"This second recording, atmospherically recorded at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of Holy Trinity New York, boasts marvellously committed fervent singing from the Clarion Choir under Steven Fox and deserves the widest possible dissemination." - BBC Music Magazine

"...the success of this recording has to be attributed to this excellent chorus, 30-plus voices who collectively project a serious love for this music with a vibrant, shimmering tone, perfectly judged dynamics, and consistently fine balance and intonation. We can appreciate the care that went into this production–not only in bringing this beautiful unknown work to the world’s attention–but also in the excellent engineering and notes, which happily include full texts and translations. Strongly recommended." - ClassicsToday.com

Passion Week is a long-lost choral masterpiece composed by Rimsky-Korsakov's favorite student, heir apparent and son-in-law, Maximilian Steinberg. A product of his interest in the sacred and mystical, it is a tour de force of the systematic use of medieval Church Slavonic chant melodies and shares with Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil the colorful use of choral textures. Steinberg's settings are complex and rich, with a diverse and sometimes daring harmonic pallette, offering eleven movements of distinctive and expressive content that reveal an artist's search for at a time of increasing hostility to religion.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s only oratorio Christus am Olberge (‘Christ on the Mount of Olives’) portrays Jesus’ emotional struggles in the garden of Gethsemane before being seized by soldiers and taken for crucifixion. The work has an Italianate form with recitatives, arias and choruses, and its operatic attributes show Christ as a very human figure, a dramatic precursor to the sufferings of Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio. The tender and beautiful Elegischer Gesang is a memorial to the young wife of one of Beethoven’s close friends. Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis has specialized in large scale choral works since the choir’s inception in 1982. Virtually the entire canon of works for choir and orchestra are in the CCA’s repertoire: it has performed requiems by Verdi, Mozart, Faure and Part, as well as Bach’s Passions and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem.

Brass instruments are a vital part of the festive fabric of Christmas, and Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet The Nutcracker is made even more joyful with the brassy brilliance of Septura. Narrated by preeminent actor Derek Jacobi, The Nutcracker is set on Christmas Eve, with music both rapturous and fantastical. It tells the story of how young Clara’s favorite present, a nutcracker shaped like a little man, turns into a handsome prince at midnight. Septura has been acclaimed by Brass Band World for its ‘stylistic perfection’ and ‘beautifully portrayed artistry.’

Described by Gabriel Faure as the 'Samson of Music,' Vincent d'Indy enriched French musical culture considerably as it made it's transition into the 20th century. His orchestral works in particular demonstrate great skill and creativity, with his eclectic style often drawing inspiration from other composers, especially Wagner. At other times his music integrates Gregorian chant or French folk tunes, as in two of the works that feature on this recording, Medee and Karadec, both drawn from his incidental music for plays. Based on a poem about a lonely fairy, d'Indy's superbly crafted symphonic poem Saugefleurie is permeated by Wagner's influence while remaining quintessentially French.

The music on this recording exudes a warmth and humanity that lifts the spirit at a moment when the threads that bind the communities of our planet are becoming increasingly fragile. Daniel Herskedal has travelled through Syria, Lebanon and Palestine to study and absorb the heritage of a region fractured by conflict, and has created a suite of music that celebrates the depth of ancient traditions, and the sheer resilience and dignity of a people threatened by forces beyond their control. Through the prism of Ramallah, "Behind the Wall" evokes these traditions in exquisitely crafted music that is steeped in Daniel's insight into a culture that is far too often misunderstood by many in the West. But this is far away from being a simple political statement -rather, it's strength derives from landscapes visited and friendships made, reflected by the music's lyricism and exuberance. (John Cumming, OBE)

Mayr's Masses were in demand across Europe, and their composition is rooted in the Italian tradition of the messa concertata which demands division into separate vocal numbers. The Mass in E minor has long been recognized as an outstanding example of Mayr's late style, with it's polyphonic mastery and dialogues between singers and concertante solo instruments being exceptionally convincing. The Mass in F minor evokes both joy and deep melancholy, though accompanied, as always, by Mayr's notable gift for melodic beauty. Conductor Franz Hauk has been responsible for re-establishing the music of Johann Simon Mayr, one of the most significant operatic and vocal composers residing in Italy before the rise of Rossini. This latest album is another in the series of ground-breaking world premiere recordings of Mayr's music by the same forces under Hauk.

During his unprecedented 64 years as organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris, Charles-Marie Widor developed a powerfully symphonic approach to music for the organ, finding new combinations of color, sonority and texture. The ten symphonies for organ are central to his repertory for the instrument. Featured on this first volume are the Symphony No. 1 in C minor, with its homage to Bach, luminous and ceremonial and with virtuoso flourishes; and the Symphony No. 2 in D major offering a fascinating series of contrasts with some spectacular effects. Wolfgang Rubsam plays at the restored E.M. Skinner instrument at The University of Chicago, the largest pipe organ in Midwest America.

Debussy's richly evocative 'Estampes' takes us through exotic gamelan-like sonorities from East Asia and the strumming guitars of Spain, to end amid the bracing excitement of a violent rainstorm in Normandy. Alexander Panfilov was a laureate at the Premio Jaen competition in 2016, at which Manuel Seco de Arpe's elegantly constructed and complex 'Anamorfosis' was the mandatory work. He concludes this recital with Mussorgsky's supremely descriptive 'Pictures at an Exhibition,' one of the great works of the Russian piano tradition. Alexander Panfilov was born in Moscow and gave his debut recital for the Moscow Philharmonic Society in 2010, and in the US at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York. Since then, he has performed extensively around the world, in venues including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Zurich Tonhalle, Wigmore Hall, and others. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras all over Europe.

Florent Schmitt was a student of Massenet and Fauré, and winner of the coveted Prix de Rome. His impressionistic style blends influences ranging from Debussy to Wagner, with references to Stravinsky and other contemporaries. Conceived as a ballet but revised as a symphonic poem, La Tragédie de Salomé depicts Salome’s dangerous seductiveness with subtle magnificence. Narrative symbolism also applies to the evocative word painting of the exquisite Musique sur l’eau. The perilous saga of Oriane et le Prince d’Amour contrasts with the poetic tapestry of orchestral colors in Légende, in a version that replaces the original solo saxophone with violin.

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REVIEW:

Although Florent Schmitt lived until 1958 and took an interest in musical trends of the day, his fundamental style never really changed. It tightened up a bit under the influence of Stravinsky but remained essentially late Romantic. JoAnn Falletta has been an unfailingly successful advocate of Schmitt's on disc. There are quite a few versions of La tragédie de Salomé available, but none more refined and silky than this one. The Buffalo Philharmonic is a polished orchestra and has a wonderful satin feel for French music. The smooth acoustic of Kleinhans Hall and Naxos’s customary transparency do the rest.

All told, this is a winning release. In the vanishing wake of dodecaphonic music, where process was everything, we seem to be rediscovering beauty and meaning in composers who were, so to speak, left behind. More power, then, to Florent Schmitt!

– Fanfare

Leo Weiner's influence as a teacher in Budapest was exceptional and his pupils were some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. But it's only in recent years that his compositions, with their synthesis of German Romantic and Hungarian elements, have been brought to wider appreciation. Like Csongor and Tunde, the symphonic poem Toldi was inspired by a masterpiece of Hungarian literature. Cast in twelve sections, the music follows the epic poetry in a way that seems to notate the text musically, a unique achievement. Weiner considered Toldi one of his most significant compositions, and he also composed two suites from the work.

Opera-comique emerged in the 19th century as an intermediary between grand opera and burlesque operetta. This album charts it's progression as a distinct genre, tracing the origins from Boieldieu and Mehul early in the century via the classic vitality of masters such as Herold and Maillart into the operetta style of Offenbach and Lecocq. With innovative features, colorful orchestration, drama, wit and atmospheric writing, the operas proved very popular and these overtures encapsulate their immense vivacity and charm.

Though he was known primarily as a symphonist, and despite his large portfolio of piano works, Raff's first love was the violin and his pieces for the instrument were promoted by no less a virtuoso than Sarasate, The Violin Sonata No. 1 is a powerful work teeming with expressive intensity and lyrical beauty- it remained the most performed of his violin sonatas during his lifetime. The large-scale Violin Sonata No. 2 offers his characteristic lyric impulse and virtuoso fireworks. Laurence Kayaleh has performed as a guest soloist with many distinguished orchestras, including the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, the Russian National Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, and many others. She has recorded the complete works for violin and piano by Medtner, Honegger and Catoire for Naxos. She plays a 1742 Guarneri which belonged to the eminent violinist and pedagogue Carl Flesch.

A celebrated student of Beethoven, virtuoso pianist Ferdinand Ries established an innovative technical approach to the interpretation of the fortepiano. The decade he spent in London (1813-24) was his most successful. The majority of the variation sets, fantasies and rondos on this recording were composed then. The emergence of the new square pianos created a hunger for domestic music-making and Ries responded with catchy variations on popular themes and technically challenging fantasias that gave full rein to his musical imagination. They add another dimension to the appreciation of the man Robert Schumann praised for his "remarkable originality".

The Intimacy of Creativity is a first of its kind, an annual partnership devoted to promoting an intimate dialogue between composers and performers. Distinguished composers, together with selected composer fellows from Hong Kong and around the world, present and revise their compositions after in-depth discussions with world-renowned performers during public open discussions. The revised compositions are presented at preview concerts on the campus of HKUST and world premiere concerts in downtown Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is recognized as Asia's foremost classical orchestra. Jaap van Zweden, one of today's most sought-after conductors, has been the orchestra's Music Director since the 2012/2013 concert season.

Bechara El-Khoury’s work often refers to his native Lebanon, and Orages (Storms) takes us back to youthful memories of nature’s chaotic moods, from flashes of lightning via sinister darkness to surreal and luminous calm. Espaces-Fragmentations reflects on time and ‘a strange journey into night,’ while Poeme nocturne marks the life of renowned French flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal. The lyrical post-Romantic style of Le Chant d’amour at times evokes the spirit of Richard Strauss. Bechara El-Khoury was born in Beirut in 1957 and started his musical studies in Lebanon, moving in 1979 to Paris to study with Pierre-Petit, then Director of the Ecole Normale de Musique. The televised gala concert of his works on December 9, 1983 at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris with the Orchestre Colonne conducted by Pierre Dervaux, to mark the centenary of the Lebanese-American philosopher and poet Khalil Gibran, proved ground-breaking in El-Khoury’s career. In 1987 he took French nationality. His works have been played by leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de Paris, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the NDR SinfonieorchesterHamburg, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the European Chamber Orchestra, the Basler Kammerorchester and the Halle Orchestra, among others, with conductors including Pierre Dervaux, Daniel Harding, Martyn Brabbins, Kurt Masur, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Jarvi and Jiri Belohlavek.