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OSCAR BROWN Jr / JOHN ADAMS / SAMUEL BARBER / BILLY TAYLOR / SANDY DENNY
Julia Bullock - Walking in the Dark Julia Bullock (singer) & Christian Reif (piano) [ Nonesuch Records / CD - released 9/Dec/2023 ] "The tracks for voice and piano are a highlight. Bullock's performance of 'City Called Heaven', a traditional Black spiritual in an arrangement by Hall Johnson, is quite something." BBC Music Magazine January 2023 Choral & Song Choice |
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FREDERIC CHOPIN
Chopin: Les États D'ame [24 Preludes / Sonata No 2] Julien Brocal (piano) [ Rubicon Classics / CD - released 20/Jan/2016 ] "this young French pianist says them with complete naturalness, for there is nothing contrived or attention-seeking about his approach to such well-known repertoire." BBC Music Award WINNER 2018 - Jury Award - Newcomer |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral' - Ode to Freedom June Anderson, Sarah Walker, Klaus König & Jan-Hendrik Rootering / Various orchestras, Leonard Bernstein [ EuroArts / Medici Arts DVD / DVD - released 1/Oct/2016 ] The historic concert in celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989: re-issued with new packaging, now available at midprice! Leonard Bernstein spontaneously accepted an invitation to conduct a performance to celebrate freedom.Adding to the... |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No.9 "Ode an die Freiheit" (LP) June Anderson, Sarah Walker, Klaus Konig, Jan-Hendrik Bootering / Various orchestras, Leonard Bernstein [ Deutsche Grammophon LP / 2 LP - released 27/Sep/2019 ] Bernstein's legendary Beethoven performance "Ode to Freedom" (Symphony No. 9) with a special orchestra formed by members from both German States and the four Occupation Powers, celebrating the fall of Berlin Wall. |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Gotterdammerung (complete opera) [Recorded in stereo live at the 1955 Bayreuth Festival] Jutta Vulpius, Elisabeth Schartel, Maria Graf, Wolfgang Windgassen, Georgine von Milinkovic / Bayreuth Festival Chorus & Orchestra / Joseph Keilberth [ Testament / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2007 ] "Windgassen may be more vocally secure for Solti but nowhere else is he so tender, so moving as here. Josef Greindl is a far more saturnine, charismatic Hagen here than elsewhere. But it is Astrid Varnay who is the great revelation." Recording of... |
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FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn 2032 Volume 6 - Lamentatione (Limited Edition LP & CD) Kammerorchester Basel, Giovanni Antonini [ Alpha Classics / 2 LP - released 31/Aug/2018 ] The year 2017 was a vintage one for Giovanni Antonini: he was awarded an Echo Klassik, two Gramophone Awards and a Diapason d'Or of the Year for his recent releases. Two of these prizes distinguished Il Distratto, volume 4 of the complete recording... |
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HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: La damnation de Faust Karen Cargill, Bryan Hymel, Christopher Purves, Gábor Bretz / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 19/Jul/2019 ] "Hymel's Faust is the most convincing soloist. But it's the vivid detail Rattle conjures up, the brilliant playing and the force and intensity of the choral singing that give greatest satisfaction." Sunday Times |
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SAMUEL BARBER
Barber: Complete Orchestral Works [6 CD set] Karina Gauvin (soparno), Thomas Trotter (organ), Stéphane Rancourt (oboe), John Gracie (trumpet) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Marin Alsop [ Naxos American Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 6/Dec/2010 ] "The RSNO positively glows in this extremely welcome and romantically rewarding and alluringly-priced set. It hardly matters that this is in fact the only such collection." (MusicWeb Sept 2010) |
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LOUISE BERTIN
Bertin: Fausto (complete opera) Karine Deshayes, Karina Gauvin, Ante Jerkunica, Nico Darmanin, Marie Gautrot / Les Talens Lyriques, Fle [ Bru Zane CDs + Book / 2 CD Box Set - released 26/Jan/2024 ] "The performance is a knockout. Rousset conducts with blazing conviction, admirably sustaining the high emotional pitch without once tipping towards melodrama... It's a terrific set and a major rediscovery." Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Opera |
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LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: Kata Kabanova (complete opera recorded in 2008) Teatro Real, Madrid / Karita Mattila, Miroslav Dvorsky, Guy de Mey, Dali Schaechter / Jiri Belohlavek (cond) [ FRA Musica DVD / DVD - released 12/Dec/2010 ] "Its luminosity is reflected in Jiří Bělohlávek's conducting, undoubtedly the most airily lyrical Katya I can remember, which uses Mackerras's edition but applies less spiky gestures" BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** |
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GARETH FARR
Chamber Music Katherine Austin, James tennant, Alexa Still, Gareth Still, Gareth Farr [ Trust / CD - released 17/Jun/2000 ] New Zealand's top musicians go Farr! |
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MOZART / BACH / SCHUBERT / HANDEL / DONIZETTI / TRADITIONAL / etc
Kathleen Battle Edition Kathleen Battle, with Jessye Norman, Christopher Parkening, Itzhak Perlman, etc [ Deutche Grammophon Australian Eloquence / 15 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2023 ] A Limited Edition, Original Jackets collection showcasing the artistry of the magnificent American soprano, Kathleen Battle. |
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HARRY BURLEIGH / WILLIAM Levi DAWSON / FLORENCE PRICE / WILLIAM Grant STILL
DVOŘÁK'S PROPHECY - Film 3: The Souls of Black Folk and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music Kevin Deas, Arthur Fagan, James Jeter, Roderick Cox, Joseph Horowitz, Michael Morgan, George Shirley [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 3/Dec/2021 ] If George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess embodies a glorious (and controversial) fulfilment of Dvořák's prophecy, there also exists a buried lineage of exceptional compositions by Black composers following in Dvořák's wake. |
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CESAR FRANCK
Cesar Franck: Edition Khatia Buniatishvili, Aldo Ciccolini, Jean-Philippe Collard, Marie-Claire Alain, Renaud Capucon, Nathalie Stutzmann, Augustin Dumay, etc [ Warner Classics / CD - released 20/Apr/2016 ] A towering figure in French music of the later 19th century, César Franck created a distinctive fusion of German Romanticism and French Classicism, enriching the symphonic, chamber, instrumental, vocal and sacred repertoires. As a teacher and mentor... |
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TRADITIONAL
Carols from King's College, Cambridge (LP) King's College, Cambridge, Sir David Willcocks, Philip Ledger, with The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble [ Warner Classics / LP - released 4/Nov/2022 ] It's not Christmas without the angelic voices of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. These fifteen popular carols were originally recorded between 1969 and 1976 |
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TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS
Christmas at King's College Cambridge King's College Choir, Cambridge / David Willcocks [ ALTO / CD - released 15/Nov/2012 ] 'The number of boy choristers was fixed at 16 by King Henry in 1453 and it is 16 still. While originally there were six lay clerks, there are now 12 choral scholars, who are undergraduates of the college studying for degrees. (The Director) therefore... |
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The King's Singers
Christmas Carols with The King's Singers [ Signum / CD - released 19/Nov/2021 ] This brand new Christmas album from The King's Singers features 25 tracks covering everything from contemporary choral gems and folk songs through to well-loved carols. Dotted throughout the album are several of the most famous English church carols,... |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Finding Harmony The King's Singers [ Signum / CD - released 31/Jan/2020 ] Singing together binds us together. From the Protestant Reformation in Europe during the 1500s to the US Civil Rights Movement, there have been countless moments in history when songs have united nations, cultures and causes. |
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THE KING'S SINGERS
The King's Singers: Madrigals & Songs from the Renaissance The King's Singers with The Consorte of Musicke, Anthony Rooley & Tragicomedia [ Warner Classics / 8 CD Box Set - released 1/Mar/2018 ] Founded at King's College in Cambridge in 1968, the King's Singers are one of the world's most sought-after and acclaimed vocal ensembles. This amazing set repackages eight of their greatest albums. |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflote [The Magic Flute] (Complete opera recorded in 1978) Kiri Te Kanawa, Peter Hofmann, Edita Gruberova, Kurt Moll, Kathleen Battle / Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Alain Lombard [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 8/Jan/2021 ] A real gem looking at the incredible cast, a veritable "Who's Who" of opera singers of the time: Kiri Te Kanawa, Peter Hofmann, Edita Gruberova, Kathleen Battle, Kurt Moll and Jose Van Dam. |