Daniel Hope's latest album, "Irish Roots" embodies his deep connection to Ireland, inherited from his paternal great-grandfather who left Waterford for South Africa in the 1890s. Although never residing in Ireland, Hope's fascination with its culture led to the creation of the documentary "Celtic Dreams: Daniel Hope’s Hidden Irish History." Supported by musicologist Olivier Fourés and experiences with award-winning Irish band Lúnasa, Hope explores the intersection of folk and classical music. "Irish Roots" reflects this journey, featuring compositions by Ina Boyle and Turlough O’Carolan alongside classics like "Danny Boy" and Vivaldi's L’estro armonico concertos.

A profoundly modern dimension emerges from this confrontation between English works from the 17th century (Henry Purcell, Matthew Locke) and works from the 20th and 21st centuries (Philippe Hersant, Franck Martin, Thierry Pécou). Coming from highly different musical universes, each composition is, however, largely inspired by the founding themes of Shakespeares play, sometimes taking up excerpts from it. The text is recited in English, or rather Shakespeares Old English, as are all the sung parts, in order to reproduce the strong, sweet accent of that tongue.

The first recording on Challenge Classics by the wonderful Dutch baroque orchestra, La Sfera Armoniosa. For its debut, La Sfera Armoniosa and its artistic director Mike Febtross have chosen orchestral music and arias from operas by Henry Purcell. Well-known baroque specialist, soprano Johannette Zomer joins the orchestra in this live recording.

One of the leading experts in early music, Christopher Hogwood, leads the way as you hear the beautiful 17th-century theatre music of British composer Henry Purcell. The Academy of Ancient Music and the Taverner Choir perform Abdelazer; The Married Beau; Bonduca; Circe; Don Quixote; The Double Dealer; The Rival Sisters , and much more!

Viola da gamba player Vittorio Ghielmi is the founder of the viol consort Il Suonar Parlante, which plays Purcell's Fantazias of Four Parts, mostly written in 1680. At that time, the viol was on the way to being considered an archaic instrument, having been largely replaced by the fretless members of the violin family. A consort of viols, though, was still the most convenient ensemble for playing contrapuntal music, and Purcell needed an outlet for adventurous self-expression as a break from his duties of writing conventional dance music for King Charles II. The fantasias he wrote are indeed very odd, particularly in their chromatic harmonies, many of which would not reappear with regularity in the Western musical vocabulary until the twentieth century.

In the second half of the seventeenth century, London experienced an artistic golden age, with the arrival of many foreign musicians and the proliferation of theatres and concert halls where audiences came to listen to the stars of the moment. One of these musicians was the Italian Nicola Matteis, who arrived around 1660 and became the sensation of the London music scene. Purcell was only a child at the time and there is no record of their meeting, but it is very likely that he was familiar with Matteis’s works, including his Ayres, recorded here for the first time in a version for four-part consort.

This 1981 recording was the first period-instrument version of Purcell's most famous "semi-opera." This Restoration-era hybrid was a play with a complete (spoken) script plus numerous musical numbers for soloists, chorus, and pit orchestra. The Fairy Queen is based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, although you'd never know it from the music, which has (typically for the genre) no real connection to the plot. (Most of the songs and dances are masques performed for the entertainment of Titania, Oberon, or Hippolytus.) The advantage to this is that Purcell's score can be performed fairly well on its own. The Fairy Queen includes some of Purcell's best-loved comic scenes ("The Drunken Poet" and "Coridon and Mopsa") and songs ("Hark the echoing Air," "Ye gentle spirits," and "Hark how all things in one sound rejoice"–the last sung here by Jennifer Smith, sounding more beautiful than on any recording she's made since).

Historical harps, recorders, serpent, portative, fiddle and violin, not a common instrumentation - and a very vital one. Old-time music is not mimicked here, but lived: atmosphere, density without fuss. In the center the music itself: Music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Early Baroque.

This 25CD set presents the most famous, iconic and best-loved works from the Baroque Era, works which are part of our common musical heritage and conscience, eternally young and cherished for their charm, beauty and deeply human emotions, shared by audiences all over the world.

Here is a very special recording devoted to early 18th-century dance music for which we have recently rediscovered choreographies from the period. Such a discovery may well come as a surprise, since it is not generally realised that, long before the proliferation of various 20th-century systems of dance notation, an earlied system had already been invented and them forgotten, only to be rediscovered within the last few years.

Admired for her remarkable creative imagination and exemplary musicianship, soprano Patricia Petibon, in her newest album for Deutsche Grammophon, offers a treasure-trove of fascinating Baroque curiosities guaranteed to enthral both the Baroque aficionado and the casual listener.

Edinburgh University’s Russell Collection is one of the world’s finest collections of early keyboard instruments. The second volume in John Kitchen’s ongoing project to bring its musical exhibits to life matches music by Handel, Purcell, the Scottish composer Robert Bremner and others including Mozart’s son Franz Xaver with a gloriously vigorous menagerie of spinets, virginals, chamber organs, clavichord and harpsichords.

Purcell’s genius abounds throughout the latest volume of The Sixteen’s celebrated exploration of his music for monarchy. Rarely recorded in recent years, Harry Christophers and his award-winning ensemble breathe fresh life into these exquisite works, including two Welcome Songs and one of Purcell’s most famous verse anthems, Rejoice in the Lord always.

The first joint album from countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and guitarist Thibaut Garcia, À sa guitare takes it's name from a song by the 20th century French composer Francis Poulenc. But it's frame of reference is extraordinarily wide - both culturally and stylistically. It's 22 tracks range across 400 years and music by composers and songwriters from France, Britain, Austria, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and the USA.

Daniel Hope's new album "Dance!" reflects his boundless interest in the most diverse styles and periods of music. The star violinist takes the listeners on a journey through seven centuries of music history and explores the rhythms that have set bodies in motion and lifted hearts since time began.