A Gospel Two-Fer: Swan Silvertones & Singin' In My Soul

A Greener Prarie

A GUITAR FOR CHRISTMAS LIONA

There are two themes to this recording: the time-honored genre of the folia, and an instrument made for and played by the greatest guitarist of the 20th century, Andres Segovia. With his determination to expand the repertoire of guitar music and extend the instrument beyond its associations with his native Spain, Segovia commissioned three works played here by Javier Somoza: the Variations à travers les siècles by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Variaciones y Fuga sobre la Folia de España by Ponce and a set of Four Short Pieces by Frank Martin. Segovia eventually decided that Martin’s idiom was too dissonant for his taste and so never played them, but the pieces have since become classics of the mid-20th-century repertoire alongside works by Britten and Henze. As their titles suggest, however, the other two works have a conscious relationship with the history of the guitar and its repertoire, developed from the lute and vihuela of previous centuries. Ponce only partially fulfilled Segovia’s request for ‘a series of brilliant variations on the Folias de España theme […] in the Classical Italian style of the 18th century.’ What resulted was a monumental, thoroughly eclectic work definitely not in 18th-century style. Segovia, again, decided to adapt the piece for his own ends but Somoza has returned to the original. Meanwhile Castelnuovo-Tedesco, in his first work for the guitar, also consciously embraced eclecticism in a series of different idioms: a stylized chaconne reminiscent of early music; a free variation, a waltz, and a foxtrot. There is one more modern work on the album – the dazzling Tiento by Maurice Ohana that also looks back to 18th-century Spanish idiom – which functions as a pivot between the ages. Two examples of the folia theme-and-variation form by Santiago de Murcia date from roughly 1730; and to open, Somoza travels back in time to the tientos of 16th-century Spain with three brief works by Alonso Mudarra. ‘A Guitar for Segovia’ is both an absorbing journey through the history of guitar music and an important record of a Segovia instrument: a significant addition to the expansive library of guitar music on Brilliant Classics.

HANDEL Coronation Anthems . Organ Concerto, op. 4/4. Salve Regina 1. Semele 1 : Endless Pleasure, Endless Love; My Racking Thoughts; O Ecstasy of Happiness! … Myself I Shall Adore. Solomon: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba • Harry Christophers, cond; The Sixteen Ch and O (period instruments); 1 Carolyn Sampson (sop) • CORO 16083 (DVD: 120:00) Live, London 8/12/2009


This BBC Proms concert, titled A Handel Celebration , commemorates the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death and the 30th anniversary of the founding of The Sixteen, which got its name from the fact that the original chorus had 16 members. The forces used here are a bit larger than those Harry Christophers usually employs. The mixed-voice chorus numbers 30, and the orchestra is listed at 42 members, although it does not appear that they are all onstage at the same time.


The Sixteen has been one of the best period-instrument groups since its founding, and one can see and hear here that both chorus and orchestra remain at the top of their form. Christophers leads performances that are respectful of Handel’s scores, with well-chosen tempos. The orchestra plays with precision (with the occasional slightly sour note to be expected of a live performance), and the chorus projects the words of the four Coronation Anthems vividly. Carolyn Sampson is outstanding in the Salve Regina and the three excerpts from Semele . In the Semele selections, she more than sings the notes; she uses her body and face to create the character she is portraying.


I have stated before that I do not see much use for a DVD preserving a concert because of the limited variety of visual images available in such a setting. Sampson’s portrayal of Semele does, however, provide some justification for seeing as well as hearing her performance, especially in the case of “Myself I Shall Adore.” Christophers hands Sampson a mirror before she begins the aria, and she uses it in giving an engaging performance that draws laughter from the audience, followed by a well-deserved ovation.


The version of the organ concerto featured here is the original version. Although Handel’s organ concertos were written to be performed between the acts of his oratorios, in the first performances in London of Athalia , the concerto was written to be performed before the final (“Hallelujah”) chorus and integrated into it. That is the version we get here, with the chorus.


The DVD has a short interview with Christophers during the intermission of the concert and a slightly longer one as a bonus feature. For some unknown reason, one of the anthems and the Salve Regina are removed from their places in the concert and put into the bonus features section. The anthem My Heart Is Indicting originally concluded the first half of the concert, and Christophers refers to it in his intermission interview, a reference that is puzzling unless one knows that he had just performed the anthem. The Salve Regina was originally the second item in the second part of the concert. Their placement as bonus tracks is nonsensical. The only other bonus feature is written biographies of the principals.


Christophers has recorded most of this material on CD, all available on Coro. His Coronation Anthems is one of my two preferred versions. The organ concerto and the sinfonia from Solomon can be found as additional tracks on that CD. The Salve Regina and selections from Semele are not otherwise available from these forces.


For those who enjoy concert performances, this DVD is an easy recommendation. For the rest of us, the previously unrecorded selections, especially Sampson’s items from Semele , make this a tempting purchase.


FANFARE: Ron Salemi

Renowned jazz trumpeter and composer Angelo Verploegen selected some of his own compositions for, A Handful of Stories, a new album with Just Listen Records. This swinging jazz quintet project, led by Verploegen, is a testament to his versatile musical journey, showcasing his unique ability to traverse various jazz styles, from straight-ahead jazz to free improvisation.

In A Handful of Stories, Verploegen takes a moment of retrospection, bringing to life a selection of original compositions crafted over the past 25 years. These compositions, designed for a variety of formations and occasions, are now reimagined by a quintet of exceptional musicians. Verploegen is joined by saxophonist Nils van Haften, pianist Marc van Roon, bassist Guus Bakker, and drummer Jasper van Hulten in this musical adventure.

The album's themes of reflection, celebration, and musical storytelling are woven throughout compositions inspired by life experiences, magical performances, and moments of reflection. This album promises to be a treasure trove of musical experiences, blending the essence of swinging jazz with the art of storytelling, all wrapped up in Verploegen's unique style.

As the innovative, world-renowned guitarist Smaro Gregoriadou says in her notes for this stunning new recording, her fourth for Delos, its music offers “encouragement and hope,” and illuminates with “a different kind of light, a different sort of fire.” The program begins with her beautiful transcription of Bach’s beloved Solo Violin Sonata #2 and offers Britten’s fascinating Nocturnal, along with works by Gubaidulina and Hétu. As Raymond Tuttle put it, in a Fanfare review of one of Smaro’s earlier Delos releases, “Gregoriadou evokes musicians such as Vladimir Horowitz, Glenn Gould, and Wanda Landowska in her willingness to find a new way to express herself and to reanimate the music.”

REVIEW:

What is special about this recording is Gregoriadou’s focus on timbre. Her technique is exceptional, but it is always at the service of creating a sound world with a wide spectrum. Her dynamic shading in the last movement of the Hétu is astonishing, and it is so effortlessly achieved that you don’t think about technique as you listen. I don’t think of Gregoriadou as a guitarist. I think of her as a musician who happens to play the guitar. This is a very beautiful guitar recital, with recorded sound that makes it seem as if you are in the room with Gregoriadou, and at just the right distance for the best perspective.

-- Fanfare

We recorded this album live at Jazzklubb Syd in Ladan, Farsta, on a cold winter's night in January 2024, but it didn't take long for the temperature to rise in that small wooden barn. There, the warmth of the connection between the musicians, the music and the audience was palpable. A love of jazz - the fantastic melodies and harmonies, the meaningful lyrics and the swinging rhythms - brought us together in time for a while, and this album is the result. The title "A Heart Full of Rhythm" is of course taken from the Louis Armstrong song. But it also refers perfectly to our drummer, Ronnie Gardiner, and the important work he does with The Ronnie Gardiner Method, a multi-sensory rehabilitation method used to help those aff ected by, for example, brain injuries, stroke, MS or Parkinson's. His accredited method is used all over the world. Dedicated to all music lovers, and most of all our dear friends and families. Enjoy!

Grigori Aleksandrovich Pechorin is an enigma: arrogant, cocky, melancholic, brave, cynic, romantic, loner, socialite, soldier, free soul, and yet, victim of the world, he eludes definition and remains a mystery to those who know him. Just who is he? And what does he hope to achieve? Evolving from first person to third person, and then into a diary, A Hero of our Time takes on a variety of forms to interrogate Pechorin’s cryptic character and his unusual philosophy providing breathtaking descriptions of the Caucasus along the way. The novel has been hailed as an influence on such writers as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov, and is a striking take on Lord Byron’s ‘superfluous man’; it hearkens back to the teaching of Machiavelli, while anticipating the future work of Nietzsche. Nicholas Boulton’s remarkable fluency and beauty of tone defy the listener to take a break from this unique story. Hailed by Vladimir Nabokov as one of the greatest Russian novels, the book has been referenced in novels by Albert Camus and Ian Fleming, and films by Ingmat Berman.

TRACKLISTING1. A HIDDEN LIFE 2:512. GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL ISRAEL IN EGYPT, PART I“AND ISRAEL SAW THAT GREAT WORK”“AND BELIEVED THE LORD” 4:263. SURROUNDED BY WALLS 2:544. RETURN 2:425. INDOCTRINATION 2:136. MORALITY IN DARKNESS 3:147. LOVE AND SUFFERING 7:458. ARVO PÄRT TABULA RASA: II. SILENTIUM 15:499. HOPE 2:3010. DESCENT 6:2711. ANTONÍN DVORˇ ÁK CZECH SUITEI. ALLEGRO MODERATO 3:5512. HENRYK GÓRECKI KLEINES REQUIEM FÜR EINE POLKAIV. ADAGIO CANTABILE 6:26​​​​​​​13. KNOTTED 3:4014. THERE WILL BE NO MYSTERIES 4:43

A history of the Requiem' takes the music-lover on a journey through the very varied history of the requiem. Presenting one work per century seemed to be just right for illustrating the evolution of this, one of the most significant musical forms in the history of music. The first part of the series, devoted to Ockeghem and Lassus, was awarded a '5' by the prestigious magazine Goldberg, and the second part, presenting the requiems of André Campra and Michael Haydn, recorded on period instruments got a 'four stars' from Le Monde de La Musique. Begun towards the end of 1848, Anton Bruckner's Requiem was completed on 11 March 1849. It was performed for the first time on 13 September 1849 at Sankt Florian. Dissatisfied with it, Bruckner reworked it in 1854 and again in 1894, then according it a 'This is not bad!?, despite his acute sense of autocriticism. Almost nothing hints at the extraordinary symphonist to come, but he makes great strides towards the choral writing of later masterpieces such as the Te Deum and the masses. Maurice Duruflé's Requiem was the response to a commission from the publisher Durand and was written by Duruflé in memory of his father. The piece poses an interesting problem: written in 1947, it is a near contemporary of works as radical as Le Soleil des eaux (1948) of Boulez or the Quatre Études de rythmes pour piano (1949) of Messiaen. In appearance, the Requiem shares hardly any of the preoccupations prevalent in France at this time. Yet, success was immediate, and was even greater subsequently in the United Kingdom and in the USA, where it has never flagged: there, the work continues to enjoy an exceptional reputation. Lying fairly clearly within the tradition of Fauré, Duruflé's Requiem resembles the older work in its overall character of calm and meditation.


Composers:
Anton BRUCKNER
Maurice DURUFLE

Performers:
LAUDANTES CONSORT
Guy JANSSENS (Conductor)
Benoît MERNIER (Organ)
Elke Janssens (Soprano)
Penelope Turner (Mezzo)
Roel Williams (Tenor)
Arnout Malfliet (Bass)


Track Listing:
Anton Bruckner Requiem
1. Requiem
2. Dies irae
3. Domine
4. Hostias
5. Quam olim
6. Sanctus
7. Benedictus
8. Agnus Dei
9. Requiem
10. Cum sanctus

Maurice Durufle Requiem
11. Introit
12. Kyrie
13. Domine jesu criste
14. Sanctus
15. Pie jesu
16. Agnus dei
17. Lux aeterna
18. Libera Me
19. In paradisum

Total timing: 72.59

For the past ten years saxophonist/composer/arranger/educator Chris Byars has passionately excavated and re-examined earlier gems of music by jazz’s historical contributors such as Gigi Gryce, Lucky Thompson, Freddie Redd, Duke Jordan, among others. For this new album Byars penned nine original compositions as a tribute to jazz greats who turned 100 years in 2017. “Chris Byars has done a remarkable job reviving these neglected compositions of Frank Strozier while also putting his own stamp on them with his inventive arrangements.” (Ken Dryden – NYCJR on “The Music Of Frank Strozier” SCCD 31824)

The piano pieces here trace a trajectory from the Edwardian poetry of Leo Livens to the overdubbing of Peter Reynolds by way of a century of evocative, descriptive and exciting miniatures. Reflecting pastoral, light and experimental traditions, these previously unrecorded works offer rich variety from neglected composers. Duncan Honeybourne enjoys a colorful and unique career as solo pianist, chamber musician, educator and artistic director. He has appeared at many major concert halls and at leading festivals, and has been a frequent broadcaster at home and abroad. One of his generation's leading exponents of 20th century English piano music, several celebrated contemporary composers have also dedicated major new works to him. An inspiring teacher and educator, he has devised and written several recital programmes blending words and music and has created and directed several series of piano and chamber concerts. Duncan is also sought-after nationwide as a thought-provoking and entertaining lecturer on his experience of living with autism.

Before he was a noted composer of such shows as Little Me, Sweet Charity, Barnum and On the Twentieth Century, Cy Coleman was the favorite of the New York cabaret and supper club scene. Now, for the first time, Cy and his fellow musicians play the scores of Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg’s hit show Jamaica in addition to songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein hits Flower Drum Song and South Pacific. The works from the latter production have been taken from rare transcription recordings, and are making their first debuts since being recorded in the early 1950s. While listening to this jazzy album, think of yourself sipping a Manhattan cocktail or a martini at the Shelburne or Park Sheraton hotels’ club while Cy Coleman and his fellow musicians regale you with a bevy of Broadway blockbuster tunes. It’s ‘50s jazz at its finest.

John Williams is one of the greatest film composers of all time by any objective standard; his 49 Academy Award nominations are second only to Walt Disney himself. Williams and Walt Disney Concert Hall have gone together since the beginning. He opened the third inaugural gala, Soundstage L.A., in 2003 with the world premiere of his Soundings, a piece that has also provided the carillon lobby chimes that announce the end of intermission.

For the 2014-15 Opening Night Concert and Gala, the Los Angeles Philharmonic paid loving tribute to the composer, long a champion and close friend of the LA Phil. Gustavo Dudamel, an awestruck fan of the musical icon, led the orchestra in a cross-section of Maestro Williams’s matchless canon.

A JOHN WILLIAMS CELEBRATION featuring works from:
Olympic Fanfare and Theme
Schindler’s List
Fiddler on the Roof
Soundings
Catch Me If You Can
Star Wars
Amistad
Jaws
The Empire Strikes Back

Itzhak Perlman, violin
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Recorded at Walt Disney Concert Hall, USA, 2014

Bonus: Interviews with John Williams, Gustavo Dudamel, and Itzhak Perlman

Running time: 85 mins (concert) + 18 mins (bonus)

Subtitles: German, French, Spanish, Korean
Booklet: English, German, French
Picture: NTSC, 16:9
Audio: PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)

Julius Burger was a gifted Viennese musician, conductor, repetiteur, and composer poised to make his mark on early 20th Century music, that is, until the rise of antisemitism and the Nazi party forever altered his life and took him on a journey in exile, across continents and cultures, and would come to reflect the very themes of Romanticism which he cherished. Burger’s varied career took him from Berlin Radio and the Kroll Opera house to the burgeoning BBC and later working with Columbia Records as well as a long tenure at the Metropolitan Opera where he coached some of the greatest voices of the 20th Century. But it wouldn’t be until he was in his 90s that he would finally fulfill a lifelong dream of hearing his own compositions performed. This album represents the first ever recordings of Julius Burger’s lieder, spanning from 1915 to his final piece in 1988. These lieder show a master of his craft and a legacy from a world which was thought to have been lost. A life in exile is a heavy burden to bear and, where many lose their artistic purpose, Burger persevered. According to those who knew him, Julius Burger considered his works to be his children, having no offspring of his own. It is our hope that with this album, his children will finally step off the faded manuscript pages and into the world.

Naruhiko Kawaguchi's A Journey with Beethoven presents a thoughtfully curated selection of shorter piano works and arrangements that reveal the composer's diverse character beyond the sonatas. Performed on three historical fortepianos from the Finchcocks Collection, the programme traces a musical and emotional path through bagatelles, rondos, dances, transcriptions and the Fantasy in G minor, alongside a rarely heard 1822 revision of Fur Elise. The recording highlights the evolving sound world of Beethoven's era while showcasing varied expressive styles, from wit and lyricism to introspection. Through historically informed performance, Kawaguchi offers a fresh perspective on familiar and lesser-known repertoire within a cohesive artistic narrative.

Classical Music

� The Temple Church Choir gives the world premiere recording of Nico Muhly's Our Present Charter - a brand new fourmovement work commissioned by the choir to celebrate 800 years since the sealing of the Magna Carta. � Directed by Roger Sayer and featuring organist Greg Morris, the recording also features choral works by Parry, Vaughan Williams, Walton, Bairstow, Tavener and Haydn. � The Temple Church Choir, founded 1841, consists of eighteen boy choristers and twelve professional choirmen. � It is still considered to be one of the finest choirs in London, a reputation it quickly gained after it's founding. � The American composer Nico Muhly (b. 1981) received his Masters in Music from the Juilliard School where he studied under Christopher Rouse and John Corigliano. � He also spent several years working for Phillip Glass as a MIDI programmer and editor. � His wide scope of work for soloists, ensembles, and organizations covers multiple genres, including music for film, opera, choral, chamber, orchestral, vocal and electronic forces in solo or combinations there of.

A koncert

Classical Music

Classical Music

This recording reflects musical life in France in the eighteenth century. Leaving aside the prestigious repertoire of vocal and instrumental works, however, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien share with us music that played an important part, first of all, in the daily lives and musical practices of the aristocracy, before gaining much wider appeal among the Parisian middle and lower classes, so that in the end it was popular at every level of society. Everyone in eighteenth-century Paris was familiar with and fond of the songs known as brunettes and petits airs tendres. Minuets, too, their tunes borrowed from well-known operas and their words sometimes changed, and contredanses (country dances), imported from the ballrooms of England, permeated society, appealing to the lowly and to the titled alike. These pieces were not intended for passive listening, but to be played, sung, danced, and experienced on a daily basis, whenever the opportunity arose. Being appreciated throughout the various social strata, they acted, so to speak, as a common denominator- a taste and a sensitivity that were shared by all, in the French capital and beyond.

A LA GUERRE!

Vigüela showcase various regional styles within traditional Spanish music, all originating from their home-land Castilla-La Mancha, the southern part of the Iberian plateau. Their ninth album A la manera artesana focuses on how ‘artisanal creativity’ differs from the globalization of ‘handicraft culture’ which has become more about following templates and repetition, rather than unique original craftsmanship. According to the band’s founder, Juan Antonio, the style is more important than the repertoire – “Repertoire you can learn, but it’s the local style that makes it authentic.” This approach makes Vigüela quite unique and has gained them Spanish audiences in both rural and urban areas. For modern Spain, and the rest of world, this is a new and exciting style which has been previously unrecognized. Yet for the more rural Castilla-La Mancha audience, it has a moving nostalgic feel that resonates with the local culture.

À la manière presents virtuoso trombonist Mark Davidson in a program ranging from Ferdinand David's popular Trombone Concertino and Hindemith's dynamic trombone sonata to recent works by French composer Jean-Michel Defaye and American Luke Dahn. Davidson, the principal trombonist of the Utah Symphony orchestra, is joined by pianist Viktor Valkov, winner of the New Orleans International Piano Competition.

What do an Opera Aria by Gounod and a short Serenade by Borodin have in common? They both served as models for two short piano pieces by Maurice Ravel: Portraits of other composers. Anne Riegler offers in her debut album a perspective on Ravel's music that is unique in its approach. All piano works in which Ravel names and refers to other composers are paired with original compositions of those portrayed composers, resulting in an exceptional journey through all periods of music history from Couperin to Ravel.

For the first time, a publisher offers the essence of the work of Marcel Proust, presenting an audio version of 'In search of lost time.' Fr�meaux & Associ�s puts at the disposal of the public the quintessence of Marcel Proust's masterpiece, here selected with care and finesse by Paul Desalmand then transmitted, with a precision and mastery of the remarkable language, by Daniel Mesguich who puts all his talent in the service of beauty and the meaning of the text. A journey to the heart of this immense and grandiose work in which Marcel Proust paints with precision, humor and subtlety the convolutions of human psychology. In order to close the series of recordings of "In Search of Lost Time", Fr�meaux & Associ�s proposes a complementary album containing the exclusive interview of Daniel Mesguich by F�lix Libris on "The Art of Reading," which won the READ Award for best audiobook book of the year.

Alexandre Kantorow released his first album for BIS in 2016, performing Liszt's piano concertos to critical acclaim: "I'm here to tell you that Alexandre Kantorow is Liszt reincarnated" wrote one impressive reviewer, in Fanfare Magazine. Not yet 20 years old, the French pianist and son of violinist and conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow now explores his Russian roots, in a recital that opens with Rachmaninov's weighty First Piano Sonata, inspired by Goethe's play Faust, and its three main characters, the scholar Faust, his beloved Gretchen and Mephistopheles, the Devil's emissary. The nostalgic intimacy of Méditation and Passé Iointain, from Tchaikovsky's Op. 72 collection, offers respite from the drama, but tension returns with Guido Agosti's virtuosic piano arrangement of three extracts from Stravinsky's Firebird. Kantorow closes his Russian recital with Mily balakirev's "oriental fantasy" Islamey, one of the iconic works of the piano literature. Fiendishly difficult, the piece famously inspired Ravel to write something that would be even harder to play (his gaspard de la nuit). A committed Russian nationalist, Balakirev himself found the inspiration for Islamey during a journey to the Caucasus when he was introduced to the local music tradition.

Here is a classic example of SteepleChase’s “re-discovery” endeavour. This is Miss Shirley Horn’s first recording on SteepleChase after a long absence from the recording studio. Lazy Afternoon turned out to be a tremendous success critically and commercially and together with her three subsequent releases on the label (All Night Long - SCCD 31157, Viloets For Your Furs - SCCD 31164, Garden Of The Blues - SCCD 31203) had firmly established her as a major artist. “One of the greatest jazz singers and singer-pianists in years...”(Jazz Journal International)