Koledy a cappella / Christmas Carols a Cappella

Arnold Rosner (1945-2013) was a New Yorker through and through, but his musical language reached across time and cultures, clothing the modal harmony and rhythm of pre-Baroque polyphony in rich Romantic colours, thus producing a style that is instantly recognisable and immediately appealing. Having written his Eighth Symphony for symphonic wind band, he took a liking to the idiom, composing seven more works for this archetypical formation of American university life, none of them recorded before now. Their inspiration is eclectic - they range from descriptive tone-poems via the recreation of an Indian raga and other folk-based pieces to more formal structures - but Rosner's unerring balance of dignity and energy is common to all of them and stamps them with a sound that is uniquely his.

Experience the popular melodies from "Swan Lake" and "Carmen" recorded by the world-class Rachmaninoff International Orchestra (RIO) under the baton of Mikhail Pletnev. In August 2022, the musicians of the Rachmaninoff International Orchestra gathered in Bratislava to perform their first recording under the direction of founder and artistic director Mikhail Pletnev. You can rediscover Swan Lake in an acclaimed arrangement by Mikhail Pletnev, while Rodion Shchedrin's arrangement of the Carmen Suite based on Bizet's masterpiece is legendary. The Swan Lake Suite is not the usual 6-part suite, but a different and more elaborate arrangement, which Pletnev himself has arranged to a hand-picked selection of Tchaikovsky's ballet music. With a superb RIO, he transforms Swan Lake into a captivating cocktail of color and atmosphere, beautifully poetic and full of fairytale magic, with Tchaikovsky's signature blend of theatrical drama and aristocratic elegance always in perfect balance.

W.A. Mozart - Symphony No. 35 "Haffner", Piano Concerto No. 24

Giovanni Battista Velluti, born in 1780, was the last heir of the great Italian castrati. His exceptional voice, both powerful and agile, and his impressive vocal mastery opened the doors to the most prestigious opera houses in Europe. His talent for highly complex vocal ornamentation had a lasting influence on the style of vocal interpretation in the 19th century. Franco Fagioli immerses himself in Velluti's theatricality to recreate the full extent of his genius, and gives a superb performance of his most famous roles, accompanied by the Orchestre de l'Opera Royal de Versailles.

SOMM Recordings brings it's major six-volume series of�Franz Xaver Scharwenka's transcriptions of�Beethoven Symphonies�to a close with his 9th Symphony, the monumental Choral Symphony. Since the first volume, listeners have eagerly awaited each new release in the series from duo pianists, Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman. As Ates Orga has noted in International Piano Magazine, "What in July 2021 began as something of a curio outing has blossomed into a major recording landmark." Beethoven first conceived the idea of setting Schiller's Ode to Joy to music when he was in his twenties; an early iteration of the theme in the song, Returned Love, comes from before 1795. His Choral Fantasy for piano, vocal soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra followed in 1808, when he was thirty-eight. By the time he conducted his Choral Symphony No. 9 in D minor in Vienna on May 7, 1824, aged fifty-four, Beethoven was completely deaf. One of the iconic images in music history is that of the soprano gently turning him around, so he could see the rapturous response from the audience that he was unable to hear. The work had broken all barriers in terms of conception, duration, compositional power, and the incorporation of voices in the finale. The impact of the Choral Symphony was instantaneous and lasting. It was printed by Schott and Company within 18 months, and there were immediate demands for keyboard transcriptions. Given the forces that Beethoven employed in his 9th Symphony, transcribing the work for piano is challenging to say the least. The German pianist and composer, Xaver Scharwenka, was a student of Theodor Kullak, who had studied with Beethoven's pupil, Carl Czerny, thus providing Scharwenka with a singular musical line leading back to Beethoven. His duet transcriptions of all nine Beethoven Symphonies, published in 1905, still remain a touchstone for musical understanding of the cycle. The Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman Piano Duo�began their in-concert exploration of Scharwenka's four-hand Beethoven transcriptions in 2015.�Their recording of these transcriptions for SOMM began in 2023 with volumes 1 to 5 receiving ecstatic reviews. Vol I (SOMMCD 0637) "Utterly beguiling, " BBC Music magazine. Vol 2 (SOMMCD 0650) "The performances are state-of-the-art, " BBC Music magazine. Vol 3 (SOMMCD 0666) "Clarity, conviction and impressive unanimity, " Gramophone; "CD of the Week, " Sunday Times. Vol 4 (SOMMCD 0677) "so musical... so Beethovenian as to defy criticism, " Musical Opinion.�Vol 5 (SOMMCD 0687) "remarkable ensemble synchronicity, " Jed Distler, Gramophone. Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman have long-established careers. Uys has been awarded the MacFarren Medal by the Royal Academy of Music, where she is an Associate, and she has an impressive reputation as a concert and broadcasting performer at major venues throughout the world. Schoeman is a Steinway artist who�has performed in prestigious concert halls on several continents. Both pianists are past winners of the Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition.

Having reached the peak of his art, Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed his final mass, Assumpta est Maria, around 1669. Composed around the theme of the Assumption of the Virgin, central to the Catholic religion, this grandiose work blends Italian influences and French style. Charpentier succeeded in combining devotion and virtuosity, making the Assumpta est Maria Mass one of the masterpieces of Baroque sacred music, still appreciated for it's mystical depth and musical brilliance. Gaetan Jarry, accompanied by his ensemble Marguerite Louise, gives a superb performance that brings out all the expressiveness and solemnity of this mass.

Johann Sebastian Bach certainly became acquainted with the sound of the oboe at an early age through his father Ambrosius, who was employed as a town piper in Eisenach. The fact that Johann Sebastian recognised and appreciated the expressive power of the oboe at a young age is evident in many of his early compositions, cantatas and concertos. However, there are neither solo nor trio sonatas involving the oboe among his surviving works. This CD fills this gap with a series of chamber music arrangements. Xenia Loffler, solo oboist at the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, presents two flute sonatas with obbligato harpsichord on her instrument, the first of which (BWV 1030b) was probably once even written for the oboe. The two organ trio sonatas in trio arrangement with oboe, violin or viola da gamba and basso continuno elicit new musical colours from the original works. Finally, the three chorale preludes and a chaconna are also very distinctive, which - in various chamber music settings - now allow the original organ works to shine vividly in wonderful tone colours.

Leading performers of 17th-century music the Magdalena Consort, Fretwork and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts combine forces under the artistic direction of William Hunt for their third release exploring the English Anthems with instrumental consort for ceremony, reflection and prayer to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Orlando Gibbons. Praise for Chains of Gold Vol 1 5 stars "Subtle, seductively supple and sinuous singing and playing... Volume 2 from this dream-team will be eagerly awaited" - Choir and Organ 5 stars "This is the finest recording of this quintessentially English music that we are likely to have... a real treat, and an impressive master-class in how these texts should be declaimed" - Early Music Review

For the fourth instalment of his Schubert+ series, Can cakmur focuses on the genre of the impromptu, aiming to identify historical predecessors for Schubert's piano writing as well as gain an insight into the evolution of free-standing poetic keyboard compositions. Placing Franz Schubert's famous set of 4 Impromptus, D 899, at the heart of this recording, cakmur also presents two Impromptus by Jan Vaclav Vorisek, a composer who was praised by Beethoven and seems to herald Schubert. Four works by Chopin and two by Scriabin complete the programme and bear witness to composers' fondness for this free form, capable of expressing romantically a moment, a feeling or a mood. Designed to place Schubert's major piano works alongside works by other composers, Can cakmur's Schubert+ series has so far earned the highest praise: 'With Can cakmur you are returned to your first sense of wonder and revelation at discovering Schubert's genius' (International Piano), 'cakmur [is] remarkable from start to finish, with irresistible colours, refined nuances and a clear tone' (Crescendo), 'cakmur's phrasing and his use of dynamics and colours are overwhelming' (Pizzicato).

For baritone Alexandre Beuchat and pianist Marija Bokor, life with music is an exciting and never-ending journey; a journey through a wide variety of works and eras, a journey to faraway places and a journey to themselves. For the album "Songs of Travel", they have embarked on a journey that is as arduous as it is rewarding, with songs by Vaughan Williams, Schubert, Bloch and Mahler.

Mezzo-soprano Maria Laschinger (Basel, *1977) and pianist Olivia Zaugg (Bern, *1995) create their own creative-feminine space with the Blickwechsel format. Blickwechsel directs our attention, our awareness and our clairvoyance to great works by female composers who have so far received too little attention. In this album hange ich, zwischen Zeiten, the duo focuses on the compositions of the young composer Francesca Gaza, who lives in Basel, alongside songs by the English composers and women's rights activists Rebecca Clarke and Ethel Smyth, which have rarely been performed and recorded to date. The commissioned composition hange ich, zwischen Zeiten by Francesca Gaza with poems by Maria Laschinger was created in a lively exchange between the three musicians and was premiered at the Jazzcampus Basel in April 2022. Francesca Gaza, rich in broad musical influences and compositional virtuosity, has added another composition of artistic and social relevance to the duo's programme. The composer is particularly interested in exploring, combining and breaking up the roles of the piano and the voice.

Romain Leleu and his musical partner Julien Gernay, captivated by the sounds of the unique instruments in the Mus�e de la musique, invite us on a whirlwind tour around the land of the French trumpet and cornet. Other musicians have joined them to add a touch of horn and trombone to these pieces, whether originals or transcriptions of emblematic works from a 'Belle �poque' indeed.

The latest release from the internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning Danish National Vocal Ensemble marks an extraordinary milestone in the choir's history with the appointment of their new Chief Conductor, Martina Batic, and it was clear from the very beginning there was a special connection between her and the choir's singers! For her OUR Recordings debut, maestra Batic has chosen the works of two composers, both of whom may well come as revelations to music lovers. Opening the album is a selection of works from one of the musical heroes of her homeland, the Slovenian composer Uros Krek. Highly regarded in his homeland, Krek's stylistically accessible, well-crafted music is seldom heard internationally, making this musical encounter particularly valuable. A fluid pan-tonality informed the Three Autumn Songs while the other selections freely draw upon folk-influences and orthodox polyphony. As a calling card to her new Danish friends, Maestra Batic makes an extraordinary artistic statement presenting the choral music of Else Marie Pade! Rightly celebrated as one of the pioneers of electronic music, Pade also composed an extraordinary catalogue of works for acoustic instruments and voice. As beautifully score the pair of stunning works from the 1950s are, nothing could prepare us for the World Premiere Recording of Pade's extraordinary Maria (1980) scored for coloratura soprano, bass baritone, speaking choir and 7 trombones, and electronic sounds. Written as spiritual self-solace to comfort her from her trauma during the war, Maria is a modernist musical Rosary, and a masterwork of contemporary religious music. Truly, Martina Batic and the Danish National Vocal Ensemble has taken us on an amazing journey you will not want to miss! On the video from the recording, ? you will hear the Danish National Vocal Ensemble's artistic director Michael Emery, conductor Martina Batic and soprano Anna Miilmann talk about the music. Technician Mikkel Nymand talk about the new way of recording a Choir, special for Dolby Atmos.

The value of such arrangements is that they allow a wider perception into a composer's compositional processes, and which have the potential for presenting new insights and different characteristics to particular pieces of music, which might not be evident in the originals. Hence these arrangements extend a practice that was normal in the early eighteenth century, and in this recording they are played on instruments with which Bach would have been entirely familiar. What revelations they reveal! David Ponsford