Star countertenor Reginald Mobley’s first solo recording is devoted to spirituals and art songs centered on the Harlem Renaissance. He delivers with the purity of a Handelian countertenor and the expressive power of a great gospel singer.
Just ‘Because’ — Reginald Mobley Sings Negro Spirituals Read More »
Vol. 29 No. 2; May 2023
The Unmistakable Sound of Thomas Dunford Read More »
In the late 18th c., the most important Bach was undoubtedly C.P.E., whose sonatas for keyboard and violin are among the freshest and most expressive of any era. A wonderful new recording from Rachel Podger and Kristian Bezuidenhout captures Bach in all his shifting moods and vigor.
Sensitivity with Style: C.P.E. Bach for Keyboard and Violin Read More »
Viol players today might know the music of English Tudor composer William Whyte, even as his biography remains a mystery. In this vivid new recording, New York’s Abendmusik has finally committed Whyte’s complete consorts to disc and make a compelling case for his music.
It’s All Just ‘Whyte Noyse’ Read More »
Gambist Laura Jeppesen and theorbist Catherine Liddell revel in the nocturnal sounds of Marin Marais, mixing and matching movements from the composer’s different suites. What follows is a performance of alluring introspection and tenderness.
‘Marais at Midnight,’ Fit for a King Read More »
The Orlando Consort, on the eve of their last-ever performance at the Boston Early Music Festival in June, have released Machaut in a breathtakingly beautiful new recording.
Machaut’s Remède de Fortune: Same Songs, Different Music Read More »
Lutenist Hopkinson Smith has reworked two books of lute solos by Francesco Spinacino and Joan Ambrosio Dalza that were published with so many errors in 1507 that they are nearly unplayable. The result opens a new chapter in lute history.
Reviving Lost Masters with Reconstructive Surgery Read More »
Imagine a show in a dank London tavern. Henry Purcell’s music is new, and the virtuoso performers throw in drinking songs, reels, jigs–all for fun. In their latest album, violinist Bjarte and Barokksolistene roam the delightful undersides of where historical performance ensembles can go.
The so-called parody process requires a great deal of historical knowledge but also a willingness to fill in the gaps. Performer-composer Jessica Korotkin, a Baroque cellist, combines historical scholarship with her own ingenuity for a new set of Bach-inspired cello suites.
Making a Parody of Bach, No Kidding Read More »
Machaut’s narrative poem and music for ‘The Remedy for Fortune’ is a collaborative recording between two of America’s leading ensembles, Blue Heron and Les Délices. The results is musically compelling and makes for cohesive storytelling.
Fortune Favors the Old: Machaut from Blue Heron and Les Délices Read More »
