Jakub Józef Orliński, Elsa Dreisig, Christina Landshamer & Wiebke Lehmkuhl Lead new CD/DVD Releases
By Francisco SalazarWelcome back as we explore the latest CD and DVD releases from around the opera world.
This week two prominent artists releases new album. There are also several choral works releases.
Invocation
Erato releases French-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig’s new album which features 17 arias and songs by 14 composers, sung in six languages, and recorded with Massimo Zanetti and the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova Orchestra.
The album presents the world premiere recording of a song by 19th-century Italian composer Carolina Uccelli alongside “Extase” from Amy Beach’s 3 Songs; operatic favorites including Dvořák’s “Song to the Moon,” Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro,” Bellini’s “Casta diva,” and Grieg’s “Solveig’s Song”; and works by Verdi, Gounod, Bizet, Rossini, Wagner, and Janáček.
Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Avie releases a recording of Bach’s famed oratorio with Cantata Collective under Nicholas McGegan. The recording features soloists Thomas Cooley, Paul Max Tipton, Sherezade Panthaki, Reginald Mobley, James Reese, and Harrison Hintzsche.
Three Silent Things
Navona Records releases an album featuring music by Ingrid Stölzel. The chamber and vocal piece blends poetry, history, and literary imagination.
Dark Fall
German-American composer Hans Thomalla releases his opera in 13 scenes and the second part of his theatrical “Diptych of Desire,” on Oehms Classics. Recorded live during the February/March 2024 world premiere production by the Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim at the Schwetzingen Palace Theatre and performed under the direction of Alan Pierson, “Dark Fall” explores love, autonomy, and self-determination in the face of aging and memory loss.
The work stars soprano Estelle Kruger, baritone Thomas Berau, tenor Uwe Eikötter, and contralto Lila Chrisp.
Tye: The Peterhouse Mass & Other Works
Hyperion releases Christopher Tye’s Masses featuring Cinquecento in their 17th album for the label.
If music …
Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński’s new album showcases 17 songs and arias by Baroque composers Purcell, Handel, and Fux. Partnered by his long-standing collaborator, pianist Michał Biel, the new album is released on Erato.
Rising
“Rising” is the debut album from Lyyra, the only U.S.-based all-women’s a cappella ensemble of its kind. Created by VOCES 8, Lyyra comprises members Anna Crumley, MaryRuth Miller, Elizabeth Tait, Ingrid Johnson, Aryssa Leigh Burrs, and Cecille Elliott, who collectively draw on backgrounds in classical, jazz, pop, folk, and other music. Featuring the first performances of new arrangements made especially for the group, “Rising” combines music by singer-songwriters, including Vienna Teng, Donny Hathaway, Simon & Garfunkel, and Billie Eilish, with that of composers ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to Amy Beach and Leslie Savoy Burrs.
From Ordinary Things
Seth Parker Woods releases his latest album on Platoon and features a deeply personal album of song, connection, and identity – recorded with collaborators Julia Bullock, Conor Hanick and Andrew Rosenblum
The new album draws together music by André Previn, George Walker, Tania León, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
When the Caged Bird Sings
Naxos releases the world premiere recording of “When the Caged Bird Sings,” a concert oratorio conceived as a worship service by Guggenheim Fellowship-winning composer Nkeiru Okoye. Rooted in the African American church, the piece incorporates elements of minimalism and improvisation and combines performers from across the spectrum of musical styles from classical to jazz and gospel. Soprano Angela Brown, tenor Issachah Savage, baritone Jubilant Sykes, and mezzo-soprano Christie Dashiell are featured in the recording alongside acclaimed director and writer Rita Coburn, jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut, and Eugene Rogers’s Sphinx vocal ensemble EXIGENCE. The University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and University Choirs are conducted by Kenneth Kiesler.
Vagn Holmboe: Works for Choir and Ensemble
The Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir, V Coloris wind ensemble and Mogens Dahl present three world premiere live recordings of Vagn Holmboe’s late choral output: “Die Erfüllung,” “Song at Sunset,” and “Ode til sjælen.”
Johann Sebastian Bach: Mein Geist
Alpha Classics Le Banquet Céleste’s new album featuring Céline Scheen, Alexander Chance, Thomas Hobbs, Benoît Arnould, and Julien Barre. This first recording by the “new” Banquet puts Bach in the spotlight with the Cantatas BWV 85 and 115.
Anton Bruckner: Te Deum & Mass No. 3 in F minor
Christina Landshamer, Sophie Harmsen, Daniel Behle, Franz-Josef Selig, Erika Baikoff, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Sebastian Kohlhepp, and Matthew Rose are the soloists in a new album dedicated to Bruckner. The SWR Vokalensemble, WDR-Rundfunkchorm, and SWR Symphonieorchester are conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado.
Semyon Bychkov & Czech Phil: The Complete Mahler Cycle
PENTATONE releases the Czech Philharmonic’s complete Mahler Cycle under Semyon Bychkov.
