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Featuring two new operas from composer Emma O’Halloran, with librettos by Mark O’Halloran Irish National Opera present Trade and Mary Motorhead. Featuring singers Oisín Ó Dálaigh, John Molloy (Trade) and Naomi Louisa O’Connell (MM) the Irish National Opera Orchestra are conducted by Elaine Kelly. TRADE In a guesthouse in Dublin’s north inner city, a vulnerable and confused young rent boy sits with a middle-aged client. The older man has blood on his shirt. A lot has happened since the two last met. Mary Motorhead: Mary Motorhead has been locked in a prison cell after stabbing her husband in the head with a 12-inch carving knife. While he lies in intensive care, Mary reflects on the events that have brought this turbulent rural marriage to such a crisis. ★★★★★ - "Ultimately, it's the razor-sharp combination of emotional directness and complexity that compels the audience to step into the characters' lives in all their fury violence, savage loneliness and agonisingly tender love." - BBC Music Magazine “Rarely, if ever, does every element - score, text, singers, instrumentalists, conductor, director, sets, costumes, lighting, sound design—all come together. This is that rarity.” - Los Angeles Times “Emma and Mark O’Halloran’s complex opera double bill Trade/Mary Motorhead is remarkable” - Irish Independent "Tenor Oisín Ó Dálaigh and bass-baritone John Molloy simply astonishing throughout." - The Arts Review -
Praise for Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Romances: Four stars “And while this is a very classical, traditional recording, it can please because of the virtuoso and technically flawless playing of the soloist” – Pizzicato His third album with Signum Records, internationally acclaimed violinist Charlie Siem is joined again by celebrated pianist Itamar Golan for their second recital album performing works by Grieg and Vaughan Williams, including a transcription of ‘Solveig’s Song’ by Siem himself. Charlie Siem is one of today’s foremost young violinists, with such a wide-ranging diversity of cross-cul- tural appeal. Siem has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras and chamber ensembles, includ- ing: the Bergen Philharmonic, the Camerata Salzburg, the Czech National Symphony among many others. For more than two decades, Itamar Golan has been partnering the most outstanding instrumentalists of our time. His work has brought him great critical acclaim, and he is one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation, collaborating with Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Julian Rachlin, Mischa Maisky among many others. ★★★★★ "This fascinating coupling works exceptionally well, more so in such excellent performances…beautifully recorded by Andrew Keener…those who are both attracted and intrigued by this thoughtful coupling can purchase this disc with full confidence" - Musical Opinion ★★★★ Performance ★★★★★ Recording "[Grieg's Violin Sonata No. 2] The central Allegretto tranquillo deftly balances a gentle nostalgia with spurts of zesty temperament, while the finale sparkles with the influence of Norwegian folk dance. Siem's moody transcription of 'Solveig's Song'…rounds off a stimulating recital" - BBC Music Magazine "Plenty of grit in this unusual sonata programme…His playing is wild and assertive in the Scherzo…the double stops lend a gritty, Prokofievian strength and determination…Itamar Golan matches him in assertiveness and power…Siem brings a melancholy tinge to the expressive melodies and exults in the joyful dances…there is gentle, expressive beauty to his Alegretto tranquillo" - The Strad -
British violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen – described by the late Ruggiero Ricci following a masterclass as the “most exceptionally gifted young violinist I have ever encountered” – adds to her already prodigious reputation with a new disc of timeless works for strings by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar. Joined again the the Orchestra of the Swan under David Curtis, the centre piece of the programme is an enchanting performance of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Her sense of line and capacity to make things happen are both beautiful and strikingly individual ... The Lark Ascending's opening solo searches out an extreme degree of musical space in a way that's at once daring and mesmerising - BBC Music Magazine Superlative performances of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending ... Highly recommended - Northern Echo This double homage to strings and English composers is engrossingly good - Sinfini Music -
Tenebrae return to the sublime music of Tomás Luis de Victoria on Signum with this recording of his timeless Tenebrae Responsories. The works mix the words of the Gospels with other texts commenting on collective suffering written around the 4th century, and would traditionally have been performed as part of a moving service in which candles are slowly extinguished to mark the progress and suffering of Christ that forms the Passion story.Tenebrae's previous disc of works by Victoria (Requiem Mass, 1605) won the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Choral Album of 2012.
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In the 1970s the Bevan Family Choir, consisting of 10 siblings under the direction of their father Roger Bevan, released an album of choral music and toured the country, even making a documentary for ITV. Now, some of the children of those singers – 15 of the 53 first cousins…are set to release their debut album with conductor Graham Ross. The album is a celebration of their musical heritage and contains works by Stanford, Victoria, Palestrina, Tallis, David Bevan, Lobo and more. ★★★★ THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2023 SO FAR "[A] lovingly curated selection of works for voices… All received performances of exquisite subtlety and clarity" - The Times ★★★★ "The sound is rich and strong…I loved it…the blend is faultless…an album of joy" - Opera Now ★★★★ Performance "[Bevan's Magnificat] Lovingly performed. They are particularly good at strongly textured works…the works with intricate polyphony are pleasingly performed" - BBC Music Magazine -
Early music consort Contrapunctus return to disc on Signum for the second release in their series centred on music of the Baldwin Partbooks (In the Midst of Life, SIGCD408). John Baldwin was a member of the choir of St George’s chapel, Windsor, and his transcriptions during the 1570s and 80s create one of the greatest surviving collections of Marian polyphony, composed during the reigns of Henry VIII and Mary Tudor. This volume explores texts celebrating Mary as mother of God, and on the Virgin and her Child.Contrapunctus, led by Owen Rees, couple powerful interpretations with pioneering scholarship. Currently Vocal Consort in Residence at Oxford University, the ensemble’s first two recordings, Libera nos and In the Midst of Life, were both shortlisted for the Gramophone Early Music Award. -
Her third recital album on Signum Records, celebrated soprano Mary Bevan returns with a selection of French songs, featuring works by composers including Britten, Ravel, Debussy and Faure. “Over the years since the release of my debut album Voyages with Joseph Middle- ton in 2017, my passion for French mélodie has grown and deepened...The texts that composers of mélodie have set to music contain a depth and a mystery that I find fascinating and a source of repeated inspiration... My idea for the album began sim- ply with a desire to record Britten’s Les Illuminations, a work I feel closely connect- ed to, having performed it many times over the years and each time having found something new in it to interest me" - Mary Bevan The Week: The Best Albums of the Year so far ALBUM OF THE WEEK "A terrific disc…she is superbly supported by Joseph Middleton, 12 Ensemble and the Ruisi Quartet" - The Week ★★★★★ Performance ★★★★ Recording "Bevan and the conductorless 12 Ensemble move as one organism as she glides mesmerisingly over their ebbing and flowing pulse. The heart of the recital, though, is a radiantly searching performance of Britten’s Les illuminations…Bevan’s ability to combine warmth with refreshing vigour is to the fore in Chausson’s Chanson perpétuelle and the Debussy songs grouped by Holloway as Quatre mélodies de Verlaine. Her effervescence in Augusta Holmés’s delectable Serenades, another first recording, provides a sunny conclusion that perfectly balances the opening luminous nocturne of Fauré’s Clair de lune." - BBC Music Magazine ★★★★ "Refreshing…succulent, instrumental colouring…Warm, round tone and persuasive phrasing" - The Times ★★★★ "[Les Illuminations] Romping energy and shimmering brilliance of the performance by Bevan and the strings of Ensemble 12…Bevan has becoming a real master of French song; her diction is impeccable even in the most agile and rapid songs, and her singing in the quieter songs has a delicious tenderness and intimacy - as does the playing by pianist Joseph Middleton, Ensemble 12 and the Ruisi Quartet. In all this CD is a wonderful introduction to the perfumed, erotically charged world of French song at its height" - The Telegraph -
“It’s been a while since my last album and I have chosen to record a few of the pieces that have had the most impact on me and given me the most comfort. God knows we all need a shot of something right now, and these pieces combine to form a monster dose of Vitamin C for the soul. Listening to Pogorelich playing Chopin’s 3rd scherzo at the Chopin competition, Gould keeping me company in the middle of the night with the B flat minor prelude and fugue or Sokolov performing the rarely played impromptu in London have been defining moments in my life,in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Every piece on this album has a similar story of inspiration and hope for me. Choosing the photo of mini me for the cover is my, perhaps slightly melodramatic, way of recognising that without this music, these musicians, the miracle of the 88 keys of a piano and a recording studio, my life would have been a pale imitation of the miracle that it has turned out to be.” - James Rhodes -
Signum Records are proud to present the debut orchestral recording from Grace Davidson, one of the UK’s leading British sopranos specialising in Baroque music. She is joined by some of Europe’s leading Baroque musicians from the Academy of Ancient Music to perform a selection of works by Handel and Vivaldi, with performaces led by violinist Bojan Čičić under artistic director Joseph Crouch.
Grace won the Early Music Prize while studying singing at London’s Royal Academy of Music. Since then, she has worked with the leading Baroque ensembles of our day, singing under the batons of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Paul McCreesh, Philippe Herreweghe and Harry Christophers. Her discography includes a decade of CDs with The Sixteen, many of which feature her as soloist – Handel’s Jeptha (as Angel), Dixit Dominus, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Pianto della Madonna, and the Lutheran Masses of Bach.
Davidson is outstanding for her seraphic purity and evenness of tone - Gramophone The voice is radiantly fresh and clean - The Times Grace Davidson…voice seems to have been especially created to sing baroque music - Cross Rhythms Each performance carves out an atmosphere of thoughtful, reflective poise capturing the settings' interior spirit - Classical Source -
Baroque giants La Serenissima return with VIVALDI 8 – VOLUME 1: their new recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, among other concerti for ensemble by Vivaldi. Recognised for ‘whipping up a storm with Vivaldi’, La Serenissima is ‘one of Britain’s best-loved chamber orchestras’ (The Telegraph) known for their outstanding performances, championing a host of neglected Italian baroque composers. Uniquely, the group’s entire repertoire is edited from source material by founder and violinist, Adrian Chandler OSI. ★★★★★ Performance ★★★★★ Recording - "Be prepared to be enthralled by the energy and audacity of this version" - Gramophone ★★★★ Performance ★★★★★ Recording - "Chandler, like all pieces, approaches them with a carefree musician's mood, a strong ensemble sound and a crisp bite ... there is no question that Chandler has fullypermeated the music in all it's facets." - Fono Forum ★★★★ - "[Adrian Chandler's] performance is absolutely polished, refined, and full of color. He also displays absolute mastery of the instrument and commands an instrumental group completely committed to the works recorded around its undisputed leader." - Spanish Classical Music Magazine -
Baroque giants La Serenissima return with VIVALDI 8 – VOLUME 2, following their previous instalment in February 2025 of Vivaldi 8 Volume 1. Recognised for ‘whipping up a storm with Vivaldi’, La Serenissima is ‘one of Britain’s best-loved chamber orchestras’ (The Telegraph) known for their outstanding performances, championing a host of neglected Italian baroque composers. Uniquely, the group’s entire repertoire is edited from source material by founder and violinist, Adrian Chandler OSI. ★★★★★ - “After being obsessed by the composer and his music world for more than 30 years, Chandler by now is Vivaldi incarnate” – The Times “[Chandler] and his musicians could not sound more at home, more free to be themselves, than they do here.” - Gramophone -
Following the huge success of their recent album release ‘Timelapse’ (Jan 2021), Orchestra of the. Swan presents Vivaldi Sleep, a project that was initiated by the orchestra during the first national lockdown of 2020. Eleven artists from a broad range of genres – including klezmer, folk, electronica and jazz – were invited to add a solo part in response to the orchestra’s recording of the second movement of Autumn from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Guest artists recorded their solo parts at home and were given free rein to start prior to the orchestra’s recording and continue after it had finished if they wished. Manipulation of the source material was also allowed. Formed in 1995, Orchestra of the Swan is a British chamber orchestra which, under the artistic direction of David Le Page, is passionate about audience inclusivity and blurring the lines between genres through its adventurous and accessible programming. This album demonstrates this ethos exactly. -
With its vivid poetry and technical ingenuity, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was ground breaking at the time of its release and to this day remains as influential and transfixing as ever. In this recording, violinist Kati Debretzeni directs the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in an energetic, historically informed performance. From the commanding heat of the Summer sun, to Winter’s foreboding darkness, the power of Vivaldi’s masterpiece is inescapable. The booklet includes a ‘Guided tour of the Four Seasons’, allowing listeners to follow the poetry that inspired Vivaldi as they hear the performances on the disc, including additional composer’s notes from Vivaldi’s own scores. This is a recording of the evergreen Four Seasons to remember and return to. The playing is sublime. Kati Debretzeni is a breath of fresh air at any time of the year. The chamber ensemble from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, led here by Alison Bury, includes a core of players that has been there from its formation who continue to play with the same joyful camaraderie and artistic precision - Gramophone Debretzeni sets out to highlight the descriptive aspect of the music by finding many more colours and contrasts in the orchestral texture than are usually heard, and the period instruments give the familiar movements a new attack, making the work sound as fresh today as the day it was written - Classic FMThis is probably one of the noteworthy period-instrument 'Seasons' recordings - Early Music Review
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“Apart from a short period (1717-19) spent in Mantua under the patronage of Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt, Vivaldi never held a full-time post in church or at court; for a composer of Vivaldi’s talent and standing, this was most unusual. That said, he was employed for significant periods by the Ospedale della Pietài, a Venetian institution (founded c.1340) that cared for unwanted children, often illegitimate or physically disadvantagedii. The Pietà’s performers were taken from a group of women known as the figlie di coro, who sang and played the violin, violin in tromba marina, viola, viola d’amore, cello, violone, viol, double bass, theorbo, mandolin, harpsichord, organ, oboe, flute, recorder, chalumeau and clarinet. The Pietà developed a strong reputation for its musical performances, engaging the finest composers and teachers of the day. It was important to ensure that the standards were high; after all, these entertainments were most popular with Venetians and visitors alike whose donations provided a welcome extra source of revenue. In addition to the many fine vocal works, Vivaldi also contributed many concertos that could be used to replace parts of the liturgy in church services. Amongst these are almost certainly all of his concertos for violin and obligato organ, presumably designed to show off the magnificent instrument that the Pietà had purchased in 1708. We are extremely grateful to the Vivaldi scholar Michael Talbot for sharing his findings. As so much of Vivaldi’s sacred output seems to have been created whilst deputising for others, one can only imagine the riches that would have poured forth from his pen had he been given a church post. The quality of the music contained within his sacred oeuvre is breath-taking and it is a great tragedy that the evidence points to a large tranche of this repertoire having been lost over the years. It is interesting on this last point to note how few of the great composers since 1750 have been violinists. One can only hope that the time is now ripe for Vivaldi’s genius as a church composer to be fully recognised” ★★★★ Performance ★★★★ Recording "This collection of sacred vocal and instrumental works written for the female performers of Venice's Pietà exploits a host of unusual instruments and vocal timbres…La Serenissima's playing is lithe and efficient throughout" - BBC Music Magazine "The Concerto for viola d'amore, RV394, shows off the range of a specially commissioned new Italian-style instrument…from luthier Dan Larson. Chandler makes the most of its fine-spun, silvery tone in the slow movement…Jess Dandy is a game soloist in the wonderfully fiery Cur sagittas, luscious breadth of tone spilling over and softening" - Gramophone -
Soprano Mary Bevan and pianist Jopseph Middleton perform a programme exploring the genius of Baudelaire and Goethe, and how texts by them unlocked very speci c musical landscapes in settings by Debussy, Duparc, Chausson, de Bréville, Séverac, Fauré and Schubert. Praised by Opera for her “dramatic wit and vocal control” in stand out performances on opera and concert platforms, Mary Bevan is a winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist award and UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young TalentPianist Joseph Middleton specialises in the art of song accompaniment and chamber music and has been highly acclaimed within this eld. Described in the BBC Music Magazine as “one of the brightest stars in the world of song and Lieder”, he has also been labeled “the cream of the new generation” by The Times and “a perfect accompanist” by Opera Now. ★★★★ A beautiful programme… they include plenty of intriguing and little-known songs that more than deserve these excellent interpretations - Primephonic Bevan’s purity of tone and discreet yet telling way with words can be by turns unnerving and alluring in the Baudelaire settings… Middleton, as one might expect, is marvellously insightful, playing throughout with weight as well as grace and subtlety - Gramophone "Bevan's creamy, velvet tone is continually seductive, while her upper register is achingly beautifull when hushed, yet also soars radiantly in Debussy's Cinq poèmes de Baudelair…In short, this "invitation au voyage" should most definitely be accepted" - BBC Music Magazine "To sum up: a fascinating journey through Baudelaire’s and Goethe’s poetic landscapes, under the guidance of Helen Abbott’s expertise and the sensitive music-making of Mary Bevan and Joseph Middleton" - Musicweb International ★★★★ ½ "Bevan's warm tone and sensitivity to the nuances of the words and music create a consistent mood throughout the album, and the restrained accompaniment of pianist Joseph Middleton sustains the feeling of veiled mystery that Bevan successfully conveys…Bevan's expressive interpretations and smooth delivery reveal her profound artistry and love for this repertoire" - All Music -
Pianist Llyr Williams explores Wagner’s rich and evocative sound-world from a different perspective.Featuring insightful arrangements of Richard Wagner’s operas by Franz Liszt and Glenn Gould (as well as Williams’ own arrangement of music from Parsifal), at the centre of the programme is a selection of Wagner’s own piano pieces – many of which were written earlier in his compositional career, hinting at the grand operatic masterworks which were yet to come.