It was a real treat to revisit this recording—to be reminded how exuberant the celebratory sections, how crisply articulated both the choral and orchestral performances, how perfectly calibrated and lively the tempos, how buoyant the spirit of the playing and singing. And the solo singing is pretty fine too. Made in Berlin’s Jesus-Christus-Kirche in 1993, the production offers superb sound that conveys a natural presence of singers and instruments while capturing proper balances among the various performance components—there’s a surprising vibrancy to the sound that I don’t recall from the original recording.

The three works by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky that Christoph Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra perform on this Ondine twofer are usually found as filler pieces on other albums, often coupled with one or another of the symphonies or concertos, so this combination is a bit out of the ordinary. The fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet and the symphonic fantasy Francesca da Rimini are often paired and work fairly well together because of the similarity of their stormy Romantic music and tragic subjects, even though Romeo and Juliet is plainly the superior piece of the two. But the Serenade for strings is possibly Tchaikovsky's most Classically balanced work, and it stands in stark contrast to the other selections for its cool beauty and elegance.

Audiences around Britain and beyond became devoted followers of the Elias String Quartet s Beethoven Project, in which the complete quartets were performed over the course of two seasons. This disc offers the chance to hear the fruits of the ensemble s collective experience and deep thinking on the works. We are proud to release the second volume of this collection on the Wigmore Hall Live label which presents three masterpieces: String Quartet in F Op. 18 No. 1, String Quartet in A minor Op. 132 and String Quintet in C Op. 29. For the latter the Elias String Quartet is joined by Malin Broman who is in huge demand as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. In this rousing concert, recorded live in concert at Wigmore Hall, the ensemble explores these works with sustained intensity and meticulous attention to detail.

Felix Mendelssohn did visit the city of Birmingham several times, but the Chandos label's Mendelssohn in Birmingham series refers for the most part to these contemporary performances by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Edward Gardner. If you've been interested in trying out an item from the series, this one can be recommended strongly. The low-key, lyrical approach of conductor Gardner works beautifully in these two pieces. Especially effective is the Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, in the hands of violinist Jennifer Pike: she catches the novel role of the soloist in this concerto in a way that bigger performances do not.

This new release features French baroque lute music played by lutenist Toyohiko Satoh on an original instrument from 1611. On this album, Toyohiko Satoh explores the musical connection between the French Style Brise and the Japanese aesthetics of Iki, creating a unique new interpretation of the French lute repertoire. The Japanese lutenist Toyohiko Satoh (????) is one of the most influential lute players of the last century. Born in 1943, he is now looking back on a career of over 40 years of lute playing, including 35 years teaching as a professor for lute at the Royal Conservatory of Den Haag, the Netherlands. Besides being a performer, he is also composing music for chamber ensembles and solo lute, as well as researching and writing about music.

Vaste opéra-ballet composé à quatre mains par A. C. Destouches et M.-R Delalande, les Éléments se déchaînent sous les archets de l'ensemble Les Surprises. Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas en a concocté une version « de salon » regroupant les plus beaux extraits de ce chef-d'œuvre inédit au disque.

The clavichord enjoyed widespread popularity during the 18th century and was particularly appreciated in the Germanic countries. With its soft sound and extremely sensitive ‘dynamic’ keyboard, we are immersed in a particularly intimate relationship with the music. This programme is created around the Bach family and features works for flute and keyboard obligato, which are richer and denser than those with continuo.

Mining the rich musical seam of the Low Countries, Stephen Rice and The Brabant Ensemble have once again unearthed sixteenth-century treasure in the works of Lupus Hellinck and Johannes Lupi.

Those surprised by the existence of a Vespro della beata vergine (Vespers of the Blessed Virgin) by Alessandro Scarlatti can take comfort in the fact that there is actually no such thing; what's on offer here is a collection of psalm settings along with a hymn and Magnificat that could have been used for the Vespers service during Scarlatti's time. But, noted Susanne Fontaine, the same is true of Claudio Monteverdi's famous set of Vespers of 1610, which was a compilation rather than a unified work. Whatever the origins of Scarlatti's pieces, they do seem to fit together nicely as a set, evincing a mixture of Baroque Catholic traditionalism and operatic thinking. Several of the psalms work chant material into contrapuntal choral sections, contrasting it with more florid solo passages.

Known as an ardent defender of unexplored repertoire for the oboe, Christopher Palameta sheds light on the neglected – but not forgotten – “phantom” literature for oboe by Marin Marais. Six suites are presented in this world- premiere recording, Palameta’s 4t h solo CD and his first appearance on Audax Records. Intimately familiar with the French style, Palameta was awarded research grants in 2003 and 2006 by the Canadian government to re- establish these works into the oboist’s repertoire; this recording is the fruit of that research.

Biber’s reputation as an outstanding musician led the prince-archbishop of Salzburg to poach him from the Count Liechtenstein-Castelcorn in 1670. Six years later, the composer published his Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes, paying tribute to the sacred and secular activities of his Salzburg patron. Under Manfredo Kraemer’s leadership, the Rare Fruits Council gives a superb account of this music. The ensemble is deftly controlled throughout and trumpets add a brilliant gloss.

Reinhard Goebel and members of the Musica Antiqua Köln give an almost effortless and very listenable performance of Heinrich Ignatz Franz von Biber's Mystery Sonatas here. This is no mean feat, in that each of these sonatas save the first, and the final Passacaglia, is in a different and weird -scordatura- tuning.

Troubadours songs; laude to the Virgin and estampies from trecento mingle with Sephardic lullabies and folksongs collected in Italy. They tell the stories of simple men and women of the Mediterranean world. Languages and music have survived to the din of the wars, religious conquests, political dominations between North and South… This record is an intimate compilation which raises from the old village song telling the cycle of life, the redemption sought with the Virgin, the curtly love of the Countess of Die, Tarentella or the famous separdic lullaby Nani, Nani for the beloved son…« Ever since antiquity, the shores of the Mediterranean have assembled men and women who share a cultural heritage with multiple resonances. (religious and cultural : christians, jews, arabs, languages : castillan, occitan, florentin, napolitain, sarde…).

Here is Vivaldi-playing with a commendably light, athletic touch. It's so easy to make a meal out of his orchestral tuttis yet these performances inspire the music with expressive delicacy and rhythmic vitality. The programme is a colourful one of concertos for a variety of instruments, wind and strings, in various combinations.

Alors que l'Ensemble Matheus a aujourd'hui conquis une légitime notoriété pour ses interprétations du répertoire baroque, leurs deux premiers disques de 1995-96 compilés dans le présent coffret se mesuraient déjà aux Concertos de Vivaldi. Et avec quelle bonheur !