Graham Ross and the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge celebrate the 500th anniversary of Palestrina’s birth with five world premiere recordings of still little-known works: the Magnificat secundi toni a 5; two motets Ad te levavi oculos meos a 12, Memor esto verbi tui a 5; and two masses settings, Missa Memor esto verbi tui a 5 and Missa Emendemus …

Singer-songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright scored his epic Dream Requiem for orchestra, chorus, soprano and narrator. In June 2024, it received its world premiere in Paris with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the chorus and children’s choir of Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck with Meryl Streep as the narrator and soprano Anna Prohaska. Dream Requiem combines words …

This new album that showcases the singers of Trinity Church Boston, the historic 1,500-seat Episcopal Church in Boston’s Back Bay. The title comes from “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, the famous text penned by Phillips Brooks, the storied nineteenth century rector of Trinity Church –  yet the release has a contemporary feel that showcases the choir’s commitment to inclusivity, community, …

In early December 2024, five-and-a-half years after the devastating fire of 2019, the great Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris reopened to the public. This recording of a new choral setting of the Magnificat by the organist-composer Yves Castagnet celebrates the cathedral’s “rebirth.” Since 1988, Castagnet has held the post of choir organist at Notre-Dame. His role also encompasses interpretative coaching …

Lieder specialist Benjamin Appl celebrates Christmas with sacred arias by Bach and Mendelssohn, carols from Germany, Austria, America, Britain, Sweden and France. Appl is accompanied by instrumentalists (including his own mother on guitar), the Munich Radio Orchestra, and Germany’s most famous children’s choir, Regensburger Domspatzen, of which he was a member in his youth. “I returned to my hometown to …

Comprised of a treble line of boy choristers and an ATB line of men and women, the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford holds a distinctive place within the great English choral tradition. Unlike all other collegiate and cathedral choirs, it serves both an Oxford college and a diocese. The choir is revered for the vibrancy of its sound and …

The three world premiere choral recordings on this album represent the commitment of Musica Viva NY’s artistic director, Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, to perform new works by living composers. Joseph Turrin’s Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair is the album’s centerpiece, boasting a movement for soloist and orchestra sung by the legendary American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, who has announced this performance …

Led by Stilian Kirov, the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra makes its debut on Cedille Records with the world premiere recordings of Michael Abels’s Frederick’s Fables and Augusta Read Thomas’s Gwendolyn Brooks Settings. These works were adapted from short stories by celebrated children’s author and illustrator Leo Lionni and the poetry of former U.S. Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks. Frederick’s Fables, which features …

American composer Daniel Knaggs’s The Joyful Mysteries is a choral symphony of five movements which correspond to the “Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary” in Catholicism: The angel’s Annunciation to Mary, her Visitation of Elizabeth, the Nativity of Christ, his Presentation in the temple, and his Finding in the temple as a young boy. The libretto is drawn from Biblical texts …

A selection of John Rutter’s most famous Christmas carols in beautiful new arrangements for brass, performed by the Black Dyke Band. Rutter’s sense of melody combined with a rich harmonic palette makes his music instantly accessible to performers and audiences alike, making him one of the most acclaimed and successful composers of carols alive today. The Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, led …

The Grammy Award-winning and internationally acclaimed The King’s Singers present a combination of newly recorded works alongside reissues from their The Library series, taking a deep-dive into one of the most beloved and unique corners of their music library: the close-harmony arrangements. Selections include a whimsical arrangement of the Barber of Seville Overture, John Rutter’s arrangement of Kern’s “The Way …

Music of the Baroque presents the sublime oratorio Jephtha, Handel’s final masterpiece, recorded live conducted by Dame Jane Glover. Tenor David Portillo, a Ryan Opera Center alum, leads the cast that includes sopranos Lauren Snouffer and Katelyn Lee, mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, and bass-baritone Neal Davies. The performance from September 2022 marked Jane Glover’s 20th season leading …

The new album from Voces8 gathers night-inspired repertoire. includes two world premiere works from British composer and 2024 Classic FM Rising Star Lucy Walker, as well as US composer and regular collaborator, Taylor Scott Davis. Selections by contemporary choral composers Caroline Shaw, Kerensa Briggs, Dan Forrest, and Frank Ticheli share Voces8’s formidable platform with arrangements of songs by Ludovico Einaudi, …

The staged production of Raphaël Pichon’s concept for Mozart’s Requiem with director Romeo Castellucci premiered at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, 2019. After several dates across Europe, a concert version premiered at the 2023 BBC Proms; The Times headline exclaimed, “Mozart’s Requiem is reborn at the Proms” continuing with “It’s not often a performance of Mozart’s Requiem comes along that makes it sound …

Led by trombonist and early music specialist Michael Kris, the Kris Collective brings together musicians from across two continents performing on modern instruments. Their album Cor Collaborandi celebrates the cross-pollination of musical ideas between the Venetian and Spanish schools of the early Baroque. In his program notes, Michael Kris says: “Music of the 16th to 18th centuries was transmitted artist …

Led by harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé, Ensemble Correspondances brings together a group of singers and instrumentalists, all of whom are specialists in seventeenth-century French repertory. Ensemble Correspondances made its Chicago debut in the spring of 2022 at University of Chicago. Their new album centers the Messe de Requiem of André Campra, contextualizing it with works by François Cosset, Jean …

Before Imogen Holst died in 1984, she established the Holst Foundation to support living composers which led to the founding NMC Recordings. Imogen Holst, daughter of Gustav Holst, was a teacher, educator, festival administrator, and one of Britain’s most accomplished composers. Discovering Imogen features many world premiere recordings of her Modern era works for choir and orchestra. Colin Matthews, founder …