Gran Consort Li Stromenti

Alessandro Stradella Consort & Estévan Velardi - Stradella: Cantatas & Serenatas, Vol. 2 (2021)

Alessandro Stradella Consort & Estévan Velardi - Stradella: Cantatas & Serenatas, Vol. 2 (2021)
WEB FLAC (tracks) - 342 Mb | MP3 CBR 320 kbps - 156 Mb | Digital booklet | 01:07:30
Classical, Vocal | Label: Dynamic

Alessandro Stradella was the undisputed star composer of his day who wrote hundreds of works in varying genres. His cantatas are in essence miniature operas in which the themes of love and the complexities of the human condition reflected the composer’s own ‘cloak and dagger’ misadventures amidst Roman and Venetian aristocracy. From an allegory of life in Apre l’uomo infelice and captivating pastoral scenes in Qui dove fa soggiorno, to unrequited love and the desire for freedom expressed in Per tua vaga beltade, Stradella adapted his inventiveness to his patrons’ tastes to create these veritable jewels in music, all of which are rich in splendid melodies and refined artistry.
Alessandro Stradella Consort & Estévan Velardi - Stradella: Cantatas & Serenatas, Vol. 2 (2021) [Official Digital Download]

Alessandro Stradella Consort & Estévan Velardi - Stradella: Cantatas & Serenatas, Vol. 2 (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/44,1 kHz | Front Cover & Digital Booklet | Time - 67:30 minutes | 686 MB
Classical, Vocal | Label: Dynamic, Official Digital Download

Alessandro Stradella was the undisputed star composer of his day who wrote hundreds of works in varying genres. His cantatas are in essence miniature operas in which the themes of love and the complexities of the human condition reflected the composer’s own ‘cloak and dagger’ misadventures amidst Roman and Venetian aristocracy.
Matthew Halls, The King’s Consort - George Frideric Handel: Parnasso in Festa (2008)

Matthew Halls, The King’s Consort - George Frideric Handel: Parnasso in Festa (2008)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 660 Mb | Total time: 131:51 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Hyperion | # CDA67701/2 | Recorded: 2008

Hyperion’s Record of the Month sees the long overdue return to the studio of The King’s Consort, under the baton of the group’s newly appointed Artistic Director Matthew Halls. Here the ensemble presents the premiere recording of Handel’s Parnasso in Festa: a unique example in Handel’s enormous creative career of a fully-fledged celebratory serenata (or Festa teatrale). This form was rare in England but had developed in parallel with opera in Italy, where it was popular for commemorating special occasions of international significance. Parnasso in Festa was written for Princess Anne’s marriage to Prince William of Orange.
Robert King, The King's Consort - George Frideric Handel: Ottone, Re di Germania (1993)

Robert King, The King's Consort - George Frideric Handel: Ottone, Re di Germania (1993)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 782 Mb | Total time: 174:53 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Hyperion | # CDA 66751/3 | Recorded: 1993

Handel’s Ottone was one of the most popular operas of the composer’s career, with 34 known performances during his lifetime, beaten only by the 53 performances of Rinaldo. The premiere run in 1723 featured superstar Italian soloists including Senesino and Cuzzoni, and coincided with (and was perhaps the cause of) the height of London’s opera madness, with tickets changing hands for increasingly high prices on the black market. This recording of the 1723 version (Handel adapted the opera in later years for different singers) features James Bowman at the peak of his powers in the title role.
Carolyn Sampson, Robert King, The King’s Consort - Abbandonata: Handel Italian Cantatas (2018)

Carolyn Sampson, Robert King, The King’s Consort - Abbandonata: Handel Italian Cantatas (2018)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 424 Mb | Total time: 76:08 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Vivat | VIVAT 117 | Recorded: 2018

Acclaimed soprano Carolyn Sampson, partnered by Robert King and The King's Consort,with whom she has been associated throughout her professional career, turns her talents to Handel's two most dramatic cantatas, linked by the theme of abandoned women.
The Orlando Consort - Machaut: The Fount of Grace (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

The Orlando Consort - Machaut: The Fount of Grace (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Front Cover & Digital Booklet | Time - 62:49 minutes | 2,39 GB
Classical, Sacred, Vocal, Choral | Label: Hyperion Records, Official Digital Download

The ‘fount of grace’ of the title is the Virgin Mary, to whom Machaut addresses his appeals for mercy during a turbulent period in France’s history.

The Orlando Consort - Machaut: The Fount of Grace (2023)  Music

Posted by Rtax at July 27, 2023
The Orlando Consort - Machaut: The Fount of Grace (2023)

The Orlando Consort - Machaut: The Fount of Grace (2023)
WEB FLAC (tracks) - 265 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps - 162 MB
1:02:24 | Classical | Label: Hyperion

The 'fount of grace' of the title is the Virgin Mary, to whom Machaut addresses his appeals for mercy during a turbulent period in France's history. 'In terms of being ambassadors for this music they do an extraordinary job, and we must say something about the whole package, because the eassay, the illustrations, the look and feel of everything - it's so helpful.' (BBC Record Review) 'A beautiful, intimate performance……delicacy and intimacy are superbly matched to these more introspective works.' (Gramophone)
Anthony Rooley, The Consort of Musicke - Claudio Monteverdi: Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi (1999)

Anthony Rooley, The Consort of Musicke - Claudio Monteverdi: Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi (1999)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 543 Mb | Total time: 77:46+62:36 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Virgin Veritas | # 5 61570 2 | Recorded: 1990-91

"Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi" ("Madrigals Warlike and Amorous") is how Claudio Monteverdi titled his eighth and largest book of madrigals–which was actually two volumes in one. The "warlike madrigals" (concerned largely with the "war of love") feature the "agitated style" Monteverdi pioneered: quick, almost nervous writing, lots of rapidly repeated notes, and more syllables than a Gilbert & Sullivan patter song. These works culminate in the famous short quasi-opera Il Combattimento de Tancredi e Clorinda. The "amorous madrigals" are no less ardent, but they are less, well, warlike–that is, more leisurely paced, with plenty of chromaticism, dissonant suspensions, and giddily virtuosic runs to depict the pain and excitement of love.

Orlando Consort - Pierre de la Rue (2024) [Official Digital Download]  Vinyl & HR

Posted by delpotro at July 3, 2024
Orlando Consort - Pierre de la Rue (2024) [Official Digital Download]

Orlando Consort - Pierre de la Rue (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/44,1 kHz | Front Cover | Time - 63:13 minutes | 561 MB
Classical, Sacred, Choral | Label: Fra Bernardo, Official Digital Download

Pierre de la Rue was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. His name also appears as Piersson or variants of Pierchon and his toponymic, when present, as various forms of de Platea, de Robore, or de Vico. A member of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, and a long associate of the Habsburg-Burgundian musical chapel, he ranks with Agricola, Brumel, Compère, Isaac, Obrecht, and Weerbeke as one of the most famous and influential composers in the Netherlands polyphonic style in the decades around 1500.

Orlando Consort - Pierre de la Rue (2024) [Official Digital Download]  Vinyl & HR

Posted by delpotro at July 3, 2024
Orlando Consort - Pierre de la Rue (2024) [Official Digital Download]

Orlando Consort - Pierre de la Rue (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/44,1 kHz | Front Cover | Time - 63:13 minutes | 561 MB
Classical, Sacred, Choral | Label: Fra Bernardo, Official Digital Download

Pierre de la Rue was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. His name also appears as Piersson or variants of Pierchon and his toponymic, when present, as various forms of de Platea, de Robore, or de Vico. A member of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, and a long associate of the Habsburg-Burgundian musical chapel, he ranks with Agricola, Brumel, Compère, Isaac, Obrecht, and Weerbeke as one of the most famous and influential composers in the Netherlands polyphonic style in the decades around 1500.