Langston Hughes wrote his poem “Let America Be America Again” in 1938. The country was crushed by the decade of depression that had squashed so many American dreams, and was threatened by the gathering clouds of the impending war in Europe. Birth right and skin color posed restrictions to the justice and liberty which rest at the heart of American promise, and America was a country divided. Today, we still live in troubled times, where circumstances and skin color still keep the American promise out of reach for so many. The music featured on this release is a tribute to the generations of American men and women, both black and white, both immigrants and pioneers, who dreamed and accomplished the impossible. American music is made of everything that we are, coming from so many different people and places and expressing so many dreams. Lara Downes is a best-selling pianist, who with this release makes her Sono Luminus debut. She performs constantly across the United States, and has also been featured on European stages. This important collection of American repertoire includes three world premieres, and is a unique program which will resound with listeners in today’s world.

The United States has been in the midst of a foreign military engagement nearly every year since composer Joel Harrison's birth in 1957. This endless state of war has had lasting impacts on the country's wellbeing, and far reaching repercussions on generations of soldiers and their families. Guitarist and composer Joel Harrison's new large ensemble recording, The more that he wrote, the more effective the music became. Harrison then received grants from the Aaron Copland Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts, which led to a revamping of the charts and a recording in January 2019. There were a number of goals: to create music with pathos and intensity, to utilize unusual orchestration such as timpani, The ensemble includes 18 musicians game to the task of presenting this demanding and emotionally charged music. Matt Holman was called in as conductor, and expert instrumentalists like trumpeters Ingrid Jensen, Dave Smith and Seneca Black, trombonists Curtis Hasselbring and Alan Ferber, and a "murderer's row" of woodwinds, Ben Kono, Jon Irabagon, Stacy Dillard and Ken Thomson, make the music incredibly rich and emotive.

Celebrate our great country with this timeless collection of popular American patriotic songs. America the Beautiful features fantastic songs that represent America and its citizens’ love of country. Songs like “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and “God Bless the USA” bring back memories of Fourth of July celebrations. Each piece is performed with a powerful and glorious musical expression from the men and women who serve our nation in uniform throughout the world and who are committed, more than ever, to freedom.

Includes air force medley by various composers. Ensembles: United States Air Force Band, United States Air Force Singing Sergeants.
Includes armed forces medley by various composers. Ensembles: United States Air Force Band, United States Air Force Singing Sergeants.
Includes work(s) by George M. Cohan. Ensemble: United States Air Force Band.

With America's Child Shemekia stakes her claim as a riveting Americana singer of striking authenticity. The album features eight new songs from Gauthier, Kimbrough and more, plus brilliant covers of Prine's "Great Rain," The Kinks' "I'm Not Like Everybody Else," Johnny Copeland's "Promised Myself" and the traditional ballad "Go To Sleepy Little Baby."

We continue our popular and successful series devoted to the biggest chart records of each calendar year in the early chart era as we focus on 1941, the first full year of the Billboard Best Sellers chart - the chart was launched in July 1940. This great value 91-track 4-CD set comprises every record which appeared in the Best Sellers Top 10 during the year, which was the first complete calendar year of the sales chart. The big names of the swing era were very much in evidence, and the year started with Artie Shaw's "Frenesi" at No. 1 and finished with Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" occupying the top spot. In between, a host of other big names made their presence felt - Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore and others - alongside many highly collectable lesser-known records by some artists we don't hear too much about these days. It makes for an intriguing and very entertaining musical snapshot of a year when the USA was enjoying the calm before the storm of Pearl Harbour in December of that year. It includes a 10,000 word booklet with a commentary on every record as well as full discographical and chart information.

We continue our popular and successful series devoted to the biggest chart records of each calendar year in the early chart era as we focus on 1942, the second full calendar year of the Billboard Best Sellers chart - the chart was launched in July 1940. This great value 85-track 4-CD set comprises every record which appeared in the Best Sellers Top 10 during the year - the chart was restricted to ten places in those days. The big names of the swing era were very much in evidence, and the year started with Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" at No. 1 and finished Dinah Shore's "Dearly Beloved" with occupying the top spot. In between, a host of other big names made their presence felt - Jimmy Dorsey, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman and others - alongside many highly collectable lesser-known records by some artists we don't hear too much about these days like Kay Kyser and Alvino Rey. It makes for an intriguing and very entertaining musical snapshot of a year when the USA had become fully embroiled in WWII and there were plenty of patriotic and sentimental wartime hits to give a period flavour, with prolific hitmaker Glenn Miller epitomising that particular strand. It includes a 10,000+ word booklet with a commentary on every record as well as full discographical and chart information

We continue our popular and successful series devoted to the biggest chart records of each calendar year in the early chart era as we focus on 1946, the sixth full calendar year of the Billboard Best Sellers chart - the chart was launched in July 1940 - and the second year to feature both a Most Played in Juke Boxes and Most Played by Disc Jockeys charts as well. This great value 98-track 4-CD set comprises every record which peaked in the Top 10 of the Best Sellers and Disc Jockey charts during the year, plus those which reached the Top 7 of the Disc Jockey chart - the DJ chart often had several records tied at each position.

We continue our highly popular and successful America's Greatest Hits series as we work back through the 1950s, this time with an expanded 4-CD set edition to sit alongside the existing single CD 1951 edition (ACRCD177) originally released in 2006 before we introduced the 4-CD format in recent years. This great-value 105-track collection comprises every record which charted in the Top 15 of the Billboard Best Sellers and Cash Box chart during 1951, along with all those that made the Top 10 of the Juke Box and Disc Jockey charts (it omits certain records which peaked in 1952 and which have already appeared in our America's Greatest Hits 1952collection and some which were big hits in 1950, and had already peaked, so will appear in that collection). As with all these collections it features all the biggest hits of the year and all the biggest names in American pop of that era, so it very much captures the spirit of the times, but also includes a number of lesser known records which are not heard very often and which have not been readily available on CD. As always, it includes a substantial 15,000-word booklet with a commentary on every track, and it's a must for collectors of our completist chart-based anthologies.

The collection for 1959 is an excellent value 100-track 4-CD set which includes every record that appeared in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 during the year including tracks by well-known artists alongside more obscure hits by artists that never saw the light of day outside the US, such as Billy Grammer, Travis & Bob, Phil Phillips with the Twilights, Jerry Wallace with the Jewels and the Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny.

The 1940s was one of the most momentous decades in modern world history, seeing the transition from disastrous international conflict to peace, with the establishment of the United Nations, as well as an emergence from post-war austerity to a promise of greater prosperity at the same time that the Cold War was a looming threat. It also saw many changes in the music landscape as swing and bug bands became uneconomic and solo singers - the crooners and divas of what came to be known as the golden age of popular music - became the big stars of the day. The Billboard record sales chart was launched in July 1940, bringing a new authenticity to the tabulation of the biggest-selling records, and this great value 128-track 6-CD collection comprises every No. 1 during the decade in the Billboard Best Sellers, Most Played In Juke Boxes and Most Played By Disc Jockeys charts. For collectors, it provides a companion product to Acrobat's existing "America's No. 1s of The '50s" (ACFCD7501). It's a fascinating and hugely entertaining musical journey though those years, featuring all the big names of the era, from those whose careers stalled before the end of the decade to others, like Frank Sinatra, who enjoyed several more decades of stardom. It comes with a 48-page 15,000 word booklet with commentary on every track.

America/Beautiful is a five-volume collection conceived, commissioned, and performed by pianist and arts advocate Min Kwon, comprising 76 new piano works by American composers inspired by "America the Beautiful." Kwon brings together a sweeping range of individual voices into a unified musical vision that invites listeners to experience the United States as a living, evolving cultural idea. The result is a deeply moving musical tapestry - a sonic portrait of the nation in all it's complexity. Heard as a whole, the collection resists a single narrative, instead offering diverse perspectives that question and re-imagine the American experiment, bound together by the credo of E pluribus unum (out of many, one). As Kwon observes, "In spite of all the difficulties we face, there is still profound beauty, humanity, and possibility in this country." As the ideal partner for this bold, ambitious, and one-of-a-kind artistic undertaking, Delos celebrates the United States Semiquincentennial with this collection.

Barber's sophistication and elegance suggest a European composer, but his melodies and restless experimentation made him uniquely American. Vladimir Horowitz, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Leontyne Price and Leonard Slatkin are heard as you behold landmark performances of Barber's Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 1; Piano Sonata; String Quartet; Concerto for Violin and Orchestra ; three versions of his famous Adagio for Strings ; the first authorized CD release of a 1935 recording of Dover Beach for baritone and string quartet (with Barber himself as baritone soloist), and more!

Jennifer Stinton is fortunately well known as one of Britain's foremost flautists. These works are rarely heard (here). and she demonstrates great depth in contemporary American compositions. If you have the taste for the contemporary, as distinct from 'modern' Americans, this is the definitive selection.

This selection contains both DDD and ADD recordings.
Net proceeds from the sale of this album will go to the American Red Cross.

Sono Luminus has come together again with the amazing talent of the Ying Quartet and is excited to release American Anthem: The Music of Samuel Barber & Howard Hanson. Bringing together musical selections that are truly expressive of the American spirit, this album also includes a selection from American composer Randall Thompson, and features pianist Adam Neiman and baritone Randall Scarlata.

Selections recorded 1976-1982.

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE VOL 1

Classical Music

The two canticles for Anglican Evensong, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, are presented here in diverse settings by American composers including Craig Phillips, Roland Martin, Leo Sowerby, and more. (Gothic)

American Canvas is a tour de force of flute cello and piano trio repertoire featuring the premiere recordings of four powerful works by some of today’s most celebrated American composers. Pulitzer Prize winners Jennifer Higdon and Shulamit Ran, Andrea Clearfield, and Zhou Tian embrace a variety of sources from visual art, literature, and nature, telling musical stories in a pyrotechnic display of color and brushwork, an eerie nocturne on a lake, a vivid intoxication by the moon, a thrill ride in medieval Spain. The acclaimed Dolce Suono Trio conveys the diverse sonic landscapes, nuanced timbres, and emotional experiences with inimitable virtuosity and passion. Dolce Suono Trio, “one of the most dynamic groups in the US” (The Huffington Post), includes flutist Mimi Stillman, cellist Nathan Vickery, and pianost Charles Ambramovic. Soprano Lucy Shelton and cellists Gabriel Cabezas and Alexis Pia Gerlach complete the album. The trio has enthralled audiences with its programs spanning Haydn trios to its own commissions at prestigious venues including the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Smithsonian American Art Museum, New York’s Symphony Space, Brooklyn’s Roulette, and Cornell University.

This is an album of great American Piano works, spanning a century. Evan Mitchell plays these works with great aplomb.

After World War I, composers would cast off the moorings of the traditional European styles to create something inexorably new. This was the beginning of the American Century. The four composers featured are the pinnacle of that achievement. Schuman, Persichetti, Ives, and Copland blazed a trail into a new era of distinctly American classical music on this incredible album from the United States Navy Band Washington D.C.

A fantastic collection of American choral classics ranging from Thompson’s sublime Alleluia to the terrific choral arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy & Bess. Conductor Robin White’s excellent arrangement of the traditional Shenandoah balances the programme nicely along with Copeland’s "I bought me a cat". This is a surprising and entertaining collection. Alban Voices is a chamber-choir formed over 20 years ago by Robin White and his late wife, Freda, originally as a relief choir for services in St. Albans Abbey. It has always been an ad-hoc grouping, drawn together as and when required: many of the current members sing regularly in London’s top symphonic choirs. Among other appearances, it featured most notably in a pivotal episode of the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders in December 2003. More recently, the group’s recording of Robin’s original Christmas song, Light of the World, accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, has been well received, and was played on Scala Radio and Classic FM in the run-up to Christmas 2022.

Robin White trained at Imperial College, London and the Royal College of Music, studying conducting with Vernon Handley and orchestration with Bryan Kelly. He has conducted open-air, pop-classics concerts at National Trust and other venues across the south-west of England and the midlands. He has also worked with leading soloists such as John Lill, Christopher Warren-Green, Alexander Baillie and Emma Johnson in concerts in Bristol and the Channel Islands. His 1992 recording of Edwardian light music for Chandos Records was played extensively on Classic FM.

This anthology brings together representative works from the mainstream of contemporary American choral music. Charles Ives's Psalm 90 evokes a mood reminiscent of congregational Sunday singing in New England.

Choral Concert: William Ferris Chorale – HOVHANESS, A. / COH

Classical Music

This is Volume 1 in what will be the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937). In this series, five magnificent Aeolian-Skinner and E.M. Skinner instruments render Widor symphonies and other works with an "American Classic" accent. Joby Bell clearly loves these works, and proves to be an ideal performer for them. Organist Joby Bell brings to his performances a contagious affability and a keen sensitivity toward increasing an audience's appreciation for organ music. His recital programming demonstrates a varied and interesting repertoire, always enhanced by illuminating program notes designed to embrace all audiences. His acclaimed blog deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.

This is the second volume in Centaur's ongoing series of the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor, performed by Joby Bell. This installment features the Symphony No. 2 in D, and the Symphony No. 3 in E minor. Since 2004, professor Joby Bell has served on the faculty of the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University, where he teaches organ and church music studies. His church music teaching emphasizes the practical knowledge needed for a solid undergraduate foundation toward successful work and further studies in sacred music. His organ teaching specializes in practice techniques, memorization, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure – lessons always best taught by example. Dr. Bell is known for "the breadth of his repertoire, technical virtuosity, and for the personal warmth which shines through in his performances." His acclaimed blog at deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.

This is Volume 3 in Centaur's ongoing series of the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor (1844 - 1937), performed by Joby Bell. This recorded cycle is a labor of love for Joby Bell, who has a special affinity for Widor's works. Since 2004, professor Joby Bell has served on the faculty of the Hayes School of Music, where he teaches organ and church music studies. His church music teaching emphasizes the practical knowledge needed for a solid undergraduate foundation toward successful work and further studies in sacred music. His organ teaching specializes in practice techniques, memorization, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure - lessons always best taught by example. Dr. Bell is known for "the breadth of his repertoire, technical virtuosity, and for the personal warmth which shines through in his performances. " His acclaimed blog at www. JobyBell. Org deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.