Continuing their ongoing series with Resonus, the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York and conductor John Scott release this compelling programme of choral works by Henry Purcell which also features the acclaimed New York period ensemble Concert Royal. Recorded on period instruments, this collection of sacred works by Henry Purcell features some of the composer’s best-known choral works framed by the large scale works O sing unto the Lord, Z44 and the Te Deum in D major, Z232. Completing this collection is the organ Voluntary in G major, Z720, in a striking performance by John Scott.

Grammy Award Nominee 2006 'Best Classical Contemporary Composition' Composed in 2005 as a specially commissioned ballet score fo New York City Ballet, 'Piano Concerto No.2' comprises three movements: cumnock fair, shabards and shamnation. The work here receives its world premiere recording. It is a highly energetic work - a frenzy of folksong and dance; the first movement, cumnock fair, is a whirling fantasy of eighteenth-century Scottish dance melodies; shambards makes use of Burnsian folksong with fragments of the Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermoor drifting in and out of focus; shamnation is heavily influenced by Scottish folklore, often quite devilish. 'For sheer excitement...this half-romp, half tantrum of a work is hot stuff', wrote The Times. 'A Scotch Bestiary' was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the BBC Philharmonic to inaugurate the new organ in the Disney Hall in Los Angeles. This is a conertante work for organ (an instrument rarely used by contemporary composers) and orchestra, in two parts, and follows in a tradition of musical portraiture to which Elgar, Saint-Saëns and Mussorgsky have made significant contributions.

The present recording especially concentrates on works by Johann Sebastian Bach in minor keys; these are contrasted by four works in major keys. The general perception is that minor key works frequently emanate a certain sadness as their fundamental emotion. Bach, on the other hand, repeatedly develops in his minor key compositions-particularly in the organ works- an unsurpassed elegance out of the melancholy depths, as Joseph Kelemen impressively proves at the Treutmann Organ of the Grauhof Monastery Church. Joseph Klemen completed his studies in organ, harpsichord, and choral conducting at the Academy of Music in his native city of Budapest, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and the Academy of the Arts in Bremen. He has been active as a church musician in Southern Germany since 1986. With a strong commitment to historical performance practice, he is considered by specialists to be an authority on German organ music of the 17th century and the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach.