An enchanting exercise in aesthetic experimentation

Purcell Dido and Aeneas Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres, Fatma Said et al; Il Pomo d’Oro/ Maxim Emelyanychev Erato 2173228488 52:43 mins It’s been a mystery why Joyce DiDonato appeared to have bypassed

Zaytoun Songs by JS Bach, Monteverdi, Purcell and Sayed Darwish et al Haitham Haidar (tenor), Sylvain Bergeron (archlute), Abdul-Wahab Kayyali (oud) et al Athene ATH 23027 51:44 mins In medieval Spain

Echoes of Exile Works by Bartók, Ben-Haim, Enescu, Ysaÿe and Zimmermann Sueye Park (violin) BIS BIS-2332 63:06 mins Turbulence from the Second World War impacts most of the composers on this album. Th

Radiant Dawn Works by Hildegard of Bingen, Tallis, James MacMillan, Owain Park et al Matilda Lloyd (trumpet); The Gesualdo Six/Owain Park Hyperion CDA 68465 69:35 mins This is an ingenious and moving

Liza Lim A Sutured World*; Mary**; The Compass^ *Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), **^Carin Levine (flute), **^William Barton (digeridoo); Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/*Edward Gardner; **Franck Ollu;^ C

Premières Symphonies Works by Bizet, Gounod and Saint-Saëns Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo/Kazuki Yamada Alpha Classics ALPHA1149 89:27 mins (2CD) The most familiar of these three classically