In the heart of Baroque Rome, the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the principal Marian sanctuary of the Eternal City. For centuries it has guarded not only the relics of Jesus’s cradle and swaddling-clothes, but also the celebrated marble Nativity Scene by Arnolfo di Cambio (1291), the first of its kind in the history of art, thus earning it …

Ensemble Altera led by Christopher Lowrey presents their third release on Alpha, an album celebrating the female voice and the Christmas season. The program is a kaleidoscopic selection made up of sacred music (settings of the Magnificat and Ave Maria) and carols composed by women with works by Hildegard von Bingen, Imogen Holst, Germaine Tailleferre, Cecilia McDowall, Joanna Marsh, Barbara …

The Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer presents their new Christmas collection. The repertoire blends tradition with innovation, combining Renaissance motets and fresh arrangements of classic carols with contemporary compositions, including works by Lowell Mason, Sarah Quartel, Michael Praetorius, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Cristóbal de Morales, Henry Gauntlett, John Jacob Niles, Steven Sametz, John Francis Wade, Franz Xaver Gruber, Richard Rodgers, …

Led by Graham Ross, the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge celebrates the 80th birthday of legendary English composer and conductor Sir John Rutter with an album of choral works. The album includes pieces that Rutter wrote when he was a student himself at Clare College, then director of the Choir in the mid-1970s. Also included are pieces commissioned or gifted …

Thirty years ago, a young German countertenor recorded his first disc for Harmonia Mundi. Since then, Andreas Scholl has recorded numerous albums for the label that have been met with great critical acclaim. To celebrate this outstanding artist, a box set combining six of his iconic recitals retraces some of the highlights of his career to date. This special reissue …

Washington’s distinguished Cathedral Choral Society presents EXALTATIONS by award-winning Indian-American composer Reena Esmail. Commissioned by the Cathedral Choral Society, EXALTATIONS is a three-movement work for double choir and brass quintet that draws inspiration from the monumental works of Giovanni Gabrieli and Anton Bruckner. Each movement is set in a different Hindustani raga, reflecting Esmail’s deep engagement with her bicultural heritage. …

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, present a third installment of their multi-Grammy Award-winning Latin series with an album centering Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. Inspired by a 16th century African prince who was enslaved in Mexico, Yanga is composed for choir, percussion quartet, and orchestra. Yanga uses African instruments that arrived in Latin America including …

Acclaimed British vocal consort The Gesualdo Six present their tenth album, featuring a collaboration with trumpeter Matilda Lloyd in works by Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Tallis, James Macmillan, Roxana Panufnik, and others. “From religious processions to military victories, the combination of voices and trumpet has played a prominent role in concerts and ritual for centuries,” says artistic director Owain Park. …

Creative collaboration is a fundamental aspect of American composer Joel Puckett. The three works receiving their premiere recording here exemplify this spirit, each reflecting synergy between Puckett’s dynamic creative vision and the musicians for whom he composes. Puckett’s new Trumpet Concerto was written for the distinguished jazz trumpeter Sean Jones as an homage to Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, commissioned and …

The Malmö Opera Chorus and Orchestra led by John Jeter, a noted champion of the music of Florence Price, present world premiere recordings of Price’s largest choral work, Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, and of the spiritual-inspired Song of Hope, set to the composer’s own text. A series of shorter choral works with piano accompaniment complement the two pieces with …

Minneapolis-based low-voice ensemble Cantus presents a program of five choral song cycles, including four premiere recordings. The album is anchored by the recently rediscovered Fields of Wonder by Margaret Bonds set to the poetry of Langston Hughes. Three featured works have been written specifically for Cantus by contemporary composers Gavin Bryars, Melissa Dunphy, and Griffin Candey. “These contrasting song cycles …

Pianist Alexander Melnikov new album is dedicated to music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, centering his Variations on a Theme by Chopin. Melkinov traveled to Villa Senar, Rachmaninoff’s Bauhaus summer home on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, to record on the composers’s own grand piano, a birthday gift from Frederik Steinway. The album also features the luminous soprano Julia Lezhneva who joins Melkinov …

Opera Prima’s second album with soprano Amanda Forsythe features two early works by a young Handel—Armida abbandonata (1707) and Agrippina condotta a morire (1708)—as well as a trio sonata, sinfonia, and selections from his oratorio Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno. Highly sought-after for her interpretations of Handel, Forsythe is acclaimed for her agile coloratura, exquisite breath control, and …

This new album featuring two rising star countertenors Carlo Vistoli and Hugh Cutting. Accompanied by Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie, the program centers Baroque arias and duets for two altos by composers such as Monteverdi, Caldara, Bononcini, and Vivaldi. The album’s release marks a significant milestone in Cutting’s career, following his recognition as the first countertenor to win …