NEW ON NAXOS | JANUARY 2024
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Philip W.J. STOPFORD (b. 1977) Sacred Choral Music Grace Davidson, Soprano Choir of St Luke’s, Chelsea • Chelsea Camerata Rupert Jeffcoat, Organ Jeremy Summerly
BUY NOW!
Philip Stopford is admired in Britain and America for his beautifully crafted music, rooted in the Anglican tradition. His works are memorable and colourful, as these world premiere recordings demonstrate. The biggest piece on this album is the Missa Deus nobiscum , a sacred concert work with a scintillating role for soprano soloist that displays Stopford’s compositional skill, creating a journey rather than a sequence of set piece movements. Elsewhere, in pieces for a variety of locations and occasions, his music is evocative, filmic and vividly celebratory. Key Feature: ‘In the last few years Philip Stopford has emerged from among the younger generation of British composers as one of the most popular and prolific writers of new choral music, and is in wide demand on both sides of the Atlantic. His beautifully-crafted music combines uplifting classic texts with memorable, radiant melodies, and glorious harmonies’, wrote Regent Records .
8.574548 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
Companion Titles – Recommended recordings of sacred choral music
8.574496
8.572739
8.557277
8.573394
Giuseppe VERDI (1813–1901) Ernani Dramma lirico in four acts (1844) Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave (1810–1876) after Victor Hugo Maria José Siri, Soprano • Xenia Tziouvaras, Mezzo-soprano Joseph Dahdah, Francesco Meli, Tenors • Roberto Frontali, Baritone • Vitalij Kowaljow, Davide Piva, Basses Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino • James Conlon Victor Hugo’s 1830 stage drama Hernani won overwhelming admiration, and over a decade later Verdi’s attention was drawn to it as an operatic vehicle that would give him opportunities for full dramatic unity. Its subject is the nobleman-turned-brigand Ernani who loves Elvira, herself the object of two other men’s desires. Ernani ’s success was immediate and it became Verdi’s most popular opera until he composed Il trovatore . This production won critical acclaim, as did conductor James Conlon for his ‘superb support of the singers and the flexible elasticity he brought to his tempi’ ( Opera Traveller.com ). Key Features: • This has previously been available as an audiovisual release from the Dynamic label (DYN-37972/DYN-57972) released in August and was praised by Opera Lounge as being ‘a performance that is ideal for getting to know this early work’. • Conductor James Conlon has conducted over 500 performances of Verdi operas. ‘James Conlon, had the orchestra erupt as though a tornado of tremendous force had suddenly blown into the hall’, wrote the Los Angeles Times of his May–June 2023 performances of Verdi’s Otello . • Francesco Meli is nowadays considered the Italian tenor par excellence. Of his performance in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda , ClassicsToday.com wrote, ‘Francseco Meli cuts a dashing figure, sings directly on the text, and handles the awkward transitions very well’. BUY NOW!
8.660534-35 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
Companion Titles – Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
8.572818-19 8.660357-58
8.660259-60
2.110590 (NBD0084V)
6
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker