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ARAIA / CALDARA / GRAUN / PORPORA / etc.
Sacrificium - The Art of the Castrati Cecilia Bartoli (soprano) / Il Giardino Armonico / Giovanni Antonini [ Decca Music Group DVD / DVD - released 15/Mar/2010 ] Cecilia Bartoli sings virtuoso arias from her Sacrificium album, on location in and around the spectacular baroque palace of Caserta in Southern Italy. |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL / ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI / ANTONIO CALDARA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Cecilia Bartoli - Opera Proibita Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo-soprano) / Les Musiciens du Louvre / Marc Minkowski [ Decca Records / CD - released 20/Sep/2005 ] "A touch of the Fellinis as a scorching Bartoli meets the banned" RECORDING OF THE MONTH GRAMOPHONE Nov 2005 |
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VINCENZO BELLINI / GIOACHINO ROSSINI / GAETANO DONIZETTI
Cecilia Bartoli - An Italian Songbook Cecilia Bartoli (soprano) with James Levine (piano) [ Decca Originals / CD - released 15/Feb/2009 ] In 2007/08, Bartoli devoted her time to studying and recording the early 19th-century repertoire - the era of Italian Romanticism and bel canto - and especially the legendary singer Maria Malibran. |
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CACCINI / HANDEL / VIVALDI / BELLINI / ROSSINI / SCHUBERT / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Cecilia Bartoli - Live In Italy (Recorded live in June 1998) Cecilia Bartoli (soprano) with Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) [ Decca Records / CD - released 15/Feb/2001 ] Cecilia live! |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN
The Prince of the Pagodas, Op. 57 (complete ballet) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten [ Decca Ballet Edition / 2 CD - released 16/Apr/2012 ] The first recording of The Prince of the Pagodas at the Royal Opera House, with Britten himself conducting. The Prince of the Pagodas is Britten's only full-length ballet - a glittering score full of the oriental harmonies and instrumental colour... |
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GASPARINI / MARCELLO / PASQUINI / SCARLATTI / etc
Arcadia Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor) Accademia Byzantina, Dantone [ Decca Records / CD - released 8/Dec/2003 ] "Scholl is the star in this elegant collection of lesser-known music about rural love" Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine (March 2004) |
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BEETHOVEN
Fidelio (complete opera recorded in 1990) Jessye Norman, Reiner Goldberg, Kurt Moll, Pamela Cobur / Staatsopernchor Dresden & Staatskappelle Dresden, Bernard Haitink [ Decca Opera! / 2 CD - released 10/Mar/2011 ] "..the rugged strength characteristic of Haitink's Beethoven is consistently contrasted against the most refined, transparent textures, with the Staatskapelle Dresden playing beautifully." (Gramophone) |
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GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: La Cenerentola [Cinderella] (complete opera recordedin 1992) Cecilia Bartoli, William Matteuzzi, Enzo Dara, Alessandro Corbelli / Orchestra & Chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Riccardo Chailly [ Decca Operas / 2 CD - released 28/Aug/2014 ] "All eyes and ears, inevitably, are on Bartoli, and she doesn't disappoint...The singing itself is ravishing. At the same time, the performance makes dramatic sense...Decca provide a superb Alidoro, an alluring Clorinda, inventive and elaborate conti |
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BRITTEN / SCHUMANN / SCHUBERT / HANDEL / BACH / etc
Anniversary Tribute [6 CD set] Peter Pears (tenor) with various orchestras & accompanists [ Decca Records / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/2012 ] "All in all, a superb tribute to one of the most characterful and important singers of the twentieth century." Penguin Guide, 2011 edition. |
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SHOSTAKOVICH
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 / Chamber Symphony Op.110a Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca 20th Century / CD - released 14/Jul/2014 ] " it is clear from the finale that the orchestra and conductor are both enjoying themselves." (MusicWeb) |
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W. A. MOZART
Cosi Fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 1990) Karita Mattila, Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Allen, Francisco Araiza / Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner [ Decca Classic Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2009 ] "A strikingly light, fresh Così with a truly superb ensemble, idiomatic and characterful; the voices are large, but only Mattila sounds a little weighty." (Five Stars BBC Music) |
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FRITZ KREISLER
Hommage to Fritz Kreisler - 22 favourite miniatures Alfred Campoli (violin) Eric Gritton (piano) and Norihko Wada (piano) [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 25/May/2005 ] "Campoli's performances are full of flair" (Penguin Guide) |
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The Coldstream Guards
The Pride of the Nation (Deluxe Edition CD & DVD) [ Decca Music Group / 2 CD/DVD - released 14/Apr/2011 ] A CD+DVD set which features stirring anthems and hymns, and showcases the best music from the best military band, from the Queen's own Guard. |
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HANDEL
Ultimate Handel: Includes Water Music Suites, Concerto grosso in B flat & Messiah [selection] Daniel Chorzempa (Organ) Concerto Amsterdam / The Brandenburg Consort / David Hill / Gillian Fisher (Soprano) / Academy of St Martin in the Fields / e [ Decca Budget Boxes / 5 CD - released 22/May/2007 ] 5 CDs in presentation slip case at SUPER-BUDGET price. An outstanding collection of Handel Favourites. Great value gift purchase. |
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FREDE GROFE
Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite / Mississippi Suite (with Gershwin-Porgy and Bess Symphonic Picture) Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati / Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, Howard Hanson [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Nov/2007 ] "never more beautifully recorded … the performance is totally memorable and the sound quite superb" [Porgy and Bess] Penguin Guide to CDs |
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STRAVINSKY
Le sacre du printemps / Symphony in Three Movements / Agon Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca 20th Century / CD - released 4/Jun/2012 ] "The engineering is consistently fine. Worth considering, then, even if most collectors will have alternatives, for The Rite at the very least." (Arkivmusic.com) |
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GILBERT and SULLIVAN
Gilbert & sullivan: The Gondoliers (Complete with dialogue) D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with Gillian Knight; Thomas Round; John Reed / New Symphony Orchestra / Godfrey [ Decca Records / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2003 ] Isidore Godfrey's conducting is vividly alive and Decca provided a large and excellent orchestra. The solo singing throughout is consistently good. Thomas Round sings Take A Pair Of Sparkling Eyes very well indeed. *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide. |
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Friar Allessandro
Voice Of Joy (UK / International Version) [ Decca Records / CD - released 29/Nov/2013 ] Friar Alessandro has recorded an album of Christmas Carols and sacred arias, or as he describes it, an album of Joy. Since his first album was released in 2012, Alessandro has captured the hearts of people around the world with his beautiful voice... |
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AGOSTINO STEFFANI
Dances & Overtures I Barocchisti, Diego Fasolis [ Decca / CD - released 28/Aug/2014 ] "four trumpets and war-like drums create a splendid din in the clever Ouverture from Niobe." (Gramophone) |
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JOHN CAGE
Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano John Tilbury (prepared piano) [ Decca 20th Century / CD - released 28/Aug/2014 ] Sonatas and Interludes, composed in 1946-48, is John Cage's most important work for prepared piano. John Cage described the work as an attempt to express in music the "permanent emotions" of Indian tradition: the heroic, the erotic, the wondrous,... |
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PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake / Rococo Variations / Symphony No. 6 'Pathetique' L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet, with Maurice Gendron, cello [ Decca ABC Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/May/2009 ] The 2CD Tchaikovsky/Ansermet sets represent his complete Tchaikovsky recordings for Decca. Many will find fascinating his own sequencing of numbers from Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. Refined, yet passionate, many of the pieces on these... |
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CLARKE / ALBINONI / PURCELL / VIVALDI / ALBINONI / L. MOZART / TELEMANN / etc
101 Maurice Andre Maurice Andre (trumpet) [ Decca / 6 CD Box Set - released 14/Jul/2014 ] This extensive collection neatly brings together Andre's many recordings for Philips and Deutsche Grammophon, as well as less commonly available recordings he made for Universal France. |
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RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Rimsky-Korsakov: 5 Operas [incls 'The Tsar's Bride' & 'Sadko'] (11 CD set) Nicolai Ohotnikov, Gennady Bezzubenkov, Vladimir Galusin, Marianna Tarassova, etc / Kirov Opera, Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Valery Gergiev [ Decca Collectors Edition / 11 CD Box Set - released 22/Apr/2012 ] Enter the magical world of Rimsky-Korsakov opera with five celebrated recordings made by the Kirov Opera under Valery Gergiev: Kashchey the Immortal, Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, The Maid of Pskov, Sadko, and The Tsar's Bride - a unique... |
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DEBUSSY
La Mer / Nocturnes / Jeux / Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit [ Decca 20th Century / CD - released 4/Jun/2012 ] " Dutoit is one of the world's foremost interpreters, and his approach to Debussy's orchestral works is lively and vibrant, as demonstrated in his effervescent readings of La mer, Jeux, and Nocturnes." (AllMusic.com) |
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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker [plus Sleeping Beauty: Aurora's Wedding] Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, Charles Dutoit [ Decca Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] A favourite ballet all round the year, but a perennial at Christmas-time, Tchaikovsky's evergreen Nutcracker has never perhaps received as luxurious a recorded performance as that of Charles Dutoit and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. |
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ANTONIO VIVALDI
101 Vivaldi Salvatore Accardo, Eduardo Fernandez, Severino Gazzelloni, Emma Kirkby, Neville Marriner, Simon Preston, etc [ Decca / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/Jul/2014 ] This six-CD collection of 101 favourite tracks is the perfect introduction to the wonderful music of Vivaldi. |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Into the Light The Sixteen (Featuring Kaori Muraji, guitar) / Harry Christophers [ Decca / CD - released 18/Feb/2007 ] The beautiful blend of Britain's best-loved choir and a chart-topping Japanese guitarist...Marrying centuries of great European choral tradition with the sublime sonorities and simplicity of the classical guitar. |
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PROKOFIEV
Piano Concertos Nos. 1 - 5 (Complete) Alexandre Toradze (piano) / Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev [ Double Decca / 2 CD - released 7/May/2012 ] "There are few more arresting and powerful accounts in the catalog, and Toradze plays with a forcefulness and authority that's suggestive of Martha Argerich." ClassicsToday |
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WAGNER
Gotterdammerung (complete opera recorded in 1967) Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Josef Greindl, Gustav Neidlinger, Ludmilla Dvoráková / Orchestra and Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival, Karl Böhm [ Decca / 4 CD Box Set - released 14/Jul/2014 ] "a performance dominated by conductor and orchestra. You will never hear so much detail of the orchestral score in the opera-house...with Böhm at his most incandescent, the Immolation must rank as one of the noblest accounts of this music ever record |
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IGOR STRAVINSKY
Stravinsky: Petrushka (complete ballet) [with Bartok - Miraculous Mandarin] Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Christoph von Dohnanyi [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Feb/2011 ] "Sonically this stands among Decca's best recordings from this source. A sensational reissue, and a bargain to boot." (ClassicsToday) |