Celebrating the centenary of the composer’s birth, this 2008 Linn release of Messiaen’s chamber works is a comprehensive collection with highly informative booklet notes by Messiaen expert Nigel Simeone. + ‘Messiaen: Chamber Works’ marries the chamber works of one of the finest 20th c. composers with the renowned interpretive skills of contemporary music specialists the Hebrides Ensemble. + Fantaisie, for violin and piano, was thought lost until it was re-discovered by Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen and published in 2007. + ‘...vivid, beautifully judged performances...’ (The Guardian)

In-demand tenor James Gilchrist has been hailed as an unparalleled interpreter of English song. In this special three-disc set are gathered his finest recordings to date: song cycles by Finzi, Vaughan Williams, Gurney, Britten, Warlock, and Leighton. Indeed, Gilchrist's pure, golden tone and sensitive musicianship suit the works of the English masters of song to perfection.

Linn Records is thrilled to introduce soprano Rowan Pierce in what promises to be a sensational debut recording. The Cares of Lovers comprises songs from across Purcell's brief career from She loves and she confesses too, one of his very first published pieces (1683), to Sweeter than roses from his final months (1695). Although they all display the same matchless ingenuity and uncanny ability to set English words to music, a highlight includes Tell me, some pitying angel - a triumph of dramatic composition and the equal of any Italian cantata of the period. Since winning the President's Award at the Royal College of Music in 2017, Pierce has won acclaim for her performances at The Barbican, Royal Festival Hall and at the BBC Proms. Her performance in Purcell's The Fairy Queen, with the Academy of Ancient Music, won praise for her 'expressive' (Financial Times) and 'heart-piercing' (The Independent) singing. Richard Egarr and William Carter, two baroque music heavy-weights, join Pierce for this recording, made in Haarlem, Netherlands.

Jazz pianist David Newton combines exquisite melodies and perfectly judged improvisations in his acclaimed debut album, Victim of Circumstance. Originally released in 1991, Victim of Circumstance has been re-issued as part of Linn's ECHO series which offers a second chance to enjoy the best of the label's award-winning catalogue. 'David Newton's spacious, ultra-relaxed piano is texturally of gossamer lightness, harmonically of direct, selectively voiced, uncluttered chording with carefully rationed dissonance, a filigree right hand of melodic lyricism and a poised sense of rubato.' Jazz Rag 'Superb delicacy of touch.' Jazz The Magazine.

This is the world premiere recording of Rudolph Barshai's arrangements of Ravel and Shostakovich string quartets. Originally released in 2003 'Ravel & Shostakovich for strings' has been re-issued as part of Linn's ECHO series which offers a second chance to enjoy the best of the label's award-winning catalogue. The specially commissioned arrangements retain the nuances that make the original string quartets so special but also add a whole world of subtle sonorities. The Shostakovich quartet shows him in the prime of his creative life; Barshai's orchestration adds to the texture and depth of this piece. The Ravel String Quartet in F major is one of director Clio Gould's favourite pieces of music so she was delighted when Rudolf Barshai agreed to orchestrate this. Barshai, a student of Shostakovich and a founding member of the Borodin and Tchaikovsky Quartets has also completed arrangements of Shostakovich's four chamber symphonies. Re-defining the string orchestra, Scottish Ensemble inspires audiences with vibrant and powerful performances. Scottish Ensemble is the UK's only professional string orchestra, built around a core of twelve outstanding string players. The ensemble is known both in the UK and internationally for it's versatility and ambitious programming. Performing standing up, the individual layers bring an energetic and passionate dynamic to every performance.

Dunedin Consort made its Linn debut with this 2001 recording of a cappella vocal music by America's two most famous 20th c. composers: Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber. + In their settings for unaccompanied chorus, each had an instinctive feel for the human voice, a natural gift for word-setting, and a pure style of writing that rarely, if ever, obscured its literary dimension. + Winners of two Gramophone Awards, the Dunedin Consort has established a reputation as one of the finest period performance choirs around. + “…a stunning performance, and a brilliant recording.’ (Hi-Fi Choice)

Originally released in 1990, 'Don’t Fret!', re-issued as part of Linn’s ECHO series, launched Martin Taylor’s recording career and signature style. His inimitable style has seen him recognized as the world’s foremost solo jazz guitar exponent, possessing an easy virtuosity that has earned him acclaim from fellow musicians, fans and critics alike. A multi-award winning guitarist whom Acoustic Guitar magazine calls ‘THE acoustic guitarist of his generation’, he has enjoyed a remarkable musical career with more than 100 recordings to his credit and a record 14 British Jazz Awards as a guitarist.

Where late the sweet birds sang is a gorgeous contrapuntal choral collection of works by three of the leading Elizabethan composers featuring some of the repertoire's best singers. Directed by Philip Cave Magnificat specializes in the restoration and performance of neglected choral masterpieces of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Classical Music

This is the world premiere recording of John Bevan Baker's 'Songs of Courtship', performed by the renowned Hebrides Ensemble and Consort of Voices. + The disc represents a unique opportunity for exploring the fascinating, uncharted waters of 20th c. British music. + Mr. Bevan Baker set ‘Songs of Courtship’ to music in 1992 for the Black Isle Singers. + Written by Mao Shih in the 7th c. BC, the poems were translated from the Ancient Chinese in 1946 by Arthur Waley. + ‘I don't think it too fanciful to hear Baker's love of Scotland and its countryside and coastlands throughout these pieces.’ (Gramophone)

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Britain’s leading female jazz singer, Claire Martin, presents an acerbic look at what it takes to be a jazz musician in the celebrity-obsessed 21st c. Presented with a cool-edge and tinged with a touch of irony and razor-sharp wit, the original and contemporary songs on 'A Modern Art' are Ms. Martin’s take on ‘new’ jazz classics, all the while tackling the thorny subject of jazz as a contemporary art form rooted in tradition yet relevant and vibrant as ever. Known as The First Lady of British Jazz, Claire Martin has previously won Best Vocalist at the British Jazz Awards on six separate occasions.

Prize-winning Bach specialist John Butt performs J.S. Bach’s famous ‘Das wohltemperierte Klavier’ for his debut solo Linn recording. + Perhaps best known as Dunedin Consort director, John Butt, recipient of two Gramophone Awards, brings his highly insightful historical knowledge to his performance of this seminal, influential work. + He bases his performance on recent editions so he can present the latest possible stage of Bach’s thoughts for each book; secondly Butt takes a unique approach to tempo and tempo relationships, which he explains fully in his comprehensive booklet note.

This unusual but beautiful song cycle was created by drawing a collection of arias by J.S. Bach and framing them within the movements of his B minor orchestral suite. Two arias are taken from the Matthew Passion, two are from Eastertide cantatas, and the majestic Agnus Dei is taken from his most outstanding choral work, the B minor mass. It is believed that Bach’s incredible writing for alto voice was inspired by his wife, Anna, who was herself an accomplished alto singer. Catherine King performs these works alongside the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra. Catherine has been described as “bell-voiced… with firm clear tone, elegant phrasing and agile, precise coloratura’. (Gramophone)

This is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Francesco Piemontesi's summer 2017 release, Mozart Piano Concertos Nos. 25 & 26. This recording finds the 'dream team' of Piemontesi, Andrew Manze and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra back together for two further concertos: the graceful and sunny Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major and the mellow and magnificent Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, which was Mozart's last. When Piemontesi performed No. 27 at the 2018 BBC Proms, The Independent commented: 'Piemontesi gave a definitive performance... his sound was gloriously transparent throughout'. This well-established team garnered multiple accolades for their debut recording together (Benchmark Recording France Musique, Recording of the Year Presto Classical, Excepcional Scherzo, Editor's Choice Gramophone, Album of the Week Classic FM) which increases the weight of expectation for this new recording. In addition the orchestra has recorded the Rondo in A major, K. 386, which only survived in the form of a piano arrangement by Cipriani Potter, whose father was a pupil of Mozart. Fittingly this piece was reconstructed by the SCO's Conductor Laureate Sir Charles Mackerras in 1989 and it is this orchestral version which is performed here. Widely considered one of the world's greatest Mozart orchestras, the SCO finds an ideal foil in the freshness and spontaneity of Piemontesi's playing.