{"title":"Weekend Spotlight: The Elegance of Elgar","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\" style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeekend Spotlight\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e celebrates the timeless elegance of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdward Elgar\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTHREE remarkable new releases\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, featuring performances by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKinga Augustyn, the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Leipzig, The Hallé Orchestra,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHertschorus\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. From soaring choral works and expressive violin writing to sweeping orchestral grandeur, these recordings capture the lyricism, drama, and unmistakable spirit of Elgar’s music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThen, continue the journey with an \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOutlet collection of titles\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e featuring Elgar alongside composers of his era and tradition, including \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and more—all \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e50% OFF\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e for a limited time!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"shopify-section-template--18107431616746__blocks_hpEaLT\" class=\"shopify-section\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"shopify-block-ARk1HUVd2TGNpVktaW__ai_gen_block_00051a3_B6TAYk\" class=\"shopify-block\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"ai-section-header-ark1huvd2tgnpvktawaigenblock00051a3b6tayk\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"ai-section-header__container-ark1huvd2tgnpvktawaigenblock00051a3b6tayk\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"ai-section-header__description-ark1huvd2tgnpvktawaigenblock00051a3b6tayk\"\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShop the sale before it ends at\u003cstrong\u003e 9:00am ET, Monday, August 17th, 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"elgar-cello-concerto-arlia-sollima-orchestra-948759","title":"Cello Concerto","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Arturo Toscanini and Sir John Barbirolli to Riccardo Muti and Antonio Pappano in our own time, Italian-heritage performers have often brought special qualities of sympathy and understanding to Edward Elgar’s (1857-1934) music. Now comes a new recording made in the ‘boot’ of southern Italy, lending Mediterranean warmth and passion to a trio of Elgarian masterpieces. The Sicilian-born cellist Giovanni Sollima has made well-received albums for Brilliant Classics of music by Offenbach (94475) and by his father Eliodoro Sollima (96287). His latest recording, made at the Teatro Politeama in the one-time ‘lace capital’ of Europe, Catanzaro, illuminates one of the core works of the cello literature with an affecting sense of line and sensitivity to the melancholy introversion which colors every bar of the Concerto composed by Elgar in the wake of the First World War. Twenty years earlier, Elgar’s reputation was secured with audiences across Europe and America through the whirlwind success of his “Enigma” Variations. The stoic beauty of ‘Nimrod’, the gentle wit of ‘Dorabella’ and the nervous excitement and pride of the autobiographical finale spoke directly to listeners who would never know the composer or his ‘friends pictured within’. The agitated, impassioned voice of Elgar in the Variations belonged to its end-of-Empire time and place, orchestrated with a mastery which would soon draw the admiration of Richard Strauss and many more musicians on the other side of the English Channel. Even that quintessential expression of Englishness, the first of five marches which Elgar collected under the Shakesperean banner of “Pomp and Circumstance” and later repurposed to set ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ for the finale of his Coronation Ode, won the composer standing ovations when he conducted it in concerts across mainland Europe. Under the affectionate baton of their music director Filippo Arlia, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria interpret Elgar’s music with a sensitivity and extroversion worthy of the composer.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Brilliant Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46907837972760,"sku":"5028421960395","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4007924-2774012.jpg?v=1777804062"},{"product_id":"trombone-travels-vol-2-songs-of-travel","title":"Trombone Travels, Vol. 2: Songs Of Travel","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis second volume of Trombone Travels (Volume 1 is on 8.574093) continues with Matthew Gee’s exploration of three great cycles of early 20th-century British song. Elgar’s Sea Pictures evoke lullaby and turbulence alike, Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel chart a wanderer’s lonely journey through the landscape, and in Songs of the Sea Stanford’s music embraces both the somber and the exhilarating, with Gee joined by a trombone chorus to emulate the male voice choir. 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The musical tradition continued to flourish within the family until, in 2013, some of the second generation of cousins decided to create their own version of the family choir, naming themselves the Bevan Family Consort so as to distinguish them from their parents’ generation. The Consort has since ranged in size from 15-22 of the 53 first cousins. 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(Naxos)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46908500902168,"sku":"747313286171","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2002767.jpg?v=1777781206"},{"product_id":"a-vaughan-williams-anthology","title":"A Vaughan Williams Anthology","description":"\u003cp\u003eRalph Vaughan Williams is one of Britain’s most illustrious composers, and this specially curated selection of works demonstrates the sheer breadth of his achievement. Vaughan Williams’ chamber works are performed by the Maggini Quartet, his greatest contemporary champions; while the sublime Mass in G minor shows the composer’s high standing in the English choral tradition. (Naxos)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46908569518360,"sku":"747313802135","price":28.48,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4069370-2824367.jpg?v=1777562840"},{"product_id":"sirens-song-the-sixteen","title":"Siren's Song \/ The Sixteen","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat would singing be without words? When you combine wonderful poetry with exquisite music, the result is magical. In a rare break from the sacred collections they are famed for, this album from The Sixteen features a whole programme of secular music devoted to English partsongs. From Stanford’s cycle of Eight Partsongs based on the sparing yet infectious poetry of Mary Elizabeth Coleridge to Bridges’ lyrically descriptive writing in Finzi’s Seven Poems of Robert Bridges and Imogen Holst’s six idyllic partsongs Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow using verses by John Keats, each setting captures the mood of the poem brilliantly.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Coro","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":47105314455832,"sku":"828021619823","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4235490-3144389.jpg?v=1777535916"},{"product_id":"the-english-tenor-scott-robert-shaw","title":"The English Tenor \/ Scott Robert Shaw","description":"\u003cp\u003eScott Robert Shaw's debut \"The English Tenor\" takes us on a beautifully performed journey through a who's who of great English composers and their vocal works. The names Ivor Gurney, Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi and Roger Quilter are synonymous with English Song, and a Golden Age of British music. The wide variety of accompanying instruments and artists, the broad range of text settings and the mix of cornerstone works of the repertoire alongside lesser-known cycles make \"The English Tenor\" a thrilling debut album. A product of the English church music tradition, Australian born Scott Robert Shaw has been performing works in this oeuvre since childhood. Whether on the operatic or oratorio stage, as an ensemble singer or soloist, his deep cultural roots to the British music world are laid bare for all to see. This deeply personal album stands as testament to his background, and as a homecoming to his earliest steps as artist. Beginning his career and training as a boy soprano at the St George’s Cathedral Perth Choir, Scott then attended the McDonald College of the Performing Arts in Sydney, studying music and acting in the Stanislawksy\/Laban tradition, awarded a full scholarship for Excellence in Performance. He then attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and was given the Most Exceptional Contribution to the Arts award from Wesley College, University of Sydney. In London he continued his studies with the English National Opera’s Baylis Programme for young performers and was regularly engaged to perform as a recitalist and operatic tenor in festivals and opera companies in both the United Kingdom and France. He then completed his studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague where he studied Early Music and Classical Singing, and now based in Düsseldorf, is regularly engaged as a soloist in The Netherlands and Germany, with a particular focus on Bach oratorios and Evangelist roles in the Passions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Divine Art","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":47105315373336,"sku":"809730111020","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4235496-3144061.jpg?v=1777534588"},{"product_id":"the-christmas-album-phoenix-chorale","title":"The Christmas Album \/ Phoenix Chorale","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a Christmas album that has a sense of place; clearly identifying the Chorale as both American and from a border state with Mexico; and something for everyone whether they prefer serious or light festive fare. There is Mexican influence in the repertoire choices; which include Catalan folksongs as well as Hispanic Renaissance music. It includes a commission by Cecilia McDowall; written for Christmas 2021; new arrangements of all tracks and also some contemporary Christmas favourites such as Sleigh Ride and Jingle Bells. This marks the Chorale’s return to recording following an 8-year hiatus; and their first album with Signum Records. “Festive repertoire plays an important role in the performance cycle of every choir; and it felt fitting to begin our journey with a Christmas recording that established a sense of place for the ensemble: we chose to record repertoire that is all American or Hispanic in origin; save for the newly-commissioned piece by Cecilia McDowall that was written to mark the centenary of our home in Phoenix; Trinity Cathedral. 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The peerless combination of a peculiarly English dry wit, genuine pathos and superlative technical skill remains an extraordinary achievement. Sitwell’s verses conjure a satirical and poignant world of bourgeois late-Victorian England, while Walton’s settings unfailingly enhance and enrich the texts in a work in which words and music are unquestionably of equal importance. This release includes the first recording of \u003cem\u003eSmall Talk\u003c\/em\u003e (1922) and three numbers first performed in 1977 but subsequently rejected by the composer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJoAnn Falletta is to be congratulated for bringing us Walton’s revisit of the piece in 1978 when he was 76, featuring eight more poems (the work’s original subtitle, “An Entertainment,” became “A Further Entertainment:). Falletta also includes some additional material, beginning with “Small Talk” from 1922 and three numbers from 1977, “Daphne,” “The White Owl,” and “The Last Galop”—the late ones have never been recorded before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe special charm of this release is to be found in the acting skills of the narrators, now expanded from two to three. Falletta realized that Sitwell’s poems contain actual characters who could be brought vividly to life, and she has chosen her cast well. Hila Plitman is extremely versatile, sounding at times Russian or German in her delivery (she is actually Israeli). Fred Child is a vocally nimble PBS narrator, and well-regarded bass-baritone Kevin Deas comes across richly with an arch demeanor suggestive of the childlike nature of some of the poems. The result is extremely satisfying. Of course, the performance necessarily emerges sounding less British, less reserved and less formal, but we Americans have our own silly Ogden Nash tradition, and \u003cem\u003eFaçade \u003c\/em\u003eis none the worse for a more extroverted American approach. Jo Ann Falletta and her Virginians play with sass and spark.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Fanfare\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":47301816320280,"sku":"747313437870","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4119044-2874462.jpg?v=1777566101"},{"product_id":"elgar-the-dream-of-gerontius-nicky-spence-andrew-foster-williams-anna-stephany-gabrieli-polish-national-youth-choir","title":"Elgar: The Dream Of Gerontius  Nicky Spence, Andrew Foster-Williams, Anna Stephany, Gabrieli, Polish National Youth Choir","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Dream of Gerontius by Edward Elgar is a two-part work for voices and orchestra composed in 1900 to text by John Henry Newman. 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Mark Ashford’s version of the English Folk Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams is just one example of the quartet’s ability to re-work established masterpieces with breathtaking virtuosity. The Vida Guitar Quartet brings together four guitarists of exceptional artistry and “unerring musical instinct.” (Gramophone) Vida’s ability to “conjure up an orchestral palette of color and effects” (Classic FM) combined with their “exquisite tonal and dynamic control” has firmly established them as a passionate and masterful ensemble who sparkle with “vitality and spontaneity” (Acoustic) Vida’s seemingly effortless sense of ensemble and their broad range of timbres and dynamics evokes “listening to an entire orchestra and note merely to four guitars. There’s only one word for it: magic.” (Gramophone)","brand":"BGS Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49606103105816,"sku":"634158504037","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2825778_a2d258df-46a4-4895-a5ab-022e658758bd.jpg?v=1777777727"},{"product_id":"earth-sea-air-british-music-for-cello-orchestra","title":"Earth, Sea, Air - British Music for Cello \u0026 Orchestra","description":"Laura van der Heijden joins the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ryan Wigglesworth for this album of British cello concertos. Frank Bridge's Oration, composed in 1929 - 30 was intended as an outcry against the inhumanity of warfare, and a tribute to the victims of the First World War. It's arch form single continuous movement exhibits the intense chromaticism typical of Bridge's output from this era. Commissioned by the Ukrainian-born cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, Walton's Cello Concerto suffered a number of difficulties with regard to first performances (Piatigorsky suffered a mental breakdown; Walton missed the UK premiere because of a nasty road accident) but it has nevertheless become a staple of the repertoire. It was with this concerto that Laura van der Heijden won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, in 2012. The young British composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and then the University of Cambridge and King's College London, and rapidly established herself as one of the most talented and prolific composers of her generation. Earth, Sea, Air was written for van der Heijden, who gave the work's premiere in Glasgow in 2023, a week before making this recording with the same forces.","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":49606129123608,"sku":"095115534625","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4335074-3177894.jpg?v=1777517884"},{"product_id":"serenely-cedille","title":"SERENELY CEDILLE","description":"Classical Music","brand":"Cedille","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49606148325656,"sku":"735131800129","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/795855.jpg?v=1777772102"},{"product_id":"all-star-orchestra-british-enigmas-mysterious-mountain","title":"All-Star Orchestra: British Enigmas - Mysterious Mountain","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe All-Star Orchestra gives you a front row seat to the world’s greatest music, performed by top players chosen from over 30 great American orchestras, and conducted by Gerard Schwarz. The programs feature complete performances of popular masterpieces and world premieres of new works by leading American composers. Filmed in High-Definition with multiple cameras in and around the orchestra, the All-Star Orchestra celebrates the symphonic experience in the 21st century. The first work on this release is Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The score is dedicated to “my friends pictured within,” and each Variation represents a real person. As he was finishing the work, Elgar wrote: “The enigma I will not explain- it’s ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture.” A musical mystery of great beauty and endless fascination. The next piece is Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. The perennial family favorite showcases- one by one- all the instruments of the orchestra. Next is Alan Hovhaness’ Symphony No. 2, opus 132 “Mysterious Mountain.” The composer wrote: “Mountains are symbols, like pyramids, of man’s attempt to know God. Mountains are symbolic meeting places between the mundane and spiritual world.” Finally is Eugene Goossens’ Jubilee Variations. This is a world premiere video recording of this unpublished 1944 work created by Eugene Goossens with contributions from ten composer friends, including Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, William Schumann, and more.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos AudioVisual","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":49607897219352,"sku":"747313556250","price":12.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3723987.jpg?v=1777765225"},{"product_id":"delius-appalachia-sea-drift","title":"Delius: Appalachia - Sea Drift","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe orchestra relishes Delius’s contrasts. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e It is a delight to welcome performances of two of Delius’s American-inspired works by forces from Florida, where Delius lived from 1892 to 1895. Although Sea Drift, a setting of a poem by Whitman, is overtly about an American subject, the music is more universal than specifically American. While the initial drafts of Appalachia were made in Paris the year after Delius left Florida - Marco Polo, Naxos’s sister label, once had a recording (8.220452) of this earlier version in their catalogues under the title of American Rhapsody - the work was very substantially expanded to the form we have it here some eight years later, long after Delius had returned to Europe.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I first heard Sea Drift in the original Beecham recording issued on a limited edition Delius Society release of four 78s (now on Naxos) - I still have them. Beecham’s account of the score remains a marvel of sympathetic identification with the spirits of both Whitman and Delius. Unfortunately all of his recordings - and there are a good many of them, from studio and live broadcasts, not all currently available - are in mono. This is a score which absolutely demands the atmosphere of stereophonic sound. Similarly Beecham never recorded Appalachia in stereo, and his last (mono) LP (reissued by Sony) suffered from a baritone who had seemingly been chosen for his ability to sing Danish for the coupled recording of the Arabesque rather than any ability to sing sympathetically in English for the closing ‘negro spiritual’ section of Appalachia. One cannot possibly accuse Leon Williams of sounding un-American, but the tone of his voice is nevertheless rather English and rather too polite. He is not helped by the rather close proximity of the microphone, which brings him closer than the rest of the performers rather than blending him into the whole. Bryn Terfel, in his Chandos recording of Sea Drift with Richard Hickox (coupled with the Songs of Sunset and Songs of Farewell), digs far more deeply into the meaning of the words than Williams does here. The emotion of the latter is too generalised, and his voice lacks the light and shade of Terfel or John Shirley-Quirk on Hickox’s earlier Decca recording.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Appalachia fares rather better in this reading. The orchestra relishes the contrasts in Delius’s set of variations, with a nicely winsome touch in passages such as the waltz variation at 19.57; Beecham allowed a very gusty breath of the ballroom to intrude here. Earlier they are beautifully atmospheric in the passage from 17.01 which recalls Delius’s Florida opera The magic fountain. The chorus is nicely distanced in their brief interjections in the earlier variations, and come into their own with the own variation at 27.50, when they appear to move closer. Unfortunately the close microphone placement given to Williams at 31.52 serves only to emphasise how precisely English is his diction, and the choir are now very far forward indeed, which brings a sense of stridency which is entirely foreign to the Delius idiom. The passage at 33.28 sounds uncomfortably like the closing titles for a Hollywood Western - not at all the area of America that Delius had in mind.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e This Naxos disc duplicates exactly the contents of one of Richard Hickox’s earliest recordings of British music, issued originally on an Argo LP in 1980, with Shirley-Quirk at the peak of his form in the baritone solos, which is certainly a reading which deserves to be in any Delius collection - it remains available from Arkiv Music . The Naxos recording is more immediate in general sound than the analogue Hickox, but the latter has plenty of atmosphere and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - many of whose members must have played this music under Beecham - respond with affection to Hickox’s somewhat slower tempos. Indeed Sanderling could sometimes be accused of hurrying, as at the baritone entry at 2.58 where the soloist sounds a bit hustled. It is important to keep Delius’s music moving, not allowing it to stagnate, but the flow can be maintained without undue haste; Sanderling shaves nearly four minutes off Hickox’s speeds in his earlier recording, almost a fifth of the whole duration of a fairly short work. Beecham, even with the constraint of 78 sides, was slower than this, and Delius always expressed his conviction that this conductor understood his music better than anyone else.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e It is always a suspicion that when one knows a particular performance well one might be allowing nostalgia to colour reactions to a performance. To test this I played the recording of Sea Drift to a friend of mine who, although he knew and loved the poem, did not previously know the music at all. He like me vastly preferred Hickox, observing that although that performance was noticeably slower, it at the same time had a sense of purposeful motion that Sanderling lacked. He also actually preferred the more integrated sound of the older recording.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Naxos’s cover photograph by Giorgio Fochesato is particularly beautiful and appropriate, and the booklet commendably includes the complete texts of both works. The orchestra and chorus both perform superbly; it is nice to hear a really big choir sing this music - 137 singers are listed - as Delius would have expected in his earlier performances. They maintain pitch even in the most exposed passages of Sea Drift.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Paul Corfield Godfrey, MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49644158910744,"sku":"747313276479","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2058876.jpg?v=1777767615"},{"product_id":"flowers-of-the-field","title":"Flowers of the Field","description":"\u003cp\u003eThese composers were all affected by the carnage of World War I, and their elegiac music expresses regret and lost innocence, love won and lost, sacrifice and death. George Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad, conceived as an epilogue to his Housman song cycles, encapsulates the poet’s sense of life’s transience. Ivor Gurney was both shot and gassed in 1917, and The Trumpet pleads with mankind to set aside the folly of war. Heard here in a new completion, Gerald Finzi’s Requiem da Camera mourns the death of his mentor Ernest Farrar and those of other fallen artists, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’s An Oxford Elegy recalls lost friends with an intense and magical nostalgia.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49644160745752,"sku":"747313342679","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2804722.jpg?v=1777836621"},{"product_id":"poisoned-kiss","title":"POISONED KISS","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the premiere recording of Vaughan Williams's opera The Poisoned Kiss. This romantic extravaganza contains some of the composer's finest music, and a sense of fun runs through the delightful score. Vaughan Williams began writing The Poisoned Kiss, his fourth opera, in 1927. He was also working on Sir John in Love and had begun sketching the first scenes of Job. he was at the height of his musical powers, yet The Poisoned Kiss has remained unperformed, unrecorded and unknown. The reason for this neglect lies mainly in the rather dated text and the lengthy sections of spoken dialogue (some of which is omitted in this recording). It did not help that the composer and the librettist were uncertain about the balance between comedy and drama in the opera, a dilema that led to major revisions of the work by Vaughan Williams in 1936 and again in 1956-57. In the final version the composer's lyricism dominates the humour and we are treated to an extraordinary wealth of expressive and heart-felt music whcih does not deserve to be ignored. Recorded in: Brangwyn Hall, Swansea 3-6 January 2003 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Matthew Walker (Assistant) \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":49704216822040,"sku":"095115502020","price":21.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/575835.jpg?v=1777693990"},{"product_id":"elgar-starlight-express-op-78","title":"Elgar: Starlight Express, Op. 78","description":"This fairytale melodrama was adapted from a book by Algernon Blackwood A Prisoner in Fairyland for a West End theatre production staged during World War 1 with music by Elgar. Based on a new score which has been adapted by Sir Andrew Davis who also here conducts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra this is the most comprehensive recorded version to date. The two-disc set includes the incidental music with narrative by Simon Callow and an extended suite of freestanding orchestral movements and songs.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \"Those who love this score as much as Elgar did - and I do - will welcome this new recording. ... All Elgarians must hear this superb set.\" – Paul Corfield Godfrey, MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \"Performance: ***** Recording: **** This is a very valuable addition to the Elgar discography.” – Calum MacDonald, BBC Music [1\/2012]\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  “[L]ovingly played by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and features the excellent baritone soloist Roderick Williams.” – Andrew Clark, Financial Times [12\/8-9\/2012]\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  “Elgar’s score is enchanting – and Davis and the SCO deliver it with evident affection.” – Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times (Culture Magazine) [11\/11\/2012]\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  “Davis secures absolutely first-rate results from the Scottish CO. Elin Manahan Thomas’s light silvery soprano could hardly be more suited to the parts of the laughter and Jane-Anne, while Roderick Williams is in glorious voice throughout. Everything has been captured by the microphones with ingratiating amplitude, bloom and glow.” – Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone [11\/2012] \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \"[T]he songs are delivered with just the right lightness of touch by soprano Elin Manahan Thomas and baritone Roderick Williams. ***\" – Andrew Clements, The Guardian [10\/26\/2012]","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":49704220786968,"sku":"095115511121","price":21.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2067855.jpg?v=1777693999"},{"product_id":"elgar-enigma-variations-1","title":"Elgar: Enigma Variations","description":"Elgar: Enigma Variations","brand":"SWR","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49704487026968,"sku":"4010276020455","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1867689_db57cdc9-1016-4fa1-bc68-f85b99af78cf.jpg?v=1777611508"},{"product_id":"the-evening-hour","title":"The Evening Hour","description":"All of the pieces chosen for this new release center around the theme of evening time.  \u003cb\u003eMark Williams\u003c\/b\u003e and his  \u003cb\u003eChoir of Jesus College Cambridge\u003c\/b\u003e have released four prior albums with Signum, all of which have gained critical praise. The programme of this album blends ancient and modern, featuring works from Thomas Tallis, William Harris, Gustav Holst, and many more.","brand":"Signum Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49705021309208,"sku":"635212044629","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3328883.jpg?v=1777660253"},{"product_id":"in-the-world-of-spirits","title":"In the World of Spirits","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Emory Symphonic Winds, comprised of members of the Emory Wind Ensemble and the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, are American leaders in the commissioning of new music. Bruce Broughton’s In the World of Spirits was dedicated to the ensemble and is a work of action, dynamism and electric physicality. Christmas carols and hymns are explored by Gustav Holst while Jennifer Higdon charts the intangible beauty of music itself. Alfred Reed’s Russian Christmas Music is a classic of symphonic band writing: rich, colorful and sonorous.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49705717891352,"sku":"747313300273","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2058886.jpg?v=1777566924"},{"product_id":"for-queen-country-2","title":"FOR QUEEN \u0026 COUNTRY","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn April, the United Kingdom celebrated the birthday of the longest serving monarch in British history. This release is the perfect soundtrack to the celebrations. Some of Britain’s most popular artists and ensembles have gathered together for this two-disc set, which includes patriotic anthems and popular tunes. Musicians include Russell Watson, Jonathan and Charlotte, The Band of H.M. 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The allure of landscapes and elemental forces was powerful for both composers; the subtle tensions and gorgeously layered harmonies of Bax's settings also evoking historical remoteness and other-worldly enchantment.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49709604765976,"sku":"747313369577","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3609245.jpg?v=1777771161"},{"product_id":"elgar-violin-concerto-bach-violin-concerto-2","title":"Elgar: Violin Concerto - Bach: Violin Concerto","description":"Pinchas Zuckerman is the featured soloist on this disc of live recordings from the archives of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Zubin Mehta leads the orchestra in performances of violin concertos by Bach and Elgar, recorded in 1986 and 2006.","brand":"Helicon Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49709804978456,"sku":"7293627965521","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2001995_28b057fd-3649-43d2-8231-d482122fa81d.jpg?v=1777582136"},{"product_id":"finzi-the-best-of-2","title":"FINZI (THE BEST OF)","description":"Classical Music","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49710050607384,"sku":"730099683623","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1367466.jpg?v=1777842183"},{"product_id":"bach-orchestral-transcriptions-by-respighi-elgar-1","title":"Bach: Orchestral transcriptions by Respighi \u0026 Elgar","description":"This exciting disc makes a very welcome return to the catalog on Naxos. The Respighi transcriptions reveal his typical mastery of orchestration, particularly in the larger pieces: the Prelude and Fugue BWV 532 and the great Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582. The chorale transcriptions are also very lovely, and include the famous “Wachet auf” (“Sleepers Awake!”) BWV 645. In the Sonata BWV 1023, Ilkka Talvi proves a sensitive and musicianly soloist as well. However, the real treat is Elgar’s arrangement of the Fantasia and Fugue in C minor BWV 537. It’s insane. In the fugue, next to Elgar’s tambourine, glockenspiel, harp glissandos, and looney trumpet licks, Stokowski’s Bach might as well be the work of a period-instrument specialist. It’s wonderful, and Gerard Schwarz gets his players to blast their way through the piece with total conviction. The sonics also constitute one of the better efforts from this source and era (1990). Buy it and love it.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e – David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49710227554584,"sku":"747313274178","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1957360.jpg?v=1777706608"},{"product_id":"vaughan-williams-r-mass-in-g-minor-silence-and-music-1","title":"Vaughan Williams, R.: Mass in G Minor \/ Silence and Music \/","description":"Vaughan Williams, R.: Mass in G Minor \/ Silence and Music \/","brand":"SWR","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":49710308000024,"sku":"4010276022411","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1471811.jpg?v=1777610222"},{"product_id":"piano-quintet-sea-pictures-1","title":"PIANO QUINTET  SEA PICTURES","description":"It's an initially disorientating experience to hear Sea Pictures in a version with choir. The Rodolfus Choir are an elite SATB group and have a wonderfully smooth and often lulling sound; there's a lot of that mood in Sea Pictures. The choir's diction is a marvel although the sung words are in any event at the back of the booklet. The singers are attentive to dynamic contrast and register some superbly poetic effects. Open-minded Elgarians who can get over the heresy of unfamiliar forces will find much to enjoy here. Where Corals Lie is a delight and works exceptionally well with choir.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  A lazy unobservant glance at the details of this disc had me assuming that the Piano Quintet had been re-engineered into a Piano Concerto to join the Elgar\/Walker. No such thing. What we have here is something of symphonic proportions and character. While there are some dark and dramatic moments and even some hints of the Second Symphony this now comes across as reflective and in the same territory as Falstaff. The first movement has an air of halting even fearful uncertainty. It's all very smooth though, suave even. A Viennese lilt at 10.00 is one of several instances where things become quite Brahmsian. The second movement is almost Finzian as details entwine much as they do in the woodland Interludes in Falstaff. The finale has its exciting moments but is overall quite nostalgic, philosophical, and regretful.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  These two works in new colors should give many more opportunities to hear this music although ironically each requires a greater number of performers than the originals. Of the two Sea Pictures strikes me as the more attractive.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – MusicWeb International (Rob Barnett)","brand":"Avie Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49711358279960,"sku":"822252236224","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3321770.jpg?v=1777744195"},{"product_id":"elgar-violin-concerto-op-61-bruch-violin-concerto-op-1","title":"Elgar: Violin Concerto, Op. 61 \u0026 Bruch: Violin Concerto, Op.","description":"Billboard chart-topping violinist Rachel Barton Pine releases her 36th album and fourth for AVIE with her first recordings of two repertory staples, violin concertos by Edward Elgar and Max Bruch. The two works – Elgar’s only concerto for violin and Bruch’s first – straddle the turn of the 20th century but have in common a Romantic hue which Rachel probes with her rich, soulful tone.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The album is dedicated to “the memory of a musical hero and generous friend, Sir Neville Marriner,” who was to have reunited with Rachel on this album. She was fortunate to work with him on the scores, with Sir Neville vividly relating accounts of his teacher Billy Reed, former leader of the London Symphony Orchestra, who collaborated with Elgar on the creation of his violin concerto. Grammy Award-winning conductor Andrew Litton brings his own Romantic pedigree to the recording, as does the BBC Symphony Orchestra and celebrated producer Andrew Keener who himself has overseen award winning versions of the Elgar and Bruch concertos.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  -----\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  REVIEW:\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Pine’s interpretation of the Elgar is as emotionally satisfying as it is dazzling. The slow movement is mysteriously veiled and luminous, providing a palpable sense of the music’s darker undercurrents. She is most impressive, perhaps, in the finale, where her easy virtuosity sends sparks flying, though never at the expense of the long line.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Her performance of the Bruch is wholly persuasive in its mittel-European heartiness. The outer movements abound with snap and spice, and the Adagio has a warm solemnity that, one might argue, offers a foretaste of Elgarian nobilmente. The recorded sound is glorious, with a near-ideal balance between soloist and orchestra.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – Gramophone","brand":"Avie Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49711361327384,"sku":"822252237528","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3741694_be3644b5-3b03-4519-a9fe-c270321538eb.jpg?v=1777700824"},{"product_id":"vaughan-williams-grieg-violin-sonatas","title":"Vaughan Williams \u0026 Grieg: Violin Sonatas","description":"\u003cp\u003eCharlie Siem returns with a new recording of Violin Sonatas, accompanied by his regular recital partner Itamar Golan – featuring Vaughan Williams' Violin Sonata in A Minor and Grieg's Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13. Charlie Siem is one of today’s foremost young violinists, with such a wide-ranging diversity of cross-cultural appeal as to have played a large part in defining what it means to be a true artist of the 21st century. Siem has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras and chamber ensembles, including the Bergen Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg, Czech National Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, London Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has worked with top conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Edward Gardner, Zubin Mehta, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Roger Norrington, Libor Pešek and Yuri Simonov. International festival appearances to date include Spoleto, St. Moritz, Gstaad, Bergen, Tine@Munch, Festival Internacional de Santa Lucía, and the Windsor Festival.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signum Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49727673041176,"sku":"635212073421","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4170016-2951456.jpg?v=1777723461"},{"product_id":"the-composers-conduct","title":"The Composers Conduct","description":"The Composers Conduct","brand":"Urania Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49731257565464,"sku":"8051773571022","price":16.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2435037.jpg?v=1777549866"},{"product_id":"elgar-from-the-archives-vol-4","title":"Elgar from the Archives, Vol. 4","description":"From SOMM Recordings comes another release in their warmly received series Elgar from the Archives, drawn from the remarkable collection of producer and restoration engineer Lani Spahr, containing over 5,000 historic Elgar recordings. Reviewing the first volume of the series, Stuart Millson, a Contributing Editor to The Brazen Head, wrote, \"Again, sound-supremo, Lani Spahr has done a wonderful job of \"French-polishing\" this (English) music.\" Volume 4 of the series presents the Concert Overture In the South (Alassio), Op. 50 and Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55.    The volumes in the Elgar from the Archives series feature both British artists and equally laudable performers from other countries, and In the South is a 1954 release featuring the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Leipzig. The ensemble is conducted by Gerhard Pfluger (1907-1991) who was born and educated in Dresden and had the misfortune to come to maturity during the years of National Socialism, the destruction of much of Germany, and the establishment of the German Democratic Republic. He joined the Nazi party in 1940, and from 1946, as a member of the East German communist party, he held conducting positions in Rostock and Weimar in addition to Leipzig. Against this backdrop, for an East German orchestra and conductor to issue the work of a British composer was not only rare but courageous.    Elgar was enjoying a family holiday in Italy during the winter of 1903 to 1904, and he was supposed to be working on a long-planned symphony. However, the resort town of Alassio on the Italian Riviera proved to be too alluring, and it inspired him to write a concert overture instead that captured the local atmosphere. He later recalled how, one beautiful afternoon in the Vale of Andora, \" in a flash, it all came to me. In that time I had composed the overture - the rest was merely writing it down.\"    Elgar did get around to completing his First Symphony in 1908, and it had it's premiere in Manchester on 3 December that year with Hans Richter conducting the Halle Orchestra. It was, as The Musical Times described it, an \"immediate and phenomenal success.\" On the evening of 30 January 1958, the City of Manchester celebrated the centenary of the Halle Orchestra with a concert that was both broadcast and televised, and it is this live recording that is presented here. The orchestra was led by Sir John Barbirolli, their Principal Conductor from 1943 to 1970. Michael Kennedy, biographer of Elgar and Barbirolli, said of the performance, \"In their finest hour, the Halle and it's conductor found the best in each other to do honour to their own traditions.\"","brand":"SOMM Recordings","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":52374988751128,"sku":"758871504928","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4513179-3591287.jpg?v=1783356937"},{"product_id":"de-profundis-choral-works-by-parry-and-elgar","title":"De Profundis - Choral works by Parry and Elgar","description":"This album brings together major choral works by Hubert Parry and Edward Elgar, reflecting the richness of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British music. At it's centre is Parry's de Profundis, a large-scale setting of Psalm 130, widely admired by contemporaries for it's emotional depth, contrapuntal mastery, and expressive journey from penitence to hope. Parry's anthem God Is Our Hope and Strength complements it with a grand, confident vision of choral architecture and spiritual assurance. Elgar is represented by the intimate partsong The Snow and the charming Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands, inspired by Alpine landscapes and folk traditions, capturing a more personal and lyrical side of his art.","brand":"Signum Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":52388306551064,"sku":"635212100523","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4513175-3591260.jpg?v=1783677466"},{"product_id":"balm-for-the-soul","title":"Balm for the Soul","description":"In a world shaped by constant motion and an abundance of sound, music that invites stillness becomes essential. Balm for the Soul was recorded as a space of restoration - a recording that does not seek to overwhelm, but to illuminate.","brand":"Centaur Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":52411825520920,"sku":"044747419329","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4517509-3605759.jpg?v=1784289404"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/collections\/3_4aa88ee8-74bf-485b-b5c6-376fdc4ad8e6.png?v=1786719149","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/collections\/weekend-spotlight-the-elegance-of-elgar.oembed?page=2","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}