22 May 2023

Piers Lane goes to town again
Studio Master: CDA68163  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘This is a wonderful follow-up to Lane’s previous Goes to Town album. Younger pianists should take note; a judiciously curated disc of encore-style music such as this offers a joyful listening experience that will likely prove more lasting than yet another Beethoven cycle or Liszt sonata’ (MusicWeb International)» More
20 May 2023
BBC Record Review, Andrew McGregor
Piers Lane goes to town again
Studio Master: CDA68163  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘A decade after the Australian pianist’s first disc of party pieces, encores and lollipops, the follow-up: this new one is sheer delight … [Robert Constable’s ‘Nocturne’ is] played with just the right kind of louche, seductive sense of filmic romance … so many delights in this album, from Schubert and Szymanowski to Billy Mayerl, Mozart spreading butter on a piece of bread(!), even Winifred Atwell’s Pot Black theme: it’s another love letter to the piano’ (BBC Record Review)
16 May 2023

Bach: Notebooks for Anna Magdalena
Studio Master: CDA68387  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘What an unfailingly delightful compilation it is … an enchanting programme, affectionately and intimately performed’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More

14 May 2023

Stanford: Requiem
Studio Master: CDA68418  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Rarely performed and long overshadowed by his justly beloved compositions for the Anglican choral canon, Stanford’s Requiem merits deeper investigation and wider exposure. It has a curiously optimistic mien, given the sense of grief, gravitas and doom that settings of requiem are expected to impart. Yet, as this fine account by Brabbins, the CBSO and stellar soloists and choir demonstrate, the composer’s persuasive response is imbued with compassion and celebration as much as it is by fear and fatalism’ (The Sunday Times)

13 May 2023
BBC Record Review, Andrew McGregor
Bach: Notebooks for Anna Magdalena
Studio Master: CDA68387  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘This partnership works well, doesn’t it—Esfahani’s delicate fingerwork and expressive ingenuity on harpsichord and clavichord, and his spontaneous flourishes and attractive ornamentation, combined with the simplicity and accuracy of Sampson’s soprano. Intimate entertainment of the highest quality’ (BBC Record Review)
8 May 2023
Politiken, Denmark, Thomas Michelsen
Mompou: Música callada
Studio Master: CDA68362  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

'Música callada' er skitser. Korte, indadvendte musikalske tanker, der har retning nedad. Men der er alligevel spor af catalansk-spansk flamboyance under den cool overflade, og med den australskbritiske pianist Stephen Hough ved tangenterne får man de skrøbelige satser spillet til perfektion. Klangligt meget smukt forløst på det altid kvalitetsbevidste engelske plademærke Hyperion … har du aldrig hørt om Mompou, er Houghs nye indspilning af alle fire bøger af 'Música callada' en chance. Hjemme hos mig kører albummet i konstant rotation' (Politiken, Denmark)
5 May 2023
colinscolumn.com, Colin Anderson
Stanford: Requiem
Studio Master: CDA68418  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Throughout, Martyn Brabbins’s persuasive tempos and wholesome approach pay many dividends and make the strongest possible case for a score that deserves its place in the limelight that this release now affords it’ (colinscolumn.com)» More
1 May 2023

Messiaen: Des canyons aux étoiles …
Studio Master: CDA68316  2CDs for the price of 1  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘The Utah Symphony has enjoyed something of a golden era under the direction of Thierry Fischer … mindful that the cumulative majesty of ‘Bryce Canyon’ is but the climax of the second part, Fischer draws wistful pathos from the depiction of the wood thrush, then builds the evocation of ‘Zion Park’ with unforced eloquence such that this apotheosis yields a fervency more affecting for its understatement … this account impressively combines accuracy with atmosphere in sound of clarity and lustre. Informatively annotated by Paul Griffiths, it can be warmly recommended to those new to and familiar with this masterpiece—a ringing endorsement of Fischer as his Utah tenure reaches its conclusion’ (Gramophone)
1 May 2023
Fanfare, USA, J.F. Weber
Morales: Missa Mille regretz & Missa Desilde al cavallero
Studio Master: CDA68415  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘This is the fourth CD that this vocal ensemble (made up of 19 men this time) has given us … the good news is that this is the first of 12 CDs that will offer all of Morales’s Masses and Magnificats … the large male vocal ensemble produces a rich, well-blended tone. It may be noted that two other vocal ensembles of about the same size are The Brabant Ensemble and The Sixteen, but both are adult mixed-voice groups. This ensemble is easily their equal, and Hyperion is giving us a valuable series of recordings. Go for this one, and you will probably be watching for the rest of the series’ (Fanfare, USA)
1 May 2023

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring & The Firebird
Studio Master: 4853946  Download only  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘In taking these momentous scores back to their Parisian roots Klaus Mäkelä, as expected, engages his keen ears and sense of orchestral drama to hear and to project their startling innovation’ (Gramophone)
28 April 2023

Morales: Missa Mille regretz & Missa Desilde al cavallero
Studio Master: CDA68415  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

«Ni le compositeur ni l’ensemble De Profundis ne nous lassent une seule seconde. La masse chorale cisèle cette luxueuse polyphonie avec autant d’engagement que de relief, la vingtaine de chanteurs anglais charpentant avec lisibilité et rondeur la conduite des phrasés, dans un épanouissement sonore … l’aventure débute sous les plus beaux auspices !» (Diapason, France)

24 April 2023
Early Music America, USA, Jacob Jahiel
Machaut: Songs from Remede de Fortune
Studio Master: CDA68399  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Exceedingly good … singing together, the group’s blend is breathtaking. But it is actually the moments when each member performs separately that carry the most musical and dramatic weight, each conveying a vast spectrum of emotion resulting from the pangs and pleasures of love, hope, fortune, and misfortune. Like a Matryoshka doll, they are thus able to multiply themselves—while they are only four singers, each contains a multitude of voices, personalities, characters, and moods’ (Early Music America, USA)
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