CLASSICAL New Release Harmonia Mundi UK

Home , Gerhard Stolze, Kobie van Rensburg, Lucien Durosoir, Sunhae Im

SEPTEMBER 2010 SEPTEMBER CLASSICAL new release harmonia mundi UK

AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 13

ACTES SUD, aeon, alia vox, alpha, ambronay, APARTE, arcana, arte verum, audite, bel air classiques, calliope, CSO resound, DEJA-VU, delphian, fraprod, fuga libera, glossa, harmonia mundi, hat[now]art, HYPHEN PRESS MUSIC, K617, KML, LSO Live, mariinsky, mirare, mode, nascor, opal, opella nova, orfeo, PAN CLASSICS, paradizo, pearl, PHIL.HARMONIE, praga digitals, radio france, RAM, RCOC, RCO Live, ricercar, SFZ music, signum classics, stradivarius, unicorn kanchana, walhall eternity, wergo, WIGMORE HALL LIVE, winter & winter, ysaye available 23rd August 2010 last orders 13th August

hmc902053/55 Beethoven Piano Concertos / Paul Lewis BBC SO Belohlavek

DCD34085 Mr mc Fall's Chamber Birds & Beasts

CLASSIC FM EDITOR'S CHOICE WHL0036 Beethoven Sonatas Vol. 1 Aline Ibragimova, Cedric Tiberghien

CLASSIC FM EDITOR'S CHOICE HMU907519 Schubert Die schöne Müllerin Mark Padmore, Paul Lewis Coming soon: the new album from Stile Antico

International Record Review GCD922206 Debussy Music for the Prix de Rome /Hervé Niquet HMC902068/70 Barcode: 0794881 966721 priority release 3 CDS for 2 314pp booklet with essay by René Jacobs available September 13 and full libretto Fr, Ger, Eng Included : special leaflet about Mozart by Jacobs W.A. MOZART The Magic Flute / Die Zauberflöte Tamino Daniel Behle, tenor Pamina Marlis Petersen, soprano Papageno Daniel Schmutzhard, baritone Papagena Sunhae Im, soprano Königin der Nacht Anna-Kristiina Kaappola, soprano Sarastro Marcos Fink, bass-baritone Monostatos Kurt Azesberger, tenor 1st Lady Inga Kalna, soprano 2nd Lady Anna Grevelius, mezzo-soprano 3rd Lady Isabelle Druet, mezzo-soprano Speaker Konstantin Wolff, bass- baritone 2 Priests Joachim Buhrmann, Konstantin Wolff 2 Armed Men Magnus Staveland, Konstantin Wolff 3 Boys Alois Mühlbacher, Christoph Schlögl, Philipp Pötzlberger (Sankt-Florianer Sängerknaben) 3 Slaves René Möller, Clemens-Maria Nuszbaumer, Christian Koch RIAS Kammerchor, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin / René Jacobs (conductor)

We are proud to introduce our biggest priority release for the Autumn: Die Zauberflöte conducted by René Jacobs. This eagerly anticipated recording represents a major triumph for harmonia mundi and we will be giving it our full marketing support to ensure the album achieves the major success we believe it deserves. Here are some reminders of Jacobs’ achievements to date: from Gramophone Recording of the Year to the Grammy® Awards, Jacobs’ world-renowned Mozart opera recordings been celebrated by the most prestigious award organisations across the globe. A distinguished expert in the field, René Jacobs’ previous opera recordings have enjoyed a sales history of over 65,000 physical units per title. Die Zauberflöte will benefit from a diverse online marketing campaign, including a multi-lingual ‘magic flute discovery’ newsletter series and dedicated marketing blog reaching an audience of over 30,000 people. Enjoy one of the few full studio recordings made of such a popular opera in recent history. This recording represents the peak of René Jacobs’s Mozartian enterprise: after showing us an alternative way of looking at the Da Ponte trilogy and taking a profoundly innovative approach to the two great opere serie (Idomeneo and La clemenza di Tito), he has now sets out to harmonise and clarify the myriad viewpoints exposed in Die Zauberflöte, ranging far beyond its Masonic rituals and mixture of dramatic genres. As a result, Mozart’s most ‘nocturnal’ work is illuminated as if by . . . magic.

harmonia mundi UK released September 13 2010 For such an exciting project, we have planned a daring publicity campaign combining the following elements:

• samplers, featuring the best excerpts • a specific serialised blog in several installments, explaining the Zauberflöte scenario, accompanied by relevant audio excerpts. It will be short and designed for a large audience, with illustrations and new installments & notifications with excerpts via newsletter, in French and English through Au- gust & September • We also hope to do our first ever podcast in plain English for this release + explanations by René Jacobs himself • Special EPKs on line (teasers, interview wt René Jacobs) • POS support includes a double face Kakemono banner, dedicated triptych display, postcards • New René Jacobs discographies • Advertised in Gramophone, BBC & IRR René Jacobs conducts Mozart Opera http://www.harmoniamundi.com/pdf/Artist.php?lang=uk&id=54

“René Jacobs’s Mozart opera series [is] one of the recorded marvels of our time” James Jolly, Gramophone, February 2009

HMC902036/38 3cds HMC901818/20 3cds Recorded 2009 Recorded 2004 Idomeneo, re di Creta Le nozze di Figaro Richard Croft, Bernarda Fink, Sunhae Im, Véronique Gens, Patrizia Ciofi, Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Angelika Kirchschlager, Lorenzo Regazzo, HMC901923/24 2cds Kenneth Tarver, Nicolas Rivenq, Simon Keenlyside, Antonio Abete, Recorded 2006 Luca Tittoto, Kobie van Rensburg, Nuria Rial, La clemenza di Tito RIAS Kammerchor, Marie McLaughlin, Elisabeth Rapp, Mark Padmore, Freiburger Barockorchester Yeree Suh, Collegium Vocale Gent, Alexandrina Pendatchanska Gramophone Editor’s Choice Concerto Köln Bernarda Fink, Marie-Claude Chappuis GRAMOPHONE RECORD OF THE YEAR Sunhae Im, Sergio Foresti, HMC901964/66 3cds 2004 RIAS Kammerchor Recorded 2007 Freiburger Barockorchester HMC901663/65 3cds Don Giovanni Top Choice, Building a Library, Johannes Weisser, Lorenzo Regazzo Recorded 1999 BBC Radio 3 Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Così fan tutte Olga Pasichnyk, Kenneth Tarver, Bernarda Fink, Véronique Gens, Werner Sunhae Im, Nikolay Borchev, Güra, Marcel Boone, Pietro Spagnoli, Alessandro Guerzoni, RIAS Kammerchor Graciela Oddone, Concerto Köln Freiburger Barockorchester BBC Music Magazine’s Best CDs of 1999 Gramophone Recording of the Month Classic FM Magazine Disc of the Month

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 HMC902050 Barcode: 0 794881966820 NORMAL PRICE CD

ROBERT SCHUMANN Spanische Liebeslieder Op.138 Minnespiel Op.101, Spanisches Liederspiel Op.74 Marlis Petersen (soprano); Anke Vondung (mezzo soprano); Werner Güra (tenor); Konrad Jarnot (baritone); Christoph Berner, Camillo Radicke (pianos)

The year 1849 was one of Schumann's most prolific. The inspiration for his Opp.74 and 138 was an anthology of Spanish texts translated by Emanuel Geibel. These short love poems were ideal material for music in the tangy ‘Spanish' style tinged with the colours of central Europe. Considerably more intimate, the Minnespiel Op.101 takes us from storybook Spain to German Romanticism.

ALSO AVAILABLE: HMC901945 BRAHMS Liebeslieder-Walzer Op.52 & 65, Drei Lieder Op.64 Marlis Petersen, Stella Doufexis, Werner Güra, Konrad Jarnot Christoph Berner, Camillo Radicke

“Topped by Marlis Petersen's crystalline soprano, the beautifully balanced vocal quartet sings with charm, tenderness and a piquant sense of drama. A word, too, for the guileful, spirited accompaniments from duetting pianists Berner and Radicke.” Richard Wigmore, The Daily Telegraph, 6 October 2007

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 HMC902067 Barcode: 0794881 966929 NORMAL PRICE CD STRING QUARTETS: RAVEL, DEBUSSY, DUTILLEUX DEBUSSY String Quartet Op.10 in G minor, DUTILLEUX Ainsi la nuit, RAVEL String Quartet in F major Arcanto Quartet: Antje Weithaas (violin); Daniel Sepec (violin); Tabea Zimmermann (viola); Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)

Antje Weithaas, Daniel Sepec, Tabea Zimmermann and Jean-Guihen Queyras founded the Arcanto Quartet in 2002. The four musicians, who in addition to their musical affinities share a close personal friendship, quickly conquered the world of chamber music and have played all the major European venues. The 2009/10 season started with a tour of Japan in September, followed by a residency at the Wigmore Hall, where the quartet invited Jörg Widmann, Silke Avenhaus and Olivier Marron for several concerts. This autumn, the Arcantos will visit North America. For their third CD for harmonia mundi they perform three French String Quartets, all by composers who wrote little chamber music. Debussy and Ravel composed their only string quartet at the start of their careers, whereas Dutilleux wrote Ainsi la nuit shortly before his 60th birthday. Debussy’s quartet, dedicated to the Ysaÿe Quartet, is his only work to possess an opus number. Written in 1892-3, it comprises the standard four movements and adopts sonata form in the two outer movements. The String Quartet of Ravel was composed in 1902-03 and premiered by the Heyman Quartet on 5 March 1904. It possesses undeniable signs of kinship with the Debussy work: it conforms to the cyclic principle, and begins and ends with a sonata form movement; its scherzo is similarly characterised by crackling pizzicatos which stylise the sound of the guitar and give the movement a Spanish colour; as with Debussy, the strings play with mutes in the first and last sections of the slow movement. The works of Dutilleux are rare and matured at length. Commissioned by the Serge Koussevitzky Foundation, Ainsi la nuit occupied the composer from 1971 to 1976. Dedicated ‘to the memory of Ernest Sussman [an American art-lover and friend of the composer] and in homage to Olga Koussevitzky’, it was premièred by the Parrenin Quartet at the Théâtre de l’Est Parisien on 6 January 1977.

ALSO AVAILABLE: HMC901963 Bartok String Quartets Nos.5 & 6 “No doubt about it, this is one of the most impressive, the most human accounts of Bartók Five I’ve heard in a long while, up there with the Takács, the Végh’s and the Juilliards. I know we’re particularly well off for Bartók quartets on CD, but not so well off that interpretation of this calibre isn’t also welcome.” Rob Cowan, Gramophone Editor’s Choice August 2007

HMC902000 Brahms String Quartet Op.51 No.1, Piano Quintet Op.34 The Arcanto Quartet, who are based in Germany, play it superbly. I like the allegretto slower, but their passionate performance quite reconciled me to their tempo. The quintet, with the excellent pianist Silke Avenhaus, is equally fine.”The Sunday Times

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 RCO10003 Barcode: 5425008377001 NORMAL PRICE HYBRID SACD HORIZON 3 RECORDINGS FROM THE 2008-2009 SEASON Michel van der AA Spaces of Blank (2007-08)* Song cycle in 3 movts for mezzo soprano, orchestra & soundtrack on poems by Emily Dickinson, Rozalie Hirs & Anne Carson Christianne Stotijn (mezzo soprano); Ed Spanjaard (conductor); Otto KETTING Trajecten (2008) * Markus Stenz (conductor); Tristan KEURIS Antologia (1990-91); Sofia GUBAIDULINA Der Reiter auf dem weißen Pferd (2002); Mayke NAS No reason to panic (2007) David Robertson (conductor); Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Ed Spanjaard, Markus Stenz, David Robertson (conductors) Recorded Live at Concertgebouw Amsterdam on 19, 20 March 2009 (Van der Aa); 22, 23 January 2009 (Ketting); 10, 11 October 2008 (Keuris, Gubaydulina, Nas) *WORLD PREMIERE With this third release in the Horizon series, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra once again underlines the importance it attaches in its concert programming to performances of contemporary music. The compositions featured on this CD represent a selection of recordings of contemporary works which the orchestra premiered in its 2008–9 season (some of which were commissioned by the orchestra) or of which few or no quality recordings are available. Two Dutch composers of the latest generation (Nas and van der Aa) are brought together here with two members of the older guard (Ketting and Keuris). Sofia Gubaidulina, for her part, represents the international contingent on this CD. In its performance of these works, the orchestra was led by conductors Ed Spanjaard, Markus Stenz and David Robertson. The CD also features soloist mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn, to whom van der Aa dedicated his song cycle.

ALSO AVAILABLE: RCO08003 Horizon 1 Premieres 2007 “Markus Stenz is a natural interpreter of these pieces, and I hope that Horizon 1 will have numerous successors.” Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone, November 2008 RCO09003 Horizon 2 A Tribute to Oliver Messiaen “The highlight of the disc, though is Benjamin's coruscating account of what is arguably Messiaen's greatest orchestral work, Chronochromie. Its kaleidoscopes of colours and cascades of birdsong are projected with wonderful vehemence by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.” Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 22 January 2010 “masterly performances…A rewarding programme in superb surround-sound” Christopher Dingle, BBC Music Magazine, February 2010

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 C809113R Barcode: 4011790 809526 13 superbudget CDs WAGNER - Der Ring des Nibelungen Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele / Clemens Krauss 1953 Clemens Krauss appeared for only one year at the Bayreuth Festival, yet he had conducted several Richard Strauss premières and held the reins, at the peak of his career, of both the Bavarian and Vienna State Operas as well as the Salzburg Festival. Krauss’ first Ring should have been the beginning of a magnificent era, that it was not, was due to his tragic death in Mexico in the spring of 1954 during a concert tour. Krauss’ work with the Festival’s Sängerensemble gave a much-needed shake-up, with new blood in certain important roles. Hence Wolfgang Windgassen, having debuted at the Festival as Parsifal and as Froh, sang both Siegfried instalments in 1953, rising to peak form in the third act of Götterdämmerung, making the role his own. Gerhard Stolze, powerful of tone and clear of articulation, was to follow similar heroic paths. As Mime, Paul Kuën was sought-after from Munich to the Met as well as in Bayreuth, where with playful facility he found the path through Hans Knappertsbusch’s epic breadth, Joseph Keilberth’s chamber-opera transparency and Krauss’ thrusting impulsiveness alike. The same goes for Gustav Neidlinger as Alberich: a monolithic vocal presence and expressive power virtually beyond equal. As his stage progeny Hagen, Josef Greindl was setting his own personal crown on a Festival season where his contribution as König Heinrich in the opening night’s Lohengrin was as instrumental as his Fafner and Hunding on the Ring’s earlier evenings. And, after a year’s warm-up, Hans Hotter too had become a genuine institution on the green hill. Ira Malaniuk, with her mellifluous mezzo-soprano had become firmly established at Bayreuth after deputising as Fricka a year earlier. Few would have guessed in 1953 that she would be followed as Fricka by Regina Resnik, at the time still very much a soprano, albeit with a naturally sensual and dark vocal colour. Erstwhile baritone Ramón Vinay was garnering acclaim as both Parsifal and Siegmund, having triumphed as Tristan the previous year. Astrid Varnay was one of his two partners that summer, en passant as Ortrud and Brünnhilde, making her mark at last as the most flexible dramatic soprano of her generation. Here was a real ensemble at work, as attested by the total commitment of such artistes as Ludwig Weber, Hermann Uhde - luxury casting as Donner and Gunther - Erich Witte's nimble Loge, Natalie Hinsch-Gröndahl's Gutrune or Rita Streich's vivacious Woodbird. The sound balance pleased Krauss from the off as it emanated from the concealed orchestra pit - as it at last does now, unoccluded, transferred to CD from the original tapes, - although his taut tempi and nuances, here filigree-painted, there crushingly-accented, at times come at the cost of fine co-ordination with the stage. This, however, enhances the vitality of the live recording and it remains eminently regrettable, in the context of ‘Werkstatt Bayreuth’, that Krauss only had the summer of 1953 to shape his sound-vision of Wagner's music dramas in the ‘sacred place’. “this classic complete Ring recording now returns triumphantly… This recording caused a commotion when it came out in 1953 due to its palpable excitement in comparison to the relative sedateness of previous recorded performances...Overall, it is arguably the greatest cast assembled for Der Ring at Bayreuth in the last 60 years. Although the great bass-baritone Hans Hotter sang Wotan in the Solti Ring years later, here his voice is in far better condition. Wolfgang Windgassen as Siegfried is also much more youthful. Astrid Varnay was one of the outstanding Brünnhildes of all time, and the other singers are equally fine. ..absolutely essential to the serious opera lover, especially the Wagner fan and Ring aficionado! ”Amazon, editorial

Wotan/Wanderer: Hans Hotter Freia/Ortlinde: Bruni Falcon Gerhilde: Brünnhild Friedland Donner/Gunther: Hermann Uhde Erda/Schwertleite/1. Norn: Waltraute: Lise Sorrell Froh: Gerhard Stolze Maria von Ilosvay Helmwige: Liselotte Thomamüller Loge: Erich Witte Woglinde: Erika Zimmermann Grimgerde: Sibylla Plate Fasolt: Ludwig Weber Wellgunde: Hetty Plümacher Rossweisse: Erika Schubert Fafner/Hunding/Hagen: Josef Greindl Flosshilde/Siegrune Gisela Litz Siegfried: Wolfgang Windgassen Alberich: Gustav Neidlinger Siegmund: Ramón Vinay Waldvogel: Rita Streich Mime: Paul Kuën Sieglinde/3. Norn: Regina Resnik Gutrune: Natalie Hinsch-Gröndahl Fricka/Waltraute: Ira Malaniuk Brünnhilde: Astrid Varnay

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 AUDITE23416 Barcode: 4022143234162 2 SACDS DIGIPACK

KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD SINGS WAGNER & STRAUSS WAGNER Wesendonck-Lieder, Tristan and Isolde Prelude to Act I, Isolde’s Narrative and Curse, Isolde’s Lament and Liebestod; Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde‘s Immolation Scene; STRAUSS Four Last Songs (Nos. 2 - 4), Elektra’s Monologue Kirsten Flagstad (soprano); Orchestra of the Städtische Oper Berlin / Georges Sébastian (conductor) live recording Berlin 1952

These recordings were made on 9 and 11 May 1952 and document the latter part of Kirsten Flagstad’s career. They were made a few weeks before her 57th birthday, thus at a time when most sopranos will have been forced to move into ‘character fach’, the Norwegian soprano however, was still in almost full command of her incomparably rich voice, even after a demanding career spanning over three decades. These recordings of two concerts given at the Berlin Titania-Palast, with the Orchestra of the Municipal Opera, are particularly noteworthy: on the one hand, the Wagner songs sound fresher and more present than in the recording made four years later under Knappertsbusch; on the other, the Berlin live-recording of the Strauss songs is technically far superior to the recording made in London. In May 1950 Kirsten Flagstad had given the first performance of the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss, at the request of the composer. A tribute to her unique status was also the multitude of her concert engagements: During the course of her career, she sang more than 80 roles in around 2100 performances and also gave approximately 250 concerts with orchestra and 600 recitals.

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 STR33855 Barcode: 8011570 338556 NORMAL PRICE CD DIGIPACK Ottorino RESPIGHI La sensitiva, Liriche da camera Nebbie, Nevicata, Lagrime, Storia Breve, Invito alla danza, Miranda, Notturno, Luce Contrasto, Pietà ti prenda, mio Dio (J. S. Bach/Respighi), La sensitiva Sara Mingardo (contralto); Aldo Orvieto (piano); Carlo Lazari (violin)

Sara Mingardo is that rare bird, the true contralto, and has just won the prestigious Premio Abbiati 2010 as best Italian singer. Here she interprets works by Respighi that date from 1869 and 1914, and as such are often underestimated by critics and audiences, as pieces that anticipate Respighi’s successful creative period. The first nine pieces are very short, with lyrics by Ada Negri and Carlo Zangarini. In addition, ‘Pietà ti prenda, mio Dio’, is a transcription for voice, violin and piano from St Matthew Passion, a paraphrase of Psalm 51. Sara Mingardo, studied in her hometown Venice at the Academy Benedetto Marcello and first came to prominence by winning the Giulietta Simionato Prize at the 23rd Vienna Competition and the first prize at the Competition Toti dal Monte in 1987. Today Sara is an established figure in concert halls and opera hous- es in repertoire from Vivaldi to Britten. Her recent appearances at Covent Garden in Tamerlano, production by Graham Vick, marked her debut with The Royal Opera. She has already performed in the Royal Albert and Wigmore Halls and has established a relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra, appearing on their recordings of Messiah, Beethoven Mass in C, The Trojans and Beatrice & Bene- dict.

“Sara Mingardo is a shining exception, and the Venetian demonstrates with every performance the contralto beauties that the musical world is missing. Her voice is velvety smooth and beguilingly sensual, and she has a technique capable of tackling the most florid Baroque arias with grace.” The Times

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 FUG570 Barcode: 5 400439 005709 NORMAL PRICE CD

A VOI RITORNO Francesco DURANTE Concerto per archi e continuo in E minor; Leonardo LEO Cantata: Vado dal Piano al Monte, Sinfonia Concertata di violoncello con violini, Concerto a quattro violini e continuo in D; Antonio PORPORA Cantata: Il Ritiro Raffaella Milanesi (soprano); Insieme Strumentale di Roma / Giorgio Sasso

The Insieme Strumentale di Roma of Giorgio Sasso is one of the most elegant and refined among the early music Italian ensembles. Lauded by the international critics (Diapason, BBC Music Magazine, Goldberg…), its notoriety deserves to pread further, which is why Fuga Libera is happy to welcome the ensemble to its catalogue, after several beautiful productions published by Stradivarius. For this new beginning, the marvellous Raffaella Milanesi is invited to take part in the adventure. Her recent appearances in leading roles under the direction of Christophe Rousset, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alessandro de Marchi or Marc Minkowski have seduced all fans of beautiful voices. We are also invited to participate in a passionate exploration of the Neapolitan repertoire of the mid-18th century, notably with two splendid cantatas from Leo and Porpora, presented in a world première recording.

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 910171-2 WINTER & WINTER Barcode: 025091017126 NORMAL PRICE CD Uri CAINE Twelve Caprices Uri Caine (piano); Arditti String Quartet: Irvine Arditti, Ashot Sarkissjan, Ralf Ehlers, Lucas Fels Digital Recording at WDR Kleiner Sendesaal, Funkhaus, Köln, Germany, June 22-24, 2009 and January 4, 2010

Grammy-nominated artist Uri Caine is best known for his funky adaptations of classical music and also his outstanding jazz. Winter &Winter presents in cooperation with WDR Cologne a new work composed by Uri Caine for string quartet and piano improvisations. These Twelve Caprices by Uri Caine are musically tailor-made for Irvine Arditti and his quartet, one of the most advanced groups in the classical music world of our time. Uri and the Ardittis developed a natural musical rapport after playing together for the first time, combining improvisation and new music.

“The Arditti are a national treasure, the best in the world at what they do….” The Guardian, April 2001, Andrew Clements

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 SIGCD212 Barcode: 635212021224 NORMAL PRICE CD Alexander LEVINE Prayers for Mankind: A Symphony of Prayers of Father Alexander Men Tenebrae / Nigel Short (conductor) Prayers for Mankind celebrates the life and writings of Father Alexander Men, a Russian Orthodox Christian priest who, whilst being little known outside of his home country during his lifetime, has come to be hailed as a saint and martyr by thousands all over the world. 2010 marks the anniversary of what would have been his 85th Birthday, as well as 20 years since his brutal assassination on the way to a Sunday morning service. Following years of religious suppression under the communist regime, Father Alexander Men emerged as a leading Christian and humanitarian figure in Russia, through radio and TV broadcasts and his prolific written works. During Gorbachev's perestroika reforms, Fr Alexander became almost overnight the public authority on the Christian faith. He was constantly on the radio and TV. Most significantly, perhaps, he breached a physical barrier, becoming a frequent lecturer on official Soviet premises. As well as serving in his parish, during the last year of his life he gave over two hundred lectures. On the morning of 9 September 1990 he was on his way to Novaya Derevnya when a blow from behind struck him down. The police hinted that the culprit was a fanatical Jew; another rumour claimed it was a fanatical Christian. There is no shred of evidence for either but it seems more likely to have been an act of revenge by a fanatic from the Communist Party. After all, the victim had helped put Christianity back centre stage following over 70 years of anti-religious activity by the state. These prayers, set by Russian composer Alexander Levine, capture the beauty and humanity of Men’s view of the world and are brought vividly to life by Nigel Short’s professional chamber choir Tenebrae.

ALSO AVAILABLE: SIGCD197 Figure Humaine “they seem to have an extra gear, a kind of choral over-drive that allows them to soar almost serenely over corners that have some of the finest vocal ensembles showing the strain.” BBC Radio 3, CD Review, Andrew McGregor, May 2010

“pristine performances” Financial Times, June 2010 http://www.alexandermen.com

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 SIGCD210 Barcode: 635212021026 NORMAL PRICE CD DIALOGUES OF SORROW: Passions on the death of Prince Henry (1612) Robert RAMSEY When David Heard, What Tears, dear Prince? How are the Mighty Fall’n, Sleep Fleshly Birth; FORD / CRANFORD / WARD Passions on the Death of Prince Henry; COPRARIO From Songs of Mourning; WEELKES O Jonathan, Woe is me, When David Heard; DERING And the King was Moved, Contristatus est David; VAUTOR Melpomene, Bewail; TOMKINS Then David Mourned, When David Heard; WARD Weep Forth your Tears Elizabeth Kenny (lute); Gallicantus / Gabriel Crouch

In 1612, Prince Henry Frederick, son of James I and heir to the thrones of England and Scotland, died from a suspected bout of typhoid fever. His untimely death inspired a massive outpouring of artistic tributes in both verse and music, reflecting the mood of a nation mourning the loss of this popular future king at just 18 years of age. This is the second disc from early music consort group Gallicantus, joined by lutenist Elizabeth Kenny to perform works of the early 17th Century by a variety of composers. Their performances reflect the precision of Tenebrae, combined with a passion and commitment to crafting exemplary interpretations of the music they love. ALSO AVAILABLE: SIGCD134 Sacred Music by Robert White “What an outstanding disc … never once is there a loss of clarity, a hint of muddiness.” Gramophone

SIGCD209 Barcode: 635212020920 2 CDs for 1.5 £13.47 J.S. BACH St John Passion, BWV 245 Charles Daniels (Evangelist); Stephen Varcoe (Christus); Stephan Loges (Pilatus) Yorkshire Baroque Soloists / Peter Seymour (director) Bach’s ‘Passions’ have been said to employ the word with more than one meaning – as well as telling the story of Christ’s sacrifice, they are simultaneously a celebration of human feeling in the joy and suffering of man’s pilgrimage on earth. The expert early music chamber orchestra Yorkshire Baroque Soloists bring all of these feelings to life in a dramatic and resonant performance of Bach’s Passio Secundum Johannem. Joined for this recording by the excellent Charles Daniels, Stephen Varcoe and Stephan Loges, the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists have been a leading light in the world of Early Music performance since their formation in 1973.

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 SIGCD203 Barcode: 635212020326 NORMAL PRICE CD John METCALF Paths of Song Septet, Llwybrau Cân (Paths of Song), Castell Dolbadarn, Mapping Wales Eleanor Turner (harp); Nicola Thomas (cello); David Campbell (clarinet); Philippa Davies (flute); The Solstice Quartet; The Sacconi Quartet

Paths of Song is a new collection of works by leading Welsh contemporary composer John Metcalf. They explore a variety of engaging themes and ideas, with the works 'Paths of Song' and 'Mapping Wales' based on concepts of travel and journey in and around the composer’s homeland. As well as contributions from a number of talented performers and ensembles, these works feature key role for harpist Eleanor Turner (soloist and member of 4 girls 4 harps), who provides some truly standout performances. This is Signum’s second release with composer John Metcalf – following 2007’s In Time of Daffodils with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (SIGCD103):

"I have to concede it's difficult not to be charmed ... The strength of Metcalf's score lies in its horse-sure sense of shaping over an extended, one-movement span and his creative handling of the orchestra” Gramophone

“The music, as in the other works of Metcalf, is often warmly melodic and lyrical as well as strongly expressive” MusicWeb International

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 SIGCD208 Barcode: 635212020821 2 CDs for 1.5 Michael BERKELEY For You Libretto by Ian McEwan Alan Opie (baritone); Christopher Lemmings (tenor); Rachel Nicholls (soprano); Helen Williams (soprano); Jeremy Huw Williams (baritone); Allison Cook (mezzo soprano); Music Theatre Wales / Michael Rafferty (conductor)

For You is a new opera that brings together the music of composer and BBC Radio 3 presenter Michael Berkeley and Booker-prize winning author Ian McEwan. This gripping tale of love, lust and obsession centers on the composer and prodigious womaniser Charles Frieth (Alan Opie), and the tragic consequences that his selfish actions cause him and those around. Although essentially dark, there are moments of irony, wit and humour throughout the opera. Soaring vocal lines, intricate ensemble piece, and imaginative instrumental writing make this an electrifying work.

Live Reviews “For You is a dark opera worth waiting for” Evening Standard

“… a dazzling and taut chamber piece which gives passionate way to Bergian lyricism while referencing both Britten and Richard Strauss in its airy, word-driven vocal lines.” The Independent

“This is pithy, witty stuff: McEwan skewers these characters to his blackly comic canvas in typically concise fashion. ... Berkeley’s palette—all fevered chromaticism, suspenseful ostinatos and fierce but eminently singable vocal lines—is a heady concoction.” The Times

“an absorbing and effective black comedy of rare narrative clarity, accompanied by some skilfully wrought music ... Berkeley’s score is confident, lively, and clever”Daily Telegraph

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 WER6719-2 Barcode: 4010 228 671926 2 full price CDS 92-page booklet in slipcase Libretto in German & English World Premiere Recording Aribert REIMANN Melusine Opera in four acts, Libretto by Claus H. Henneberg Marlene Mild (Melusine); Teresa Erbe (Pythia); Gabriele May (Madame Lapérouse); Richard Kindley (Max Oleander); Song-Hu Liu (Graf von Lusignan); Wieland Satter (Der Geometer); Dariusz Siedlik (Der Maurer); Sibrand Basa (Der Architekt); Thomas Fleischmann (Oger); Elisabeth Sommermann (Gast); Katrin Dieckelt (Gast); Bernardo Kim (Gast); Tim Stekkelies (Gast); Nürnberger Philharmoniker /Peter Hirsch (conductor) The story was created in 1920 by Yvan Groll on the occasion of his wife's mourning the closing of a nearby park. Quite fittingly, Reimann invoked the character of Melusine, a lyrical and nature-loving earth spirit, to fit naturally with this narrative. Melusine has the power to fight for the protection of nature. On the operatic stage, her weapons are virtuoso coloraturas, which she uses as lethally as slingshots. However, her mother – the fairy Pythia – has forbidden her to love. Melusine tries to protect her beloved environment from being rebuilt as a castle. Reimann has skillfully combined the ecological subject with the Melusine myth. Multiple layers of the story are interrupted by scenes of abuse. This shows the deadly side of men - harming each other and their environment. Considered one of the leading German-speaking opera composers Aribert Reimann's second opera was premiered at the Schwetzingen Festival in 1971.

ALSO AVAILABLE: WER6681-2 Reimann - Per Violoncello WER6614-2 Reimann - Das Schloss after Kafka WER60183-50 Reimann - Kinderlieder

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 BAC064 Barcode: 3 760115 300644 MID PRICE DVD 16:9, 1 DVD 5 NTSC 59 mins Subtitles Eng, Deutsch Region code 0 NTSC region free SIDI LARBI CHERKAOUI: DREAMS OF BABEL Directed by Don Kent

Cherkaoui was born in 1976 in Antwerp, Belgium, of a Moroccan father and Flemish mother. Belgium's bendiest choreographer went from vogueing his way to first place in a dance contest to mixing ballet, jazz and offbeat moves in shows the world over. Bel Air have made this documentary film about Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui who in 10 years has become a world-ranking choreographer whose work is presented everywhere. In four locations, China, India, Corsica and Antwerp, we discover one of the most prolific and appealing personalities of the contemporary dance scene. In the course of interviews in each of these sites, Cherkaoui reveals his passion for dance, his interest in spirituality, his homosexuality, his childhood, his family, etc. Babel and his most successful work, Sutra, designed by the sculptor and visual artist Antony Gormley, have recently been performed at Sadlers Wells.

An international reputation for his silky intermingling of hybrid movement forms an emotionally intense theatre." New York Times, 2009

"Part contortionist, part visionary, part poet." Alistair Spalding, director of Sadler's Wells theatre, Telegraph, 2007

"Cherkaoui's eye for the singularity of body language is so witty and sharp, that we still end up feeling as if we know a startling amount about these people and the noisy, disjointed world we all inhabit." Judith Mackrell on Rien de Rien, Guardian, 2001

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 EL1022 Barcode: 3 760107 400222 2 MID PRICE CDS HANDEL Israel in Egypt Julia Doyle (soprano); Martene Grimson (soprano 2); Robin Blaze (alto); James Oxley (tenor); Peter Harvey (Bass 1); Stephan MacLeod (bass 2); Arsys Bourgogne, Concerto Köln / Pierre Cao Live recording from Philharmonie Luxembourg, Théatre des Champs Elysées, Auditorium Dijon, October 2009

For more than two and a half centuries Israel in Egypt has remained an exceptional choral work. Of all the oratorios written by the composer, none, not even Messiah attains the variety and complexity of its choral and orchestral writing. Nowhere else except in his Dixit Dominus does Handel demand so much of the singers of the double chorus. The dramatic potential of the chorus is exploited down to the smallest detail through the use of scoring mostly for eight voices, thus accentuating the effects of mass and contrast. Every device in the choral arsenal is brought into play, including fugue and double fugue, recitative, arioso, homophonic declamation, and the figuralism (word-painting) is taken to the extreme. The two very classy choruses interpolate and the colourful orchestral accompaniment is of a power that is rare, enhanced by high calibre English-speaking soloists.

ALSO AVAILABLE: EL0916 Handel Dixit Dominus, Telemann Deus judicium tuum

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 GCD921805 Barcode: 8 424562 218055 2 NORMAL PRICE CDS Richard JONES Sets of Lessons for the Harpsichord, London, 1732 Mitzi Meyerson (harpsichord) Recorded in Berlin (Nikodemus Kirche), Germany, in March 2010

All we know about Richard Jones is that he was an accomplished violinist in London, who started leading the Drury Lane Orchestra in 1730. The only notice of his death was an obituary that appeared in a local newspaper in 1744. He produced two collections of sonatas for violin and basso continuo, and this volume of harpsichord works dated 1732. The American harpsichordist Mitzi Meyerson, after brilliant forays into the music of Claude-Bénigne Balbastre and Gottlieb Muffat, now presents for the first time a complete recording of Jones’ Suits or Setts of Lessons for the Harpsicord or Spinnet (sic), a collection of pieces which is English Baroque at its finest. This music was much loved when it was composed, but could not compete with Georg Friedrich Handel’s ovewhelming popularity in England at the time, a fact which caused Jones and many of his English-born contemporaries to virtually disappear in the shadows. Meyerson, in the interview included in the booklet, mentions that in the compositions of Richard Jones she hears “many influences - the depth of Johann Sebastian Bach, the wildness of Vivaldi, and the fresh tunefulness of Purcell”. A great discovery which deserves being enjoyed by all lovers of Baroque keyboard music.

ALSO AVAILABLE: GCD921804 Muffat-Componimenti Musicali per il Cembalo "Eureka! I've known these wonderful pieces for years, having bought an old edition of the music, but have never heard them properly performed. So it's a joy to hear Mitzi Meyerson's glorious realisation of these 18th-century suites, which lie at the heart of the high baroque style: here are expressive allemandes, supremely inventive preludes, plus quirky rigaudons that Handel copied, ending with a virtuosic rendering of the Ciaconna with 30 variations that surely lies behind Bach's Gold- berg Variations. Rich and resonant harpsichord sound, well recorded.” Nicholas Kenyon, The Observer

“this recording is a tour de force by one of today’s great harpsichordists.” International Record Review

GCD921801 Bohm - Keyboard Suites GCD921802 Couperin - Les Ombres Errantes GCD921803 Balbastre - Salon Music

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 GCDC80101 GCDC80902 Barcode: 8 424562 80101 1 Barcode: 842456809024 CANTO DEL CAVALLERO STEFFANI Duetti da Camera Music for vihuela by: HENESTROSA, FUENLLANA, Begl'occhi, oh Dio, non più piangete, PISADOR, CABEZON, VALDERRÁBANO, MILAN, Porto l'alma incenerita, Dimmi, dimmi Cupido, Manuscrito de Simancas Occhi, perché piangete? José Miguel Moreno (vihuela), Crudo amor, morir me sento, San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Villa Consuelo), Sol negl'occhi del mio bene, May 1992 Previously available as GCD 920101 Placidissime catene Rossana Bertini, Claudio Cavina, Arcadia / GCDC80304 Attilio Cremonesi Barcode: 8 424562 80304 6 Chiesa di San Martino in Ladino, Forlì TIENTOS Y BATALLAS: June 1994 Previously available as GCD 920902 17th-century violin music in Spain GCDC80909 FALCONIERO, BRUNA, ANON, VICTORIA, BOTELE- Barcode: 8 424562 80909 3 RO, LORENTE, SOLA La Real Cámara / Emilio Moreno MARENZIO Sesto Libro de Madrigali Iglesia de San Salvador, Palacios de Benaver La Venexiana | Claudio Cavina (Spain), March 1999 Roletto (Chiesa della BV al Colletto), Italy, Previously available as GCD 920304 Feb 2001 Previously available as GCD920909 GCDC80306 GCDC81106 Barcode: 8 424562 80306 0 Barcode: 8 424562 81106 5 RAMEAU Orchestral suites II BOCCHERINI 6 Sonate Op. 5 Naïs & Zoroastre Jacques Ogg / Emilio Moreno Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century / Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción, Sajazarra Frans Brüggen September 2000 live in Utrecht (Vredenburg), Previously available as GCD 920306 Sept 1998 & Nov 2000 GCDC80601 Previously available as GCD 921106 Barcode: 8 424562 80601 6 GCDC81604 MOZART Harmoniemusik Barcode: 8 424562 81604 6 Serenade in Es (KV 375), Die Zauberflöte CHARPENTIER Leçons de Ténèbres Nachtmusique / Eric Hoeprich de la Semaine Sainte de 1692, Hervormde Kerk, Renswoude (Netherlands), Cinq Méditations por le Carême February 1996 Le Concert Spirituel / Hervé Niquet Previously available as GCD920601 Église Notre Dame du Liban, Paris, March GCDC80801 2001 Previously available as GCD921604 Barcode: 8 424562 80801 0 HOTTETERRE Pièces pour la flute traversière Wilbert Hazelzet, Jaap ter Linden, Konrad Junghänel, Jacques Ogg Iglesia de San Miguel, Cuenca May 1996 mid price Previously available as GCD 920801

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 DCD34066 Barcode: 801918340666 NORMAL PRICE CD Angiol Michele BARTOLOTTI Di Chitarra Spagnolà Suite in G major, Sarabande in C major, Suite in E minor, Allemande in C minor, Sarabande in C minor, Suite in G minor Gordon Ferries (baroque guitar & french theorbo) Italian by birth, Bartolotti [1615 – c. 1682] was employed as a musician at the enlightened court of Sweden’s Queen Christina and in the opulent splendour of the Sun King’s Versailles. His elegant suites for guitar and theorbo fuse contemplation and virtuosity, distilling the melancholic beauty of the French Baroque. Largely neglected in modern times, Bartolotti’s music occupies a seminal place in the early guitar repertory. Lauded in this field, Gordon Ferries is a choice exponent of this cosmopolitan composer’s music.

GORDON FERRIES ON DELPHIAN: DCD34011 Les plaisirs les plus charmants DCD34036 Sanz La Preciosa DCD34046 Guerau - Marionas

“dispatched with artistry and supreme stylishness” International Record Review

“a cd not to be missed”’ Goldberg Magazine, PLATINUM FIVE STAR REVIEW

“Ferries's playing is at once crisp, stylish, and fun. He moves easily from one mood to the next, keep- ing the texture of this program interesting and varied ... This is a disc to listen to again and again.” Early Music America

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 STR33587 Barcode: 8011570335876 NORMAL PRICE CD

Adriano BANCHIERI 1568-1634) Il Studio Dilettevole - Il Metamorfosi Musicale Il Terzo Libro delle Canzonette (Milan, 1600); - Quarto Libro delle Canzonette (Venice, 1601) Delitiae Musicae, Raffaele Gangale (narrator); Marco Longhini (conductor) Little is known about one of the most productive of Italian musicians, Adriano Banchieri. Relegated to a marginal sector of Renaissance history, still defined by madrigals, Banchieri lived in the most extraordinary innovative period of Italian 'harmonic' music: we find clear signs of a new 17th-Century sensibility in adaptation, or rather in making the word serve representational needs, in the use of the basso concertante and in the extensive use of continuo. The two works presented on this CD represent the chronological heart of Banchieri’s most typical production and may be appreciated in modern recordings for the first time: this is an ambitious project to shed light on Italian 'minor' musical history of the end of the 16th century.

PC10219 Barcode: 7619990 102194 2 NORMAL PRICE CDs Joseph Anton STEFFAN (1726-1797) Works for fortepiano Divertimento Op. 1 No. 6, Sonata in E flat major, Sonata in C major Op. 3/II No. 1, Sonata in G major, Capriccio V, Sonata in B flat major, Capriccio IV, Sonata in A major, Capriccio III, Sonata in E flat major, Sonata in G major Op. 3/I No. 1 Edoardo Torbianelli (fortepiano) The piano style of Joseph Anton Steffan, whose compositions reflect wide formal and aesthetic developments, is distinguished by an idiosyncratic playing method combining stylistic elements of various origins and character in organic and original ways. He also demonstrates a penchant for full chords and energetic touch, often with bold, almost improvisatory bravura. Although the printed piano music is explicitly designated for 'Clavicembalo', dynamic indications are already apparent in several places in his early works, which thus require the use of an instrument with various sound colour possibilities. In several manuscripts of presumably later works, the designation for the 'Forte e Piano' is clear and furthermore, they contain more dynamic and expression marks. Edoardo Torbianelli has made recordings for various radio and television stations, as well as recordings with Pierre-André Taillard and Thomas Müller for hm France. He has recorded the piano works of Clementi and Gade, as well as a recording with Sergio Azzolini on historical bassoon for Pan classics. His work has been enthusiastically received by international critics (Disque du mois and Recommandation of Répertoire, 5 Diapason and two Diapason d’or). Since 1998 he has taught at the Scola Cantorum Basiliensis. ALSO AVAILABLE: PC10171 Clementi - Late Works for Pianoforte PC10191 Gade - Works for Piano: Torbianelli

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 RIC303 Barcode: 5400439 003033 2 NORMAL PRICE CDS J.S. BACH Die Kunst der Fugue BWV1080 Bernard Foccroulle (organ) After having recorded the complete organ works of Bach, Bernard Foccroulle rounds off his musical voyage with the Art of Fugue; Bach himself did not state on which instrument he intended the work to be performed. A true example of ars perfecta, the Art of Fugue is not simply a demonstration of contrapuntal theory for musicians adept in refined polyphonic technique; each piece is a small jewel, whose harmonic language and expression are revealed to all who listen.

ALSO AVAILABLE: RIC289 Bach Complete Organ Works “Foccroulle plays with great musicianship and a real joy in this wonderful lusic, and the match between music and istruments gives a glimpse into Bach’s actual sound world.” ***** Choir & Organ, March/April 2010 RIC276 Bach - Toccata and fantasies for organ RIC212 Bach - Leipzig Chorales: Foccroulle RIC209 Foccroulle Plays Grenzing Organ RIC225 Scheidmann - Organ Works RIC204 Bruckner - Organ Works

RIC297 Barcode: 5400439 002975 2 CDS FOR 1 W.F. BACH Cembalo Konzerte Konzert in E min, Sonata No. II in A, Sinfonia in D-Min, Fuga No. VIII in F, Konzert in F, Polonaise No. IX, Polonaise No. X, Sonata No. III, Sinfonie in F, Konzert in A Ricercar Consort / Adrian Chamorro; Il Fondamento / Paul Dombrecht Guy Penson (harpsichord & fortepiano) Recordings: 1989-1996

At the same time as we get to know Wilhelm Friedemann Bach’s compositions we can also take stock of the real personality of Johann Sebastian Bach’s eldest son. His works are still mostly unknown to the public at large and remain in the shadow of those by his brothers. It is true that his music still seems to be somewhat strange, imprisoned as it undoubtedly is by the composer’s profound inner drama. Born in 1710, Wilhelm Friedemann benefited more than any other of his brothers from the impact of his father’s personality; we may well remember the famous phrase attributed to Johann Sebastian “The son that gives me joy is the one that I love”?

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 ALPHA165 Barcode: 3760014 191657 NORMAL PRICE CD SCARLATTI, SOLER Sonatas per cimbalo & fandango Sonatas K420, 462, 132, 65, 144, 119, 426, 115, 206, 25, 475, 30; SOLER Fandango Bertrand Cuiller (harpsichord)

Born in the same year as Handel and Bach in 1685, the Neapolitan harpsichordist Domenico Scarlatti was a virtuoso with a very particular style. In Madrid, he became 'Domingo Escarlatti' and lived as a music teacher to Queen Maria-Barbara. He wrote almost 555 sonatas in which he created an explosion of wide ranging sounds from Italy and Spain. As he was able to utilise the technical possibilities of the harpsichord to the full, he produced the mournful notes of the hunting horns as well as the passionate chords played on a flamenco guitar. This programme also presents the 'Fandango' of his disciple, Padre Antonio Soler, a sort of virtuoso dance on an ostinato. The harpsichord played on this disc is an Italian model, conceived by Philippe Humeau, with a warm sound which is ideal for this repertoire.

K617222 Barcode: 3383510002229 NORMAL PRICE CD Joseph HAYDN Horn Trios Nos. 65, 69, 87, 96, 97, Adagio (Trio No. 123) Le Trio di Bassetto: Jean-Claude Veilhan, Éric Lorho, Jean-Louis Gauch (basset-horns) These trios, recorded here for the first time on basset-horn, come from the prodigious series that Haydn wrote for Prince Nicolaus Esterházy, an enthusiastic player of the string baryton. In a spirit comparable to that of Mozart's divertimenti for three basset-horns, the warm, mellow sound of these instruments proves the perfect vehicle for revealing Haydn’s extraordinarily imaginative writing, with its alternation between joyful volubility, playfulness, and the poignant, soulful intimacy found in the celestial Adagio of Trio no.123, here played on musical glasses in homage to Mozart's Adagio K617 for that same instrument.

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 ALPHA164 Barcode: 3760014 191640 NORMAL PRICE CD Lucien DUROSOIR Jouvence Jouvence, Caprice, Berceuse, Incantation bouddhique, Vitrail pour alto et piano, Au Vent des Landes, Piano Quintet Ensemble Calliopée Lucien Durosoir was an assiduous reader of poetry; and he preferred the Parnassiens to the Romantics. He also read and re-read his favourite poets, Baudelaire, Verlaine and Rimbaud, of which he owned several first editions. During the months spent in the muddy trenches of WWI, he often sought consolation from their works that had been sent by his mother to the battlefront. In this way, he was able to while away the long hours of waiting, moral loneliness and physical suffering. This third volume opens the doors to a more poetic Lucien Durosoir, in a language that engenders a sweet and romantic daydream, as a contrast to the trauma at beginning of the 20th century. ALSO AVAILABLE: ALPHA125 Durosoir String Quartets / Quatuor Diotima ALPHA105 Lucien Durosoir - Music for Violin & Piano “The performances are very persuasive. Geneviève Laurenceau, often playing with great delicacy, creates a lovely timbre, subtly coloured, and Lorène De Ratuld is a wholly sympathetic partner. They are beautifully recorded” Gramophone recommends, April 2007 ALPHA143 Martinu Chamber Music / Ensemble Calliopée “With exemplary sound from Alpha, this is a self-recommending issue and a gem among the recent crop of Martinu’s anniversary releases.” Gramophone, October 2009

ASM02 Barcode: 0794881962624 NORMAL PRICE CD Hector BERLIOZ Symphonie Fantastique Op. 14 Les siecles / François-Xavier Roth François-Xavier Roth is the Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège Wallonie-Bruxelles and holds the positions of Associate Guest Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Associate Conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Invited Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra. He also has special relationships with and regularly conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Intercontemporain. "Playing Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique in the composer's hometown was a unique and unforgettable experience for all the Siècles' musicians including myself. Instruments from Berlioz' period were rediscovered and restored, right down to the famous bells of the "Dies Irae", which brought their spectacular character and resonance during the 2009 Berlioz Festival."

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 A339 Barcode: 8033891690397 NORMAL PRICE CD

Johann Heinrich SCHMELZER La Margarita Music for the Court of Vienna & Prague Balletto a cavallo, Sonata IV a 6, Sonata I a 8, Sonata VIII a 3, Lied «In jenem Gefilde» Sonata IX a 3, Sonata XII a 7, Die Fechtschule, Lamento sopra la morte Ferdinandi III a 3, La Margarita, Serenata – Allemanda, Balletto di Matti, Allemanda, Sarabande, Aria Viennesa, Canarios, La Pastorella, Campanella – Lamento, Erlicino, Adagio – Allegro, La Margarita Armonico Tributo Austria / Lorenz Duftschmid Recording data and venue: June 27th - 30th, September 10th - 11th 1995, St. Urlich Church, Stanz,Austria

This disc is a marvellous place to make the acquaintance of the Viennese Court’s first native Kapellmeister. It affords an all-encompassing view, taking in a great state occasion (the wedding of the Emperor to Margaret Theresa), a more private expression of grief (a funeral ode dedicated to his first patron, Ferdinand II), religious and chamber music, and a concluding ballet suite assembled from short carnival pieces. This recording returns with new artwork and a new cover that brings to the fore the central figure of this programme, whose personality seems to have inspired masterpieces from many court artists, including Velázquez and his celebrated Las Meninas. Margarita Teresa of Austria seems to have inspired many court artists to produce masterpieces, ranging from those of Velasquez during her early years in Madrid (1653-59), and, after her marriage to Leopold I (1667), to the work of Johann Heinrich Schmelzer in Vienna. Schmelzer’s many-sided musical talent gives us a detailed glimpse of court life in Vienna and Prague under his imperial employers Ferdinand III (1637-1657) and Leopold I (1657-1705). Music played a central part in the daily lives of these Habsburg monarchs, who themselves composed. Schmelzer, who was born around 1620 in a remote Lower Austrian village called Scheibbs, clearly fulfilled his functions so well that he was the first Austrian, after a long succession of Italians, to be given the position of court Kapellmeister. Lorenz Duftschmid studied in Linz and Vienna was in Jordi Savall’s class at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he graduated with distinction. More than 70 recordings document his work. Today Duftschmid dedicates himself as a soloist and conductor almost exclusively to his own ensembles, Armonico Tributo and AnLeuT. Armonico Tributo was created in 1989 by Lorenz Duftschmid and his closest friends through their shared vision of using original instruments. The remarkably varied repertoire of Armonico Tributo ranges from the ancient sounds of Celtic music to Middle Age, Renaissance and Baroque, encompassing Viennese classics as well. The AnLeut publishing company was created for the purpose of experimenting with contemporary music on ancient instruments.

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 A357 Barcode: 8033891690366 NORMAL PRICE CD Antonio de CABEZÓN La Tecla de L’alma • The Keyboard of the Soul Tiento II, Ave maris stella (gregoriano)*, Ave maris stella I, Tiento del quinto tono, Tres III sobre el canto llano de la alta, Pavana Italiana, Pavana hispanica (Sweelinck), Tiento sobre 'Malheur me bat', Tiento I, Belle qui tiens ma vie (Arbeau)*, Differencias sobre el canto 'La Dama le demanda', Tiento del primer tono, Gloria Patri (gregoriano)*, 'Guardame las vacas (Anonimo), Diferencias sobre 'Guardame las vacas' (de Narváez), Cinco diferencias sobre 'Las vacas' (Anon), Diferencias sobre 'Las vacas', Dezilde al caballero (Gombert)*, Diferencias sobre el canto llano del Caballero, Romance 'Para quien crie yo cabellos', Pavana glosada Paola Erdas (harpsichord); * with Lia Serafini (soprano) Recorded May 26th - 28th, Oude Dorpskerk, Bunnik (Paesi Bassi)

On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Antonio de Cabezón’s birth (3 May 1510), Paola Erdas releases this anthology of keyboard music by the greatest Spanish musician of the Golden Age. One of the most eminent Cabezón authorities, she is currently editing the critical edition of the Obras de Musica para Tecla Arpa y Vihuela (Ut Orpheus Edizioni, Bologna), the collection of Antonio’s works compiled by his son Hernando in 1578. Guest soprano Lia Serafini sings the tunes from which the composer drew his inspiration. Paola Erdas continues her collaboration with Arcana, following the success of her D’Anglebert disc, released in 2006 just before the late Michel Bernstein’s death. Cabezón was a sensitive, refined man of genius, a perfect child of the world who experienced the splendours of the Spanish Empire, the colours of El Greco, the first picaresque comedies and Saint Teresa d’Avila’s mystical poems, made of flesh and blood. Born in Sardinia, Paola Erdas developed an early interest in the harpsichord. After obtaining her diploma in Venice, a grant allowed her to study for four years at the Mozarteum in Salzburg in Kenneth Gilbert’s class. During these years Paola’s love for the instrument and for musicological research increased, and she has developed a musical approach, in which the interest of research is never separated from lively and passionate performances.

ALSO AVAILABLE: A337 Jean-Henry d’Anglebert Pieces de Clavessin en Manuscrits/Paola Erdas

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 STR33863 Barcode: 8011570338631 NORMAL PRICE CD LA PAROLA AL LEGNO Solo percussion works for wood instruments SCIARRINO Il legno e la Parola; CAGE Child Of Tree; Silence; Branches I; Silence; Branches 2; Silence; SCELSI Maknongan version for marimba Simone Mancuso (percussion) This record is entirely devoted to wood percussion, of which Simone Mancuso is a leading specialist. Besides marimbone in Sciarrino’s Il legno e la parola (2004), a world première recording, and Scelsi’s Maknongan (1976), recorded for the first time on marimba, there are also two works by John Cage: Child of Tree and Branches; perhaps the best examples of his so-called naturalistic phase, composed for non conventionally-pitched instruments. In contrast with his earlier percussion works, Cage specifies that only plant-based instruments are to be used in the performance of these two pieces. Most specifically, Cage specifies a type of pod rattle that comes from the Poinciana tree, native to Mexico, and provides instructions for amplifying the sounds of a cactus when its needles are plucked, tapped or scraped. The performer chooses ten instruments in total, with the stipulation that they are all to be amplified or unamplified plant. STR33840 Barcode: 8011570338402 NORMAL PRICE CD Giorgio Federico GHEDINI Concerto All’aperto Sonata da Concerto [1958], Concerto L’alderina* [1950] Concerto Il Belprato [1947] World Premiére Recording* Francesco Parrino (violin); Stefano Parrino (flute); Orchestra da camera Stesichoros / Francesco Di Mauro (conductor) Stesichoros Chamber Orchestra is well-established group specialising since its foundation in 20th century repertoire. Here they present three works by Giorgio Federico Ghedini, a great protagonist of the European music created between 1920 and 1975, considered, with Luigi Dallapiccola and Goffredo Petrassi, the qualitative peak of Italian music of the period. STR33838 Barcode: 8011570338389 NORMAL PRICE CD Franco DONATONI [1927-2000] Dieci anni dopo Hot (1989), Flag (1987), Tema (1981), Luci (1995), Rasch II (1995) Lorenzo Missaglia (flute); Mario Marzi (saxophone); Divertimento Ensemble, Italian Saxophone Quartet / Sandro Gorli In August 2010, it will be ten years since Franco Donatoni’s passing; long enough to try to relate the history of this musician who lived with a rare intensity and who remains an indispensable reference point in contemporary music. The Divertimento Ensemble and Italian Saxophone Quartet are conducted by Sandro Gorli, who founded the Ensemble in 1977 and who was Donatoni’s pupil. harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 Phil.Harmonie is a new high-end classical music label from Berlin, Germany. It has been created to provide musicians from the Berlin Philarmonic with a new recording home, designed to record Chamber music or smaller concerto ensembles. The label is committed to bringing original music to the audience, from world première to rediscoveries. All are new recordings.

PHIL06001 Barcode: 4250317416018 NORMAL PRICE CD RAVEL Le Tombeau de Couperin MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition Ensemble Berlin adapted by Wolfgang Renz , recorded at Studio 2, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich October 2-6, 2006 A brilliant orchestrator, Ravel was responsible for what is perhaps the most famous orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition as well as for his own work Le Tombeau de Couperin. After composing the original piano piece he went on to score four of the six movements for the orchestral version. This group of musicians and friends from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra were drawn together by the opportunity to make high-level music in a relaxed atmosphere together. They started playing in an ensemble at the first ever Landsberg summer music festival in 1999. By the time this small yet refined festival of chamber music had drawn to a close, a shared desire to give further concerts at other times of year had been expressed – and thus the Ensemble Berlin was born. In 2006 the ensemble introduced itself to Berlin’s fans of chamber music on ‘home ground’ in the city’s Philharmonie, and they also performed at Würzburg’s Mozart Festival. In the meantime, the Ensemble Berlin has recorded several CDs that document not only the ensemble’s airy, resonating sound and finely-tuned style, but also highlights their growing repertoire.

PHIL06004 Barcode: 4250317416049 NORMAL PRICE CD Erwin SCHULHOFF Brückenbauer in die neue Zeit Concertino für Flöte, Viola & Kontrabass WV75 , Sonate für Flöte & Klavier Op. 61, WV86, Streichsextett Op. 45, WV70, ‘Das autobiographische’ András Adorján (flute); Walter Küssner (viola); Klaus Stoll (doublebass); Yumiko Urabe (piano) Philharmonisches Streichsextett Berlin

Erwin Schulhoff was undoubtedly one of the most versatile and imaginative composers of the last century. That his career, and his life, came to an abrupt end in a National Socialist internment camp in 1942 represents one of the great tragedies of Europe‘s barbaric recent past. Nevertheless, during his brief life, Schulhoff (1894 - 1942) brilliantly absorbed, transformed, and expressed many of the most significant and progressive creative urges of his age. His catalogue of over 200 compositions includes some of the most fascinating, challenging, exciting, and moving music of the 20th -century. The three works on this disc were all written by Schulhoff in the 1920s, when his career was at its peak, and display the full range of the composer‘s colorful, expressive musical palette.

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 PHIL06002 Barcode: 4250317416025 NORMAL PRICE CD SCHUMANN Lieder ohne Worte Dichterliebe Op.48, Liederkreis Op. 39 Martin Stegner (viola); Tomoko Takahashi (piano) recordings: Dichterliebe: December, 18, 2007, Liederkreis: March 11, 2009 in Berlin - adapted for viola and piano Arranging songs to be played on an instrument invariably raises the question of whether the music will still make sense when stripped of the words, especially in the case of a composer like Schumann. Listeners will find their own answers to this question, based on each individual’s preferences. Expressed poetically, Schumann’s intentions are perhaps best captured in a quotation attributed to E.T.A. Hoffmann: “Where language stops, music begins.” Martin Stegner won a scholarship to the Herbert von Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic. After spending three years as solo viola with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester he moved to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Tomoko Takahashi received her first piano lesson at the age of four in her native Japan. After taking her final examination in Tokyo in 1988, Takahashi began studying at the Berlin University of the Arts on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service, passing her concert examination with distinction in 1995. She has twice won the Arthur Schnabel Competition in Berlin. She now lives and works in Berlin as a freelance pianist. Tomoko Takahashi and Martin Stegner have played together for thirteen years.

PHIL06005 Barcode: 4250317416056 NORMAL PRICE CD STRAVINSKY L'Histoire du soldat / The Soldier’s Tale Kolja Blacher (violin); Dominique Horwitz (voice); Soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic recorded December 4 – 7, 2009 at Studio P4, Berlin, by Martin Litauer When Igor Stravinsky read ‘The Soldier’s Tale’ in 1916 he was inspired to transform the fairy tale into a landmark of modern musical theatre, together with the librettist Charles Ferdinand Ramuz. The effects of war could also be felt in Switzerland, where Stravinsky was living in exile, and all the theatres were closed. The piece was therefore created with purely practical considerations in mind – a mobile stage, a minimal 7-piece orchestra and a plot in which the scenes followed each other like a series of illustrations. The story is taken from a Russian folk tale, but there are parallels in other cultures, such as the puppet show version of Doctor Faustus. A soldier on the way back to his home village enters into a pact with the devil. He sells his violin for a book of magic, which will enable him to become rich. Although this comes to pass, the soldier’s wealth does not make him happy, because someone who has sold himself to the devil is not capable of love or devotion to another. This version has been developed and narrated by Dominique Horwitz from the German adaptation by Hans Reinhart.

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010 PHIL06003 Barcode: 4250317416032 NORMAL PRICE CD VIVALDI Concerti, The Four Seasons Concerto for Oboe & Violin RV548, Cello Concerto RV424, Viola d‘amore Concerto RV397 Berliner Barock Solisten: Jonathan Kelly (oboe); Rainer Kussmaul (violin, direction); Zoltan Almasi, Kotowa Machida, Sebastian Heesch, Rüdiger Liebermann, Bernhard Forck, Raimar Orlovsky, Christoph Streuli (violins); Wolfram Christ (viola, viola d’amore); Tanja Christ, Walter Küssner (violas); Georg Faust, Kristin von der Goltz (cellos); Klaus Stoll (violin); Raphael Alpermann (harpsichord)

The Berlin Baroque soloists under the direction of Rainer Kussmaul are one of the most renowned early music groups. Their recordings have been awarded several times with the Echo classic award. This CD includes masterpieces by Antonio Vivaldi: the famous Four Seasons with Rainer Kussmaul on the solo violin, the Cello Concerto in B-minor RV424 with Georg Faust, the Viola d’amore Concerto in A-minor RV397 with Wolfram Christ and the Concerto for Oboe & Violin in B RV548 with Jonathan Kelly as soloist.

harmonia mundi UK released August 23 2010