodic sense provides the perfect thread uniting some very talented players.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
