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Angels - Christmas with The Great Sopranos

Angels - Christmas with The Great Sopranos


Adam:

O Holy Night

Leontyne Price (soprano)

Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

Bach, J S:

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (from Cantata BWV147)

Arr. Chris Hazell

Renée Fleming (soprano)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andreas Delfs

Brahms:

Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4 (Lullaby)

Angela Gheorghiu (soprano)

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ion Marin

Fauré:

Requiem: Pie Jesu

Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano)

Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit

Grüber, F:

Silent Night

Renata Tebaldi & George Thalben-Ball

Handel:

Messiah: I know that my Redeemer liveth

Sylvia McNair (soprano)

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chorus, The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Let the bright seraphim (from Samson)

Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano) & Crispian Steele-Perkins

, St. Paul's Cathedral Choir & English Chamber Orchestra, Barry Rose

Mascagni:

Ave Maria (arranged from Intermezzo sinfonico from Cavalleria Rusticana)

Angela Gheorghiu (soprano)

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ion Marin

Mendelssohn:

Hark! the herald angels sing

Leontyne Price (soprano)

Singverein Der Gesellschaft Der Musikfreunde, Wiener Grosstadtkinderchor & Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

Mozart:

Laudate Dominum from Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, K339

Barbara Bonney (soprano)

The English Concert Choir & The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock

Exsultate, jubilate, K165 - Alleluia

Sylvia McNair (soprano)

English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner

Schubert:

Ave Maria, D839

Renée Fleming (soprano)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andreas Delfs

trad.:

Good King Wenceslas

Dame Joan Sutherland, Valda Aveling & Patricia Clarke

The Ambrosian Singers

It came upon the midnight clear

Dame Joan Sutherland (soprano)

New Philharmonia Orchestra, Richard Bonynge

Verdi:

Ave Maria (from Otello)

Mirella Freni (soprano)

Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli

Wade:

O come, all ye faithful

Renata Tebaldi (soprano)

The Ambrosian Singers & New Philharmonia Orchestra, Anton Guadagno


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Decca - 4780337

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Music of Henry Purcell

Music of Henry Purcell

The Complete Vanguard Recordings Volume 2


Including:

Blow:

Ode on the Death of Mr Henry Purcell

Alfred Deller (counter-tenor), John Whitworth (counter-tenor), Christopher Taylor (recorder), Richard Taylor (recorder), Anne Shuttleworth (cello) Walter Bergmann (harpsichord)

Purcell:

Dido and Aeneas

Mary Thomas (soprano), Honor Sheppard (soprano), Ellen Dales (soprano), Helen Watts (contralto), Robert Tear (tenor), Maurice Bevan (baritone)

Oriana Concert Choir and Orchestra, Alfred Deller

Hail! bright Cecilia (for St Cecilia's Day, 1683)

April Cantelo (soprano), Alfred Deller (counter-tenor), Peter Salmon (counter-tenor), Wilfred Brown (tenor), Maurice Bevan (baritone), John Frost (bass), George Eskdale (solo trumpet), Leonard Friedman (violin), Eli Goren (violin), Richard Taylor (treble recorder), Stanley Taylor (treble recorder), Peter Graeme (oboe), Edward Selwyn (oboe), Philip Jones (trumpet), Denis Clift (trumpet), Alan Taylor (tympani), Anna Shuttleworth (cello and basso continuo), Francis Baines (cello and basso continuo), Denis Vaughan (harpsichord)

Ambrosian Singers / Kalmar Chamber Orchestra of London, Sir Michael Tippett

Welcome to all the pleasures (for St Cecilia's Day, 1683)

Alfred Deller (counter-tenor), April Cantelo (soprano), Eileen McLoughlin (soprano), Gerald English (tenor), Owen Grundy (baritone), Maurice Bevan (baritone)

Kalmar Chamber Orchestra, Alfred Deller

Come ye songs of art, away (for Queen Mary's birthday, 1694)

Alfred Deller (counter-tenor), Mark Deller (counter-tenor), Mary Thomas (soprano), Maurice Bevan (baritone)

Oriana Concert Choir and Orchestra, Alfred Deller

My beloved spake

Alfred Deller (counter-tenor), April Cantelo (soprano), Gerald English (tenor), Maurice Bevan (baritone)

Kalmar Orchestra of London, Alfred Deller

Rejoice in the Lord alway ('The Bell Anthem'), Z49

Alfred Deller (counter-tenor), Mary Thomas (soprano), Honor Sheppard (soprano), Max Worthley (tenor), Robert Tear (tenor), Maurice Bevan (baritone)

Oriana Concert Orchestra, Alfred Deller


The Deller Consort, Alfred Deller

Musical Concepts is pleased to announce the second release in one of the most ambitious early music reissue projects of all time — Alfred Deller: The Complete Vanguard Recordings. The series brings together every recording made by Alfred Deller – as solo countertenor, ensemble member of the Deller Consort, and conductor – for the legendary, enterprising Vanguard record label. These recordings created a sensation with their initial release, and have influenced and inspired three generations of music lovers, from casual listeners to the top tiers of performing artists and scholars.

Music of England's greatest composer was a speciality of Alfred Deller. His artistry was particularly welll suited to Purcell and Deller's role in establishing the greatness of this music cannot be exaggerated.

This collection includes iconic performances of solo vocal works with groundbreaking recordings of operas, sacred music and theatical works which Deller performs and conducts. Being at the forefront of the re-birth of the early music movement, he naturally attracted many of the other supreme artists of the time, all of whom went on to become great figures in their own right.

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Vanguard Classics - MC194

(CD - 6 discs)

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Benjamin Britten – The Collector’s Edition

Benjamin Britten – The Collector’s Edition


Britten:

Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pesek

Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op. 33a

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pesek

The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pesek

Canadian Carnival Overture, Op. 19

Wesley Warren (trumpet)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Diversions for piano (left hand) and orchestra, Op. 21

Peter Donohoe (piano)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Scottish Ballad, Op. 26

Peter Donohoe & Philip Fowke (pianos)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

An American Overture

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Occasional Overture, Op. 38

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

The Building of the House

CBSO Chorus & City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Piano Concerto, Op. 13

Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi

Violin Concerto in D minor Op. 15

Ida Haendel (violin)

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Berglund

Young Apollo, Op. 16

Peter Donohoe (piano), Felix Kok, Jeremy Ballard (violins), Peter Cole (viola) & Michal Kaznowski (cello)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Simple Symphony, Op. 4

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown

Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown

Prelude & Fugue Op. 29

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown

Lachrymae for viola & strings, Op. 48a

Lars Anders Tomter (viola)

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown

Gloriana - Symphonic Suite Op. 53a

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Takuo Yuasa

Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68

Steven Isserlis (cello)

City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox

Men of Goodwill (Variations on a Christmas Carol for orchestra)

Minnesota Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner

Sinfonietta, Op. 1

Pauline Lowbury & Julian Tear (violins)

Britten Sinfonia, Daniel Harding

Russian Funeral

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Suite on English Folk Tunes 'A Time there was', Op. 90

Peter Walden (cor anglais)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Matinees musicales - ballet suite Op.24

English Chamber Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson

Soirees musicales - ballet suite Op.9

English Chamber Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson

Rossini Suite original version of Soirées Musicales

Boys of the Choir of Paisley & Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford

The Prince of the Pagodas, Op. 57

London Sinfonietta, Oliver Knussen

Rhapsody for String Quartet

Endellion String Quartet

Quartettino

Endellion String Quartet

String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25

Endellion String Quartet

Phantasy in F minor for string quintet

Nicholas Logie (viola)

Endellion String Quartet

Elegy for unaccompanied viola

Garfield Jackson (viola)

Phantasy Quartet Op. 2 for oboe, violin, viola & cello

Endellion String Quartet

Three Divertimenti

Endellion String Quartet

String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 36

Endellion String Quartet

String Quartet in D major (1931)

Endellion String Quartet

String Quartet No. 3, Op. 94

Endellion String Quartet

Suite No. 1 for cello solo, Op. 72

Truls Mørk (cello)

Suite No. 3 for cello solo, Op. 87

Truls Mørk (cello)

Suite No. 2 for cello solo, Op. 80

Truls Mørk (cello)

Holiday Diary Op. 5 for solo piano

Stephen Hough, Ronan O’Hara (pianos)

Three Character Pieces

Stephen Hough, Ronan O’Hara (pianos)

Moderato, Nocturne & Twelve Variations on a Theme from Sonatina romantica

Stephen Hough, Ronan O’Hara (pianos)

Five Waltzes for piano

Stephen Hough, Ronan O’Hara (pianos)

Two Lullabies for Two Pianos

Stephen Hough, Ronan O’Hara (pianos)

Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca, op.23 No.1

Stephen Hough, Ronan O’Hara (pianos)

Suite Op. 6

Alexander Barantschik (violin) & John Adey (piano)

Sonata for cello and piano in C major, Op. 65

Moray Welsh (cello) & John Lenehan (piano)

Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe, Op. 49

Roy Carter (oboe)

Nocturnal after John Dowland: Reflections on ‘Come, heavy Sleep', Op. 70

Julian Bream (guitar)

War Requiem, Op. 66

Elisabeth Söderström (soprano), Robert Tear (tenor), Sir Thomas Allen (baritone) & Mark Blatchly (chamber organ)

Boys of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, CBSO Chorus & City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Spring Symphony, Op. 44

Sheila Armstrong (soprano), Dame Janet Baker (contralto) & Robert Tear (tenor)

St. Clement Danes School Boys’ Choir, London Symphony Chorus & London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn

Hymn to St Cecilia, Op. 27

Richard Cross (treble)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir David Willcocks

A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28

James Clark, Julian Godlee (trebles) & Osian Ellis (harp)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir David Willcocks

Missa Brevis in D major, Op. 63

Julian Brown, Christopher Anderson, Anthony Sackville, Rory Phillips & James Clark (trebles) & Ian Hare (organ)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir David Willcocks

Festival Te Deum in E, Op. 32

Simon Channing (treble) & James Lancelot (organ)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger

Rejoice in the Lamb, Op. 30

Simon Channing (treble), James Bowman (countertenor), Richard Morton (tenor), Marcus Creed (bass), James Lancelot (organ) & David Corkhill (percussion)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger

Te Deum in C

Rory Phillips (treble) & James Lancelot (organ)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger

Jubilate Deo in C major (1961)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger

A Hymn to the Virgin

Stephen Barton (treble), Hugh Hudleston (treble), Warren Trevelyan-Jones (tenor) & Francis Pott (bass)

Winchester Cathedral Choir, David Hill

St Nicolas, Op. 42

Words by Eric Crozier

Robert Tear (tenor), Bruce Russell (treble), Andrew Davis & Ian Hare (piano duet

Cambridge Girls’ Choir, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge & Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir David Willcocks

Hymn to St. Peter, Op. 56a

Mark Emney, Peter Rowe (trebles) & Timothy Farrell (organ)

Wandsworth School Choir, Russell Burgess

A Hymn of Saint Columba

Mark Emney, Peter Rowe (trebles), Christopher Hughes, Timothy Farrell (organ)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge & Wandsworth School Choir, Russell Burgess

Sacred and Profane, Op. 91

Vasari Singers, Jeremy Backhouse

The Little Sweep

Words by Eric Crozier

Robert Lloyd, Robert Tear, Sam Monck, Heather Begg, Catherine Benson, Cato Fordham, Catherine Wearing, Mary Wells, David Glick, Colin Huehns & Katherine Willis

Finchley Children’s Music Group, Choral Scholars of King’s College, Cambridge & Medici String Quartet, Sir Philip Ledger

A Boy was Born, Op. 3

London Sinfonietta Chorus & Choristers of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Terry Edwards

A Shepherd's Carol

Sarah Leonard (soprano), Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano), Peter Hall (tenor) & Gordon Jones (baritone)

London Sinfonietta Chorus, Terry Edwards

Noye's Fludde

Richard Pasco, Donald Maxwell, Linda Ormiston, Alexander Gallifant, Timothy Lamb, Nicholas Berry, Catriona Johnson, Polly Hewetson & Joanna Brown

Coull String Quartet & Schools’ Orchestra from schools of Salisbury and Chester, Richard Hickox

AMDG

London Sinfonietta Chorus, Terry Edwards

The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard (Text: The Oxford Book of Ballads)

Baccholian Singers of London

The Company of Heaven

Peter Barkworth, Sheila Allen (narrators), Cathryn Pope (soprano), Dan Dressen (tenor) & Christopher Herrick (organ)

London Philharmonic Choir & English Chamber Orchestra, Philip Brunelle

Ballad of Heroes, Op. 14

Robert Tear (tenor)

CBSO Chorus & City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Praise We Great Men

Alison Hargan (soprano), Mary King (contralto), Robert Tear (tenor) & Willard White (bass)

CBSO Chorus & City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Les illuminations, Op. 18

Heather Harper (soprano)

Northern Sinfonia Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner

Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings, Op. 31

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Barry Tuckwell (horn)

Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford

Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal, for tenor, horn and strings

orch. Colin Matthews

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Barry Tuckwell (horn)

Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford

Nocturne, Op. 60 for tenor, obbligato instruments and strings

Robert Tear (tenor)

English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate

Quatre Chansons Françaises

Jill Gomez (soprano)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Our Hunting Fathers, Op. 8

Elisabeth Söderström (soprano)

Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Richard Armstrong

Four Folksong Settings

Elisabeth Söderström (soprano)

Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Richard Armstrong

Phaedra, Op. 93

Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano), Jane Salmon (cello) & Melvyn Tan (harpsichord)

Endymion Ensemble, John Whitfield

Five French Folksong arrangements

Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano)

Endymion Ensemble, John Whitfield

Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Op. 22

Peter Pears (tenor) & Benjamin Britten (piano)

The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35

Peter Pears (tenor) & Benjamin Britten (piano)

On this Island, Op. 11

Robert Tear (tenor) & Sir Philip Ledger (piano)

Winter Words, Op. 52

Robert Tear (tenor) & Sir Philip Ledger (piano)

Canticles I-V

Ian Bostridge (tenor), David Daniels (countertenor), Christopher Maltman (baritone), Timothy Brown (horn), Aline Brewer (harp) & Julius Drake (piano)

Folksong Arrangements: The Plough Boy, The Salley Gardens, The foggy, foggy dew, There's none to soothe, O Waly, Waly, The Ash Grove, Greensleeves

Ian Bostridge (tenor), David Daniels (countertenor), Christopher Maltman (baritone), Timothy Brown (horn), Aline Brewer (harp) & Julius Drake (piano)

Two songs by Thomas Hardy

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Roger Vignoles (piano)

Beware

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Roger Vignoles (piano)

Two songs by W.H. Auden

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Roger Vignoles (piano)

Three rhymes by William Soutar

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Roger Vignoles (piano)

Tit for Tat

Jonathan Lemalu (bass baritone) & Malcolm Martineau (piano)

Two Ballads for two voices and piano

Felicity Lott (soprano) & Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano)

Folksong arrangements

Robert Tear (tenor) & Sir Philip Ledger (piano)

Folksong arrangements

Sarah Brightman (soprano) & Geoffrey Parsons (piano)

Paul Bunyan

Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Plymouth Music Series, Philip Brunelle

Peter Grimes

Recorded: VI.1992, Watford Town Hall

Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Felicity Lott, Thomas Allen, Patricia Payne, Maria Bovino, Gillian Webster, Stuart Kale, Stafford Dean, Sarah Walker, Neil Jenkins, Simon Keenlyside, David Wilson-Johnson

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Bernard Haitink

The Turn of the Screw

Recorded: 17–19.I.2002, Maltings Concert Hall, Snape, Suffolk

Ian Bostridge, Joan Rodgers, Julian Leang, Caroline Wise, Jane Henschel, Vivian Tierney

Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Harding

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Recorded: XI.1990

James Bowman, Lillian Watson, Dexter Fletcher, John Graham-Hall, Henry Herford, Della Jones, Jill Gomez, Norman Bailey, Penelope Walker

Trinity Boys’ Choir, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox

The Rape of Lucretia

Abridged recording of the revised version (1947), Recorded: 16–19.VII. & 19.X.1947, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London

Peter Pears, Joan Cross, Norman Lumsden, Denis Dowling, Frederick Sharp, Nancy Evans, Flora Nielsen, Margaret Ritchie

English Opera Group Chamber Orchestra, Reginald Goodall


Benjamin Britten was born on the day of the Patron Saint of Music – St. Cecilia – 22nd November in 1913 in Lowestoft. He showed remarkable skill at composition from his earliest days. In 1924 he met Frank Bridge (1879-1941), a fine composer in his own right, and became his pupil; through him he developed an appreciation of contemporary music with scores by Bartók and the Schönberg school, particulary Berg.

In 1930 he entered the Royal College of Music and developed the pianistic skills which made him such a brilliant interpreter of both his own music and other greats particularly Mozart and Schubert. From these times date the beautiful A Hymn to the Virgin, Quatre Chansons Françaises and the Sinfonietta, his official Op. 1. He visited Vienna in 1934 and saw Wozzeck but family resistance prevented him studying with Berg (who, in any case, died from blood poisoning caused by an insect sting a year later).

He worked for some years in the film unit of the General Post Office where he met W.H. Auden whose poetry inspired the brilliant song cycle Our Hunting Fathers. The experience in the film unit enabled him to develop the expressive immediacy and technical abilities – often using small and unconventional resources – which would assist his composition of operas in the years to come.

In 1939 he decided to follow Auden to America, accompanying him was the tenor Peter Pears (1910-1986) who was to be the inspiration behind so many great operatic roles and song cycles. There he composed the Sinfonia da Requiem, the Michelangelo Sonnets and the First Quartet. His first opera, Paul Bunyan, to an Auden libretto, was also composed there but then withdrawn (it was revived for the Aldeburgh Festival in the year he died).

He started to get the pangs of homesickness especially when he read, by chance, an article by E.M. Forster on the Suffolk poet Crabbe (whose work was to lead to arguably his greatest success) and he returned to England in 1942. He wrote A Ceremony of Carols and Hymn to St. Cecilia (another Auden text) during this year.

For British Opera the date 7th June 1945 will always remain a red-letter day as it heralded the premiere of a masterpiece, Peter Grimes. The triumph not only established Britten as Purcell’s successor as Britain’s greatest music dramatist but its numerous performances abroad showed that Britain had an international composer celebrity.

The Rape of Lucretia was premiered the following year as was the work by which Britten is probably best remembered – certainly by thankful schoolchildren for their guide to the Orchestra. Here he subjects the theme by Purcell to a series of ingenious variations played by each member of the orchestra and then as groups and finally a fugue where everything comes together in a simply unforgettable coda.

Indeed when one examines Britten’s output it is hard not to credit him with at least one work of genius, if not a masterpiece, virtually every year for the rest of his composing life – whether it be an opera, for example The Turn of the Screw in 1954 or A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1960; a choral work, for example Spring Symphony in 1949 or the War Requiem in 1961, a large vocal work, for example Serenade for tenor, horn and strings in 1943, Nocturne in 1958 and Phaedra in 1975; a smaller vocal work, for example the Canticles of 1947, 1952, 1954, 1971 & 1974; the works he wrote for Mstislav Rostropovich – the Cello Sonata in 1961, the Cello Symphony in 1963 and the three Solo Cello Suites in 1964, 1967 & 1971; the two remaining string quartets in 1945 & 1975 and a full length ballet The Prince of the Pagodas in 1956.

Besides setting many classic poets from Britain including Blake, Burns, Coleridge, Donne, Hardy, Keats, Jonson, Milton, Owen, Shakespeare, Shelley, Spenser, Tennyson and Wordsworth he also set texts in French (Hugo, Rimbaud and Verlaine), Italian (Michelangelo), German (Hölderlin) and Russian (Pushkin). He was also partly responsible for the reawakening of interest in the music of his great predecessor, Henry Purcell by making realizations of a large number of his works. He also launched the music festival in his adopted town of Aldeburgh.

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EMI - 2175262

(CD - 37 discs)

Normally: $111.99

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Haydn - London Symphonies

Haydn - London Symphonies


Haydn:

Symphony No. 100 in G major 'Military'

Symphony No. 102 in B flat major

Symphony No. 103 in E flat major 'Drum Roll'

Symphony No. 104 in D major 'London'


English Chamber Orchestra, Jefferey Tate

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EMI Classics for Pleasure - 2283692

(CD - 2 discs)

$10.99

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Handel: Theodora

Handel: Theodora


Heather Harper (Theodora), Maureen Forrester (Didimus), Maureen Lehane (Irene), Alexander Young (Septimius), John Lawrenson (Valens), Edgar Fleet (Messenger)

English Chamber Orchestra, Amor Artis Chorale, Johannes Somary

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Alto - ALT2005

(CD - 2 discs)

$9.99

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A Time There Was - Tony Palmer Film about Benjamin Britten

A Time There Was - Tony Palmer Film about Benjamin Britten

Includes extracts from Peter Grimes; Billy Budd; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The War Requiem; Curlew River; Death in Venice; The Nocturne & The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra


Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, Leonard Bernstein, Sviatoslav Richter, Janet Baker, Julian Bream, Heather Harper, Imogen Holst, John Shirley-Quirk, Rudolf Bing & Henry Moore

English Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford

Made at the request of the Britten Estate, this film - thought to be the definitive portrait of the great composer - tells of one of the most profound love affairs of the 20th Century, between Britten and his lover and life-long companion and inspiration, Peter Pears.

At a time when it was illegal to be openly homosexual, Britten & Pears faced up to a hostile world with unflinching dignity, producing a string of masterpieces that, together with the works of Vaughan Williams, established English music as internationally pre-eminent in the middle years of the 20th century.

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DVD Video

Region: 0

Format: NTSC

Tony Palmer DVD - TPDVD125

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$19.49

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Mozart: Idomeneo, K366

Mozart: Idomeneo, K366


Peter Pears (Idomeneo), Anne Pashley (Idamante), Heather Harper (Ilia), Rae Woodland (Elektra) & Robert Tear (Arbace)

English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten

Conducted by Benjamin Britten, using his own performing edition, the opera is sung in English with Peter Pears singing Idomeneo – the only film recording with Peter Pears in the title role.

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Decca - The Britten-Pears Collection - 0743258

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Vaughan Williams - Choral Works

Vaughan Williams - Choral Works

from CDA66420, CDA66655, CDA66511 & CDA66569


Vaughan Williams:

Serenade to Music

Elizabeth Connell (soprano), Amanda Roocroft (soprano), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Martyn Hill (tenor), Maldwyn Davies (tenor), Anne Dawson (soprano), Linda Kitchen (soprano), Alan Opie (baritone), Gwynne Howell (bass), Sir Thomas Allen (baritone), Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzosoprano) & John Connell (bass)

English Chamber Orchestra

Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Thomas Allen (baritone)

English Chamber Orchestra

Flos Campi

Nobuko Imai (viola)

English Chamber Orchestra

Five Mystical Songs

Sir Thomas Allen (baritone)

English Chamber Orchestra

Dona Nobis Pacem

A Cantata for soprano and baritone soli, chorus and orchestra

Judith Howarth (soprano) & Thomas Allen (baritone)

Corydon Orchestra

Four Hymns

for tenor, viola and strings

John Mark Ainsley (tenor) & Matthew Souter (viola)

Corydon Orchestra

O Clap Your Hands (Psalm 47)

Lord, Thou has been our refuge

Sir Thomas Allen (baritone)

The Pilgrim's Progress - A Bunyan Sequence

Text and music adapted by Christopher Palmer from the 1942 radio version of The Pilgrim's Progress.

Sir John Gielgud, Richard Pasco, Ursula Howells (speakers), Aidan Oliver (treble)

The City of London Sinfonia

A Song of Thanksgiving

Sir John Gielgud (speaker), Lynne Dawson (soprano) & John Scott (organ)

The London Oratory Junior Choir

Three Choral Hymns

Magnificat

Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano), Duke Dobing (flute) & Roger Judd (organ)

The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains

Bryn Terfel (baritone), Alan Opie (baritone), Adrian Thompson (tenor), Jonathan Best (bass), John Mark Ainsley (tenor) & Linda Kitchen (soprano)

The Hundredth Psalm


Corydon Singers, Matthew Best

Issued to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Vaughan Williams’s death, this collection is tantalizing: it starts with one of the best-selling discs in the the catalogue, the Serenade to Music, and includes such favourites as the Five Mystical Songs and The Hundreth Psalm. There are also two intriguing pairings: in Dona nobis pacem, RVW warns of the impending doom of WWII, in A song of thanksgiving we hear his moving response to its successful conclusion; in The shepherds of the delectable mountains we hear an early working of Bunyan’s literary masterpiece, later extensively reworked in the landmark 1942 BBC radio production of The Pilgrim’s Progress featuring Sir John Gielgud and reprised here, this time in condensed form.

“The performances are splendid, graced by such soloists as Thomas Allen (Dona nobis pacem, Five Mystical Songs) and Bryn Terfel (The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains)..The rapturous Serenade to Music has a cast of 16 singers fit to rival those of the original recording. Anne Dawson’s top note on the word “music” is spine-tingling.” Sunday Times, 1st June 2008 ****

“Performances like these don’t come along very often; each one is an absolute winner, and with rich, atmospheric recording quality the satisfaction is of a very special quality” CD Review

“Best has a fine sense of VW as a dramatic composer, bringing tremendous urgency to Dona Nobis Pacem and real passion to the Five Mystical Songs. Best's Serenade to Music is the original, not least in matching the star quality of the singers, but also in its magical atmosphere. He equally evokes VW's sensuous side, not only in Flos Campi but also in the Magnificat with its ecstatic writing for female voices.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 *****

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Britten: Albert Herring

Britten: Albert Herring

The Royal Theatre, Copenhagen - September 15, 1949

Libretto by Eric Crozier and Directed by Basil Coleman


Joan Cross, Gladys Parr, Margaret Ritchie, Otakar Kraus, Roy Ashton, Norman Lumsden, Denis Dowling, Peter Pears, Nancy Evans, Catherine Lawson, Anne Sharp, Elisabeth Parry & Alan Thompson

The English Opera Group Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten

This live recording is of a performance given by the English Opera Group, conducted by the composer in the Theatre Royal, Copenhagen on 15th September 1949. It is a fascinating document, coming, as it does, only two years after the first performance of the opera and with no less than eleven members of the original cast still in the team. The composer’s studio recording of Albert Herring was not made until 1964, and, excellent though it is, by then Peter Pears was the only role-creator still in the cast. All limitation of the sound quality aside, this is a wonderful survivor and one of the earliest recorded examples of Britten and the EOG in performance.

“…this Herring features almost entirely original cast members… it's still highly listenable, and illuminating. The first thing one notices is the warmth of Britten's conducting, and indeed the whole performance.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 *****

“…the ensemble's experience with, and relish for, this tricky score (all but two were members of the Glyndebourne cast) shines out. Britten conducts with immense vitality and needle-sharp attention to shifting moods, evoking frequent but never distracting laughter from an attentive audience.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2008

GGramophone Magazine

Editor's Choice - October 2008

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Classic Branford Marsalis

Classic Branford Marsalis


Debussy:

The Little Shepherd (from Children's Corner)

Arabesque No. 1

Fauré:

Requiem: Pie Jesu

Sicilienne from Pelléas et Mélisande

Ibert:

Larghetto from Concertino da camera for Alto Saxophone

Marsalis:

A Thousand Autumns

Milhaud:

La Création du Monde, Op. 81

Rachmaninov:

Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14

Ravel:

Pavane pour une infante défunte

Vocalise-étude en forme de habanera

Satie:

Gymnopédie No. 3

Stravinsky:

Pastorale

Villa-Lobos:

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 - Aria (Cantilena)


Branford Marsalis (saxophone)

English Chamber Orchestra & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Andrew Litton

World-renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis has always been a man of numerous musical interests. The three-time Grammy Award-winner, known for his innovative spirit and broad musical scope, is equally at home on the stages of the world’s greatest jazz clubs as major concert halls. It is the latter platform which inspires Classic Branford Marsalis; a fascinating and diverse collection of his best-loved classical tracks, collected from his previous recordings.

“This compilation album is an uncomplicated showcase for the silky talents of Branford Marsalis, whose seamless soprano sax pours balm over some favourite melodies. Milhaud's 'La Creation du monde' allows Marsalis to display his alto sax jazz technique, and his own quartet joins him for engaging composition, 'A Thousand Autumns'. There's nothing too demanding - just add a glass of chilled white wine and a warm summer evening.” Stephen Pritchard, The Observer, 6th July 2008

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Sony - 88697275442

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