This week sees the release of world premieres, rarely performed gems, solo albums and two complete operas.

Here is a look at what audiences can listen to during Memorial Day Weekend.

Brabant 1653: Baroque Vocal Music from Brabant

Holland Baroque releases an album that explores the monastic musical traditions of 17th-century North Brabant. The album’s central figure is Benedictus à Sancto Josepho, pre-eminent organist and composer of Brabant in the late seventeenth century and known in France as “le grand Carme.”

Gratias 

The Jitro Czech Girls Choir and conductor Jiří Skopal return with GRATIAS on Navona Records. The album pays homage to Czech composer Ilja Hurník, whose playful compositions perfectly match the joyful imagination of youth without sacrificing a sliver of musical integrity.  The Jitro Czech Girls Choir presents this album as a memoriam for Hurnik, who spent decades popularizing classical music and teaching his concise, efficient style to children.

Tiranno 

Kate Lindsey’s new album explores 17th century works with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen. The third solo album is her second with the British ensemble after their acclaimed “Arianna” and showcases the artistic synergy between soloist and ensemble. the new album takes the infamous historical figure Nero as its central character in music by Scarlatti, Händel, and Monteverdi and also showcases the including world première recordings of cantatas by Alessandro Scarlatti and Bartolomeo Monari.

In a press release, Lindsey said, “Over these past months of deep unrest and uncertainty in the world, I’ve been ruminating on the idea of power – both how power can be corrupted into perverse and narcissistic personal aims, and also how it can be used towards truth, wisdom and benevolence. We built this disc to reflect the life of Nero and the perspectives of a few figures who were closest to him… that is, before he had them killed. Featuring two previously unrecorded cantatas, Tiranno takes us on a journey into the psyche of the man himself and those who met their death in the heat of his wrath.”

The Journey Home: Live from the Kennedy Center

Inspired by the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, the concert, which sold out at the time, explores timeless themes of longing, loss, love, and the search for peace in the wake of catastrophe. John Brancy and Peter Dugan collaborate on Schubert’s “Der Wanderer” and Vaughan Williams’ “Songs of Travel,” as well as popular tunes and art songs by composers and poets who died in the war. The new recording comes from a 2018 live performance from the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater.

Falstaff

Michael Volle and Daniel Barenboim team up for for Verdi’s “Falstaff” in a 2018 staging at Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden. C Major releases the production directed by Mario Martone and also starring Barbara Frittoli as Alice Ford, Nadine Sierra as Nannetta, Daniela Barcellona as Quickly, Katharina Kammerloher as Meg Page, Francesco Demuro as Fenton, and Alfredo Daza as Ford.

Rinaldo

Carmela Remigio leads the Maggio Musicale’s new release of Handel’s rarely performed work. The new release by Dynamic also features Leonardo Cortellazzi, Francesca Aspromonte, Raffaele Pe, Andrea Patucelli, Shixun Li, Marilena Ruta, Valentina Corò, and William Corrò. Federico Maria Sardelli conducts the production by Pier Luigi Pizzi.

Heart & Hereafter

Orchid Classics releases soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn recital debut that explores the varied songs of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Simon Lepper accompanies the acclaimed soprano.

Songs for Maya