The Gluepot Connection celebrates the coming together of a generation of established and emerging composers who defined British music in the middle of the last century in a cornerstone of British life - the local pub. "That bloody Gluepot" was the nickname given to The George public house in central London by Sir Henry Wood, exasperated that it's proximity to the legendary Queen's Hall proved irresistible to his musicians. Andrew Griffiths skillfully joins the dots of the Gluepot's tangled relationships and musical achievements with the Londinium chamber choir to present a vivid portrait of a moment unique in British music. Arnold Bax's a cappella masterpiece 'Mater ora filium' blends past and present to produce one of the most challenging and rewarding works in the English choral repertoire. Delius's 'On Craig Ddu' proved "a revelation" to a young Peter Warlock, whose 'The Full Heart' boldly marries antiquity and modernity with the same rapturous atmosphere. Interest in the first Elizabethan age was strong in the years before and after the second Queen Elizabeth took the throne, notably so in John Ireland's melancholic The Hills and EJ Moeran's attractively varied Songs of Springtime. Appearing for the first time are Alan Rawsthorne's bracing, tightly constructed Four Seasonal Songs and Alan Bush's pastoral part-song 'Like Rivers Flowing' and 'Lidice.' The Gluepot's connection to the new is illustrated by Elisabeth Lutyens' warm and melting 'Verses of Love' - a mellower contrast to early serialism that saw her dubbed 'Twelve-Tone Lizzie'. A highlight is William Walton's tour-de-force anthem 'Where does the uttered music go?' employing his trademark blend of warm-hearted lyricism and angular rhythms.

The growing genius of a titan of English music comes vividly into focus in a stunning collection of Edward Elgar's music for chorus and orchestra from the Brighton Festival Chorus and BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth. The voice was at the center of Elgar's musical life as a child, and it was to play a defining role in his own compositions. Spanning 26 years - from the imposing setting of Ecce sacerdos magnus ('Behold the great priest')* in 1888 to the richly realized psalm settings of the 1910s, it is possible to chart in these often moving, occasionally monumental works the development of Elgar's prowess in setting the voice. The muscular and poetic Op.34 Te Deum and Benedictus and consoling Offertory Anthem, O Hearken Thou are heard alongside two contrasted psalms - the mighty Great is the Lord and bold and vigorous Give unto the Lord - that have become cornerstones of the English choral tradition. Two sunny, secular works show Elgar balancing delicacy and deliberateness with consummate skill. Based on a play by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Iberian-accented Spanish Serenade is courtship of exquisite beauty and warmth. Scenes from the Bavarian Alps sets words by the composer's wife, Alice, to produce six animated and colorful songs that conjure the sights and sounds of happy holiday visits by the recent newlyweds. Behold the Great Priest presents a treasure-trove of Elgar's choral compositions intriguingly mapping out his development towards the full-scale masterpieces of Sea Pictures, The Apostles and The Dream of Gerontius.

History is re-claimed with two significant archive recordings, newly restored and re-mastered, by the BBC Symphony Orchestra of a master British symphonist in his early prime on Somm Céleste. The first recorded appearance of Edmund Rubbra conducting the wartime premiere of his own Fourth Symphony (taken from an off-air recording of the live broadcast) is coupled with a live 1954 BBC radio broadcast – considered “quite stupendous” by the composer – of the Second Symphony conducted by the work’s dedicatee, Sir Adrian Boult. The Second Symphony boasts a language that is utterly original, the entirety of its four-movement arc spun out from the long-breathed noble theme at its opening. So enamoured of the Second was Boult he later chose it as one of his Desert Island Discs when he appeared on the iconic BBC Radio 4 programme. Recently conscripted, Rubbra was dressed in full military uniform when he conducted the premiere of his Fourth Symphony during the 1942 Proms season at the Royal Albert Hall. At once epic and intimate, powerful and poetic, it has, claims his one-time pupil Robert Layton “one of the most beautiful openings not just in Rubbra but in all English music” and a stirring finale of triumphant dimensions that has been likened to Bruckner. Rubbra’s own introduction to the symphony – first broadcast by BBC Radio five days before its premiere in This Week at the Proms – offers a revealing glimpse into the heart of a mighty and moving symphony.

Peter Donohoe’s compelling journey through the complete Prokofiev and subsequently the complete Scriabin Piano Sonatas for SOMM has led him almost irresistibly to the piano music of Stravinsky whose exuberance and many technical challenges he seems to relish. He begins with three movements from Petrushka for solo piano, drawn directly from the ballet by the composer ten years after the completion of the orchestral score. Stravinsky’s goal (together with the jazz-like Piano-Rag-Music) was to encourage pianist Arthur Rubinstein to play his music. His intention was to make the arrangement not only technically challenging but also musically satisfying. Such are its demands however, that even the composer himself only played it once, confessing that he lacked the technique. This set also includes Stravinsky’s early, charmingly delicate F-sharp minor Sonata which he completed in 1904 but it was only published in 1973. The Piano Sonata of 1924, also included here, was composed during his neo-classical period and pays tribute to the 18th century containing characteristic splashes of baroque brilliance as well as latent romanticism. 1940’s Tango, originally conceived as a song, was composed soon after Stravinsky emigrated to the United States.

A new release from SOMM to lift our spirits in no uncertain fashion! Distinguished composer- pianists Julian Jacobson and Mariko Brown combined their considerable talents in 2011, thus forming a piano duo brimming with ideas not only centred on the classics for piano duo repertoire, but also with a strong commitment to searching out neglected masterpieces performed to great acclaim in their various concert tours. They have revived, among others, Debussy's exotic ballet masterpiece "Khamma". Set in ancient Egypt, it appears here as a first recording in the version for four hands. British Composer Anthony Herschel Hill who died last year also features here for the first time with Nocturne, a beautiful if intense elegy for two pianos, and a tribute to a composer of among many other works, 24 Symphonies and 14 Concertos whose true worth is yet to be fully appreciated.

For the recording of the Mignone Concerto Clelia has used the new edition of the Academia Brasileira de Musica. This is a first recording of the newly revised and corrected score authorised by Mignone's widow, pianist Maria Josephina Mignone, who had given performances of the work in years gone by. Also on this disc is the dazzling Concierto Fantastico by Isaac Albeniz - the great Spanish composer, perhaps best known for his ever-popular music for guitar, but in this work showing his equal mastery of orchestral colour and the full range of the modern concert grand piano. Albeniz dedicated the Concierto Fantastico to his friend and pupil Jose Tragó, who in turn taught the piano to Falla and Turina.

This wonderful Celebration of English Song was recorded especially for SOMM by baritone Roderick Williams deliciously partnered here by Susie Allan in a collection to gladden the hearts of all lovers of English music. This splendidly wide-ranging collection features two well-loved song cycles, Butterworth's Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad and Finzi's Let us Garlands bring. It also includes some of the best- known English songs of the periods before and after World War II - Ireland's world- famous Sea Feverand Great Things and The Kiss and Flying Crooked, from Ian Venables - now widely regarded as the finest living English composer of art songs and a true successor to Benjamin Britten, represented here by two irresistible settings of English folk-songs, The Salley Gardens and The Ploughboy. Also included are songs by Quilter, Gurney, Warlock and E.J. Moeran.

This delightful disc of favorite – and occasionally unfamiliar – piano music played by pianist Philip Martin fulfills several functions: it is, first and foremost, a collection of ‘personal choice’ encore pieces, some of which are amongst the world’s favorite piano music, with others coming into the unjustly neglected genre, all of which have a special affection in Philip’s comprehensive repertoire. Secondly, we encounter the art of this much-admired Irish musician as a composer, whose own music possesses an individuality and immediacy of appeal that confirms his qualities as a musical communicator to his audience. And finally (although it is not ‘final’!), this exceptionally well-filled album is released as Philip Martin prepares coincidentally to celebrate his 70th birthday and 50 years in the music profession with a wide-ranging selection that indicates the range and artistry of this truly international musician.

This is an arresting collection of music for cello and piano by British composers, ranging from such masterpieces as Britten’s seminal Cello Sonata (written for Rostropovich) to Joe Cutler’s brilliant new showpiece ‘2016 was a Bad Year for Music’, whilst taking in such superb recent works as James MacMillan’s Second Cello Sonata and the Sonata by Richard Rodney Bennett – written for Alexander Baillie and first performed by him – alongside shorter evocative pieces by Frank Bridge, Kenneth Leighton and EJ Moeran. The album adds up to a terrific programme of familiar and lesser-known works by a galaxy of British composers, making it the first choice album of British Cello Music for music-lovers and students everywhere.

“No praise could be high enough for such an adventurous and challenging programme, particularly when offered in such vivid and affectionate performances. Enescu’s Third Sonata is a wholly personal creation, played by Nicola Meecham with brilliant dexterity and musical devotion.” (Bryce Morrison, Gramophone) This is just one of the superlative reviews which greeted Nicola Meecham’s album for SOMM of works by Kodaly, Enescu and Janacek. We now welcome her back in a fabulous recital of piano music by Tchaikovsky which includes the two rarely performed or recorded Piano Sonatas. The large-scale, majestic Grande Sonate in G major Op. 37, Tchaikovsky’s most significant work for solo piano, and the earlier Sonata in C sharp minor of 1865. The G major sonata was published during Tchaikovsky’s lifetime, having been written in 1878. The work opens with a magnificent chordal gesture and an initial richly inventive theme, which is threaded through and across all four movements. In both sonatas, Tchaikovsky is in total command of his chosen structure and develops his ideas with great originality and ease. The effective keyboard writing apparent in both works betokens a composer thoroughly at home in the medium. The present release includes four of Tchaikovsky’s shorter solo pieces, the Nocturne and Feuillet d’album, Opus 19 and the Humoresque Op. 10 No. 2, all of which strengthened his reputation as a distinctive composer of solo piano pieces. The delightful Doumka in C minor paints a picture akin to a rustic Russian scene and is one of the finest of all of Tchaikovsky’s shorter solo piano works.

This cleverly planned new recital represents a uniquely valuable addition to the catalogue and focuses attention on English piano music which is less well known but no less delectable. Our programme ranges from some of the most famous names in music to those best-known in other areas of the art - and has been carefully chosen to present a uniquely fascinating conspectus of piano music by British composers of the last 100 years. There are such rarities as Benjamin Britten's brilliant early suite 'Holiday Diary', the great composer in lighter mood, and the magnificent virtuoso set of Six Studies for Piano by Kenneth Leighton, alongside a rare collection of Impressionist pieces by Gustav Holst - showing him to be as much a master of the keyboard as his 'Planets' suite is of the orchestra. John Ireland (Britten's teacher) is represented by his haunting Ballade of London Nights, and we have a significant premiere recording of Ireland's most famous song - Sea Fever - arranged for solo piano by Roderick Williams, best-known as one of the finest of all living British singers, now appearing on disc in a new light. Both the world premiere Goodwood-by-the-Sea and the piano arrangement of Sea Fever were written by Roderick Williams especially for Maria Marchant and dedicated to her. Ronald Stevenson's 'Peter Grimes Fantasy' takes us back to Benjamin Britten - a wonderful homage from one major British composer to another.

This delightful album of Spanish music arranged for strings and celebrating the 150th anniversary of Enrique Granados, was recorded by legendary conductor Jose Serebrier and Concerto Malaga String Orchestra founded in 1996. The orchestra is now one of the foremost ensembles in Spain, best known for its dedicated research into string repertoire ranging from the 17th century onwards. Ther recording pays tribute to one of Spain's most important composers, Enrique Granados and also includes works by Granados's contemporaries and successors who played active roles in promoting Barcelona's and Madrid's musical life in the middle of the 19th century. Over a century after his tragic death, Granados's music continues to entertain and inspire performers and listeners the world over. He spent his entire life in Barcelona and contributed to its musical life as apianist, composer, teacher, conductor, and concert organizer. He was thus only a true champion of Spanish music but he was also a leading figure in the Catalan movement known as modernisme which was on display in much of Barcelona's architecture from around 1900. Granados's best-known collection of 12 Danzas espanolas was premiered in Barcelona in 189. No. 5, Andaluza, transports us to the south of Spain with its suggestion of an impassioned song supported by an energetic guitar accompaniment. Orienta is an all-purpose adjective that suggests anything associated with Andalusia or the Middle East. The Intermezzo from his opera Goyescas and the hauntingly beautiful Pequena Romanza are eloquent examples of his broad stylistic range.

A recording of piano music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: What an original and fascinating way for a young pianist to embark on a career which in a short time grew to span Europe, the US, North Africa and the Far East! Mark Bebbington recorded this stunning debut album for SOMM in 2003, now newly available. Even before embarking on a series of recordings for SOMM now running to over 30 albums, Mark had been looking for fresh and unusual repertoire, both for recording and concert performance. Guided by his cherished teacher and mentor Aldo Ciccolini, he was already becoming known as a passionate advocate of unjustly neglected composers. A fifteen-concert European recital series several years ago featured premieres by Sir Malcolm Arnold and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Judith Bingham, Toru Takemitsu and Julian Anderson. Hi sErik Satie Cafe Concert, featuring the UK premiere of 'Sprts et Divertissements' in its original version for narrator and piano toured festivals in this country before playing two sold-out performances at 'le chat blanc' cabaret club in Paris. In typical late-romantic style, Castelnuovo-Tedesco's music can be tender, rhapsodic and passionate and presents formidable challenges for the pianist as it was often conceived in orchestral terms. It also reveals his fondness for the music of Rachmaninov, Granados and Albeniz and Ravel.

A unique collection of music arranged or expressly composed by Elgar for Military Band. Featuring music by some of his peers, notably Sir Thomas Beecham and Vaughan Williams, this new release includes two first recordings that are real gems: Elgar's With Proud Thanksgiving from 1920 and The Queen Alexandra Memorial Ode from 1932 with the London Symphonic Concert Band and the Joyful Company of Singers conducted by Tom Higgins.

In January 1920 Elgar began arranging, for Chorus and Military Band, a much-shortened version of ‘For the Fallen’ from his Spirit of England. These were wartime settings of verses by Laurence Binyon. This new version had been commissioned to be performed at the unveiling of the Cenotaph in London on 11 November 1920 and was arranged, for Military Band, by Frank Winterbottom. As it was, the ceremony at the Cenotaph was curtailed and Elgar’s music never performed. Although he arranged With Proud Thanksgiving for orchestral accompaniment, this is the first time the listener can hear how Elgar originally conceived the piece. Twelve years later Elgar set, for similar forces, a poem by John Masefield, the Poet Laureate, written to commemorate the unveiling of the memorial to the dowager Queen Alexandra who had died in 1925. Unfortunately, the arrangement for Military Band has been lost and conductor Tom Higgins has made his own arrangement especially for this recording. Arrangements of Pomp and Circumstance Marches two and five are also included as is the version for Military Band of Elgar’s Severn Suite from 1930 and his arrangement of two Bach Chorales originally performed from the top of the tower of Worcester Cathedral in 1911. Elgar’s contemporaries are represented by Vaughan Williams his well-known Sea Songs and the complex and challenging Toccata Marziale. The disc is completed by the premiere recording of Sir Thomas Beecham’s March from 1946 and Walton O’Donnell’s charming Three Humoresques from 1923.

Kathleen's Ferrier's legacy of recordings has been well-known and widely-admired for over 60 years. So it seems amazing that, after so long, a treasury of previously unpublished and little-circulated BBC broadcasts is now being released. In typical fashion, SOMM leads the way in remembering great composers and artists of the past and Kathleen Ferrier is one of hte most divinely gifted among them. These recordings are from two sources. Several are from BBC's own archives and include Ferrier's first broadcast of Rubbra's Three Psalms, Op. 61, of which she was the dedicatee, five Schubert Lieder, four by Brahms and Parry's Love is a bable, recorded at the 1948 Edinburgh Festival, which makes a delightful conclusion to the album. The other source is the remarkable collection of Kenneth Leech, a composer and engineer who, from the 1930s to the 1950s, recorded numerous broadcasts, mainly using Bakelite and metal discs - the usual way for an enthusiast to preserve radio programmes at that time. This collection is stored at the National Sound Archive in the British Library.

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REVIEW:

Listening to these newly retrieved from BBC broadcasts and never released before, I am struck over again by the great contralto’s overriding characteristic – her natural, unfettered generosity. In song after song, she gives all of herself, nothing held back. She simply soars.

New to her discography on this release are six English tracks – three Psalms that Edmund Rubbra wrote for her in 1946, and others by Stanford, Parry, and the lesser-known Maurice Jacobsen, a mentor of hers. The songs belong to an almost forgotten era of English simplicity and Ferrier delivers them in the most idiomatic fashion, without advocacy or ornament.

I would not want to be without this record of an immortal artist, and nor will you once you have heard it.

– Open Letters Monthly (Norman Lebrecht)