Lara St. John VIVALDI: Four Seasons / PIAZZOLA: The Four Seasons of B. A.

Violinist Lara St. John also serves as chief executive of her own Ancalagon label, and she takes an interest in unusual and challenging couplings. It seems every violin player has to come to terms with Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" at one time or another, but rather than mate it with other Vivaldi concertos or similar Baroque fare, here she combines Vivaldi's oft-recorded cycle with Astor Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires" in a shimmering arrangement for violin and strings by Leonid Desyatnikov. She is not the first to do so -- that may have been I Solisti Italiani back in the 1990s -- but it remains a striking combination in the face of the usual fare that comes along for the ride with most issues of "The Four Seasons." Rather than recording this disc at Skywalker Sound as has been the norm in previous Ancalagon releases, this one was recorded on the road in Caracas with the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela under the direction of Eduardo Marturet. It is very well disciplined for a youth orchestra and plays with astonishing precision and professionalism for such a group.
The Piazzolla is certainly one of the best things St. John has ever recorded; she plays with unbridled passion and a kind of sexy ferociousness, and dips into interpretive effects more common to long ago violinists than they are in this post-Heifetz era; swooping portamento, a beautifully weighty projection of the melodic line, and a very high level of expressiveness, edge, and passion maintained throughout the performance. Her Vivaldi is very personal and intriguing; the trend since the 1990s has been toward individualization and extremes of effect in these works, whereas before the general approach was tied into an observance of a kind of received, semi-romantic tradition common to most Vivaldi interpretation, albeit one developed in the twentieth century. St. John's recording is an interesting blend of both; "La Primavera" and "L'estate" are respectful and reasonably conventional, but by no means complacent, interpretations, whereas "L'autunno" and "L'inverno" push the envelope. St. John has taken Vivaldi's Descriptive Sonnets to heart -- and they are printed with considerable prominence in the booklet -- and in the latter two concerti she portrays the music, much as would an actress, following Vivaldi's dramatic cues. Her turtledove and goldfish truly "sing," St. John's violin sounds nearly like the birds Vivaldi represents in both his music and written text, and it is astounding to think that there was a time when violinists played this cycle without ever having read Vivaldi's sonnets, or regarding them with no more than curiosity value.
With Ancalagon's Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, St. John will surely please her many admirers and those who regularly attend her concerts, but this disc also reaches out to the casual listener not well acquainted with her artistry in an effective way. As with all Ancalagon products, the production value of the CD's two booklets and outer jacket is extraordinarily high, the SACD sounds great, and even in tough times St. John's product is of such quality that it can be regarded as a keepsake, an object of precious and true value. While her Ancalagon releases seldom, if ever, disappoint, this one is particularly outstanding. (Uncle Dave Lewis)

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Concerto In E Major, Op. 8/1, RV 269 - "Spring"
1) I. Allegro
2) II. Largo
3) III.Allegro
Concerto In G Minor, Op. 8/2, RV 315 - "Summer"
4) I. Allegro Non Molto - Allegro
5) II. Adagio - Presto
6) III. Presto
Concerto In F Major, Op. 8/3, RV 293 - "Autumn"
7) I. Allegro - Allegro Assai
8) II. Adagio Molto
9) III. Allegro
Concerto In F Minor, Op. 8/4, RV 297 - "Winter"
10) I. Allegro Non Molto
11) II. Largo
12) III. Allegro - Lento - Allegro
Astor Piazzola (1921-1992)
The Four Seasons Of Buenos Aires
13) Otoño Porteño
14) Invierno Porteño
15) Primavera Porteña
16) Verano Porteño

Lara St. John
The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela
Eduardo Marturet

You can buy it on Amazon.com
You can download here
PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Hilary Hahn BARBER / MEYER Violin Concertos

The 19-year-old Hilary Hahn follows up the success of her first Sony disc (chosen as 'Recording of the Month' in the March 1999 issue of Gramophone) with this imaginative and highly enjoyable coupling of the Barber Concerto and a new work specially written for her by the double-bass player and composer, Edgar Meyer. That first disc coupled the Beethoven Concerto with one of the deepest of Leonard Bernstein's works, the Plato-inspired Serenade, and once again she shows her natural feeling for the American brand of late romanticism, bringing out heartfelt emotion without overplaying it.
Here, too, as in the Bernstein, she relies on what Rob Cowan described as her 'sweet-centred tone', her immaculate technique and lyrical flair, warmly supported in both works by the St Paul Chamber Orchestra under Hugh Wolff. There have been a number of outstanding versions of the Barber Concerto in recent years, notably the two I have listed, and Hahn's is among the finest ever. She stands between the urgently, fullbloodedly romantic Shaham and the more meditative Bell.
It is partly a question of recording balances. Bell has the advantage of a recording which, setting him a little further back, allows pianissimos to be registered in a genuine hush. Hahn, like Shaham, is placed well forward, and it is hardly her fault that dynamic contrasts are reduced. She certainly plays softly, but the sound that emerges is still fairly robust, as in the soloist's delayed entry in the lovely slow movement. The use of a chamber orchestra also affects the balance. The extra weight in the orchestral sound on the DG and Decca discs is here compensated to a degree by the incisiveness of the St Paul Chamber Orchestra under Hugh Wolff, with textures a fraction clearer in detail. Even so, in the long introduction to the Andante a smaller body of strings, however refined, cannot quite match in ear-catching beauty the bigger string sections of the LSO and Baltimore Symphony. What Hahn and Wolff nicely achieve between them is a distinction between the first two movements, both of them predominantly lyrical. Deceptively, the first is marked Allegro (hardly sounding it), but here one registers it as a taut first movement leading to a powerful climax. Speeds in both the first two movements are a fraction broader than with either rival, but Hahn reserves her big coup for the Presto finale which is noticeably faster than either rival's, offering quicksilver brilliance and pinpoint articulation. Meyer's Concerto — faxed to Hahn page by page during composition as she went touring — makes an apt coupling. Unashamedly tonal and freely lyrical, it opens with a yearning folk-like melody that echoes Vaughan Williams, and there is also a folk-like, pentatonic cut to some of the writing in both of the two substantial movements. The composer's own note is disappointingly vague, but the music itself presents no problem, a free set of variations in clearly contrasted sections leading to a virtuoso exercise in using a persistent pedal note.
It is amazing what variety Meyer achieves (as a string player himself writing brilliantly for the violin), considering that conscious limitation of having a sustained drone underlying his argument. The movement, in clearly defined sections, easily erupts at times into a rustic dance, and ends on a dazzling coda. Hahn plays with passionate commitment, amply justifying her choice of so approachable a new piece for this important issue. (Edward Greenfield)

Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14
1) I. Allegro (10:33)
2) II. Andante (9:07)
3) III. Presto in moto perpetuo (3:25)
Edgar Meyer (1960 - )
Violin Concerto
4) Movement I (10:24)
5)Movement II (16:04)

Hilary Hahn

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

Hugh Wolff

2000 Sony Classical

1 CD DDD

SK 89029

You can buy it on Amazon.com

You can download here

PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Julia Fischer BACH Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin BWV 1001 - 1006

The most immediately striking aspect of Julia Fischer's playing, technically speaking, is its immaculate finish. Her mastery is beyond question, her ability to trace a smooth, even line a source of pleasure itself. These are in general lightly pressured, leisurely and at times rather austere performances, the mighty fugue of the C major Sonata projected as a flowing legato, with chords balanced so that each harmonic strand remains totally clear within the overall blend. As recorded, Julia Fischer's tone is full-bodied; if ultimately the fugue lacks cumulative impact (Heifetz being the highest achiever in that respect), the cool beauty of her playing is hard to resist.

For many, the ultimate litmus test will be the D minor Partita with its quarter-hour Chaconne (here 15:43"), a form fashioned after a dance though Fischer's approach is more stately than dance-like, secure in execution and with an imposing expressive solemnity. The Partita's earlier movements subscribe roughly to a formula where the quieter music is granted a chaste, blanched tone, with vibrato (usually fast and narrow) edging in only as the heat of the phrase rises. It's a sort of half-way house between period-style asceticism and a more emotive style associated with the various 20th-century schools. The Courante is nicely articulated, the Sarabande inward and meditative, and the Gigue decorated with subtle echo effects (though Fischer never indulges in notational decorations).

The First Sonata's fugue goes well, though I was less than convinced by the ritardando near the end. Fischer takes most of the B minor Partita quite slowly, with distended phraseends in the great Sarabande (note the ringing upper voice from 2:34") and a gently rolling Double. More than once my mind harked back to Johanna Martzy or to the young Nathan Milstein (the cooler element) whose readings are similarly poised and polished. Reservations? I was sometimes bothered by minor hesitations (there's one at 6:25" into the A minor Sonata) and would have liked more in the way of expressive flexibility, in the slow movements of the A minor and C major Sonatas for example. Also, the odd smiling gesture wouldn't have come amiss: most of this music is, after all, based on dance models, and that needs to come across.

But these are minor quibbles in the light of a significant talent, and wouldn't even have been worth making were it not for a barrage of top-grade available alternatives (around 40 in all) from the likes of Heifetz, Milstein, Grumiaux, Benjamin Schmid and Rachel Podger. All leave a more memorable impression, though with her fine technique, her ear for felicitous detail and, as I suggested at the head of this review, her invariable polish, Fischer is still well worth hearing. (Rob Cowan)

Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001
1) I. Adagio
2) II. Fuga: Allegro
3) III. Siciliana
4) IV. Presto
Violin Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002
5) I. Allemanda
6) II. Double
7)III. Corrente
8) IV. Double: Presto
9) V. Sarabande
10) VI. Double
11) VII. Tempo di Borea
12) VIII. Double
Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003
13)I. Grave
14) II. Fuga
15)III. Andante
16) IV. Allegro

Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004
1) I. Allemande
2) II. Corrente
3) III. Sarabanda
4) IV. Giga
5) V. Ciaccona
Violin Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005
6) I. Adagio
7) II. Fuga
8) III. Largo
9) IV. Allegro assai
Violin Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006
10) I. Preludio
11) II. Loure
12) III. Gavotte en rondeau
13) IV. Menuet I - Menuet II
14) V. Bourree
15) VI. Gigue

You can buy it on Amazon.com

You can download here: CD One / CD Two

PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Danielle de Niese HANDEL Arias

Given Danielle de Niese's astronomic rise to prominence in the late twentieth century (she made her Met debut at the age of 19 as Barbarina), it's surprising it took until 2007 for her voice to make it onto disc, but it was worth the wait. For her first album she has chosen a recital of arias from Handel operas, some familiar and some relatively obscure. She has a spontaneity and unaffected manner that confirm her assertion in the program notes that she sings for the pure joy of it. She has the agility to manage Handel's coloratura pyrotechnics with lightness and security, and is equally at home in the emotional gravity of the laments, to which she brings real depth and pathos, particularly in "Lascia ch'io pianga," from "Rinaldo," and "Piangerò la sorte mia," from "Giulio Cesare." "Myself I shall adore," from "Semele," besides showing off her velvety legato, demonstrates a real gift for humor. De Niese is discreet in her ornamentation of the da capo arias; in the laments, she is particularly sensitive, avoiding inappropriate vocal displays out of character with the grief expressed in the music. William Christie conducts Les Arts Florissants in a bravura performance that's both crisp and nuanced. Decca's sound is deep, warm, and clean. De Niese's spectacular recital should be of interest to fans of Baroque opera, and of intelligent, emotionally honest coloratura singing. (Stephen Eddins)

George Frideric Handel
1) Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Da tempeste [6:16]

2) Rinaldo, opera, HWV 7: Lascia ch'io pianga [5:02]

3) Alcina, opera, HWV 34: Tornami a vagheggiar [4:32]
4) Teseo, opera, HWV 9: Dolce riposo, ed innocente pace [3:51]
5) Teseo, opera, HWV 9: Ira, sdegni, e furore ... O stringerò nel sen 4:36
6) Apollo e Dafne (La Terra è Liberata), dramatic cantata for soprano, bass & orchestra, HWV 122: Felicissima quest'alma [5:50]
7) Ariodante, opera, HWV 33: Il mio crudel martoro [11:11]
8) Rinaldo, opera, HWV 7: Vo' far guerra [7:31]
9) Amadigi di Gaula, opera, HWV 11: Ah, spietati [5:33]
10) Semele, oratorio, HWV 58: Myself I shall adore [7:34]
11) Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Piangerò la sorte mia [6:20]
12) Semele, oratorio, HWV 58: Endless pleasure, endless love [3:31]

Danielle de Niese

Les Arts Florissants
Conducted by William Christie

You can buy it on Amazon.com

You can download here

PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Anne Gastinel BACH Cello Suites

Anne Gastinel is one of France's most frequently recorded and highly regarded cellists. Having performed the bulk of the instrument's standard repertoire, she has made a name for herself through her powerful, clean, technically proficient, and musically fulfilling recordings. Her foray into the Bach cello suites, by and large, is similarly pleasing. Although she was once allowed to play on Casals' legendary Gofriller cello, for this album she must "settle" for a magnificently deep and projecting 1690 Testore instrument. Gastinel tends to favor swift tempos throughout the "Six Suites," never quite stepping over the line of being too fast or rushed, but definitely pushing the envelope. Her technical prowess cannot be faulted as she executes even the most nimble of passages with apparent ease and cleanliness. Intonation is solid, tone color is delightfully varied, and Naïve's recorded sound quality is present but still warm and inviting. The only area some listeners may find questionable is rhythm, which Gastinel almost continuously morphs. Sometimes, like in most of the dance movements, the rhythmic alterations are more slight, elongating notes here and there to outline form. However, these are dances, and listeners may find their lack of rhythmic integrity off-putting. Some of the preludes, however, are greatly altered rhythmically. The Prelude from the "C major Suite," for example, is so altered that someone taking rhythmic dictation from Gastinel's playing would never in a million years come up with what is actually printed in the score. Listeners who appreciate this kind of fluidity will no doubt find her playing quite enjoyable; those who prefer a bit more formality may not be as satisfied. (Mike D. Brownell)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)

CD 1

Cello Suite No. 1 in G major BWV 1007

1) Prélude [2:18]
2) Allemande [5:12]

3) Courante [2:28]

4) Sarabande [3:05]

5) Menuets I & II [3:03]

6) Gigue [1:39]

Cello Suite No. 4 in E flat major BWV 1010

7) Prélude [4:26]

8) Allemande [4:58]

9) Courante [3:24]

10) Sarabande [4:46]

11) Bourrées I & II [5:06]

12) Gigue [3:00]

Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor BWV 1011
13) Prélude [5:46]
14) Allemande [6:46]
15) Courante [2:22]
16) Sarabande [2:45]
17) Gavottes I & II [4:59]
18) Gigue [3:13]

CD 2

Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor BWV 1008
1) Prélude [3:41]
2) Allemande [3:55]
3) Courante [2:11]
4) Sarabande [4:21]
5) Menuets I & II [3:00]
6) Gigue [2:33]
Cello Suite No. 3 in C major BWV 1009
7) Prélude [2:58]
8) Allemande [3:42]
9) Courante [3:09]
10) Sarabande [3:56]
11) Bourrées I & II [3:53]
12) Gigue [3:13]
Cello Suite No. 6 in D major BWV 1012

13) Prélude [4:47]

14) Allemande [7:38]

15) Courante [3:26]

16) Sarabande [5:29]

17) Gavottes I & II [4:21]

18) Gigue [4:10]

Anne Gastinel, Cello

2007 Naïve

2 Compact Discs DDD

V 5121

You can buy it on Amazon.com

You can dowload here: CD One / CD Two

PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Anna Vinnitskaya RACHMANINOV | GUBAIDULINA | MEDTNER | PROKOFIEV

Anna Vinnitskaya was born on 4th of August in 1983 in Novorossijsk (Russia) into a family of musicians. She began her piano lessons at the age of 6 and played her first full solo recital at the age of 9. In 1995 her family moved to Rostov-on-Don, where she studied with Sergej Ossipenko at the Sergej-Rachmaninov-Conservatoire. Since October 2001 she has been studying at the Academy for Music and Theatre Hamburg (Germany), formerly with Ralf Nattkemper and since October 2002 with Evgeni Koroliov.

Anna Vinnitskaya is the laureate of the "Leonard Bernstein Award" 2008 of the "Schleswig Holstein Music Festival". In 2007, she won the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Bruxelles (Belgium). Amongst her other prizes and awards are the 44th "Premio Jaén de Piano" (Spain 2002), the 7th International Piano Competition "Mauro Paolo Monopoli" in Barletta (Italy 2004) as well as the 3rd "International Youth Competition" in Moskow (Russia 1996). In addition, she was twice honoured with the Audience Award (Jaén and Barletta) and given special awards, e.g. the Award for the best presentation of spanish music in Jaén. Besides that Anna Vinnitskaya is laureate of the "Busoni"-Competition (Bolzano/Italy 2005) and of the "Rina Salo Gallo" (Monza/Italy 2000).
Anna Vinnitskaya performed at the Verbier-Festival in Switzerland in July 2007. Within her career she performed solo in the USA, Japan, Hong Kong, Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxemburg, Lebanon, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland and Germany.

Sergey Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943)

Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36

1) Allegro agitato

2) Non allegro

3) Allegro molto

Sofia Gubaidulina (born in 1931)

4) Chaconne

Nikolay Medtner (1880 - 1951)

5) Sonata "Reminiscenza" in A minor, op. 38 no. 1

Sergey Prokofiev (1851 -1953)

Piano Sonata No. 7 in B flat major, op. 83

6) Allegro inquieto

7) Andante caloroso

8) Precipitato

Anna Vinnitskaya, Piano

2009 NAÏVE

1 CD DDD

AM 177

You can buy it on Amazon.com

You can download here

PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Vanessa Wagner VARIATIONS

The booklet for this release by hot young French pianist Vanessa Wagner is a masterpiece of Gallic rhetoric that almost completely avoids discussion of the music that's actually included in the program. When you have playing that's this interesting, though, an obtuse booklet may be an advantage: there's nothing that will dilute the experience to come. Wagner is not the first pianist to offer a recital made up entirely of variation sets, but she has produced an exceptionally absorbing example of the genre. First, she notes the consistent presence of variation sets across the eras of musical history, which is intriguing enough to begin with. Then she isolates the inherently diverse nature of the variation set: it is a means to virtuoso exhibit, it is a source of play, or of homage, and it is intellectual, "chemical," as one historical commenter put it, dissolving musical units into their constituent components. When everything gets put back together, it's quite a show. Wagner finds ways of playing against type. Haydn's "Variations in F minor, Hob. 17/6," are an underplayed masterpiece of the composer's later years, with the playfulness you might expect being gradually replaced by a spirit of radical experimentation toward the end. Wagner sets a delicate tone and carries it through the entire program, even beautifully fitting Rachmaninoff's "Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42," into the pattern and setting the aspects of display and of interior structure against each other in that large work. The twelve-tone "Five Variations for piano" of Luciano Berio, a product of the composer's youth, are treated lightly and playfully, the "Gavotte varié" of Rameau dreamily and mystically. Wagner returns to the theme of homage for the final work: Brahms' "Variations on a theme of Schumann, Op. 9," seems in her hands to take on quite a slice of the complex relationships between the two composers. In all, there's a lot to chew on here, and there's no shortage of surface beauty, either. (James Manheim)

Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)
1) Variations in F minor Hob.XVII:6 (sonata un piccolo divertimento) [17:20]
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
2) Variations on a theme of Corelli opus 42 [19:27]
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
3) Cinque variazioni per pianoforte [10:31]
Jean-Philippe Rameau 1683-1764)
4) Gavotte variée [7:20]
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
5) Variations on a Theme of Schumann, for piano in F sharp minor, Op. 9 [21:17]

Vanessa Wagner, Piano

You can buy it on Amazon.com
You can download here

PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Yuri Bashmet SCHNITTKE Viola Concerto / Trio Sonata

Yuri Bashmet developed a highly successful international career as a violist, but then, like so many talented instrumentalists of his generation, branched out into conducting, even founding an orchestra. He has never abandoned the viola, managing to split his time in even portions between soloist and conductor, often appearing in both roles in the same concert. He has performed with the world's leading orchestras, including those in Moscow, Berlin, Paris, New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and many other locales. He has also collaborated as soloist and conductor with some of the most celebrated string players of his time, including Rostropovich, Stern, Kremer, Mutter, and Mintz, as well as with keyboard legends like Richter and Argerich. For all his talent, Bashmet has been surrounded by controversy in the latter half of his career, owing to last-minute cancellations and sudden changes in concert programs. Yet he remains arguably the leading violist of his time and a powerful champion of contemporary music: indeed, a spate of major composers wrote works for him, including Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, Poul Ruders, John Taverner, and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Bashmet has made numerous recordings for a variety of mostly major labels, including Melodiya, DG, EMI, RCA, Sony, Onyx, and Toccata Classics.

Alfred Schnittke wrote his Viola Concerto in 1985, the year that Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union, ended the Cold War and allowed Russians once again to enjoy the excitement of travel. The work was commissioned by the Russian violist Yuri Bashmet who gave the first performance a year later at the Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

Alfred Schnittke (1934 - 1998)

Trio Sonata
1) Moderato [13:34]
2) Adagio [12:55]
Moscow Soloists
Yuri Bashmet, conductor

Viola Concerto
3) Largo; Allegro molto [5:07]
4) Allegro molto [12:47]
5) Largo [16:50]
Yuri Bashmet, viola
London Symphony Orchestra
Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor

1991 BMG Music
1 CD DDD
49876 2

You can buy it on Amazon.com
You can download here
PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Anne Sofie von Otter SCHUBERT Lieder

Anne Sofie von Otter has been waiting with some trepidation to make her first Schubert disc, conscious of the high degree of both literary awareness and musical commitment necessary for such an undertaking. Her caution and care have paid off in a recital alive with the delight of long-awaited encounter and the vocal security of choices well made.
In songs such as An Silvia and Geheimes the wide-eyed wonder of her own discovery incarnates that of the songs' own subjects. Tiny moments of gentle emphasis, and a little spring on each note of its rising sequences adds to the wondering incredulity of An Silvia's questionings; and von Otter's vocal heritage of the baroque and of Mozart have, of course, schooled her voice to articulate perfectly the tapering phrases and shy note-pairs that convey the glancing secrets of Geheimes.
There are many epiphanies along the way for even the most experienced Schubertian. Heidenreislein, for example, is re-created as a sudden, elusive Augenblick, a passing moment in time in which pique and piquancy fuse without a hint of mere coyness. And listen to the way in which von Otter and the ever perceptive Bengt Forsberg bring a sense of wry self-awareness to Der Wanderer an den Mond, as a brisk, rough tread in both voice and keyboard gives the robust walking rhythm an edge of irony at humanity's sense of displacement and alienation in the world compared with the eternal cycles of the moon.
The recital grows gradually darker, moving, by way of Steindchen, D920 (with the ladies of' the Swedish Radio Chorus), to the twilight of Im Abendrot. Here, long, firmly-grounded vowels are backlit by the afterglow of Forsberg's piano line before some deep, passionate digging into the Angst of Totengreibers Heimweh, and a wonderfully breathless, intimately urgent imprecation of an Ave Maria. (HF, Gramophone 1998)

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
1) An Sylvia, D.891 (Op.106/4) [2:58]
2) Geheimes, D719 (Goethe) [1:58]
3) Suleika I, D.720 [5:08]
4) Dass sie hier gewesen D 775 [3:08]
5) Bei dir allein (Seidl), D.866 No.2 [2:05]
6) Heidenröslein, D. 257 (Op.3/3) [1:36]
7) Viola, D.786 [13:05]
8) Wonne der Wehmut, D. 260 [0:52]
9) Im Frühling, D.882 [3:47]
10) Erntelied, D. 434 [1:51]
11) Ständchen, D. 920 [5:26]
12) Der Jüngling an der Quelle, D.300 [1:21]
13) Der Wanderer an den Mond, D.870, op.80, no.1 [2:18]
14) Im Walde D 708 [6:41]
15) Abendstern, D806 [2:07]
16) Im Abendrot, D.799 [4:05]
17) Totengräbers Heimwehe, D.842 [5:23]
18) Ave Maria, "Ellens Gesang III", D839 [4:54]

Anne Sofie von Otter
Bengt Forsberg
Schwedischer Rundfunkchor
Gunnar Andersson

1997 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
453 4812 4 GH

You can buy it on Amazon.com
You can download here
PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Vivaldi DIXIT DOMINUS

Here's a magnificent musical find. Deliberately misattributed in the mid-18th century as the work of the then-popular composer Galuppi, this Dixit Dominus was restored to the Vivaldi canon in 2005 upon its unearthing in a Dresden library. Scholars lost no time calling it "the most important Vivaldi discovery in 75 years," as the sticker on the jewel case points out, and there's no denying that it's one of the composer's finest choral works, comparable in scope and impression to the familiar Gloria. Written for orchestra (including winds and trumpet), chorus, and six vocal soloists, it's filled with the spry, tuneful music of Vivaldi at his best, and the continual variety from one movement to the next holds the listener in rapt attention. Building on the Galuppi connection, the disc continues with three more liturgical works by the younger Venetian composer -- a Laetatus sum, a Nisi Dominus, and a Lauda Jerusalem. Although perfectly pleasant and proficiently crafted, Galuppi's music can't quite rise to the same level of inspiration as the delightful opener. Still, Conductor Peter Kopp (making his Deutsche Grammophon Archiv debut), a crew of ace Dresden musicians, and an excellent gathering of soloists present the entire program in a bright, technically assured light that seems all but impossible to improve upon. Vivaldi recordings are currently popping up like wildflowers, but here's one to enjoy for the rare gem that it is. (EJ Johnson)

Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741)
Dixit Dominus, R. 807
1) Dixit Dominus [1:38]
2) Donec ponam inimicos tuos [2:58]
3) Virgam virtuis tuae [2:44]
4) Tecum principium [1:51]
5) Juravit Dominus [1:37]
6) Dominus a dextris tuis [1:50]
7) Judicabit in nationibus [2:40]
8) De torrente in via bibet [3:13]
9) Gloria Patri et Filio [2:10]
10) Sicut era in principio [0:31]
11) Et in saecula saeculorum [2:34]

Baldassare Galuppi (1706 - 1785)
Laetatus sum
12) Laetatus sum [4:39]
13) Fiat pax [1:50]
14) Propter fratres meos [1:42]
15 Gloria Patri et Figlio / Sicut erat [1:52]
Nisi Dominus
16) Nisi Dominus [3:31]
17) Vanum est nobis [1:51]
18) Cum dederit [4:29]
19) Sicut sagitte [2:42]
20) Beatus vir [3:39]
21) Gloria Patri et Figlio [5:38]
22) Sicut erat [2:07]
Lauda Jerusalem
23) Lauda Jerusalem [0:59]
24) Quoniam confortavit [2:18]
25) Qui posuit fines [1:38]
26) Qui emittit [0:57]
27) Emittit verbum [2:25]
28) Qui annuntiat [0:40]
29 Gloria Patri et Figlio / Sicut era [1:52]

Körnerscher Sing-Verein Dresden

Dresdner Instrumental-Concert

Peter Kopp

Sara Mingardo

Roberta Invernizzi

Paul Agnew

Thomas Cooley

Lucia Cirillo

Sergio Foresti

2006 ARCHIV Produktion

1 CD DDD

477 6145 7 AH

You can buy it on Amazon.com

You can download here

PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey