Bach Matthäus-Passion

This is an exhilarating experience both visually and aurally. How wonderful that Barenboim is havng such success with Verdi this late in his career.The excitement and power is there in all the big movements and the tempi shouldn't upset anyone. There is clarity and drive in all the big choral fugues and the climaxes will knock your socks off. But it was the quiet moments I found most moving. The incredibly detalied camera work increases this sense of intimacy and the video quality is excellent. Really.

Deutsche Grammophon celebrates Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 80th birthday with this 2-DVD release of rare, vintage, period Bach performances for the first time. Never released on DVD and, to the dismay of fans, long unavailable-these glorious Bach pieces are conducted by period instrument pioneer, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, as only he can. Harnoncourt, a notable cellist, performs in two concertos and on gamba in one. Harnoncourt warns, "If we lose contact with the great works of Bach, we lose our contact with humanity." Vocalists Janet Perry, Robert Holl, and Peter Schreier sing with distinction in the Coffee Cantata. The Surround Sound makes clear that they revel in the acoustics of the visually magnificent Baroque library of Wiblingen Monastery.

George Frederic Handel's oratorio Theodora, in its first-ever staged version at the Salzburg Festival, was among the highlights of Handel Year 2009. Acclaimed director Christof Loy presented Theodora as the profoundly moving tale of a woman who prefers death to denying her faith, an interpretation captivated with bravura by world-renowned video director Hannes Rossacher. A luminous Christine Schaefer and countertenor Bejun Mehta formed a perfect leading couple altogether suited to conductor Ivor Bolton's vigorus reading.

Requiem in D minor, K 626 by Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Performer: Walter Berry Gundula Janowitz Christa Ludwig Peter Schreier Orchestra/Ensemble: Wienere Symphoniker Orchestra Conductor: Bohm Karl Chor der Wiener Staatsoper Period: Classical Written: 1971 ; UNITEL

Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle was one of the outstanding events of the past season. As before with the St Matthew Passion, star director Peter Sellars succeeded in creating a staging which made the spiritual and dramatic content of the Passion story even more intensive. The New York Times also praised the “brilliant and energetic” playing of the orchestra, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the “haunting, almost unsurpassable singing of all those involved.”

Music video by Jacob Sartorius.

Elas por Ela reconstituted the history of MPB between 1920 and 1970, from the female perspective, also showing the transformation of the role of women in society over these years. Marília Pêra chose 35 singers to honor and, from 50 songs, put together the script for the show.

The captain of a ship's crew, a mouse, goes to the bar to pick up his men. After forcing the initially reluctant sailors onboard, they set sail and hit the (literal) high seas. Spots gags abound such as a cook dumping the garbage overboard into a clam's mouth, the clam getting his revenge by climbing onboard and spraying the garbage back at the cook, and a running gag involving a bear who is splashed by his bucket of water each time he throws it overboard. Finally, we are invited to sing along to the old sea tune, "Strike Up the Band".

A combination cartoon/travelogue set in the Swiss Alps, with a tuneful sight-seeing tour of Switzerland thrown in, before the bounding-ball comes bouncing along and asks the theatre audience to follow it in singing the ever-popular "I Miss My Swiss Miss, My Swiss Miss Misses Me." Some of the theatre singers may have actually thrown in a yodel or two.

Iconic entertainer Reba McEntire, who returns as host for a second year, will also perform during the holiday music special. Joining Reba are legendary acts and country favorites taking the stage for a night filled with Christmas classics and festive one-of-a-kind collaborations.

America's Blues takes a new angle on the Blues, focusing on, not only the musical impact it has had on all forms of Popular American Music, but also the influence it has had on art, fashion, language, film and racial equality.