Three Decca albums of English and Italian Baroque sinfonias from the analogue era, newly remastered and compiled and featuring several recordings new to CD. Looking back to a time when Britain really did rule the waves, ‘Sinfonia’ draws on the vibrant and cosmopolitan culture of eighteenth-century London. Not only local composers such as William Boyce, […]

Finzi – more master of the small-scale than the large-scale – had a fine ear for poetry and a great sensitivity in his verse settings. In 1978 and 1979, Richard Hickox made two LPs for Argo of (mainly) choral music by Gerald Finzi. Never issued in their entirety, they appear here complete on a 2CD […]

Aromatherapy, the quiet moments of classical music. And in the fourth volume, Music of the Night, there’s the ‘Barcarolle’ from Offenbach’s ‘Tales of Hoffmann’, slow movements from String Serenades by Mozart, Dvorak and Suk and of course, Chopin’s night music, celebrated by his popular D flat major Nocturne, Op. 27 No. 2.

Delius wrote no more poignant a piece than ‘Sea Drift’ – a Walt Whitman setting of lost love as seen through the eyes of a little boy. His African-American-inspired ‘Appalachia’, a magnificent set of variations on a Slavic song is the other major work on this recording and two miniatures conducted by Marriner complete it. […]

A feast of Baroque favourites including the popular Albinoni, Handel and Pachelbel miniatures plus four complete concertos. These are performed with warmth and virtuosity by two very fine ensembles.