An 'extraordinary and revelatory' all-Ravel from Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth on Harmonia Mundi takes the laurels in the latest issue - the main event on the programe is the two piano concertos with Cédric Tiberghien (whom reviewer Harriet Smith notes 'brings his chamber-musical sensibilities and a Gallic suavity to every bar he plays'), whilst baritone Stéphane Degout impresses with his 'perfectly poised' accounts of a selection of mélodies including Sainte, Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and the Deux Mélodies hébraïques.
Among the recordings mentioned in despatches are Bertrand Chamayou's 'profoundly nuanced' interpretation of Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus on Erato, Robert Carsen's recent staging of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria from Florence's Teatro della Pergola, and two pioneering vocal recitals on Delphian: mezzo Helen Charlston's Battle Cry with theorbist Toby Carr, and soprano Héloïse Werner's Phrases with instrumentalists including violists Lawrence Power and percussionist Calum Huggan.
Recording of the Month
Ravel: Concertos pour piano & Mélodies
Cédric Tiberghien (piano), Stéphane Degout (baritone), Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
'Beautifully recorded, this is headily seductive and has Award-winner written all over it.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Editor's Choices
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7; Pelléas et Mélisande; King Christian II
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon
'Fine performances, yes, but also a comprehensive, watertight Sibelius album to cherish.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Nonet, Piano Trio, Piano Quintet
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
'The two larger works here, the Nonet and the Quintet, burst with confidence and freshness...the performances match the assurance and spirit of the music.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Alter Ego
David Bergmüller (lute), David Orlowsky (clarinet)
'‘Alter ego’. Two bodies, one breath. What a gift, what a surprise this release is.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
William Bolcom: The Complete Rags
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
'Bolcom is lucky in having such a musician to provide him with these authoritative accounts of his music.'
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
'Above all, what impresses is how profoundly nuanced his playing is – holding the sometimes conflicting elements in balance.'
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Josquin Desprez: Tant vous aime
Doulce Mémoire, Denis Raisin Dadre
'This could be one of my favourite secular Josquin discs in recent years.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Battle Cry: She Speaks
Helen Charlston (mezzo), Toby Carr (theorbo)
'These characters come alive in Charlston’s flexible mezzo, surely one of the most exciting voices in the new generation of British singers.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Phrases
Héloïse Werner (soprano), Amy Harman (bassoon), Laura Snowden (guitar), Daniel Shao (flute), Colin Alexander (cello), Calum Huggan (percussion), Lawrence Power (viola)
'It is hard not to be in awe of Héloïse Werner: a soprano of extraordinary range, tone and vocal abilities, possessing a seemingly inexhaustible expressive range.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (DVD)
Charles Workman (Ulisse), Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (Telemaco), Delphine Galou (Penelope), John Daszak (Iro), Mark Milhofer (Eumete); Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone, Robert Carsen
'The cameos are deftly sketched...But it’s Workman and his Penelope, Delphine Galou, who give Carsen’s understatement anchoring gravitas and feeling.'
Available format: 2 DVD Videos
