“Composers have been setting the Requiem texts to music since the late Middle Ages, and it was to these early settings that I was drawn when writing my own offering: with simple, flowing melodic threads combined to create a richer fabric. My thanks to Rupert Gough and the vibrant young voices of the Choir of Royal Holloway for taking those threads and weaving them into such dazzling tapestries of harmony - adorned with the warmth of Southern Sinfonia’s gorgeous strings, and the lyrical song of Maxim Calver’s soaring cello.” (Matthew Coleridge)

Explore this premiere recording of Philip Moore’s Via Crucis, performed at Guildford Cathedral by organist Richard Moore, with Revd Dr Barry Orford. The album includes a foreword by the composer.

It’s testament to the force of Sappho’s art that, even though practically all that remains of her work is, tantalisingly, just fragments, those fragments of her work still have the power to move, intrigue and inspire us. Huge thanks to Ralph Woodward for giving me the opportunity to set Alasdair Middleton’s wonderfully immediate translations, to the London Mozart Players for their fiercely vivid playing, and to the Fairhaven Singers for making Sappho sing again with passion and love.

Explore this new album of choral works by British composer, George Arthur, performed by The Choir of Royal Holloway. George is a multi award-winning composer, published by Universal Editions, Music Sales, Shorter House and the Guild of Church Musicians. He has been commissioned by various cathedrals and chapel choirs at home and overseas and his music is regularly performed around the world. He has had works broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4 and on BBC television, most notably for the WW1 Commonwealth commemoration service, live from Glasgow Cathedral.

“The music of Christmas Tidings consists of new settings of some familiar words and other entirely original tracks that I have written over many years.” (Brian Knowles) “Brian Knowles has a wonderful gift of melody. All his pieces are full of character showcasing his gift for marrying text and music to create songs that are a joy to sing and a delight to listen to. This album contains pieces in a variety of different styles and moods, attractive and deeply moving new carols full of invention and insight and others that bring a welcome freshness and life to traditional texts. No doubt, it will enrich and invigorate your Christmas for years to come.” (David Ogden)

“Singers of English Song have a vast treasury in which to find their repertoire. Michael Head’s songs are generally well known, but many of Eric Thiman’s songs are rarely performed and have never been recorded commercially. These beautiful performances by Emily Gray and Nicole Johnson should help to end their obscurity.” (Dorothy Webster) Emily has performed as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall, St. Paul's, Kings Place, and the Purcell Room as well as performing live on BBC Radio 3's In Tune. She has taken leading roles in Dove's 'Mansfield Park', Monteverdi's 'L'incoronazione di Poppea', McNeff's 'Banished' and in Baroquestock's production of Haydn's 'Lo Speziale'. Nicole Johnson is a successful freelance pianist, vocal coach and MD, based in London. She gained a first class BMus (Hons) degree from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in classical piano (2017) where she was awarded the Dave Gosling Prize for Piano Accompaniment, and continued her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (MPerf Piano Accompaniment, distinction, 2019).

“Alberto Nones executes Chopin’s music with restrained elegance and poise, avoiding the trappings of indulgent virtuosity or sentimentality. Instead, these performances demonstrate unencumbered fidelity to the composer’s directions; it is almost as if we can hear Chopin’s own breath between each line and phrase.” (George Richford)

Having previously recorded Chopin's Mazurkas, Alberto Nones here performs the Fantasy-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66, the Fantasy in F Minor, Op. 49, and the Polonaise No. 7 in A-Flat Major, Op. 61, "Polonaise-fantaisie."

Nones, a pianist and philosopher/music historian, is Professor of Piano at the "E.R. Duni" Conservatory of Music in Matera, where he also teaches courses of History and Historiography of Music. He graduated summa cum laude in Piano from the "F.A. Bonporti" Conservatory of Music in Trento, where he studied with Antonella Costa, and specialized in Masterclasses and Academies with Masters like Paul Badura-Skoda and Franco Scala. He has won several piano competitions, among which a first prize at the "Coppa Pianisti d'Italia" in Osimo in 1996. Convinced though that music is art and culture, he also graduated in Philosophy magna cum laude from the University of Bologna, went on to study at the London School of Economics, where he earned his M.Sc. in Political Theory, and completed his education in the humanities with a Ph.D. in International Studies at the University of Trento.

Keziah Thomas writes: “So, what is it about the music that compelled me to add yet another album of the most recorded classical work in history and a harp arrangement at that? Simply, it is the way in which the music so brilliantly communicates our extraordinary relationship with nature. Each of the concertos depicts the season musically but they are also each preceded by a sonnet, presumably written by Vivaldi, which tells myriad details about our response to this eternal cycle. Lines from the sonnets are woven into the music inviting the listener to join the composer on a human reaction to the weather as dogs bark, the wind blows and wasps buzz. When combining the orchestral and solo violin parts to make my harp arrangement, I created a display of virtuosity, in which the harp showcases the breadth of its color palette, and the harpist gives a display of technical prowess."

“For Piano is a collection of pieces composed in a broadly classical style. It explores the variety of color, sound and tone achievable from one of the most versatile of all instruments, and is designed to be accessible to a wide range of players and listeners.” (Hugh Benham) Hugh Benham was born at Westbury, Wiltshire in 1943, but has lived in Hampshire for most of his life. He read Music and English at the University of Southampton, where he was awarded a PhD for his study of the music of John Taverner. This work led to the writing of books and articles on early English music, and to the editing of John Taverner’s complete works for Early English Church Music. Composition was an early if sporadic interest: the first pieces that he acknowledges were short anthems composed in the mid 1970s. It was much later that work began to flow more freely and a useful body of music (choral, organ and piano) accumulated. A first recording made by Convivium Records in 2011 (‘A Triumph Song’, Convivium Singers, directed by Neil Ferris) led to increased activity and to a second album in 2019 (‘Hugh Benham: Sacred Choral Music’, Convivium Singers, directed by Alexander Norman). English influences are obvious, but there have been explorations of music from France and, more recently, the Baltic states.

“This is a collection of beguiling works for flute, clarinet and harp trio which revolve around the emotional heart of Elizabeth Poston’s music. In her music, modernity is seamlessly interwoven with a sense of antiquity; of simpler more innocent times and avoids the trappings of being kitsch, naive or ever sentimental. Complimentary works by other composers exhibit rhythmic incisiveness, playfulness and lyricism- all seemingly bathed in a sepia-toned nostalgia. Here is an indomitable partnership of fabulous music and wonderful playing.” George Richford, Producer

Reviews

The Korros ensemble [is] Eliza Marshall (flute), Nick Ellis (clarinet) and Camilla Pay (harp). This is not a traditional combination: the nearest I can think of is the combination of flute, viola and harp for which Debussy wrote one of his late sonatas and Bax his Elegiac Trio. The players here seem to have formed their ensemble first and then looked around for repertoire for it. Central to it is Elizabeth Poston, who has three works here, and then comes Howard Blake, who has two. These are surrounded by a group of shorter works by others, but the unifying feature, apart from the beguiling sound of the ensemble itself, is an idiom which seems to derive from Ravel, specifically his Introduction and Allegro, which adds a string quartet to the ensemble we have here. And it is none the worse for that.

Actually, the first piece here, Jacqueline’s Theme by Nick Ellis, the clarinettist, slightly departs from my description in that the theme itself is so Baxian that the work sounds almost like Baxian pastiche, indeed of his Elegiac Trio, which I mentioned.

Elizabeth Poston’s Trio which follows was written to a commission from an association of harpists, and was a great success, being chosen to represent Britain at the Brussels World Fair in 1958. It is in four movements, the first close to Ravel, the second an extended elegy for lost countryside, the third a delicate, rather Mendelssohnian Scherzo and the finale perky and dance-like, with s slow moment before the frisky ending.

We then have Howard Blake’s Trio, which started life as incidental music for a film, which he then arranged into the three movement concert work we have now. The first movement is plaintive with a lilting theme, the second an exploratory and questioning Andante and the Finale a lively dance.

Cheryl Frances-Hoad wrote her Vocalise at the age of thirteen, and with it won the Purcell Composition competition in the category of composers under twentyfive. She wrote it originally for soprano, flute and harp, but she reworked it here for the Korros ensemble. It is a charming and effective work.

Catrin Finch is a harpist as well as a composer and wrote her harp work for the 2016 Eisteddfod of Wales. Nuntii is Latin for messengers or messages and Finch was inspired by Holst’s Winged Messenger movement from The Planets, though this was Mercury and not, as the booklet says, Neptune. It sounds like a gentle version of Milhaud’s Scaramouche, but with an abrupt end.

We then have three short pieces for flute and harp by Elizabeth Poston .The first, Ricordanza, has an elegant flute theme like that in Fauré’s Sicilienne. The second is a Barcarolle and the finale a Calypso with a gentle lilt. Her Forma, which follows, is not discussed in the booklet but is a harp solo.

Finally, Howard Blake’s Penillion started life as a one-movement work for for violin and harp before being reworked in various ways, ending up scored for the ensemble we have here. The main theme is absolutely lovely.

I suppose none of the works here would count as major but they are all attractive and the sound of the ensemble alone is so delightful that there is a very pleasant hour’s listening here. The recording is impeccable.

--MusicWeb International (Stephen Barber)

This is music of confident, muscular vitality which breathes new life into the Requiem Mass. There are moments of great intimacy and solace to be found amongst the drama of this setting and the unequivocal final impression is one of true celebration and thanksgiving. Rapture and beauty are qualities common to the other fine works presented here - coupled with a truly individual approach to even the most familiar texts. (George Richford) Dan Locklair is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His compositional catalog, influenced by a wide variety of traditions, includes internationally performed symphonic works, a ballet, an opera, and numerous solo, chamber, vocal, organ, and choral compositions.

“The whole story takes place in the Miller’s imagination, cut off from the thoughts and actions of those around him, with the singer becoming the protagonist of a quasi-operatic monodrama. Jamie W. Hall and Paul Plummer give us a deeply understanding account of this earliest and most influential of Romantic song cycles.” -Dr. John Bentley, Trinity College London

Jamie W. Hall is a concert baritone and ensemble singer with a passion for oratorio and art song. Growing up in a Yorkshire mining village in the 1980s, Jamie’s route into classical music was somewhat unconventional. With only a few piano lessons and an adolescence spent busking show tunes behind him, he nevertheless followed his heart and found himself studying music at university where he discovered both his voice and a love of classical choral music. Even before graduating in 2005, Jamie had established himself as a skillful ensemble singer and concert soloist, and it was in 2009 that he was appointed a full-time member of the BBC Singers, a role which he has combined successfully with a busy solo singing schedule for over a decade.

The music presented here was born during the lockdowns of 2020 / 21 and contains a predictable preoccupation with time and solitude as well as more aspirational fantasies of color, rhythm, and excitement where creative minds have wondered beyond the four walls of confident during the global pandemic. Panayotis Archontides and Natalie Tsaldarakis make up the Ivory Duo Piano Ensemble. Ivory Duo Piano Ensemble was formed as a result of the pianists' quest for an even fuller sound and their desire to explore chamber repertoire for the piano. Throughout the course of their musical career, the pianists have been performing music for piano four hands and for two pianos (at times accompanied by other instruments as well) from the Baroque to the present day.

“The chamber music on this album is unified with a focus on string scorings and a connection between me and the late Arnold Rosner, a friend and colleague whose works it has been a privilege to be involved in curating. From the deeply dark intensity of Rosner’s 6th quartet to the luminous passion of my piano trio, I hope that the wide variety of emotional moods explored in this collection of pieces may provide for an enriching listening experience.” (Carson Cooman) "Simply World Class" is the description made by the German press of the London Piano Trio. For the past 20 years the London Piano Trio have been touring, recording, and teaching across the globe to rave reviews. Upcoming tours include a 10 city tour of China in 2020 and a Far East Tour in 2021. At home they have been described as a "National Treasure". They were artists in residence at the Gibbs Music Festival from 2008 - 2014 and from 2014 - 2016 had a residency at St John's Smith Square in London, featuring a critically acclaimed 2015 Beethoven Cycle and are artists in residence at the Festival Jalesnes, Venantes, France.

“Elena Pavlea’s style has instant impact and possesses an unmistakable Hellenic character that both sings and dances concurrently. She blends the ‘epic’ with the ‘intimate’ in a seamless thread and the programmatic titles to her works evoke a clear connection with Greek antiquity.” (George Richford, Producer) Elena Pavlea’s music has been characterized by music critics to belong to the Neo-romantic and Minimalistic styles of the 21st century music genres. Born and raised in Athens, Greece, she became aware of the world of classical music…while listening for the first time a piano trio performing in the lobby of a hotel. ‘’I clearly remember that moment since for the first time in my life; I felt the intensity of musical expression’’ she says. She never abandoned learning music throughout her childhood and adolescent years, and early in life she decided to study music in a professional level. Academically she received her Piano Soloist Diploma, Bachelor of Arts and her Postgraduate Diploma in Piano Performance from Greek and English Universities and during her stay in London and Athens-Greece, she always worked as a Pianist, Composer and Piano Teacher. She participated in master-classes of Professors of the Guildhall school of Music and Drama and of the Royal Academy of Music. She also studied Philosophy and Music Aesthetics.