A selection of 'spoken word' articles

Ensemble. Serenade to Shakespeare - Mike Wheeler has no complaints about the choral contribution to this inspired idea

Spotlight. Rather Enigmatic - Geoff Pearce, after listening to 'Missa Cambrensis', wants to hear more by Welsh composer Grace Williams. '... exceptional artists ...'

Ensemble. Metamorphic Variations - Mike Wheeler listens to orchestral music by Arthur Bliss and an illustrated talk by Stephen Johnson

Ensemble. A Stellar Night - Frances Forbes-Carbines, in her first feature for Classical Music Daily, gives English National Opera's revival of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'The Pirates of Penzance' an enthusiastic thumbs up

Resounding Echoes by Robert McCarney - Walls come tumbling down

Ensemble. Thoroughly Attractive - Mike Wheeler listens to Glazunov orchestral music

Spotlight. Layers of the Programmatic - John Dante Prevedini listens to Gustav Hoyer's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. '... a sensitively crafted release ...'

Spotlight. Harmonically Exotic - Gerald Fenech finds a new recording of Delius' Hassan absolutely riveting. '... these performances are as dynamically dazzling as they are irrepressibly exciting and incandescent.'

Ensemble. Little Short of Miraculous - Mike Wheeler is impressed by Hanni Liang's pianism, but reports that some audience members were unhappy with her recital's lecture element

Spotlight. Excavations of Meaning - John Dante Prevedini recommends song cycles by contemporary American composer Douglas Boyce. '... an unusual vision bravely conceived and sensitively executed by all involved.'

Spotlight. Gripping and Engaging - Geoff Pearce enjoys music by Edvard Grieg. 'It is especially rewarding to hear the unfamiliar works that make up much of this disc.'

Ensemble. Brightly Delivered - Mike Wheeler finds a concert by Nigel Short's Tenebrae choir unmissable

The Political Symphony - Jeffrey Neil asks some searching questions about classical music and protest

Ensemble. An Interesting Contamination of Genres - Giuseppe Pennisi reports from the first Italian performance of 'The Passion according to St Mark' by contemporary Polish composer Paweł Mykietyn

CD Spotlight. Recommended by Mozart - Georg Anton Benda's melodrama 'Medea', reviewed by Gerald Fenech. 'Katharina Thalbach is overwhelmingly effective as the narrator, while Marcus Bosch's conducting is intensely committed, capturing all the seething complexities of love, betrayal and revenge, grappling in Medea's heart and mind, with electrifying exuberance.'

Classical music news - The Story of Babar - On Friday 6 November 2020, Nimbus will release a CD single of Miriam Margolyes and Simon Callaghan performing Poulenc's setting of Cécile and Jean de Brunhoff's 'The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant'

Ensemble. Ariadne, Phaedra and Dido - Giuseppe Pennisi visits Spoleto to experience the first performance of a new work by Silvia Colasanti

CD Spotlight. Interesting Stuff - Beethoven's 'King Stephen' and other rare works, appreciated by Gerald Fenech. 'Finely performed and recorded, this CD is a must for all serious collectors and admirers of the great man.'

CD Spotlight. Strengths and Weaknesses - Gerald Fenech listens to orchestral music by Max von Schillings. 'A very fine addition to CPO's ongoing advocacy of Schillings' oeuvre in detailed notes and exemplary sonics.'

CD Spotlight. Religious Allegory - Jonathan Sheffer's 'The Conference of the Birds', heard by Ron Bierman. 'Recommended for its colorful, often striking orchestral effects.'

Ensemble. A Unifying Mood - A new song cycle by Julian Dawes, heard by Malcolm Miller

Ensemble. Atmosphere is Everything - Weber's 'Der Freischütz', reviewed by Robert Hugill

Ensemble. In Complete Command - Britten's 'The Company of Heaven' and Renaissance Polyphony, heard by Mike Wheeler

Ensemble. Verve and Flair - Derby Concert Orchestra plays film music, heard by Mike Wheeler

Ensemble. Invigorating Performance - Sinfonia Viva plays Judith Weir, heard by Mike Wheeler

Ensemble. Inexorable Momentum - Music by Dvorák, Rachmaninov and Sibelius from Sergio Tiempo, Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra impresses Mike Wheeler

Ensemble. Actually Sung - Weill and Brecht's 'Threepenny Opera', reviewed by Robert Hugill