songs Archive
MENDELSSOHN: Overture & Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics
Faeries and humans may well dance and rejoice in Ivan Fischer’s new reading of Mendelssohn’s classic response to Shakespeare’s magical comedy. MENDELSSOHN: Overture and Incidental Music to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Opp. 21 & 61; F. MENDELSSOHN: May Night, OP. 9, No. 6; Distance, Op. 9, No. 2; Gondola Song, Op. 1, No. 6 – Anna Lucia Richter, soprano/ Barbara Kozelj, alto/ Pro Musica Women’s Choir, Nyiregyhaza/ Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics Hybrid DSD CCA SA 37418, 56:35 (6/22/18) [Distr. by PIAS] *****: That Felix Mendelssohn composed his Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the age of seventeen (1826) continues to astound anyone aware of the precious delicacy and sensitivity of its scoring and absolute fitness of its idiom. Whether or not the young Mendelssohn had been impressed by Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischuetz, the sensibility of magical transformation and faerie intrigue so suits the drama that no other composer has dared to challenge the effect. In terms of recorded performance, depending on one’s preference for English or German narrative, those by Otto Klemperer and Ferenc Fricsay, respectively, have maintained their dominance in my own catalogue of inspired readings. Now, with this performance by Ivan […]
Jean SIBELIUS: “In the Stream of Life”, Songs – Gerald Finley (bass/bar) / Bergen Phil. Orch. / Edward Gardner – Chandos
“In the Stream of Life: Songs by Sibelius” – Gerald Finley, bass-baritone/Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Edward Gardner – Chandos SACD CHSA5178 [Distr. by Naxos], 78:40, (1/29/2017) [Track list follows] ****: Splendid performances of some lesser known works. Sibelius is not known very widely for his vocal music but what a rich and rewarding collection of his songs for voice and orchestra as well as some of his legend-inspired tone poems this is! The two orchestral tone poems here in this splendid collection are actually among Sibelius’ better known works. Pohjola’s Daughter is based on a Kalevala legend in which an old mystic of sorts discovers the daughter of the demi-goddess Pohjola spinning a golden thread in the night sky. The Oceanides is simply, but majestically, Sibelius’ ode to the power of the seas (the composer was said to have been inspired by Debussy’s La Mer.) Both of these works are representative of the very colorful and somewhat impressionistic Sibelius and remain among his most programmatic pieces. The inclusion of the Romance for strings (dating from 1904) is a pleasant work and certainly an example of lesser-known and introspective Sibelius but other than the curiosity that it is it is not of the […]
Copland Before the LP (1928-1949) = Song and Pieces for Piano, Violin, Cello – Aaron COPLAND, Leo Smit (p.) / Ivor Karman, Jacques Gordon, Louis Kaufman (vln.) / David Freed (c.) / Ethel Luening (sop.) – Parnassus
Copland Before the LP (1928-1949) = Le chat et la souris; Piano Variations; Vitebsk; Two Pieces for Violin and Piano; Vocalise; Danzon Cubano; Sonata for Violin and Piano; Two Pieces for Violin and Piano; Four Piano Blues – Aaron Copland, piano/ Leo Smit, piano/ Ivor Karman, violin/ David Freed, cello/ Jacques Gordon, violin/ Ethel Luening, soprano/ Louis Kaufman, violin – Parnassus PACD 96057, 76:29 (6/20/17) [Distr. by Alliance] ****: Composer Aaron Copland reveals his equally potent gifts at the keyboard in these rare restorations from Parnassus. Executive Producer Leslie Gerber, in association with Restoration Engineer Mark Obert-Thorn issues some rare documents from the legacy of American classical composer Aaron Copland, each of which testifies to Copland’s strong, even imposing, keyboard technique. The earliest of these sound documents, an Ampico piano roll (1928) of a Scherzo humoristique of 1920, not only benefits from a remarkably quiet restoration, but it certifies the influence of the Parisian, Nadia Boulanger influence at work in Copland’s sensibility. The mood changes abruptly for Copland’s rendition of Piano Variations, a work set in his “craggy, granite period” (rec. 2 April 1935). This “severe” and “bleak” piece based on four notes still rattles listeners, its theme and twenty […]
Audio News for April 11, 2017
Hi-Res Streaming on Smartphones, PCs, and Tablets – Qpbuz Sublime+ will offer hi-res streaming next month for about £300 annually. It will offer 24-bit hi-res streaming of 60,000 albums. Currently the highest Qobuz tier is Sublime, offering CD-quality 16/44.1 audio for £190 per year. If you want to purchase any hi-res album via downloading, there will be permanent discounts for Sublime+ subscribers. Tidal introduced hi-res streaming of its Masters-quality albums on desktop-only PCs in January using their MQA format. “WAV could Become the New Record Player” – says Dustin Bates of Starset, whose new album, Vessels, is available in a 360-degree mix for maximum VR enjoyment. He says you can definitely tell the difference between 16-bit and 24-bit recordings. He also says he sees the streaming of WAVs and FLACS as being the inevitable standard. And that he finds it encouraging that the major labels have reached consensus regarding making hi-res streaming options the standard operating procedure. And that the cost of storage of files is an irrelevant argument at this point. He says their good songs, especially with all the sampled strings, sound their best in hi-res form. Several Starset sci-fi videos are available on YouTube (in compressed audio, […]
![Ole Edvard Antonsen [trumpet] & Wolfgang Plagge [piano] – “Furatus” = Music by GRIEG, KOSAKU YAMADA, SHOSTAKOVICH, TVEITT and NIELSEN – audio-only Blu-ray & SACD](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/FuratusSA.jpg)
Ole Edvard Antonsen [trumpet] & Wolfgang Plagge [piano] – “Furatus” = Music by GRIEG, KOSAKU YAMADA, SHOSTAKOVICH, TVEITT and NIELSEN – audio-only Blu-ray & SACD
Music for trumpet and piano in sparkling sound. Ole Edvard Antonsen [trumpet] & Wolfgang Plagge [piano] – “Furatus” = Music by GRIEG, KOSAKU YAMADA, SHOSTAKOVICH, TVEITT and NIELSEN – Pure Audio Blu-ray – 5.1 surround + stereo + mShuttle /+ SACD multichannel and stereo – 2L-130, 53:10 ea. (2 discs) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Recorded in the accommodating acoustics of Sofienberg Church & Jar Church, Norway during 2012 and 2013, this recital of music for trumpet and piano by Ole Edvard Antonsen [trumpet] & Wolfgang Plagge impresses in its variety. The Holberg Suite, Op. 40 (From Holberg’s Time) by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was written in 1884 and comes across as a nineteenth-century take on eighteenth-century dance music. While it was conceived as a suite for a string orchestra, Grieg made that orchestration only after its original publication as a suite for piano. The arrangement here, for trumpet and piano, works remarkably well and gives plenty of opportunity for Antonsen to display his excellent technique. The arrangement of three songs by Kosaku Yamada (1886-1965) and Hardingtonar by Geirr Tveitt (1908-1981) provide a more relaxed interlude of folk-music inspired works with some sensitive playing by the duo. The second and fourth parts […]
Donny McCaslin – Beyond Now – Motéma
Now is the time for saxophonist Donny McCaslin. Donny McCaslin – Beyond Now [TrackList follows] – Motéma MTA-CD-211, 62:57 [10/14/16] *****: (Donny McCaslin – tenor saxophone, flute, alto flute, clarinet; Jason Lindner – keyboards; Tim Lefebvre – electric bass; Mark Guiliana – drums; Jeff Taylor – vocals (track 2); David Binney – additional synths, vocals (tracks 5, 9); Nate Wood – guitar (track 2)) Saxophonist Donny McCaslin was already on the rise in the jazz world, but his collaborative work on David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, pushed McCaslin into realms of acclaim and notice: which is why McCaslin’s latest outpouring, the hour-long Beyond Now, has generated a lot of interest from folks both within and outside the jazz community. The key thing to note, though, is that Beyond Now affirms McCaslin’s importance. The nine tracks (five originals and four stimulating covers) have high-quality virtues and the broad, cutting-edge jazz displays McCaslin and his quartet’s exhilarating comprehensiveness. This is a CD which amply showcases a band who knows how to do cross-genre jazz which straddles electronica, modern rock, contemporary jazz and more. McCaslin’s brief but significant time with Bowie was life-changing. Beyond Now was inspired by and is a tribute to […]
The Complete Songs Of Virgil Thomson = Soloists with 2 pianists & percussion – New World (3 CDs)
Absolutely essential listening of a neglected but masterly song composer. The Complete Songs Of Virgil Thomson = Sarah Pelletier, sop./ Lynne McMurtry, contralto/ William Hite, tenor/ Aaron Engebreth, bari./ Alison d’Amato & Linda Osborn, piano/ John McDonald perc. – New World 80775 (3 CDs), 71:20, 76:04, 50:57 [Distr. by Albany] (4/4/16)*****: Any reasonably performed rendition of the complete Thomson songs was bound to achieve a five-star rating. Fortunately for us all, this one is outstanding in virtually every way. While it may be true that I can envision better, more star-quality singers in place of what we have here, these folks are no slouches, and an effort like this requiring mastery of an enormous amount of music is in itself a testament to the dedication and talent of these performers. Their attention to diction, vocal line, and beauty of tone only adds to the importance of their accomplishment. Thomson once said that the great song composers—Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, Faure, Debussy, Duparc, Ravel, and Poulenc—accomplished their miracles through their ability to make the music “not only of equal quality with the verse but also its mate. It gets inside a poem and stays there, intertwined unforgettably, never to be […]
ALEKSANDRA VREBALOV: The Sea Ranch Songs – Kronos Quartet – Cantaloupe CD + DVD
Fitting tribute to this artistically inclined development and to nature itself. ALEKSANDRA VREBALOV: The Sea Ranch Songs – Kronos Quartet – Cantaloupe CD + DVD (16:9 ratio, color, PCM stereo) CA21122, 49:20 [Distr. by Naxos] (9/30/16) ****: Sea Ranch, founded in 1965, is a very ecologically and artistically self-aware community built into the rugged seacoast between San Francisco and Oregon. It is, simultaneously, a very unusual and experimental planned use of natural shoreline with unusual, nearly minimalist architecture as well as terraced layout that necessitates care for the environment and a true sense of community as community. While I have never been there I have learned that the community is comprised of nearly two thousand residents; both year-round as well as seasonal and including a pricey Sea Ranch Lodge with stunning ocean and shoreline views. The property also has paid respect and preservation to a small Kashia-Pomo Indian reservation and Fort Ross state park; originally built by Russians in 1812. Everything about Sea Ranch speaks to the haven for ecology minded artists and lovers of the ‘return to nature’ movement that defined architecture and even education in the early 1960s. (The stunning video by Andrew Lyndon shows us that not […]
MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde – Kathleen Ferrier, mezzo/ Set Svanholm, tenor/ NY Philharmonic/ Bruno Walter – Pristine Audio
Andrew Rose revives Kathleen Ferrier’s American debut, in her first Bruno Walter-led “Symphony of Songs” by GUSTAV MAHLER. MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde – Kathleen Ferrier, mezzo-soprano/ Set Svanholm, tenor/ New York Philharmonic/ Bruno Walter – Pristine Audio PACO 137, 58:20 (mono) [avail in var. formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: In this, Andrew Rose’s restoration of 18 January 1948 performance of Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at Carnegie Hall under Bruno Walter, the great Kathleen Ferrier (1912-1953) made her American debut. The tenor solo has Set Svanholm (1904-1964), the Swedish operatic talent who had assumed much of the repertory that was dominated by Lauritz Melchior. Recorded history now has four interpretations of this mighty score with Bruno Walter, who gave the world premiere 20 November 1911. The performance here at Carnegie Hall possesses a decisive urgency, occasionally making Svanholm enter ahead of the beat. What we crave always and forever remain Ferrier’s vocal timbre and lyrical stamina, which appear to gain strength and fervor as this evening’s rendition evolves. The music well-combines the contradictions in Mahler’s character: his cosmopolitanism and complete orchestral mastery and security, even as the otherwise distant, detached nature of the poetry becomes emblazoned in […]
“O Eterne Deus” – Music of HILDEGARD VON BINGEN – Vajra Voices/ Karen Clark – Music & Arts
Millenium-old music from Hildegard von Bingen, visionary, mystic and polymath, sung by an inspired choir, Vajra Voices. “O Eterne Deus” – Music of HILDEGARD VON BINGEN – Vajra Voices/ Karen Clark – Music & Arts 1291, 50:20 (5/13/16) *****: As a man, I feel it may be inappropriate for me to review this all-female endeavour. But I very much enjoyed the full CD of music by Hildegard von Bingen, and the story behind it. Hildegard was the tenth child of a noble family, born in 1098 near present-day Frankfurt, Germany. From an early age she had spiritual visions, possibly one reason why her parents offered her to the nearby Benedictine monastery. She took her vows at age 14, and entered a stone cell (or “tomb”) under the tutelage of Jutta von Spanheim, six years older and also from a noble family. Jutta instructed Hildegard in Latin and religious practices, and the student learned much, and well. In one of her visions, Hildegard received a divine directive to write down all she experienced. A visiting monk-priest, Volmar, helped her with this, as well as teaching her music notation and performance on the ten-stringed psaltery. Other visitors spread the word of Hildegard’s […]
TAVERNER: Mater Christi Sanctissima; Missa Mater Christi sanctissima; Mass ‘The Western Wynde’ – Westminster Abbey Choir/ James O’Donnell – Hyperion
Wonderful readings of two standards. TAVERNER: Mater Christi Sanctissima; Missa Mater Christi sanctissima; Mass ‘The Western Wynde’ – Westminster Abbey Choir/ James O’Donnell – Hyperion CDA68147, 58:36 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] *****: John Taverner was one of those transitional composers who straddled the fence from Catholicism to Protestantism, but unlike his confrere William Byrd, his tendencies leaned naturally to the latter. Therefore, when he was accused of Lutheran leanings when he composed his Western Wynde Mass to the tune of the same name, eyeballs were raised from the then Catholic ruling powers. However, since not much credence was given to what artists said or thought, no penalties were allocated. “Western Wynde” was of course a very secular song, and at this point of time the idea of incorporating the vagaries of the world into such a sacred text was something questionable from many sources. However, Taverner, far from being wrong in this, was to set a trend that would carry over with many other composers, when secular songs became fair game for religious inspiration. The standards are more in place with the Christi Sanctissima Mass, based not on a song but on a polyphonic motet. Both it and the Western […]
Maureen Forrester – Berlin, 1955-1963 = Vocal music of MAHLER, LOEWE, BRAHMS, SCHUMANN, SCHUBERT, FRANCK, HAYDN, BRITTEN & others – Audite (3 CDs)
Audite gathers integral Maureen Forrester performances from RIAS that testify to her colossal range. Maureen Forrester – Berlin, 1955-1963 = MAHLER: Five Songs by Friedrich Rueckert; LOEWE: Four Songs, Op. 9; WAGNER: Gretchen am Spinnrade; Wesendonck Lieder; BRAHMS: 8 Gypsy Songs from Op. 103; SCHUBERT: 11 Songs; SCHUMANN: Five Songs; Gedichte der Koenigin Maria Stuart, Op. 135; C.P.E. BACH: Two Songs; J.W. FRANCK: Two Songs; HAYDN: Arianna a Naxos; BRITTEN: A Charm of Lullabies, Op. 41; BARBER: Melodies Passageres, Op. 27; POULENC: La Fraichaeur et le Feu; Le Travail du Peintre – Maureen Forrester, alto/ Hertha Klust, Felix Schroeder & Michael Raucheisen, piano – Audite 21.437 (3 CDs) 62:26, 60:11, 67:27 (8/12/16) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: When we read the biography of Canadian alto Maureen Forrester (1930-2010), we note how many points of commonality she shared with her great British counterpart Kathleen Ferrier in musical associations. Forrester, who found her original impetus into the classical repertory via baritone Bernard Diamant (1912-1999), made her debut in 1951 in Elgar’s The Music Makers. She then found pianist John Newmark, who had gained a reputation after WW II for accompanying Kathleen Ferrier. Forrester’s European debut came in 1955 at the Salle Gaveau; then […]
The Rolling Stones – Totally Stripped, Blu-ray + CD (2016)
The Stones are still at it and as good as ever. The Rolling Stones – Totally Stripped, Blu-ray + CD (2016) Cast: Mick Jagger – vocals, guitar; Keith Richards – guitar, vocals; Charlie Watts – drums; Ronnie Wood – guitar, vocals; Darryl Jones – bass; Lisa Fischer – backing vocals; Bernard Fowler – backing vocals; Chuck Leavell – keyboards; Bobby Keys – saxophone; Andy Snitzer – saxophone; Kent Smith – trumpet; Michael Davis – trombone Studio: Eagle Rock Ent./Universal Musical Group EVSBD30976 Video: 16:9 for 1080i HD, Color, Black & White Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio, PCM 2.0 Length: 91 minutes Ratings: Audio: **** Video: ***1/2 Overall: **** TrackList: CD: Not Fade Away (Amsterdam);Honky Tonk Women (Paris); Faraway Eyes (London); Shine A Light (Amsterdam);I Go Wild (Paris); Miss You London;’ Like A Rolling Stone’ ; Brown Sugar (Paris); Midnight Rambler (London); Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Paris); Gimme Shelter (Amsterdam); Rip This Joint (Amsterdam); Street Fighting Man; Rip This Joint (Amsterdam) Blu-ray: Love In Vain; Spider To The Fly; Wild Horses; Let It Bleed; Tumbling Dice; Not Fade Away; Dead Flowers; Gimme Shelter; You Got Me Rocking; Jumpin’ Jack Flash; Shine A Light; I Can’t Get Next To You; Honky […]
“Mit vierzig Jahren” = BRAHMS: Songs – Havard Stensvold, bass-bar./ Tor Espen Aspaas, p. – LAWO Classics
A rather stingy but worthwhile selection of nicely-rendered songs. “Mit vierzig Jahren” = BRAHMS: Songs – Havard Stensvold, bass-bar./ Tor Espen Aspaas, p. – LAWO Classics LWC1079, 46:13 [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Stensvold has a lyrical, rather light bass-baritone voice that to my mind is perfectly suited to this music. Brahms, by nature, is thick and heavy—he can’t help it, that’s the way he harmonizes things, and that’s also one of the reasons we love him—he is different. But I have heard too many singers, especially males, who attack this music with all the gravitas and heaviness they can muster, and the results are usually terrible. This man is able to float his voice naturally above the harmonies, and submerge it when needed with ease and alacrity. Interpretatively he is generous with his inflections but smart enough to let the natural lilt of the melodies do most of the text projection. Stensvold assembled four books of Brahms’ songs in 2010 and spent the next four years combing through them to make his favorite selections for this recording. Some you will know, some are a little more esoteric, but all are worthwhile, and all given committed performances. Pianist Aspaas is an […]
Russell Malone, guitar – All About Melody – HighNote
Russell Malone – All About Melody – HighNote HCD7287, 50:20 ****: Russell Malone is a guitarist of subtlety and conviction. (Russell Malone – guitar; Rick Germanson – piano; Luke Sellick – bass; Willie Jones III – drums) BRussell Malone is a swinging fleet-fingered guitarist with a sentimental streak. The latest studio session from him entitled All About Melody displays his lyricism, and affinity with keeping the melody in the forefront of this no-frills session. Working with his usual cohorts, pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Luke Sellick, and drummer Willie Jones III, the band gives meaning to the whole enterprise that features an eclectic mixture of lesser-known numbers from the jazz and popular music archives. Freddie Hubbard’s “On The Real Side” establishes the band’s bona fides with a solid swinger. Drummer Jones III lays down a beat that gives both Malone and Germanson the freedom to roam at will with tight solos. The late great guitarist Jim Hall was both a friend and paragon of Malone’s. In this vein, he wrote “Message To Jim Hall” and offered a touching voice mail message from him “Message From Jim Hall”. As for the composition, it has a melancholy undercurrent, done in a calm style,with […]
WEILL/BRECHT: Die Sieben Todsünden – Gisela May (sop.), Peter Schreier (tenor)/ Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orch. Leipzig – Brilliant Classics
WEILL/BRECHT: Die Sieben Todsünden – Gisela May (sop.)/ Peter Schreier (tenor)/ Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orch. Leipzig – 95126, 70:33 – Brilliant Classics (Distr. by Naxos) ****½: What a difference the right style makes. A short while ago I listened to the DVD release of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (2007), the performance with Patty Lupone and Audra McDonald. It had won two Emmys and features elaborate sets, polished singing, highly stylized acting, and peppy dance numbers. It was performed in operetta style, like another musical Lupone was in: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita. But what it did not have was grit. Irony. That decadent Weimar aura. It did not have Gisela May. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that they got it all wrong, despite those shiny American awards. May, on the other hand, does get it right, with a classic cabaret style that would have made Brecht & Weill proud. You can almost smell the cigar smoke. In every piece, she belts out the famous songs from their four most notable collaborations, and in one case, performs the entire book. (Die Sieben Todsünden). From the moment audiences hear the languid woodwind opening, they may never […]
Randy Brecker – Randy Pop – Piloo
Randy Brecker – Randy Pop – Piloo PR009, 77:54 ****: (Randy Brecker – trumpet, effects, voice; Kenny Werner – piano, keyboards, arrangements; David Sanchez – tenor saxophone; Amanda Brecker – vocals; Adam Rogers – guitar; John Patitucci – bass; Nate Smith – drums) Elite session musician revisits his pop career in a jazzy way! Randy Brecker has been among the elite of session musicians for nearly fifty years. More importantly, his contributions involve a wide array of music. Brecker has played with Horace Silver, Bruce Springsteen, Charles Mingus, Frank Zappa, Stanley Turrentine, Lou Reed, Spyro Gyra, Dire Straits, Larry Coryell and Blood Sweat & Tears, to name a few. He was a successful band leader, most notably with the Brecker Brothers Band, that included his sibling Michael. That group earned several Grammy nominations and two wins. Brecker also garnered two Grammy awards as a solo artist. Music fans are familiar with a lot of his work by sound, if not by name. Brecker has assembled a top-notch band to revisit and invigorate his jazzy pop legacy. Randy Pop recreates nine songs that Brecker played on in his vaunted studio career. Arranged (or “deranged” as described by Brecker in the liner […]
Susie Arioli – Spring – Spectra Musique
Susie Arioli – Spring – Spectra Musique SPECD 7854, 46:41 ****: An unpretentious yet slick session from a singer who deserves a wider audience. (Susie Arioli – vocals; Don Thompson – piano, vibes; Terry Clarke – drums; Neil Swainson – bass; Reg Schwager – guitar; Phil Dwyer – tenor sax; Kevin Turcotte – trumpet; Andy Ballantyne – alto sax; Shirantha Beddage – baritone sax; Kelsley Grant – trombone ) There are many reading this review who will be completely unaware of the Canadian singer Susie Arioli. You will not be alone, as she has generated little exposure outside of Montreal where she currently resides. That is unfortunate, as she is a singer of taste, with a bright and expressive voice. Her latest release, Spring, is a strong outing, made all the more enjoyable as she is supported by a veritable who’s who of Toronto-based jazz musicians. With a mixture of original compositions, along with both better and lesser-known numbers from the standard American repetoire, Arioli delivers a song set that shows she knows how to connect with a lyric. Opening with her own tune “Loverboy” which swings along is fine fashion, Arioli and the band show that she has a […]
Russian Piano Music for Four Hands = GLINKA: Kamarinskaya; Valse-Fantasie in B Minor; Capriccio on Russian Themes; Trot de Cavalerie Nos. 1-2; Polka Initiale in B-flat Major; TCHAIKOVSKY: 50 Russian Folk Songs – Cyprien Katsaris & Alexander Ghindin, piano – Piano 21
The spirit of Russian music is well served in this four hand collection of Glinka and Tchaikovsky.
MONTEVERDI: L’Orfeo (complete opera) – Montserrat Figueras (La Musica)/ Furio Zanasi (Orfeo) – La Capella Reial de Catalunya/ Le Concert des Nations/ Jordi Savall – Alia Vox (2 discs)
At last a worthy SACD recording of this phenomenal score.
Nina Simone – Folksy Nina – Colpix/ PurePleasure vinyl
Simone can be truly captivating…
“1865: Songs of Hope and Home from the American Civil War” – Anonymous 4/ Bruce Molsky – fiddle, banjo, guitar, vocals – Harmonia mundi
Great songs given stylized but very effective readings. Maybe too beautiful?
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
