This disc features eight premiere recordings: the 3 songs originally intended to be part of Les Illuminations, recorded here by French soprano Sandrine Piau; In memoriam Dennis Brain for four solo horns and strings; the Rondo Concertante for piano and strings, featuring pianist Rolf Hind, the Untitled Fragment for Strings; Variations for Solo Piano; and the completion of Movements for a Clarinet Concerto, with soloist Michael Collins. The Northern Sinfonia is conducted by its Music Director, Thomas Zehetmair.
Sandrine Piau soprano
Michael Collins clarinet
Rolf Hind piano
Northern Sinfonia
Thomas Zehetmair conductor
AUDIO
REVIEWS
GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICE & CD OF THE MONTH ·
INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW OUTSTANDING RECORDING
THE SUNDAY TIMES BEST RELEASES OF 2009
'One of the most important Britten recordings in many a year' Gramophone
'Seriously beautiful … buy it for Les Illuminations; savour it for those new discoveries' Radio 3 CD Review
'Superb performance of the composer’s song cycle Les Illuminations sung by the French soprano Sandrine Piau ... without doubt this recording goes straight up there with the very finest soprano versions on disc' Presto
'With fine recording quality, excellent presentation and persuasive performances, this is a notable issue' Classical Source
'A fascinating disc [with] lots of little insights into Britten’s musical world' Guardian
'A rich array of unknown items … well worth hearing' The Sunday Times
'Piau's performance on Les Illuminations alone is worth the price of this fascinating disc' IRR
‘The three movements for an early 1940s Clarinet Concerto tingle with endearing and impressive freshness’ MusicWeb International
'A fascinating disc, highly recommended for Piau's performances of Illuminations and the new additional songs, for the Rondo Concertante, and for the clarinet concerto.' Fanfare Magazine
FUNDERS
Supported by the Britten-Pears Foundation.
RECORDING CREDITS
Les Illuminations (with Phrase, Aube and À une raison) was recorded at The Sage Gateshead on 14-15 January 2009; all other works on the disc were recorded at the same venue on 22-23 May 2008.
Producer (Les Illuminations): DAVID LEFEBER
Producers (all other works): COLIN MATTHEWS, DAVID LEFEBER
Recording engineer: DAVID LEFEBER
Digital editing & mastering: DAVID LEFEBER
(P) 2009 NMC Recordings Ltd
© 2009 NMC Recordings Ltd
Catalogue number: NMC D140
Release Date: 6 October 2009