Sir Adrian Boult (1889–1983) was probably Britain’s most authoritative interpreter of the music of Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. He formed close relationships with both composers; particularly with Vaughan Williams; giving premieres of three of his symphonies.

Featuring several world-premiere recordings, the most comprehensive set ever released of Pizzetti's song output. Art song occupies a substantial space in Pizzetti's oeuvre, with over 40 pieces, and yet the composer is still remembered mostly for his opera Murder in the Cathedral, and more tangentially for chamber and choral pieces such as the Cello Sonata and Requiem. Pizzetti composed songs for almost his entire life as a composer, starting with Nuvole (1899), a romanza still unpublished, up to the Tre canti d'amore, which belong to the group of his last works, from the second half of the 1950s. Pizzetti wished to distance himself from the Italian tradition of song writing for the salon of salon writing: in 1914 he wrote that 'a new period for vocal chamber music in our country is about to begin.' His choice of authors is singular, and serious: Petrarch, Michelangelo, Victor Hugo, as well as contemporary Italian versions of Greek lyrics by Sappho and the classical-era tragedians. Another running thread is nature, and a love for his native region of Parma. Pizzetti often set poets from the region such as Mario Silvani's Sera d'inverno (1907), an evocative winter landscape, and a set of three 'tragic sonnets' by Alfredo Zerbini. Alas, like other songs here, they were never published, despite the poet's entreaty to the composer: 'I ask you to do it for our beloved dialect, if you do not want to do it for me. Through the music of a great musician, who knows, even our poor dialect may aim high!' Alfredo Blessano's booklet essay gives invaluable context to this absorbing and richly varied collection of 20th-century song. Performing together as the 'Vansisiem Lied Duo', Paola Camponovo and Alfredo Blessano have previously recorded the complete songs of Gian Francesco Malipiero (96153). 'The songs are lovely, and the performances excellent. They are strongly closely attuned to each other, and their committed performances here are much more than readings.' (Fanfare) - The Complete Songs (Liriche) by Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) form a significant portion of his vocal output, bearing witness to his deep connection with Italian literary traditions and his ability to translate poetry into expressive music. As one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century, Pizzetti was known for his lyrical style, drawing inspiration from both the past and the modern era. His songs often set texts by prominent Italian poets such as Gabriele D'Annunzio, who shared Pizzetti's interest in themes of nature, mysticism, and the Italian cultural heritage. - Pizzetti's liriche demonstrate his skillful blend of text and music, characterized by a refined melodic line that closely follows the natural inflection of the language. His approach to vocal writing is often declamatory, allowing the poetry's meaning to guide the musical expression. Harmonically, the songs exhibit a rich, modal language influenced by Renaissance and early Baroque music. The thematic variety in his Complete Songs ranges from intimate, introspective reflections to more dramatic, impassioned expressions, always maintaining a close relationship between word and sound. - Sung by the Vansisiem Lied Duo: Paola Camponovo and Alfredo Blessano. This duo already showed their affinity with the idiom in their much praised recording of the complete songs by Malipiero on Brilliant Classics (BC 96153).

His 16th album with Signum Classics, the Welsh pianist, Llyr Williams, brings a profound musical intelligence to his work as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. His new album of compositions by Johannes Brahms offers a comprehensive exploration of Brahms' introspective and expressive piano works. In addition the album features Variations on a theme by R Schumann, Op 9 - harking back to Williams' celebrated album of works by Robert Schumann (SIGCD756) released in January 2024. ? "... The performances are always immaculate, their working out totally lucid; it's unquestionably thoughtful, authoritative playing." - The Guardian. Llyr Williams' long and successful collaboration with Signum Records includes the 8-disc box-set 'A Schubert Journey' (2020), the 12-volume 'Beethoven Unbound' (2018), a 'Wagner Without Words' double album (2014) and highlights from Liszt's 'Annees de pelerinage' (2012).

- The 20th century saw an immense and revolutionary development in musical styles and language, some radically parting from the fundamental musical traditions. This CD presents works for flute and piano by composers who adhered to their own, personal musical language, expressing only their own feelings of beauty, emotion and esthetics, without following current trends or theories. - Presented are the following composers: Rhene Baton, Francis Poulenc, Albert Roussel, Darius Milhaud, Ernst Krenek, Paul Hoffer, Samuel Barber, Ferenc Farkas, Franco Margola, Giuseppe Mule, Jean Michel Damase, Luciano Michelini: a very diverse selection of accessible, highly enjoyable music. - Gian-Luca Petrucci has been first flute in several of the top orchestras of Italy. He was professor at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. As a scholar he published monographs on several (Italian) composers: Mercadante, Briccialdi, Gazzelloni, de Lorenzo and Mozart. His previous recordings for Brilliant Classics include works by Frederick The Great (BC 96538), Bohm (96862) and Mercadante (BC 96152).

Max Richter's The Recomposed Four Seasons has become an iconic piece. Richter discarded about three quarters of Vivaldi's original and substituted his own music. The new version sounds a little hipper, lighter on its feet in places, darker and more cinematic in others. Artfully, but faithfully, Richter rearranges the notes on the page, revealing anew the radiant melodies and lush timbres of the music. This new recording enjoys the flamboyant fantasy and the technical prowess of Daniel Rowland as solo violin.

The latest volume in a critically acclaimed series presents modern recordings of Dussek’s exhilaratingly diverse cycle of piano sonatas on instruments of his own time.

This enterprising series has reached the trio of ‘Grand Sonatas’ Op. 35, probably first published in 1798, when Dussek dedicated them to Gabrielle Pleyel (wife of the piano manufacturer Ignaz Pleyel) and Muzio Clementi, the composer, publisher, and piano manufacturer who developed new, more powerful-sounding and reliable piano actions. Dussek, like Beethoven, seized on such technological innovation and produced music of new turbulence such as the C minor Sonata Op. 35 No. 3. The sonata’s opening Allegro bursts with vitality and violence, which becomes all the more vivid when played on a piano from Dussek’s time, straining to contain the music’s expressive reach, as it is here.

The instrument used on this album is a 1798 fortepiano from the firm of Longman-Clementi. Accordingly, the touch and sound correspond more closely than any other piano previously used on recordings of this repertoire. Dussek lived in London during the 1790s and worked closely with the manufacturer John Broadwood to extend the range of keyboard instruments. The English fortepiano lent itself naturally to the harmonic fullness of Dussek's preferred textures, and in reverse, the instrument's characteristic sound and touch inspired and shaped the development of Dussek's compositional style.

Op. 69 No. 3 belongs to a collection of sonatas which Dussek composed with an optional violin part. Nos. 1 and 2 in the set have already received historically informed recordings in a separate Brilliant Classics project, with Julia Huber and Miriam Altmann, but this series presents the piano-only version which all the same contains the full argument of the sonata. In partnership with Bart van Oort, Petra Somlai contributed to Volume 9 in this series, which was welcomed in Fanfare magazine with glowing praise: ‘Both musicians have the requisite technique, and their execution of Dussek’s virtuoso writing is impressive… Both artists play with sensitivity and attractive tone. The recorded sound is fine, with admirable warmth and detail.’

Sueye Park is no stranger to solo violin recitals. After her recording of the Paganini Caprices (BIS-2282) and a recital entitled Journey through a Century (BIS-2492), both critically acclaimed, she brings us another solo project, Echoes of Exile, an undertaking that finds it's raison d'être in today's very turbulent times. Park offers us different perspectives on the topic of exile with works composed between the 1920s and 1950s, by great composers who left their country as a result of political circumstances as well as by others who went into their own inner exile. Two pieces by composers who left their native lands for artistic reasons, Enescu and Ysaye, frame three substantial and very contrasting works by composers forced into exile, either because their existence was threatened or because of a feeling of alienation within their respective countries. The works of Bartok and Ben-Haim show composers who, in their longing for their homelands, succeeded not only in emphasising the value of their culture even more strongly, but also in anchoring it within the environment into which they had entered. Zimmermann's sonata, with it's unique expressive language, evokes the concerns of a young composer in the devastated Germany of the post-war period.

Together with pianist Michael McHale, Michael Collins continues his exploration of the chamber repertoire for clarinet. After exploring French music (BIS-2497) and the Brahms Sonatas (BIS-2557), he now turns to British music with this recital covering a hundred years of music for clarinet and piano which reflects the special relationship between English composers and this instrument. The earliest works on this recording are the Three Intermezzi and the Sonata by Charles Villiers Stanford, who made no secret of his debt to Brahms. As with his Viennese counterpart, Stanford's music is poised yet seductive and, in this case, beautifully conceived for both instruments. Known for the strength of his vocal music, Gerald Finzi also makes the clarinet sing in his Five Bagatelles composed during the Second World War. Light and touching, they appear as a personal reinterpretation of the baroque dances found in Bach's instrumental suites. Not surprisingly, Marcolm Arnold's Sonatina has always been popular with clarinettists, with it's energy and it's nods to jazz and dance music. Last but not least, Joseph Horovitz, the last composer in chronological order, is represented by his Two Majorcan Pieces and his Sonatina. Once again, the music is playful and makes an excellent showcase for the clarinet.

Embark on a captivating musical journey with Roby Lakatos as he delves into the soul-stirring rhythms of Tango. Teaming up with the renowned Gang Tango, the King of Gypsy violinists invites you to explore the rich traditions of Tango from across the globe. From timeless classics like Oblivion and La Cumparsita to undiscovered jewels such as Rookgordijnen and Vale Mousiki, this album is a veritable treasure chest for lovers of passionate music-making.

The fourth and final volume in Gilbert Rowland's acclaimed Froberger series completes the landmark recording project on specialist early music label Athene. This double album is the latest instalment of Rowland's authoritative traversal of the complete Harpsichord Suites by Johann Jakob Froberger - a composer of profound influence whose innovations shaped the very form of the Baroque suite later adopted by Bach and Handel. Praised for it's "glorious sound" and "energy and a good forward drive", the series has garnered widespread critical recognition. Recorded in the sympathetic acoustic of Holy Trinity Church, Weston, in October 2024, the album reunites Rowland with engineer John Taylor, whose audiophile-standard production has underpinned the previous volumes. Rowland's playing combines historical insight with expressive vitality, delivering performances marked by "impeccable clarity, flawless articulation, and period-perfect embellishments". His interpretations illuminate the elegance and inventiveness of Froberger's writing, making this collection an essential reference for enthusiasts and scholars of early keyboard music. This release is a vital addition for fans of Froberger, Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, and historically informed performances, offering both continuity for collectors and a compelling entry point into one of the Baroque's most fascinating keyboard oeuvres.

Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of classical and romantic repertoire, Imogen Cooper is internationally renowned for her virtuosity and lyricism. Dame Imogen writes: 'It has taken many years for me to perceive the last three sonatas by Beethoven as the evolving journey I now feel them to be. A combination of wariness of Op. 109 and overawe of Op. 111 kept me solely concentrated on Op. 110, which I can hardly regret. Nor do I regret thereby coming late in life to Opp. 109 and 111. Having come to see the shortcomings of my perception as surmountable, I found that the joys and riches of these wonderful works presented themselves with much more vivid colours than had I tussled with them whilst I was tussling with myself. The case was, incidentally, similar with the "Diabelli" Variations, Op. 120, which I finally approached and embraced in my sixties, with crystal clarity of intention and unadulterated joy. Now it would be hard for me to play any of the last three sonatas alone, so potent is the journey from first to last. And how privileged my hands feel, having wondered and wandered in the heavenly heights of the last pages of Op. 111, to travel down the keyboard and bring this astonishing last sonata, and indeed the whole body of thirty-two sonatas, to a close, with a quiet chord of C major - no long note value, no fermata. Just silence.'

Early opera underwent a strange development in the 17th century: under pressure from the paying public, comic elements increasingly overshadowed the fates of the great heroic figures it was supposed to be about. At some point, the brakes were applied and opera seria emerged, in which only noble characters acted. Slapsticks were isolated and played as interludes in front of the curtain for the audience's enjoyment. The two most famous of these intermezzi, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Serva padrona and Livietta e Tracollo, were recorded by the Boston Early Music Festival after several live performances in Bremen last fall - two caprices that were real "hits" even during the (very short) lifetime of their creator and still unfold their Neapolitan wit today: The story of the maid who cleverly conquers her master's heart and the turbulent "robber's tale" of the cunning peasant girl who puts the scoundrel on the right path to the marriage haven are available here in an irresistible double pack.

Ukrainian guitarist Marko Topchii (b. 1991), winner of the 2023 Guitar Foundation of America Competition, presents a diverse programme of music from across the centuries. Includes the world premiere recording of his countryman Konstantin Bliokh's Sonata No. 6 'Kharkiv'.

Shortly after the election of the last chancellor of the German Empire on 30 January 1933, the political catastrophe known as the "seizure of power", composer Paul Frankenburger was on his way to Palestine. The former British Protectorate, regarded by Western culture as a developing nation, profited considerably from the arrival of the this Munich native, who renamed himself Paul Ben-Haim ("Son of Heinrich") and then did a large amount of pioneering work. After the recordings of the two symphonies by this influential teacher and administrator, we now present an extensive anthology of concertante works under the direction of violinist LIV Migdal. These include the Yizkor fantasy, duos for violin and piano, and selected art songs. They leave no doubt that Paul Ben-Haim was an inimitable voice in Israel.

An audiophile LP transfer for an
immersive tribute to a remote island
off the coast of Brittany.
Having become celebrated for his score
to Amélie (2001), the French composer
moved to the island of Ushant
(Ouessant/Eusa), and this album is a
musical tribute to his home, comprising
ten pieces about ten specific places on
the island. In 2016, Tiersen published a
collection of pieces called Eusa, which
Jeroen van Veen has combined with his
2021 collection, Kerber, named after a
chapel on the island, to produce Island.
The album has been a best-seller on CD
for its contemplative mood and beauty.
Among the 10 tracks, some offer the
perfect soundtrack for contemplation on
a long walk or staring out of a window on
a train journey. Others seem predestined
to be background music for study or
relaxation. The pieces sound at times
dreamy and wistful, at times bittersweet,
at other times happily playful. With each
song, your imagination can easily conjure
a scene from a movie: a breakup after a
fight in a cosy café or a nature
documentary showing two baby birds
opening their eyes for the very first
time.
This isn’t a collection about isolation;
it’s more an expression of awareness of
your own environment and your place
within it: a sonic encapsulation of the
hyper-local. Tiersen relates this
approach to a night spent studying the
stars – which he himself does. ‘You can
look at things that are thousands of
light years away and relate your own
existence to this really cosmic element,’
he says. ‘But you get that same feeling
with the things all around you.’

- Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) was an English composer known for his lyrical and contemplative music, often inspired by English literature and landscape. Born in London, he faced numerous hardships and personal losses early in life, which shaped much of his musical output, often reflecting themes of mortality and nostalgia. In World War II he worked to assist German and Austrian musicians fleeing the Nazis. - Finzi's works are characterized by their deep sensitivity to English poetry and their pastoral nature. His love for literature is evident in many of his vocal works, including settings of texts by Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth, and Christina Rossetti. - The cantata Dies Natalis, composed between 1925 and 1939, is one of Finzi's most celebrated works. It is a setting of texts by the 17th-century poet Thomas Traherne, which explore themes of innocence and the wonder of a newborn experiencing the world for the first time. Scored for solo voice and strings, the work reflects Finzi's delicate and expressive style, with lyrical vocal lines and lush orchestration that evoke a sense of spiritual reflection. - Also presented is Finzi's Clarinet Concerto, a vibrant and melodious work, one of the finest in it's genre. - Performed by Susanna Rigacci, Roberta Gottardi, and the Benedetto Marcello Chamber Orchestra conducted by Flavio Scogna.

Featuring the first recording of BRITTEN's Les Illuminations, Op. 18 sung in English, from a brand new translation by Timothy Ades. Also includes the original French version. Coupled with Samuel BARBER's dramatic masterpiece Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24, written just a few years after Les Illuminations. Among the most personal and powerful music ever written for the human voice, Britten and Barber's masterpiece settings of texts by Rimbaud and Agee continue to resonate intensely. Taken together, they form bookends to the cataclysms of the 20th century, with it's two life-shattering world wars. The colours, verbal and harmonic, of such human drama are a dazzling mix, running the gamut of life in dramatic flux. Mild mannered it is not, though parts are hauntingly beautiful.

MM Recordings presents a seductive and captivating release of Russian art songs, an intriguing juxtaposition of Russian Romances for voice and piano by Anton Arensky (1861-1906) and his student Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943). The recital, "performed with great charm and sympathy" (Opera Today), features two artists making their debut for SOMM: lyric coloratura soprano Anastasia Prokofieva-a rising young star in the opera world, described as "striking" by Opera Magazine-and London-based conductor, pianist, and vocal coach Sergey Rybin, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied under SOMM recording artist Malcolm Martineau. Sergey Rybin's excellent notes, together with full texts and translations, help bring these neglected gems to light and highlight the inner connection between Arensky and Rachmaninoff. While there is no doubt that Rachmaninoff was possessed of a unique and innate musical gift, he acknowledged the profound influence of his teacher and mentor Arensky, who was his professor of harmony, counterpoint, and free composition at the Moscow Conservatory between 1885 and 1888, when Rachmaninoff was still a teenager. Arensky's writing-and Rachmaninoff's, too-is full of eminently singable melodies that are deeply connected both to bel canto and to a Russian folk aesthetic. Sergey Rybin also makes the point that a certain virtuosic flair in the piano parts of these románsy, by both the professor and the pupil, "are unmistakably the branches of the same stylistic tree." Anton Arensky studied composition with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and he was just twenty-one when he began teaching harmony and counterpoint-and later, instrumentation and free composition-at the Moscow Conservatory. While his role as a teacher may well be his most lasting contribution, he remained active as a composer of operas, symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and piano works. He also wrote fifty-seven románsy, which show his affinity for intimate, emotional expression. Included among the thirteen art songs by Arensky on this release are the Five Romances, Op. 70 from 1900, and the five-song cycle Reminiscence, Op. 71, circa 1905. Before Rachmaninoff left Russia permanently in 1917, he composed a total of eighty-three románsy for voice and piano. His gift for lush melodies, expansive emotional range, and exceptionally difficult piano works makes him one of the last great Romantic pianist-composers, and these stellar qualities are evident in his art songs. Thirteen are presented on this programme. The earliest, from his Six Songs, Op. 8 written in 1893, include Child! You are as beautiful as a flower and Dream. The Twelve Songs, Op. 21, composed in 1902, include some of his finest vocal writing, Lilacs being an exquisite example. Rachmaninoff's last compositions in the genre of románsy were the Six Songs, Op. 38 in 1916; four from this set close the recital.

Franco Alfano was born in Naples on 8 March 1875 and soon showed musical aptitude, studying piano with Alessandro Longo at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples and composition with Camillo de Nardis. In 1895 he moved to Leipzig to study with Salomon Jadassohn, where he was able to undertake deeper study of Bach and Wagner, as well as Busoni, Richard Strauss and other composers still little known in Italy. In the summer of 1899 he moved to Paris, encountering an even more stimulating environment where musical debate between such names as Massenet, Bizet, Charpentier and Debussy aroused his curiosity. His long career saw it's greatest successes in the field of opera, his most successful being 1904's Resurrection, based on Leo Tolstoy's novel of the same name, L'ombra di Don Giovanni (1913 rev. 1941), La leggenda di Sakùntala (1921 rev. 1952, his masterpiece) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1936), along with eight other operas. In spite of this prolific operatic output, Alfano owes his fame today mainly to his completion of Puccini's Turandot on the basis of notes left by the deceased composer. The decision to have Alfano complete the opera was taken by Arturo Toscanini and the publisher Ricordi because of affinities that Alfano's Sakùntala had with the unfinished finale of Turandot. Alfano died in San Remo on 17 October 1954. Begun in 1929 and quickly completed, the Concerto in A for Violin, Cello & Piano was performed on 31 May 1930 at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with Luca Ballerini (violin) and Benedetto Mazzacurati (cello) along with Alfano himself on piano. It had a warm critical reception for it's clarity, expressive intensity, powerful construction and 'it's effusive cantabile and substantial episodes', all distinctive traits of the composer. Particularly appreciated was Alfano's use of the ancient modes - a different one for each movement: Phrygian for the first ('Con dolce malinconia'), Dorian for the second ('Allegretto fantastico') and Hypolydian for the last ('Presto, con grande vigoria'). This concerto also displays absolutely masterful writing for the three instruments, which take up a truly animated discourse, each with a defined role and interesting individual timbral solutions and combinations. Alfano's final chamber music composition, the Piano Quintet in A flat for strings and piano dates from 1945. Written after a ten-year gap in Alfano's chamber music output, the difference between the trio on this album and this piano quintet is evident. He uses less elaborate solutions in the later work, in fact, including doublings and emphatic unison tutti at resolutions and cadences. Ornamental material is more conspicuous here than before, lending the work a certain Art Nouveau flavor. Alfano displays a desire to return to a stylistic idea from the past, as of one consciously wanting to fall back on old certainties, idealizing and emphasizing them while distinctive Alfano traits remain evident, such as the genuineness of the lyrical impulse and the quality of the technical craftsmanship. Other information: - Recorded December 2023 in Bernareggio, Italy - Bilingual booklet in English and Italian contains notes compiled by Marcello Miramonti & Enrico Graziani and profiles of the ensemble and it's musicians - Franco Alfano (1875-1954) was an Italian composer best known for completing Puccini's opera Turandot after the composer's death. His own works, particularly his chamber music, show a deeply personal lyricism and rich harmonic language. Among these, his Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano and Piano Quintet stand out as exceptional examples of his late-Romantic style infused with Impressionist and modernist influences. - The Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano, composed in the 1930s, blends lyrical expressiveness with intricate counterpoint, weaving dense textures while maintaining clarity between the three instruments. The dialogues between the violin, cello, and piano are filled with emotional intensity and virtuosic passages. - His Piano Quintet, composed in 1945, is marked by soaring melodies, rich harmonic color, and dramatic contrasts, the piano playing an integral role rather than merely accompanying the strings. Alfano's harmonic language in this work is both forward-thinking and rooted in late-Romantic tradition. - Played with passion and commitment by the Italian Davinci Ensemble.

This album of Gurney's songs, Volume 24 in the English Song series, presents a wide selection of his works. Featuring several masterpieces - among them Sleep and Severn Meadows - this collection also includes twelve world premiere recordings. Snow is performed here in it's corrected edition. Prize-winning baritone Marcus Farnsworth is accompanied by Eric McElroy.

Mjaskovsky and Shostakovich: two giants of the music of the XX Century, two survivors from the stalinism. In their own works they both use technique to triumph over the heaviness of evil: the art of continuous modification, to annihilate the eternal present of violence. These two superb Sonatas are songs of captivity and, together, anthems of resurgence.

The Arcadia Quartet reaches the penultimate release in it's acclaimed complete Weinberg string quartets series with this volume, featuring Quartets Nos 3, 9, and 14. As in previous volumes, the works are taken from contrasting periods of Weinberg's compositional development, and so present a varied programme that works in it's own right. Quartet No. 3, composed in 1944, could be considered as the first 'mature' quartet, and is set in three movements. The Ninth Quartet, composed in 1963, dates from his self-described 'starry decade', when his work was championed by a significant group of enthusiastic performers, including Emil Gilels, Leonid Kogan, Kirill Kondrashin, Rudolf Barshai, and the Borodin Quartet. Quartet No. 14 dates from 1978, three years after the death of Weinberg's great friend and mentor Shostakovich: a time when Weinberg was questioning and renewing his artistic identity. The album also includes the short Improvisation and Romance, from 1950.

Consistently applied over the last twenty-six years, this unique approach to performance has led to a stupendous degree of recognition and approval on the part of audiences and critics alike. On concert podiums from Tokyo or Seoul to Berlin, from London to New York, from Paris to Shanghai or Taipei as well as in a number of smaller towns - everywhere the Berliner Barock Solisten perform, they have left an indelible musical mark, ensuring that the ranks of their true fans are continually enlarged. Their programs are documented on numerous CD recordings whose exceptional quality has been widely acknowledged by music critics.

Lieder by Hanns Eisler, Rudi Stephan, Robert Kahn, Charles Ives "The album REMEMBRANCE is intended to convey the hope and desperate desire for peace - born of conscious memory and the lessons from the past. With this, my debut album, I want to encourage listeners to reflect and consciously remember the suffering and destruction of war and it's physical and psychological consequences. It should be a remembrance of those who fought for a better world, or dreamed of it. A memorial to all of those who innocently lost their lives far too early. The message of this music is today, unfortunately, more topical and relevant than ever. It challenges us to reflect on the human consequences of war and reminds us of the unceasing desire for peace and a better future." Marcel Brunner

SOMM Recordings is thrilled to announce an exciting new album from the London Chamber Ensemble and violinist and director Madeleine Mitchell of premiere recordings of early 20th century English string music by Herbert Howells and his Royal College of Music teacher Charles Wood, including the recently discovered earlier version of "In Gloucestershire", thought lost, alongside two delightful short pieces, Luchinushka and Chosen Tune, newly arranged by Madeleine Mitchell. Herbert Howells first composed a string quartet entitled "In Gloucestershire" in 1916, though the score was immediately lost. He began re-composing the work a few years later before announcing it's completion in 1920. Following early performances and revisions, this version also disappeared. However, in the 1980s it emerged that a set of parts of the original 1920 version had survived, and it is this version, newly constructed and edited by the author of the booklet notes, Jonathan Clinch, and cellist Joseph Spooner who also features on this disc. Howell's Three Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 28 is also from this same period. The title of No. 2, "Chosen Tune", refers to Chosen Hill, Howell's birthplace near Gloucester, which affords beautiful views of the surrounding countryside where he enjoyed walking. Mitchell first performed these three pieces at the St. Petersburg Festival of British Music in 2009. Having played the Three Pieces... in many countries since 2009, Mitchell arranged two of these, "Chosen Tune" and "Luchinushka" for a quartet program to be given at a Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition in London in January of 2022. The Charles Wood Quartet in D major was his last string quartet and most likely composed during the years of the First World War after the premiere of his Quartet in F major on 7 March 1916. This well crafted work incorporates Irish jigs, folk tunes and laments which reflect both his Irish roots and the growing sense of nationalism celebrating British Music during the period. Woods' music, along with many other early 20th century writers of tonal music, fell out of fashion during the decades that followed, but as this recording shows, SOMM considers the music very well worth re-discovering and plans to record Wood's remaining five numbered quartets in future.

Angel Stanislav Wang (b. 2003, California), winner of the 2022 Jaén Prize International Piano Competition, presents his debut recital featuring Liszt’s monumental Sonata in B minor, and Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor accompanied by the Bretón String Quartet, plus excerpts from Granados's Goyescas and the competition imposed work Poema a un amor eterno by Laura Vega.

Extraordinary works by British Women composers, brought to light by cellist Catherine Wilmers In A Cello Galaxy of British Women Composers, Catherine Wilmers brings to light an extraordinary collection of works by British women presenting us with twelve premiere recordings. Drawing on diligent research, Wilmers unearths strikingly original compositions presenting us with premiere recordings by Amy Elsie Horrocks, Ethel Barns, Elizabeth Poston, Joan Trimble, Dora Bright, Susan Spain Dunk, and Sarah Rodgers, whose Mountain Airs was written for the cellist. Some of these works lay forgotten in the archives of the Royal Academy of Music, their potential stifled by societal limitations rather than artistic merit. The album is more than a rediscovery-it is a testament to the resilience and artistry of these composers. The satisfyingly detailed liner notes reveal the challenges they faced, often in their own words or through the prejudices of their time. As late as the 1920s, the critic Cecil Gray echoed Dr Johnson's notorious remark: 'A woman's composing is like a dog walking on it's hind legs; it is not done well but you are surprised to see it done at all.' Such dismissals only fuel the need to champion these voices today. Wilmers' deep connection to this repertoire is evident in every performance, matched sensitively by accompanying pianist, Jill Morton. A former cellist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Catherine Wilmers has long questioned why so few works by women have entered the standard repertoire. This album is part of her answer-a luminous and long-overdue celebration of their music.

This debut album, from Germany-based ensemble Conceptus, features music for tenor and ensemble by Butterworth, Warlock, Holst, and Bridge, in addition to Timothy Collins’ Sea Song. Collins has composed and arranged extensively for the ensemble.

Sea Song – Timothy Collins
Originally composed in 2018 and set to the poignant poetry of Katherine Mansfield, this evocative piece delves into themes of aging, sorrow, and loss. Conceptus has brought Collins' musical narrative to life with an accompanying 10-minute music film available on Apple Music and YouTube.

Six Songs from a Shropshire Lad – George Butterworth
Delving into themes of nostalgia and the tragedy of lost youth, this collection, originally composed in 1911, captures the essence of Alfred Edward Housman's timeless poetry. Collins' arrangements embellish the poignant resonance of Butterworth's work, forever etched in the annals of English song.

The Curlew – Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock's masterwork, "The Curlew," meticulously arranged for Conceptus by Timothy Collins. Woven from the poetry of William Butler Yeats, this haunting composition, originally scored for string quartet, cor anglais, and flute, delves into macabre imagery and desolate landscapes.

Hymns from the Rig Veda Opus 24 – Gustav Holst
"Hymns from the Rig Veda" is transfigured by Conceptus with these arrangements from Timothy Collins. Drawing inspiration from ancient Sanskrit texts dating back to 1500 BCE, Holst's choral triumph offers a reverent exploration of Hindu philosophical thought. Experience the profound resonance of Holst's sacred compositions as Conceptus breathes new life into these timeless hymns.

Three Songs by Frank Bridge
From the reflective tones of "Come To Me In My Dreams" to the mythological allure of "Love Went A-Riding," Conceptus navigates the emotional depths of Bridge's compositions with grace and finesse.

Conceptus is an international, multi-faceted, and multi-disciplinary ensemble with membership drawn from Germany, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Australia. Formed in 2021, the ensemble is dedicated to bringing new life to great works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and beyond, with a particular emphasis on Late Romantic British vocal music and song cycles.

Conceptus has also commissioned works by award-winning German composer, organist, and conductor Christoph Ritter, whose Requiem is set for a world premiere and recording in 2024. Conceptus Artistic Director, Scott Robert Shaw, released his acclaimed debut “The English Tenor” on Divine Art in 2023.

2020 - a time when travel was not easily possible - gave rise to this unusual journey in the mind, traversing the country and leading us to a variety of places. The guitar is our guide. But it doesn't travel alone; it joins mandolin, double bass, and accordion, inviting us to make music together in duets. The music originates from Spain, often from the pen of the famous composer and pianist Enrique Granados, who lived from 1867 to 1916 and wrote for the piano. His compositions vividly capture the atmosphere of the country. In the arrangements with guitar and partner instruments, new chapters are opened, the sounds leading us to new places. The central work is the "Valses Poeticos," which illuminate a different scene in each of it's ten short movements. In this "Spanish Journey," the guitar is not only the guiding thread of the production - a specific instrument is the protagonist: a 1955 concert guitar from the workshop of the Guitar maker Ricardo Sanchis-Carpio from Valencia. The accompanying musicians-Jochen Roß on mandolin, Florian Dohrmann on double bass, and Alexander Pankow on button accordion-are all longtime and cherished collaborators and fellow musicians. The electric guitar finds it's place alongside the accordion, keeping pace with it's volume and tonal range. The "Spanish Journey" is a free-flowing exploration that began in the mind and has now become audible, with impressions of Spain, hints of jazz and classical music, and subtle emotionality.

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