BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Une Soiree Chez Berlioz Stéphanie d'Oustrac (soprano), Thibaut Roussel (guitare de Berlioz), Tanguy de Williencourt (piano Pleyel) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 22/Nov/2019 ] We may find it hard to imagine that the composer of such epics as Les Troyens started out as a guitarist... and that his first compositional experience was to transcribe songs, inherited from the Ancien Regime, for voice and guitar. The particular... |
ANONYMOUS
Traditional Maronite Chants Sister Marie Keyrouz [ Harmonia Mundi Musique d'abord / CD - released 23/Feb/2008 ] This CD, largely devoted to traditional Maronite chant, also presents chants from the Syrian Catholic and Syrian Orthodox traditions. Most of the pieces recorded here date back to the early centuries of Christianity, and have an obvious kinship with... |
PURCELL
Odes for the Feast Day of Saint Cecilia (Incl Hail! bright Cecilia) / Te Deum / Funeral for Queen Mary Susan Hamilton (soprano) Siri Thornhill (soprano) Robin Blaze (countertenor) Mark Padmore (tenor) / Collegium Vocale, Philippe Herreweghe [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / 2 CD - released 10/Jul/2014 ] "These are beautiful performances...invigoratingly sculpted by Herreweghe...Indeed, the new disc deserves the blessing of Cecilia herself." - Classical Insites |
HECTOR BERLIOZ / JEAN PHILIPPE RAMEAU
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique / Rameau: Suite de Hippolyte et Aricie Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Sep/2016 ] Harding's Berlioz is resilient, pliant, conducted with a temporal freedom that always seems ambitious but ends up feeling electrifyingly right. Turn from Harding to his current peers and it's like going from IMAX cinema to living-room black-and-white |
MANUEL de FALLA / GARCIA LORCA
Falla / Lorca: Encuentro Estrella Morente (flamenco singer) & Javier Perianes (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Sep/2016 ] The vast heritage of Spanish traditional music lies at the heart of Manuel de Falla and Federico García Lorca's works. Both men relied heavily on the great flamenco artists of their day: the 'Canciones españolas antiguas' (Old Spanish songs) were... |
PIAZZOLLA / FALLA / MONTSALVATGE / etc
Cantilena Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Javier Perianes (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 8/May/2020 ] This album invites you to travel from Spain to South America in the company of the greatest composers the countries of the region have produced: next to Spanish folk songs reshaped by Falla, compositions by Casals, Granados, Montsalvatge, and the... |
YSAYE
Six Sonatas for Solo Violin Op. 27 Tai Murray (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Mar/2012 ] "the perfection of [her] intonation, especially in the many virtuoso passages of fast-moving, random intervals of no predicable pattern, has tipped so far over into another league of accuracy that it adds an extra dimension of enjoyment to an already... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Der Fliegende Hollander [The Flying Dutchman] (complete opera recorded in 2016) DVD + BLU-RAY Teatro Real Madrid / Samuel Youn, Ingela Brimberg, Kwangchul Youn, Nikolai Schukoff / Àlex Ollé (cond) [ Harmonia Mundi DVD + Blu-ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 1/Mar/2018 ] "it's an impressive and engaging show." Gramophone |
TORRI / SARRO / HANDEL / VINCI / HASSE / etc
Pace e Guerra: Arias for Bernacchi Terry Wey (countertenor) / Bach Consort Wien, Ruben Dubrovsky, with Vivica Genaux (mezzo) [ Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 4/Aug/2017 ] Terry Wey was the leading soprano soloist of the Vienna Boys' Choir. He has worked under some of the leading conductors in the world today & has been invited to perform at some of the most important venues in the world such as Musikverein Wien,... |
ORLANDO GIBBONS / RICHARD DERING / MICHAEL EAST / THOMAS RAVENSCROFT / etc
The Cries of London Theatre of Voices / Fretwork [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / SACD - released 16/Aug/2006 ] "This is a treasure trove for the historically minded, with full texts, explanatory notes and a fascinating booklet note by David Pinto" (International Record Review Aug 2006) |
ANONYMOUS / PEROTINUS / PARISIENSIS / LEONINUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Age Of Cathedrals Theatre Of Voices, Paul Hillier [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD ] "This recording opens a window on to what was undoubtedly the most important centre of liturgical music in twelfth-century Europe: the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris." Gramophone |
BERIO / BERBERIAN / CAGE / etc
Stories : Berio and friends Theatre of Voices / Paul Hillier [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/May/2011 ] Paul Hillier leads Theatre of Voices in a fascinating programme centred on Luciano Berio |
ANONYMOUS
Gregorien: Gregorian Chant Theatre of Voices, Paul Hillier / Deller Consort / Ensemble Organum [ Harmonia Mundi Century / CD - released 20/Dec/2011 ] A thrilling voyage of discovery of music through the ages. This CD presents some of the peaks of a repertory which, whatever its name suggests, was only unified well after the death of Pope Gregory the Great. |
Theatre Of Voices/Hillier
Hoquetus/Age Of Cathedrals [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD ] |
MONASTIC CHART
Monastic Chant Theatre Of Voices, Paul Hillier [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / 2 CD - released 3/Jun/2013 ] The Age of Cathedrals, Hoquetus |
MONTEVERDI
L'Orfeo (complete opera recorded in 1998) Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, Bruxelles / Trisha Brown / Smon Keenlyside / Juanita Lascarro / Rene Jacobs (cond) [ Harmonia Mundi France / 2 DVD - released 26/Jul/2007 ] G :- "To many fans of the work, it is this production of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo which debuted at La Monnaie in Brussels in May of 1998 which offers a near-flawless symbiosis of music, text, and movement. Starring Trisha Brown and René Jacobs, this... |
ANTONIO VIVALDI / JEAN-MARIE LECLAIR / PIETRO LOCATELLI
Vivaldi, Leclair, Locatelli: Violin Concertos Théotime Langlois de Swarte, Les Ombres [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 18/Feb/2022 ] "His playing is joyful; it is wild and beautiful, inventive and efficient...These are performances so special that I feel a changed man from listening to them. Buy it, tell all your friends." Gramophone Magazine March 2022 Recording of the Month |
ECCLES / PURCELL / DUNFORD / MATTEIS the Younger & Elder
The Mad Lover Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin), Thomas Dunford (lute) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/Nov/2020 ] 'Harmonia Mundi's resonant recording and expert balance contribute to a truly outstanding disc.' BBC Music Magazine Awards 2022 Shortlisted - Chamber |
BRIDGE / BOWEN / SCHUMANN / BRAHMS / WOLSTENHOLME / KREISLER / etc
A Lionel Tertis Celebration Timothy Ridout (viola), Frank Dupree (piano), James Baillieu (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 22/Mar/2024 ] "All told, it's a most rewarding programme that gathers together an unusual array of ear-catching pieces in performances that present the music in its best possible light." Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Chamber |
BEDRICH SMETANA / ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak / Smetana: String Quartets Tokyo String Quartet [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 29/Apr/2013 ] "The Tokyo Quartet offer great warmth and sensitivity, and an immediacy and intimacy which draws the listener in...I definitely give the thumbs-up to this recording." (MusicWeb) |