Jordi Savall's prolific output of recordings on Alia Vox is hard to pigeonhole because his expansive repertoire runs from some of the most obscure early music of the Old and New Worlds, to well-established classics like George Frederick Handel's Messiah. Recorded live at a December, 2017 concert in the Chapelle Royale du Chateau de Versailles, this performance of Messiah is based on the 1741 autograph score in the British Library in London, essentially re-creating the Dublin version, with restored oboe parts taken from the part-books for the 1754 Foundling Hospital version, and with four vocal soloists instead of Handel's original group of nine.
After the critical success of the first volume of Beethoven’s symphonies, Jordi Savall now offers us from the Sixth to the Ninth.This latest publication crowns a nearly two-year world tour and confirms the extent to which the director renews our vision of these most famous works. The Concert des Nations shows that it also knows how to magnify the repertoire of the early 19th century, which will be confirmed by a forthcoming Schubert album.
Tant au niveau des formes que des couleurs musicales, “L’Orchestre de Louis XIII” marque la transition entre deux grandes époques : la fin de la Renaissance et l’entrée dans le Baroque. Ces musiques de cour aux saveurs populaires, toujours imaginatives et colorées, sont à la recherche constante de souplesse et de grâce, de grandeur et d’élégance. Elles constituent les éléments caractéristiques du style typiquement français qui va rayonner à travers toute l’Europe jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIème siècle.
The graphics for this Tallis Scholars release mention scholarly disagreement over the Missa Mater Patris, long attributed to Josquin but "recently shown to be by the little-known Noel Bauldeweyn," writes director Peter Phillips. "Or is it?" he adds. He sketches out the controversy, pointing out that the mass does not resemble any of Josquin's other compositions in the genre; he doesn't answer his question. However, you might take the album as a rejoinder to those questioning the authenticity of the mass. Its possible removal from the Josquin canon rests entirely on this musical evidence, so Phillips is entitled to adduce musical evidence of his own: the genuine Bauldeweyn mass included here sounds nothing like Josquin but is basically a work in 15th century style with a bit of imitative counterpoint thrown in.
Herreweghe’s Bruckner symphony cycle with the period instruments of his Orchestre des Champs-Elysees reaches the tremendous Fifth, a pivotal work in the composer’s development. As usual it’s a sober account, and nicely tailored, though the conductor’s knack for shaving away the sharp edges can be a mixed blessing.
For the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the performances on November 26 and 27, 2021 in the Isarphilharmonie marked the beginning of a new chapter in its Mahler interpretation: with its designated new principal conductor Simon Rattle, the orchestra is now headed by a Mahler admirer every bit as ardent as his predecessors Jansons, Maazel and Kubelík. The musicians dedicated the benefit concert on November 26 to the memory of conductor Bernard Haitink, who died in October 2021 and was associated with the renowned orchestra for 61 years. The very long silence after the final chord was one of those “goosebump moments” that one goes to concerts for – and for which music is made in the first place.
" Ils étaient trois frères et ils venaient de là-bas, le pays de la montagne. " Ainsi s'ouvre La Baie des Anges, cette fresque romanesque dont les trois tomes sont pour la première fois réunis en un seul volume. On peut ainsi suivre, d'un seul élan, le destin des trois frères Revelli, Carlo, Vincente et Luigi, qui à la fin du XIXe siècle arrivent à pied au bord de la baie des Anges. Et l'on découvre, avec eux, cette ville de Nice qui sera le cœur de ce roman. …
Thomas Siffling was one of the first German trumpet players who used electronic devices for extending his sound on the trumpet. For many years, he belongs to the pioneers of electronic influence in jazz…