A favorite of mine. I have this two-disc set (although with the Virgin logo).
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The cheap as chips Naxos series of Scarlatti on piano is really excellent. My favourite is volume 2, played by Michael Lewin.
Other excellent Scarlatti is by Sudbin on BIS…
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Naxos isn’t the bargain it used to be. But I’ve heard good things about the Sudbin.
On the other hand, I already have piano discs by Horowitz, Tipo, Zacharias, and Weissenberg, as well as Pletnev.
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Thanks for recommendations on the Scarlatti. I will have to check those out. While we are on a baroque wavelength, this was my morning listening. One of my favorite recordings of these pieces. Just a lush and sparkly sound - very polished. Pretty much what you expect from Marriner and St. Martin-in-the-Fields, which is one of the reasons why I have long loved their recordings. No. 4 in D major is my favorite by far. I would be glad to hear others’ recommendations for these pieces if there are strong opinions.
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I Musici - non-HIP
Gli Icogniti - HIP
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True 
but the Naxos Scarlatti series is well worth a listen 
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… amd this
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Yep that’s the other version I own
Both are great. 
On yesterday’s Record Review the Pinnock version was highly praised but the overall winner was Andrew Manze with the Academy of Ancient Music. It must be popular all the second hand CD’s were selling for more than the new price!
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Last night I watched a Blu-Ray of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin. Powerful stuff, even if I struggled with the music on occasion. I’ve seen several write-ups describing it as the best opera of this century, so I plan to devote some more time to it.
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Two St Matthew Passions this morning: Herreweghe’s 1985 and 1999 recordings. Between the two, Herreweghe’s lyrical approach remained consistent, and it is the singers that make the difference. Two roles for me lead to a preference for the 1985 recording: Jacobs’ alto on the 1985 recording is an acquired taste, but ultimately he’s more expressive than Andreas Scholl in 1999; and although love Ian Bostridge’s voice he is a disappointing evangelist, and Howard Crook easily outclasses him. Both sopranos are great, but I am partial to Barbara Schlick’s soft grained voice. Somewhat to my surprise, the 1985 recording also sounds better, both in terms of sound and imaging.
Cheers
EJ
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Turns out as a Qobuz Sublime member, I can get hi-rez downloads of the Sudbin recordings for less than the Naxos CDs.
But I need to determine whether I need to purchase more Scarlatti (whom I love) or if streaming these is sufficient. In addition to piano recordings I have harpsichord recordings (the Scott Ross complete set and some Hantai and Leonhardt) and a number of discs of transcriptions for guitar and harp.
Sometimes I feel I buy too many duplicates and should be searching for music I don’t own.
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I’ve been making my way through the Harnoncourt/Leonhardt box set of the sacred cantatas - up to No. 177. About halfway through, I discovered the Harmonia Mundi Herreweghe box set of cantatas, so I picked that up. I already have the earlier (IIRC) St. Matthew from HM’s earlier overview set of Herreweghe’s work.
Can’t keep up . . .
Oh yes, I know Me too !!
Just to say that I agree. This album by Beatrice Rana is captivating and I have listened to it several times in the last week.
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I’d love to sample the Leonhardt and also Koopman sets, but have never heard any - are there particular cantatas you can recommend? I’ve given up being a completionist and don’t buy boxsets although I do follow certain artists and repertoire (for Bach, the only team I blindly buy into is Pierlot and his Ricercar Consort) - as you say, there is just too much…
Cheers
EJ
Looks like there’s a 7-disc set of well known cantatas from the Harnoncourt set at a bargain basement price. Not sure about posting links here, but I’m sure you can find it.
