Armonico Consort / Christopher Monks TOBY YOUNG Beowulf

 BEOWULF

Dorothee Oberlinger / Ensemble 1700 G.F. HANDEL Sonatas for the Recorder

For its authentic instrumental timbres, exquisite period interpretations, superbly engineered sound, and, above all, the sheer genius of the music, this album of Handel's recorder trios and sonatas is guaranteed to please connoisseurs of Baroque chamber music, and should catapult Dorothee Oberlinger and her handpicked Ensemble 1700 into international celebrity. A debut release for these exceptional musicians, this remarkable CD reveals both their scrupulous scholarship and enthusiastic participation, and the combination is winning. Oberlinger plays the recorder with a lucid but modest tone, never upstaging the other players but creating an impression of domestic intimacy that surely attended amateur performances in the eighteenth century. Yet these are not fragile or rarefied renditions, for Oberlinger and her companions are quite vigorous in the Allegro movements; the long, lyrical lines in the Larghettos and Adagios are always solidly supported through the soloist's unerring ornamentation; and the accompaniment is fully realized and strongly characterized, distributed throughout the works to a variety of basso continuo instruments. The illustrated booklet includes an informative essay on the recorder's history and Handel's music by Gerhard Braun, and the recording is absolutely clear in details and natural in reproduction. This disc is highly recommended. (Blair Sanderson)

KARL JENKINS CANTATA MEMORIA For the Children

The latest choral work by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins is Cantata Memoria, commissioned by S4C to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the disaster on 21 October 1966 when a coal spoil tip enveloped a school and houses in the South Wales village of Aberfan, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Cantata Memoria bears the subtitle For the children and, as well as remembering the tragic Welsh catastrophe and its aftermath, mourns the loss of children in universal terms, as witnessed in the Dunblane shooting (1996), the Beslan school siege (2004), the Korean ferry disaster (2014) and the Peshawar School massacre (2014). 

Cantata Memoria is scored for chorus – both mixed and young voices,  baritone and soprano vocalists, orchestra with prominent solos for violin, euphonium and harp, and sets a libretto by poet Mererid Hopwood. The premiere at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on 8 October is conducted by the composer with leading Welsh soloists including baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, euphonist David Childs and harpist Catrin Finch, together with young violinist Joo Yeon Sir, winner of the inaugural The Arts Club - Sir Karl Jenkins Music Award. Choral forces include a mixed choir of over 150 and a children's choir of over 100 voices, together with Sinfonia Cymru as orchestra. The event is a co-production between the Wales Millennium Centre, Mr Producer on behalf of the Aberfan Memorial Charity and is produced for telecast on S4C by Rondo Media.

Deutsche Grammophon is releasing the recording of Cantata Memoria on 7 October to tie-in with the premiere and the Aberfan commemoration. The recording features the same performers as the Cardiff premiere with choral voices from Cywair, Côr Caerdyydd, CF1, Heol Y March and Côr Y Cwm. This follows Deutsche Grammophon's earlier Karl Jenkins releases Adiemus Colores and Motets.

The US premiere of Cantata Memoria is scheduled for Carnegie Hall on 15 January 2017 with Distinguished Concerts International New York conducted by Jonathan Griffith. This annual concert, presented as part of Jenkins's composer residency with DCINY, also includes a performance of his Requiem. As with the composer's other choral works, Boosey & Hawkes will publish the vocal score of Cantata Memoria and make orchestral materials available on rental for future performance.

Karl Jenkins describes how he was "mindful of the responsibility the commission carried in writing something with integrity and accessibility that would connect and move everyone – the bereaved who are still with us, those who remember and those who come to this catastrophe anew. Paradoxically, dealing with a subject that lies so deep in the soul of the Welsh was both a harrowing and uplifting experience, but the journey was made easier and more rewarding by my travelling companion, Mererid Hopwood, the brilliant Welsh poet, academic and linguist who has written a remarkable libretto. As Mererid says, "we sincerely hope the work speaks from two hearts to many hearts".

"This work is music and a poem. It is not a documentary, nor even a dramatisation, but it does include a conflation of ideas and facts that were relevant and by now part of the legacy. The text is multilingual, in English, Welsh and Latin (four texts from the Requiem Mass), while also referencing various other languages for specific words (eg 'why' and ‘light’) in Welsh, English, Swedish, Latin, Spanish, German, French, Dutch and Italian. It is hoped these many languages symbolise how the memorial is at once both specific and universal.

"The work is in two distinct sections but performed continuously. The first (c20 minutes) deals with the tragedy and the immediate aftermath, and the second (c35 minutes) moves from darkness to light, reliving memories and celebrating childhood, ending with Lux æterna (everlasting light). Cantata (from the Italian cantare, meaning ‘to sing’) has come to mean a work for soloist(s), choir and orchestra, and memoria is both Latin and Italian for memory or remembrance."

July saw Karl Jenkins's The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace reach a landmark 2000th performance, confirming its status as the most frequently programmed new classical work for choir and orchestra of recent decades. Jenkins conducted the performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 3 July with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Choral Society, and Warner Classics released a special Limited Edition of the recording which has achieved 17 gold and platinum disc awards.

Florilegium / Elin Manahan Thomas / Robin Blaze PERGOLESI Stabat Mater

As a composer Pergolesi’s productive career began at the age of twenty, and by twenty-six (March 1736) he had died of tuberculosis. During his lifetime Pergolesi’s fame was restricted, in the main, to Rome and Naples, yet after his death, his reputation eclipsed most other composers in the second half of the eighteenth century. The whole of Europe developed an increasing curiosity for his compositions. His posthumous celebrity status was such a magnet in the music world that, hoping to reap large financial profits, publishers and opera directors alike attributed his name to hundreds of vocal and instrumental works by lesser-known composers. Following Pergolesi’s death the Stabat Mater became one of the most celebrated and frequently printed works of the 18th century.

Welsh soprano Elin Manahan Thomas has a lovely, clear, pleasingly bright tone and all the right stuff for Pergolesi's most lyrical and lively lines; countertenor Robin Blaze never has sounded better, his timbre warmly resonant, his technique fluid and effortless, his intelligence and thoughtful interpretive manner on impressive display-and proving a perfect match for Thomas. And speaking of instruments, also to be commended are the Florilegium instrumental players, who include the group's director, flutist Ashley Solomon, and cellist Jennifer Morsches, both of whom offer excellent additions to the program-the delightful (if doubtfully by Pergolesi!) Flute Concerto in G major and the (authentic) Sinfonia in F major for cello and continuo. (…)
(…) Highly recommended (even if you already have one or two others!).
(Classics Today)

Elin Manahan Thomas ETERNAL LIGHT

The Welsh soprano won a choral scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge where she read Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. Thomas joined the Monteverdi Choir in 2000 and has sung with The Sixteen, Polyphony, Cambridge Singers and the Gabrieli Consort. Increasingly she is in great demand as an international soloist. Thomas has specialised in performing early music especially with the choral group The Sixteen. Her release titled Eternal Light on Universal covers music from the Renaissance and the Baroque period. The release titled Byd Y Soprano - Soprano World comprises mainly music from the Romantic period with some Classical and a Baroque piece. Late-Romantic music is not repertoire that one usually associates with Thomas in solo performance. It is not surprising that this highly talented singer will want to show her versatility by singing a wide range of repertoire. This stance will naturally invite comparisons with the finest singers in world. I cannot think of a finer exponent of early music around today than Thomas. Her soprano voice has an exceptional purity, with a silky smooth tone and light creamy fluidity. The voice isn’t heavy but neither is it over-bright and piercing. When listening to The Sixteen I was easily able to distinguish her voice owing to its clarity and carry yet I wouldn’t describe it as being over-distinctive. On the disc Eternal Light Thomas’s performance was a revelation, revealing a glorious voice of elevated quality which wonderfully suited to Renaissance and Baroque music. I believe it to be superior to Emma Kirkby in her prime. Of the sixteen well chosen tracks not one disappoints. In addition there are two ‘killer’ tracks that are so exceptional, containing a special element of spirituality that one rarely encounters. Those ‘killer’ tracks are Eternal Source of Light Divine and When I am laid in earth (Dido's Lament) from Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas. Eternal Light is worth obtaining for those two tracks alone. I have played selections from this release at several Recorded Music Societies and Thomas’s performances have drawn considerable attention.(Michael Cookson)

Catrin Finch JOHN RUTTER Blessing

The greatest privilege for a musician such as myself is the opportunity to create and record wonderful music with fellow musicians and composers. I first met John one afternoon at a London hotel where we sat down for a cup of tea to discuss the possibility of his writing a work for me. Out of this conversation came the Suite Lyrique, which I performed shortly afterwards. It became obvious that we should record it and so I approached DG with the idea. We were overjoyed that they were keen to get involved. So this CD was born.

The music is a collection of some of John's more popular works, some traditional Welsh folk songs, two wonderful lullabies for my girls, and the Suite Lyrique. As we were discussing and preparing the recording, I had started work on a small concerto for harp and strings. It was the first time I had put pen to paper, as it were, and written some music down properly. I was naturally very excited when it was decided to include this work as well - the Celtic Concerto.

There is always a whole army of people who help along the way to make projects like this happen. But, to name just a few ... Thanks to John for all his work and musical inspiration; Elin for her sublime singing; Sinfonia Cymru for providing the fabulous young players that made up the strings and woodwind; Geraint and Elinor for their constant support and friendship; Lou Watson - finally the duet we were waiting for; the studio team for their engineering skills and making it all sound beautiful; and my family, who keep me pulsing on!

I hope you enjoy it. (Catrin Finch)