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You can search through our extensive database of thousands of releases from Orchestral and Opera to Choral, Jazz and beyond.

 

Written by the expert critics of BBC Music Magazine and with over a hundred new reviews added every month, the archive dates back to the magazine's launch in 1992 and now includes over 20,000 reviews.

NB A few points to bear in mind when searching:

 

 

When looking for symphonies, concertos, etc., the numbers must appear as follows with a space between 'No.' and the number itself:

  • Symphony No. 2
  • Sonata No. 31

 

There is no need to include capital letters or accents in your search – the database is neither case- nor accent-sensitive.

Bach Piano Transcriptions, Vol. 10

Composer(s):
  • Bach
  • Js
Works: 
The complete Bach transcriptions by Saint-Saëns; plus transcriptions of JS Bach’s Concertos in A minor & D minor (after Vivaldi) by Isidore Philipp
Performer: 
Nadejda Vlaeva (piano)

 

Performance:
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Parry: Songs of Farewell

Composer(s):
  • Parry
Works: 
Parry: Songs of Farewell; plus choral works by Howells, Holst, Bennett, Tavener, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Sullivan and Harris
Performer: 
Tenebrae/Nigel Short

It’s relatively easy, with decent singers, to put plenty of detail and inflection into a choir’s interpretation. The difficulty then is eradicating all evidence of punctilious rehearsal, and creating the illusion of spontaneity in performance. Tenebrae performs this feat of trompe-l’oreille superbly: its account of Parry’s Songs of Farewell abounds in subtleties of phrasing and telling distinctions of dynamic, yet flows beautifully, the textual narrative unfolding with a rare continuity and coherence.
 

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Ferveur & Extase

Composer(s):
  • Various
Works: 
Arias and vocal works by Cavalli, Faggioli, Marini, Monteverdi, Rossi, A Scarlatti & Strozzi etc
Performer: 
Stéphanie d’Oustrac (mezzo-soprano); Amarillis/Hélöise Gaillard

 

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Tragédiennes 3

Composer(s):
  • Berlioz
  • Gluck
  • Gossec
  • Kreutzer
  • Massenet
  • Mehul
  • Mermet
  • Meyerbeer
  • Saint-Säens
  • Salieri
  • Verdi
Works: 
Arias by Berlioz, Gluck, Gossec, Kreutzer, Massenet, Méhul, Mermet, Meyerbeer, Saint-Saëns, Salieri, Verdi
Performer: 
Véronique Gens (soprano); Les Talens Lyriques/Christophe Rousset

Desperate housewives, murderous mothers and suicidal lovers – these are just some of the cheery characters that fall under the spotlight in this programme. It’s the third in a trio of recordings that explores the roles of tragic operatic heroines from the Baroque to the late 19th century.
 

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On Christmas Day

Composer(s):
  • Vaughan Williams
Works: 
Folk songs and carols arranged by Vaughan Williams
Performer: 
Derek Welton (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano)

Performance:
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The Christmas Story

Composer(s):
  • Various
Works: 
The Christmas Story told in chant, motets, dialogues & traditional folk carols
Performer: 
Theatre of Voices; Ars Nova Copenhagen/Paul Hillier

Paul Hillier has lived in Denmark for ten years now, and has developed his own slant on the very English service of Nine Lessons and Carols, a version of which (minus lessons) is presented on this new CD. Hillier’s is a smaller-scale, more intimate type of experience than the typical King’s College, Cambridge presentation, and contains many unfamiliar musical gems.
 

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Schubert: Winterreise

Composer(s):
  • Schubert
Works: 
Winterreise
Performer: 
James Gilchrist (tenor), Anna Tilbrook (piano)

 

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Sounds and Silence

Composer(s):
  • Various
Titles: 
Travels With Manfred Eicher
Performer: 
Soundtrack includes: Nik Bärtsch, Keith Jarrett (pno), Anouar Brahem (oud), Marilyn Mazur (perc), Jan Garbarek etc

If you are looking for a way into the world of German record label ECM, look no further than this CD sampler, a soundtrack to an absorbing new film that follows ECM’s proprietor Manfred Eicher as he goes about his business. The CD collection, with all the pieces in complete form, ranges across the ECM waterfront, from the misty sacred music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt to the mirage like musings of Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem. 
 

Performance:
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Wadada Leo Smith's Organic

Composer(s):
  • WADADA LEO SMITH
Works: 
Heart’s Reflections
Performer: 
Wadada Leo Smith (tp), Brandon Ross (gt), Pheeroan akLaff (drums)etc

Organic made its recorded debut on the second disc of Spiritual Dimensions, a set which I enthused about in these pages two years ago. This release is the equal of that in every respect. The band has grown with the addition of reeds and laptops, and with violin replacing cello, but its sound still centres on the core of four guitars, two basses, akLaff’s inexorable drums and Smith’s raw, mesmerising trumpet.
 

Performance:
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Berlioz/Liszt: Symphonie Fantastique

Composer(s):
  • Berlioz (arr. Liszt)
  • Liszt
Works: 
Liszt: Les années de pèlerinage: Première année: Chapelle de Guillaume Tell; Au bord d’une source; Vallée d’Obermann; Berlioz (Arr. Liszt): Symphonie fantastique
Performer: 
Roger Muraro (piano)

Some of the 19th century’s most intimate moments were spent playing piano duets, purely aesthetic aims providing any number of legitimate opportunities for closeness to the adored one. Transcriptions for this medium also gave musicians in out-of-the-way places a chance to experience orchestral works that otherwise they might have rarely or never heard.

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