In March, PENTATONE releases three enthralling additions to the catalogue: Il delirio della passione (Monteverdi) – Anna Lucia Richter with Anna Lucia Richter, Luca Pianca, Ensemble Claudiana; Bruckner & M. Haydn: Motets with MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig; and Vivaldi’s Seasons – Bolette Roed with Bolette Roed, Arte dei Suonatori.

FRESH APPROACH TO MONTEVERDI’S TIMELESS BEAUTY

Anna Lucia Richter, Luca Pianca, Ensemble Claudiana

Anna Lucia Richter returns to PENTATONE after her acclaimed Schubert album Heimweh with Il delirio della passione; a recording full of Monteverdi treasures, from heart-wrenching opera scenes (Lamento d’Arianna, ‘Pur ti miro’ from Poppea and the Prologue of L’orfeo) and religious music (Confitebor) to bucolic songs (Si dolce è il tormento). Richter works together with Ensemble Claudiana and Luca Pianca, one of the most eminent Monteverdi interpreters of our age. They offer a fresh perspective on Monteverdi’s music by penetrating deeply into the original sources. Their interpretation of the famous Lamento d’Arianna, salvaged fragment of the lost score of the opera L’Arianna, is exemplary in that regard. Richter’s passionate delivery is inspired by what precedes in the libretto, while Pianca has composed short, “madrigalistic” instrumental interludes between the solo sections, replacing the choral commentaries, of which only the original texts have survived. Altogether, the pieces on Il delirio della passione demonstrate Monteverdi’s exceptional skill to express the most complex emotions, in music of timeless beauty.

Anna Lucia Richter belongs to the most exciting young singers of her generation. Il delirio della passione is the second fruit of her exclusive collaboration with PENTATONE, after Heimweh (2018), and her last soprano recording, as she will continue her career as a mezzo-soprano. Luca Pianca and Ensemble Claudiana both make their PENTATONE debut.

This album will be released physically as 1 CD set and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads. (Article number: PTC 5186845)

TWO MASTERS OF AUSTRIAN CHURCH MUSIC COMBINED

MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig

The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and its chief conductor Philipp Ahmann present motets by Anton Bruckner and Michael Haydn. While Bruckner’s Locus iste, Christus factus est and Ave Maria enjoy great popularity and can be heard frequently in concerts, Michael Haydn’s contributions to the same genre are far less known. The younger brother of Joseph and successor of Mozart as Salzburg organist has, however, had a huge impact on religious composition in the German-speaking world, and particularly in Austria. As such, Bruckner’s motets, composed about a century later, are still firmly grounded in the tradition of Michael Haydn. By combining their motets, this album allows the listener to discover this uniquely Austrian church-musical style, while simultaneously showing how both composers’ gave a highly personal substance to it.

The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir is the largest German radio choir with the richest tradition. Since 2020, Philipp Ahmann serves as its chief conductor. After having featured on several PENTATONE recordings, including Il Tabarro, Cavalleria rusticana (both 2020), Der Freischütz (2019) and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (2017), the choir now presents its first solo album with the label.

This album will be released as 1 hybrid SACD and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads. (Article number: PTC 5186868) 

VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS EXPANDED

Bolette Roed , Arte dei Suonatori

Recorder player Bolette Roed and Arte dei Suonatori present Vivaldi’s famous violin concertos, “The Four Seasons”, combined with other concertos that share a kinship with them, resulting in Vivaldi’s Seasons; a programme consisting of sixteen concertos, four for each season, including favourites such as Il rosignuolo and l’Amoroso. Roed’s use of the recorder in place of the violin brings a unique sound to these works, whilst simultaneously expanding the recorder repertoire.

Bolette Roed is one of the most in-demand recorder players of Europe. After having released Telemann’s Garden with the Elephant House Quartet in 2019, she now extends her PENTATONE discography with this solo album. The players of Arte dei Suonatori make their PENTATONE debut, while their leader Aureliusz Goliński already featured on Telemann’s Garden.

This album will be released as 2 CDs and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads. (Article number: PTC 5186875)

Photo: Julia Wesely