Our Choices
The BBC Music Magazine team’s current favourites
Oliver Condy Editor
Working from home has given me the chance to spend my lunchtimes practising the organ
– I’m now glad I bought a two-manual digital instrument some years ago! This month’s goal is Tournemire’s improvisation on the plainchant Victimae Paschali, transcribed by Duruflé. Thanks to the wonders of Hauptwerk software, I’m playing it on a Cavaillé-coll organ for those rich, French diapasons and bold, velvety flutes. Jeremy Pound Deputy editor
One of the joys of my job is being invited to attend little-known operas. Favourites have included Verdi’s Jerusalem and Alzira and, best of all, Wolf-ferrari’s The Jewels of the Madonna, a riveting tale of sordid goings-on by the south Italian coast. My recording of it, with Natalia Ushakova as the conniving Maliella and Kyungho Kim as the gullible Gemmaro, brings back the magic of the live performance.
Alice Pearson Cover CD editor
A nice bit of stimulation for the imagination during these times of limited travel is D’indy’s orchestral suite Poème des rivages. An allegorical homage to D’indy’s honeymoon in the Mediterranean, the four movements depict various moods of the sea and Mediterranean landscape. The large orchestra for this inspired work, including four saxophones, gives a huge variety of textures and sounds – sit back and imagine yourself in a beautiful spot by the sea. Michael Beek Reviews editor
I enjoyed an evening at the Museum of Bath at Work recently, where Bath Camerata shared its latest news, successes and coming attractions. Members of the choir – conducted by Benjamin Goodson – performed a bit of a Bach Passion, a slice of Brahms’s German Requiem and the very jolly When Daisies Pied by John Rutter.
Freya Parr Editorial assistant
Before the wrath of self-isolation took hold, I made the most of my freedom of movement with a trip to the 25th anniversary production of Riverdance (left). Bill Whelan’s classic score was given a contemporary twist, with Irish pipes, soprano saxophone, fiddle and drums performing live. It was the rousing experience I needed before locking myself away for the foreseeable future!