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Described in The Guardian (2019) as one of today’s leading composers for voice, Joanna Marsh is a British composer who since 2007 has divided her time between Dubai and the UK. Her life in the Middle East has lead to many unique musical opportunities including writing an orchestral work to celebrate the building of the Burj Khalifa. Most recently she was commissioned by Dubai Opera to write an orchestral work for the first BBC Proms in Dubai in March 2017. This lead to her writing the 6 minute work Flare, for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, based on a short story called Oil Field, by Saudi writer Mohammed Hasan Alwan. Joanna has been Composer in Residence, at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge from 2015 through to 2020 and during that time has written a number of choral works for the college choir and the college organ. She is a Co-Founder of ChoirFest Middle East in Dubai, an annual celebration of the region’s choral music scene which is reached its eighth edition in March 2020. She is also Founder and Artistic Director of the Dubai Opera Festival Chorus a large body of singers that was set up for the BBC Proms in Dubai and continues to undertake concert performances of various types across the UAE. Available as a disc on demand from Presto Classical. -
Flight is the stunning new album of works from British composer Oliver Davis (b.1972), composed for and in collaboration with violinist Kerenza Peacock. Flight captures the spirit of movement and energy present in many of Davis’s compositions, which have led to frequent collaborations with groups such as the Royal Ballet and a great number of TV commissions. On disc these works are performed by Kerenza alongside the London Symphony Orchestra under conductor Paul Bateman. [These] exuberant works are performed with charisma and sensitivity by Kerenza Peacock and the LSO - BBC Music Magazine The music is full over movement and energy. It's spirited, lively, and at times reminiscent of the music of Michael Nyman. Kerenza Peacock plays with great panache and verve - Classic FM No quibbles as to Peacock's commitment or panache, while Paul Bateman gets a disciplined response from the London Symphony Orchestra - Gramophone -
Formed in 2002, the award winning Lunar Saxophone Quartet has developed a reputation for their commitment to composer/performer collaborations, leading to dozens of commissions from a variety of different composers. Performances have spanned a wide range of occasions, from Bryn Terfel's 'Faenol Festival' and the Welsh BBC Proms, to live broadcasts on BBC TV and Radio. This new disc features a programme of newly commissioned works by some of Wales's youngest and most gifted composers together with those of more established figures. James Williamson’s In Memoriam is achingly contemplative, while the title of Lucy Pankhurst’s Diaphanousphere suggests the delicate webs of sound created by the quartet - The Independent Phenomenally talented saxophonists - Clarinet and Saxophone Society Magazine -
Alexander's music has become known for its striking beauty and originality. Described by Positive News as ‘not jazz, not classical, not improvised, but a glimpse of something new’, and by ClassicFM as ‘refreshingly original’, it isn’t easily described or placed into a genre. For the Love of Life sees the composer return to the piano accompanied by four string players from the Scottish ensemble, Mr McFall’s Chamber, alongside the powerfully expressive voice of Hannah Rarity. Chapman Campbell describes his new album as "a celebration of the essential beauty of the human spirit and its capacity to overcome adversity. We’re teetering upon the edge; while slowly recovering from a global pandemic we’re faced with the much broader sickness of our natural world. Rarely have humans experienced a challenge so global in its scale, one that demands such a collective response. Deep down in the human heart, I believe, is a light of immense beauty and strength. Now is the time to find that light, and to lift it up. As an offering of hope, this album is my personal contribution." Hannah Rarity’s has established herself as one of Scotland’s foremost vocalists. Former winner of BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year award, her status as a rising talent has been further consolidated by her numerous nominations at the Scots Trad Music Awards, including her shortlisted nomination for Album of the Year 2019 and feature as ‘One to Watch’ in The Scotsman. "It's uplifting music which inspires a sense of sanctuary and stillness and soothes the heart" - What’s On North -
Looking at the variety of Italian baroque instrumental music on offer to today’s listener, one could be forgiven for thinking that Vivaldi had faced little competition during his lifetime. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Whilst the volume of music that flowed from Vivaldi’s pen was unusually plentiful, many other composers were needed to fulfil the needs of the regional courts and churches throughout Italy. Expert early-music ensemble La Serenissima perform works by Lorenzo Gaetano Zavateri, Giuseppe Sammartini, Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco and Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello alongside works by Vivaldi on this new album of Italian Baroque masterpieces. ★★★★ Performance ★★★★ Recording " Once again on crisp and orderly form…A well thought out programme, sympathetically recorded and helpfully documented" - BBC Music Magazine -
Canadian cellist Paul Marleyn perform works by Jewish composers for cello and piano. -
Originating as a sexy dance in South America, the ‘chacona’ crossed the Atlantic and established itself in Spain as an irresistible temptation. In 1615, it was banned from Spanish theatres for being ‘lascivious, dishonest, offensive to pious ears’, but the attractions of the chaconne held sway. From the Ground Up traces its allure from early Spanish chaconnes, through the worlds of Purcell and Piccinini, to Bach’s magisterial example for solo violin. Reanimating the ‘lascivious’, Purcell’s ground basses furnish a harmonic groove for readings from Shakespeare by British actor Samuel West, accompanied by New York rapper Baba Israel. -
"Historically, The Queen’s Six has always performed arrangements of pop songs. It was one of the main reasons for the group’s inception in 2008, also the 450th anniversary of the Accession of Queen Elizabeth I, from whom they take their name. This juxtaposition of old and new has always been a big part of Q6’s ethos: there are rich rewards to be gained from both the beautiful, sonorous church music they perform, and their fun, tongue-in-cheek pop and jazz arrangements. Coaxing the wit and charm out of these songs has been a main part of their raison d’être since day one. So why make a pop album now, and why these songs? From Windsor with love was first conceived working with US Producer TJ Armand in 2019. Armand was at the time the Director of the Bermuda Festival, where the group performed in the same year. Their journey to Bermuda once again typified their mixture of styles: they flew directly from New York City where they had performed two programmes of church music at the Met Cloisters, to the wonderful island of Bermuda, where they were in the same festival brochure as Chaka Khan. After years of performing arrangements of pop songs, their meeting with Armand was the spark that lit the fuse for this album. The curation of From Windsor with love was not entirely plain sailing. As part of their job as singers in the St George’s Chapel Choir, Windsor Castle, members of The Queen’s Six sang at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. The album was therefore initially intended to be mash-ups of US-style wedding songs. However, with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the originally intended romantic hue of these songs took on a new meaning, one not just of love, but of unity in the face of adversity. The symbolism of songs such as Heaven is a place on earth and Stand by me became especially poignant, and so the project took on a new dimension. With their madcap on-stage antics, and their love of pushing the boundaries of what’s 'acceptable', The Queen’s Six couldn’t make such an album without choosing some unusual songs. Here you’ll find more traditional classics such as Bob Dylan’s Make you feel my love, and Young and Heyman’s When I fall in love, next to Huey Lewis and the News’ The power of love, and Limahl’s Never ending story (the fact that members of the group grew up with the films that made these two songs famous helped in the decision-making process). The first three of these were arranged by long-time Q6 collaborator Stephen Carleston, and they show his extraordinarily wide-ranging gifts. In the hands of arranger Ruairi Bowen, Never ending story becomes a sort of rhapsody on Giorgio Moroder’s original music. Staying in the 1980s, Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven is a place on earth gets an early-Baroque-style treatment. Sometimes it can take a while for a cappella arrangements to take shape, but Miguel Esteban knew exactly what he wanted to do with it from the outset. Alternating sections of quasi-Baroque vocal writing and close harmony, Esteban creates something that is true to Q6’s roots, whilst retaining the beauty of the original song. Taking us a bit more towards 19th-century Germany, Simon Whiteley’s arrangement of Richard Marx’s Right here waiting is perhaps more of a Brahmsian lullaby, dream-like and hypnotic. Rock legend Van Morrison’s romantic ballad Have I told you lately gets more of a jazzy treatment in Tim Carleston’s arrangement, which is more akin to Rod Stewart’s version of the song. Back a bit further to the 70s, and two R&B classics: Grover Washington Jr and Bill Withers’ Just the two of us has a slightly understated groove feel in Tom Lilburn’s arrangement; and in his arrangement of The O’Jays’ Now that we found love, Louis Marlowe carries on this slightly funkier style. Billy Joel’s Just the way you are completes a triptych of '70s gems, with the crooning tenor solo line interrupted only by a jazz bass section, and an alto 'instrumental' break. Coming a bit more up to date, and a song not readily imaginable as an a cappella cover, Tom Lilburn’s version of The Proclaimers’ 90s hit, I’m Gonna be (500 miles), recaptures some of the song’s romantic heart, whilst retaining its inexorable vigour. And bringing us much closer to the present day is Ruairi Bowen’s arrangement of Sufjan Stevens’ Mystery of love. Another song made famous by a film (2017’s Call me by your name), Bowen coaxes all the laid-back rhythmic interest from Stevens’ original by way of intricate, almost bird-like vocal lines. One song that has survived from the initial plans for an album of ‘wedding songs’ is Stand by me. The group first heard this arrangement of the Ben E King classic as they prepared for Prince Harry’s wedding back in 2018. As they sat in the choir stalls, the sound of this song suddenly began to drift up from the other end of the Chapel. Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir’s rendition in an arrangement by Mark De-Lisser touched them in the most extraordinary way. Understanding that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and with De-Lisser’s very kind permission, the group made their own, purely a cappella arrangement of this song. There’s nothing Q6 likes more than singing these pop songs, and the celebratory interaction with the audience they a ord. As the dust settles after the pandemic, and touring becomes a possibility again, the group is looking to the future, hoping to bring its signature blend of old and new, serious and fun, to an ever-wider following." - Simon Whiteley (The Queen's Six) “Impeccable pop…Slick performances and chameleon performers, code-switching plausibly from rock to pop to funk and jazz, then From Windsor with Love will hit the spot. This is pop perfectly translated for the concert hall.” - Gramophone Magazine ★★★★ "The Queen's Six can do light and popular repertoire: A fine record, fresh arrangements - a beautiful foray…They move individually at a high level, interact as an ensemble with agile perfection and a recognizable pleasure in sound" - Klassik.com -
This popular Japanese children’s song written in 1914 with lyrics by Tatsuyuki Takano describes the nostalgia and love for his childhood home set in the hills."This brand new arrangement is by Bob Chilcott and it is a pleasure to sing this with tenor Julian Gregory” - Grace Davidson -
The BBC Singers continue their series of releases featuring works by their official Associate Composer – a unique chance for some of the most talented artists to create compositions for the ensemble – with a new collection of world premiere recordings of works by British composer Gabriel Jackson. The central work of the programme – Airplane Cantata – explores the early days of aviation through the journals, news reports and accounts that surrounded this world- changing era. Featuring characteristically precise performances from the BBC Singers, they are joined on this disc by the world-renowned pianola player Rex Lawson.
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In his new Saxophone Concerto, Gabriel Prokofiev explores a side of classical music usually seen as forbidden by modern contemporary composers: melody. This aspect was incorporated at the request of the soloist, Branford Marsalis, allowing Prokofiev to revisit characteristics of the classical tradition not usually heard in contemporary music, giving the saxophone an open canvas. Prokofiev’s Bass Drum Concerto shows the versatility of the instrument, despite only being used in a very basic fashion in classical music as a whole. Prokofiev experiments with how the bass drum is struck, where it is struck, and what it is struck with throughout the piece, producing a variety of sounds, colours and textures. -
Edward Cowie’s unique compositional voice stems from his wide-ranging interdisciplinary interests in both the sonic and visual arts, with many of his works inspired by ideas and concepts from artworks and from the natural world. The opening piece of this recording – a 2011 commission for BBC Radio 3 – creates a complex musical tapestry and soundscape from the call of the Australian bell-bird, opening with translations of choruses of several species of Australian frogs. In 2002 Cowie become the BBC Singers’ first ‘Associate Composer’, marking a relationship between the composer that began in the mid-1970s and continues to this day. A fine tribute to an underrated composer - The Guardian The BBC Singers are joined by the Endymion ensemble for the lengthy “Gesangbuch”, a four-part choral work whose wordless vocals and darting, sprite-like musical tones create a work of suitably elemental spirits animated by the changing seasonal round - The Independent -
Signum Records is proud to announce the release of the latest recording by The King's Singers: Gesualdo's Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday. The Italian Prince, Carlos Gesualdo, is probably most famous for the obsessive double murder of his first wife along with her lover, but his music is not always accredited with the same sense of celebrity. Gesualdo is known in traditional history books as an amateur composer. His music is characterised by wild gesticulation and abrupt starts and stops, particular to a composer who just didn’t know what he was doing. However, the 20th century has now uncovered our composer’s place in history as part of a larger movement of Neapolitan artists, and as perhaps the most forward-thinking, expressive and sensual composer of his time. The King’s Singers were fascinated by the naked honesty that is heard within this 400 year old music. It is so startling that it keeps its freshness of surprise even on many repeated hearings. The music portrays a desperate and wretched, but also passionate and loving person who is set on composing "further out" than anyone else. Gesualdo moved in the highest circles of Italy and was extremely wealthy. His decadent lifestyle allowed him to do and write exactly as he pleased, and at the tender age of 19 it brought him into close contact with one of the most attractive and admired women in Naples. Maria d’Avalos was twice widowed by the age of 25. Her marriage to Gesualdo was initially promising. However, Maria’s rich social life soon dominated the relationship and a profound and constant jealousy took possession of the young and highly sensitive composer. After four years of turmoil he hired professional murderers to assist him in killing wife and lover while they were in bed together. The violence and rage of the act is well-documented. After the murder of Maria, Gesualdo suffered from severe and increasing feelings of guilt. Penitence never left him and he was moved to compose church music of a most black and self-reproachful nature. The programme on this CD represents part of the liturgy for the Matins Offices on the final three days of Holy Week, the Triduum Sacrum. Each of the Matins services is divided into three nocturns, each containing psalmody, three lessons and three responsaries. The attention given to word-painting is exemplary - The Times A no holds barred, immaculately sung performance from the King's Singers. Unmissable - Classic FM Magazine -
The conductor and harpsichordist, Bridget Cunningham brings back to life Handel’s pasticcio opera, Caio Fabbricio first performed in London in 1733 and based on an earlier opera by Johann Adolf Hasse (1732) Caio Fabbricio is London Early Opera’s eighth album in the prestigious Handel Series with Signum Records and is a pasticcio opera, a brilliant and well-considered collection of some of the finest 18th century Neapolitan arias by different composers, including Leonardo Vinci and Leonardo Leo, selected and arranged by Handel who composed his own dramatic recitatives. London Early Opera (LEO) is a vibrant, baroque group of instrumentalists, singers, music teachers, researchers, historians and musicologists on a voyage of rediscovery making glorious baroque music and opera relevant today. As Artistic Director of London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham is a leading exponent of baroque music and continues to create these outstanding recordings with Signum Records exploring Handel’s colourful life, influences and experiences which inspired his magnificent musical legacy. ★★★★ Performance ★★★★ Recording "In this world premiere recording artists shine brightly in a pasticcio opera…Bridget Cunningham directs Caio Fabbricio brilliantly, leading from the harpsichord to energise the other players, and to give them space to exploit juicy passages. The singers' virtuosity and rich characterisations are delightful…Caio Fabbricio contains much fine music and compels fresh admiration of Handel's orchestral skills. Execution of this project is uniformly excellent" - BBC Music MagazineCD SPOTLIGHT “Unreservedly recommended” - Classical Music Daily.“Some excellent showpieces” - BBC Radio 3 -
Star British cellist Jamie Walton returns to disc on Signum with a programme Russian repertoire by composers Glazunov, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. Joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Okko Kamu, the disc includes the original version of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. Jamie Walton's outstanding programme of Russian classics captures the music's soaring lyricism with impassioned eloquence and interpretative flair - The Strad Walton embraces Glazunov's tenderness with the warmth and suppleness of his tone...Walton interprets [the Prokofiev] with impressive, seamless sweeps and refined dynamic shading - The Daily Telegraph Seamless lyricism and glorious tone - Gramophone [Walton] delivers a particularly eloquent and virtuosic account of the work - BBC Music Magazine -
Ian Page and The Mozarists bring us a new album of Arias by the celebrated composer Christoph Willibald Gluck including works from operas such as Il trionfo di Clelia, Wq. 31, Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq.30 and Il Parnaso confuso, Wq.33. The soloist is the Swedish mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg, with Ian Page once again conducting his award-winning period-instrument ensemble. ★★★★ - The Times “Conductor Ian Page radiates meticulous musical precision, contagious interpretative joy and a serene confidence that inspires and unites the musicians of The Mozartists.” - Sonograma “Listening does not disappoint at all: the choice of pieces reveals Gluck’s modernity, where formal essentiality and dramatic intensity already anticipate his greatest works.” - GBOPERA“This skilfully curated exposition of Gluck’s humane genius was a joy to hear.” - Gramophone