Hymns on the Crystal Cathedral Organ

... through which the past shines... is a collection of the current complete works for guitar, both solo and in ensemble, by composers Nils Vigeland and Reiko Fueting. The music is emblematic of both composers' sophisticated voices, grounded in the tradition while forward looking in nuanced and elegantly integrated ways. Vigeland, whose mentors included Morton Feldman and Lukas Foss and who directed the influential Bowery Ensemble in the 1980s, is an important link in the "New York School" of composers. As director of the composition department at the Manhattan School of Music for several decades, he had a profound influence on several generations of composers, including current MSM faculty member and East German native Reiko Fueting. All the performances on this recording of music by Vigeland and Fueting by guitarist Daniel Lippel (ICE, Flexible Music), John Popham (Longleash, Either/Or), and Vigeland himself are the byproduct of close working relationships developed over the last 17 years.

This new release contains the Kit-Kat Band’s original LP recordings from 1979, revisited and presented as a new album for a whole new generation to enjoy. The Kit-Cat band was the house band of the Kit-Cat night club in London that first opened its doors in 1924. The 10 piece band was assembled by Britain’s best-known band leader, Jack Hylton, and was directed by Boston saxophonist, Al Starita. Producer Chris Ellis recently rediscovered this album which he produced in 1979. Upon hearing it again, he felt that it was worthy of being represented to a new audience. Ellis kept the original notes by Brian rust, and the cover art was given to Ellis by his friend Margret, Duchess of Argyll.

In 2014 in Trieste, Italy, the Musica Libera Association started the Festival Viktor Ullmann to bring to life the music of many composers persecuted by the Nazi and Fascist regimes for their Jewish origin and political, cultural, and artistic commitment. Since it's foundation, the Festival has set itself the ambitious purpose of rediscovering those musical pages, forgotten for too long, to revive the creative genius of their composers and reflect on the Shoah from a different point of view. Some of these musicians saved themselves by eventually finding their way into exile outside Europe. In this context, the present project focuses on music dedicated to the clarinet and piano chamber ensemble, with Davide Casali and Pierpaolo Levi performing an interesting and lesser-known repertoire by Italian composers from the historical 20th century.

Leading performers of 17th-century music the Magdalena Consort, Fretwork and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts combine forces under the artistic direction of William Hunt for their third release exploring the English Anthems with instrumental consort for ceremony, reflection and prayer to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Orlando Gibbons. Praise for Chains of Gold Vol 1 5 stars "Subtle, seductively supple and sinuous singing and playing... Volume 2 from this dream-team will be eagerly awaited" - Choir and Organ 5 stars "This is the finest recording of this quintessentially English music that we are likely to have... a real treat, and an impressive master-class in how these texts should be declaimed" - Early Music Review

It's Never Over is a collaborative project featuring British-Nigerian singer-songwriter Ola Onabul�, whose extensive career includes work with major European big bands and critical acclaim for his vocal range and songwriting. The album is recorded with the Hazelrigg Brothers, recognized for their chamber jazz arrangements and technical expertise, and includes seven original compositions by Onabul� alongside a cover of Prince's "Condition of the Heart." The repertoire blends elements of jazz, soul, world music, and pop. The release aligns with Aliud Records' focus on immersive, unembellished audio production and supports cross-genre market reach. It is supported by an official launch concert at the Sendesaal in Bremen, with further tour dates planned. The album's artist lineup and label reputation provide an opportunity for positioning within both the jazz and broader contemporary music markets.

Catalina Bertucci, Georg Poplutz, and Tatjana Dravenau don't just say it "between the flowers" on their new GENUIN album - they gather lieder from the 19th and 20th centuries that revolve around the theme of flowers and trees. Music and poetry speak directly and clearly of the associations between the language of love and the plant world - associations that were clear and unmistakable to people of the Romantic era, but which must be decoded anew for us today. These three remarkable artists uncover that hidden language in the most beautiful and sensuous way: through dreamlike interpretations of lieder from Schubert to Schonthal, Loewe to Faltis, and Kralik to Schumann.

#1 OPERA ALBUM / VARIOUS

From the outset, Sir Simon Rattle's conducting career has been marked by a spirit of innovation and renewal - and contemporary music in all it's facets continues to play a significant role in his work. So it was only natural that, upon taking up his post as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, he should dedicate a concert to musica viva. The programme featured the world premiere of Vito �uraj's "Automatones" as well as Luciano Berio's "Coro". Sir Simon Rattle has conducted the latter piece several times before, but this performance marks the first recording under his baton. This is due to the unique demands that the composition places on recording technology: choir singers and orchestra musicians are positioned in pairs on the podium to overcome the visual and acoustic separation of choir and orchestra voices. This presented a particular challenge to the Bavarian Radio recording team, but they rose to it successfully, as can be heard on the new CD from BR-KLASSIK. Composed between 1975 and 1976, Luciano Berio's "Coro", for forty voices and orchestra, takes anonymous folk poems by the Sioux, the Navajo and the Zuni, as well as song texts from Polynesia, Peru, Croatia, Venice, Piedmont, Chile, and the Song of Solomon - all of them reflecting the deeply human urge for freedom - and combines them with the moving poetry of Pablo Neruda, whose death coincided with the bloody suppression of the Allende democracy in Chile by Augusto Pinochet in September 1973.

Helmut Lachenmann, who celebrates his 90th birthday in the music year of 2025, has composed several milestones in contemporary classical music. Sir Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra are dedicating themselves to some of these exceptional works. In his tuba concerto Harmonica, Helmut Lachenmann explores the limits of sound - with music that oscillates between eruption and silence, by means of "strictly constructed denial" (Lachenmann) and by deliberately disrupting the familiar, and eludes socially preformed listening expectations. This appeal to the audience's self-awareness remains as relevant as ever. The soloist is Stefan Tischler, principal tuba player of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the live recording with the BRSO conducted by Sir Simon Rattle was made on March 22, 2025. Klangschatten - mein Saitenspiel by Helmut Lachenmann deals with the "verso" of sound, it's suppressed and "unwelcome" components. The spectrum here ranges from toneless or muffled sounds to differently coloured noise and clear tones. Lachenmann himself described the piece as " an offer of expressive intensity that reflects the bourgeois longing for beauty and seeks to fulfil it, that is, to overcome it." The work was performed by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Matthias Herrmann on May 23, 2025 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. Helmut Lachenmann, born in Stuttgart in 1935, is one of the most renowned German composers of contemporary music. He studied piano, music theory and counterpoint in Stuttgart and composition with Luigi Nono in Venice. The first public performances of his works took place in 1962 at the Venice Biennale and at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music. He taught composition in Hanover (1976-1981) and in Stuttgart (1981-1999), and has given numerous master classes in Germany and abroad. His works are performed by internationally renowned players and orchestras all over the world. Helmut Lachenmann has received numerous awards, including the German Music Authors' Prize of GEMA (2015) for his lifetime achievements and, most recently, for his compositional work, the 'President of the French Republic Prize' from the Academie Charles Cros (2025).

$ - O.S.T.

Fifth of the World Broadcasting series, w. Rex Stewart-cornet, Ray Nance-tpt, Joe Nanton-tmb, Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Harry Carney-reeds, Fred Guy-gtr, Sonny Greer-dms, Al Hibbler-voc+, 1945 in NYC, 24 tracks.

& JULIET / O.B.C.R. - The full West End creative team reunites for the Broadway production of & Juliet and includes David West Read (Book), Max Martin (Music & Lyrics), Luke Sheppard (Direction), Jennifer Weber (Choreography), Bill Sherman (Musical Supervision, Orchestrations and Arrangements), Soutra Gilmour (Scenic Design), Paloma Young (Costume Design), Howard Hudson (Lighting Design), Gareth Owen (Sound Design), Andrzej Goulding (Video & Projection Design) and J. Jared Janas (Hair, Wig & Makeup Design) and Dominic Fallacaro (Music Director). US Casting is by Stephen Kopel and Carrie Gardner, CSA. & Juliet is Executive Produced on Broadway by Eva Price.

After years of playing with every major artist from Miles Davis to Mzariah Carey, Sammy Figueroa makes his recording debut on Savant Records with AND SAMMY WALKED IN.

Debut album by LA saxophonist / flautist co-produced by Carlos Ni�o documents a transformative recovery from major illness. By no means a secret, but certainly in the category of IYKYK, saxophonist/flautist Aaron Shaw is one of Los Angeles's brightest young jazz musicians. A player's player, and frequent fixture at The World Stage in Leimert Park, Shaw has collaborated with the likes of Anderson Paak, Dave Chapelle, Herbie Hancock, Mary J. Blige, and Shawn Mendes.

Before the Rock Era, the music played at dance venues was played by Big Bands. Largely instrumental at first, singers began to front the Big Bands, and these became the most heralded voices in the history of recording. This 3 CD collection contains original recordings of the finest female divas ever. Artists include: Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Julie London, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday & more.

Recorded in: St Bartholemew's Church, Orford, Suffolk 11-13 December 1995 Producer(s) Gary Cole Sound Engineer(s) Gary Cole Richard Smoker (Assistant)

REVIEW

Yates shows lots of vivacity as well as the crisp neatness we have come to expect of her. The finale of the Italian Concerto, for example, simply bubbles with joyousness, as does the exuberant bravura A major Sonata by Scarlatti. She is admirably precise in the Rameau gavotte and variations, direct and simple in Le coucou, brings real brio to the Courante of the Handel suite (she treats its Allemande rather freely); her performance of the unusually shaped C major Sonata by Scarlatti – a quiet pastoral followed by rural bagpiping and then noisy revelry – is excellent. But to me one of the highlights of her recital is Duphly’s superb melancholy rondeau: I have heard it played with greater gravitas, but it is entirely convincing in her hands; and the much-employed low register of her Goujon-type harpsichord sounds very fine.

--Gramophone

The title of this album comes from the Thelonius Monk piece, Round Midnight. At the time of the song’s publication, Monk was labeled an outsider. His intense harmonies and the complexities in his music put others off. The virtuosic performances on this recording, however, present an acceptable medium for such elaborate polyphonies.; Alongside this composition from a jazz great, this album also includes a wide range of moods, from the gloomy Saint-Saens Dance Macabre, to Purcell’s Fairy Queen. This album of “nighttime” themed music is performed with ease, agility, and fervor.; Performers are Falk Maertens and Raphael Mentzen, trumpet, Paolo Mendes, Horn, Andreas Klein, Trombone, and Johannes Lipp, Tuba. All are members of the Deutschen Symphonie-Orchesters Berlin.

'S Make It, recorded in 1964 and released the following year on Limelight, captures drummer Art Blakey leading a transitional edition of his Jazz Messengers. At the time, Blakey was navigating the departure of several key members and searching for a new configuration, resulting in a distinctive short-lived lineup within the band's long history. The sextet featured Lee Morgan (trumpet,) Curtis Fuller (trombone,) John Gilmore (tenor saxophone,) John Hicks (piano,) and Victor Sproles (bass.) Together, they delivered a hard-driving program that reflects both Blakey's established hard-bop intensity and the shifting personnel landscape of the mid-1960s Messengers. Blakey's drumming anchors the session throughout with the galvanic rhythmic command that defined his leadership across decades. The Verve Vault Series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Classical meets Christmas in this latest offering from the Burning River Brass. Beautifully arranged Christmas favorites from this tremendous group of brass and percussion! Since 1996, Burning River Brass has been dazzling audiences from Alaska to Taiwan with "power and virtuosity," "harmonious blend," and "consistently stirring performances." Composed of twelve of the finest brass and percussion players in the country, Burning River Brass is an ensemble on fire! The original inspiration behind Burning River Brass was to give great players who were also good friends a chance to play together on a consistent basis. Soon after the first rehearsal in May 1996, BRB began to grow rapidly. The ensemble made its debut in September of 1996 in Tremont, Ohio under the auspices of Arts Renaissance Tremont and by 1998 was touring nationally.

-----

REVIEW:

The centerpiece is Burning River Nutcracker, swinging arrangements of six selections from the ballet. I admit to curmudgeonly skepticism when it comes to this sort of thing, but these readings won me over with lively, skillful, and tasteful playing.

– American Record Guide

Cellist Nicholas Canellakis and pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown curate an eclectic playlist that is close to their hearts. Anchored by five Romances, the album features rarely heard gems alongside their own compositions and arrangements. Ranging from soulful to virtuosic to just plain fun, Romance celebrates 15 years of being affectionate, brutally honest, and creatively connected best friends and artistic collaborators.

A collection of anthems of (former) socialist countries. Some of them changed the anthem after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact with the result that they changed the political system.

Winner of the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition, pianist Helen Sung makes her SteepleChase debut here with her “Rolls-Royce” rhythm section consisting of Peter Washington on bass and Lewis Nash on drums to showcase her original and adept sense of (re) concepting jazz standards and beyond.

Transcribing musical works for other instruments or instrumentations has a long tradition in music history. Sometimes, the composers themselves wrote different versions of their works and often it is the musicians who adapt works for their own instruments. Even great composers have enjoyed arranging the works of their predecessors and have thus transported them into their time and era of music history and lent their own interpretations to them. Among those are Sergei Rachmaninoff, Franz Liszt, and Ignaz Friedman - all three great pianists and composers. Renowned Russian pianist Zlata Chochieva presents their transcriptions of the works of great composers such as Bach, Mendelssohn and Mahler on her new album "(re)creations".

During his Berlin visit in 1998, the Siberian sound shaman Spiridon Shishigin made recordings for his first solo CD, "Soul of Yakutia". Khomus - instrument of seduction with spiritual and healing effects. The area around Lake Baikal is not only the home of the Turks, of the Mongolian and Tartar people, but also the original home of the mouth harp. From here the instrument has spread almost all over the world. The Sakha people say that the khomus (mouth harp) has been their means of expression, central to their existence, for at least three thousand years.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in tip-on jacket. Released as part of the Acoustic Sounds Series celebrating 70 years of Contemporary Records, saxophonist Art Pepper's classic big band album, + Eleven, features modern jazz classics by Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and more. First released in 1960 and recorded by legendary engineers Roy DuNann and Howard Holzer, this reissue features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman.

Classical Music

Can a performer make a composition sound better than it really is? Peter Serkin is one who surely can. He’s a marvellous pianist, and plays everything on this disc with an uncanny sensitivity to tone, nuance and overall shaping. He is also an enthusiastic champion of living composers. All these nine works were written for Serkin, seven for a 1989-90 recital tour consisting entirely of specially commissioned compositions. Other pieces by Peter Lieberson frame the present collection, while the work he wrote for the tour occupies the central position; this American composer has long been the pianist’s close friend. Breeze of Delight, from Lieberson’s Fantasy Pieces, works minor miracles with the sorts of gestures and harmonic language familiar from John Ireland. Other compositions – including some of Lieberson’s – still end up seeming more the result of craft and occasionally remarkable ingenuity exacted on tired, if generally dissonant, materials and borrowed forms than the product of compulsive invention: Oliver Knussen’s Variations, for example, or Alexander Goehr’s … in real time I, which gives the disc its title. Leon Kirchner’s often turbulent, cunning Interlude suggests the hand of an underrated master. But even in this case, the responsibility for turning prose into poetry could, as elsewhere, have really been Serkin’s astonishing talent.

Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 4 (out of 5)

-- Keith Potter, BBC Music Magazine

Includes christmas carol(s) by various composers. Ensemble: The Swingle Singers.

Giovanni Lorenzo Gregori (1663 - 1745), "Maestro di capella amenissimo, bravo sonatore di violino", worked predominantly in his hometown of Lucca. His main work, 10 Concerti Opus 2, is an almost visionary achievement, in particular because he expressly called for a powerful orchestral sonority. Each Concerto has it's own varied and multifaceted character. The solo passages of both violins are but short interludes. The accent is on the lively orchestral idiom and it's many surprises; previously unheard of combinations of string instruments are as thrilling as the transparent and lively dialogues within the orchestra. Alessandro Stradella (1644-1682) was constantly involved in love affairs and other incidents: the last ended in his murder on the Piazza Bianchi in Genoa. This did not deter from the quality of his compositions. In many ways his works still appear modern, thanks to his gift for combining different orchestral timbres and volumes, and involving the players in inspiring exchanges and mutual imitations.