J S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 must have one of the most thrilling and celebratory openings ever heard. Hope you enjoy this version of the opening chorus Jauchzet frohlocket from the Frauenkirche Dresden in the heart of Saxony.
The Staatskapelle Dresden, is conducted by Christian Thielemann, Sophie Koch (Mezzosoprano) und Thomas Hampson (Baritone).
Nick Mohammed is a character comedian based in Edinburgh. He appears at comedy festivals and makes programmes for BBC TV and radio. His caustic humour delivers insights that are suspiciously close to the truth! Belly laughs aplenty in this YouTube video parodying the conductor!
Sydney’s art-lovers have been captivated by The Lady and the Unicorn – the series of six intricate wool and silk tapestries (c1500) from Flanders which depict the six senses – sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell and desire. Featured prominently in the tapestry which depicts ‘hearing’ is a positive organ. The scene is an intriguing one…
Soprano Sarah Brightman has one of the most recognised voices in contemporary music. This week she releases her eleventh studio album Dreamchaser. Making the album, she says, takes back to her childhood, growing up in Hertfordshire, England, dreaming of spectacular, unknowable things. “My mind’s eye brings me a rush of images from all of the…
Elina Garanca sings Saint-Saens Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix from Samson et Dalila, one of the tracks on her glorious new CD Romantique released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG 479 0071)
Today, December 2nd 2013 marks the 90th birthday of the incomparable Maria Callas. Born Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulou in New York on December 2nd in 1934, she moved to Greece, her ancestral home at the age of 14 and entered the Athens Conservatory in 1940. In 1942 she sang Tosca in Athens and after several more roles…
It’s no easy task to select music for a compilation CD. The list needs to include signature works or styles of the performer, listener favourites, a smattering of less popular but respected works or composers, and finally, works that take the performer into the future. With her new CD “Seraphim”, soprano Sara Macliver achieves this easily and the release…