EarlyMusicNews.Org

Early June New Releases!

The start of June brings with it some great new releases from a wide variety of labels. Two releases of note come on the Glossa label; A release of Vivaldi arias by Robert Invernizzi, and Paolo Pandolfo playing gamba works of De Machy. Also on Glossa is a new recording of Montevrdi's Il Ritorno D'Ulisse in Patria. On the Coro label, there is a new collaboration between The Sixteen and the Hilliard Ensemble of Manuscripts from the British Library, and is not to be missed! Keeping in the theme of choral music, there is a new release on the Phaia label of Tudor Church Music, and on the Signum Label of a new work; Patrick Hawes' Lazarus Requiem. Two early music releases of note are on the Alpha label, Works by Carissimi, Mazzocchi, and Rossi, and on the Christophorus label, Baroque Suites for Guitar.  …”
     

(From the latest ATMA newsletter) 

Two new releases that may be of interest to you from ATMA Classique: “Les goûts accordés” Esteban La Rotta, theorbo and “Nouveaux «Brandebourgeois»” Montréal Baroque …
    

(From the latest Hyperion newsletter)

“Hyperion's Record of the Month for June 2012 sees the long-awaited third release in Marc-André Hamelin's Haydn Piano Sonatas series … Our long-standing relationship with St Paul's Cathedral Choir is re-vivified as new director of music Andrew Carwood leads captivating performances of the Mozart Missa solemnis & other works with a host of distinguished soloists. Contrasting Renaissance delights come from The Brabant Ensemble and Stephen Rice in the enlightening Mouton Missa Tu es Petrus & other works which includes the complete eight-part motets, and in Arias for Guadagni, Iestyn Davies' imaginative homage to his eponymous eighteenth-century predecessor and the wondrous vocal showpieces he inspired from the likes of Handel and Gluck; Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen provide glorious accompaniment. …”
    

(From the latest eClassical newsletter)

“We are happy to be able to report a break-through in our negotiations with different labels, enabling us to provide you with more high-resolution content from labels already here, as well as from a number of labels new to eClassical.
     

For those of you seeking high quality early music downloads, you may want to browse the “New 24-bit Releases” pages at eClassica. Additionally, if you subscribe to their newsletter, you will also get weekly notices of great deals on downloads. Of note this week on their “New 24-bit Releases”:“C.P.E. Bach - The Solo Keyboard Music 25”; “Beethoven - Complete Works for Solo Piano, Volume 12”; “C.P.E. Bach: Solo Keyboard Music, Volume 24” … and more.
    

Harmonia Mundi Newsletter of March 10, 2012 reminds us to surf to their website and to take stock of their latest releases. 

“Leading off the month on Harmonia Mundi is Richard Egarr's new recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (p.5), Egarr's keep scholarship and musical joie3-de-vivre are present in equal measure in a set that is sure to win the hearts of critics everywhere. ... Philippe Herreweghe returns to the music of JS Bach with Jesu, deine Passion, a new disc of cantatas (p.3). ... New from The Tallis Scholars is a disc of masses by Josquin for Gimell (p.14) ..."
    

“ … The Dunedin Consort's highly anticipated new recording of ‘Esther’ is the third recording in its hugely successful Handel series. The Consort has set the bar high for this Handel performance with a Gramophone Award in 2007 for ‘Messiah' and a BBC Radio 3 ‘Building a Library' First Choice accolade for ‘Acis and Galatea'. For Esther, director John Butt has reunited his award-winning team of soloists, Susan Hamilton, Nicholas Mulroy, Matthew Brook and Thomas Hobbs, plus well-known guest soloists Robin Blaze and James Gilchrist. …
    

From the latest ArkivMusic newsletter, new early music titles available on their site: 

Gesulado: Quinto Libro Di Madrigali / Hilliard Ensemble
Bottesini: Capriccio Di Bravura / Stotijn, Thompson, Amsterdam Sinfonietta
Castello, Fontana: Sonate Concertate In Stil Modern / John Holloway
Beethoven: Diabelli Variations / Andreas Staier
    

This month’s newsletter may be of interest to some of you.“Outhere gives you 20% off the latest Zig Zag Territoires release: J.S.Bach by Damien Guillon and the Banquet Céleste.Offer available until the 15th of May 2012; Johann Christoph Pepusch “Concertos And Overtures For London” by The Harmonious Society Of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen.”
    

Available in FLAC 24, FLAC16 and MP3 for purchase download. This brand New Release is sold at the same price for FLAC 24 as FLAC 16 and MP3 during a limited time. 

“In March 1783, the readers of Cramer’s Magazin der Musik could read about a certain ‘Louis van Betthoven’, a ‘boy … of most promising talent’, whose first published work was being advertised as 'nine variations for the pianoforte, written by him on a march, engraved at Mannheim.’ The piece in question was the Dressler Variations, WoO 63, and it marked not only the beginning of an illustrious career, but also the start of Ludwig van Beethoven's lifelong involvement with variation form, culminating almost forty years later in the monumental Diabelli Variations for solo piano, and – in another field – the third movement of his Ninth symphony. …
     

“If you are not yet familiar with the marvelous French label Naïve, what a wonderful opportunity awaits you today, as bundles of some of their early music (and other) treasures are now available in jaw-dropping 4-for-the-price-of-1 packages. We also have a series of Naïve single-disc reissues for just $9.99 each. It all adds up to some irresistible opportunities at ArkivMusic to acquaint yourself with the exceptional sound worlds of Naïve.”
    

From a recent ArkivMusic newsletter, we are reminded to check the new additions on their pages. Some of the early music titles may be of interest to some of our readers.
     

Recent awards and previous awards bestowed upon this fabulous group make their offerings on their site as well as on the music distribution channels even more enticing. 

“The vocal and instrumental consort Capilla Flamenca takes its name from the choir of the court chapel of Emperor Charles V. When Charles left the Low Countries in 1517, he took his best musicians with him in order to accompany him as 'living polyphony' to Spain.
 
Today's Capilla Flamenca recruits its specialized musicians mainly from Flanders so as to bring to life again the unique timbre of this brilliant 15th - 16th music in its full authenticity. According to the needs of the programme or genre, today's vocal core of the ensemble (counter tenor - tenor - baritone - bass) is enlarged with an alta capella (wind instruments), a bassa capella (string instruments), an organ or with complementary singers.  …

(From the latest newsletter from ArkivMusic (4 apr 2012))

““Carmelite Vespers 1709” presents a reconstruction of musical performances in Rome in 1709, based on a new critical edition by Italian Handel expert Angela Romagnoli.

In early 18th century-Rome the holiday of Madonna del Carmine was celebrated with a lavish musical pasticcio. Italian Early Music specialist Alessandro de Marchi, his Academia Montis Regalis and an excellent ensemble of solo vocalists present the reconstruction of such a service as it might have been performed in 1709 under the direction of Venetian master Antonio Caldara (1670–1736). The programme combines lesser-known but stunningly beautiful pieces by Caldara himself with famous motets by his predecessor Handel such as “Dixit Dominus” or “Laudate pueri”. …
         

From the latest ArkivMusic.com newsletter (17 apr 2012)

“Audiophiles will know the name Linn, maker of the legendary turntables which are still produced today. In fact, the audio gear they build, which has stayed right up-to-date with the latest music listening technology, inspired the launch of a record label that could produce recorded music of an equal standard.

That label, Linn Records, has been somewhat challenging to find in the U.S. ArkivMusic is delighted to now present the label's full catalog on sale, including these exemplary selections from their latest releases …
          

“Toronto (Canada) … Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir is thrilled to announce the launch of its own new record label called Tafelmusik Media. The announcement was made following a performance of Handel’s Hercules in celebration of Jeanne Lamon’s 30th anniversary as Music Director. Tafelmusik is recognized as “one of the world’s top baroque orchestras” (Gramophone), and the launch of its own label is an international initiative that will sow seeds for the organization’s future growth in recording and broadcasting, as well as build audiences around the world in the years to come.
                         

Recently, the 2012 BBC Music Magazine Awards took place at London’s Kings Place. You will find details of all the winners as well as listen to extracts from all of the winning recordings on their web page.
                          

(From the latest ArkivMusic newsletter of 28 mar 2012)

“Since its inception over 50 years ago, Teldec's Das Alte Werk label has been home to many outstanding and influential recordings that helped establish historically informed performance practice as an important new way to hear masterpieces of the Baroque and more, spearheaded by the label's groundbreaking Bach cantata recordings by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt.
                   

(From the ArkivMusic.com 20 march 2012 newsletter)

“ArkivMusic's Spring Opera Sale has just begun! Every complete opera recording on CD and DVD is now on sale, along with a selection of new vocal and recital collections.

In addition to our featured titles below, this month we highlight the newly reissued series from Decca Opera and EMI Opera, the first-time-on-CD releases from Sony's Metropolitan Opera historic broadcasts, and the award-winning Opera in English series from Chandos.”
                  

This month, Hyperion highlights their Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads. “A number of our newest albums offer Studio Master FLAC & ALAC files. These are 24-bit and at whatever sampling frequency (44.1 kHz, 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz) was used by the recording engineer at the time of recording (hence 'Studio Master'). These files are anything up to five times the size of their 16-bit 44.1 kHz equivalents and are more expensive. You should check the documentation of your playback equipment for compatibility with higher bit-rates and frequencies; most of our newest albums offer sample tracks for you to download and test free of charge. …” as well as new titles released this month.
                      

“Tune thy Musicke to thy Hart has become the third Stile Antico disc to be honoured by French magazine Classica. According to the citation, Stile Antico and Fretwork 'adapt wondrously to the diversity of styles, and the large polyphonic structures are here rendered with rare precision.'”
              

“This month's news from CORO includes another new release and our special selection of Easter recordings which provide opportunities for reflection and celebration alike. We hope you find something in the selection to help you welcome in the warmer spring weather in the run up to Easter.

Also look out for The Sixteen’s James MacMillan CD on BBC Radio 3’s CD Review on Saturday 17th March. …”
                        

Weekend specials at ArkivMusic where you may find some early music titles of interest. Of note:“Los Pajaros Perdidos / Christina Pluhar, L'arpeggiata” -- Echoes from the pre-Columbian era, African rhythms, and the styles and structures of the European Baroque all enrich this thrilling and arresting fusion of musical styles from the 17th century to the present day.
                           

“Harmonia Mundi is well known as one of the finest independent classical record labels in the world. In the United States, they also distribute many other exceptional European labels which share their standards of excellence. This month at ArkivMusic, we are turning the spotlight on a handful of these "boutique" classical labels and the terrific classical recordings they produce. …”
               

Available from eClassical in FLAC 24, FLAC16 and MP3

BIS's Boss Robert von Bahr:
This is a very, very special release. The release date coincides with the passing of exactly one year since the terrible disaster in Japan. It was Masaaki Suzuki's idea to release this compilation in order to give solace to the victims of this disaster - the music has been especially chosen for this purpose, including some newly recorded material - and also to contribute to their physical well-being: all the royalties are going to the Tohoku Relief Foundation and BIS are matching that, penny for penny.