Carson Cooman is many things musical - organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University, writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song. His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. The music in this programme, most of which was composed in 2016 and 2017, is varied and consists of a delightful mix of secular concert works and liturgically based pieces. Erik Simmons is a fine organist, making his eighth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the Rosales organ of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon, recorded through the Hauptwerk system. This is volume 8 of this highly praised series. Previous volumes have been heralded as momentous and groundbreaking by fans and critics alike.

Cutting edge contemporary sonic art [rout] has become one of the UK's leading contemporary-music ensembles. In this, their d+-but recording, they present three very different pieces written by the group's core members. This CD-single (25 minutes) is co-produced with the British Music Information Centre and financially supported by the Arts Council for England.

In one sense this is a sequel to the recent release 'A Garland for John McCabe' - originally intended as a 2nd album in that set, but it grew to be a full album in it's own right. Now, it is released as a further tribute to McCabe, and features first recordings of works by McCabe's fellow composers. Just as importantly, it is a feast of fine music by British and American composers, all (except one very short track) recorded for the first time, including principally music by Alan Rawsthorne - the early and jolly String Quartet in B minor, the Chamber Cantata, and the piano version of the remarkable 'Practical Cats'. Clare Wilkinson is receiving rave reviews for her work and is a mezzo with beautiful tone; veteran baritone Mark Rowlinson is the fine reciter of 'Cats'. John Turner, one of the leading recorder players of today and former member of many world-renowned early-music ensembles, and pianist Peter Lawson, another highly regarded performer who has played with most top British orchestras and has a long and distinguished recording and teaching career, are joined by keyboard maestro Harvey Davies and the very fine Solem Quartet.

Vyacheslav Artyomov is considered by many to be Russia's greatest living composer. After the fall of the Soviet regime his music has travelled the world to great acclaim. It is deep, ultimately spiritual and brilliantly crafted, with influences from the Russian symphonic tradition colored by Mahler, Scriabin, Honegger and Messiaen to name a few - but melded into a unique voice. The Divine Art Artyomov Retrospective is a mix of new recordings and former Melodiya releases. It continues with the Symphony of Elegies - a total contrast to his other massive and intense symphonies, being ethereal, generally very quiet and evoking a sense of timelessness. The album is completed by two more major works - 'Awakening' for violin duo, and 'Incantations' featuring the heavenly voice of the late Lydia Davydova with four percussionists. This is an album full of really inspired masterpieces.

This new album seeks out the ‘cutting edge’ of contemporary avant-garde music by three British composers and one Greek, all working in multimedia environments involving sonic arts. + Jos Zwaanenburg is one of the world's top flutists in the new music arena with a worldwide reputation. + This CD has five new works that explore advanced flute techniques together with various types of electronic manipulation and accompaniment.

Vyacheslav Artyomov is considered by many to be Russia's greatest living composer. His music is deep, ultimately spiritual and brilliantly crafted, with influences from the Russian symphonic tradition colored by Mahler, Scriabin, Honegger and Messiaen to name a few - but melded into a unique voice. The Divine Art Artyomov Retrospective (which to date has received wonderful reviews internationally) is a mix of new recordings and former Melodiya releases. This is the eleventh album, containing a selection of studio and live concert performances of chamber works for slightly unusual combinations: flute quartet, and saxophones much to the fore. Apart from 'Hymns of Sudden Wafts' and Clarinet Sonata these are all premiere releases. The works are performed by some of the best of Moscow's orchestral and chamber musicians and represent a somewhat lighter (though the term is relative) side to Artyomov's work than his massive, granitic symphonies.

Following the release of his debut album in May 2007 the virtuoso horn player Etienne Cutajar, who took up his first orchestral seat at 18, has seen his career develop with important orchestral appointments in Scotland and elsewhere before returning to his native country to become principal horn of the Malta Philharmonic. He has also appeared as chamber soloist in many prestigious venues. This album is named for the central work, Mdina, by Maltese composer Jesmond Grixti; this is a work for horn solo and accompanied by two more contemporary pieces: Air f�r Horn by J�rg Widmann and Cynddaredd-Brenddyd by Heinz Holliger. These works require the highest accuracy and technical ability which Cutajar supplies with aplomb. Accompanying these new pieces are three mainstream works: Beethoven's well known Sonata receives a superb performance, as do the Andante by Richard Strauss and Brahms's Horn Trio in E flat. In these works, Cutajar is joined by esteemed pianist and Royal Academy professor John Reid, and in the Brahms Trio by Carmine Lauri, one of the UK's principal orchestral violinists, who has led the London Symphony, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and Royal Opera House among others, and has been featured violinist in a host of major feature films.

British composer Lydia Kakabadse (with roots in Greece, Austria, Russia and Georgia) reflects her cultural heritage in music that has western and mediterranean elements - while this is strongest in her choral music, it is heard to good effect in her chamber works, which are often written in modal intonation; her previous recorded collections have been very positively reviewed. This album is in two parts - first the stunning choral work 'Odyssey' - absolutely traditional in it's rich harmony but carrying one or two surprises, a work commissioned by the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway College in 2018; and a set of songs written in 2018 and 2019 spanning a range of styles from ballad, to arioso to folk jazz, Romantic, antiphonal and minimalistic! The performers are all top rate: Clare McCaldin is an outstanding mezzo-soprano with a significant recorded legacy already. Paul Turner specializes in chamber music and accompanying singers and instrumentalists. Sara Trickey is becoming well known as a fine violinist and Cecily Beer is in great demand as both singer and harpist. The Choir of Royal Holloway is considered to be one of the finest mixed-voice collegiate choirs in Britain.

Three major organ works: one from Liszt, one of the masters of high Romanticism and bubbling virtuosity; the powerful Heroic Sonata of Jongen and the first commercial recording of the delicately figured piece 'The Dancing Pipes' by Jonathan Dove, one of today's most appreciated composers. This superb program is titled 'Transformations' as each piece contains musical transformations of themes; it also reflects the transformation of the fine Norman & Beard organ at Cheltenham College Chapel - this is it's first recording since a full restoration in 2017. Alexander Finch studied at the Royal College of Music and was organ scholar at Keble College Oxford. He gave over 100 recitals as resident organist at Lancaster Town Hall and continues to undertake a busy concert and broadcasting schedule (sadly his planned August 2019 debut at Notre Dame Paris is 'on hold'. Alexander was appointed College Organist at Cheltenham in 2004 since when he has played daily in the Chapel as well as giving regular recitals; he oversaw the 2017 restoration and manages the work of both students and visiting recitalists.

This recording of recorder sonatas by Handel and an 18th c. transcription of the Royal Fireworks Suite is the work of three Melbournians who have made important contributions to early music performance in Australia for over thirty years. Published By John Walsh c. 1750, this is the only recording of the adaptation of the Fireworks Music (originally for flute, violin or harpsichord) in this arrangement. All instruments are faithful reproductions of authentic originals, historically accurate, carefully researched and tuned to a version of period temperament, giving each key its own character.

Of these two great classical quartets which look forward so much to the heights of the Romantic period, one (“Death and the Maiden”) is almost universally loved. The almost contemporary A minor quartet is sometimes referred to as the ‘Rosamunde’ because of its strong thematic links to Schubert’s incidental music to that play. Both are here played on period instruments, with gut strings, in what is an authentic and thoroughly top-class performance by one of our foremost string ensembles. The Fitzwilliam Quartet has just celebrated its 50thanniversary.Acknowledged as one of the finest British quartets of our age they are equally at home in the classics, playing period instruments, or in the modern and contemporary repertoire, having had personal links with Shostakovich who called the Fitzwilliams “the preferred performers of my quartets”.

“The wide dynamic palette echoes a Schubert who wanted, with these two works, to "clear the flight towards the great symphony". The texture captivates, suggests individualities and unfolds beautiful lines, swinging between mystery, worry and melancholy.”
– Fabienne Bouvet (Classica)

There is a tradition among the Greek peoples of the singing of carols ('Kalanda') on Christmas Eve. This album is a set of carols newly composed by Greek-Cypriot composer Cilia Petridou. As musical works they also qualify as art-song in fine performances by three excellent sopranos. For those who love Christmas music but want something new, this album will fit the bill. The three sopranos each take a number of solo carols and form a trio for the last two; Lesley-Jane and Alison have both worked with the composer for some time and also made several highly-praised recordings for Divine Art and Metier. Cilia Petridou was an accomplished pianist until her career was ended by major surgery since when she has concentrated on composition. Moving with her family to the UK after the Turlish invasion of north Cyprus which destroyed their home town of Famagusta, her music is often informed by that political tragedy, but her Kalanda are bright and full of joy.

This outstanding new release features the world premiere recording of each of these compositions from Philip Henderson. Philip Henderson began his career composing radio jingles. Since then he has composed a number of choral works, orchestral pieces, film scores, and more. He is also the founder of the ensemble featured here, The Green & Pleasant Band. As the composer of the popular musical The Far Pavilions, Henderson’s name is often associated with the stage. This concept album tells the story of Henderson’s father leaving rural England as a young man in the 1930s and arriving to a new world full of glitz and glamor in New York City. Henderson intends to produce this music as a ballet, as it is conducive to modern dance and stage. “I like Henderson’s pieces very much… they are up to date without sounding too modern, if you see what I mean. That is meant to be a compliment, by the way! His writing for the strings is excellent!” (Michael Kennedy CBE, Classical Music Critic) “The ever enthusiastic Philip has produced wonderful string ensemble ideas here.” (Steve Hackett, guitarist, Genesis)

The five compositions on this album are inspired by the lives and works of five women from history. Carlotta Ferrari (b.1975) has composed numerous pieces inspired by historical figures as well as pieces inspired by literature and works of art. Several of these directions are brought together in the five compositions on this album, which celebrate three religious figures, an artist, and a writer. In Ferrari's distinctive modal style, she creates expressive musical portraits of these women. The first four works on this album all employ the "Restarting Pitch Space" (RPS) system of modal harmony. First developed by Carson Cooman in 2005, Carlotta Ferrari has worked extensively with this system in many compositions written since 2016. Carson Cooman (b.1982) is an American composer with a catalog of hundreds of works in many forms-ranging from solo instrumental pieces to operas, and from orchestral works to hymn tunes. His music has been performed on all six inhabited continents. As an active concert organist, Cooman specializes in the performance of contemporary music. Over 300 new works have been composed for him by composers from around the world, and his organ performances can be heard on a number of recordings of which this is his fourth for Divine Art. This recording of the wonderful main organ of Laurenskerk, Rotterdam, Netherlands (Marcussen & Son) was made using the Hauptwerk remote digital access system.

Degenerative brain diseases (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's in particular) cause immense distress to sufferers and their families. This album is released to raise funds for research into cures, through Parkinsons UK. Both the soloists lost parents to these diseases hence their wish to support the research. They have chosen works by composers all of whom were similarly afflicted - either in themselves or their close families. Mendelssohn died at a very young age due to degenerative disease, Strauss wrote his work during a period of severe influenza and depression, and Kevin Malone and John Adams struggled to cope when their fathers both succumbed to Alzheimers. The works here are serious, often poignant, but also humorous and full of hope. A delightful performance by the two clarinet soloists is bolstered by the excellent Northern Chamber Orchestra.