GABRIEL FAURE
Faure: Requiem & other works BLU-RAY Chen Reiss (soprano), Matthias Goerne (baritone) & Philippe Aïche (violin solo) / Choir of the Orchestre de Paris & Orchestre de Paris, Paavo Järvi [ EuroArts BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Feb/2014 ] ""The expert choir's native French vowel sounds are a joy in themselves, [and] Eric Picard gives a mesmerising account of the haunting cello Elegie....Unmissable." (International Record Review) |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St Matthew Passion BLU-RAY Mark Padmore (Evangelist), Peter Harvey (Christus), Maria Espada (Soprano), Ingeborg Danz (Mezzo) / Royal Concertgebouw & Netherlands Radio Choir, Iva [ Arthaus Musik Blu-Ray / Blu-ray - released 10/Oct/2012 ] This 2012 recording of the most influential and wide spread oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach features the Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer, a visionary in his field, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. The double choir is the... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele (Blu-ray) Emma Pearson, Amitai Pati, Sarah Castle, Paul Whelan / New Zealand Opera Chorus, Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir, NZ Opera Baroque Orchestra, Peter Walls [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 21/Jul/2023 ] "Amitai Pati is the pick of the bunch. The Samoan tenor is an outstanding Jupiter, bright-toned and fullvoiced, lyrical lines anchored by enough weight to make this reluctant smiter believable as both lover and thug." Gramophone |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (Complete Opera recorded in June 2009) BLU-RAY Opéra Comique, Paris / Anna Caterina Antonacci, Andrew Richards, Nicolas Cavallier, Monteverdi Choir / John Eliot Gardiner (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 14/May/2021 ] On 3 June 1975, the day after the 33rd performance of Carmen - indicating limited success as the receipts were meagre - he died from a heart attack, at the age of 36, like Mozart. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies No. 5 & 9 (Blu-ray) René Kollo, Anna Tomowa-Simtow, Agnes Baltsa, José van Dam / Choir of the Deutsche Oper, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ EuroArts Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 6/May/2022 ] This important visual document provides a rare insight into the way in which 'das Wunder Karajan' fashioned his unique style. The roused interpretation of Beethoven's most popular symphony, Symphony No. 9 with the Berliner Philharmoniker was recorded... |
Boychoir (Blu-ray)
[ Paramount / Blu-ray Disc - released 2/Sep/2015 ] From acclaimed director François Girard (The Red Violin) comes the inspirational story of a rebellious kid with a remarkable gift who is challenged by a demanding teacher to make most unlikely of dreams come true. A stellar ensemble including two... |
MAHLER
Symphony No. 3 (recorded at the Lucerne Festival, 2007) BLU-RAY Anna Larsson (alto) / Arnold Schoenberg Choir / Lucerne Festival Orchestra / Claudio Abbado [ EuroArts Music Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Jan/2010 ] G : - "This is easily the greatest, most concentrated, most moving and beautifully played performance of this massive work I've yet encountered" (Keith). This DVD was a Staff Pick DVD for 2010. |
MAHLER
Symphonies 1-10, Totenfeier & Das Lied von der Erde [11 Blu-ray set] Bernarda Fink (mezzo soprano) Ricarda Merbeth (soprano) / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Netherlands Radio Choir / Various conductors [ RCO Live Blu-ray / 11 Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Dec/2012 ] All full HD live recordings taken from the 2009-2011 Mahler celebration at Amsterdam Concertgebouw |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, [German Requiem] Op. 45 BLU-RAY AUDIO ONLY Christiane Libor (soprano) & Thomas E. Bauer (baritone) / Warsaw Philharmonic Choir & Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit [ Naxos Blu-Ray Audio / Blu-ray Disc - released 25/Apr/2015 ] The longest work in Brahms's entire oeuvre, A German Requiem was almost certainly triggered by the death of his mother, although it also seems likely that the tragic loss of his friend Robert Schumann, some years earlier, added to its depth and... |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (complete opera) BLU-RAY Furio Zanasi, Lucile Richardot, Krystian Adam, Hana Blažiková, Gianluca Burrato / Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 22/Apr/2022 ] Claudio Monteverdi was a pioneer in the origins and development of opera, taking vocal music beyond Renaissance polyphony and entering a modern era in which genuine feelings and emotions are expressed through a wide variety of characters. Part of a... |