A collection of works featuring unaccompanied works for the solo voice. The compositions were all written by Canadian composers specifically for Pridmore and highlight unusual aspects of the human voice.

Recorded at Toronto's iconic (and empty) Roy Thomson Hall, in the three days prior to another COVID-19 lockdown, the Music for Self-Isolation album is a culmination of a project that has been evolving over a year in collaboration with musicians around the world. It started in March 2020 after Canadian composer, Frank Horvat, saw the despairing social media posts from colleagues as all their short and long-term engagements started being canceled. As many around the world were locked down at home, with no certainty about their future, Frank wanted to alleviate some of the stress and isolation and help raise the spirits of musicians, and the greater community, as we continued through uncertain times. So, over a period of six weeks, he composed 31 short solo and duo Music for Self-Isolation pieces for varying instruments and voice dedicated to his musician friends, to perform on social media, as they dealt with life in isolation. This album features 24 musicians, all alone in an empty concert hall, reliving the emotions of each of these solos and duos. Through the grace of technology, they also all come together for the world premiere of Together in Spirit. "We raised each other's spirits," Frank remembers back to the Spring of 2020. Connecting with so many musicians, he wanted to tell their stories of what their lives have been like during this pandemic. He interviewed eight of them, composing an audio documentary composition for each. You can hear these Pandemic Stories on the digital release of this album. A documentary film of the making of the album will be released later in 2021.

Adaskin, M.: Canadian Composers Portraits

The centenary of Godfrey Ridout’s birth in 1918 provided renewed interest in the Canadian composer. Centrediscs is pleased to release a collection of original concert recordings by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation of previously unrecorded works. Godfrey Ridout is remembered as one of the most important Canadian composers to have ever lived. In addition to his composing career, he was also on the faculty at Toronto University, and contributed articles to numerous Canadian music publications. Over the course of his career, Ridout was fortunate to have many premiers and other performances of his works broadcast and recorded by the CBC, which he considered to have made “the greatest single contribution to Canadian music.”

Centrediscs 30 Years (Centredisques 30 Ans)

Musical gestures and traditions migrate from one culture to another, from the past to the present, enriching the artistic practice of our time. A fascination with the nuances of timbre - variety of touch, articulation and gesture - links the aesthetics of ancient Chinese music with current contemporary music performance practice. Gestures common to these sound worlds, such as bending notes, grace notes, timbre transformation, harmonic resonance, fluctuating vibrato and expressive shaping of notes, different kinds of attacks, glissandi and arpeggios, reveal the connections between these diverse musical idioms. In the music of Hope Lee, subtle sonic transformation via meaningful gestures is an essential aspect in her musical sensibilities and expression. This new album focuses on Hope Lee's piano compositions from the past four decades (1979-2017). This new recording features pianist Yumiko Meguri, as well as accordionist Stefan Hussong. Both musicians are contemporary music interpreters extraordinaire: Yumiko Meguri has more than 10 albums released, ranging from Western classical to contemporary music and jazz; Stefan Hussong, having over 100 works written for him, is recognized internationally as a most acclaimed interpreter and recording artist of music of our time.

Carmen Braden is a composer and performer from Yellowknife Northwest Territories. In her music Carmen explores elements of the sub-Arctic environment (and humans as one of those elements) through her human senses and imaginings, seeking beauty and transformation in small details, vast landscapes and subtle soundscapes. Her works have been played by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, James Ehnes, the Gryphon Trio, the Penderecki Quartet, the Elmer Iseler Singers, Stratford Theatre Festival, Canadian Chamber Choir, the Land's End Ensemble, and the Eckhardt-Gramatt� National Music Competition. As a performer, Carmen has played intimate theatres and main stage festivals, and is "growing into the role of acoustic ambassador of the Canadian Subarctic" (Musicworks). She released her first studio album, Ravens, in 2017 on Centrediscs with the Canadian Music Centre.

Weinzweig, J.: Canadian Composers Portraits

Freedman, H.: Vocal Music

Morawetz, O.: Complete Works for Violin and Piano

Canadian String Quartets

Schafer, R.M.: 5 String Quartets

Music of Alice Ping Yee Ho

Morawetz, O.: Scherzo

The Monkey King is the leading superhero in the 16th-century famous Chinese novel “Journey to the West.” Over the centuries, the tale has become one of the most popular comic stories. It is about a mischievous yet determined mythological being who rises from humble origin to become a great protector of humanity. The present work was commissioned by the Canadian Children's Opera Company to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The Canadian Children's Opera Company (formerly the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus, CCOC) is large choral group based in Toronto. The company consists of five divisions of approximately 240 boys and girls aged 6 to 19. The Principal Chorus has about 50 choristers, and they participate as the children's chorus in productions by the Canadian Opera Company (COC). The current music director is Teri Dunn.