Personal favourites from March's batch of new releases include a luminous account of Haydn's Seven Last Words from the RIAS Kammerchor and Justin Doyle on Harmonia Mundi, songs by Madeleine Dring from Kitty Whately and Julius Drake on Chandos, a portrait of South Korean composer Unsuk Chin from Ensemble Intercontemporain and Pierre Bleuse on Alpha, and a spacious reading of Szymanowski's Symphony No. 4 from Marin Alsop and the Polish National Radio Orchestra on Rubicon.
Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross, Hob XX / 2 (Choral version)
RIAS Kammerchor, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Justin Doyle
'As the season for performances of the great Passion settings draws near, Haydn’s setting of the canonical seven last utterances of Christ from the Cross provides a slightly less overwhelming experience than Bach’s monumental St Matthew or visceral St John. Adapted from his own original version as a set of seven instrumental slow movements to punctuate the Good Friday liturgy, it’s its own unique kind of oratorio. A brilliant quartet of soloists (in particular a stellar Katie Bray) complement the tutti chorus in music that predominantly emphasises the consolatory and redemptive aspects of the Easter story - though the dramatic closing 'earthquake' section ends the work on an unexpectedly grim note.' (David Smith)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
This beautifully performed and thoughtfully programmed recital provides a fully-rounded picture of the English composer (1923-77), from the characterful, lute song-inflected settings of Elizabethan and Jacobean poets to the Debussy-ish Four Night Songs (written in the final year of Dring's life). Whately has a wonderful way with these rich and varied texts, and her warm mezzo opens up thrillingly at the top (many of the songs sit comparatively high); Drake shines as brightly as ever in some delicious postludes and the virtuosic passages in 'I feed a flame' and 'Frosty Night'. (Katherine Cooper)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'Subtitled 'Scenes from a Street Theatre', Gougalōn is one of Unsuk Chin's most riotous compositions. It's full of incredibly imaginative, colourful orchestration (not least the gigantic percussion section), such as quarter tone glissandos on flute, oboe, and clarinet to represent the 'Lament of the Bald Singer', or the rapid-fire xylophone and cencerros (Spanish cowbells) depicting 'The Grinning Fortune Teller with the False Teeth'. All three pieces on this album (including Graffiti for Chamber Orchestra and the Double Concerto for Piano and Percussion) are treated to stunning performances by Ensemble Intercontemporain under conductor Pierre Bleuse.' (James Longstaffe)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Szymanowski: Symphony No. 4
Szymon Nehring (piano), Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
'Szymanowski’s fortunes have fluctuated, from the advocacy of Artur Rubinstein to relative neglect until Simon Rattle’s nineties recordings prompted a significant reassessment. The fourth symphony is a concertante work for piano and orchestra, given a clear reading by Nehring, Alsop and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra which allows Szymanowski’s lyricism and subtle harmonic twists to speak, with space for the piano to take the lead whilst maintaining the clarity of the colourful orchestration. Nehring’s playing in the solo Mazurkas is idiomatic, sensitive and rhythmically alert, and everything is beautifully recorded.' (Matthew Ash)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Clémence de Grandval: Mazeppa
Tassis Christoyannis (Mazeppa), Nicole Car (Matréna), Ante Jerkunica (Kotchoubey), Paweł Trojak ( L’Archimandrite), Julien Dran (Iskra), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mihhail Gerts
Premiered in Bordeaux in 1892 (eight years after Tchaikovsky's opera on the same subject), this tale of patriotism, political skulduggery and forbidden love in eighteenth-century Ukraine is packed with colour and incident, with rousing choruses aplenty, a love duet to rival anything in the verismo repertoire, a show-stopping fourth-act ballet, and some brilliantly atmospheric depictions of the steppes (the prelude to Act Three deserves a life of its own). There's no weak link in the committed cast, but Nicole Car's impassioned Matréna is the stand-out, her big bright soprano sounding tailor-made for Grandval's soaring vocal lines. (Katherine Cooper)
Available Formats: CD2 + Book, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Laurence Osborn: Tomb!
Siwan Rhys, Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord), 12 Ensemble, GBSR Duo, Clement Power
'It’s easy, with so many fresh new recordings, to become entrenched in the musical canon, so I keep challenging myself with new music, and TOMB! is a particularly apt album, filtering fragments of musical history in sound, techniques and instrumentation, through a contemporary lens. The gentle percussive pulses and string sounds which open the title work ground the atmosphere just enough to offer a reference point for the reanimated forms of the past which inhabit its entrancing sound world. Descriptive titles of the other works included are reflected by the music, but even the most playful is cast with the dim light of decay. Thought provoking and beautifully realised.' (Matthew Ash)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Duality: Zimmerman & Vanhal Bassoon Concertos
Ondřej Šindelář (bassoon), Sergio Azzolini (bassoon), Risonanza Praga
'Nominally, the draw of this album is the discovery of an alternative middle movement (attributed to Anton Zimmermann) to the Vanhal concerto for two bassoons, sparking off a Dan Brown-style flurry of speculation as to the true author. Personally, though, I don’t really care how that academic detective story plays out; I’m much more excited by the collecting together of three beautiful Classical-era concerti for this most neglected of instruments. The use of period instruments yields a much softer and more lyrical sound than a modern bassoon - almost like a gentle saxophone at times - which I particularly enjoyed. The first concerto included (definitely Zimmermann, this one!) is a world premiere, as is that mysterious slow movement of the double concerto.' (David Smith)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
'Paavo Järvi’s Mahler cycle goes from strength to strength with this absorbing performance of the Seventh Symphony. The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich revel in the finer details of Mahler’s orchestration, not least some extremely evocative horn calls and a pleasingly rustic solo violin in the first and second Nachtmusiken respectively. As in earlier instalments, there’s an enormously affecting richness to the string sound during the more impassioned moments, whilst special mention must also go to a magnificently imposing, full-throated tenor horn solo in the symphony’s opening bars!' (James Longstaffe)
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
