‘Perkins gets enormous buy-in from his band, made up of top Early Music instrumentalists. The drama
of their drunken slides, caressing soft lines and rollicking compound rhythms at times wittily exceeds that of vocal parts. The power and precision of the chorus conveys the shock of Weldon's textural contrasts. But the palm must go to Perkins himself, whose conducting brings out the finest details of Weldon's beautiful, tongue-in-cheek and previously unrecorded score.’ BBC Music Magazine

‘Sparkling playing from the Academy of Ancient Music under Perkins.’ Gramophone

‘Perkins’s performance with AAM and the Cambridge Handel Opera Company is in all ways a winner — an exceptional (and exceptionally well-recorded) performance worthy of a listen. Wonderfully, the physical CD of this short, 75-minute work is packaged with an informative 70-page booklet.’ Early Music America

AAM and Cambridge Handel Opera Company (CHOC) follow their Gramophone-nominated recording of Eccles’ Semele with a world-premiere recording of John Weldon’s masque The Judgment of Paris.

In 1700 the Earl of Halifax decided England needed all-sung opera. He offered a ‘Musick Prize’ of 100 guineas for the best setting of the libretto of The Judgement of Paris by William Congreve, with entries by composers like John Eccles and Daniel Purcell. Weldon’s setting, which won the competition but was never published, is recorded here for the first time.

Released as a hardback mediabook, the CD is accompanied by a host of fascinating essays written specially by historians, musicologists and other experts – finally giving this winning masque the attention it deserves.

Praise for Eccles: Semele

★★★★★ The Guardian

‘Astonishing playing’  Opera Magazine

‘Simply unmissable’  Opera Now

‘Entrancing’ Gramophone Awards 2021

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For its infectious sense of spontaneity, not to mention its completeness ... this cycle has set new standards. It marks a defining achievement in a career that has straddled scholarship and performance at the highest level. ★★★★★ The Financial Times

The freshness of the music is delightfully brought out... ★★★★★ (Performance) ★★★★★ (Recording) BBC Music Magazine

Good things come to those who wait... This generous and sumptuously presented package is eminently recommendable. Gramophone

What an achievement this wonderful set is; and quite right it should be crowned by these two titans of Mozart's œuvre. Classical Explorer

This crowning achievement, released in celebration of AAM's 50th anniversary, is the culmination of a monumental 30-year project. ‘This cycle is a central element both in Christopher Hogwood's legacy as founder and director of AAM and within my own career,’ comments Levin. ‘The completion of this cycle represents the successful realisation of a project of outstanding significance.’

The collaboration between AAM's visionary founder, Christopher Hogwood, and the esteemed scholar-pianist Robert Levin began in 1993 with the ambitious goal of recording Mozart's complete works for keyboard and orchestra. Levin's interpretation breathed new life into these timeless compositions by reinstating improvisation as a central element, echoing Mozart's original intent. All concertos were recorded with improvised cadenzas, and decorative ornamentation was applied throughout, recreating the approach Mozart would have taken. Over seven years, Levin and AAM crafted eight albums, encompassing 17 of Mozart’s concertos, garnering praise from experts as the pinnacle of the historical performance movement. Now, more than two decades later, AAM and Levin have fulfilled their mission, delivering the final concertos, lesser-known gems, and fragments across five albums (AAM0041-45), to widespread critical acclaim.

With this remarkable achievement, the cycle stands as the definitive recording of Mozart's complete keyboard and orchestra works.

Tracks
[1–3] Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major K503
[4] Ch’io mi scordi di te? – Non temer, amato bene K505
[5–7] Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major K595

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Robert Levin intends to be an antidote to uniform, mass-produced Mozart, giving the life-spark back to this music. Production values are high, and there's a delicious amount of connoisseur’s detail in the generous album booklet … This Mozart is constantly alive, alert and superbly done. ★★★★★ (Performance) / ★★★★★ (Recording) BBC Music Magazine Concerto Choice

A truly superb disc. Only one release away from completion, this miracle of a project continues to illuminate and delight. – Classical Explorer

This is a distinguished release which anyone who cares about historically informed Mozart performances should try without delay. – International Piano

From the outset, their lively and spontaneous performances promised one of the finest of all recorded cycles. (AAM041) – Financial Times

This release is part of the renewal of a landmark project begun in 1993 on the Decca label to record Mozart’s entire works for keyboard. It will be followed by the final album of the series in June 2024.

Tracks
[1–3] Piano Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major K238
[4] Concerto No. 7 for Three Pianos and Orchestra in F major K242
[5–7] Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major K246

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Founded in 1973 by Cambridge harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood and record producer Peter Wadland, AAM quickly achieved global fame by lifting period instrument performance from the fringes of 1960s counterculture and putting baroque music into the pop charts. However, as the classical record industry faded and 1970s radicals became the 1990s establishment, the AAM faced a new challenge: reinventing itself to meet the artistic, social, and economic conditions of a musical world transformed by its own revolutionary achievement.

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Technically, Levin is among the top fortepianists, and he plays absolutely ravishingly interpretively as well. – Pizzicato ★★★★★

From the outset, their lively and spontaneous performances promised one of the finest of all recorded cycles. (AAM041) – Financial Times

This release is part of the renewal of a landmark project begun in 1993 on the Decca label to record Mozart’s entire works for keyboard. It will be followed by the two final albums of the series in 2024.

Tracks
[1–3] Concerto No. 7 in F major for Two Pianos and Orchestra K242
[4] Concerto Movement for Piano, Violin, and Orchestra in D major KAnh56 (315f ) (fragment, completed by Robert Levin)
[5–7] Concerto No. 10 in E-flat major for Two Pianos and Orchestra K365 (316a)

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"AAM are on top form" – BBC Music Magazine ★★★★★ (Performance) ★★★★★ (Recording)
"performed with the skill and scholarly sense of inquiry that always characterises the work of these musicians, and proves a somewhat unexpected delight" – Gramophone

Academy of Ancient Music continues a celebrated project to record Mozart’s complete works for keyboard and orchestra, with this tenth volume of the series. Together with renowned scholar-pianist Robert Levin, and directed by Laurence Cummings and Bojan Čičić, AAM presents the Church Sonata No. 17 alongside the Piano Concerto No. 5 – Mozart’s first original keyboard concerto – both for orchestra and organ. The three K107 concertos are joined by a concerto movement from the music book of Mozart’s sister, Nannerl, believed to have been drafted by Mozart as a young child, and completed here by Robert Levin. The hardback CD package is accompanied by comprehensive notes commissioned specially for the album.

"an unexpected and fascinating soundscape ... admirable, once again" – Le Devoir
"Robert Levin’s playing is exemplary and fascinating because of its naturalness" – Pizzicato

This release is part of the renewal of a landmark project begun in 1993 on the Decca label to record Mozart’s entire works for keyboard. It will be followed by the three final albums of the series later in 2023 and 2024.

Tracks
[1] Concerto movement in G major from Nannerl’s Music Book (reconstr. R. Levin)
[2–4] Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major K175
[5–7] Piano Concerto in D major K107 No. 1
[8–9] Piano Concerto in G major K107 No. 2
[10–11] Piano Concerto in E-flat major K107 No. 3
[12] Church Sonata No. 17 in C Major K336

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‘Astonishing playing from the Academy of Ancient Music.’ Dame Emma Kirkby, Opera

Academy of Ancient Music, Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Cambridge Early Music and Julian Perkins are proud to present the first professional recording of John Eccles’s Semele (c.1707), a notable early setting of the great English libretto by William Congreve better known in a version by GF Handel from 1744.

The Academy of Ancient Music’s mission is to explore, reveal and preserve the great treasure house of baroque and classical music, and a spirit of newfound discovery runs through all our work. Eccles’s Semele is the next step on this journey, released here on 2 CDs in deluxe hardback presentation with an extensive accompanying full-colour booklet containing scholarly essays, Stephen Fry’s modern re-telling of the story, autograph manuscript images of Eccles’ score, the full libretto text and much more. A fascinating insight into how opera in England might have developed after Henry Purcell’s death had not Handel moved to London in 1712, Eccles’s Semele is the perfect addition to any baroque-music lover’s library.

Cast:

(Gods)
Jupiter, King of the Gods - Richard Burkhard, baritone
Juno, Queen of the Gods - Helen Charlston, mezzo soprano
Iris, handmaid to Juno - Héloïse Bernard, soprano
Cupid, God of Love - Bethany Horak-Hallett, mezzo soprano
Somnus, God of Sleep - Christopher Foster, bass
Apollo, Sun God and God of Prophecy - Jolyon Loy, baritone

(Mortals)
Cadmus, King of Thebes - Jonathan Brown, baritone
Semele, daughter of Cadmus - Anna Dennis, soprano
Ino, sister of Semele - Aoife Miskelly, soprano
Athamas, a prince of Bœotia - William Wallace, tenor
Chief Priest - Graeme Broadbent, bass
Second Priest / First Augur - Rory Carver, tenor
Third Priest / Second Augur - James Rhoads, tenor

Julian Perkins, Director
Academy of Ancient Music

"Reviving one of the forgotten gems of English opera, this first professional recording of Eccles and Congreve's drama is revelatory, bringing out the work's wit, charm and drama" Planet Hugill

''This release marks a significant new chapter in the performance history of Eccles’ Semele. Performed to the very highest vocal, instrumental and scholarly standards, it is simply unmissable.'' Opera Now

"Julian Perkins leads a dozen excellent soloists and the joint forces of the Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Cambridge Early Music and the Academy of Ancient Music … This new version is a real revelation” Les amis d’Ovide

"A real discovery … the documentation is outstanding, with so much context to pore over in the almost 200 page book. But it’s the music that’s the winner. The more I listen to it, the more I love this. What a resurrection it is.” BBC Record Review (30/01/2021)

Released 29 January 2021

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Academy of Ancient Music’s mission is to explore, reveal and preserve great works of the baroque and classical eras, and a spirit of newfound discovery runs through all that we do. This recording of JL Dussek’s Messe Solemnelle represents an important step in this journey.

“Dussek himself could scarcely have hoped for a performance as fine as this one, with the Academy of Ancient Music on top form, a well-drilled choir of 20 clearly in thrall to Egarr’s infectious enthusiasm for the work and four finely matched soloists imparting plenty of personality. The presentation, too, is worthy of the evangelical nature of the project … It’s a fascinating work and an important project, impressively recorded, exquisitely presented and enthusiastically recommended.” Gramophone

"When superior musical execution meets highest musical scholarship, angels cry with joy... this is vital, bracing music, but also music of great beauty" Classical Explorer

"AAM's sumptuous presentation ... Egarr's enthusiasm for Dussek is infectious and justified by this fine performance from a well-balanced quartet of soloists and superb work from the AAM players and choir. A hugely worthwhile discovery of an unknown work…" Album of the Week, The Sunday Times

"A stylish first recording of Dussek’s sequel to Masses commissioned from Haydn, Beethoven and Hummel." The Sunday Times, Top 100 Recordings of the Year

"[Richard] Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music reveal a wonderfully inventive work that bridges the Classical and Romantic styles ... AAM’s engineers have brilliantly captured the beautifully nuanced colours produced by Egarr’s empathetic forces. Top marks to Egarr and the AAM for resurrecting this heavenly music.” Limelight Magazine; Album of the Year nominee

“Richard Egarr’s passion for this underrated composer and sense of excitement at this rediscovery is almost palpable, not just in the quality of the recording but also in the way it’s been presented. A fine sound and a labour of love that repays the effort.” BBC Radio 3 Record Review

"‘The work is fluent, imaginatively orchestrated with impressive contrapuntal writing. There are some fascinating harmonic touches … this enjoyable, well recorded rendition, with lovely solo singing, has clear passionate advocacy” BBC Music Magazine

“Richard Egarr of the Academy of Ancient Music has set the ambition of searching out neglected music for the group and Dussek’s Messe Solemnelle is certainly that … it is gracious, by turns lively and (more often) sweetly affecting … Egarr, the Academy of Ancient Music and their choir, together with a well-blended quartet of soloists, give it the sensitive performance that Dussek might have imagined. The luxurious packaging includes a hard-backed book of essays.” The Financial Times

“The work is imaginative, tuneful, very well written and expertly scored. It inhabits the world of Haydn’s late masses and Beethoven’s Mass in C, without ever really sounding like either. The recording is clear, open and detailed, capturing the forces used with clarity and naturalness. As always, AAM’s presentation is outstanding...” HiFi Choice, 5* and 'Hot Pick'

"The Academy of Ancient Music’s new recording of Dussek’s Messe Solemnelle shines a much-deserved light on this magnificent work and its creator ... from beginning to end, the care and attention they give to every musical subtlety and nuance breathes life into this newly discovered work, inviting listeners to embark on a journey of their own to discover Dussek and his Messe Solemnelle for themselves." The Whole Note

Released 2 October 2020

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