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CHARLES GOUNOD
Gounod: Mors et Vita Barbara Hendricks (sop) Nadine Denize (mezzo) John Aler (ten) José van Dam (bass-bar) / Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 1/Sep/2017 ] "Plasson's remains a serviceable rendition of Gounod's grandiose conspectus of human spiritual experience." BBC Music |
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W.A. MOZART
Coronation Mass Priti Coles (sop) Anna di Mauro (mezzo) John Dickie (tenor) / Capella Cassovia / Johannes Wildner (conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/May/2010 ] "A spirited account." BBC Music Magazine |
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SPORTING GAFFES
Sporting Gaffes on Air: broadcasting blunders Radio Show presented by John Inverdale [ BBC Audio / CD - released 9/Oct/2008 ] A collection of BBC broadcasting sporting blunders. |
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Ralph Towner / John Abercrombie
Five Years Later (180g LP) [ ECM Records / LP - released 22/Sep/2008 ] As part of the story of our listening series this historical title has been mastered from original analog sources and reissued in January 2014. |
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MALCOLM ARNOLD
Arnold: Cello Concerto / Saxophone Concerto / Fantasy for Recorder and String Quartet / etc Raphael Wallfisch (cello) John Turner (recorder) / Northern Chamber Orchestra & Manchester Sinfonia, Richard Howarth & Nicholas Ward [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Sep/2011 ] "The disc is a hands-down winner in the Naxos catalogue and slips nicely into the same rank occupied by Penny's symphonies." (MusicWeb Recording of the Month Sept 2011) |
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ZEMLINSKY
Cello Sonata (with works by Goldmark & Korngold) Raphael Wallfisch (cello) / John York (piano) [ Nimbus / CD - released 1/May/2007 ] The compositions on this disc not only present a wide range of recipes for effective and enjoyable chamber music, they also serve as a study in ethics. Is music for culinary delight or spiritual elevation, food for the body or the soul, stuff for the... |
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Ray Brown / John Clayton / Christian Mcbride
Superbass 2 [ Hybrid SACD ] |
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JOHN MILTON
Paradise Lost (Read by Anton Lesser) [ Naxos Audiobooks / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Aug/2009 ] Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit of the Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe...' Paradise Lost is the greatest epic poem in the English language. In words remarkable for their richness of rhythm... |
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ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Abridged) John Sessions (narrator) [ Naxos Audio Books / 2 CD - released 20/Aug/2009 ] Both a cracking tale of horror and a deeply audacious account of the human psyche, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has continued to thrill and fascinate since it was first published in 1886. Dr Jekyll wants to rid his soul of evil, and in... |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Complete Opera recorded in 1967) Renata Scotto, Carlo Bergonzi, Anna di Stasio, Rolando Panerai / Rome Opera, Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics The Home of Opera / 2 CD - released 25/Apr/2018 ] 'a performance that will remind you of the first time you fell in love with this opera' (Good CD Guide) |
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J. S. BACH
Bach Adagio [incls 'Jesu, joy of man's desiring' & 'Air on a G string'] Riccardo Chailly, Kyung-Wha Chung, John Eliot Gardiner, Benjamin Grosvenor, Friedrich Gulda, Janine Jansen, Andreas Schiff, Pepe Romero, etc [ Double Decca / 2 CD - released 10/Jan/2016 ] The Adagios series has generated almost €7 million since the late 90s. Here with a refreshed tracklist and presented with a contemporary look is Bach Adagio. This compilation includes over two hours of instrumental music from orchestral to chamber... |
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WORDSWORTH / AUDEN / DONNE / BETJEMAN /LONGFELLOW / etc
The Gift of Poetry Richard Burton, Robert Donat, Alec guinness, John Betjeman, Orson Wells, Paul Robeson (narrators) [ Alto / CD - released 19/Apr/2018 ] Over 78 minutes of sustained quality in favourites, all performed by legendary voices. |
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GERALD FINZI
A Finzi Anthology Robert Plane (clarinet), Tim Hugh (cello), Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano), James Gilchrist (tenor), John Mark Ainsley (tenor) [ Naxos / 8 CD - released 9/Sep/2016 ] More than any other composer, Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) has come to embody the lyrical pastoralism so associated with English twentieth-century music. This anthology includes eight critically acclaimed recordings of Finzi's works. The themes of... |
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J. S. BACH
St Matthew Passion, BWV244 (complete oratorio sung in English) Robert Tear, John Shirley-Quirk, Felicity Lott, Neil Jenkins / Bach Choir / Sir David Willcocks [ Decca Classics / 3 CD - released 10/Apr/2007 ] The classic recording, sung in English. This much loved English language performance of Bach's great setting of the Passion of Christ makes a welcome return to the Decca catalogue. |
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J.S. BACH
Bach: Cantatas Vol 5: BWV178, BWV136, BWV45; BWV46, BWV101, BWV102 Robin Tyson, Brindley Sherratt, Joanne Lunn, Daniel Taylor / Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists / John Elliot Gardiner [ Soli Deo Gloria / 2 CD - released 1/Dec/2008 ] John Eliot Gardiner's choral Pilgrimage exploring the magnificence and grandeur of all of Bach's cantatas continues with this 2CD release, combining cantatas for the eighth and tenth Sunday after Trinity, recorded live in August 2000. |
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ALUN HODDINOTT / S. COLERIDGE-TAYLOR / E.J. MOREAN / GERALD FINZI / etc
British String Concertos Rohan de Saram, Raphael Wallfisch (cello), Yfrah Neaman, John Georgiadis, Rodney Friend (violin), Cecil Aronowitz (viola) / Various orchestras [ Lyrita / 4 CD Box Set - released 25/Jun/2015 ] "this is an historic collection for all sorts of reasons. These recordings will be listened to for many years to come. The heyday of Lyrita was an extraordinarily rich period for British music and for performers who were committed to it." (MusicWeb) |
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HEINRICH IGNAZ BIBER
Violin Sonatas Romanesca: Andrew Manze (violin) / Nigel North (lute & theorbo) / John Toll (harpsichord & organ) [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / 2 CD - released 20/May/2011 ] "This is masterful playing...The range of expression is indeed a constant joy. Amongst the finest baroque chamber music to have appeared in recent years." - Gramophone Magazine |
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FRESCOBALDI / KAPSBERGER / SCHMELZER
Fantastic Style - 17th Century Violin Music (Frescobaldi, Kapsberger, Schmelzer) Romanesca: Andrew Manze (violin) / Nigel North (theorbo) / John Toll (organ) [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD ] Harmonia Mundi's Fantastic Style is a two-for-the-price-of-one combination of two great albums by Romanesca: Phantasticus, originally released in 1996, and Schmelzer: Violin Sonatas from 1998. Phantasticus takes as its point of departure an extract... |
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Romanesca: Andrew Manze, violin / Nigel North, theorbo / John Toll, organ
Uccellini - Sonatas [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 13/Mar/2005 ] "Some of the most uninhibited baroque playing around. Any disc released by Romanesca is a 'must'". - Classic CD |
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STRAVINSKY
The Firebird / Les Noces (complete ballets recorded in 1996) The Royal Ballet / Leanne Benjamin / Jonathan Cope / Zenaida Yanowsky / John Carewe (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Nov/2002 ] G - 'The Firebird and Les Noces in revelatory and near definitive versions…' Best DVDs of the Year 2002 The Independent |