Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in Building a Library with Joseph McHardy and Andrew McGregor

Andrew McGregor presents some of the week's best new classical releases.

2.10pm
Kirsten Gibson joins Andrew to discuss four new releases ranging from Godowsky's Java Suite to Purcell and Lanier from the Flutes & Frets Duo.

3pm
Building a Library. Keyboard player and choir director Joseph McHardy assesses recordings of Monteverdi's seminal opera L'Orfeo, and makes a top recommendation. Written in 1607, it's based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world. By the early 17th century the traditional intermedio - a musical sequence between the acts of a straight play - was evolving into the form of a complete musical drama or “opera.” Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo moved this process out of its experimental era and provided the first fully-developed example of the new genre.

Top choice:
Monica Piccinini (soprano, La Musica), Anna Simboli (soprano, Euridice, Proserpina), Sara Mingardo (contralto, Speranza, Messageria), Furio Zanasi (tenor, Orfeo), Luca Dordoli (tenor, Apollo), Sergio Foresti (bass, Caronte), Antonio Abete (bass, Plutone), Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini (conductor)
Naïve OP30439

3.45pm
Record of the Week. Andrew picks the new recording that has most impressed him this week.