SACD, Bach, J S (composer)
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This crack squad of first-rate period-instrument musicians gives lithe, polished and devoted performances that make a convincing case for a one-to-a-part "orchestra". Indeed, so full-bodied... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 11th October 2010
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Building a Library, November 2019, Recommended Recording
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Building a Library, March 2020, Recommended Recording
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Building a Library, November 2023, Recommended Recording - BWV 1041
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the most striking aspects of Podger’s playing throughout this recital (compared to most 20th-century ‘golden-agers’), is her enhanced range of tone and articulation, her vastly more flexible... —
Awards:
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Presto Editor's Choice, October 2022
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2022
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2023, Recording of the Year
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2023, Winner - Instrumental
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Winner - Solo Instrumental
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Gramophone Awards, 2023 Finalists, Finalist - Instrumental
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Bach - Motets
RecommendedYukari Nonoshita & Aki Matsui (soprano), Damien Guillon (counter-tenor), Satoshi Mizukoshi (tenor) & Dominik Wörner (bass)
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
The performance is, as you'd now expect from [Suzuki's] Collegium, excellent. Voices range from delicate soloists to a splendidly light and transparent 18-strong chorus. Instrumental support... —
Awards:
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2011, Choral Award Winner
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2010, Winner - Musique Chorale
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Building A Library, May 2021, Recommended Recording
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Masaaki Suzuki plays Bach Organ Works, Vol. 3
on the Great Silbermann Organ of Freiberg Cathedral
Masaaki Suzuki (organ)
Suzuki’s performances are at times quite measured, even understated, although that makes the moments when flair shines through all the more exciting. Overall it is the magisterial sense of the... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2019, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2019, Nominee - Baroque Instrumental
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JS Bach: St Matthew Passion
RecommendedBenjamin Bruns (Evangelist), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Aki Matsui (soprano), Damien Guillon (counter-tenor), Clint van der Linde (baritone), Makato Sakurada (tenor), Zachary Wilder (tenor), Christian Immler (baritone), Toru Kaku (bass), Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
It’s fascinating how much his two recordings have in common…what principally differentiates the two sets are the solo singers…Benjamin Bruns’s Evangelist and Christian Immler’s Christus are... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, April 2020, Recording of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2020, Winner - Choral
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Building a Library, October 2022, Recommended Recording
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Fauré: Requiem
RecommendedGrace Davidson (soprano) & William Gaunt (baritone), Gordan Nikolitch (violin)
London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble, Tenebrae, Nigel Short
The playing of the London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble and their leader Gordon Nikolitch and the singing of Tenebrae and the two soloists are all exemplary. The problems here are not... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, January 2013, Editor's Choice
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Building a Library, July 2016, First Choice
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A spellbinding set that is arguably Podger's finest recorded achievement to date...Music that one thinks of instinctively as boldly-etched, deeply (in every sense) introspective and eliciting... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 26th April 2019
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BBC Music Magazine, July 2019, Recording of the Month
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Diapason d’Or, September 2019, Nouveauté
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2019
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The Guardian Classical Albums of the Year, 2019
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Special offer. Guardian Angel: Rachel Podger
RecommendedMusic by Bach, Matteis, Tartini, Pisendel, Biber
Rachel Podger (violin)
Characteristically unforced and natural, the playing manages to sound endlessly considered yet spontaneous. There's a sureness to the placing of every note, whether poised or bristling with... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2013, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2014, Instrumental Award Winner
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JS Bach: Markus Passion BWV247 (1744)
RecommendedMarta Matheu, Raffaele Pe, Dávid Szigetvári, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Konstantin Wolff
La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Le Concert des Nations, Cor Infantil Amics de la Unió, Jordi Savall
The choir of 25 (including children on the upper parts) and Le Concert des Nations produce a vivid performance in which emotional directness is paramount. David Szigetvári is a capable Evangelist…... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 5th April 2019
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2019
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Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232
RecommendedMaria Keohane (soprano), Joanne Lunn (soprano), Alex Potter (countertenor), Jan Kobow (tenor), Peter Harvey (bass)
Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen
To my mind, Mortensen’s special performance, which is full to the brim with insightful musicianship and has a refreshing avoidance of contrived formulas, comfortably joins Parrott (EMI), Junghänel... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2016, Editor's Choice
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Building a Library, February 2017, First Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2016, Shortlisted - Baroque Vocal
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