Gabriel Faure's lasting influence on French music is tied to the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War - a conflict in which France sought to limit Prussia's bid for German unification. In an age of widespread nationalism, and with the threat of German power at their doorstep, French artists set out to establish a firm national identity of their own. It was under these circumstances that Caille Saint-Saens co-founded the Societe Nationale de Musique to promote the music of young French composers. As a member of that society, Faure became a centerpiece of the scene musicale, and ultimately an artistic model for Claude Debussy and his impressionistic colleagues. Robert Demaine is an American virtuoso cellist who has been hailed by The New York Times as "an artist who makes one hang on every note". He has distinguished himself as one of the finest and most versatile instrumentalists of his generation, performing to critical acclaim as soloist, recitalist, orchestral principal, recording artist and chamber musician. Andrew Armstrong, praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the United States, including performances at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall and many others.

Several years after his father’s death, CPE Bach wrote that “[the Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord] … are among the best works of my dear departed father. They still sound excellent and give me much joy, even though they date back more than fifty years.” And indeed they are a pleasure to listen to, not least because of their eminently singable lines- especially those of the adagio movements, of which Carl Philip Emanuel made special note. The sonatas were composed during J.S. Bach’s tenure as court Kapellmeister in Cothen. Described as “genre-bending” by the National Post, and “intrepid” by the Globe and Mail, Mark Fewer has performed around the world to critical acclaim in virtually every role asked of a violinist, from the early baroque to the avant-garde. As one of today’s busiest musicians in the field of Early Music, Hank Knox is hailed internationally for his “colorful, kinetic performances” (AllMusic Guide) which “abound in vitality” (Early Music America).

Winners of the Grand Prize and Audience Prize at the 2014 Early Music America Baroque Performance Competition, Montreal based Infusion Baroque has produced a much anticipated debut album featuring five trio sonatas by CPE Bach. Infusion Baroque is in high demand among early music concert presenters throughout North America. They maintain a busy touring schedule, and plan to release many albums following the present release. Their performances have been described as “dynamic and alive” with a stage presence that is “poised and elegant.” Infusion Baroque is flutist Alexa Raine-Wright, violinist Sallynee Amawat, cellist Andrea Stewart, and harpsichordist Rona Nadler.

"The Equation of Time" is the Charke-Cormier Duo’s third album and their second to feature recital programming that spans various genres and styles. Like their first album, Ex Tempore, it showcases their shared aspiration to
play music both old and new, original works and arrangements, to explore the stunning timbral combination of flute and guitar. Although both the album and its titular work were planned long before coronavirus became a household name, it is uncanny yet fitting that this recording
project took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an event that has greatly disrupted our sense of time. The Equation of Time exemplifies how truly special art can result when the
artists are given the time and space to communicate and create.

Halifax-based record label Leaf Music is pleased to announce the release of cellist Robert DeMaine and pianist Peter Takács’s double album of Beethoven’s complete works for piano and cello. Set to be released July 8 2022, this stunning collection showcases Beethoven’s unprecedented textures and formal innovations found in his sonatas for cello and piano. DeMaine is a master of Beethoven’s conversational tone and technical flourishes, playing with “lapidary technical precision, and a persuasive identification with the idiom of the music at hand,” While Takács showcases the composer’s experiments in harmony and form with his noted ability to communicate musical interpretations.

Lighthouse is for anyone who has experienced the loss of someone close. It is, above all else, a love story... This album was created from letters and journals written on a journey through grief. And while the inspiration for the album came from our dear friend Ashley, its message is universal. This album as a whole represents a journey through grief that has been separated into 9 tracks. The music was composed by Grej (Gregory Harrison) in collaboration with Maureen. The concept is a marriage between classical and electronic genres that utilizes voice, piano, harmonium, synthesizer, and field recordings.

Since 2017, one of Infusion Baroque’s primary initiatives has been The Virtuosa Project, a series of concerts, lectures, and web videos dedicated to women musicians of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. This project, which highlights over a dozen relatively unknown women who made substantial contributions to Western classical music, has generated a great amount of interest at a local and international level, resulting in requests from international presenters for the ensemble to tour the Virtuosa program in the United States, France and the U.K. The album includes a comprehensive booklet and companion website which includes stories, images, and archival material pertaining to the women featured in the recording. The objective is to provide cultural and socio-economic context for the women’s lives as well as for their music and to highlight their accomplishments in the face of adversity. Many of the featured women were pioneers in their field.

Montréal pianist Isabelle David’s debut solo album includes 14 works from pianist and composer Auguste Descarries. Two of these are previously unreleased contributions to Quebec piano literature. Decarries holds a special place in Ms. David’s musical background, as her maternal grandmother was one of the students who benefited from his teaching. This special link and the discovery of the composer’s manuscripts led Ms. David to pursue a doctorate in music performance, where she devoted four years of research to Descarries’s piano works. She writes: “This album is the culmination of all the work undertaken in the past few years. It is part of an endeavor shared with other musicians and music lovers who wish to raise the profile of Auguste Descarries’s great piano legacy. I trust that you will enjoy the composer’s unreleased pieces, whose opus makes a very original contribution to the piano literature of Quebec. Happy listening!”

Juno nominated chamber choir Luminous Voices along with Spiritus Chamber Choir presents twelve works by Ukranian composer Artem Vedel (1767-1808). Considered one of Ukraine’s ‘Golden Three’ composers of the 18th century, these masterpieces of Ukrainian Classical Choral Music include twelve sacred choral concerti & Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Under the direction of Dr. Timothy Shantz and with support from the Ukrainian Music Society of Alberta, the works of Vedel continue to be associated with the boisterous wave of national rebirth, imbued with a connection and influence of national folklore.

Canadian composer Jaap Nico Hamburger presents his composition Piano Concerto. Recorded at the Maison symphonique de Montréal under the direction of Vincent de Kort with pianist Assaff Weisman and Orchestra Métropolitain de Montréal. Jaap Nico Hamburger is a Canadian Music Centre Associate Composer; President and CEO, Orange Music Inc., a Vancouver music production company; Member of the Board of Directors of City Opera Vancouver (2010-2020); and in 2019 was named Mécénat Musica’s Composer in Residence. He was born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and started his musical education at the age of 3. He studied piano with Ruben Lifschitz, Alexandre Hrisanide and Youri Egorov. Early performances included the Brahms D-minor Concerto at the age of 13, and Mozart KV 488 at age 18. He is a graduate from the Royal Sweelinck Conservatorium of Music, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with a soloist degree in piano. He has lived in Canada since August, 2000.

Bach & Buxtehude: Organ Works

In July 2011 the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra competed with orchestras from around the globe in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in Vienna, Austria. Not only did they win first place in the orchestra category, but they also received the honorable ranking of “outstanding performance” from the international panel of judges. NBYO musicians and conductor, Maestro Antonio Delgado, met their performance expectations, and were globally recognized for the culmination of a year of hard work and preparation. ‘Musikfreunde,’ translated as “friends of music,” was the theme for the NBYO 2011 Vienna tour, which makes it a suiting title for this recording of the 2011 tour and competition repertoire. The NBYO is proud to release its newest recording- Musikfreunde, Friends of Music.

Infusion Baroque draws new audiences to early music through a truly captivating concert experience, deftly combining seasoned musicianship with theatrical elements. Described as “dynamic and alive” (Early Music America) with “polish, energy, and finely-honed style… merrily breaking established traditions” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), the four women of Infusion Baroque enthrall audiences across North America with their creative and interactive programming. Their debut album 1747: C.P.E. Bach was released in 2017 and reached #3 on iTunes Canada Classical chart. Infusion Baroque's second album is the debut recording of six rare quintets by Georg Anton Kreüsser. Joyful and elegant, these pieces for flute, violin, viola, cello, and basso continuo feature the instruments engaged in a lively musical conversation that are sure to delight and charm listeners.

In honor of Remembrance Day and the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands, Canadian composer Jaap Nico Hamburger presents two symphonies recorded in November 2019. While these two works address serious and challenging themes, they are simultaneously filled with hope and optimism. “Remember to Forget” is both a chamber symphony and an opera without words, inspired by the biography of one of the great composers of our time, György Ligeti. "Children's War Diaries" is a symphony for chamber orchestra in five short movements, inspired by a visit to the Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem and the overwhelming starkness of the Children’s Memorial and the blazing Jerusalem sunlight.

Mark Fewer and Hank Knox are well-known personalities in Canada. Both versatile musicians, they have performed throughout North America and are known for imparting a unique signature to their performances. Offering fresh and exciting interpretation of works from the past. This collection of exciting but little-known works for violin and harpsichord is thought to have been first penned by Antonio Vivaldi in 1726. However, the works were unknown until a manuscript was found in Manchester’s Central Library in 1976 and to date, few recordings of the complete collection exist. This is the first recording of the works by Canadian artists. The Sonatas were arranged and recorded by Fewer and Knox in January 2019 at Église St. Augustin, Mirabel, QC.