In this live recording- the second in The Dale Warland Live series- selected works of two 20th century composers, one British and the other American, are performed with exquisite choral acumen. The program consists of Benjamin Britten’s acclaimed ‘A Ceremony of Carols’ and Daniel Pinkham’s ‘Christmas Cantata’ with brass and organ. In addition, Pinkham’s rarely performed ‘Company at the Creche’ is included with four other Christmas works. The distinguished career of choral composer and conductor Dale Warland spans more than six decades and has made a profound contribution to the music of our time. As conductor, composer and founder of the Grammy-nominated Dale Warland Singers, he is one of only three choral conductors inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

Andrew Nethsingha and The Choir of St John’s, Cambridge present a tribute album to two former directors, Christopher Robinson and David Hill, who celebrate their 85th and 65th birthdays respectively. Taking the idea of new growth as a starting point, the album develops from the seed of a single treble line, gradually adding organ, then lower voices, a second choir (Yale Schola Cantorum), 150 additional singers, and eventually combining nearly 500 voices together (former members and friends of the college choir). The programme spans Hildegard of Bingen to a new commission by James Long (b.1987) and also includes works by three ex-St Johnians: Herbert Howells, Johnathan Harvey and Christopher Robinson. The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge is one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world, known and loved by millions from its broadcasts, concert tours and recordings. Founded in the 1670s, the Choir is known for its distinctive rich, warm sound, its expressive interpretations and its breadth of repertoire.

This is a program of 20th Century trumpet music by some of the greatest composers of the first half of the 20th Century. Roderick MacDonald, trumpet, and Mikyung Kim, piano, bring these great works fully to life in mesmerizing performances. Roderick MacDonald was born outside Providence, Rhode Island. Since 2014 he has served as Music Director of the New England Symphony Orchestra, and is an Associate Professor of Music at the State University of New York in Fredonia. Pianist Mikyung Kim has performed across the globe as a collaborative pianist and soloist. An advocate for music in higher education, she has also held faculty positions at New York University, Montclair State University, and Concordia University in Austin (also as adjunct violin professor).

Yuko Mabuchi Trio thrills audiences with every concert. Her January performance opening for Branford Marsalis in the 1,800 seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall whet international jazz appetites. She next headlined the Arlington Jazz Festival in Texas, and Yuko Mabuchi Trio performed in Blues Alley in April as part of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D. C. European and Asian stages beckon. Yuko s debut recording on Yarlung, "Yuko Mabuchi Trio," was a top seller in the Yarlung catalog last year, in all formats. Yuko deserves this success. "The Absolute Sound" published a rave review of her Segerstrom concert. Elaborating further, Rick Brown writes in Yarlung News Yuko Mabuchi combines sexy athleticism at the piano with serious musical poetry. The young fans in the house responded to both with great enthusiasm. So did audience members in their 70s and 80s. This was a fast up tempo set resulting in thunderous applause with audience members yelling and stamping their feet for the standing ovation at the end.... I recognized some audience members who had driven from San Francisco or flown in from Hong Kong and different parts of the country for the event....

Cuban-American composer Orlando Jacinto García unveils "la vida que vendrá," showcasing four electro-acoustic solo works that culminate in an ensemble piece performed by the prolific loadbang ensemble. Through this collection, García invites listeners to delve into the realm of timbre, exploring the interplay between harmonious and divergent sounds.

The Karol Rathaus Ensemble, carrying out its mission to bring this outstanding Polish composer back to the concert life, once again reached for the rarely performed music of its patron. 2021 saw the world recording premiere of two chamber works by Karol Rathaus, i.e. the Trio, Op. 53 from 1943 and the Trio Serenade, Op. 69 from 1953 (DUX 1712). Now the ensemble decided to record more compositions; what is important, some of them have also been recorded for the first time. The repertoire of the album has been selected in such a way as to give the listener the opportunity to get to know both Rathaus’ new works and his new face: not only did he create chamber music, but also songs, so the album also features ‘guest’ performers. Expanding the circle of artists ready to take the risk of discovering the above work is of great importance, since the music of 20th-century Polish exile composers is still marginalized both in musicological research and in the concert repertoire. Its absence in the domestic culture resulted from the fact that for several decades the communist authorities did not allow information about the art created outside Poland: emigrants were to plunge into oblivion. Nowadays, we are witnessing a gradual renaissance of their music, and the names of such eminent artists as Jerzy Fitelberg, the Łabuński brothers, Karol Rathaus, Szymon Laks, Roman Maciejewski, or even Roman Palester and Andrzej Panufnik are slowly enter-ing the collective consciousness.

The turbulent life of Arthur Lourié (1891–1966) – student of Glazunov, friend of Blok, lover of Akhmatova, commissar of the Soviet regime, exile in Germany, France and the USA, ghost-writer for Koussevitzky – is reflected in the wide range of references in his music, from echoes of the ceremonies of ancient Greece to Neo-Baroque and Neo-Classical procedures perhaps inspired by his collaboration with Stravinsky in Paris. Some of the works in this first of two albums surveying his chamber and instrumental music have an almost ritual formality; in others a mischievous grin is not far from the surface.

REVIEWS:

The personnel is spearheaded by flautist Birgit Ramsl and they all play with commendable accomplishment and verve that serve Lourié well. There are also four premiere recordings. However you sum him up, stylistically, his remains a cultured, cultivated and agreeably cosmopolitan voice, drawing on Russian and French traditions to irradiate the ritual formality of his music.

-- MusicWeb International