EMA Recording & Book Reviews

Pygmalion, the period instrument ensemble led by visionary French conductor Raphaël Pichon, again leads the way with an incisive and inspired account of the Bach 'St. John Passion' in its final 1749 version.

Ambition, regicide, fratricide, false accusations, betrayal, conspiracies, love, honor — and that's just Act 1 of Leonardo Vinci's 'Artaserse,' a 1730 opera seria with a sensational libretto by Metastasio. Chicago's Haymarket Opera Co.'s production was a popular and critical hit on stage in 2025. Now, with the same cast, it's a compelling new recording.

A rewarding new biography on Henry Purcell brings the composer's life and times into one slender volume. At the book's center is an up-to-date dictionary — accessible to non-specialists — that mentions well-known collaborators and a range of musicians, political events, performance practices, relevant musical terms, and more.

In a splendid new recording, soprano Hannah De Priest and period-instrument ensemble Les Délices offer pastoral dreams of Arcadia in cantatas and instrumental works by Rameau, Handel, Louis Lefebvre and others.

Lost until 2015, Telemann's set of 12 Fantasies for viola da gamba were composed in the mid-1730s, about the time he published his often-heard fantasies for flute and for violin. Now Polish viola player Michał Bryła has smartly transcribed and brilliantly recorded the gamba fantasies. For Baroque violists looking for new solo repertoire, this is a rather stunning find.

Saint Francis of Assisi preached against the Crusades and, venturing to Egypt to stop the fighting, met with Sultan Malik al-Kamil. This cross-cultural dialogue inspired the ensembles Constantinople and Holland Baroque for a deeply satisfying album that weaves together musical traditions from east and west.

An early 16th-c. illuminated manuscript of English sacred music, known as the Arundel (or Lambeth) Choirbook, contains polyphony by known composers and the equally skilled Anonymous. A compelling new album offers seven world premieres by these mysterious creators.

Fiddle and banjo music played by free and enslaved Blacks before the 1860s is a key element of American musical and cultural history. But the evidence is scant. In 'Go Back and Fetch It,' authors Kristina R. Gaddy and Rhiannon Giddens explore more than three centuries of songs in this landmark new book.

The oldest known opera by a Black American composer, Edmond Dédé's 1887 'Morgiane,' had its world premiere last spring and now has its debut recording. Rich string writing, a variety of obbligato parts, and snappy dance rhythms point to a composer with an ear for traditions both formal (French grand opera) and folk (his New Orleans upbringing).

Amanda Forsythe is the star of this Telemann recording with the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra. In a favorite cantata and showy opera arias, the soprano and ensemble deliver fiery intensity and emotional depth. And it's a 2026 Grammy winner for Best Classical Solo Album.