SPONSORED: An Integral Part - Lindsey Wallis looks forward to the Canadian Music Centre's tribute concert to composer Roberta Stephen.
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VIDEO PODCAST: Slava Ukraini! - recorded on 24 February 2022, the day Europe woke up to the news that Vladimir Putin's Russian forces had invaded Ukraine. A fifty minute video which also features Caitríona O'Leary and Eric Fraad discussing their new film Island of Saints, and pays tribute to Joseph Horovitz, Malcolm Troup and Maria Nockin.
FROM ROME: Keep in touch with the Italian opera and classical music scene by reading Giuseppe Pennisi's regular reports.
CD Spotlight. Fierce Urgency - Bach Collegium Japan's St Matthew Passion, reviewed by Patrick Maxwell. 'Suzuki's forces create this inner energy in a way that surges, through the music, into the crucifixion, creating the mix of oratorio and opera that Bach must have been envisaging when the work was first performed across the church of St Thomas' in Leipzig in 1827.'
CD Spotlight. Stellar Performances - Handel Cantatas, heard by Gerald Fenech. '... music of the utmost beauty, full of emotional outpourings that cover the whole spectrum of the human condition ...'
CD Spotlight. Without Despair - Sacred choral music by Poulenc, heard by Howard Smith. 'Harmonia mundi has struck oil ...'
CD Spotlight. Quite Sensational - Iestyn Davies' Handel arias impress Roderic Dunnett. '... pretty wonderful ...'
CD Spotlight. Profoundly Eloquent - Couperin's Lamentations, heard by Gerald Fenech. 'Robert King and his superb forces give absorbingly committed performances ...'
CD Spotlight. Novel Results - The first release on Robert King's new label, heard by Robert Anderson. '... may lack something in grandeur but nothing in subtlety.'
CD Spotlight. Uncommonly Addictive - Choral music by Eriks Esenvalds, recommmended by Howard Smith. '... exciting music of the utmost graciousness.'
Ensemble. A Magisterial Presence - William Christie conducts Purcell's 'The Fairy Queen', reviewed by Robert Hugill
CD Spotlight. Full of Delights - Handel's 'Parnasso in Festa', recommended by Robert Hugill. '... some truly superb Handel singing (and playing) ...'
CD Spotlight. A Special Pleasure - Masaaki Suzuki directs J S Bach cantatas, reviewed by Robert Anderson. 'If the Japanese tempo is faster than mine, so be it ...'
CD Spotlight. Sweeter than Roses - Amorous music by Purcell inspires Howard Smith. '... glorious song with inspirational accompaniments.'
Record box. A recital to value - Lute solos and songs by Robert Johnson from Shakespeare's England, reviewed by Patric Standford