Thomas said, "Music is akin to an infinite alphabet." Weaving together two texts, originally written in two different alphabets (about 800 years apart,) Freedom To be Free and Sky Bound unfolds and develops an elegant, resonant, graceful dialogue between Parks' "Freedom" and Rumi's "Love". Textual and musical braids embody Thomas' notion of "infinite alphabet." Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American activist in the civil rights movement, best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement." Parks received countless recognitions, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, Hanafi faqih, Islamic scholar, Maturidi theologian, and Sufi mystic. Like other mystic and Sufi poets of Persian literature, Rumi's poetry speaks of love which infuses the world. This is made explicit in Rumi's verse (not included in this composition) that describes love as "that flame which, when it blazes up, burns away everything except the Everlasting Beloved." � Augusta Read Thomas

Across Shakespeare's Jesters' 9-minute duration, the composition unfolds a labyrinth of musical interrelationships and connections that showcase the musicians in a virtuosic display of rhythmic agility, counterpoint, skill, energy, dynamic range, timbre, clarity, and majesty. Throughout the kaleidoscopic journey, the work passes through many lively and colorful episodes, never losing it's sense of dance, caprice, and effervescence. Shakespeare's Jesters'falls loosely into three arcs played without a pause. The opening three minutes is an exposition of animated materials with rhythmic vitality featuring contrapuntal hockets that ping-pong between players. Following are three contrapuntal phrases (lasting respectively 60, 120, and 90 seconds) throughout which the musical ingredients are further transformed and elaborated. The final 120 seconds, a mischievous caper. � Augusta Read Thomas

Abracadabra (Suncatchers) was co-commissioned by Aspen Music Festival and School, Robert Spano, Music Director and Oberlin class of 1984, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Abracadabra (Suncatchers) unfolds across 15-minutes a labyrinth of musical interrelationships and connections that showcase the world-class musicians of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and superstar conductor Timothy Weiss.

Celebrated British pianist Martin Jones recorded the complete piano music of Jean Francaix (1912-1997) in 2012 on 3 CDs. This is a compilation of his best music, in which wit, sophistication and extreme virtuosity combine in one of the twentieth century's instantly recognisable voices.

The Book of Miracles is a recently discovered 16th Century German manuscript made up of 167 surviving sheets, depicting in vivid detail miraculous signs, natural catastrophes and Christian myths. Bookended with depictions of biblical events - including stories from the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation - and overflowing with striking images of comets, fantastical beasts, miracles, celestial apparitions and other astronomical events, the manuscript is both an exceptional and unique work of renaissance art but also a comprehensive record of natural and supernatural phenomenon from antiquity to middle of the 16th Century. This collection of visually arresting illustrations is steeped in European folklore - inextricable events are playfully depicted with chimerical and wondrous detail. These images are at once strikingly modern - existing somewhere outside of time - and yet inhabit a world of myth and superstition that are inevitably linked to Christian mythology. From these images I have drawn inspiration for the four movements of this concerto. The piece won an Ivor Novello Award in 2019.

Illuminations, Fanfare Sinfonia is an optimistic, colorful, virtuosic, and vivid "Gratitude Fanfare." Encoded in the music are the rhythms of words. For example, the first two notes of the piece encode "Thank You!" There are many two-note "thank you" figures played throughout the composition whereby each player keeps adding onto the collection of "thank you" messages. The three-short-note-motive encodes the word "Grat-i-tude." The timpanist plays a main motive for which the encoded words are "We give you our gratitude." The composition, full of variations of the timpani motive, portrays an accumulation of appreciativeness.

When I was young I inherited a large pile of my dad's old Beano annuals (a popular comic book in the UK) which, torch in hand, I would consume with relish under my bed sheets at night. There was something about the anarchic and wild nature of the comics that appealed to me as child and, if I'm being honest, continues to appeal to me as an adult. The onomatopoeic words that were delicious to say out loud (Boing! Splat! Paarp! Sluurp!); the diverse range of colourful characters (the Bash Street Kids, Billy the Whizz, Bananaman, and Dennis and his dog Gnasher); the seemingly endless adventures and stories that saw our heroes overcome challenges, get into trouble (and sometimes deal with the consequences) all fed my imagination. It's not often I'm asked to write a piece of music that is, at it's core, fun; but luckily I take writing 'fun' music very seriously! This Percussion Concerto is a colourful, whacky, fast-paced, tour-de-force for solo percussion and orchestra. The concerto features an array of unusual instruments for the soloist (opera gongs, tin cans, plastic buckets), but within the orchestra itself, if you listen carefully, you will also hear slide whistles, kazoos, dustbin lids, car horns, and even some squeaky dog toys! � Gavin Higgins

This edition marks the first publication of Rontgen's Toccata. This work was discovered while digging through countless manuscripts of solo piano music in the Rontgen Archives at the Netherlands Music Institute in The Hague in 2019 (catalogue No.107/087). The work is undated and has never been published. It is titled Toccata and has no dedication or other information regarding it's creation (date or location). Given the relative neatness of the manuscript, it is presumed that the composer intended it's publication. It's style suggests being composed during Rontgen's mature period, certainly after the first decade of the 20th Century. It is the only known stand-alone Toccata in Rontgen's output. In the present edition, editorial markings are in brackets, and fingering is by the editor. All pedal indications are by the composer unless otherwise indicated. � Mark Anderson

Julius Rontgen's Passacaglia and Fugue dates from 1911 but was not published until 2007 by Friedrich Hofmeisterverlag, Leipzig (FH3247). While studying and preparing the work for recording from the first edition, I discovered significant and numerous errors and decided that a second edition was necessary. The manuscripts for the Passacaglia and Fugue reside in the Rontgen Archives in the Netherlands Music Institute in The Hague. The catalogue numbers associated with this work are 107/027A (MS1), 107/027B (MS2) and 107/027C (MS3), each being a complete version. In preparing this edition, the latter version (107/027C) was used as the primary source as there is a clear progression of reworking and detail evident beginning with version A and ending with C. One obvious difference between the first edition (Hofmeister) and the present edition is the inclusion of four missing measures, m.217-220, that have been restored in this score. These measures are included in multiple versions of the manuscript, namely 107/027B and C. Editorial suggestions, such as metronome indications, are in brackets. Unless otherwise indicated, fingering and hand distribution suggestions are editorial. With some minor exceptions, pedal indications are by the composer. This is a major solo piano work from the early 20th Century that is a significant addition to the piano literature. This work demonstrates Rontgen's great artistry and expressive character and deserves a wider audience. I hope other pianists find this monumental piece important and feel compelled to perform it. � Mark Anderson

This recording provides the listener with a chronological overview of Julius Rontgen's creative output, from his earliest published composition, written in 1864-when he was just nine years old-to pieces written as a mature composer five decades later. The latter reveals a composer of outstanding skill, diverse influences, and a master of musical forms and compositional techniques. It has been said that "One would look in vain for anything truly original or shocking in Rontgen's output...". However, there are works included on this recording that dispel that assumption. This pianist would argue that three works stand out, which are truly unique and powerfully original. The first is a short Toccata, which is something of a mystery work having never been published and lacking a date of composition. The others are the Sonata in C Minor from 1877 and the Passacaglia and Fugue of 1911. It is the latter that most decidedly distinguishes Rontgen as having a truly original voice. Julius Rontgen composed over 600 works and is especially known for his concertos, symphonies and chamber music. His piano music has remained unjustifiably neglected since he died in 1932.

This edition marks the first publication of Rontgen's Sonata in C Minor (1911). This work was discovered while visiting the Rontgen Archives at the Netherlands Music Institute in The Hague in 2019. Being previously unpublished and unrecorded, I am grateful to Rik Hendriks at the Netherlands Music Institute for his assistance and unrestricted access to Rontgen's manuscripts. There is a single manuscript source for this work (NMI Catalogue No.107/017). It is neatly penned, and great care has been taken in it's detail. This manuscript contains no corrected notes, scratched-out errors, or pencilled-in changes. Clearly, Rontgen prepared this work for publication, but he never saw that realized. It is a single-movement sonata that should interest both pianists and musicologists. The textures, form and expressive qualities are well defined, and I believe it deserves a wider audience. I hope other pianists find the work intriguing and feel compelled to perform it. Fingering, metronome suggestions and hand re-distribution suggestions are editorial. All pedal indications are by the composer. � Mark Anderson

The sonatas were written between November 1924 and March 1925. They show the composer at the height of his art. His friendly respect for the great North German and Viennese masters has quite obviously found it's way into his creative thinking, and he makes use of the most diverse procedures with a sure hand. Nowhere is there a dubious proportion, no piece seems too long, no subject unduly strained. It should also be noted that Rontgen has a profound knowledge of the instruments - himself an excellent pianist, the piano part makes great demands, the viola part skillfully exploits the advantages of the instrument without ever overtaxing it. � Herbert Kefer

Fanfare, Air and Flourishes is a suite originally for solo horn made from three pieces written during the COVID-19 pandemic for different purposes. The first, 'Fanfare', was written to a commission from the Royal Academy of Music, who invited two hundred composers to write pieces for all of the instruments taught at the Academy in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the institution. 'Fanfare' leans into one particular aspect of the horn's personality: it's assertive, loud and urgent. The expression mark at the start is 'bold and brassy'. 'Air' celebrates the horn's mellow tone; semplice espressivo is the instruction at the start of the piece and the horn plays a melody as expressive as anything you'd hear as a solo in a brass band. 'Flourish', the third piece, was a commission from BBC Radio 3 during lockdown. Rising melodies - or flourishes - run up and down the horn, returning even more elaborately after a simpler middle section. Flourish was written at the same time as Gavin was writing The Faerie Bride, and these flourishes appear in the oratorio to mark the turn of the seasons.

Rough Voices was commissioned by Radio 3 for the 2020 BBC Proms - a strange festival in the middle of the pandemic where orchestras played to empty halls across the country. As I was writing the piece I came across the poem 'Tough' by Tony Walsh (born 1965, aka Longfella) - a battle cry for the working-class - and his words resonated with the music I was composing: They don't like it when we make it despite all their ifs and cuts; They don't like it when we take it as our right to shake things up; They don't like it when rough voices start demanding better choices; But it's tough, we've had enough and we are coming. Being from a working-class background myself I know how life changing music can be; and so I wanted to write an anthem for those communities. As the number of people living in poverty continues to rise and working-class voices are marginalised, it's more important than ever that we are heard. As such, Rough Voices is a rallying call to arms: we've had enough. And we are coming! The piece starts with a scream - of anger, frustration - that seems to interrupt a chorale played on strings. The 'interruptions' move into an insistent, incessant procession that drives relentlessly onwards. The 'scream' returns at the climax of the work, though now in a righteously indignant tone, before the chorale reappears, changed somewhat with echoes of the rhythmic pulse that dominated much of the piece. � Gavin Higgins

Having grown up in an ex-mining community - beginning my musical training in the local brass bands in which my whole family continue to play - this music is close to my heart. Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra is a love letter to that music and those communities. Drawing on banding's cultural legacy and musical style it is a celebratory work that puts the brass band front and centre. Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra is a five movement piece in two parts. Part one looks at the mediums geographical, industrial, and socio-economic roots; whilst Part two explores musical aspects synonymous with the music: high lyricism and dazzling virtuosity. � Gavin Higgins