Binchois Consort / Andrew Kirkman

Music for Saint Katherine of Alexandria

Intimate, small-group performances of English music honoring a now-little-known saint.

Blue Heron / Scott Metcalfe

Johannes Ockeghem: Complete Songs, Vol. 1

Scott Metcalfe and Blue Heron present the first of a two-volume set of the complete chansons of Renaissance master Johannes Ockeghem.

Boston Camerata / Anne Azéma

Free America!: Early Song of Resistance and Rebellion

Pathbreaking rethinking of the early American repertory by the Boston Camerata.

Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Odyssey Opera Orchestra / Gil Rose

Tobias Picker: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Tobias Picker's comic opera Fantastic Mr. Fox receives a crisp and lively performance by Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

Carolyn Sampson / Joseph Middleton

Reason in Madness

Impressively versatile thematic recital by soprano Carolyn Sampson covering English and French songs depicting famous madwomen.

Christian Thielemann / Krassimira Stoyanova / Charles Castronovo / Dresden State Opera Chorus / Marina Prudenskaya / Staatskapelle Dresden / Georg Zeppenfeld

Giuseppe Verdi: Messa da Requiem

Christian Thielemann conducts a well-balanced, intense Verdi Requiem, recorded live in Dresden.

Contrapunctus / Choir of the Queen's College, Oxford / Owen Rees

Taverner: Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas

Unique and vivid performance of this Tudor mass, with separate choirs in the full- and reduced-scoring sections.

Cupertinos / Luís Toscano

Manuel Cardoso: Requiem, Lamentations, Magnificat & Motets

The Requiem and other sacred works of Portuguese composer Manuel Cardoso are performed by the eight-member vocal ensemble, Cupertinos.

Delphine Galou / Ottavio Dantone / Accademia Bizantina

Vivaldi: Musica sacra per alto

One of a pair of strong new albums from Naïve's Vivaldi edition, with unknown sacred arias beautifully sung.

El León de Oro / Peter Phillips

Amarae Morti

Sacred music of the high Renaissance is offered by early music authority Peter Phillips and the 33-voice chamber choir El León de Oro.

Elin Rombo / REBaroque

The Musical Treasures of Leufsta Bruk III

A variety of Baroque vocal and instrumental music from the Leufsta collection at Uppsala University is offered by the period ensemble Rebaroque.

Elysian Singers of London / Sam Laughton

MacMillan: One Equal Music

A strong collection of recent MacMillan works that could work well as an introduction to his music.

Frieder Bernius / Kammerchor Stuttgart / Hofkapelle Stuttgart

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis Op. 123

An exceptional historical-instrument performance of Beethoven's notoriously troublesome late mass.

Gabrieli Consort / Paul McCreesh

Purcell: King Arthur, 1691

Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort and Players perform Purcell's King Arthur in the edition by McCreesh and Christopher Suckling.

Guy Cutting / Emma Tring / Benjamin Nicholas / Choir of Merton College, Oxford / Oxford Contemporary Sinfonia

Gabriel Jackson: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

A powerful Passion setting, with unusual text interpolations, that is both specific to its place and time, and universal.

Houston Chamber Choir / Robert Simpson / Ken Cowan

Duruflé: Complete Choral Works

Warm, American-flavored Duruflé performances with fine acoustics capturing a remarkable organ.

Ian Bostridge / Thomas Adès

Winterreise

Third time's a charm as Bostridge's third Winterreise has a wonderful detailed, burnished quality.

Ildar Abdrazakov / Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal

Verdi

Beautifully rendered early Verdi arias augur well for Abdrazakov's new tenure at Deutsche Grammophon.

Jordi Savall / La Capella Reial de Catalunya / Le Concert des Nations

Georg Friderich Händel: Messiah

Savall presents a lean and athletic interpretation of Handel's Messiah with La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Le Concert des Nations.

Julius Drake / Gerald Finley

Schubert: Schwanengesang; Brahms: Vier ernste Gesänge

Gerald Finley and Julius Drake perform a compelling program of Schubert's Schwanengesang and Brahms' Vier ernste Gesänge.

Karine Deshayes / Katherine Watson / Hervé Niquet

L' Opéra des Opéras

An anthology opera, or a collection of tunes, of a sort that the French monarchs might have heard often.

King's College Choir of Cambridge / Stephen Cleobury

Evensong Live 2019: Anthems and Canticles

Lush collection of English Romantic works lightened by Renaissance and contemporary pieces.

Kyle Stegall / Eric Zivian

Myrtle & Rose: Songs by Clara and Robert Schumann

A wonderful sleeper of a Schumann recording, with the real star a 1841 Viennese piano by Franz Rausch.

La Tempête / Simon-Pierre Bestion

Monteverdi: Vespro

Highly unorthodox Monteverdi Vespers that will be thrilling for all but traditionalists.

Latvian Radio Choir / Sigvards Klava

Tchaikovsky: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom; Nine Sacred Choruses

Splendid performances of Tchaikovsky's relatively rare sacred music, in a spirit the composer would have loved.

Le Nuove Musiche / Krijn Koetsveld

Arvo Pärt: Magnificat; Stabat Mater

Superb Arvo Pärt performances from a small Renaissance-oriented vocal group.

Magnificat

Heinrich Schütz: Cantiones sacrae

Gorgeous, emotionally intense renditions of Schütz's small-scale motets.

Mariana Flores / Hopkinson Smith

Dowland: Whose Heavenly Touch

For this 2019 Naïve album, Mariana Flores and Hopkinson Smith explore the full range of emotions in John Dowland's lute songs.

Mary Bevan / Lucy Crowe / Bridget Cunningham / London Early Opera

Handel's Queens: Cuzzoni & Faustina

The Baroque opera stars Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni are celebrated on this Signum Classics album of arias by Handel and others.

Mary Bevan / Roderick Williams / Jack Liebeck / William Vann

Time and Space: Songs by Holst and Vaughan Williams

A delightful song recital with obscurities from both composers, capturing their mutual influence.

Matthias Goerne / Christiane Karg / Daniel Harding / Swedish Radio Choir / Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem

Daniel Harding leads the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a traditional reading of Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem.

Matthias Goerne / Leif Ove Andsnes

Robert Schumann: Liederkreis Op. 24; Kerner-Lieder

Superb Schumann from a vocalist at the very top of his powers.

Michael Spyres / John Nelson

Hector Berlioz: Requiem (Grand Messe des Morts)

John Nelson leads combined choirs and the Philharmonia Orchestra in a resonant performance of Berlioz's Grande Messe des morts.

Odyssean Ensemble

William Byrd: The Great Service & Anthems

Vocally gorgeous rendering of a rarely heard piece of English-language music by Byrd.

ORA Singers / Suzi Digby

Desires: A Song of Songs collection

An impressive realization of an original idea on the part of this hot British choir.

Orlando Consort

Machaut: The Single Rose

The Orlando Consort continues its Machaut Edition with vocal music influenced by the medieval allegory Le Roman de la Rose.

Paul O'Dette / Stephen Stubbs / Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble / Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble

Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Les Plaisirs de Versailles; Les Arts Florissants

The Boston Early Music Festival adds to its growing discography of operas by the French Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier.

Philippe Jaroussky

Ombra mai fu: Francesco Cavalli Opera Arias

Famed countertenor Jaroussky ventures into new territory with a survey of middle 17th century composer Cavalli.

Romain Bockler / Dulces Exuviae / Bor Zuljan

Josquin: Adieu mes Amours

Chansons of loss and regret by Josquin des Prez are presented in Renaissance style by the baritone and lute duo Dulces Exuviae.

Sandrine Piau / Julien Chauvin

Si j'ai Aimé

Sublime recording from Piau of French mélodies, familiar and new, with period instruments.

St. John's College Choir, Cambridge / Andrew Nethsingha

Magnificat

Unusually deep treatment of music from the core of the English collegiate tradition, with gorgeous sound from Signum.

St. John's College Choir, Cambridge / Andrew Nethsingha

Locus Iste

Fine release from the Choir of St. John's College, showcasing its richness and diversity of repertory at its best.

Susan Bickley / Claire Booth / Andrew Matthews-Owen

Debussy, Fauré, Satie & Dove: Songs and Vexations

Fine performances that pair works by Debussy, Fauré, and Satie with a modern work.

The Gentlemen of HM Chapel Royal Hampton Court Palace / Carl Jackson

Thomas Tallis: Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal

The choir of Hampton Court Palace returns with music by one of its former members.

The Gesualdo Six / Owain Park

Christmas

The fast-rising vocal sextet the Gesualdo Six present an original and gorgeous holiday album.

The Tallis Scholars / Peter Phillips

Josquin: Missa Mater Patris; Bauldeweyn: Missa Da pacem

Gorgeous performances of a Josquin mass of disputed authenticity and one by the little-known Noel Bauldeweyn.

Trinity College Choir, Cambridge / Stephen Layton

Finzi: Choral Works

A superb collection of Finzi's choral music, beautifully sung and beautifully structured.

Vox Luminis / Lionel Meunier

Bach: Kantaten

Warm, sensuous readings of cantatas by pre-Sebastian members of the Bach family bring alive their influence.

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Gabrieli Consort