Robert Franz and his music have had a long history of being rescued by admirers and well-wishers. There was a side of his nature that was quite content to wait rather passively for discovery and publication; he was certainly far from being his own best publicist. His own lack of “push” seems to have encouraged others, past and present, to step into the vacuum as his ambassadors and plenipotentiaries. His lieder came into print only as a result of the influential intervention of Robert Schumann; Felix Mendelssohn and Franz Liszt also played an important part in the launching of the music’s renown. Franz repaid these three composers with dedications of books and songs; if there is something of the humble country cousin in his gratitude, he was to prove a more stubbornly independent provincial than these grander composers first imagined. He was always his own man and stuck to his last, particularly when it came to resisting well-meaning encouragement to write bigger works. The present release features a collection of Franz’s songs and Lieder.

This is a rich and varied collection of 21 Part Songs by Sir Arthur Sullivan, setting texts by poets including Ben Jonson, Sir Walter Scott, HF Chorley and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In this new release from MPR, we are transported back to Victorian times and can enjoy all four seasons from Fair Daffodils to The Last Night of the Year. Many of these songs are undeservedly less well-known, including Sullivan's setting of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear. The Kantos Chamber Choir are a 16-piece ensemble that produce a rich and mellifluous sound, beautifully bringing the texts to life.

MPR is proud to announce the latest release in its pioneering series of chamber music by Arnold Cooke with the Pleyel Ensemble. In world première recordings of Cookes Piano Trio (1941-44), Piano Quartet (1948/49) and the mighty Piano Quintet (1969). Although Cooke studied for a while in Germany with Hindemith, his music has a very English feel with a gloriously romantic Brahmsian influence. These are deeply satisfying compositions both to play and to hear and any lover of chamber music will undoubtedly enjoy the Pleyel Ensembles excellent and committed performances of these wonderful chamber works.

This is the first recorded collection of Arnold Cooke’s complete music for Oboe and is a must for all lovers of British chamber music. Cooke had studied both in Cambridge and in Berlin and his music is a delightful infusion of English and Germanic styles with its innate Englishness always apparent. This recording features The Pleyel Ensemble's oboist Melinda Maxwell, who herself studied in both England and Germany. This collection contains the two Oboe Sonatas (1957 and 1962), the delightful Quartet for Oboe and String Trio and the evocative and poignant Intermezzo for Oboe and piano, one of Cooke’s last works. The recording concludes with Cooke's Sonata for Two Pianos, performed here by pianists Harvey Davies and his mother Helen.

For the very first time the Massed Bands of HM Royal Marines have recorded their programme in advance for the 2020 Mountbatten Festival of Music, held every year in the Royal Albert Hall. This is a double album which includes marches, a drum display Evening Hymn and Sunset, and orchestral items such as Richard Strauss's Wiener Philharmoniker Fanfare and Verdi's Overture Nabucco. More popular items (including Sir Tom! (a tribute to Sir Tom Jones) as well as Gloria (a tribute to Gloria Estefan), The Sound of Silence and music from the film Gladiator. This is a thrilling and hugely enjoyable programme played by some of the world's finest military band musicians, which is guaranteed to lift the listener out of your seats!

This recording contains forgotten gems for Flute and Piano from the 20th Century in a huge variety of styles, which have never been commercially recorded, as well as two works for Solo Flute. All of these composers and performers were associated with the Royal College of Music, either as teachers or students. Better known names include Cecil Armstrong Gibbs and Leonard Salzedo with lesser known but by no means lesser composers including Stanley Bate, Norman Demuth, Sir George Henschel, Robin Milford, Cyril Rootham, Richard Walthew and John White. The recording also demonstrates the influence of the French school of flute playing in the 20th Centurry and these excellent and sensitive performances have been beautifully captured in the lovely acoustic of the Yehudi Menuhin Hall by Recording Engineer Tony Faulkner and Producer Mike Purton. A recent review from 'Pan' Magazine, the journal of the British Flute Society says: "This [album] is recorded with clarity and a warm tone quality; the instruments are always well balanced and both performers play with impressive accuracy and conviction. I particularly enjoyed the sense of simplicity that comes across in this recording; that's not to say that the music is particularly easy, but one has the sense when listening that the music, and it's interpretation, has been carefully considered and is presented in a clear, logical way, with appropriate expressivity, without giving in to overindulgence. These are two instinctive musicians who judge the pacing and expression of the music with sensitivity and intelligence. There are some real gems amongst the repertoire here which deserve to be better known with contemporary audiences; well worth exploring."

Preludes, Rags and Cakewalks

This wonderful album presents a comprehensive selection of marches, ceremonial and reflective music, and a number of Naval signals. The Royal Swedish Navy Band is one of the finest military bands in Europe and was, until very recently, under threat of being axed as part of Swedish Defense cuts. Fortunately for all, the Band has been saved and is shown at its best in this beautiful symphonic recording made in the wonderful acoustic of the historic wooden Admiralty Church in Sweden. The recording engineer was the legendary Tony Faulkner, with Mike Purton producing and editing.

This captivating album was originally conceived by horn players Stephen Stirling and Tony Halstead (the latter a superb pianist), who had located Dennis Brain's personal collection of music (now owned and curated by lawyer and horn player Mark Andrews.) During his all too short life, Dennis Brain accumulated a unique and fascinating collection of horn concertos, music for horn and piano, chamber music and scores. Many of these had been sent to him by the composers, whilst other music was acquired himself. The music in this recording contains English, French and German repertoire for horn and piano (plus a violinist in one item) that is largely and unjustifiably unknown, and in most cases previously unrecorded, giving a delightful and superbly performed 78 minutes' worth of listening.

We are very pleased to announce a new recording from MPR of music for string orchestra entitled 'Palace Premieres', with the Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra. The playlist consists of hitherto unrecorded music performed during Royal Investitures (where honors are bestowed by Her Majesty the Queen or by one of her close family) and includes works such as Suite: In Rural England by Thomas Dunhill, Shepherd's Delight by Alec Rowley, Pastoral Scene by Frederic Curzon, Fragment for Strings by Bertram Walton O'Donnell, Nocturne by WH Speer, In Georgian Days by Roger Quilter, Rivers of Devon Suite by Ernest Markham Lee and a number of beautiful light music arrangements for strings of folk songs. We have also included as a 'bonus' a suite of Seven Pieces by Giles Farnaby, arranged by Bantock. We recorded the latter only to discover that in fact it has already been recorded but only once to our knowledge and we decided that as it is such good material we just had to include it. The Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra is very sensitively directed by Major David Hammond, a truly fine musician. The orchestra consists of the best string players in the Army who are very fine and highly trained musicians. The quality of playing is really excellent and the performances committed. The album was recorded in the sumptuous acoustic of the Guards Chapel in London and the recording engineer is the legendary Tony Faulkner. Mike Purton was producer and editor and we recommend this recording to anyone who loves British music of a certain period (see above). Lee's 'Rivers of Devon' Suite is very Elgarian, Speer's little 'Nocturne' brings to mind Wagner’s 'Siegfried Idyll' and you can see from many of the titles that spirit of Rural Englandis frequently invoked. This recording has been made in collaboration with the Corps of Army Music Trust.

Leonard Salzedo (1921 - 2000) was born in London, studied at the Royal College of Music and lived in the south east of England all his life. A talented violinist, he was a member of the London Philharmonic and then the Royal Philharmonic Orchestras but later turned his hand to conducting. A prolific composer all his life, Salzedo wrote for a multitude of genres, from unaccompanied works to symphonies, large film scores and ballet. Salzedo was particularly proud of his String Quartets (of which there are 10). Unsurprisingly, his String Quartets are very listenable and indeed fascinating, revealing Salzedo's Sephardic Jewish ancestry and indeed a distinct influence of Sibelius, whose music he adored. These quartets are a must for any listener who enjoys string quartets and indeed English music with a distinctive and engaging voice. All works on this album are world premiere recordings and are performed with great character by the excellent Archaeus Quartet, great advocates of Salzedo's music.

Released in the 100th Anniversary year of Sir Hubert Hastings Parry's death, this is the first ever recording of his complete music for string quartet. Although the mighty Quartet no. 3 has been published and recorded once, Quartets 1&2 have languished unperformed and certainly unrecorded for many years. The early quartets are very much influenced by Mendelssohn and are quite delightful; the charming Scherzo in C, which Parry did not complete one hundred percent, is fully realized in an edition by Professor Jeremy Dibble (who also provided a performing version of Quartet no. 2), without whose invaluable help this recording would not have taken place. This double album was recorded in November 2017 in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Salehurst, East Sussex and the recording engineer was once again the superb Tony Faulkner. This recording is an absolute must for lovers of English music but also for those who enjoy early 'Romantic' chamber music and is a fascinating document of how Parry's voice as a composer developed over the years. Utterly amazing that these pieces have been overlooked, it's now time for them to be brought out into the sunshine!

Blue Plume: The Music of the Irish Guards

MPR presents the world premiere recordings of chamber music by the forgotten English genius Percy Hilder Miles. This first volume showcases his Sonata in C for Pianoforte and Violoncello, Sonata No. 2 in G major for Pianoforte and Violin, and the Piano Trio in B minor. (MPR)