The Whole Music Experience

Classical   Handel/Vivaldi Dixit Dominus   La Nuova Musica David Bates and Lucy Crowe   Harmonia Mundi One of the most popular Christian music settings, Dixit Dominus (music composition for Psalms 109, or 110 in the Protestant Bible), offers baroque era vocalists a workout.  On La Nuova Musica’s recording, Dixit Dominus , conducted by David Bates, the musicians (instrumentalists and vocalists) perform Vivaldi’s third setting of the Psalms 109/110 in D major and Handel’s sober setting in G minor (going against the convention) and sandwiched between those two gems, soprano Lucy Crowe performs the 4 movements of Vivaldi’s In Furore iustissimae irae (my favorite performance on the recording). A relatively young early music choir/orchestra, La Nuova Musica has received critical acclaim and its star rose quickly into the firmament of international early music ensembles.  Certainly, this polished recording offers crystalline vocals, passio...

Classical   Freiburger Barockorchester Von Der Goltz/Müllejans/Schreiber J.S. Bach Violin Concertos Harmonia Mundi I find it ironic that during the Romantic Era J.S. Bach’s works fell out of favor because the musicians and music audiences of that time thought that Bach’s work lacked virtuosity (as mentioned in the liner notes of Violin Concertos ).  I listen to the dazzling performances of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins (BWV 1043), Violin Concerto (BWV 1042), Violin Concerto (BWV 1041) and Concerto for Three Violins (BWV 1064R) by Freiburger Barockorchester and I hear nothing but heroic virtuosity.  Certainly, any musician from contemporary times would agree at the complexity and difficulty of Bach’s musical architecture, but not only that, but the emotional palette that becomes necessary when performing any of Bach’s works. The recording opens on a fiery yet playful note, Vivace of the Concerto for Two Violins featuring Petra Müllejans (Art...

Elizabeth Watts The English Concert w/Harry Bicket J.S. Bach Cantatas and Arias Harmonia Mundi I find no shortage of riveting sopranos in the classical realm. And among them, Soprano Elizabeth Watts who debuts on Harmonia Mundi with a collection of J.S. Bach’s cantatas and arias brings extraordinary sensitivity to this religious text while also dazzling us with her vocal finesse. She closes the recording with a showstopper, Cantata 51 which runs from track 13 to 17 and if the introduction to that cantata doesn’t blow the minds of its listeners, nothing will. Bach is known for the challenging aspects of his compositions—only first rate performers need apply. However, Bach’s repertoire isn’t just daunting for musicians, but also for the average music listener. Joining with The English Concert, Watts delivers the mostly somber works ranging from the opening Aria from Cantata 31 , to Cantata 199 (other arias included) and ending with Cantata 51 , as mentioned earlier. Mar...

Anna Prohaska and Bernarda Fink Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater Harmonia Mundi Easily one of my favorite classical music recordings for 2010, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater performed by the baroque orchestra Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin with soprano Anna Prohaska and alto Bernarda Fink hailing from the pianto genre. Antonio Vivaldi’s Sinfonia RV 169 (“Al Santo Sepolcro”) and Pietro Antonio Locatelli’s Concerto #4 (“Il Pianto d’Arianna”) frame Pergolesi’s masterpiece. We are also treated to Pergolesi’s Salve Regina for 2 voices. I have listened to this recording several times now and it grows in beauty and power with each listen. Stabat Mater revolves around Mother Mary and the tragic loss of her son Jesus Christ, but the tragic theme expands outward and encompasses all mothers who have lost their children prematurely and through tragic means. This could include the anguish of losing a son or daughter to war, inju...