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Nearly all of the music for solo piano written by Leoš Janáček (1854–1928) dates from before the First World War and thus belongs to the period before the composer’s remarkable late creative surge, which was triggered by the hugely successful 1916 production in Prague of his third opera, Jenůfa (1894–1903; rev. 1907–8), and facilitated by his retirement from his teaching position at the Brno Organ School. Nevertheless, all three of Janáček’s major solo piano works – On an Overgrown Path (1900–1911), From the Street 1 October 1905 (1905-6) and In the Mists (1912–13) – contain music that is both profoundly individual and also integral to the now widespread view of the composer as one the most original musical voices of early twentieth- century music. Thomas Adès was born in London in 1971. He studied the piano with Paul Berkowitz at the Guildhall School, winning the Lutine Prize for piano, before continuing his studies at King’s and St John’s Colleges, Cambridge. Dr Adès has given solo piano recitals at Carnegie Hall, New York and the Wigmore Hall and the Barbican in London, and appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic. He has performed Schubert’s Winterreise extensively throughout Europe with Ian Bostridge and in 2018 recorded it at the Wigmore Hall. In 2018, following a recital of Janacek’s music at the Reduta Theatre in Brno, Janacek’s home town, he was awarded the Leoš Janáček prize. Booklets included with all downloads. -
Few composers of any age have enjoyed the widespread admiration and unanimous praise of successive generations as Josquin Desprez. He is considered the greatest creator and innovator of musical composition during the Renaissance, and for some half a millennium his music has stood the test of time. He is remembered as much for his own works as for his lasting influence on those of his contemporaries and students, demonstrated in many of the compositions in tribute of 'the master' featured in this programme. The programme's centrepiece is Jean Richafort's Requiem mass (missa pro defunctis), a tribute that employs several of Josquin's compositional devices. The King's Singers once again demonstrate their versatility and trademark precision in this new programme devised by leading early-music scholar and conductor David Skinner. The centrepiece is Jean Richaford's Requiem, with flowing counterpoint spiced by rich dissonances. But the most astonishing work is Jacquet de Mantua's Dum vastos, weaving together five Josquin 'hits' - The Times All the Kings' Singers' performances are admirably manicured - The Guardian Those voices emerging from sublime textures and tugging at the heartstrings have their own special quality, and I’ve found myself increasingly admiring the qualities of this performance the more I’ve delved into its expressive beneficence - MusicWeb International -
Rising star-soprano Elena Xanthoudakis is joined by the Royal Northern Sinfonia under Richard Bonynge in these exhilarating performances of some true Jewels of the Bel Canto aria tradition by Bellini, Verdi, Rossini and Donizetti. -
Tenebrae mark their 15th anniversary season with a celebratory re-release of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles, as well as the premiere recording of a new work by Owain Park. Inspired by the Camino Frances pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Path of Miracles has quickly become a contemporary classic amongst choral music fans. To mark their anniversary year Tenebrae commissioned British composer Owain Park to compose his new work Footsteps as a companion piece to Path of Miracles. A shorter work, Footsteps is themed on similar concepts of travel, solitude and journeying, and blends texts by eight different authors to structure a narrative that cycles the seasons through the view of a lonely traveller. -
David Goode performs the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach on the renowned Metzler Söhne organ of Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, in a new a set spanning 16 CDs and over 17 hours and 40 minutes of music. Covering the multiplicty of genres and stylistic influences that typified Bach’s organ music, the set includes complete recordings of the Leipzig, Neumeister and Schübler Chorales, the Clavierübung III and Orgelbüchlein, the six Sonatas and many preludes, toccatas, fugues, fantasisas, chorales and partitas. The accompanying 136-page booklet includes background information on each work by organist George Parsons, along with an introduction to the set by David Goode. As well as a tracklisting the booklet includes indexes to the works by BWV number and alphabetical order. Reviews for the series: ★★★★★ BBC Music Magazine “This series is notable for the flair, clarity and spontaneity that Goode brings to this timeless music” - Gramophone Magazine "The Signum engineers have done a sterling job with the sound quality. The cycle certainly stands shoulder to shoulder with some of my favorite traversals, including those by Christopher Herrick, Peter Hurford, Lionel Rogg and André Isoir." - Musicweb International Recordings of the Year 2021 -
“JS Bach’s seven concertos for solo harpsichord & strings, occupy a significant place in the history of music, marking as they do the origin of the keyboard concerto genre. Collective- ly, they encompass the gamut of Baroque rhetorical expression; indeed, leaving aside the six ground-breaking ‘Brandenburg’ Concerts avec plusieurs instruments, it is difficult to think of a more diverse, revolutionary and technically refined set of instrumental concertos from the Baroque period” - Andrew Arthur Their second recording on Signum Classics, The Hanover Band play-directed by Andrew Arthur present four of these revolutionary concertos, following their successful first album “BMV 1052, 1054, 1055 & 1058 Harpsichord Concertos”. The Hanover Band’s players are amongst the finest in their field and the orchestra has built an inter- national reputation for the excellence of its performances and recordings of eighteenth and nine- teenth-century music. Andrew Arthur is best-known for his work in the field of historically informed performance, he is in great demand as a conductor, keyboard soloist and continuo player, working with many of the UK’s leading period-instrument orchestras and professional choirs. ★★★★ Performance ★★★★ Recording "[Fifth Brandenburg Concerto] who concertino writing for harpsichord and sparkling first movement solo makes its presence apposite in the present company. Andrew Arthur enlivens Bach's scores with clearly articulated solo playing" - BBC Music Magazine "A major key to the success of these recordings is the singing quality of this harpsichord in this acoustic under the fluid coaxing of Andrew Arthur’s touch…How lucky Andrew Arthur is to have such fine companions in making these wonderful recordings… I shall enjoy returning to this recording for a long time. It is such responsive, unshowy but fluid, utterly musical playing. This is how to hear Bach, and you should get it at once" - Early Music Review -
Disc on Demand available from Presto Classical David Goode continues his series of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach, played on the Metzler Söhne organ of Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge. This digital-only recording is available from all major download stores and streaming services in MP3, CD Quality and Studio Quality/24-bit audio, and includes an extensive note on the works by George Parsons. It is also available to buy as a disc on demand – made to order with a printed booklet and inlay. All downloads include booklets. -
Following her debut release of Baroque works by Vivaldi and Handel earlier this year, Grace Davidson returns to disc on Signum with an intimate disc of Dowland’s first book of lute songs, accompanied by David Miller. Blending melancholy with wit in his writing for both lute and voice, John Dowland’s songs have continued to enchant audiences and singers for nearly 400 years. The ‘First Booke’ includes some of Dowland’s less well-known works, and was recorded in the sensitive acoustic of Ascot Priory in Berkshire, UK.
Performance ★★★★ Recording ★★★★★ Dowland's [works] find elegant interpreters here in Grace Davidson and David Miller - BBC Music Magazine These are beautiful, musical performances - Gramophone "Grace Davidson, one of the most elegant voices in the English music scene, interprets the melodic singularity of these exquisite Ayres , weighing the expressive value of the lyrics…The English soprano expresses with serenity and good taste the affections of the soul." - Sonograma -
John Jenkins (1592-1678) is perhaps the most popular English composer of the great golden era of music for multiple viols, ranging from William Cornyshe in 1520 through to Henry Purcell in 1680. The reason why is not hard to fathom: a rare melodic gift is married to an exceptionally deep understanding of harmony and modulation, and effortless counterpoint gives each part an equal voice in the musical conversation. Fretwork perform Jenkins’ complete consort works for four-part viol ensemble, in a new recording that showcases this composer’s rich and diverse compositions. A recital of sumptuous music superbly played. In a word: sublime - Classical Ear A new recording that showcases the composer’s rich and diverse compositions - Northern Echo Contemplative, spirited, mellifluous and free from overt drama, they offer apolitical, zen-like balm - The Observer When played well, as in the case of these beautiful performances, John Jenkins’ work can be deeply satisfying and deserves to be heard more widely. Highly recommended - iClassical Mellifluous and engaging, with a real sense of communication, this is delightful music, delightfully performed - Planet Hugill -
Even though Jonathan Dove is best known as a vocal or choral composer, with operas and works for children forming the backbone of his output, his chamber music reveals similar predilections for narrative, drama, atmosphere and a sense of the personal.His new commission from the Sacconi Quartet In Damascus was inspired by the violinist Hannah Dawson’s suggestion for a work that should reflect aspects of the conflict in Syria; not because music can offer any political solution, but simply as an expression of empathy, sorrow, even outrage at those terrible events. Featuring a performance by tenor Mark Padmore, the text is taken from prose-poems by Ali Safar that draw on his first- hand experiences in Syria, eloquently translated by Anne-Marie McManus.★★★★ Jonathan Dove’s In Damascus proves a powerful, passionate and above all humane commentary on that country’s current plight… impeccable playing from the Sacconi Quartet - Classical Ear ★★★★ The beauty of the piece, for tenor and string quartet, is its restraint. It doesn’t sensationalise, get maudlin, moralise or politicise. The words are direct and the music respects that. The performance does, too: focused playing from the Sacconi Quartet and lucid, unswerving narrative from tenor Mark Padmore - The Guardian Mark Padmore uses his voice with such emotional intelligence… the string playing is by turn both dark and passionate - BBC Radio 3 Record ReviewThe Sacconi’s present this new work alongside his string quartet work Out of Time, and his Piano Quintet – performed with pianist Charles Owen. -
For An Unknown Soldier is a cantata of remembrance to mark the centenary of the First World War. Commissioned by the London Mozart Players, Jonathan Dove’s poignant work combines the words of war poets such as Wilfred Owen, William Noel Hodgson & Isaac Rosenberg with choral performances from tenor Nicky Spence, the Oxford Bach Choir and Portsmouth Grammar School Chamber Choir. It is paired with the ensemble’s performance of Dove’s An Airmail Letter from Mozart, directed from the piano by Melvyn Tan. ★★★★ Performance, ★★★★★ Recording “Conductor Nicholas Cleonbury does a sterling job of marshalling the focus, which include a combined children’s choir, and tenor Nicky Spence, whose contributions are memorably plangent” - BBC Music Magazine “The performance is a good one. Nicky Spence sings expressively and his timble suits the music very well...The recordings of both works have been very effectively engineered by Matthew Dilley” - Musicweb International “Nicky Spence is particularly well-focused and expressive and the Oxford Chorus perfectly drilled and nicely balanced with a lovely tone quality” - Musicweb International
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This is a musical trip from the mid-sixteenth century to around 1700, involving music in Late Renaissance style, carrying Spanish Catholicism across the Atlantic to supplant an indigenous culture. Once the invasion had taken root with the conquest of Tenochtitlán and its transformation to Mexico City, the country became the target of fervent friars and preachers. Franciscans were first in 1523, then Dominicans, all fired with Christian zeal to convert the native population. From the outset they used music to great effect. The accounts that survive show how successful they were in teaching singing and playing, training choirs to perform liturgical music. By the mid-century it was claimed that standards had reached that of Charles V’s chapel. Churches and cathedrals were established throughout the rapidly expanding New Spain. Conquest and Christianity imposed an almost exact replica of Old Spain. Liturgical books, prints of plainchant and polyphony were shipped in throughout the century. In this recording the singers present music by eight composers. Four of them never went to the New World; their music did. Three of them were born in Spain and were trained in music there; they held appointments in Spain and later emigrated to the new colonial cities. One more became the first composer-choirmaster to be born there of Spanish parents, thus criollo. All downloads include booklets. -
“JS Bach’s seven concertos for solo harpsichord & strings, BWV 1052-1058, occupy a significant place in the history of music, marking as they do the origin of the keyboard concerto genre. Collectively, they encompass the gamut of Baroque rhetorical expression; indeed, leaving aside the six ground-breaking ‘Brandenburg’ Concerts avec plusieurs instruments, it is difficult to think of a more diverse, revolutionary and technically refined set of instrumental concertos from the Baroque period” - Andrew Arthur Their first recording on Signum Classics, The Hanover Band play-directed by Andrew Arthur present four of these revolutionary concertos, and dedicate this release to their Founder and Artistic Director, Caroline Brown (1953-2018). The Hanover Band’s players are amongst the finest in their field and the orchestra has built an internation- al reputation for the excellence of its performances and recordings of eighteenth and nineteenth-century music. Andrew Arthur is best-known for his work in the field of historically informed performance, he is in great demand as a conductor, keyboard soloist and continuo player, working with many of the UK’s leading period-instrument orchestras and professional choirs. "Fluid, inventive and utterly musical" - Early Music Review ★★★★★ "An excellent record, which I enjoyed very much…I cannot recall a set of performances which has satisfied me as much…The recording balance is equally first-rate and this disc can be very confidently recommended. I look forward to it's successor" - Musical Opinion ★★★★ "This is a fine new recording of some of the Bach harpsichord concertos with the Hanover Band in good form…Andrew Arthur is a fine player, and the Garlick harpsichord sounds very well. The opening D minor Concerto has splendid energy, and in the third movement the lively dialogue with the harpsichord is very effective…If wanting stylist performances of these four concertos, this is well worth considering" - Choir and Organ Magazine -
British composer Julie Cooper presents her commercial album debut, composed during the COVID-19 lockdowns. This musical diary represents Cooper’s reflections on the continuous cycle of life as experienced so vividly by many during this time. This theme is explored most prominently in the central 4-movement work, the ‘Contemplation Suite’, featuring the soprano Grace Davidson, where the changing of light and dark in the day and its effect on our circadian rhythms is brought to light. The album opens with the title track ‘Continuum’, written and narrated by celebrated Bridgerton and Dr Who actor Adjoa Andoh, poignantly setting the tone and message for the rest of the album. Julie Cooper is an award-winning British composer whose music is broadcast extensively on Film, all BBC television and radio channels, ITV, Channel 4 and 5 and all visual media worldwide. She has scored multiple cinematic orchestral and intimate chamber albums for television drama, film, wildlife documentaries, advertising and video game music, along with numerous drama commissions for Theatre, BBC Radio Drama and the concert platform. "[Dusk] (contains) impassioned interjections on solo violin by Elena Urioste alongside luminously floating lines from soprano Grace Davidson…One is constantly reminded in Cooper’s expressively honed music of its power to comfort and inspire in difficult times" - Gramophone -
The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge return to disc with three 20th Century European masterpieces: Poulenc’s Mass in G Major (last recorded by the choir over 40 years ago under the iconic George Guest), Kodály’s Missa Brevis, and Janáček’s Otčenáš (Our Father). All works make use of highly distinctive musical languages, yet all three are tonal and highly accessible. This disc follows the choir’s debut release of works by Jonathan Harvey Deo (SIGCD456), which was awarded the choral prize at the 2017 BBC Music Magazine Awards. ★★★★★ The choir sing with their justly famed blend and perfect intonation… An essential disc - Choir and Organ ★★★★There is a transparency, delicacy and clarity to the textures on this disc… there is a wonderful edge to the more jagged harmonies. There is lightness and control, but steel too in the Sanctus & Benedictus, and the beautiful thread of solo treble at the opening of the Agnus Dei leads to a magical ending - Planet Hugill The Choir captures the other-wordly atmosphere… these well-recorded performances are certainly recommendable - BBC Music Magazine These compelling accounts come highly recommended - Northern Echo
