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Vocal

A collection of 67 posts

Bach from countertenor Barnaby Smith

Bach from countertenor Barnaby Smith

This is a disc of undeniably great beauty

Heavenly Bach from Amanda Forsythe and Apollo’s Fire

Heavenly Bach from Amanda Forsythe and Apollo’s Fire

A stunning album - beautifully proportioned and utterly delightful

Padmore and Uchida perform Schubert’s “Schwanengesang”

Padmore and Uchida perform Schubert’s “Schwanengesang”

This is a glorious disc: Padmore and Uchida deliver a stunning Schwanengesamg

Brahms Complete Songs #3: Volkslieder & Volkskinderlieder

Brahms Complete Songs #3: Volkslieder & Volkskinderlieder

All in all, this is wonderful. The singers are superbly chosen, and perfect for this repertoire

Britten Solo Vocal Works: Les Illuminations, Serenade, Nocturne

Britten Solo Vocal Works: Les Illuminations, Serenade, Nocturne

A simply beautiful disc on all fronts

Mahler's Das Lied revisited

Mahler's Das Lied revisited

This more than deserves to be heard - it shines a light into the very core of Mahler's score

Freddie de Tommaso: Passione

Freddie de Tommaso: Passione

That de Tommaso can present an album which on the surface looks like pure entertainment but in reality offers an enriching musical experience is no mean feat

Battle Cry: She Speaks ... Helen Charlston and Toby Carr

Battle Cry: She Speaks ... Helen Charlston and Toby Carr

This is Classical Exporer's first “advance” review: this disc is actually released on May 27, 2022 (at which point this may be reposted if YouTube links becone available at that point). The point is though that the musicians here, Helen Charlston and Toby Carr, will give a concert performance related

Vivaldi's Stabat Mater on Erato: performance and film

Italian Baroque

Vivaldi's Stabat Mater on Erato: performance and film

I like the format - instead of a full 80-minute compact disc, the focus is on one piece of short duration but which, such is its power, needs no sonic bedfellows

The Music of Ondřej Adámek

The Music of Ondřej Adámek

Two highly significant World Premieres caught for posterity

Lalande's Grands Motets from Harmonia Mundi

Lalande's Grands Motets from Harmonia Mundi

This 80-minute disc surely represents a major stage in our admiration and understanding of Lalande

Rare Bassani: Affetti Canori

Italian Baroque

Rare Bassani: Affetti Canori

The young Cremonese soprano Anna Piroli is clearly a name to watch

Mirages: The Art of French Song, with Roderick Williams and Roger Vignoles

Mirages: The Art of French Song, with Roderick Williams and Roger Vignoles

This disc offers an ideal entry point into the world of French song: it's almost impossible to magine being in safer hands

More Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony

More Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony

Unmissable for all fans of Austro-Germanic late Romanticism

Legrenzi: Harmonia d'affetti devoti, Op. 3

Legrenzi: Harmonia d'affetti devoti, Op. 3

This is a near-faultless release ... a real jewel in Naxos' catalogue

Telemann Cantatas for the Hanoverian Kings of England

Telemann Cantatas for the Hanoverian Kings of England

A fascinating way to present some magnificently written Telemann cantatas

Concert Review: Mark Padmore and Jonathan Biss triumph in Schumann

Concert Review: Mark Padmore and Jonathan Biss triumph in Schumann

SchumannLiederkreis, Op. 24 Sechs Gedichte und Requiem, Op. 90 (1850) Dichterliebe, Op. 48 (full 20-song version of 1840) Milton Court, London 29.11.2021 Mark Padmore and Jonathan Biss make for a powerful pairing, and clearly bring out the best ion each other. There was none of the inconsistency of

Strange Wonders: The Wexford Carols, Volume 2

Strange Wonders: The Wexford Carols, Volume 2

A supremely beautiful Christmas disc; warming and different

Songs of Travel and Home

Songs of Travel and Home

A heartfelt, glorious disc of song, the programme imaginative, the performances radiant

Repost: I Am Hera: The delights of soprano Hera Hyesang Park

This singer, more than most, achieves a level of purity of utterance that is to be cherished

Brahms Liebeslieder-Walzer, and more

Brahms Liebeslieder-Walzer, and more

While the Liebeslieder functioned as a considerable financial success for Brahms, today they shine as jewels in Brahms' crown

Bach's Pergolesi Stabat Mater (!)

Bach's Pergolesi Stabat Mater (!)

This is a remarkable disc, thought-provoking, educational and brilliantly, flawlessly performed

Virtù e Amore: Music of Il secondo Barocco

Virtù e Amore: Music of Il secondo Barocco

Virtue and love: two vital aspects of Baroque thought and emotion

Élégie: Anita Rachvelishvili on ravishing form on Sony

Élégie: Anita Rachvelishvili on ravishing form on Sony

I was pretty much knocked out the one and only time I believe I have heard Anita Rachvelishvili: as the gypsy Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore at the Royal Opera Hosue, Covent Garden in 2016 [https://seenandheard-international.com/2016/12/farness-conducting-and-rachvelishvilis-azucena-make-this-revival-worthwhile/] . Here on Classical Explorer we also encountered her previously

Byrd 1588: Psaumes, Sonets & Songs of sadness and pietie

Byrd 1588: Psaumes, Sonets & Songs of sadness and pietie

As the first complete recording of the 1588 collection, these discs obviously have huge musicological value; they hold immense treasures, too