London Symphony Chorus, Simon Halsey – Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil (Vespers) (2015)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 53:21 minutes | 2,12 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet | © LSO
Rachmaninov was no conventional believer, but the rituals and traditions of the Orthodox Church were an essential part of his musical and cultural background. Phrases reminiscent of liturgical chant appear in his music throughout his life, from the First Symphony of 1895 to the Symphonic Dances of 1940; the last of these, indeed, includes an important quotation from the ninth movement of the Vigil. Rachmaninov’s setting of the All-Night Vigil was composed in January and February 1915.
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Bach Choir, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Britten – Britten: War Requiem (1963/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:21:21 minutes | 1,64 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca
“DECCA has used the most recent digital and Cedar technology to improve the original sound, under the overall supervision of veteran technician James Lock. This is one of the great performances of recording history.” Over half a century has passed since this classic DECCA recording was made in Kingsway Hall, London in January 1963. While the performance remains a benchmark, time has left the original analogue master tapes more fragile than ever. For this Britten centenary edition, DECCA has gone back to the original tapes and used the latest techniques and extensive comparison with the earliest LP pressings and subsequent remasterings, to make a definitive transfer. For the first time ever, all audio processing has been achieved in the 96 kHz 24-bit domain. The Studio Master HighRes-Download affords an unprecedented opportunity to hear the recording at this resolution.
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Erika Grimaldi, Daniela Barcellona, Francesco Meli, Michele Pertusi, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda – Verdi: Requiem (1874) (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:17:55 minutes | 1,47 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © LSO Live
Recently appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda gathered together an outstanding cast of Italian stars for these searing performances of Verdi’s Requiem to open the LSO’s 2016/17 season.
Originally destined to be a collaboration of movements from Italian composers to honour the death of Rossini, the Requiem evolved into a memorial for the Italian writer and poet Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi revered, and premiered on 22 May 1874 — exactly a year after Manzoni’s death.
The most complex and dramatic sequence is the ‘Dies irae’ (Day of wrath). The vivid text of the Last Judgement allows Verdi’s operatic talents to flourish amidst the drama and pathos. The main theme erupts in violent fury of brass and percussion while the chorus roars a descending scale pattern of intimidating catastrophe and fear. In a momentary lull, a single trumpet in the orchestra opens a simple fanfare, answered quietly by a trumpet out in the concert hall. The fanfare builds in intensity and numbers until the four trumpets on stage and four house trumpets, often spatially arranged for maximum effect, join the full orchestra for a blazing opening to the choral entrance of the ‘Tuba mirum’ (The trumpet shall sound).
Whilst not a devout Catholic, Verdi was influenced by a profound sense of higher power: combining his gifts for the theatrical with his admiration for the great Italian liturgical music of the past, he created a passionate and deeply moving masterpiece, beloved of performers and audiences alike.
Read more![Gianandrea Noseda, Ian Bostridge, Simon Keenlyside, Sabina Cvilak, London Symphony Chorus, Choir of Eltham College, London Symphony Orchestra - Britten: War Requiem (2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2022/09/12/xy6vrjrakbekc_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Gianandrea Noseda, Ian Bostridge, Simon Keenlyside, Sabina Cvilak, London Symphony Chorus, Choir of Eltham College, London Symphony Orchestra – Britten: War Requiem (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:23:44 minutes | 726 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © LSO Live
Premiered in 1962, the War Requiem is one of the twentieth century’s defining works. Britten was commissioned to write it for the re-dedication of Coventry Cathedral, which was destroyed during the Second World War. Interspersing the Latin mass of the dead with texts by war poet Wilfred Owen he created a work that both mourned the dead and pleaded the futility of war.
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