WOLF / SCHUMANN / SCHUBERT / BRAHMS
Helen Watts - Lieder Recital Helen Watts (contralto), Geoffrey Parsons (piano) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Aug/2019 ] Presented on CD for the first time and newly remastered, a pair of Romantic Lieder recitals by the Welsh contralto who inherited the mantle of Kathleen Ferrier. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Songs for Courtiers and Cavaliers [recorded 1956 - 1958] Helen Watts (contralto), Thurston Dart (harpsichord) Philomusica of London [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Aug/2019 ] Three L'Oiseau-Lyre LPs celebrating the art of a much-loved contralto, newly remastered and compiled together for the first time, including material new to CD. |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Cantatas; Arias Helen Watts (contralto), Robert Tear (tenor) / Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Aug/2019 ] Of the works by Handel presented here, three are cantatas devoted to the Patron Saint of music, St. Cecilia, another is an Italian cantata that was probably presented for a private patron in Rome, while the remaining two works are drawn from Handel's... |
PETER MAUNDER
Under the surface Helen Webby (harp), Lisette Wesseling (soprano), Peter Maunder (trombones) [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 1/Dec/2010 ] Unusually beautiful instrumental combination of trombone and harp, plus the luminescent voice of Lisette Wesseling. |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Harmoniemesse / Salve Regina in E Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox, with Nancy Agneta, Pamela Helen Stephen, Mark Padmore, & Stephen Vacoe [ Chandos Chaconne / CD ] " Tempos are lively, rhythms alert and vital. In the Mass Hickox generates an exhilarating symphonic momentum in, say, the opening sections of the Gloria and Credo, and, aided by an outstandingly clear, well-balanced recording.." Gramophone |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berlioz: Beatrice et Benedict (Complete opera) Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Thomas Allen, Helen Watts, London Symphony Orchestra. Sir Colin Davis [ Philips / 2 CD - released 5/May/2005 ] Dame Janet Baker and Robert Tear lead an outstanding cast in this classic recording of Berlioz' operatic setting of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, under the baton of the distinguished Berlioz conductor Sir Colin Davis. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: The New Collector's Edition Joan Rodgers, William Shimmell, Vernon Handley, Adrian Boult, Richard Hickox, Helen Watts, Janet Baker, Robert Tear, etc [ Warner Classics / 30 CD Box Set - released 30/Sep/2022 ] This edition presents all the major orchestral, chamber, vocal and stage works, as well as many lesser pieces and rarities, in the finest interpretations. All your favourite Vaughan Williams is here, in over 34 hours of music on 30 CDs. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: The World Of The Spirit / King Arthur Suite / American Overture Martyn Hill (tenor), Pamela Helen Stephen (mezzo-soprano), Stephen Varcoe (baritone) / Britten Singers, BBC Philharmonic, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD - released 2/Feb/1996 ] "The recording is superbly wide in its range and offers a realistic quality." Gramophone |
GOOSSENS / DRING / RODNEY BENNETT / McGUIRE / SAMUEL / MUSGRAVE / ARNOLD
British Music for Flute, Oboe & Piano Nancy Ruffer (flute) John Anderson (oboe) Helen Crayford (piano) [ Dutton Epoch / CD - released 20/Apr/2007 ] "The performances are well-turned and responsive to the programme's varying demands." BBC Music |
Nat King Cole & Orchestra, Johnny Hartman & Erroll Garner, Modern Jazz Quartet, Helen Forrest & Billy May, Dinah Washington, Four Freshman, etc
Harry Warren Songbook - September in the Rain [ Jazz Giants Play / CD - released 12/Oct/2005 ] Over a career spanning six decades, Warren wrote more than 800 songs. Well known Warren hits included, "Lullaby of Broadway", and, "I Only Have Eyes for You". Warren was one of America's most prolific film composers. |
JOSEPH HAYDN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Haydn: The Complete Mass Edition Susan Gritton, Pamela Helen Stephen, Janice Watson, Stephen Varcoe, Mark Padmore / Collegium Musicum 90 / Richard Hickox [ Chandos / 8 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2007 ] Richard Hickox's plaudit-winning Haydn Mass Edition is now available as a complete boxed set. A full price collection but now available at a special price. |
JULE STYNE
Styne: Hazel Flagg Helen Gallagher & Thomas Mitchell / Original Broadway Cast [ Sepia Records / CD - released 7/Jun/2006 ] Hazel Flagg is a 1953 musical, book by Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street. The lyrics are by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film Nothing Sacred, the primary screenwriter of which... |
J. S. BACH
Missa (1733) Emiko Iiyama, Helen Watts, Kurt Equiluz, Rotraud Hansmann, Max van Egmond / Wiener Sängerknaben, Chorus Viennensis, Concentus musicus Wien, Nikolaus H [ Warner Das Alte Werk / CD - released 1/Jun/2009 ] "admirable performance and excellent recording … all Bach-lovers must know Harnoncourt's style by now; the buoyant flow of the opening Kyrie, for example, the springy rhythms and lightness of touch." (Gramophone) |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah (Complete Oratorio) Helen Donath, Anna Reynolds, Stuart Burrows, Donald McIntyre, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Richter [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD ] Recorded: 1972-11-07 Recording Venue: Brent Town Hall, Wembley, London |
GERSHWIN / RAVEL
Piano Concertos Helen Grimaud (piano) / Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman [ Warner Classics The Erato Story / CD - released 10/Apr/2014 ] "Those who do take the plunge will be rewarded by one of the most vivid and detailed concerto recordings I've ever heard. The balance between piano and orchestra is close to ideal, the soundstage spacious and realistic, the bass deep and well defined |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection' Heather Harper (sop) Helen Watts (cont) / London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Originals / CD - released 20/Jun/2007 ] "... the new Decca stereo recording has special points of excellence all its own. The most striking thing in the whole performance, for me, is the first movement, in which Solti penetrates to the inner significance of the unusual structure with an... |
FRANZ LEHAR
Lehar: Friederike Helen Donath, Adolf Dallapozza / Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Heinz Wallberg [ Warner Classics Cologne Collection / 2 CD - released 12/Jun/2014 ] It's one of the best-known love stories in the history of German literature: the brief but intense affair between the young Goethe and the 17-year-old Friederike Brion, daughter of a Strasbourg parish priest. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Requiem Mass K626 / Exsultate, jubilate, K165 [with Barbara Hendricks] Helen Donath, Christa Ludwig, Robert Tear, Robert Lloyd, Orchestra conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini [ Warner Classics Masters / CD - released 1/Nov/2010 ] "As one would expect. what Giulini's insight conveys is the rapt quality of such passages as the end of the Tuba mirum and the Benedictus." (Penguin Guide) |
W.A. MOZART
Great Choral Works: Missa in C minor, Coronation Mass, Requiem Mass Helen Donath, Heather Harper, Yvonne Minton, John Alldis Choir / BBC Symphony / Colin Davis [ Philips Duo / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/2001 ] A specially priced double CD |
BEETHOVEN / MOZART
Piano Concerto No 1 / Piano Concerto No 23 Helen Huang (piano) / New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur [ Warner Apex / CD - released 13/Oct/1995 ] "There is much to admire in Helen Huang's performance. Her sound is clear and full, with a tensile strength that never seems muscle-bound and her sense of form is admirable ö she has the makings of a lovely artist." (Washington Post) |