The primal force of the spoken word collides with evocative music that pierces the heart: the irrepressible power of Moor Mother's' apocalyptic album is visceral. This spellbinding symphonic version created for the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and the string quintet Wooden Elephant by Ian Anderson, the impassioned opus by the radical American poet becomes a grandiose Gesamtkunstwerk that touches the soul.

For Wolfgang Amadeus, composing violin sonatas was a welcome respite from his tiresome commissions. With great clarity of expression and the right combination of lightness, playfulness and depth that make these pieces so special, Tibor Gyenge and Michael Schoch present a selection of their favourites.

Niccolo Paganini was already a legend in his lifetime as the "Devil's Violinist"-yet far fewer people, then or now, know that he was also one of the finest guitarists of his era, composing countless works for and with the guitar alongside his famously virtuosic violin pieces. Now, Salzburg's star violinist Benjamin Schmid and guitar virtuoso Petrit ceku embark on a mission to revive these overlooked gems, which hover between Mozart and Haydn on one side and Italian bel canto on the other. Joined by Florian Eggner and Benedict Mitterbauer, they present the Guitar Quartet No. 10, the Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Guitar, and the Trio for Violin, Guitar, and Cello-works of diverse genres, only partially published during Paganini's lifetime. These pieces blend breathtaking virtuosity (the Quartet could pass as a "disguised violin concerto") with playful charm and the intimate flair of Romantic salon music.

SOMM Recordings marks the 150th anniversary of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875�- 1912) with a diverse selection of his orchestral works, reflecting both his Afro-British parentage and a musical milieu that included Holst and Vaughan Williams. Of particular note is that five of the seven works presented here are first recordings. This commemorative release features the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Charles Peebles, whose first recordings of Piano Concertos�by Dora Bright and Ruth Gipps for SOMM�were widely praised. It was�quickly�apparent that Coleridge-Taylor possessed an unusual talent, and he produced a remarkable body of work before his untimely death at 37 though much of his music has been hidden from public view by the absence of surviving performance material. He composed his first work for voice and orchestra, Zara's Earrings, when he was just 19. Rebecca Murphy, hailed by Opera Journal for her "stunning delivery," is the featured soprano. The�Ballade, also written when Coleridge-Taylor was 19,�was premiered by Isabella Donkersley, the future wife of Augustus Jaeger (soon to be immortalised by Elgar as 'Nimrod' in his Enigma Variations). The Ballade's great drama and charismatic melodic material�play to the strengths of Coleridge-Taylor having been a violinist. �Ioana Petcu-Colan, heard here,�is leader of the Ulster Orchestra�and a soloist of considerable reputation. When Coleridge-Taylor heard Brahms's Clarinet Quintet while a student at the Royal College of Music, he was encouraged to write his own. The Romance for string orchestra is an arrangement of the quintet's introspective Larghetto affettuoso movement. Solemn Prelude, written for the Worcester Three Choirs Festival of 1899, is a work of elegiac pathos exuding the confidence of a young composer reaching the height of his powers. Since it's modern revival in 2021, it's been performed by some of the world's most distinguished orchestras. Coleridge-Taylor's Idyll, a commission for the Gloucester Three Choirs Festival in 1901, was a reworking of the Lament from his Symphony in A minor. When he conducted it's first performance, the Times critic wrote, "it was a single, very beautiful movement in C major. Giving ample room for the composer's love of original rhythm and rich and individual orchestral colouring. " Ethiopia Saluting the Colours from 1902 is an exuberant�work for orchestra and organ. It was inspired by Walt Whitman's moving poem paying tribute to an elderly Ethiopian woman encountered during the American Civil War. Beerbohm Tree commissioned the�incidental music for Stephen Phillip's play�Nero�in 1906, and the chance for Coleridge-Taylor to hear his music nightly rather than as one performance in the concert hall was a particular joy. This anniversary collection includes the first�Entr'acte,�which also featured at the 1907 Proms under Henry Wood.

The troubled life of English composer Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950) ended 75 years ago, when he fell into the water at Kenmare in Ireland, and his death was officially recorded as a cerebral haemorrhage. To honour the life of E J Moeran, SOMM Recordings is releasing broadcasts that were privately recorded by Lionel Hill, author of Lonely Waters - the diary of a friendship with E�J�Moeran. This commemorative release, with outstanding audio restoration by Lani Spahr, includes Moeran's Symphony in G minor conducted by Sir Adrian Boult and his Violin Concerto with the incomparable�Albert Sammons as soloist. Additionally, Moeran's Cello Concerto, written for his wife Peers Coetmore, is available as a download. E J Moeran was born to an Irish Protestant priest and a Norfolk-born mother, and the duality of his nationality finds expression in his music. He wrote of his Symphony in G minor that it "may be said to owe it's inspiration to the natural surroundings in which it was planned and written. The greater part of the work was carried out among the mountains and seaboard of Co. Kerry, but the material of the second movement was conceived around the sand-dunes and marshes of East Norfolk." On 9 February, 1949, Moeran and his friend Lionel Hill attended a performance of the symphony at the Royal Albert Hall, with Adrian Boult conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra. That is the performance heard on this CD. The first movement of Moeran's Violin Concerto, written in Co. Kerry, was similarly inspired by the calm of Kenmare Bay in fine weather, while the Lento last movement reflected a period of seasonal colour and beauty along the Kenmare River. The second movement Rondo is unmistakably imbued with the spirit of Kerry fairs and Irish fiddlers. Moeran wrote that "Albert Sammons is the only living violinist I would like to have interpret it." This recording, a BBC Home Service broadcast from Norfolk on 28 April 1946, is Sammons' last public concerto performance. One cannot overemphasise the importance of this recording; it is, as far as we know, Sammons' only known live recording. In December 1943, eighteen months before their marriage, Moeran wrote to the Irish cellist Peers Coetmore, "Please write and tell me you would like me to write a concerto especially for you, and I give you my promise that I will put my whole heart into it." The result is a work of considerable beauty, especially memorable for the typically Irish tune that introduces the slow movement. Following the premiere in Dublin, Coetmore gave it's first London performance in April 1946-available here as a download-with Adrian Boult conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The two-time winner of Grammy Awards, alto saxophonist Gary Bartz (b. Baltimore, Sept. 26, 1940) studied music at the Julliard School in New York. He then worked with many prominent players like Max Roach, Art Blakey, Blue Mitchell, McCoy Tyner in the 60s. His international fame came when he joined Miles Davis in the early 70s. He made his SteepleChase recording debut with Jackie McLean in 1973 ("Ode To Super" SCCD 31009). 15 years later he went into a studio in Copenhagen with the band he was touring with in Europe (except Butch Lacy replacing Joanne Brackeen on piano) to make this second album for SteepleChase. Bartz received the BNY Mellon Jazz 2015 Living Legacy Award. He is Professor of Jazz Saxophone at Oberlin College. "... one of the best of Bartz' recent releases, while it emphasizes leader's powerful playing, the well-balanced ensemble performances are quite enticing." (Sato - Swing Journal on SCS 1234)

Semper Fidelis - The United States Marine Corps at 250

Mulgrew Miller, one of the most important pianists of jazz' modern era, proudly delivers his brand-new album Solo in Barcelona via Storyville Records. The occasion of a present-day release of a sol o recording by this remarkable musician is a very rare and extraordinary occasion. This album, which was recorded on February 2, 2004 in Barcelona, is truly a rare gem for the admirers of a man and piano player, who was loved by so many fans and the entire jazz global community. With his unique take on arrangements from Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Cole Porter, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington, MM shows us why he is considered a modern legend. On this solo album, MM's piano embarks on an extraordinary musical journey. With each note, he effortlessly paints a vivid tapestry of emotions, traversing a rich musical landscape that spans genres and styles characterized by versatility, proficient soloing and tasteful restraint. He plays like a modern-day exponent of Art Tatum with the deepest musical roots, but with the freshest, most forward-thinking, profoundly original voice that's uniquely his own. Live in Barcelona shows how he is able to tell us a story and swing like very few others. A real master on the piano. The highlight is perhaps his 'Excursions in Blue', playing the blues like it should be done - in the moment! Solo in Barcelona is a beautiful documentation of Mulgrew Miller playing solo material that has not been recorded before. MM was one of the most influential jazz pianists of his generation. Renowned for his technical mastery, improvisational genius and deep musicality, Mulgrew Miller worked with Miles Davis, Betty Carter, Woody Shaw, Niels-Henning �rsted Pedersen and his own trio around the globe. Still missed by his big audience. Mulgrew Miller (1955-2013) was a world-renowned jazz pianist and composer. His illustrious career spanned over four decades, during which he performed with legendary jazz artists and received critical acclaim for his exceptional musicianship. His unique approach to the piano and his profound contributions to jazz have solidified his place as one of the greatest pianists in the history of the genre. With this exceptional solo album, MM invites listeners on a personal and intimate musical journey, as he displays his extraordinary command of the piano. His nuanced phrasing, exquisite dynamics and deep understanding of harmony create an enchanting and captivating listening experience.

Violinist Alexandra Tirsu presents her debut album comprising concertos by Dmitri Shostakovich and Paul Hindemith. Shostakovich's music has resonated with her since childhood, it's atmosphere reflecting the war stories she grew up with. Violin Concerto No. 1 unfolds like a psychological journey-from a shadowy opening to a fierce scherzo, an emotionally charged passacaglia, and a wildly ironic finale. Hindemith's rarely performed Violin Concerto, which Alexandra first explored at the ARD Competition in Munich, reveals a different voice: clear, structured, and quietly expressive. Recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vasily Petrenko, this album captures a moment of depth, identity, and emotional connection through two powerful 20th-century works.

The viola bastarda is much more than just a specific instrument: it is also a technique for playing the viola da gamba that involves developing a vast skill in ornamentation over the entire range of the instrument and covering all the tessituras from bass to soprano. Today's performers are faced with a repertoire compiled by a few virtuosos, while at the same time they have to reconstitute a performing practice that exists only in a few historical treatises. Manon Papasergio has devoted her first recording to this art form and it's development during the exciting transitional period from the Renaissance to the Baroque.

After releasing the complete set of Ennio Morricone's Cinema Suites for violin and orchestra on two�albums�(Cinema Suites, A495 and�Cinema Rarities, A554),�Marco Serino now presents world premiere recordings of the Maestro's own arrangements for violin and piano. Marco is joined by pianist Leandro Piccioni, who, like Marco, brings over twenty years of experience working closely with Morricone in his favoured orchestra, Roma Sinfonietta. These original arrangements, all from celebrated soundtracks,�represent the point of departure for an original anthology in which the two musicians investigate the wider repertoire connected to the cinema.�Cinema Memories�ranges from works that have since become classics such as the�Three Pieces from Schindler's List�by John Williams to Bernstein's�West Side Story Suite, one of the outright masterpieces of musicals on film, and Myroslav Skoryk's Melody in A minor, a jewel of a piece that has since become a sort of national anthem for the Ukrainian people. It is a programme that interweaves memory and imagination, melancholy and light, dreams and reality, making each listening experience a truly multifaceted experience.

For the second project in it's Meridiane series, Sjaella explores the music of cultures whose languages exist only as mother tongues for minorities. On this new album, spoken, the a cappella vocal ensemble shares it's fascination for cultural diversity and vocal sounds through new interpretations of traditional music. The arrangements of folk songs and dances, as well as new compositions, represent sound worlds that move between tradition and modernity. Sjaella's Meridiane series, which continues on Fuga Libera, is a succession of colourful musical treasures that strengthens the ensemble's connection to it's own cultural roots.

Pierre Dumoussaud conducts a 'dream orchestra' comprised of chamber music players, regulars at Deauville's Easter Festival (Festival de Paques) in an unusual two-part work by Schonberg: the two "chamber symphonies," scores which are as teeming with detail as they are moving, attesting to the composer's soul-searching and experiences at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. In a string orchestra version, Langsamer Satz by Anton Webern, a student of Schonberg, adds all it's romantic fervour as a counterpoint.

We know Satie as a loner, but it is less well known that Satie had also been in love. He had a brief and stormy affair with the painter Suzanne Valadon. The portrait she made of him is on the cover of this album, as pianist Guillaume Coppola has conceived it as an intimate portrait of the composer, "one masked by a veil of modesty or provocation and which lies between antique and oriental inspiration, mystical phases, humour and cabaret". The miniature Bonjour Biqui and the motif of the Vexations possess rare allusions to Valadon and become commas between these chapters, as does Desespoir agreable, whose title alone seems to sum up Satie's life and work. This tribute is released to mark the centenary of Satie's death; whilst the famous Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes feature on the programme, the album also presents rare and infrequently recorded discoveries that testify to the richness of the works that the whimsical Satie had created.

It is through a double CD that Musique en Wallonie is honoring the Belgian composer Lucie Vellere. When, in 1957, the jury (entirely male) of the International Composition Contest for Women Composers, organised by Grace Spofford and the American division of the Conseil international de femmes, awarded her a first prize, Lucie Vellere found herself, for the first in her life, in the public eye. She who had always cultivated discretion now aroused curiosity. Throughout her fifty-year compositional career, Vellere cultivated an art of the melodic line that one could liken to the curves of Art nouveau, which left their mark on many composers, among them the early Debussy of the Arabesques. While Franck and Faure are often cited as her aesthetic influences, the mature Debussy appears only as filtered through Jongen. Many of the references of pictorial, poetic and musical impressionism were adopted by the composer: the elements (earth, air, fire, water), landscapes, times and seasons (evening, moonlight, autumn), evocations of temporal or spatial distance (an indeterminate past, Antiquity, the Orient). Vellere strove also for a classical sobriety and sense of proportion. This recording highlights the composer's eclectic compositions, mixing work for voice and piano, string quartets and octets, women's choir and even piano music, a panorama of her compositions that will reveal several facets of her personality.