The Sacconi Quartet record the string quartets of British composer Graham Fitkin, The Composer writes in the introduction to this disc: “The string quartet medium seems to me to thrive in contexts of both poignant intimacy or extrovert forceful information overload. (And indeed all those delicate shades in between.) I feel it has a strength of purpose that I relish, an honest homogeneity to it, a good wide pitch range and quite frankly the ability to play decent long sustained notes or short pizzicati. It’s been all too tempting.” Composed between 1992 and 2007, this disc compiles Fitkin’s complete works for String Quartet, performed by one of the UK’s most dynamic and versatile string quartets.

This is the newest release in Signum’s series of composer-led releases with the BBC Singers. This project is the result of collaboration between the choir that began in 2002 and British composer Bernard Hughes. Hughes combines modern poetry by E. E. Cummings and Siegfried Sassoon with Norse Poetry in his compositions, which show aspects of both modern and ancient elements.

Violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen and pianist Huw Watkins continue their critically well-received duo partnership with a new recording of works by two fascinating, trailblazing early 20th c. composers from France and Poland respectively – Reynaldo Hahn and Karol Szymanowski. This is a second release from Waley-Cohen and Watkins on Signum, following last years 1917: Works for Violin & Piano by Elgar, Debussy, Respighi & Sibelius (SIGCD376): “Great playing from the very talented Tamsin Waley-Cohen. This really highlights the talent of the next generation of virtuosi.” (Classic FM) “... a wonderfully subtle, introspective and touching performance.” (The Guardian) Recommended Recording: The Strad.

Enlightening fans with a second volume of powerful organ works, Naji Hakim returns with a new release on Signum. This release features works inspired by many locations around the globe. The magnificent Schuke Organ of the Palacio Euskalduna is housed in a concert hall of warm wood and cold steel. The organ itself was inspired by the surrounding shipyards that once occupied the area.

Led by Mark Williams, the Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge continue their critically-praised series of recordings on Signum with this new recording of works by British composers Benjamin Britten and William Byrd. Byrd and Britten, their respective careers separated by about three hundred and fifty years, share one very significant characteristic. They were both, in quite different ways, outsiders. As a devout Catholic existing within an alien environment - a state which ultimately viewed Catholicism as the equivalent of sedition - Byrd was obliged to pursue a kind of double life, expressing his spiritual exile in music of emotional intensity. Like Byrd, Britten became highly regarded by the establishment for his artistic achievements, but reservations regarding his homosexuality prevented his complete acceptance. Both his pacifism and his sexual orientation made him an outsider.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

This recording presents a selection of some of the most well-loved works for the horn. Titled The Romantic Horn, the works highlight the lyrical gems of the European repertoire for the instrument, with works by Beethoven, Schumann. Richard Watkins is one of the most sought-after horn players of his generation. He was Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra for twelve years, and is currently a member of The Nash Ensemble and is a founding member of London Winds. His extensive discography includes recordings of concertos by Mozart, Malcolm Arnold, Reinhold Gli�re, Ethel Smyth and Colin Matthews, as well as Mozart's Sinfonia concertante and chamber music for horn by Schumann, Schubert and Poulenc. The pianist Julius Drake lives in London and specializes in chamber music, working with many of the world's leading artists, both in recital and in the recording studio. He appears regularly at all the major music centres, including the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, Munich, Schubertiade, and Salzburg music festivals; Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, New York; Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Philarmonie, Berlin; Ch�telet and Mus�e de Louvre, Paris; La Scala, Milan; Liceu, Barcelona; Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Vienna; and Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms in London.

The arias on this new release from Classical Opera were all composed for famed 18th century tenor, John Beard (1716-1791). Compositions featured are from Handel and his contemporaries, John Christopher Smith, Thomas Arne, and William Boyce. Allan Clayton is the featured tenor on this recording. Also included is a duet with Mary Bevan, taken from Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato.

On this new release 2018 Grammy Award nominees Tenebrae perform a new collection of choral works by Polish composer Pawel Lukaszewski. Born in southern Poland in 1968 in the city of Czestochowa and described by Gramophone as writing "enchanting choral music... beautifully measured phrases, immaculately tailored textures and ingenious use of light and shade to invoke light shining in darkness," Lukaszewski has secured a place in the forefront of European sacred music with performances throughout the world and his works appearing on over one hundred recordings. He studied at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music, where he still teaches, and is now the Artistic Director and Conductor of Musica Sacra Cathedral Choir in Warsaw. This collection of sacred choral works bears an easily-discernible cultural link with his Polish predecessors such as Lutoslawski and Penderecki, but the influence of Henryk Gorecki and the Estonian Arvo Part is evident too in the fervent but restrained spiritual aspect of Lukaszewski's music, and his individual voice never stoops to mere imitation.