The German-French composer Mark Andre (*1964) is one of the most important representatives of New Music. His twelve "Miniatures" for string quartet were composed in 2014/17 as a commission from the Arditti Quartet, Bavarian Radio's "musica viva", the Festival d'Automne à Paris and the ProQuartet-CEMC, funded by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. Andre created his organ work "Himmelfahrt" (Ascension), funded by the Siemens Music Foundation, in 2018 on behalf of the Evangelical Church in Germany. The orchestral work "woher... wohin" was written between 2015 and 2017 as a composition commission by BR's "musica viva" in conjunction with the Happy New Ears prize for composition from the Hans and Gertrud Zender Foundation. The live recordings of all three works are now being released in the album edition of Bavarian Radio's "musica viva" concert series on BR-KLASSIK. The album edition of the Bavarian Radio concert series "musica viva", which began in 2000, has been continued since autumn 2020 together with BR-KLASSIK. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of "musica viva" (the concert series was founded by Karl Amadeus Hartmann in 1945), recordings with works by the contemporary composer Rebecca Saunders (*1967) and the composer Enno Poppe (*1969) appeared as first releases in October 2020. The edition is now being continued with works by Mark Andre (*1964). All the recordings feature live recordings made at "musica viva" concerts with the Bavarian Radio Chorus, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and renowned soloists.

The sublime Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge return with the second volume in their Advent series - celebrating the advent season from within the Christian tradition; a season celebrated since at least the sixth century. This splendid live recording, from within the Chapel of St. John’s College itself, features Christmas favorites, including Britten’s Deo Gracias from A Ceremony of Carols as well as gorgeous performances of lesser known works by modern composers including Jonathan Dove, Arvo Pärt and Paul Manz. The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge (link is external) is one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world – known and loved by millions from its broadcasts, concert tours and over 90 recordings. Founded in the 1670s, the Choir is known for its rich, warm and distinctive sound, its expressive interpretations and its ability to sing in a variety of styles. Alongside this discipline, the Choir is particularly proud of its happy, relaxed and mutually supportive atmosphere. The Choir is directed by Andrew Nethsingha following in a long line of eminent Directors of Music, recently Dr George Guest, Dr Christopher Robinson and Dr David Hill.

REVIEW:

‘Advent Live, Vol 2’ is a real album, the mystery and expectation of Advent coursing through a repertoire that never stoops below this ensemble’s judicious idea of what constitutes high-quality music, whatever the century. There is unhackneyed Telemann, Wolf, Goldschmidt, Britten and some poised works, new to me, by McCabe, Milner and Manz. Cecilia McDowall’s A Prayer to St John the Baptist brilliantly unifies otherwise autonomous organ and choir. Judith Bingham’s introduction to Hark, the glad sound! is like a modernist narthex to an ancient cathedral. The qualities of the choir hardly need repeating. It sounds like a string quartet flexing as much as an organ breathing, with no room for show or antiquated ‘look at us’ habits.

– Gramophone

Alfred Desenclos and Jean Langlais were both superlative composers of choral music, yet most of their works are performed far too infrequently. This album offers superb performances of some of the best choral works by these great French masters. Initially called the ‘Madrigal Singers,’ the USC Thornton Chamber Singers were first formed in 1939 under the direction of Max T. Krone — a professor of music education, composition and choral music, as well as the dean of USC’s former Institute of the Arts. In 1942, Krone brought Dr. Charles C. Hirt, then the director of the Glendale High School choirs and a USC alumnus, to the school as both a lecturer and as Director of the Chamber Singers. Hirt later established and became chair of the Choral and Sacred Music department. In 1956, the Chamber Singers adopted its current name in a move designed to better reflect the group’s repertoire.

The present release features new commissions based on familiar tunes and other premiere performances make this fifth volume a delightful and entertaining addition to the unique repertoire of organ music for two. America’s celebrated duo organists, Elizabeth and Raymond Chenault, have made a significant contribution to organ repertoire by commissioning, arranging, premiering and recording over 70 organ duets. For their renowned artistry they have indisputably earned the title “The World’s Premiere Duo-Organ Team.” The Cathedral’s organ was designed, built, and installed in 1962 as the Aeolian-Skinner Opus1399. In 1992, after significant acoustical renovations to the Cathedral nave, the organ was re-voiced by John Hendrickson, who previously had worked for Aeolian-Skinner, and had helped to install the Cathedral’s organ. In the mid-1990s, a Tuba stop was added to the Solo division by Austin Organs, Inc. In 2011, anew console was designed, built, and installed by Schoenstein and Co., to replace the original console of 1962.