RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johann Sebastian BACH
(1685-1750)
Goldberg Variations BWV988 (c.1741) (arr. Dmitry Sitkovetsky) [47:22]
15 Sinfonias BWV787-801 (c.1720) (arr. Dmitry Sitkovetsky) [26:30] 
Dmitry Sitkovetsky (violin); Yuri Zhislin (viola); Luigi Piovano (cello)
rec. 2010, DDD
NIMBUS NI6199 [73:52] [OL]
Glorious.
Gripping. Irresistible.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Benjamin
BRITTEN (1913
- 1976) A Ceremony of Carols, op. 28 (1942) 1
[24:13] Saint Nicholas, op. 42 (1948) [49:15] Trinity
College Cambridge Choir/Stephen Layton, rec.2007, 2012. DDD. Booklet
includes sung texts.
HYPERION CDA67946 [73:30]
Trinity
is outstanding
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Benjamin BRITTEN
(1913-1976)
War Requiem
Erin Wall (soprano) Mark Padmore (tenor); Hanno Müller-Brachmann
(bass-baritone) City of Birmingham SO & Ch/Andris Nelsons rec. 2012
ARTHAUS
MUSIK 101659 
[97:00] [JQ]
A
distinguished addition to the War Requiem discography. As a performance
deeply moving and a major achievement.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Anton BRUCKNER
(1824-1896)
Symphony 7, The Triumphant Return (documentary)
Berlin PO/Sergiu Celibidache rec. 1992
EUROARTS 2011404 
[90:00 + 54:00] [DM]
A
uniquely satisfying Seventh; a must for all Brucknerians.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Philipp DULICHIUS
(1562-1631)
Sacred Motets
Weser-Renaissance/Manfred Cordes rec. 2008
CPO 777 352-2 [64:46] [JV]
Immaculate
and often exciting performances.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Antonín
DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) String Quartet
12 Bedřich SMETANA (1824-1884)
String Quartet 1 Josef SUK (1874-1935)
Meditation on the Old Czech Hymn Saint Wenceslas
Sacconi Qt rec. 2010
SACCONI RECORDS SACC104 [66:25] [DJB]
It
really doesn’t get much better than this.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Elisenda
FÁBREGAS (b. 1955) Voices of the Rainforest
Kate WARING (b. 1953) Alapana
Libby LARSEN (b. 1950) Slow
Structures Chen YI (b. 1953) Night
Thoughts
Meininger Trio rec. 2010
HÄNSSLER PROFIL PH11039 [56:39] [DM]
Utterly
absorbing; this music will give lasting pleasure.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Orlando GIBBONS
(1583
- 1625) Hymns and Songs John SHEPPARD
(1515 - 1585) Missa Cantate, Spiritus Sanctus Thomas
TALLIS (1505 - 1585) Missa puer natus est nobis Robert
WHITE (1538 - 1574) Lamentations of Jeremiah
The Clerkes of Oxenford/David Wulstan rec. 1975/77
PHAIA MUSIC PHU005.7 [3 CDs: 175.43] [RH]
Astonishing
…. Amazing.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH George Frideric HANDEL
(1685-1759)
Acis and Galatea
Jeni Bern (soprano) Benjamin Hulett (tenor) Christ Church Cathedral
Choir; Oxford Philomusica/Stephen Darlington rec. 2012 English text
included
NIMBUS ALLIANCE NI6201 [75:36] [JS]
Supplements
rather than replaces the original but a delightful work in its own right.
One of the most enjoyable recordings I have heard for a long time.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gary HIGGINSON
(b.
1952) Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Charlotte de Rothschild (soprano) Danielle Perrett (harp) Chapel Ch
of Selwyn College, Cambridge; Ely Cathedral Girls' Ch/Sarah MacDonald
rec. 2011
REGENT REGCD381 [76:49] [DJ]
A
magnificent introduction to an unjustly overlooked contemporary composer.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony 8
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Simón Bolivar SO of Venezuela/Gustavo
Dudamel rec. 2012
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 073 4890
[90:00 + 18:00] [DM]
Taut,
superbly controlled Mahler, performed with great conviction and presented
in top-notch sound and pictures.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Claudio MONTEVERDI
(1567-1643)
L’Incoronazione di Poppea
Philippe Jaroussky, Danielle de Niese, Anna Bonitatibus, Les Arts Florissants/William
Christie, Pier Luigi Pizzi (director) rec. 2010
VIRGIN CLASSICS 0709519
[2 DVDs: 180:00] [BW]
A
life-enhancing experience which dramatically changed my view of this
opera.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Anthony RITCHIE
(b.1960)
A Bugle Will Do, Symphony 3, French Overture, Revelations
New
Zealand SO/Tecwyn Evans rec. 2010
ATOLL ACD741 [62:54] [NB]
A
hugely enjoyable and rewarding disc of a composer well worth exploring
further.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gioachino ROSSINI
(1792-1868)
Il Carnevale - Works for chorus and ensemble
Südfunk-Chor/Rupert Huber, Eric Ericson, Helmut Wolf rec.
1979-92
CARUS 83.324 [65:42] [JS]
There
have been other discs of Rossini’s shorter vocal works but none
that I have heard has given as much pleasure as this one.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Romantique
Arias by Donizetti, Gounod & Berlioz
Elina Garanča (mezzo) Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna/Yves
Abel rec. 2012
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 479 0071 [60:42] [GF]
Without
doubt a candidate for my Recording of the Year.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Agostino STEFFANI
(1654
– 1728) Mission
Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo) Philippe Jaroussky (counter-tenor) Coro della
Radiotelevisione svizzera, I Barocchisti/Diego Fasolis DECCA
478 4732 [80:28] [GF]
As
perfect as anything can be!
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard STRAUSS
(1864-1949)
Josephs-Legende - ballet pantomime op.63 (1914) [61:05]
Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper München/Robert Heger rec. 1952,
ACANTA
233593 [61:05] [RMay]
A
great performance, expertly directed and very well played. Heger is
an experienced and convincing Strauss interpreter who has the full measure
of the score.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard
WAGNER (1813-1883) Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Gerald
Finley (bass-baritone) Marco Jentzsch (tenor) Anna Gabler (soprano)
Johannes Martin Kränzle (baritone) Glyndebourne Ch, London PO/Vladimir
Jurowski rec. 2011
OPUS ARTE OA1085D
[280:00] [ST]
This
DVD is so good that it will always be so much more than a consolation
prize.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH British
Clarinet Concertos
Charles Villiers STANFORD (1852-1924)
Clarinet Concerto Gerald FINZI (1901-1956)
Clarinet Concerto Malcolm ARNOLD (1921-2006)
Clarinet Concerto 2
BBC SO/Michael Collins (clarinet) rec. 2012
CHANDOS CHAN10739 [65:45] [NB]
Collins’
finest recording to date and one of the finest concerto discs of the
year.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Romantique
Arias by Donizetti, Gounod & Berlioz
Elina Garanča (mezzo) Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna/Yves
Abel rec. 2012
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 479 0071 [60:42] [GF]
Without
doubt a candidate for my Recording of the Year.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH The
Word Unspoken
Works by Byrd & De Monte
Gallicantus/Gabriel Crouch (baritone) rec. 2008-2011
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD295 [69:17] [MG]
The
sheer beauty of Gallicantus’s singing is totally captivating.
Click
for alphabetical listings by composer:
[Part
1 New] [Part
2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
[Part 4 M-R] [Part
5 S-Z]
[Part 6 Misc A-L] [Part
7 Misc M-Z]
[last 5 days] [Recommended
recordings]
EXPLORE
MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL 
