Mozart’s original music for organ consists of 17 one-movement “Epistle sonatas” — chamber music written between 1772 and 1780 for masses in Salzburg. The instrumentation for 14 of these is two violins and basso continuo, while the remaining three are written for more instruments. The pieces are short — this is music written to be played between the reading of texts. In 1790 Mozart was commissioned to write music for what was known as a “Flötenuhr” — a large grandfather clock containing a self-playing organ. The works are compositions of exceptionally high musical quality. Here the mature Mozart reveals his gifts as a contrapuntalist and his ability to create singable melodies and forward-looking harmonies.

David Ponsford is an organist, harpsichordist, musicologist and conductor, and an authority on keyboard music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He was extremely fortunate to be able to study organ with Peter Hurford, Lionel Rogg and Piet Kee, and harpsichord with Kenneth Gilbert and Gustav Leonhardt. Since 2021, he has taught organ and harpsichord & organ continuo at the Royal Academy of Music, London. The present CD is volume 8 in the series ‘French Organ Music from the Golden Age’, performed by David Ponsford on French historic organs.

Learn more about this recording on the Naxos Classical Spotlight podcast!

Held in high esteem by his contemporaries, Orfeo Vecchi stands out as a remarkable figure with regard to the sacred repertoire he produced from the late 1500s. Respectful of the written texts while elegantly expressing pictorial content through subtle dialogue, antiphony and counterpoint, the 20 pieces of the Motectorum sex vocibus liber tertius form a rich and eclectic collection that fully reveals Vecchi’s mastery and religious inspiration. This world premiere recording has been made by musicians involved in recovering the wealth of unpublished materials held in Vercelli Cathedral, where Vecchi studied and worked for much of his career.

SOMM Recordings announces Canticle of the Sun, an album dedicated to choral works by Stephen Dodgson. This recording adds to SOMM’s growing discography of music by this unjustly neglected and richly deserving British composer (the label last year launched an ongoing three-volume series embracing Dodgson’s rich and varied output of songs) on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth.

The performances are given by the chamber choir Sonoro, one of the UK’s foremost vocal ensembles. Described as “outstandingly refreshing” (BBC Music Magazine) and “abundant in vibrant colour” (The Guardian), they are tonally immaculate and technically astounding in Dodgson’s tuneful, yet challenging choral writing. They are joined in one work by Michael Higgins at the organ and in another by Katherine Bicknell on flute, while the remaining pieces feature the choir in stunning a cappella with soloists drawn from the choir throughout, and the entire programme is led by conductor and Co-Artistic Director of Sonoro Neil Ferris.

The selection of works, all of them first recordings, reveals in Dodgson a genuine composer for voices – one of abundant gifts, and special among them a sensitive approach to word-setting. The album’s titular piece, Canticle of the Sun (2008), one of Dodgson’s last vocal compositions, sets a text by the prolific English poet John Heath-Stubbs (1918–2006). The cantata Four Poems of Mary Coleridge (1987) sets the texts for the unusual and striking combination of mixed voices and solo flute, played by Katherine Bicknell, a flautist of “sumptuous tone” (The Straits Times, Singapore) and “striking musical ability” (MusicWeb). Incredibly effective throughout, the contrast between voices and flute is particularly evocative in the wonderfully dark “Nocturne I: (The Fire, the Lamp and I)”, with its interplay between almost recitative-like flute and solo bass interspersed with choir playing the characters of the fire and lamp.

’Tis Almost One (1984), is a short cantata for mixed voices and organ to words by Robert Herrick (1591–1674). The organ accompaniment is provided by pianist, organist, composer and arranger, and Co-Artistic Director of Sonoro Michael Higgins.

Following three undated but likely quite early shorter works for a cappella upper voices on anonymous texts (Winter, Lullaby and All Bells in Paradise), the programme concludes with Lines from Hal Summers, a setting for unaccompanied mixed choir. Dodgson chose three poems from Smoke After Flame (1944) by the English poet Henry (known as Hal) Summers (1911–2005), excerpting from them and setting to music carefully selected lines, as referenced by the title. It is difficult not to feel the growing sense of expected war-time victory in these texts – the music reflecting an unstated hopefulness for peace and rebirth.

This recording is supported by the Stephen Dodgson Charitable Trust.

King Charles III’s coronation on 6th May 2023 showcased the link between music and monarchy. Th is album sets this historic moment firmly within the rich tapestry of music and monarchs past. Recorded amidst the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, the programme transports us to points when the link between the British monarchy and music has been formalised – from coronations to royal weddings to more subtle stories of royal intervention – all the while celebrating the musical output of composers who have flourished with royal endorsement. We are meanwhile reminded that the British monarchy has played an important role as patron to the arts, including music. This album sits perfectly in the CRD catalogue and is an important release for listeners worldwide. It follows King Charles III’s coronation which highlighted yet again the role of music for both contemplation and celebration. Meanwhile, on a personal note, I Was Glad happens to have been the most-loved anthem of CRD’s founding director, Graham Pauncefort, and formed a critical part of our initiation into that cherished British tradition of choral singing so superbly represented here. With a 50 year history of triumphing British music and musicians behind us, we are indeed ‘glad’ to be sharing this life-enhancing collaboration between Th e Band of the Household Cavalry and the Choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, masterfully guided by Major Paul Collis-Smith and James Vivian. [Emma Pauncefort & Tom Pauncefort, CRD]

From the moment this organ project began, it was without doubt that the new Dobson organ at Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue would be an instrument of world-class beauty and of historic importance. One of the fundamental aspects of this new organ was to have a multi-faceted instrument able to support the congregational singing, choral accompaniments and a vast span of the organ literature. When considering what to record on this disc, I decided to focus on music close to my heart – the wonderful and varied music of Great Britain, from both past and present. A combination of works originally for organ and transcriptions for the instrument allowed me to explore the full tonal palette of the instrument and tease out all that the organ has to offer.

A new work that features on this disc is Andrew Carter’s Lacrimae which was written in memory of John Scott after his sudden death in 2015. Throughout the recording of this album, I was constantly reminded of John and what a wonderful mentor he had been to me throughout my career – firstly as a chorister at St. Paul’s and later at Saint Thomas. It was poignant to be recording this disc on the organ that, sadly, he never saw come to fruition; I would like to dedicate this disc to him. Given that many of my performances of the works on this album are indebted to his immaculate recordings and performances (which were truly mesmerizing), I hope he would approve of this program as a means to show off the immense beauty of this instrument. [Benjamin Sheen]

Conceived on a grand scale, Lloyd’s late choral works build fruitfully upon his previous experience in other genres. They share with his operas an innate lyricism, natural affinity with the human voice, and feeling for the long line, while their structural balance, intensive working out of motifs, and rich orchestral palette owe a significant debt to his prolific symphonic output. Lloyd produced the final score of his Requiem a month before his death. It is inscribed ‘to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales’. Compassionate, reassuring, and even, at times, joyful, this is a conscious leave-taking on the part of the composer. His compact and cogent setting of Psalm 130 constitutes, arguably, his most fluently effective use of a cappella choral writing.

Christmas carols have a universal appeal stemming from the tradition of music being played; sung; re- arranged and rewritten by different generations in many different countries and over a number of centuries. Louis Halsey’s Nova! Nova!; a collection of new arrangements of many of the most well-known and beautiful carols from as far back as medieval times; represents perhaps the largest collection of carols by a single composer for many years. Hertfordshire Chorus and David Temple have recorded 24 of these carols in this beautifully presented new collection; including English; German; French; Czech; Basque; Welsh and Irish melodies. “What I love about Louis Halsey’s arrangements is that they are both tasteful and simple; allowing the beauty of each carol to shine through. We are thrilled to share these with a wider audience with this new recording.” David Temple