It has been claimed time and again that Gabriel Fauré was a reluctant and indeed unsuccessful composer for orchestra. Fauré certainly appears to take little interest in symphonic tone and timbre. The 100th anniversary of the composer’s death on 4 November 2024 offers an opportunity to reassess his orchestral oeuvre.

A text by Alain Claude Sulzer that explores human beings’ fear of dying forms the basis of Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini's “Dies illa” for choir and orchestra. The world premiere is scheduled for November 2023 in Basel.

Composer and conductor Carl Davis CBE passed away on 3 August 2023 in Oxford at the age of 87. A true musical polymath, Davis created soundtracks for some of Britain's best-loved screen dramas. He was the driving force behind the reinvention of silent movies in concert, and composed a substantial body of internationally acclaimed ballet and concert works.

Opera or oratorio? There is still uncertainty about the classification of Handel's "Semele". What is certain is that this full-length work is filled with musical gems and lends itself well to staged performances due to its fast-paced plot.

During the fasting season in Handel's London, dramatic works were not allowed to be performed. This prompted the composer to revive an Italian oratorio he had composed thirty years earlier in 1737 and enrich it with choruses.

Georg Friedrich Handel's "Song for Cecilia's Day" HWV 76, composed in 1739, underwent, like many works of genius, revisions and expansions. The new volume in the "Halle Handel Edition" includes all early and late versions, enabling historically informed performance practice based on the latest source evaluation.

Unlike Bach’s other oratorio compositions, there is no definitive version of the St. John Passion. The first version of 1724 which is today’s standard version represents a mixture of different readings but it was not performed like this during Bach’s lifetime. On the other hand, the second version of 1725, now edited by Manuel Bärwald for Bärenreiter, was performed under the direction of Bach himself and can therefore be considered authentic. In addition to a change in order of several movements, the second version differs from the earlier version by the use of the opening chorus “O Mensch, bewein”. The score and the complete performance material correspond to the Urtext edition of Version II which was published 2021 as part of the “New Bach Edition – Revised Edition” (NBArev). – More Information