An irresistible slice of 18th-century fun

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

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

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

A man in a bow tie is unpacking items from a small trolley. To the table set up on the manicured, now yellowing lawn he adds a white tablecloth and silver cutlery. His equally well-attired picnickers

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