GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Ricciardo e Zoraide (complete opera) Alessandra Marianelli, Silvia Beltrami, Maxim Mironov, Randall Bills / Camerata Bach Choir, Poznań, Virtuosi Brunensis, José Miguel Pérez-Sierra [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/2018 ] "High standards of florid singing allow this performance to take flight and remain in the air: in fact..it's a vocal feast. Conductor José Miguel Pérez- Sierra shows considerable expertise" Opera, June 2018 |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Complete Piano Music Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age) Alessandro Marangoni (piano), with Giuseppina Bridelli (mezzo-soprano), Ars Cantica Choir & others [ Naxos / 13 CD Box Set - released 26/Nov/2021 ] Rossini drew a line under his hugely successful operatic career at the age of 37 and wrote little until his final years in Paris, where he became renowned for his musical salons. For these he wrote numerous short piano pieces. |
ELIZABETH POSTON
Poston: Carols and Anthems Alexandra McPhee (soprano) Nina Vinther (mezzo) Ciaran Yeo (bass), etc / St Albans Cathedral Girls Choir, Lay Clerks of St Albans Cathedral [ Naxos / CD - released 24/Nov/2023 ] Elizabeth Poston's long and distinguished career included significant work for the BBC during the Second World War, where she performed as a respected pianist and later composed scores for numerous radio and television productions. Describing herself... |
SIMON MAYR
Mayr: Samuele Andrea Lauren Brown, Susanne Bernhard, Rainer Trost, Jens Hamann / Simon Mayr Choir & Ingolstadt Georgian Chamber Orchestra, Franz Hauk [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 10/Jul/2012 ] Mayr set his oratorio to the Poesia of one of his pupils, Bartolomeo Merelli, the collaboration resulting in a fascinating work which combines theology with dramatic innovation such as the use of 'melodrama' or spoken text. |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Jahreszeiten, Die (The Seasons) Andreas Karasiak (Tenor), Stephan MacLeod (Bass), Sibylla Rubens (Soprano), Gewandhaus Chamber Choir, Leipzig Chamber Orchestra, Morten Schuldt-Jensen [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 12/Apr/2006 ] Joseph Haydn was born in the village of Rohrau in 1732, the son of a wheelwright. Trained at the choir-school of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, he subsequently spent some years earning a living as best he could from teaching and playing the violin... |
ALEXANDER BORODIN
Borodin: Prince Igor (Highlights) / In the Steppes of Central Asia Angelina Shvachka (mezzo-soprano) Dmytro Popov (tenor) Mykola Koval (baritone) Taras Shtonda (bass) / Kiev Chamber Choir / Theodore Kuchar [ Naxos / CD - released 19/Sep/2005 ] "With such excellent performances in clear, well-balanced sound, full texts of the vocal numbers and a handy plot synopsis, this disc is a bargain. Get to know Borodin a bit better" (MusicWeb Oct 2005) |
SPYRIDON SAMARAS
Samaras: Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle (Complete opera) Angelo Simos, Tassis Christoyannis, Pavlos Maropoulos, Pantelis Kontos / Kaval Choir of Sofia, Pazardzhik Symphony, Byron Fidetzis [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 11/Jun/2021 ] Remembered today for the Olympic Anthem, Spyridon Samaras was the most distinguished Greek composer of his day and the first to gain international recognition. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Ciro in Babilonia (complete opera) Anna Rita Gemmabella / Islam-Ali-Zade / Riccardo Botta / ARS Brunensis Chamber Choir / Wurttemberg Philharmonic Orchestra / Antonino Fogliani [ Naxos Opera / 2 CD - released 4/Mar/2007 ] Rossini's Ciro in Babilonia is a bold fusion of biblical and secular subjects set to brilliant, thrilling music. Although intended to be staged during Lent, Ciro includes all the time-honoured ingredients of serious opera such as the test of love,... |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Torvaldo e Dorliska (complete opera) Anna Rita Gemmabella, Huw Rhys-Evans, Paola Cigna / ARS Brunensis Chamber Choir / Czech Chamber Soloists / Alessandro de Marchi [ Naxos Opera / 2 CD - released 14/Sep/2006 ] Torvaldo e Dorliska belongs to the category, stemming from France, of rescue opera, so called from the basic pattern of plot that is common to these pieces, among them Rossini's La gazza ladra as well as Beethoven's Fidelio. |
GEORGE DYSON
Dyson: Choral Symphony ' St paul's Voyage to Melita The Bach Choir / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill [ Naxos / CD - released 5/Jun/2017 ] "Karabtchevsky and his Sao Paulo forces drive through the thick and teeming turmoil with panache. But they also cherish the tender and thinner moments when Villa Lobos's pulse slackens and lyricism peeks through" BBC Music |
Bach Choir/Southern Sinf/Hill
Rütti: Requiem [ Naxos / CD - released 5/Oct/2009 ] Carl Rütti's choral music is "sensuous and exuberant by turns, combining dazzling rhythms and soaring melodies with distinctively lush harmonies" Choir & Organ magazine Of his Requiem, immense in scale yet often intimate in tone, the composer... |
JOHANN SIMON MAYR
Mayr: Innalzamento al trono del giovane re Gioas (Oratorio) Cornel Frey, Andrea Lauren Brown, Andreas Burkhart, Robert Sellier / Bavarian State Opera Chorus, Simon Mayr Choir, Simon Mayr Ensemble, Franz Hauk [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 3/Sep/2012 ] "American soprano Andrea Lauren Brown is brilliant and expressive in the fiery role of Sebia, which is enhanced in the oratorio with arias originally intended for other roles in I Misteri." Opera News |
SAMUEL BARBER
Barber: Choral Music (Incl. Agnus Dei, vocal arr. for Adagio for Strings) Ben Dickson / Deborah Kayser / Grantley McDonald / Len Vorster / Ormond College Choir / Douglas Lawrence (Conductor) [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 14/Sep/2006 ] "Barber's growing band of supporters will relish this well sung Naxos release which is certainly worth exploring" (MusicWeb Nov 2006) |
HERBERT HOWELLS
Howells: Stabat Mater / Sine Nomine, Op. 37 / Te Deum Benjamin Hulett (tenor) Alison Hill (soprano) / The Bach Choir & Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2014 ] "The Bach Choir has a palpable vibrancy in its range and layers of dynamics which are complemented by the extensive and highly sensitive palette of Howells's orchestra...and the incisive solo tenor role of Benjamin Hulett." Gramophone Editor's Choice |
Bratislava City Choir/Krechek
Handel:messiah Choruses [ Naxos / CD ] |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Rejoice in the Lamb / Te Deum in C / Jubilate Deo / Antiphon / etc Choir of St John's College, Cambridge / Christopher Robinson [ Naxos English Choral Music / CD - released 30/May/2009 ] "This disc will make an excellent introduction to Britten's choral music-and will satisfy Britten aficionados who just can't resist adding another top drawer compilation to their collection." - Classics Today |
CHRISTOPHER MOHR
Mohr: From The Realm Of The Shadow - A music drama in three acts Soloists / Ukraine National Symphony Choir & Orchestra [ Naxos American Classics / 2 CD - released 7/Feb/2001 ] "Mohr draws on a variety of styles for his musical collage: neo-baroque, soft-rock, new age, and something I'll call ear-papering-the kind of quasi-classical stuff you hear at Olympic events or Cirque du Soleil" ClassicsToday |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Part-Songs Cambridge University Chamber Choir / Christopher Robinson / with Iain Farrington (piano) [ Naxos English Choral Music / CD - released 10/Apr/2008 ] "Highly recommended!" (ClassicsToday.com 9/9 April 2008) |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Semiramide (complete opera) Alex Penda, Marianna Pizzolato, Lorenzo Regazzo, Andrea Mastroni / Poznan Camerata Bach Choir, Virtuosi Brunensis, Antonino Fogliani [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2013 ] "this new Semiramide rivals Pesaro standards thanks to Fogliani's ever-alert and lively conducting. His cast includes singers who challenge this long and wonderful opera's most famous interpreters on disc...this is an unmissable bargain." (Sunday Ti |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Le Siege De Corinthe (complete opera) Lorenzo Regazzo, Majella Cullagh / Camerata Bach Choir, Poznań & Virtuosi Brunensis, Jean-Luc Tingaud [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 3/Jun/2013 ] Rossini adapted his own Italian opera of 1820, Maometto, for the Parisian stage under the title of Le Siège de Corinthe. As Rossini's original work had already absorbed distinctive French characteristics such as heroic arias, and characterisation... |