LATEST ADDITIONS

Hi-Res Downloads
Trevor Pinnock : Journey
C. Breunig (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Sep 01, 2016
96kHz to 192kHz/24-bit FLAC, CKD 570 (supplied by www. linnrecords. com) Marking his 70th birthday, this recital reflects both the journeys made by early composers from one country to another and those made by Trevor Pinnock in company with his preferred, rich-toned, 1982 American harpsichord modelled after an 18th-century Hemsch instrument, which he’s been playing for 40 years. We haven’t previously featured a solo harpsichord in this HFN section – recorded at the concert hall at Kent University, Canterbury, by Philip Hobbs in Aug ’14, this programme has pieces by JS Bach (The Sixth French Suite), Bull (his pictorial, galloping The King’s Hunt), Byrd, Cabezon, Frescobaldi, Handel (a floridly decorated Chaconne in G), Sweelinck and Tallis, and ends with three Scarlatti sonatas.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Joris Roelofs : Amateur Dentist
A. Everard (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Sep 01, 2016
Ignore the shiver-inducing overtones of the title of this album by Dutch bass clarinettist Roelefs and you’re in for a treat. In fact, ignore the ‘oh really?’ reaction to the mention of bass clarinet. Having witnessed a killer set on that instrument by Courtney Pine not so long ago, I was up for hearing what Reolefs could do – and here, along with Matt Penman on bass and Ted Poor on drums, he delivers a set packed with instrumental colours, fine musicianship and plenty to keep a high-quality system busy, too. From the almost percussive lower registers of the instrument all the way up to its soaring solo potential, Roelefs keeps the attention, whether with the traditional jazz feel of tracks such as ‘Broadway’ and ‘Pseudo Bebop’ or the very short but very chilling title track, almost literally setting the teeth on edge.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Martin Albrecht, Et Al : The Scriabin Code
A. Everard (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Sep 01, 2016
See here: this could be either a classical album or a jazz one, so blurred are the lines in this unusual, challenging recording. Led by Martin Albrecht on clarinet and bass clarinet, the quartet – Daniel Prandl plays piano, Dirik Schilgen drums and Katharina Gross bass – improvises and interprets around the works of Scriabin, with some of the originals played by pianist Asli Kilic, and joined by the occasional foray into electronica and sound effects, as on ‘Never Ending Story’. OK, so it all sounds a bit high-falutin’ – one track, ‘Rausch’, may well have you stifling giggles – but strangely it works, the musicians producing a set which rewards the attention with a fascinating series of pieces. It’s recorded and mixed by Markus Born and Ekhard Steiger, and produced by Albrecht.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Thomas Zehetmair & Orchestre De Chamber De Paris : Robert Schumann
C. Breunig (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Sep 01, 2016
Written for Joachim in 1853 (as was the more coherent Phantasy in C), Schumann’s Violin Concerto was suppressed until 1937 – with perhaps some justification. Zehetmair found many errors in the printed edition when preparing for his 1988 Teldec CD, and this is his second recording. Choosing a chamber orchestra for Schumann is now the norm but such is the reverberance of the venue, the Théâtre des Champs-Elyseés, it could be of any size. And I didn’t like effectively a separate acoustic for the solo violin.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Trio C Tot De Derde : Nitro Nitro!
A. Everard (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Sep 01, 2016
DSD64, SKU TRIOC2011 (supplied by www. nativedsd. com) Well, this album is an absolute riot and all delivered in sparkling sound quality. The fourth album by The Third is an infectious mix of klezmer, gipsy and Balkan folk music, played by the three members of the Dutch ensemble with real panache and enjoyment.
Continue Reading »
EISA Awards
EISA Awards 2016 2017
Mark Craven  |  Aug 14, 2016
The European Imaging and Sound Association celebrates the year's most desirable hi-fi hardware Welcome to the EISA Awards for 2016-2017. The European Imaging and Sound Association is the world’s largest independent awards panel and one that reflects the collective opinion of the 45 most respected specialist magazines centred on, but not exclusively based within, the European community. And while the repercussions of the recent in/out referendum dominate headlines in the UK, the collaboration between EISA’s member magazines continues without pause. Just as hi-fi and music-loving enthusiasts will persevere in scouring the world for the best that audio-centric brands can offer.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Thalia Ensemble : Antoine Reicha: Wind Quartets
C. Breunig (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Aug 01, 2016
44. 1kHz-192kHz/24-bit FLAC/ALAC, CKD471 (supplied by www. linnrecords. com) A fellow-pupil with Beethoven in Bonn, Antoine Reicha (from Prague) wrote no fewer than 24 wind quintets, represented here by an Adagio for cor anglais and wind quartet and Quintets in G and B-flat.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Enya : Dark Sky Island (deluxe)
A. Everard (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Aug 01, 2016
Eithne Ní Bhraonáin is back with her eighth set, apparently five years in the making, inspired by the night sky over the small Channel Island of Sark, and nearly 30 years on from her 1988 album Watermark. The good news – for her legions of fans, at least – is that Dark Sky Island sounds every bit an Enya album. The potentially bad news is that it sounds exactly like an Enya album. .
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Carrie Newcomer : The Slender Thread
A. Everard (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Aug 01, 2016
Despite the name, Carrie Newcomer is far from, well, a newcomer. With more than 15 albums behind her, and a career stretching back 25 years, she’s both a performer and writer – of both songs and books – and even a US cultural ambassador, and has toured with the likes of Alison Krauss and Mary Chapin Carpenter. So as you might expect, this set (her debut for Germany’s Stockfisch label) is a mature, soulful album, beautifully recorded along with a large supporting group of musicians that cleverly showcase Newcomer’s rich, warm voice amidst what the label calls ‘a warm, autumnal glow’. It’s just the sort of ‘audiophile’ singer-songwriter album you might imagine, and I can see it cropping up in more than a few demonstrations.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Becca Stevens Band : Perfect Animal
A. Everard (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Aug 01, 2016
Well, this turned out to be an unexpected treat: Becca Stevens plays multiple instruments to an annoyingly high standard, but does so with such style and in so easy-going a manner that the result is anything but annoying. She also sings superbly, too: her voice is warm and lush, but packed with expression, and capable of wonderful harmonies with accordion/keyboard player Liam Robinson and bassist Chris Tordini. Oh, and she writes great songs into the bargain, such as the attractively clever title track of this, her third album, which was recorded in multiple studios (and indeed three separate states) by producer Scott Solter. It’s a fine multilayered crossover between jazz, folk and rock, combining Stevens’ originals with great covers – her version of Steve Winwood’s ‘Higher Love’ has both style and solid bass, and like the whole set an open, informative balance.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X