Reviews by the editorial staff of Early Music America. Have a new recording or book? Submit it for consideration.
Solitude: Reginald Mobley Unplugged
American countertenor Reginald Mobley's much-anticipated second solo album, 'Solitude,' is a collection of mostly English songs, with familiar tunes and a few surprising additions. Backed by lutenist Brandon Acker and bassist Doug Balliett, it's music of substance and haunting beauty.
Burly, Bawdy, Full of Good Cheer: Haydn’s The Seasons
Haydn's oratorio 'The Seasons,' in a stunning new recording from Jordi Savall and his period-instrument Les Concert de Nations, is full of pastoral joy and almost-operatic drama, 'burly, occasionally bawdy, and chock-full of good cheer.'
The Searing Intensity of Gluck’s ‘Orphée et Eurydice’
Gluck's 'Orphée et Eurydice,' in its Paris version, caused a sensation 250 years ago and a new recording from Les Arts Florissants captures that vitality. The strength of this recording serves as 'a corrective to the dominance of the Italian version in modern performance.'
The Drama and Tensions of Opera and Theater
Historians over the past two centuries have tended to think of opera and tragic theater as developing along separate lines. This new collection of essays attempts to show developmental connections between them, as well as with other influential forms of opera and theater in the 17th and 18th century.
First Listen: New Flute Music by Marin Marais
French flutist François Lazarevitch and Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien have released the first professional recording of a recent discovery: flute music by Marin Maris that was unknown till 2023. It's music of 'exceptionally high quality.'
A Shimmering Mirage from Kansas City Chorale
The latest recording from conductor Charles Bruffy and his Kansas City Chorale celebrates Marco Polo by connecting East with West. A recent reconstruction of music from Renaissance Spain pairs with Asian folk and art songs from China, India, and Mongolia.
Play, Music! Songs from Shakespeare
Shakespeare's plays are rich in song, with productions at the Globe Theatre featuring musically trained actors and a small instrumental band. We have the texts, but there is no surviving music from any of the Bard's plays. A new recording from the ensemble Theatro finds 'lost' songs from a range of sources, including popular Elizabethan songs.
The Hothouse Origins of French Opera
The premise of these essays on the beginnings of French opera isn’t so much about the expected topics — composers and repertoire — but about the Académie royale de musique, the complicated, personality-rich institution that managed and shaped how the burgeoning art form evolved. It’s a rewarding approach when viewed as “an almost ideal example of tradition building.”
Haitham Haidar, Singing from Two Worlds
Haitham Haidar, a fast-rising Canadian tenor of Lebanese and Palestinian roots, finds ‘connections between what we generally view as separate worlds.’ He describes his debut album, 'Zaytoun' — 'olive' in Arabic — as joining 'the heart and soul of my Arabic roots with my love and dedication to Baroque music.'
Almost-a-Century Celebration for Bamboo Pipers
A new recording from the ever-musical Flanders Recorder Duo celebrates the 99th anniversary of the International Pipers' Guild, an effort to provide inexpensive instruments for students. Soon these pipes were made by the kids themselves. From Medieval music to Bach and Vaughan Williams, the Flanders Duo show us the sweet charms of this most basic of instruments.
