BRITTEN / HOWELLLS / IRELAND / RODNEY BENNETT / etc
My True Love Hath My Heart: English Songs Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) & Malcolm Martineau (piano) [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 12/Dec/2011 ] "It is good to find an English singer in her prime championing the lesser-known art songs of her native tradition, and making them sound not so much twee as magical" (Financial Times) |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Phaedra, Op. 93 / A Charm of Lullabies / Lachrymae / Two Portraits / Sinfonietta, Op. 1 Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) / Maxim Rysanov (viola) / BBC Symphony Orchestra / Edward Gardner [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 26/Apr/2011 ] "Gardner's sensitivity to the bittersweet Thirties idiom of the first portrait and the elegiac eloquence of viola soloist Maxim Rysanov in the second combine to highly atmospheric effect. Imaginative programme, highly recommended." Editor's Choice... |
GEFFREY BURGON
Viola Concerto ‘Ghosts of the Dance’ / Cello Concerto / Merciless Beauty Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) Philip Dukes (viola) / Josephine Knight (cello) / City of London Sinfonia, Rumon Gamba [ Chandos / CD - released 10/Apr/2010 ] Chandos releases premiere recordings of Geoffrey Burgon's viola and cello concertos, alongside the song cycle Merciless Beauty, all performed by the City of London Sinfonia under Rumon Gamba. |
HUBERT PARRY
Parry: Scenes from Shelley''s ''Prometheus Unbound'' / Blest Pair of Sirens Sarah Fox (soparno) Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo) David Butt Philip (tenor) Neal Davies (baritone) / Crouch End Fesitval Chorus, London Mozart Players [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 8/Sep/2023 ] Hubert Parry regarded by many as the finest English composer since Purcell, and as the father of the modern English tradition, is best known for his hymn Jerusalem and his anthem I was glad, written for the coronation of Edward VII, in 1902. |
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Christmas Music (Incls 'On Christmas Night' & 'Fantasia on Christmas Carols') Sarah Fox (soprano) Roderick Williams (baritone) / Joyful Company of Singers / City of London Sinfonia / Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD - released 22/Oct/2006 ] "Beautifully sensitive performances atmospherically recorded … irresistible … There's even a sprig of holly on the CD!" (MusicWeb Nov 2006) |
ERNEST JOHN MOERAN
String Quartet No. 1 / Fantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings / Sonata for Violin and Piano Sarah Francis (oboe) / English String Quartet / Melbourne String Quartet [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 27/Jan/2004 ] "Here are some rarely recorded works by a superb composer in excellent performances at mid-price." American Record Guide |
MANUEL de FALLA
Falla: Love the Magician / Nights in the Gardens of Spain / Interlude and Spanish Dance from 'La vida breve' Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano) Margaret Fingerhut (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra / Geoffrey Simon [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 4/Feb/2005 ] ' The brightly lit Chandos recording emphasis the vigour of Geoffrey Simon's very vital account…' - The Penguin Complete Guide |
FRANZ SCHMIDT
Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln (The Book of the Seven Seals) Johannes Chum (tenor), Robert Holl (bassbaritone), Sandra Trattnigg (soprano), Michelle Breedt (mezzo-soprano) / Wiener Singverein, Kristjan Järvi [ Chandos / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Mar/2008 ] "With Robert Holl a sympathetically soft-grained God and Johannes Chum a sweetly lyrical rather than heroically over-forced St John, this Book now stands as top choice." (BBC Music) |
BERG
Complete Chamber Music Schoenberg Quartet [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 4/Sep/2002 ] 'The Lyric Suite is among the crowning works of modern quartet literature, and the Schoenberg Quartet has the measure of its diverse moods and twin-track trajectory of increasing dynamism and emotional intensity' - Gramophone |
SZYMANOWSKI / JANACEK
String Quartets Schoenberg Quartet [ Chandos / CD - released 28/Sep/2007 ] 'The Schoenberg Quartet adds that element of emotional daring which makes all the difference in the world. Outstanding.' Gramophone |
Schoenberg Quartet with Sepp Grotenhuis piano
Webern - String Quartet, Op. post; Rondo,Op. post; Four Pieces, Op. 7; Five Movements, Op. 5; String Quartet, Op. 28: etc [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 7/Jul/2003 ] 'If you like your Webern to have an almost unearthly fragility, while not ignoring more explicitly dramatic moments, then this new Chandos release will be ideal.' (Gramophone) |
Schoenberg Quartet, with Susan Naruki (soprano)
Zemlinsky - Chamber music for strings [ Chandos Classics / 2 CD - released 28/Nov/2004 ] The works on this disc span nearly forty years of Zemlinsky's output |
GEORGE ENESCU
Enescu: Piano Trio & Piano Quintet Schubert Ensemble [ Chandos / CD - released 20/Sep/2013 ] "This is a superb performance [of the Quintet], alive to the music's every nuance, and pianist William Howard emerges as a very impressive primus inter pares...A very special release." BBC Music Five Stars |
DVORAK
Piano Quintet in A / Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat Schubert Ensemble [ Chandos / CD - released 20/May/2012 ] Founded in 1983, regularly giving more than sixty concerts a year, and having performed in over forty different countries, the Schubert Ensemble is firmly established as one of the world's leading exponents of chamber music for piano and... |
GEORGE ENESCU
Quartet No 1 & 2 Schubert Ensemble [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 20/Jun/2011 ] "The Schubert Ensemble can be applauded to the skies for bringing Enescu's ridiculously neglected chamber music to the fore. Their playing is dedicated and enthusiastic, with William Howard's deft pianism and strong rhythmic sense anchoring the... |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS / ERNEST CHAUSSON
Saint-Saens / Chausson: Piano Quartets Schubert Ensemble [ Chandos / CD - released 23/Sep/2016 ] "Superb performances of two related, though contrasting works of great quality" (MusicWeb) |
FAURE
Piano Quintets Nos. 1 and 2 The Schubert Ensemble [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Mar/2010 ] 'Chamber music', wrote Fauré, 'really is… true music and the most sincere expression of a genuine personality.' And in his chamber music he achieved something remarkable |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Complete Symphonies (Nos 1-7) Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2008 ] "The recorded sound is great, the Scottish National Orchestra plays like a world class band. All in all, this is not only a set to complete your Prokofiev collection, it's also the one to start it - if you haven't yet." (MusicWeb bargain of the... |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Complete Symphonies (Nos 1 - 9) Scottish National Orchestra. Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 28/Nov/2004 ] "a good choice for those wanting first-class digital recordings of these symphonies, the sound full and naturally balanced...Järvi is a consistently persuasive Dvorakian" Penguin Guide |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Symphony No. 6 / The Noon Witch Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos / CD - released 23/Jan/1988 ] Recorded in the SNO Centre, Glasgow on 6-7 December 1986 |