Freiburger Barockorchester / RIAS Kammerchor Berlin / René Jacobs BEETHOVEN Missa Solemnis

 

MISSA SOLEMNIS

 

Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin / Howard Arman MOZART Requiem D-moll KV 626

REQUIEM D-MOLL KV 626

 

Freiburger Barockorchester / Zürcher Sing-Akademie / Pablo Heras-Casado BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 - Choral Fantasy

SYMPHONY No. 9 - CHORAL FANTASY

Frieder Bernius / Kammerchor Stuttgart / Hofkapelle Stuttgart WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Missa in c KV 427

There can be no doubt – the Missa in C minor KV 427 by W. A. Mozart is a fascinating work. Simply calling it a “mass” is inaccurate; indeed, there is hardly more than a musical torso full of enigmas and problems – and brimming with magnificent music. What has survived is a fragment, in more ways than one. Mozart left the work unfinished; moreover parts of the autograph have been lost. Carus has now produced a new edition which is not only based upon a profound knowledge of Mozart’s music and the church music practice of that time, but also meets with the current demands of performance practice. Frieder Bernius is the co-editor of the sheet music edition; he and his Stuttgart Chamber Choir recorded this version on CD. The recording impresses not only by the outstanding musical quality, but also by the particularly noble equipment in a hardcover booklet. In addition to the new version of the mass, the CD also contains a bonustrack with the Credo fragment without completed instrumental parts. A true discovery!

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Kazuki Yamada DE FALLA Noches en los Jardines de España - El Sombrero de Tres Picos

Manuel de Falla’s richly evocative music erupts in a riot of colour in this vibrant new recording from 

Kazuki Yamada with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Works included are the ever popular Noches en los jardines de España and El sombrero de tres picos as well as movements from La vida breve and El amor brujo.
The sultry warm atmosphere of an Andalusian night is almost palpable in Falla’s spellbinding Noches en los jardines de España. With its shimmering, sensuous harmonies, exquisite orchestral colours and exuberant melodies and rhythms, it’s perhaps Falla’s most impressionistic work. Using a large orchestral canvas on which he paints with deft, luminous strokes, Falla skilfully integrates a virtuoso piano part to create lovingly evocative music, full of captivating beauty.
Elsewhere with the sensational ballet El sombrero de tres picos, Falla conjures up music steeped in Andalusian culture which is boisterous, full-bloodied, and urgent. It’s impossible not to be swept along by the drama in this orchestral showpiece. By turns lyrical, sensuous, or dramatic, the meticulously written score is full of surprises and the work positively bristles with wit, energy and exuberant intensity. 

Yamada’s previous recordings with the OSR for PENTATONE have been widely praised – “Exquisite and passionate … grace abounds” (BBC Music Magazine), “tastefully refined” (Gramophone). For their more recent release of music by Roussel, Debussy and Poulenc, HRAudio.net noted Yamada’s “exuberant performance” and the OSR “playing …[with] tremendous vitality and enthusiasm, as if their very lives depended on it.”
The pianist Mari Kodama has established an international reputation for profound musicality and articulate virtuosity and has recorded extensively for PENTATONE. Her most recent release with her sister Momo Kodama, a sizzling account of Tchaikovsky ballets, was praised by The Guardian for its “sparkle and style” and described by Artamag as “…a very exciting recording, a ‘labour of love’ by two extraordinary pianists.”
Frequently in demand as an interpreter of Mozart’s works, the mezzo soprano Sophie Harmsen is a regular performer in large international festivals.  (Pentatone)