Nils Monkemeyer Baroque

Nils Mönkemeyer takes Bach’s love of the viola as his starting point for a daring, inventive and colourful album. The viola is shown to be the cello’s equal in an elegantly shaped performance of the composer’s Suite No. 5—Mönkemeyer juxtaposes each movement with a hybrid viola and theorbo arrangement which, if not authentic, is nevertheless stunning. Elsewhere, French music is explored through a world premiere recording of an 18th-century Suite by Robert de Visée and a beautiful ensemble piece by the 17th-century Michel Lambert. An exquisite version of one of Bach’s chorale preludes “Nun Komm” finishes this album in style.

Though Mönkemeyer’s playing has an evident sense of period, he’s not performance practice, he’s not hidebound by the imperatives of the time-honoured treatises. He revels in Paganini’s honeyed lyricism, and brings a finely-honed intensity to interpolated cadenzas…L’arte del mondo directed by Werner Ehrhardt prove spirited companions.

With the much anticipated upcoming Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle scheduled for the 19th May, this album is the perfect soundtrack for a celebration. A timeless collection of classical music to accompany the celebrations of a nation. Get in the celebratory mood with this perfect wedding soundtrack. The album features well-known classics such as Pachebel’s Canon, Lakmé’s The Flower Duet, and Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. This is the perfect album for street parties. It’s estimated that 2 billion people watched the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011.