New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 27th May 2022
Today's new releases include Rameau's Les fêtes d'Hébé from the Orfeo Orchestra and György Vashegyi, Lisette Oropesa in La traviata (with René Barbera and Lester Lynch as the Germonts), three student works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor from the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, and a box-set of the complete Vaughan Williams symphonies with Richard Hickox & Sir Andrew Davis.
Rameau: Les fêtes d'Hébé
Chantal Santon Jeffery, Olivia Doray, Judith van Wanroij, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Mathias Vidal, David Witczak; Orfeo Orchestra, Purcell Choir, György Vashegyi
Premiered in 1739, Rameau's second opéra-ballet has not enjoyed the same modern popularity as Castor et Pollux and Dardanus (between which it was composed), but proved a significant success in the composer's lifetime, notching up over seventy performances at its first run in Paris. This recording uses a new edition of the score by Pascal Dencheau.
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Verdi: La Traviata
Lisette Oropesa (Violetta), René Barbera (Alfredo Germont), Lester Lynch (Giorgio Germont), Dresdner Philharmonie, Daniel Oren
Over the past few years, American soprano Lisette Oropesa has emerged as one of today’s leading Violettas, and this studio recording was made shortly before her Covent Garden triumph in the role, which prompted The Guardian to observe that ‘Oropesa welds sound with sense to create a characterisation of great depth and subtlety’ and BachTrack to declare her ‘one of the greats’.
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Following their debut recording of quintets by Florence Price, Amy Beach and Samuel Barber (which was shortlisted for a BBC Music Magazine Award), the Kaleidoscopes present Coleridge-Taylor’s Nonet, Piano Trio and Piano Quintet, which remained unpublished during the composer’s lifetime: new performing editions have been prepared from manuscripts held at the Royal College of Music, where Coleridge-Taylor was studying when he composed these works.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
William Grant Still: Summerland
Zina Schiff (violin), Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Avlana Eisenberg
This collection of world premiere recordings of works by the ‘Dean of Afro-American composers’ is named for the central movement of his Three Visions from 1935, and also includes the American Suite, Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron, Threnody in Memory of Jean Sibelius, Serenade, Quit dat Fool'nish, Can'tcha Line 'Em, and an orchestration of the Suite for Violin and Piano.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
John Brunning: Magna Carta
Xuefei Yang (guitar), Johannes Moser (cello), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Clark Rundell
The title-work on this collection of the composer and Classics FM presenter’s complete works for guitar is a concerto which was written for Yang in 2015, marking the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta; also included are the Five Romances (‘Pastorale’, ‘Dusk’, ‘Elegy’, ‘Sahara’ and ‘El Verano’) in new arrangements for guitar and orchestra, and the Lacrimosa for guitar and cello.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Released in advance of the centenary of the composer’s death in 2024, this set is the first complete collection of Fauré’s songs by a single singer, comprising over a hundred settings of texts by poets including Verlaine, Hugo, Gautier and Baudelaire. Dubois is especially acclaimed in French repertoire, and the duo’s recording of songs by Nadia and Lili Boulanger was praised in BBC Music Magazine for its ‘emotional depth’ and ‘exquisite colours'.
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The young British mezzo’s second recording for Delphian seeks to ‘reconsider the assumed helplessness of those often seen as being left behind by male adventure and success’ and takes its title from a new commission by Owain Park, which sets poetry by Georgia Way depicting Boudicca, Sappho and Philomela. The programme also includes music by Purcell, Strozzi, Monteverdi, Kapsberger, and Visée.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The ‘brunette’ (a short song dealing with love or nature) was a popular musical genre during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and evolved from the ‘air de cour’ which flourished during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Van Mechelen’s programme includes a substantial selection from Christophe Ballard’s Brunetes ou petits airs tendres (published in 1703/4), and works by Cochereau, Montigny, Marais, Dandrieu, and Monsieur de la Feronnerie.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Handel: Rodelinda
Anna Dennis (Rodelinda), Christopher Lowrey (Bertarido), Thomas Cooley (Grimoaldo), Franziska Gottwald (Eduige), Julien Van Mellaerts (Garibaldo), Owen Willetts (Unulfo); FestspielOrchester Göttingen, Laurence Cummings
Originally scheduled to mark the centenary of the International Handel Festival in Göttingen two years ago (Rodelinda had launched the inaugural festival in 1920), this performance eventually took place at the Deutsches Theater in September 2021 and was praised by The Opera Critic for the orchestra’s ‘customary delicacy and precision’, whilst BachTrack applauded Dennis’s ‘immaculate technique’ and ‘riveting stage-presence’.
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Offenbach: Le voyage dans la lune
Violette Polchi (Caprice), Sheva Tehoval (Fantasia), Matthieu Lecroart (V'Lam), Pierre Derhet (Quipasseparla), Raphael Bremard (Microscope), Thibaud Desplantes (Cosmos), Marie Lenormand (Popotte), Christophe Poncet de Solages (Cactus), Ludivine Gombert (Flamma / Adja); Choeur et Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie, Pierre Dumoussaud
Premiered at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in 1875, Offenbach’s four-act opéra-féerie was inspired by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (published a decade earlier) and was a great hit with Parisian audiences thanks to its extravagant sets and emphasis on spectacle: the original production featured a dromedary and an ostrich which had been borrowed from the zoo at the Jardin d’Acclimatation!
Available Formats: 2 CDs + Book, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Vaughan Williams: Complete Symphonies
Susan Gritton (soprano), Gerald Finley (bass-baritone), Rebecca Evans (soprano), Mari Eriksmoen, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Edvard Grieg Kor London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Hickox, Sir Andrew Davis
Reissued to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, this was the first Vaughan Williams symphony cycle to be recorded in Surround Sound. Richard Hickox began the project in 1999 with the London Symphony Orchestra, and their ‘riveting’ account of A London Symphony was named Recording of the Year at the 2001 Gramophone Awards; after his death in 2008 the set was completed by Sir Andrew Davis and the Bergen Philharmonic.
Available Formats: 6 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
