Nicholas Humprey

Balakirev remains one of the most atmospheric and significant of all Russian composers for the piano. From the Slavic allure of his Mazurkas, through the visionary Second Nocturne and monumental Sonata in B flat minor, to his joyous Spanish-infused pieces, he marries expressive depth with virtuoso panache. Hailed as ‘one of Britain’s best pianists’ by The Spectator, Nicholas Walker has returned to Balakirev’s original manuscripts for these performances and unearthed many new discoveries. This collection brings together Walker’s complete set of Balakirev’s piano works in a cycle that has been hailed as ‘the reference set’ by the American Record Guide.

Composed in Rome in 1707, Clori, Tirsi e Fileno is one of Handel’s longer Italian cantatas and, if not quite matching the brilliance of Apollo e Dafne or Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, it remains a thoroughly engaging piece. Nicholas McGegan’s lively 1990 recording captures the music’s air of beguiling insouciance, Lorraine Hunt is in sweetly majestic voice as the capricious shepherdess Clori and there are deft obbligato flourishes from Elizabeth Blumenstock (violin) and Paul O’Dette (archlute). In sum, a delight.

For the first time, this collection brings together the complete woodwind chamber music of France's leading composers in the medium: Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Poulenc. In a set which evinces the now familiar Cala hallmark of creatively combining established treasures with enticing discoveries, including here four world première recordings. Volume One presents the works of Debussy and Saint-Saëns and Volume Two those of Ravel and Poulenc. Each volume contains two full-length CDs (well over two hours of music) for the price of one.

Nineteenth century England. When Nicholas Nickleby's father dies and leaves his family destitute, his uncle, the greedy moneylender, Ralph Nickleby, finds Nicholas a job teaching in a repulsive school in Yorkshire. Nicholas flees the school taking with him one of the persecuted boys, Smike, and they join a troop of actors. Nicholas then has to protect Smike, while trying to stop his Uncle Ralph taking advantage of his sister Kate, and later his sweetheart, Madeline Bray, whose father is in debtors prison.

George Frideric Handel - Ariodante
Freiburger Barockorchester / Nicholas McGegan - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson / Juliana Gondek etc.
EAC+LOG+CUE | 3x CD, FLAC: 891 MB | Partial Artwork: 20 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Harmonia Mundi France # HMU 907146.48 | Country/Year: Europe 2006, 1995
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque, Opera

"It's a glorious performance… McGegan inspires incisive, darkly dramatic orchestral playing…[and] Hunt's burnished mezzo combines fire with a poignant intensity that breaks your heart." "A milestone of the Handel renaissance of the last decade"