Raphaël Pichon & Pygmalion's thoughtful, clear-eyed account of Bach's St Matthew Passion on Harmonia Mundi - with Julian Prégardien a sensitive Evangelist and Stéphane Degout an unusually vulnerable Christus - was our best-seller by some margin last month, after entering the chart at No. 2 in March.
The set was Gramophone's Recording of the Month in April and also our Recording of the Week on Good Friday, with David observing that 'shorn of any pretentions, one of the most emotive stories ever told re-emerges with focus and clarity' - you can read his full review here.
No. 1 (No. 2 last month)
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Stéphane Degout (Christus), Sabine Devieilhe & Hana Blažiková (sopranos), Lucile Richardot (mezzo), Tim Mead (countertenor), Reinoud Van Mechelen & Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenors), Christian Immler (bass-baritone)
Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
Available formats: 3 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 2 (new entry)
Mitsuko Uchida (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 3 (No. 1 last month)
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 4 (No. 23 last month)
Johan Dalene (violin), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, John Storgårds
Available format: SACD
No. 5 (new entry)
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Matthew Truscott (violin), Joel Hunter (viola), Frank-Michael Guthmann (cello), Christiane Karg (soprano), Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 6 (new entry)
Metamorphosen
Strauss - Korngold - Schrecker
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 7 (new entry)
Grigori Sokolov - Live at Esterházy Palace
Haydn & Schubert
Grigory Sokolov (piano)
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 8 (new entry)
Stephen Hough (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 9 (new entry)
Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano), Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 10 (new entry)
Lucy Crowe (Angel), Sophie Bevan (Mary Magdalene), Iestyn Davies (Mary Cleophas), Hugo Hymas (John the Evangelist), Ashley Riches (Lucifer)
The English Concert, Harry Bicket
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 11 (new entry)
Benjamin Bernheim (tenor), Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Frédéric Chaslin
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 12 (No. 5 last month)
Nick Pritchard (Evangelist), William Thomas (Christus), Alex Ashworth (Pilatus), Julia Doyle (soprano), Alexander Chance (countertenor), Peter Davoren (tenor)
English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 13 (new entry)
Trevor Pinnock (harpsichord)
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 14 (new entry)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8
1890 Version
Bruckner Orchestra Linz, Markus Poschner
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 15 (new entry)
Maximilian Schmitt (Max), Polina Pasztircsák (Agathe), Kateryna Kasper (Ännchen), Dimitry Ivashchenko (Kaspar), Yannick Debus (Kilian), Matthias Winckhler (Kuno), Christian Immler (Hermit), Max Urlacher (Samiel)
Freiburger Barockorchester, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, René Jacobs
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 16 (new entry)
Asmik Grigorian (soprano), Lukas Geniušas (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 17 (new entry)
Nicky Spence (tenor), Julius Drake (piano), Timothy Ridout (viola), Piatti Quartet
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 18 (No. 4 last month)
Belcea Quartet, Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 19 (new entry)
British Piano Concertos
Addison, Benjamin, Maconchy, Searle, Rubbra
Simon Callaghan (piano), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
No. 20 (new entry)
Chen Reiss (soprano), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 21 (new entry)
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano), Manchester Camerata, Gábor Takács-Nagy
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 22 (No. 12 last month)
Rachel Podger (violin), Christopher Glynn (fortepiano)
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 23 (No. 7 last month)
Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin), Les Ombres
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 24 (new entry)
Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 88.2 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 25 (new entry)
Sandrine Piau (soprano), Véronique Gens (soprano), Le Concert de la Loge, Julien Chauvin
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
