Downloads

BEETHOVEN MISSA SOLEMNIS

SDG 718 | 1 CD (5 tracks)

Lucy Crowe/ Jennifer Johnston/ James Gilchrist/ Matthew Rose

Monteverdi Choir
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner

“Performed to perfection and brought into new, terrifying life.” – The Times *****

“Nothing short of rapid-fire choral entries will do, and the Monteverdi sopranos duly shone in their ecstatic embrace of the stratosphere.” – The Financial Times *****

In 2011 Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique toured the United States, returning to the repertoire of Beethoven for the first time since their acclaimed symphony recordings of the early ’90s. Their tour culminated in the CD release of his 5th and 7th symphonies. This recording of Missa Solemnis – recorded live at the Barbican during a sell out tour of Europe and the United States – continues their in-depth exploration of Beethoven’s repertoire.

Soloists, choir, orchestra, and conductor were praised for this incandescent reading of Beethoven’s masterpiece – a very personal statement of the composer’s faith, rarely heard in concert halls.

The album is packaged in a digipack and contains a 36-page booklet with original liner notes by BBC presenter and music journalist Stephen Johnson, translated in German and French.

Download hier het boekwerkje bij de cd (PDF)

BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES 2 & 8

SDG 721 | 1 CD (8 tracks)

The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner

“Quite brilliant… the whole thing is a delight.” – The Sunday Times

“The articulation of the playing, again at whirlwind speed,is truly impressive.” ★★★★★ – BBC Music Magazine

“Thrilling…No wonder the audience bursts into prolonged applause’.” – International Record Review

October 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Twenty years after their acclaimed Beethoven Symphonies recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the orchestra continue to revisit this repertoire – this album follows the release of Symphonies 5 & 7 recorded live at Carnegie Hall.

The Second and Eighth, two of the “lighter” symphonies, are among Sir John Eliot’s favourites. The Second’s life-affirming energy is rooted in Mozart and 18th c. opera, at times romantically tender and others ferociously determined. Beethoven’s adventurous spirit can be heard in the Eighth, which is buoyant and energetic with a spirit of wit and playfulness.

The album is presented in a digipack and contains a 28 pages booklet with original notes by BBC presenter and music journalist Stephen Johnson, translated in German and French

Download hier het boekwerkje bij de cd (PDF)

BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES 5 & 7

SDG 717 | 1 CD (8 tracks)

The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Nearly twenty years after their acclaimed Beethoven Symphonies recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique returned to this repertoire for the first time last year, in a tour that took them to London, Philadelphia, Washington and New York. The concert in Carnegie Hall was broadcast live by WQXR, who kindly agreed to make the recording available to us to release on our label.

Sir John Eliot’s Gardiner’s reading of these familiar pieces highlights their revolutionary origin. Performing on period instruments, the ORR brings light, clarity and brisk energy, as well as a warm and genuinely thrilling sound.

The album contains a 36 pages booklet with original notes by BBC presenter and music journalist Stephen Johnson.

“The Allegretto was sinuous and haunting, the finale joyously visceral. And from fate’s knock at the onset of the Fifth Symphony, Mr. Gardiner wrought Beethoven fresh and strange, with gutsy, brash and rasping instrumental voices united in triumph.” – The New York Times

“From the very start, the cut-to-the-bone immediacy of the sound puts you up close and personal to the performance.” – Gramophone

“After hearing these explosive, invigorating and electrifying performances, we are reminded once again of the ferocious intensity that must have shell-shocked 19th century Viennese audiences.”
– BBC Music Magazine

“The execution is fabulous, the superlative stylistic foundation always at the service of the music’s rhythm, energy and inner logic.” – Financial Times