Dec. 3, 2018
As the holidays approach, choral music releases seem to increase in number, not only covering holiday music, but other kinds as well, both sacred and secular. Among the Christmas choices, the venerable King's College Choir of Cambridge, samples its long history of the Nine Lessons and Carols service. Other religious releases include the Dunedin Consort doing Handel's Ode for St. Cecilia's Day and Ludovic Morlot conducting Berlioz's Requiem. Among the non-sacred works are a new oratorio about the history of the universe by Jonathan Dove and the final release in Bach Collegium Japan's cycle of Bach's secular cantatas. Bridging the two sides is Patrick Hawes' Great War Symphony, a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Instrumental music we reviewed this past month covers everything from viol consort music by Matthew Locke to selections by the little-known Romantic Emilie Mayer to Magnus Lindberg's Violin Concerto No. 2 written in 2015.
Blair Sanderson
John Butt, Dunedin Consort - Handel: Ode for St Cecilia's Day
Calidore String Quartet - Resilience
Harry Christophers, The Sixteen - A Renaissance Christmas
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Magali Mosnier - Debussy: Les Trois Sonates - The Late Works
Gustavo Gimeno - Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Funeral Song; Game of Cards; Concerto in D, "Basel"; Agon
Daniel Harding. Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra - Gustav Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 5
Jesus College Choir, Cambridge; Richard Pinell- Praise My Soul: Favourite Hymns from Jesus College Cambridge
King's College Choir of Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury, Philip Ledger, David Willcocks- 100 Years of Nine Lessons & Carols
Mariss Jansons, Bernarda Fink, Anja Harteros, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra - Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Auferstehungssymphonie"
Magdalena Kozena, Robin Ticciati - Ravel, Duparc: Aimer et mourir - Danses et mélodies
Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony Orchestra - Berlioz: Requiem
Andrew Nethsingha, St. John's College Choir, Cambridge - Advent Live
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra - Alexander Scriabin: Symphony No. 1, Op. 26; Prometheus - The Poem of Fire
Phantasm - Matthew Locke: For Lovers of Consort Music
Peter Phillips, The Tallis Scholars - Josquin Masses: Gaudeamus, L'ami Baudichon
Robert Quinney, Choir of New College, Oxford - Parry: Songs of Farewell and Other Choral Works
Shunske Sato - Bach: Violin Concertos BWV 1041, 1042, 1043, 1056R
James Manheim
Nicholas Angelich, Insula Orchestra, Laurence Equilbey - Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor"
Apollo's Fire, Jeannette Sorrell - Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain
Benjamin Appl, Concerto Köln - Bach
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia Orchestra - Rachmaninov Symphony No. 3; Symphonic Dances
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki - J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10 - Cantatas of Contentment
Jiří Bělohlávek, Czech Philharmonic - Bohuslav Martinů: What Men Live By; Symphony No. 1
Fabio Biondi, Europa Galante - Vivaldi: Concerti per violino VI "La boemia"
Bertrand Chamayou - Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 2 & 5; Solo Piano Works
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, William Vann - Earth and Sky: Vaughan Williams Choral Premieres
Clarion Choir, Steven Fox - Alexander Kastalsky: Memory Eternal
Sarah Connolly, Joseph Middleton - Come to Me in My Dreams
Sir Mark Elder, Albina Shagimuratova, Daniela Barcellona - Rossini: Semiramide
Goran Filipec - Franz Liszt: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 51 - Poems
Peter Gregson - Recomposed by Peter Gregson: Bach - The Cello Suites
Barbara Hannigan, Reinbert de Leeuw - Vienna: Fin de Siècle
Patrick Hawes, National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Patrick Hawes: The Great War Symphony
Martin Jones, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, William Boughton - John Joubert: Piano Concerto; Symphony No. 3 on themes from 'Jane Eyre'
Michail Jurowski, Sinfonia Iuventus - Anton Rubinstein: Moses
Kim Kashkashian - J.S. Bach: Six Suites for Viola Solo
Viktoria Mullova, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi - Pärt
Sakari Oramo, Wiener Philharmoniker - Rued Langgaard: Symphonies 2 & 6; Including Jacob Gade's Tango Jalousie
Ian Page, Classical Opera Company, The Mozartists - Mozart: Grabmusik; Bastien und Bastienne
Christina Pluhar, L'Arpeggiata - Himmelsmusik
Septura - Music for Brass Septet, Vol. 6: Elgar, Finza, Parry, Walton
Evgeny Sviridov - Giuseppe Tartini: Sonate Op. 1
Various Artists - Emilie Mayer: Symphony No. 4; Piano Concerto; String Quartet; Piano Sonata
Various Artists - Huw Watkins: Flute Concerto; Violin Concerto; Symphony
Various Artists - Joe Cutler: Elsewhereness
Various Artists - Jonathan Dove: A Brief History of Creation; Gaia Theory
Gottfried von der Goltz - Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas & Partitas
Wiener Sängerknaben - Strauss for Ever
Frank Peter Zimmermann, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu - Magnus Lindberg: Tempus Fugit; Violin Concerto No. 2
Blair Sanderson
John Butt, Dunedin Consort - Handel: Ode for St Cecilia's Day
Calidore String Quartet - Resilience
Harry Christophers, The Sixteen - A Renaissance Christmas
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Magali Mosnier - Debussy: Les Trois Sonates - The Late Works
Gustavo Gimeno - Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Funeral Song; Game of Cards; Concerto in D, "Basel"; Agon
Daniel Harding. Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra - Gustav Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 5
Jesus College Choir, Cambridge; Richard Pinell- Praise My Soul: Favourite Hymns from Jesus College Cambridge
King's College Choir of Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury, Philip Ledger, David Willcocks- 100 Years of Nine Lessons & Carols
Mariss Jansons, Bernarda Fink, Anja Harteros, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra - Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Auferstehungssymphonie"
Magdalena Kozena, Robin Ticciati - Ravel, Duparc: Aimer et mourir - Danses et mélodies
Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony Orchestra - Berlioz: Requiem
Andrew Nethsingha, St. John's College Choir, Cambridge - Advent Live
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra - Alexander Scriabin: Symphony No. 1, Op. 26; Prometheus - The Poem of Fire
Phantasm - Matthew Locke: For Lovers of Consort Music
Peter Phillips, The Tallis Scholars - Josquin Masses: Gaudeamus, L'ami Baudichon
Robert Quinney, Choir of New College, Oxford - Parry: Songs of Farewell and Other Choral Works
Shunske Sato - Bach: Violin Concertos BWV 1041, 1042, 1043, 1056R
James Manheim
Nicholas Angelich, Insula Orchestra, Laurence Equilbey - Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor"
Apollo's Fire, Jeannette Sorrell - Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain
Benjamin Appl, Concerto Köln - Bach
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia Orchestra - Rachmaninov Symphony No. 3; Symphonic Dances
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki - J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10 - Cantatas of Contentment
Jiří Bělohlávek, Czech Philharmonic - Bohuslav Martinů: What Men Live By; Symphony No. 1
Fabio Biondi, Europa Galante - Vivaldi: Concerti per violino VI "La boemia"
Bertrand Chamayou - Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 2 & 5; Solo Piano Works
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, William Vann - Earth and Sky: Vaughan Williams Choral Premieres
Clarion Choir, Steven Fox - Alexander Kastalsky: Memory Eternal
Sarah Connolly, Joseph Middleton - Come to Me in My Dreams
Sir Mark Elder, Albina Shagimuratova, Daniela Barcellona - Rossini: Semiramide
Goran Filipec - Franz Liszt: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 51 - Poems
Peter Gregson - Recomposed by Peter Gregson: Bach - The Cello Suites
Barbara Hannigan, Reinbert de Leeuw - Vienna: Fin de Siècle
Patrick Hawes, National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Patrick Hawes: The Great War Symphony
Martin Jones, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, William Boughton - John Joubert: Piano Concerto; Symphony No. 3 on themes from 'Jane Eyre'
Michail Jurowski, Sinfonia Iuventus - Anton Rubinstein: Moses
Kim Kashkashian - J.S. Bach: Six Suites for Viola Solo
Viktoria Mullova, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi - Pärt
Sakari Oramo, Wiener Philharmoniker - Rued Langgaard: Symphonies 2 & 6; Including Jacob Gade's Tango Jalousie
Ian Page, Classical Opera Company, The Mozartists - Mozart: Grabmusik; Bastien und Bastienne
Christina Pluhar, L'Arpeggiata - Himmelsmusik
Septura - Music for Brass Septet, Vol. 6: Elgar, Finza, Parry, Walton
Evgeny Sviridov - Giuseppe Tartini: Sonate Op. 1
Various Artists - Emilie Mayer: Symphony No. 4; Piano Concerto; String Quartet; Piano Sonata
Various Artists - Huw Watkins: Flute Concerto; Violin Concerto; Symphony
Various Artists - Joe Cutler: Elsewhereness
Various Artists - Jonathan Dove: A Brief History of Creation; Gaia Theory
Gottfried von der Goltz - Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas & Partitas
Wiener Sängerknaben - Strauss for Ever
Frank Peter Zimmermann, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu - Magnus Lindberg: Tempus Fugit; Violin Concerto No. 2