EMA Recording & Book Reviews

It took an enlightened Pope Francis to give the go-ahead for Deutsche Grammophon to make the first recordings in the Sistine Chapel with what is the Pope’s choir.

The ensemble's latest release, "Mi Palpita il Cor: Baroque Passions," with soprano Dominique Labelle, gives us three cantatas set off by two instrumental interludes. The program celebrates the European Union spirit of those times (not necessarily ours) when composers traveled widely and borrowed freely from the various national styles.

The American Bach Society, which sponsored "Exploring the World of Bach: A Traveler’s Guide," could not have chosen a better authorial team: Robert Marshall, whose numerous writings about Bach are infused with a rare passion, clarity, and eloquence, and Traute Marshall, a highly accomplished editor, writer, and translator.

This rich package is the latest in a series from Jordi Savall and Alia Vox that has focused on the Borgia dynasty, the Balkans, Christopher Columbus, Don Quixote, war and peace, and other subjects.

These Handel and Haydn Society live concert performances of three key Haydn works from Symphony Hall in Boston in January 2015 are so comprehensively thought out, expertly put together, and commandingly played, it's as if the Boston Symphony had been reborn playing on 18th-century instruments and modern copies.

Listening to Bruce Dickey play the cornetto, one could be forgiven for wondering how the instrument ever went out of fashion. His artistry is in full flight on his newest recording, "Breathtaking," the culmination of a project to celebrate the affinity of the cornetto with the human voice based on tonal quality and articulation.

Drawn from the Gaveau-Érard-Pleyel Archives now maintained by the AXA Insurance Group in France, this beautifully produced two-volume set about the history of the Érard piano and harp represents a rich lode of information not only for those interested in these instruments, but also for all who want to learn about the role of music within the context of European culture of the last two centuries.

Over the last decade, New York Polyphony has developed a world-class reputation for stellar musicianship and programming dedicated to both early and contemporary music. On their sixth album, Roma Æterna, the singers — countertenor Geoffrey Williams, tenor Steven Caldicott Wilson, baritone Christopher Dylan Herbert, and bass Craig Phillips — break with their own tradition and return to the past, focusing for the first time exclusively on early music.

These are vibrant interpretations with a full-blooded orchestral texture and plenty of forward motion, and the solos are characterized by the artist’s customary imagination in phrasing. The engineering presents a well-delineated sound stage throughout, and careful miking picks up the pianist’s playing-along in opening tuttis, a nice combination of intimacy and grandeur.

The Lives of George Frideric Handel more than accomplishes its goals. Well-written, richly documented, and colorfully presented, David Hunter’s unique spin on what we know about Handel, or thought we knew, is a valuable addition to the early-music library.