July 2012

This sublime compilation will take listeners on a journey through some of the most profound classical music ever written, demonstrating the wealth of inspiration that history's greatest composers have found in spirituality and religion. Taking its title from the concluding movement of Fauré's intensely moving Requiem, described by the composer as a 'very human' take on the traditional Mass for the Dead, the collection surveys a vast range of styles, eras and composers. Renaissance masterpieces - including Allegri's famous Miserere, the remarkable 40-voice Spem in alium by Tallis and Palestrina's Sanctus - sit alongside Romantic classics like Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, a sophisticated choral hymn-setting, and Brahms's Ave Maria. A number of Mozart's best-loved works are present, including the Ave Verum and excerpts from his Requiem and 'Great' Mass in C minor, as are arias by J.S. Bach and Handel's magnificent 'Hallelujah' Chorus from Messiah. Less traditional offerings are also featured, encapsulated in the folk-inspired strains of the finale of Mahler's Symphony No.4. A rich selection of classics by Franck, Bruckner, Hassler, Pergolesi, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Verdi complete this stunning collection.

Faure In Paradisum, Cantique de Jean Racine; Tallis Spem in Alium; Mozart Ave Verum, Laudate Dominum KV339, Requiem Aeternam, Et incarnatus est, Lux Aeterna; Franck Panis Angelicus; Bruckner Locus iste; Palestrina Sanctus; Pergolesi Stabat Mater dolorosa, Quando corpus morietur; Mendelssohn Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen, Psalm 42; Hassler Ave Maris Stella; Allegri Miserere; Handel Hallelujah Chorus; Mahler Wir geniessen den himmlischen Leben; Bach Ich habe genug, Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben; Verdi Agnus Dei; Brahms Ave Maria; Tchaikovsky Hymn of the Cherubim

Composed when he was only 17, Mendelssohn's music for A Midsummer Night's Dream has become an enduring favourite.

"With baroque music as 'flavour of the age', it seems only natural that we should rediscover - indeed reappraise - all that is neat, winsome and uncluttered in Mendelssohn's music, its slender forms and high level of invention. Herreweghe's lively offering is best recommended to those whose main priority is a sense of period orchestral texture." (Gramophone)
"One of the lightest performances of the work that I have ever heard." (Fanfare)

It was in December 1998 that Cécile Daroux recorded this disc, which has since become a benchmark both for flute aficionados and in the Piazzolla discography. Accompanied by Pablo Márquez and a 100 per cent Argentinian supporting cast, the French flautist – who died sadly young in 2011 – provides an exemplary overview of the great Astor Piazzolla's output, in which the tango is omnipresent. A must!

Histoire du Tango, Six Tango-Etudes for solo flute, Tango-Suite No 3, Five Pieces for solo guitar, Oblivion

Seattle Symphony Collection

Aaron Copland's suite from the ballet Appalachian Spring won him a Pulitzer Prize and global recognition. The famous Quaker song 'Simple Gifts' and the American ambience of this suite contrast with the more modernist Symphonic Ode, which conveys rugged grandeur through an uncompromising structural unity. Neglected since the late 1960s, Paul Creston's music was once amongst the most frequently performed of any American composer. His poetic Symphony No 3 is an orchestral Life of Christ, movingly expressed through themes inspired by Gregorian chant.

Copland Suite from Appalachian Spring, Symphonic Ode
Creston Symphony No 3 'Three Mysteries'

Seattle Symphony Collection

An American in Paris is one of Gershwin's most sumptuous and best-loved works. He called it 'a rhapsodic ballet' but denied any specific program except in a 'general impressionistic way'. The American visitor strolls, soaking up the city's exuberance, suffering a pang of homesickness, and hearing the Parisian taxi horns - which Gershwin loved so much he brought some back to America with him. Meanwhile Ferde Grofe, who had orchestrated Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, evokes the glories of ravine, rock and cloudburst in his indelibly beautiful and exciting Grand Canyon Suite.

Seattle Symphony Collection

Edvard Grieg died over 100 years ago, but his music still retains a timeless magic and freshness. The Holberg Suite is based on the form of a French baroque dance suite, in this case one with unforgettable melodic charm. The Piano Concerto is deservedly popular, combining established Germanic structure with a wealth of warmly expressive romantic character and Norwegian dance rhythms. Grieg's Lyric Suite reflects Norwegian peasant life and nature, each movement representing a single mood, and the composer's remarkable skill in orchestration.

Seattle Symphony Collection

Handel's Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 are written for small solo string ensemble and orchestra, a combination which invites elegant interplay between like-sounding but distinctive groups. Nicknamed Il gardellino, or 'The Goldfinch', Vivaldi's Flute Concerto is as filled with charming melody and sounds from nature as anything in The Four Seasons. Possibly written for King Frederick the Great, the easy grace of CPE Bach's Flute Concerto in D minor has a surprisingly dramatic and virtuoso finale. This recording brings together leading soloists of the Seattle Symphony in a feast of 18th century refinement.

Handel Concerti Grossi Op 6 No 1 in G major HWV319, No 6 in G minor HWV324 and No 9 in F major HWV327
Vivaldi Flute Concerto in D major Op 10 No 3 RV428 'Il gardellino'
CPE Bach Flute Concerto in D minor

Seattle Symphony Collection

Sergey Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet was completed after the composer's final repatriation to Soviet Russia after a period abroad. It was written for the Kirov Ballet but early productions faltered, and Prokofiev soon adapted his music to the concert hall. The Suites avoid narrative sequence, selecting crucial moments such as the famous 'balcony scene', and dramatic climaxes such as The Death of Tybalt. Composed to celebrate the famous author's 150th anniversary, the Pushkin Waltzes are relaxed, easygoing, and with a typically witty edge.

Suites Nos 1 and 2 from Romeo and Juliet Op 64a and 64b
Allegro meditativo from Two Pushkin Waltzes Op 120 No 2

Seattle Symphony Collection

Sergey Dyagilev commissioned Ravel to write music for the ballet Daphnis et Chloe with choreography by Michel Fokine: Daphnis was danced by Nijinsky. This 'choreographic symphony', in Ravel's words, is a pastoral romance that drew from the composer a succession of beguiling scenes paying tribute as much to the France of the late 18th century as to any Greek setting. The score is masterly, ranging from the luminous to a Bacchanale, in a musical fresco of unrivalled beauty. Alan Hovhaness's Meditation on Orpheus evokes the mystery and charged energy of ancient Greece.