Egyptian master percussionist Hossam Ramzy presents this album of Egyptian rhythmic dance. The first part of the album explains the Egyptian dance rhythms, and gives examples of each, such as the Masmoudi, Maqsoum, and Saaidi. From track 25 on, Hossam presents a drumming workshop. He explains the drums, which include the table, darabuka, mazhar, and duf, then plays simple examples as well as how the drums fit into a full percussion section.

In the spirit of Paul Simon’s epic, this new release from ARC features a collection of African songs. A potpourri of music has been chosen, from a capella to instrumentals, these songs hail from all over the great continent, including tunes from Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, and more. The songs are sung in a variety of native African languages, showing the immense diversity that exists throughout the African countries.

The Modern Jazz Quartet was formed in 1952, largely by the rhythm section of the Dizzy Gillespie Band. When these recordings were made, John Lewis was still trying to develop the Modern Jazz Quartet as a jazz chamber group, attempting to make a unique style of jazz, free of cliché. The motto of the MJQ was “Change your attitude.” Each of the thirteen tracks on this album show the ensemble’s unique and dignified style. As Andre Francis wrote of the group, the musicians are “a sensitive instrument which vibrates in the same universe of sound, achieving a communion unique in the world of jazz.”

One of the most emotional liturgical works, the Stabat Mater meditates on the suffering of Mary the mother of Jesus during the crucifixion. The Stabat Mater by Boccherini, featured on this new release, was composed for solo soprano and string ensemble, one of the most intimate settings for this text. A specialist in Baroque repertoire, soprano Francesca Boncompagni performs here alongside the Ensemble Symposium, which performs on original instruments.

Clarinetist Stephan Siegenthaler brings Max Reger's complete works for clarinet back to life, 100 years after his death. Reger barely had 20 productive years of composition however you'd never know it looking at his vast oeuvre, comprised of all genres with the exception of opera. Siegenthaler, born in Switzerland has studied music and performed all throughout Europe including Germany, Geneva and Bratislava.

 

REVIEW:

 

All chamber works of Max Reger for clarinet, one with string quartet, the others with piano, are comprised in this compilation. The music is not easy and one has to listen carefully until getting the point, even though the artists on this CD come up with very fine performances.

 

– Pizzicato

The distinctive sound of Israeli folk music has charmed listeners across the globe for centuries. With this album, you can bring the music right into your living room, regardless of what country you call home. These popular songs come from the best-known Israeli composers, such as Effi Netzer, Nurit Hirsh, HaGevatron, and more. The booklet includes transcribed Hebrew lyrics, as well as English translations.

AllMusic praised The Benvenue Fortepiano Trio’s “intensity, commitment, and unfettered navigation of Schumann’s scores.” This release is the third in the ensemble’s series dedicated to the works of Robert Schumann (1810-1856). This volume features Schumann’s most influential chamber work, the Piano Quintet in E flat Op. 44. The piece, which was premiered in 1843, is remembered for it’s “extroverted, exuberant” character. It is considered one of Schumann’s finest works. The ensemble performs here on period instruments, which enhances the recording by creating the intimate atmosphere for which this chamber music was written. Fanfare Magazine writes that the atmosphere creates “an enlightened view of the music.” The Benvenue Fortepiano Trio is pianist Eric Zivian, performing here on a Franz Rousch 1841 fortepiano, violinist Monica Hugget, performing on a 1770 Dutch, and cellist Tanya Tomkins, playing on an 1811 Joseph Panormo.

The French composer Ange Flégier (1846-1927) enjoyed considerable frame in his own time but has now been completely lost from view. The extraordinary reception of his song Le Cor points to the predominant place held by the Melodie in his catalogue of more than 350 works. Flégier's songs, composed for his colleagues at the Opera de Paris, are large-scale and orchestrally conceived, sitting stylistically close to Faure in their unassertive dignity and to Duparc in their sense of scale. Many of them receive their first recordings or first modern recordings here.

The Jupiter String Quartet feels a strong connection to the core string quartet repertoire. they also frequently commission and premiere new works, including string quartets by Syd Hodkinson, Hanah Lash and Dan Vixconti, as well as a quintet with vocalist Thomas Hampson. This release has a well-known classic by Dvorak, an arrangement of African-American spirituals and a contemporary reflection on the music of Tin Pan Alley.

The tracks that make up this release are songs that were made famous by the Queen of Fado herself, Amalia Rodrigues. Up and coming fado starlet Matilde Larguinho sings these traditional songs, accompanied by Antonio Carvalho on the Portuguese lute and Alfredo Pena on the guitar. Included in the booklet are the original Portuguese lyrics, as well as descriptions of the songs in English and biographies of the musicians.

Max Reger has remained a controversial composer, in a way perhaps comparable to Wagner, Hindemith and Shostakovich. Even today, the presence of his oeuvre is by no means a matter of course in concert life or on recordings. There are still numberous musicians, including serious ones, who reject Reger's work, at times with good reason. Even a trained, experienced listener may find his works difficult to grasp, let alone comprehend. This release does a great deal to compensate for the gap in knowledge of Max Reger.

Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen has made a name for himself as one of the most prolific northern European composers in the past half century. He was known for his unique personality and was established as a major figure in Danish musical life. Gundmundsen-Holmgreen wrote of his compositional style: “I often write music that cannot make up its mind, and that is deliberate.” This is an accurate description, as much of his music is ambiguous and provocative. He repeats motifs and sound elements without mercy, and the violent clashes of expression within the pieces are memorable. This release presents the world premiere recording of Green Ground, a unique set of pieces which were written for and dedicated to the Kronos Quartet and Theatre of Voices with conductor Paul Hillier. The works use text from Henry VIII’s Songbook and take inspiration from Baroque canons.

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REVIEWS:

Some of the most unique and hilariously raucous new music we heard all year.

– Time Out Chicago

Trying to describe the opening quartet in words—or any of his music in words—is inevitably going to fail because the music takes so many unexpected turns and practically none of them fit a verbal narrative. This is a wonderfully imaginative recording, albeit one that’s pretty far off from center.

– The Art Music Lounge (Lynn René Bayley)

Under any circumstances, a new record by the Kronos Quartet or Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices is worth attending to. Put the two together and that’s even more true. And now, for a couple of pieces by Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, base a half hour of it on “a famous old ground that (was) used by Johan Pachelbel in his well-known canon.”

In the words of notater Andrew Mellor, on top of that ground, the resultant “discourse becomes ever more complicated and outlandish and, in this case, fractious, flailing, scared and animalistic.” And, as outrageous as it is to put old Pachelbel on the run this way, it’s also exhilarating and crazily compelling. This is why it is ALWAYS necessary to keep up with what the Kronos Quartet and Hillier’s Theater of Voices do.

– Buffalo News

Little is known about the life of Spanish composer Juan Vasquez, fl. 16th century. A skilled and successful composer, he was in the service of the King of Spain. His compositions are mainly secular, in the form of polyphonic madrigals and “Villancicos,” popular songs set for a vocal ensemble of 3 or 4 voices. The Villancicos are based on folk music and traditional texts, peasant melodies brimming with joy, happiness and Spanish vitality. The works on this release have been taken from Vasquez’s two collections, published in 1551 and 1560. This release includes several previously unrecorded items. Spanish Early Music group Vandalia performs this music with infectious enthusiasm. The group consists of 4 excellent vocal soloists, accompanied by the Iberian Harp.

This release features the most beautiful songs from the Andean regions of Colombia, presented by Niyireth Alarcon who is widely known for her warm, velvety voice. Niyireth is accompanied here on traditional instruments such as the tiple, bandola, guitars, bombo, and percussion. Born in Garzon, Niyireth Alarcon is a mezzoprano with a first class singing technique. In over twenty years of continuously working with Colombian music of the Andes, Niyireth has made her contribution to theis genre by taking its singing to new levels seeking to bring the genre close to the Latin American singing movement.

John Dowland is without doubt one of the most famous English composers, the foremost exponent of the Golden Age of the Elizabethan Era of the 16th and 17th Century. Dowland’s songs fully reflect the spirit and tastes of the Elizabethan age, with their tendency towards deep melancholy and their pronounced focus on darkness, moonlight and night time. Despite the predominance of grief, sadness, tears and death there are also songs in which a sense of optimism, lightness and joy prevail. This new recording uses the classical guitar as accompanying instrument, played by Adriano Sebastiani. The young soprano Siphiwe McKenzie was twice nominated by the prestigious magazine Opernwelt as “Young Singer of the Year.” She sang in important theatres such as the Wiener Volksoper, Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires), Teatro Regio di Parma, Leipzig State Opera and many more.

The word “fusion” as a musical genre identifier, is a loaded term. At worst, it conjures images of endlessly self-indulgent electric guitar solos, overactive drummers buried deep behind epic drum kits, and seven string electric basses strapped up way too high. At best, it has given us timeless albums that were more sui generis than the mere mashup of distinct styles that it implies. With their album Infusion, Jason Vieaux and Julien Labro suggest a subtle alternative path to stylistic integration; the effectively present several diverse performance approaches all under a concert music umbrella. Taking a staple of modern guitar chamber repertoire like Radames Gnattali’s Suite Retratos and infusing it with aspects of different improvising traditions leaves Gnattali’s structural context in place. In their arrangement of the Tears for Fears classic, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Vieaux diligently reproduces various components of the multi-track original while infusing it with a soloing approach drawn from jazz. In Labro’s arrangement of Piazzolla’s “Escualo,” the two infuse the song with contemporary references that blend with the original material. Also featured is Leo Brouwer’s Tres Danzas Concertantes, which has been adapted by Julien Labro for this recording. Brouwer has drawn from Afro Cuban sources throughout his career, infusing his concert music with the vibrant rhythms and characteristic harmonic flavors of his native culture.

With this recording Septura answers the question, “what if the greatest Christmas music had been written for brass?” In arrangements that go far beyond Yultide clichés, Septura has carefully crafted a programme that explores virtuosity and festive celebration in pieces such as the Christmas Suite with music by J.S. Bach, rapturous serenity from the likes of Robert Parson´s beautiful Ave Maria, and nostalgic favourites such as the ravishingly polyphonic The Three Kings by Peter Cornelius. Septura pushes its colours and combinations to the limit in re-imagining this varied selection of sublime Christmas music from the past 450 years.

REVIEW:

The English brass septet Septura's ensemble work is unimpeachable, but where they break new ground is in their arrangements, which both draw on a slightly wider range of sources than usual and have a more varied selection of textures. The program starts off normally enough with Schütz, Bach, and Praetorius, but brings some delightful surprises in the middle parts, such as arrangements of two sections from Rachmaninoff’s Vespers. There’s nothing to make this collection unsuitable for festive holiday listening, and indeed it will fill the bill elegantly in that regard.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

Joaquín Rodrigo is best known for his Concierto de Aranjuez, but the fame of this great work has hidden a prolific and courageous artist who struggled against blindness and hardship, and whose luminous, optimistic music is captured here in rarely heard works for violin that span almost his entire life as a composer. The timelessly beautiful Adagio from the Sonata pimpante is indeed comparable to that of the Concierto de Aranjuez, and all of these pieces are captivating in their intense lyricism and profound originality, from the Dos ezbozos expressing childhood memories of the Parterre Gardens in Valencia, to Rodrigo’s only piece for solo violin, the Capriccio, and the vivacious and nostalgic Set cançons valencianes.

The flourishing culture of the classical guitar in Japan is further revealed in the third volume of this admired series. The expressive nature of music for guitar and for the harmonica often represents the principles of Ma – the idea of space and time. Takemitsu’s contemporary arrangements of popular songs, where virtuosity fuses with flexible spirituality, are of extraordinary originality whilst melodic inventiveness is the hallmark of Hikaru Hayashi’s varied pieces. There are also examples from film scores and explorations of sound qualities, such as Yoshimatsu’s intensely evocative and masterful Forgetful Angel II.

Elena Urioste and Michael Brown formed a recital duo in 2009 and have performed together extensively ever since. For their first recording together they have selected four works which have formed part of their repertoire from the very beginning, resonating throughout their entire musical partnership. All four are early works, written by composers in their twenties or younger- Michael Brown was only eighteen when he composed his own contribution. As the performers put it in their liner notes, the pieces they have chosen are “imbued with an ardour that is unapologetically, deliciously youthful.” The disc opens with the only multi-movement work of the program- Richard Strauss’s expansively melodic Sonata in E flat major, written around the time when the composer met and fell in love with his future wife. A few years later, in Paris, Ravel made a first attempt at composing a violin sonata while still a student at the Conservatoire. The resulting piece, in one movement, had a single performance during Ravel’s lifetime and was only published in 1975, as Sonate posthume. Between these two works we hear Michael Brown’s Echoes of Byzantium, inspired by William Butler Yeats’s Sailing to Byzantium, and an attempt to portray the meaning of the poem through music alone. The disc closes with a piece by another American composer and pianist, Amy Beach (1867-1944) The first American woman to compose and publish a symphony (first performed in 1896), she was best known for her songs, and her gift for melody is evident in the 1893 Romance for violin and piano.

Pepe Romero, head of an outstanding family of folk musicians has been playing the bagpipe since he was twelve years old. He is known today, as one of the best bagpipers in Galicia. The repertoire on this album, based on self-composed themes with clear, unmistakable and genuine roots in the Galician usical tradition, is another aspect that gives a very special character to this group. (ARC Music)

Sharon Paige broke into show business in her teens as a singing and dancing chorus girl and moved quickly to featured roles. She has traveled throughout the United States and Canada, performing in the national companies of Broadway and Off Broadway musicals. Sharon has also toured the summer-tent, dinner-theater and nightclub circuits. In 2008, she and Keith Ingham released their Ned Washington tribute album, Love Is the Thing; Burke Beautiful is their second collaboration. Sharon currently resides and sings in New York City. Keith Ingham has recorded extensively and worked with Benny Goodman and other bands. He wrote the arrangements and led an all-star group of musicians on three notable Maxine Sullivan recordings for Harbinger Records. The first, “Maxine Sullivan Sings Great Songs from the Cotton Club by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler,” was nominated for a Grammy Award. He and Maxine also collaborate on Harbinger albums devoted to the music of Jule Styne and burton Lane. Keith was also arranger and leader on the classic Peggy Lee recording, “Love Held Lightly,” also for Harbinger Records. Johnny Burke was one of America’s greatest composer/lyricists. He enjoyed a long collaboration with James V. Monaco and then Jimmy McHugh writing songs for films, shows, and such singers as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.

After MANdolinMAN's successful first album "Old Tunes, Dusted Down" - a concept album devoted to the impressive field work of folklorist Hubert Boone - and a second album on which they explored the bossa nova style, MANdolinMAN return to their roots. The band digs even deeper into Flemish folk music and once again breathe new life into old tunes and melodies from the province of Flemish Brabant. Played on four mandolins, the music takes on new forms and teh historic melodies are injected with a modern and contemporary vigour, merged with various styles: African, polka, waltz, bluegrass and more. "...Passionate and polished playing...It's also refreshing to hear mandolins outside of bluegrass and Celtic folk settings..." - Rhythms, Australia

After their very successful album release, Zukva, on ARC Music in January 2016, Divanhana are back with a live album featuring their sold-out show in their homeland, Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Divanhana performs traditional music in new arrangements created with influences from jazz, pop and twentieth century classical music. Divanhana’s intention is to present the urban traditional music, not only from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but from the whole Balkan region, with a particular accent on Sevdalinka. “Supple sevdah from young, gifted Sarajevans… Divanhana are a young band but a very confident one… They can play sevdah with the right mix of dynamic pace and epic melancholy…” (Songlines UK) “…Divanhana’s sound is simultaneously rooted in the tradition and outward looking, their music dancing with breathtaking inventiveness. By turns romantic and upbeat, the sevdah music of Bosnia and Herzegovina is beautifully showcased from these hugely talented and inventive musicians.” (R2, UK)

This new release is a beautiful album of traditional music from Eastern Polynesia that was taken from David Fanshawe's monumental Pacific Collection. The Pacific Collection was recorded over the course of fourteen years (1978-88), and focuses on the rich variety of authentic himene (hymns) indigenous to Tahiti, the Cook Islands, the Society Islands and others. David Fanshawe was a composer, ethnic sound recordist, guest speaker, photographer, TV personality, and a Churchill Fellow. He was born in 1942 in Devon, England and was educated at St. George's Choir School and Stowe, after which he joined a documentary film company. In 1965 he won a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. His ambition to record indigenous folk music began in the Middle East in 1966, and was intensified on subsequent journeys through North and East Africa (1969-75) resulting in his unique and highly original blend of music and travel. His work has been the subject of BBC TV documentaries including African Sanctus, Arabian Fantasy, Musical Mariner, and Tropical Beat.