JOHN NEPOMUK HUMMEL
Hummel: Missa Solemnis / Te Deum David Griffiths (bass) Zan McKendree-Wright (alto) Patrick Power (tenor) Patricia Wright (sop) / TOWER Voices New Zealand / NZ Symphony / Uwe Grodd [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Apr/2004 ] Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine May 2004 - "This choir has a remarkable level of control, vocal development and musicality. The fact that they are all trained voices means that an effortless power is available to them, with a wide and dramatic... |
HILDEGARD von BINGEN
Hildegard of Bingen: A feather on the breath of God (LP) Gothic Voices / Christopher Page [ Hyperion / LP - released 13/Sep/2024 ] Listen: there was once a king sitting on his throne. Around him stood great and wonderfully beautiful columns ornamented with ivory, bearing the banners of the king with great honour. Then it pleased the king to raise a small feather from the ground... |
PAVEL CHESNOKOV
Chesnokov: Sacred Choral Music St John's Voices, Cambridge University Chamber Choir, Graham Walker [ Naxos / CD - released 12/May/2023 ] "To my knowledge, this is the first recording dedicated exclusively to Chesnokov's work by British singers, and it provides an excellent showcase for his work, in chronological order." Gramophone Editor's Choice Gramophone July 2023 |
CHARLES Villiers STANFORD
Stanford: Requiem Carolyn Sampson, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, James Way, Ross Ramgobin / University of Birmingham Voices, City of Birmingham Symphony, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Jun/2023 ] "Brabbins, who truly understands the language of this music, judges the tempos and balance of the ensemble with instinctive sensitivity...For anyone interested in British choral music of the period, it is a must!" Gramophone Editor's Choice June 2023 |
JOHANN JOHANNSSON
Jóhannsson: Drone Mass Theatre of Voices, American Contemporary Music Ensemble, Paul Hillier [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 20/May/2022 ] 'Perhaps it's the way Drone Mass confounds expectations in unpredictable ways that will remain its most important legacy.' Gramophone Editor's Choice May 2022 |
JANET JENNINGS / WITI IHIMAERA / TOM ROA
Flowing Water Voices New Zealand, Joel Amosa, James Ioelu, Ora Kihi, Amy Thomas, Anna Simmons, Angus Simmons, Morgan-Andrew King [ Performing Arts Community Trust / 2 CD - released 8/Apr/2022 ] This unique blend of kapa haka, opera, drama and music tells the histories of Aotearoa New Zealand through key events that took place from the emerging of this land from the waters, to the arrival of Māori, the arrival of British, to ensuing... |
ROSS HARRIS / HOROMONA HORO
Harris / Horo: Requiem for the Fallen Voices NZ / NZ String Quartet / Richard Greager (tenor) Horomona Horo (taonga puoro) [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 1/Aug/2017 ] Requiem for the Fallen honours the memory of soldiers who died in the First World War. |
FREDERICK DELIUS
Delius: Hassan - Complete Incidental Music Zeb Soanes, Britten Sinfonia Voices, Britten Sinfonia, Jamie Phillips [ Chandos / CD - released 19/May/2024 ] Although he had initially declined the commission, Delius was persuaded to write the incidental music for Hassan by the actor and director Basil Dean, in July 1920, for performances he was planning for His Majesty's Theatre, London, the following... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bryn Terfel - Simple Gifts (Incl 'I'll walk beside you' & 'How great thou art') Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) with Aled Jones (tenor) and John Williams (guitar) / London Voices / London Symphony Orchestra / Barry Wordsworth [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 18/Oct/2005 ] As one of the most acclaimed opera singers of our time, Bryn Terfel dedicates his golden voice to a program that celebrates the simple beauty of melody and song, making the album a must-have for every Terfel fan and a serene and inspiring gift for... |
HILDEGARD von BINGEN
A Feather on the Breath of God Emma Kirkby (soprano) / Gothic Voices [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Sep/2010 ] "These hymns and sequences, most expertly performed and recorded, have excited much acclaim - and rightly so. A lovely CD" Penguin Guide |
HILDEGARD VON BINGEN / HERRAD van LANDBERG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: von Bingen / von Landberg: Hortus Deliciarum Ensemble Discantus, Brigitte Lesne (female voices) [ Naive / CD - released 9/Sep/2004 ] "The performance of this music by Discantus is as good as one could wish for. All voices are ideally suited for this kind of music. Both in regard to repertoire and performance this disc can be wholeheartedly recommended." MusicWeb |
GUILLAUME DUFAY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dufay: Music for St James the Greater Gothic Voices / Christopher Page (conductor) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 30/Apr/2008 ] GRAMOPHONE RECORDING OF THE MONTH GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE GRAMOPHONE AWARDS WINNER |
Guided By Voices
MARBECKS RARE: Universal Truths & Cycles [ Matador Records / Spunk / CD - released 10/Feb/2010 ] |
Guided By Voices
Surrender Your Poppy Field [ GBV / CD - released 6/Mar/2020 ] Starting off the year with a 100-song marathon in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve, Robert Pollard is setting a mighty high bar for Guided By Voices in 2020. Following three acclaimed and stylistically distinct full-length albums in 2019, Surrender Your... |
Guided By Voices
Welshpool Frillies (LP) [ GBV / LP - released 18/Aug/2023 ] Welshpool Frillies finds the gang back together, in a Brooklyn basement with producer Travis Harrison. Much of it was recorded live to tape. The catchy ear worms in these new songs are undeniable, as the kinetic energy of the band is captured in its... |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Amore per Rossini Jennifer Larmore (mezzo soprano) / London Voices / English Chamber Orchestra, Giuliano Carella [ Teldec / CD - released 14/Jul/1998 ] Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore lacks Cecilia Bartoli's expansive charm and personal magnetism, but she is more enterprising and versatile, as evidenced by this disc of little-known contralto arias. |
FREDERICK LOEWE
Loewe: My Fair Lady Kiri Te Kanawa, Jeremy Irons, John Gielgud, Warren Mitchell / London Voices, London Symphony, John Mauceri [ Decca / CD - released 1/May/1987 ] A studio cast recording with Te Kanawa singing the role of Eliza Doolittle and Jeremy Irons singing the role of Henry Higgins. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Il Trittico (complete operas) Carlo Guelfi, Maria Guleghina, Neil Shicoff, Ricardo Cassinelli, Jose van Dam, Angela Gheorghiu / London Voices, London Symphony, Antonio Pappano [ Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 4/Jun/2012 ] The dark, dangerous drama of Il tabarro… The heart-wrenching pathos of Suor Angelica… The merciless comedy (leavened with youthful romance) of Gianni Schicchi… Puccini's scores for his triptych of one-act operas are as compelling for their subtlety... |
JOHANN BAPTIST VANHAL
Vanhal: Missa pastoralis in G / Missa Solemnis in C Mary Enid Haines, Nina Scott Stoddart / Tower Voices New Zealand / Uwe Grodd [ Naxos 18th Century Sacred Music / CD - released 1/Jun/2001 ] Recorded at St John's Cathedral, Napier-July/August 2000 |
ANONYMOUS / CORNYSHE / HENRY VIII / MASCHERA / SUSATO
The Tudors - Courtly Pastimes: Songs and dances from 'Henry VIII's Book' Musica Reservata & Purcell Consort of Voices, Grayston Burgess & Michael Morrow [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 15/Dec/2015 ] "[a] most attractive record" (Gramophone) |
PERCY GRAINGER / GUSTAV HOLST
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Grainger: The Warriors / Holst: The Planets, Op. 32 Philharmonia Orchestra, Women's Voices of the Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 21/May/1995 ] Recorded: London, All Hallows, Gospel Oak, 2/1994 |
WILL TODD
Todd: Passion Music, Jazz Missa Brevis St Martin's Voices, Will Todd Ensemble, Shaneeka Simon( vocals), John Turville (piano), Will Todd (conductor) [ Signum / CD - released 1/Feb/2019 ] Will Todd has established himself as one of the UK's most popular choral composers. His anthem, The Call of Wisdom, was performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations with a TV audience of 45 million people. His breakthrough work, Mass in... |
DANIEL-FRANCOIS-ESPRIT AUBER
Auber: Le domino noir / Gustave III Ballet Music Sumi Jo, Isabelle Vernet, Bruce Ford, Patrick Power / London Voices & English Chamber Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Australian Decca Eloquence / 2 CD - released 13/Dec/2017 ] "Bonynge makes the ideal advocate, moulding melodies, springing rhythms and aerating textures to make the music sparkle from first to last. … The recording is among Decca's most vivid." Penguin Guide |
JOHANN JOHANNSSON
Jóhannsson: Drone Mass (LP) Theatre of Voices, American Contemporary Music Ensemble, Paul Hillier [ Deutsche Grammophon / LP - released 20/May/2022 ] The previously unrecorded Drone Mass was described by its composer, the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, as "a contemporary oratorio". Written for voices, string quartet and electronics, it was commissioned and premiered by the American Contemporary Music... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The Christmas Story Theatre of Voices / Ars Nova Copenhagen / Paul Hillier [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 19/Sep/2011 ] Inspired by the much-loved service of 'Nine Lessons and Carols' given every Christmas Eve, this recording presents the Nativity story told through plainchant, motets, 17th Century dialogues and traditional folk carols. |
GIBBONS / DERING / EAST / RAVENSCROFT / WEELKES
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Cries Of London Theatre Of Voices, Fretwork [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 10/Jul/2006 ] Theatre of Voices and Fretwork are heard in a selection of the Cries of London, in which music for viol consort is overlaid - sometimes comically, sometimes poignantly - with the raucous voices of 16th-century London's street-vendors, mendicants,... |
BEETHOVEN / HANDEL / von BINGEN / PART / HAYDN / DVORAK / etc
The Choral Collection Tonus Peregrinus, Camerata Bach Choir, Musica Ficta, Oxford Camerata, Choir of the Golden Age, TOWER Voices New Zealand, Simon Mayr Choir, etc [ Naxos / 30 CD Box Set - released 25/Oct/2019 ] "There's plenty to celebrate here, not least sterling performances by Oxford Camerata under Jeremy Summerly (including Bach's Magnificat, Vivaldi's Gloria, Fauré's Requiem and other choral pieces, and a fine Hildegard CD). |
DAVID GRIFFITHS / DAVID HAMILTON / ANTHONY RITCHIE / EVE de CASTRO-ROBINSON / etc
Spirit of the Land Tower Voices New Zealand / Karen Grylls [ Trust / CD - released 1/Jul/2006 ] This recording presents works from over three decades of New Zealand choral composition which draw upon the words of New Zealand poets and take their inspiration from the landscape of Aotearoa (New Zealand). From one of the earliest, David Hamilton's... |
ROSS HARRIS
Harris: Face / Symphony No. 6 'Last Letter' Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Giordano Bellincampi, Antony Hermus [ Naxos / CD - released 4/Dec/2020 ] In Symphony No. 6 'Last Letter', Ross Harris explores settings of four poems by Vincent O'Sullivan, interlinking them with three musical interludes. The darkness of the subject matter draws from the composer music of powerful and at times despairing... |
HILDEGARD von BINGEN / PALESTRINA / LOTTI / WEELKES / BYRD / ANONYMOUS
From Chant To Renaissance Kathy Theil (soprano), Voices of Ascension, Dennis Keene [ Delos / CD - released 1/Jun/2021 ] Beginning with a mesmerizing solo soprano chant of Hildegard von Bingen, this new program weaves both solo and group chants through medieval and Renaissance masterpieces. The flow back and forth enables the listener to feel the spellbinding... |
PALESTRINA / BRUCKNER / MENDELSSOHN / VICTORIA / FAURE / DURUFLE / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mysteries Beyond - songs and chants in the praise of Mary Kathleen Bride (soprano), Mark Krucez (organ), Vinson Cole (tenor), Patrick Stephens (piano) / Voices Of Ascension, Dennis Keene [ Delos / CD - released 2/Feb/1994 ] Voices of Ascension Chorus and Orchestra, founded and directed by conductor Dennis Keene, is one of the world's premier professional choral ensembles. |
With the singing voices of Yul Brynner, Marni Nixon, Leona Gordon, Terry Saunders & Reuben Fuentes
The King and I - Original Soundtrack [ Angel Records / CD - released 23/Jun/2001 ] Nominated for nine Academy Awards, The King and I won five, including Best Sound Recording. Despite its success, the film was banned in Thailand! Brynner would go on to reprise his role in the Broadway revivals of 1977 and 1985. |
Guided By Voices
Crystal Nuns Cathedral (LP) [ Gbv / LP - released 11/Mar/2022 ] The mighty Guided by Voices are set to unleash upon the world their 35th and quite possibly…BEST album, Crystal Nuns Cathedral. How do they do it you might ask? Well we don't know how they do it, but we certainly do know WHY they do it. They do it... |
Guided By Voices
Half Smiles Of The Decomposed (Limited Edition Translucent Vinyl LP) [ Matador / LP - released 6/Sep/2019 ] The final Matador album from legendary geniuses Guided By Voices, which at the time was set to be their last ever. After twenty-odd years, twenty-odd line- ups, and twenty-odd albums, EPs, singles, triples, stolen bases, misdemeanor convictions,... |
Guided By Voices
Motivational Jumpsuit [ Fire / CD - released 21/Feb/2014 ] Motivational Jumpsuit is the latest, bestest release by reunited indierock (whatever that means) juggernaut (means an unstoppable force) Guided By Voices. It speaks in several silvery tongues, and like last year's English Little League takes many... |
Guided By Voices
Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (Limited Edition LP) [ Scat / LP - released 18/Aug/2023 ] Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia was Guided By Voices' third album, self-released by the band in 1988 in a pressing of 500. While both of the band's earlier albums exhibit strong songwriting and plenty of vision, it is here that the GBV sound really... |
Guided By Voices
Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (LP) [ Scat / LP - released 18/Aug/2023 ] Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia was Guided By Voices' third album, self-released by the band in 1988 in a pressing of 500. While both of the band's earlier albums exhibit strong songwriting and plenty of vision, it is here that the GBV sound really... |
Guided By Voices
Tonics And Twisted Chasers (LP) [ Superior Viaduct / LP - released 4/Oct/2024 ] Originally released in 1996 as a limited fan-club pressing for Rockathon, Guided By Voices' Tonics And Twisted Chasers has always existed as an anomaly in Robert Pollard's vast discography. In many ways, the album serves as the tail of a creative... |
Guided By Voices
Under The Bushes Under The Stars (LP) [ Matador / 2 LP - released 30/Apr/2021 ] Reissue of Guided By Voices' long out-of-print ninth studio album. Originally released in 1996 as the follow up to the breakthrough Alien Lanes, Under The Bushes Under The Stars further cemented GBV as one of rock music's most lauded contributors. |
Guided By Voices
Warp And Woof [ GBV Inc / CD - released 3/May/2019 ] Following GBV's sprawling double-album Zeppelin Over China, Robert Pollard has written and recorded another full-length in record-breaking time. It's Warp and Woof, exuberantly barrelling through 24 songs in just 37 minutes with a brevity similar to... |