Cantata Collective continues its exploration of J.S. Bach’s major choral masterworks with a third in the ongoing series, pairing the composer’s Easter Oratorio and Magnificat.
Releases
Featured
2025
J. S. Bach: Magnificat | Easter OratorioProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Avie RecordsCatalog Number:
AV2756
Release date:
"Like the prior Bach recordings by Cantata Collective, this one combines a well-sized chamber choir with a well-balanced instrumental ensemble, with all performers collaborating with great sensitivity to the music as music – and to the messages Bach intended to convey."
– Infodad
UnchartedProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Performed by Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (alto) and John Churchwell (piano).
Robert Schumann’s “Liederkreis”, and lieder by Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Alexander von Zemlinsky
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Avie RecordsCatalog Number:
AV 2742
Release date:
"The recording was made in 2023 at Skywalker Sound in Nicasio CA and it sounds very natural. Both voice and piano are captured well and the balance is right."
2024
Voices from the Other SideProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Music for soprano and eight cellists by Margi Griebling-Haigh (United States), Arvo Pärt (Estonia) and Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil). Performed by soprano Gabriella Haigh and cellists from the Cleveland Orchestra and faculty from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin College and Baldwin Wallace University.
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Navona RecordsCatalog Number:
NV6662
Release date:
"Five stars: A unique set of composers, fine interpreters and a good recording make this a most enjoyable listen."
"The package is rounded out with the informative composer’s notes, full texts, and excellent recorded sound."
Bach: Mass in B MinorProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Performed by Cantata Collective, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, with Sherezade Panthaki, soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor and Paul Max Tipton, bass.
Atmos mixing and mastering: Margaret Tobin (Dolby Laboratories)
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Avie RecordsCatalog Number:
AV2668
Release date:
"The choir and orchestra are in fine form here, and this recording is an excellent listening opportunity both for those who are intimately familiar with this masterwork and those who are discovering it for the first time."
"... recorded live in 2023 and is an elegant, ensemble-driven performance with expert choral blend and balance as well as a vibrancy of attack and phrasing."
"The sound from Berkeley, California's First Congregational Church, is billed as excellent and lives up to the billing; it is both rich and transparent."
2023
Scarlatti piano sonatasProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Arranged by Muzio Clementi and performed by Charles Metz on an 1806 Clementi square piano.
Atmos mixing and mastering: McKay Garner
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Navona RecordsCatalog Number:
NV6558
Release date:
"The gentle, almost fragile sound of the instrument, a specimen built by Clementi’s company in 1806, comes through very well on Navona’s recording, which was made at Skywalker Ranch."
Hearsay: Atlantic Chamber Ensemble perform music of Bates, Connesson, and FinziProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Atlantic Chamber Ensemble in a premiere recording of Mason Bates' "Rags and Hymns of the River City", Guillaume Connesson's sextet and Gerald Finzi's "Eclogues".
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Bright Shiny ThingsCatalog Number:
IMGD-0124
Release date:
Cantata Collective perform Bach's St. John passionProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Live recording, performed by Thomas Cooley (Evangelist); Paul Max Tipton (Jesus); Harrison Hintzsche (Pilate; bass); Nola Richardson (soprano); Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (alto); Derek Chester (tenor); and Cantata Collective (Nicholas McGegan, conductor).
Atmos mixing and mastering: Michael Romanowski (Coast Mastering)
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Avie RecordsCatalog Number:
AV2605
Release date:
"...the overall experience of this exceptionally well-recorded live performance is one of attending a highly meaningful church service even if one does not happen to be a member of the particular denomination for which the music was created."
"The recording, made in concert at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley in March 2022, captures an intimate, detailed, and warm acoustic. It’s billed as a “live” recording yet the audience is silent throughout. In all, this is a beautifully performed and recorded St. John Passion that gives full measure to the work’s remarkable synthesis of devotional and theatrical elements."
"The live sound engineering is marvelous, making the choir sound like a much larger group (there is no applause) and defining big spaces where the singers have room to define the text closely."
2022
Il circolo RespighiProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in surround sound
Soprano Gabrielle Haigh and pianist Randall Fusco perform art songs of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Giuseppe Martucci, Ottorino Respighi, Elsa Sangiacomo Respighi and Vittorio Rieti.
Artists:
Composers:
Label: MSR ClassicsCatalog Number:
MS1784
Release date:
"The sound is clear and the balance is absolutely equal."
2021
Tisdale Virginal BookProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in surround sound
Charles Metz performs on an Italian virginal (made by Francesco Poggi around 1590).
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Navona RecordsCatalog Number:
NV6330
Release date:
"The audio recording sits you on the keyboard bench as if you were playing the instrument yourself, and in doing so, offers a private and relaxing listening experience, which is exactly what the sound of the virginal was meant to do."
Del Sol Quartet performs Huang Ruo's "A Dust In Time"Engineered
The Del Sol String Quartet performs Huang Ruo's "A Dust In Time", which traces a meditative journey inspired by Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas.
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Bright Shiny ThingsRelease date:
"That the work is so moving is also down to the performance; though recorded over two days, the Del Sol Quartet’s rendition feels like a single take. There’s lots to love about this release before you’ve even inserted the CD. The engineering is impressive..."
2020
Dream DraperyEngineered, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Galax Quartet with Karen Clark, contralto performing John Cage "Five", Fred Frith "For No One", Mark Mellits "Quartet no. 2", Joseph Schwantner "Dream Drapery – Thoreau Songs", and two pieces by Roy Whelden ("Prelude and Divisions on Lennon/McCartney 'She's So Heavy' and 'Hay for the Horses'").
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Music & ArtsCatalog Number:
CD-1297
Release date:
"Dream Drapery by the Galax Quartet and contralto Karen R. Clark is a bold and beautiful recording...the Galax Quartet and Karen R. Clark are locked sonically in a loving embrace."
– Hank Dutt, violist of the Kronos Quartet
"The recording, made in Berkeley, California, is fabulously vibrant, allowing the natural electricity of the performances to reveal itself through the music itself. This is fascinating repertoire, performed, recorded, and presented to the highest possible standards."
– Colin Clarke, Fanfare, Jan/Feb 2021
Handel Arias with Avery AmereauProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Contralto Avery Amereau performs Handel opera arias with Nicholas McGegan OBE and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.
Composers:
Label: Philharmonia Baroque ProductionsCatalog Number:
PBP013
Release date:
"Editor's Choice, September 2020"
"...the recorded sound lets the listener enjoy the interplay of Handel's writing, savor instruments doubling the voice, or zero in on an instrumental line inside the mix"
"It gets the well-balanced recorded sound that it deserves."
Hard Metal CantüsCo-Produced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Performed by The Lee Trio; Third Coast Percussion; Del Sol String Quartet and Michel Taddei, bass; Lubbock Chamber Orchestra; Alex Browne; Chris DeChiara; Karen Strittmatter Galvin; Soloman Howard; Aundi Moore; Neemias Santos; D. J. Sparr; Kimberly Sparr; Richard White; Corbin DeSpain; Eric Allen; and Wonkyung Kim-Sills.
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Innova RecordingsCatalog Number:
innova 1 060
Release date:
SaulProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, Nicholas McGegan, music director. With Daniel Okulitch, Saul; Yulia van Doren, Merab; Sherezade Panthaki, Michal; Aaron Sheehan, Jonathan; Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, David; Christian Pursell, Samuel/Doeg; Jonathan Smucker, Witch of Endor/Abner/Amelekite).
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Philharmonia Baroque ProductionsCatalog Number:
PBP-14
Release date:
"The recording was superbly produced, recorded, edited, mixed, and mastered by PBO's former recording engineer, David v.R. Bowles of Swineshead Productions, LLC...Auditioned in 24/192 high-resolution, Bowles's achievement captures all the nuance and color that were transmitted by First Congregational's uniquely live, resonant, and spacious acoustic..."
2019
Myrtle & RoseProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Europadisc "Top 10 Recordings of the Year"
Recorded in surround sound
Tenor Kyle Stegall and fortepianist Eric Zivian perform Robert Schumann's two Liederkreis song cycles, as well as five lieder by Clara Schumann. Eric's fortepiano was made by Franz Rausch in 1842, the year after the Liederkreis were both written!
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Avie RecordsCatalog Number:
AV2407
Release date:
"With fresh, engaging accounts of Robert [Schumann's] two cycles...as well as impeccable engineering, there's a great deal to be enjoyed in this release."
"The performances are aided by a sympathetic recording made in the Trianon Theatre, San Jose, California, which has just the right degree of intimacy to suggest the 19th century domestic music-making of which these masterpieces represent a highpoint."
Mass TransmissionProduced, Engineered, Mixed, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio. Available in Dolby Atmos on Tidal HiFi+, Amazon, and Apple Music Classical.
Cappella SF performing works of Mason Bates: "Sirens", six songs for mixed chorus and "Mass Transmission", with Isabelle Demers, organ and Mason Bates, electronica. Mason will add a specially-composed electronica work to go between the two song cycles.
Spatial audio mixed by David v.R. Bowles and authored by McKay Garner.
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Delos Music ProductionsCatalog Number:
DE 3573
Release date:
"Critic's Choice"
"A critically important voice in the chorus of artists whose contributions fostered the success of Mass Transmission is that of recording engineer David v.R. Bowles...True to his reputation, Bowles achieves this spectacularly on Mass Transmission."
Joseph and his BrethrenProduced, Engineered, Edited, Mastered
Recorded in 3D audio
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale return to the Scoring Stage of Skywalker Sound to record Handel's rarely heard oratorio "Joseph and his Brethren". Vocal soloists are Diana Moore (Joseph), Sherezade Panthaki (Asenath), Nicholas Phan (Simeon and Judah), Philip Cutlip (Pharaoh), Abigail Levis (Phanor) and Gabrielle Haigh (Benjamin).
Artists:
Composers:
Label: Philharmonia Baroque ProductionsCatalog Number:
PBP011
Release date:
"The recorded sound is clear and well-balanced."
"On the new recording, the engineers have provided a much more intimate acoustic. It provides clarity and detail for all of the soloists and the orchestra. The chorus gains particularly because the listener can enjoy the wonderful diction of the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale. The new recording is definitely preferable in terms of the sound quality."
"The recording, engineered, as usual, by David v.R. Bowles of Swineshead Productions, is clear and well-balanced."