In this fifth volume of the complete organ works of Johann Pachelbel, Matthew Owens continues his revelatory exploration of a composer who stood at the crossroads of German musical traditions. Recorded on the characterful historic Metzler organ of Trinity College, Cambridge, this programme illuminates Pachelbel's synthesis of northern virtuosity and southern lyricism - from the cascading brilliance of the toccatas and the poised contrapuntal craft of the fugues, to the devotional intimacy of the chorale preludes and Magnificat Fugues. Owens's performances bring a rare clarity and expressive warmth to music that bridges liturgical purpose and concert artistry. With it's elegant blend of scholarship, colour, and vitality, this latest instalment in the acclaimed series reaffirms Pachelbel as one of the most eloquent voices of seventeenth-century organ literature.
This album brings together Andrzej Panufnik's late London works, music shaped by a rigorous search for formal clarity and expressive balance. Symphony No. 10, his final symphony, exemplifies the composer's use of geometric principles, unfolding in a continuous span whose restraint gives it cumulative weight. The Violin and Cello Concertos, written for Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich respectively, avoid overt display, favouring lucid textures and a direct, vocal approach to solo writing. Love Song, heard in it's instrumental arrangement for solo cello, harp and strings, closes the programme with characteristic economy and poise. John Mills and Božidar Vukotic are partnered by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Alexander Walker.
Martin Romberg's Symphony of Saints stands as a radiant homage to the Northern Saints - Columba, Aidan, and Cuthbert - whose lives shaped the spiritual fabric of early Northumbria. Written with a deep sense of reverence and vision, the symphony draws on Celtic Christian tradition, it's glowing orchestral textures evoking the austere beauty of the Holy Island of Iona. Commissioned and inspired by personal devotion, this album is completed by Romberg's Sacred Songs, written for soprano Joanne Lunn, setting luminous texts by Scottish poet Kenneth Steven. Lunn's artistry, together with the Orchestra of the Swan under Andrew Griffiths, brings to life a cycle of profound intimacy and timeless lyricism. This recording is not only a testament to friendship and faith but also to music's power to embody love everlasting.
Sent to press just days before his untimely death in August 2015, John Scott's last recording is Dancing Day, a programme of works for Christmas, made with his beloved Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys of Fifth Avenue, New York.
Recorded in the home of the choir in Manhattan, the recording is centred around two works for treble voices and harp performed annually by the boys of the choir under John's direction - Benjamin Britten's inimitable A Ceremony of Carols and John Rutter's companion piece Dancing Day.
Completing a compelling disc that features medieval texts and themes are further works for treble voices - Britten's A New Year Carol and Patrick Hadley's I sing of a maiden. The boys are joined by the men of the choir for works by Matthew Martin, Philip Ledger and William Mathias. Also included is John's own arrangement of the simple traditional Dutch carol King Jesus hath a garden, penned whilst organ scholar of St John's College, Cambridge.
Music For A Prussian Salon / Scott, Boxwood & Brass
Resonus Classics
CD
$18.99Nov 11, 2016
Making their Resonus Classics and recording debut is the UK period wind ensemble Boxwood & Brass. The ensemble’s first recording is based around German composer and clarinettist Franz Tausch, and the two suites of his Op. 22 XIII Piéces en Quatuor Op. 22 for two clarinets, horn and bassoon. Also included is repertoire from two of Tausch's pupils (Heinrich Baermann & Bernhard Henrik Crussell) as well as an important influence on Tausch’s career, Johann Stamitz.
Handel: Messiah / Hill, BBC Singers, Norwegian Wind Ensemble
Resonus Classics
CD
$22.99Jan 04, 2019
The BBC Singers and conductor David Hill join with one of the world´s oldest continuously running orchestras, The Norwegian Wind Ensemble (NWE), to present this major new arrangement of George Frideric Handel’s most celebrated oratorio – Messiah. Arranged for wind ensemble by NWE member Stian Aareskjold, this version here receives its world premiere recording with a stellar cast of soloists who bring this visionary re-scoring of this famous work vividly to life. The BBC Singers hold a unique position in British musical life. The choir’s virtuosity sees it performing everything from Byrd to Birtwistle, Tallis to Takemitsu. Its expertise in contemporary music has brought about creative relationships with some of the most important composers and conductors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Britten, Maxwell Davies, Poulenc and Judith Weir, Associate Composer of the BBC Singers and Master of the Queen’s Music. The Norwegian Wind Ensemble is a unique institution in Norway’s cultural life. The orchestra’s eventful history stretches back to 1734 and the ‘First Brigade Band’ or ‘Division Band’ of Fredriksten Fortress in Halden. It is the oldest orchestra in Norway as well as the oldest cultural institution of any kind with an unbroken history.
Russian Revolutionaries, Vol. 1 / Prince Regent's Band
Resonus Classics
CD
$18.99Nov 17, 2017
Russian Revolutionaries: Ewald & Böhme' marks both the centenary of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the launch of period instrument ensemble The Prince Regent’s Band’s survey of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Russian brass chamber music. PRB perform two of the revolutionary Victor Ewald Quintets in their original instrumentation along with works by the versatile composer and cornettist Oskar Böhme, a German emigrant to Russia who was caught up in the turmoil of the fall out of the revolution and executed by the Soviet regime. The Prince Regent’s Band was formed to explore the wealth of historic chamber music for brass and wind instruments from a period roughly defined as between the French Revolution of 1789 and the end of First World War in 1918. Members of the current The Prince Regent’s Band are specialists in the period performance field and perform with regular with internationally renowned specialist ensembles.
1629 was a remarkable year for new music in Venice. Heinrich Schutz, came to the city to learn of the latest music from Claudio Monteverdi and his contemporaries, publishing the seminal first volume of his 'Symphoniae Sacrae' during his visit. With the publication of further landmark collections from Dario Castello, Alessandro Grandi and Biagio Marini, this particular year provided a key moment in the development of the Italian Baroque style. Acclaimed period ensemble The Gonzaga Band makes its Resonus debut with a fascinating programme of works from this period that chart the journey through this incredible year for music. The Gonzaga Band was formed by cornettist Jamie Savan in 1997, with a mission to explore the intimate relationship between vocal and instrumental performance practice in the early Modern period. The ensemble takes its name from the ducal family of Mantua: the Gonzagas were powerful and influential patrons of the arts in the late Renaissance, who employed Claudio Monteverdi as their maestro della musica at the turn of the seventeenth century. Monteverdi wrote some of his most innovative music for the Gonzagas: his third, fouth and fifth books of madrigals, the operas Orfeo and Arianna, and the Vespers of 1610.
The acclaimed Fidelio Trio make their Resonus debut with an exquisite recording of French piano trios- Camille Saint-Saens’ large-scale Op. 92 second trio, and Maurice Ravel’s sole foray into the genre dating from 1914. Coming off the back of a Royal Philharmonic Society Award nomination in 2016, this recording sees the trio expand on their unparalleled reputation for new music demonstrating the vast range of this brilliant chamber group’s abilities and talent. “Ravel’s Piano Trio was a lyric upwelling… the Fidelio players brought it off superbly, and it was a joy.” (The Sunday Times) “This is a bold and powerful recording, thoughtfully recorded, showing the young Fidelio Trio to be a force to be reckoned with.” (International Record Review.)
Boismortier: Six Sonates, Op. 51 / Dikmans, Moon, Elysium Ensemble
Resonus Classics
CD
$18.99Nov 11, 2016
Following on from their critically acclaimed Resonus debut of duets by Johann Joachim Quantz, the Elysium Ensemble have recorded an album of the Six Sonates, Op. 51, by French composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-1755). The second in a series of releases based on research into historical performance practice sees Elysium principles Greg Dikmans (flute) and Lucinda Moon (violin) continue their exploration of neglected and lesser-known works continuing the theme of ‘The Art of Elegant Conversation’. Prolific in his lifetime, publishing over 100 collections of Suites, Sonatas and other instrumental music, Boismortier’s great depth and imagination comes through in these duos for flute and violin brought to life with great panache by the Elysium Ensemble.
O Sing Unto the Lord: Sacred Music by Henry Purcell / St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys Fifth Ave.
Resonus Classics
CD
$18.99Feb 03, 2017
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.
The Queen’s Six release their third album on the Resonus Classics label with a scintillating and varied programme of music for Christmas. Both modern and traditional carols feature alongside a selection of lighter and contemplative evocations of the festive season. The Queen’s Six bring their trademark flair to this broad range of arrangements for men’s voices, with works from the Renaissance to the present day, including a tribute to the life of the inimitable David Willcocks - forever associated with the Christmas season - and new works by Thomas Hewitt Jones, Richard Madden & Matthew Coleridge.
Following critical acclaim for their series of duo recordings for violin and flute on the theme of 'The Art of Elegant Conversation', period instrument group the Elysium Ensemble returns to Resonus with an expanded line-up to present an arresting and vibrant new recording of flute concertos by the Baroque composer Johann Joachim Quantz. With Elysium founders Greg Dikmans (flute) and Lucinda Moon (violin) as soloist and leader, the Ensemble breathe fresh new life into these striking and beautifully crafted works with performances that are at once filled with a compelling spirit and warmth. The Elysium Ensemble is an Early Music group from Australia specializing in music from the 17th- and 18th centuries. It has been acclaimed by critics for it's elegant performances, fine musicianship and authoritative interpretations of music from the Baroque and Classical periods. This special ensemble embodies the concept of elysium (defined in the 17th century as a state of ideal happiness) by bringing together musicians whose awareness of the stylistic demands of the repertoire is combined with a mastery of period instruments. The ensemble's performances are indicative of the freshness and spontaneity which the musicians bring to this collaboration through discussion, rehearsal, experimentation and research.
York-based chamber choir, The Ebor Singers, with the director Paul Gameson, make their Resonus Classics debut with an album of works inspired by the English Civil War and, in particular, the 1644 Siege of York. Based around the ''York'' psalms of William Lawes, this fascinating recording features a programme of music that may have been performed in York's historic minster around this time of huge political, social and religious upheaval.
Piano duo Vicky Yannoula & George-Emmanuel Lazaridis make their debut appearance on the Resonus Classics label with the first volume of a landmark series of Carl Czerny’s arrangements for four hands of the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven.
A prolific and trusted arranger of many of Beethoven’s works, Czerny creates fascinating and faithful versions of these popular works that display the impressive virtuosic and orchestral range and capabilities of the instrument.
Yannoula & Lazaridis begin with two of Beethoven’s best-known works – the first and fifth symphonies.
Rakastava - The Music of Jean Sibelius / Kemp, Chamber Doamaine
Resonus Classics
CD
$18.99Feb 16, 2018
Critically acclaimed ensemble Chamber Domaine returns to Resonus with this portrait of Finland’s most prominent national composer- Jean Sibelius. Featuring a combination of both well known and lesser performed works, artistic director and conductor Thomas Kemp leads a programme of instrumental, chamber and string orchestra compositions including the suite for strings, Rakastava (The Lover), the brooding Malinconia for cello, and the fulsome Andante Festivo in celebrating the depth and versatility of this great composer. The album was recorded with spectacular sound quality, and features a full color booklet. Chamber Domaine is a trailblazing ensemble acclaimed for its virtuosity, distinctive programming and passionate advocacy of the music from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Chamber Domaine is project based and has a modular lineup of outstanding instrumentalists and vocalists ranging from duos to chamber orchestra.
Following the international success of their first album on Resonus, Venice 1629, Jamie Savan with his acclaimed period group The Gonzaga Band continue their exploration of lesser-known music in the Venetian orbit. Here they uncover a forgotten masterpiece by Amadio Freddi, maestro di cappella of Treviso Cathedral during Monteverdi's tenure at St Mark's in Venice. Luminous vocal textures and sparkling instrumental writing, together with harmonic originality and melodic invention combine to reveal a fascinating composer with a unique voice, heard again for the first time in this world premiere recording. The Gonzaga Band was formed by cornettist Jamie Savan in 1997, with a mission to explore the intimate relationship between vocal and instrumental performance practice in the Early Modern period. The ensemble takes it's name from the ducal family of Mantua: the Gonzagas were powerful and influential patrons of the arts in the late Renaissance, who employed Claudio Monteverdi as their maestro della musica at the turn of the seventeenth century. Monteverdi wrote some of his most innovative music for the Gonzagas: his third, fourth and fifth books of madrigals, the operas Orfeo and Arianna, and of course the Vespers of 1610.
Following on from their universally acclaimed debut album, Music for a Prussian Salon, the period wind ensemble Boxwood & Brass returns to Resonus with the first of two volumes of Beethoven Transformed. In this major new project, the group explores the status of wind music in early-nineteenth century Vienna through original and arranged music by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) and his contemporaries. In this first album, Beethoven’s Op. 71 Sextet is paired with the Op. 20 Septet in E-flat major, arranged for six-part Harmonie by his prolific pupil, Carl Czerny (1791–1857). Founded in 2013, Boxwood & Brass brings together the emerging generation of British period wind-instrument players to advocate for neglected wind chamber music and harmoniemusik of the Classical and early-Romantic periods. Members of the group work regularly with top orchestras from across Europe, including the Orchestra Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Gabrieli, L’Orchestra de Champs-Elysees and Spira Mirabilis. In-depth scholarly research into style and repertoire is important to the ensemble, as is promoting the highest standards in period wind playing.
In celebration of John Joubert’s ninetieth birthday, Wells Cathedral Choir with their director Matthew Owens present a new recording of recent choral works from this prolific veteran composer. Featuring works commissioned for and first performed by the cathedral choir at Wells, this programme has at its heart the extended St. Mark Passion, a profound and heartfelt retelling of the well-known passion story. Completing the album are the expansive Missa Wellensis and Joubert’s vivid and powerful setting of Lucis iste. The Wells Cathedral Choir was hailed in 2011 by an international jury from Gramophone Magazine as the greatest choir with children in the world, and the sixth greatest overall. The choir celebrated its 1100th birthday in 2009: boys sang first at Wells Cathedral in 909 and the full choral tradition dates back over 800 years. In 1994 the choral foundation at Wells was enriched by the addition of girl choristers. Today the choir consists of 18 boy choristers, 18 girl choristers, and 12 Vicars Choral. The boys and girls usually sing separately with the Vicars Choral but occasionally come together for larger events and tours.
