Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Yannick Nézet-Séguin MOZART La Clemenza di Tito

This is the fifth instalment of DG’s series of seven Mozart operas conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and initiated by Rolando Villazón, in collaboration with Festspielhaus Baden Baden and with the generous support of ROLEX For La Clemenza di Tito, Mozart’s last opera about the benevolent Emperor Titus who pardons an attempt on his own life, Rolando and Yannick – new music director of the MET – are joined by outstanding partners: A stellar cast in every role and specialist handpicked orchestra playing at their best in the stunning venue of Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Rolando adds yet another intriguing Mozart role to his already large discography. This time it is his role debut as Tito, reinforcing again his love for Mozart: “No composer has spoken to as directly as Mozart. I feel like I have a soul mate in him.”

In addition Rolando has been named Artistic Director of the Salzburg Mozart Week Previous productions in this series are: Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Grammy Award Nomination) and Le Nozze di Figaro (Grammy Award Nomination & Echo Klassik Award).

Barenboim ELGAR The Dream of Gerontius

Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin continue their exploration of the music of Edward Elgar with a new recording of The Dream of Gerontius.

Barenboim and the orchestra are joined by singers Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Andrew Staples, and Thomas Hampson as well as the Staatsopernchor Berlin and the Rias Kammerchor.

Recorded under the baton of Daniel Barenboim with the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Rias Kammerchor, Thomas Hampson sings both the role of the Priest and Angel of the Agony. Tenor Andrew Staples joins, singing the role of Gerontius, with mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers as the Angel. Hailed as Elgar’s finest choral composition, The Dream of Gerontius explores a soul’s journey from near-death to the throne of judgement. Performed in concert at the Berlin Musikfest last year, Hampson was hailed as “rock solid” by the Financial Times, and as “filling the room with an angelic aura” by Kultur Radio.

‘Barenboim's long association with, and love for, Elgar has effectively made it part of his musical DNA’ (Gramophone)

‘Barenboim made this a Gerontius of transcendental splendour’ (Financial Times concert review)

‘If anyone can make a case for Elgar outside Britain, and without special pleading, it's Daniel Barenboim, returning to conduct this British composer's works’ (New York Times)

 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Chamber Orchestra of Europe / RIAS Kammerchor MENDELSSOHN Symphonies 1 - 5

2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the European Reformation, started by Martin Luther in 1517. To honor this occasion, Deutsche Grammophon is releasing a new interpretation of the complete Mendelssohn symphonies, crowned by a recording of the Reformation Symphony No. 5.

The symphonies were recorded in February 2016 during a celebrated Mendelssohn festival over the course of two days at the Philharmonie de Paris - all under the baton of young, exciting conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Designate of the Metropolitan Opera New York.

This release is the first complete symphonic cycle to be recorded at the new Philharmonie de Paris, which opened in January 2015!

For this recording, Christopher Hogwood's editions of the symphonies were chosen because of their particular importance for the Reformation symphony:

Mendelssohn, the often self-critical (and self-revising!) composer, who "in the process of trying to reduce the work to a length suitable for its celebratory function, [he] cut out one entire movement preceding the Finale, a passage that expands on the flute cadenza and prepares the arrival of the chorale theme with more engaging musical drama". (Christopher Hogwood)

The original version of the work may now be listened to in its entirety!

This release underlines a strong ongoing collaboration with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe that already culminated in a successful release of the complete Schumann symphonies (March 2014) and the continuing Mozart Opera Cycle. Two instalments of the latter have been nominated for a Grammy: Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Entführung aus dem Serail. (Presto Classical)

Anne Sofie von Otter / Cord Garben / Berliner Philharmoniker / James Levine BERLIOZ Les Nuits d'été - Mélodies

Berlioz composed his song-cycle Les nuits d’été for mezzo-soprano; so it is curious that Anne Sofie von Otter should transpose four songs down, retaining the keys intended for contralto. She is at her best in ‘Le spectre de la rose’, although her marvellous capacity to spin lines while fully articulating the words and their meaning is apparent everywhere. Was the semitone transposition of ‘L’île inconnue’ really necessary? ‘Villanelle’, ‘Absence’, and ‘Au cimetière’ lie a third lower (as with Janet Baker), marring Berlioz’s expertly conceived orchestrations and making the Berlin Philharmonic plusher than ever. Levine is a sensitive Berliozian, but the sound is more dense than intense, the voice embedded in the texture: some might prefer it in higher relief. Five mélodies with piano are repeated from the recent multi-voiced DG Berlioz collection which I have already reviewed (see July 1994). Further hearing reminds me to praise Cord Garben’s idiomatic playing, particularly the birds in ‘Le matin’ and the storm in ‘La belle Isabeau’. The other songs are ‘La mort d’Ophélie’, ‘La captive’ and ‘La belle voyageuse’; a pity not to use Berlioz’s orchestrations of the latter pair. A small orchestra and chorus reappear for ‘Strophes’ from Roméo et Juliette, exquisitely placed. An odd collection, therefore, but infinitely worth it for the singing. (Julian Rushton / BBC Music Magazine))

TIGRAN MANSURIAN Requiem

Tigran Mansurian has created a Requiem dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide that occurred in Turkey from 1915 to 1917. It reconciles the sound and sensibility of his country’s traditions with the Latin Requiem text in a profoundly moving contemporary composition, illuminated by the “glow of Armenian modality,” as Paul Griffiths puts it in his booklet essay. The work is a milestone for Mansurian, widely acknowledged as Armenia’s greatest composer. The Los Angeles Times has described his music as that “in which deep cultural pain is quieted through an eerily calm, heart-wrenching beauty.”

This album is the sixth to appear in ECM’s documentation of Mansurian’s work, a series that began with the scene-setting Hayren: Music of Komitas And Tigran Mansurian in 2003. That initial recording featured Kim Kashkashian – American violist of Armenian descent and a longstanding ECM artist – in league with Mansurian and percussionist Robin Schulkowsky as they explored the sound world of the iconic Armenian spiritual figure, composer and musicologist Komitas, a key inspiration for Mansurian.

Tigran Mansurian was born in 1939 in Beirut to Armenian parents and first attended school at a French Catholic institution. His family returned in 1947 to their native country, eventually settling in Yerevan, the capital. He graduated from the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory and later taught the analysis of contemporary music there, along with composing art songs, choral pieces, chamber music, orchestral works, a ballet and film scores. He developed friendly relationships with such performers as Natalya Gutman and Oleg Kagan, as well as fellow composers Edison Denisov, Alfred Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina and Arvo Pärt. In the early 1990s Mansurian took on the directorship of the Yerevan Conservatory, withdrawing in recent years to concentrate exclusively on composition. (ECM Records)

 

René Jacobs / Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Matthäus-Passion

"For the love of Bach and the glory of God," René Jacobs states in a sleevenote for his recording of the St Matthew Passion. A performance of overwhelming sincerity, it's not without controversy. Jacobs argues that at the first performance in Leipzig's Thomaskirche, the two groups of musicians were placed, not side by side as originally thought, but at opposite ends of the building, and that the second group was smaller than the first. The recording itself accordingly aims to approximate the spatial sound as it might have been heard by someone sitting near the front of the church. Not everyone will care for it, and some might also be surprised its sensuous immediacy and by Jacobs's ornate way with the recitatives. But the mix of drama and meditation is breathtakingly sustained and the choral singing astonishing in its beauty. Werner Güra is the impassioned Evangelist, Johannes Weisser the noble, charismatic Jesus. The classy lineup for the arias includes Bernarda Fink, Topi Lehtipuu and Konstantin Wolff, all at their absolute best. (Tim Ashley / The Guardian)

Among the finest early music conductors, René Jacobs has recorded many of the great choral works and operas of the Baroque and Classical eras, almost exclusively for Harmonia Mundi. Yet he has waited decades to record J.S. Bach's towering masterpiece, the St. Matthew Passion, despite having studied and performed it many times throughout his career, first as a boy soprano, then years later as a countertenor and conductor. Fortunately, this 2013 release is well worth the wait, and Jacobs has produced a magnificent multichannel version that is a treasure for audiophiles and connoisseurs of this hallowed work. The large box set houses two SACDs and a DVD, along with a thick booklet, so the St. Matthew Passion is given a thorough presentation, and the recording offers clear instrumental details, rich choral textures, and full presence for the soloists. The RIAS Kammerchor and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin deliver majestic performances of the choruses in authentic period style, and tenor Werner Güra as the Evangelist and bass Johannes Weisser as Jesus are well-matched in their fluid vocal quality and intense dramatic feeling. But the whole feels much greater than the sum of its parts, and the experience of hearing this extraordinary performance is overwhelming, both intellectually and emotionally. This set is highly recommended as one of the best recordings of 2013. (Blair Sanderson)