2010 Gramophone Awards success

The Cardinall’s Musick have won the most prestigious prize at this year’s Gramophone Awards ceremony - the 2010 ‘Record of the Year’.  Having picked up the award in the Early Music category for ‘Infelix Ego’,  the hugely acclaimed 13th and final volume of their Byrd Edition for Hyperion Records, they went on to win the most coveted prize: the Recording of the Year is chosen in a secret ballot by a special panel of critics from the 16 category-winning discs, themselves selected by Gramophone’s 50-strong reviewers panel.  It is only the second time an Early Music recording has won the Recording of the Year.

The Cardinall’s Musick are no strangers to the Gramophone Awards, having won on three previous occasions: in 1995 for the first disc of their Robert Fayrfax series, in 2006 for their disc of Thomas Tallis and in 2007 for volume 10 of the Byrd Edition.

Vivaldi specialists La Serenissima also picked up a prize, winning the Award for Best Baroque Instrumental CD for ‘The French Connection’, having been previously nominated in 2008 and 2009.  La Serenissima’s star continues to shine ever brighter, with a number of very exciting projects upcoming (including the world premiere of a new concerto by Vivaldi in January; a gala performance of Vivaldi’s opera Catone in Venice in March; and recordings of ‘French Connection II’ and ‘Per Monsieur Pisendel II’).

To complete a hugely successful day for Rayfield Artists, rising star vocal ensemble The Prince Consort performed live with a sneak preview of a new song-cycle written for them by composer/pianist Stephen Hough. The cycle will be recorded later this year for Linn Records (2010 Gramophone Awards Label of the Year) along with Brahms’ Liebeslieder-Walzer. Maybe a Gramophone Award winner for 2011!