“Ascenso is a collection of works that have, in one way or another, a direct connection to myself. I wanted to present an album that was a representation of my current self, not just as a cellist, but as an artist. My idea is that this is not a cellist’s recording, or an album centered around the instrument, but rather a work that is meant to be experienced as you would a painting on a wall, whatever that may mean to you.”

Santiago Cañón-Valencia has been praised as one of the most promising young cellists of his generation. Born in Bogota in 1995, his major musical mentors have been Henryk Zarzycki in Colombia, James Tennant in New Zealand, Andres Diaz in the United States and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the Kronberg Academy in Germany.

– A 2022 BBC Next Generation Artist and Winner of the Silver Medal and “Audience Favorite”

– A major prize winner of the Sphinx, Casals, Johansen, Cassadó, and Adam cello competitions.

REVIEW:

What the charismatic virtuoso delivers is some attractive premieres. Ponce de León’s "La ruta de la mariposa" has a poignant transparency, and is exquisitely performed.

-- BBC Music Magazine

From the pipe organ at the Sono Luminus studio in Boyce, Virginia, we are pleased to present a fine selection of baroque organ music for the Christmas season. Felipe Dominguez (b. 1983) is a Chilean/American organist, harpsichordist, clavichordist, and musicologist. A graduate of Brigham Young University (B.M. 2010, M.M. 2012), he studied organ and harpsichord with Douglas Bush and Don Cook. He has pursued further postgraduate organ instruction in Europe with Edoardo Belotti, Hans Davidsson, Harald Vogel, and Leon Berben. Mr. Dominguez has performed as a soloist and in ensembles in Chile, Argentina, the United States and Europe.

Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (Oh, Come thou Savior of the Gentiles) is a German chorale normally sung during advent, and is a call for the Lord to come to Earth.

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming is a well known and beloved traditional chorale on the original harmonization by Michael Praetorius.

The chorale Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich, (Praise God, you Christians, All Together) is set in verse 1 with the melody in the soprano and counterpoint in the two lower voices, and in verse 2 with the melody in the pedal and two lines in imitation on top.

Noël cette Journée (Christmas day today) imitates the French musette with a sustained pedal note, a sweet melody and elegant ornaments, painting an image of the French countryside.

Zipoli’s Pastorale also centers on the image of countryside landscape, which was a popular Christmas theme at the time in the spirit of the biblical annunciation to the shepherds.

Michau qui causoit ce grand bruit is a traditional French Noël treated in a very common structure of variations with different character, the first with a royal feel and the second with a courtesan air.

A ricercar is an imitative form that uses a melody as its main source of material for development. In the case of the Ricercare on “Ave Maria Klare”, a hymn for the Virgin Mary is used as the main source material.

Buxtehude’s Fantasia on “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” (How brightly Shines the Morning Star) is one of his greatest masterpieces. He uses small phrases of the chorale melody to develop contrasting sections full of color, energy, and beauty, which also provide an opportunity to highlight the wonderful colors of the organ.

Louis-Claude Daquin wrote a large collection of Noëls and his own performances were legendary in 18th Century Paris. His Noël variations normally present the melody first, followed by variations, at times very virtuosic as it is in this case.

Selections from the Oratorio “The Messiah” by Handel have long been a staple of the Christmas repertoire. This version of the pifa transcribed for the organ is highly ornamented and with its triple meter and dance character intends to take the listener back to the annunciation to the shepherds.

Böhm’s setting of “From Heaven Above,” a popular Christmas chorale, sets the melody as a solo, largely unornamented so it is easy to recognize, against a contrapuntal backdrop.

Voluntary V, Op. 6, by John Stanley though not a Christmas piece has all the hallmarks of a royal entrance. It begins with a contrapuntal section similar to a string ensemble, followed by a virtuosic trumpet solo (Oboe 8’).

This second setting of “From Heaven Above,” by Pachelbel is much different than the previous one, the melody being in the pedal with a Principal 8’ against Koppel Flute 4‘ and Quint 1 1/3‘ in the Swell that dance in counterpoint above the melody.

This 18th Century setting of a pastorale by Bernardo Pasquini is much more elaborated, making more use of counterpoint and varied harmonies throughout the piece. However, it stays true to the countryside character of pastorals.

In Sweet Rejoicing! (In Dulci Jubilo) Is a popular upbeat Christmas hymn. The first 16th Century version from the Fridolin Sichers Tablature is highly imitative, with phrases overlapping over each other very actively. The second version by J.S. Bach, written in his youth, is a highly ornamented version of the hymn that works in scales and arpeggios with a majestic end only as Bach can deliver.

REVIEW:

What distinguishes this release (other than the fine playing and sound) is the inviting combination of a few absolute Christmas classics with a treasure trove of lesser-known but vibrantly lively period works. In the end we get a good listen to the newly installed Sono Luminus organ, which sounds just right. And then the program scores big to my ears with a wide-ranging, musically ravishing collection of Baroque gems for the season. Highly recommended.

-- Gapplegate Classical Modern Music Review

Julian Brink is a South African composer. Born in Johannesburg in 1989, he first picked up his mother’s guitar at the age of ten and grew up playing in rock bands. He discovered a love of contemporary classical music through the films of Paolo Sorrentino and Paul Thomas Anderson. Hearing Jonny Greenwood's score for There Will be Blood, in particular, was what led him to pursue composition. Although he didn’t learn to read music until he was 19, while studying guitar at undergraduate level, he went on to complete a master's degree in film scoring through Berklee College of Music and relocated to California in 2015. Brink works in film music and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Maddie Hasson.

In collaboration with eminent classical label Sono Luminus, Utility Music is Brink's first standalone release. Originally composed in 2019 as a score for an abandoned film project, the music was arranged for piano, harp and string trio. It was later repurposed, reorchestrated and combined with a few older pieces into what is its current form. The album features performances by several distinguished musicians, with the heart of the music being the string trio of Moldovan violin virtuoso Dan-Iulian Drutac; Nick Revel, violist of the Grammy Nominated PUBLIQuartet; and Joe Zeitlin who was the lead cellist on Mica Levi’s Oscar-nominated score for Pablo Lorraín’s Jackie.

TRACKS:

• Colombo / Green Fingers
• Miniatures
• Simple Trio No. 1
• Eventually Lapse
• Albatross
• At Night
• Eastwood No. 4
• Simple Trio No. 2
• Aura for M
• Baptism in the Field
• Pattern Shells

REVIEW:

For his first standalone release, Julian Brink has repurposed and re-orchestrated an incomplete score for an unfinished film. The 11 short, delectable tracks ‘toss boundaries’, as the trombonist provocateur Juliane Gralle observes. Taken together, it feels like there might still be a movie in there, somewhere.

‘Miniatures’ has the feel of a haunted, southern Viennese waltz surrounded in fog, its central beauty emerging serenely through the mist accompanied by drops of ringing pizzicatos. ‘At Night’ features cellist Joe Zeitlin creating other-worldly shadings of tone and colour then lifting them gently from the musical score. The two ‘Simple Trio’ tracks, which offer a vade mecum of ‘uncomplicated transitions between notes to make the samples sound more realistic’, feature the trio of Zeitlin, violinist Dan-Iulian Druțac and viola player Nick Revel of PUBLIQuartet, which Brink describes as ‘the heart of the album. I try to forget that they haven’t all met each other and aren’t playing together in the same room.’

‘Albatross’ channels John Cage and Morton Feldman with mesmerisingly deceptive, irregular beats, wonderfully quiet. The last track, ‘Pattern Shells’, influenced by Villa-Lobos, is a spontaneous splurge of brass and tropical birds.

-- Gramophone

Note: this double-disc release contains both a CD and a Blu-ray Audio disc. The latter will only play on devices with Blu-ray read capability.

Hugi Guðmundsson writes: “The title piece, Equilibrium IV: Windbells, was the seed this whole album grew from. It was premièred under rather unusual circumstances at the 2005 World Expo in Japan in a venue that more closely resembled a stadium than a concert stage for classical music. I was an integral part of the performance due to the interactive electronics in the piece. We had practiced that I would maintain eye contact with the musicians during performances, just a few meters from the stage. However, the mixer I was operating at the concert was housed in something that resembled an air traffic control tower some 100 meters away from the stage. Or at least it felt that way. From my perspective, the musicians were like tiny ants in one corner of the enormous stage and they could not see me at all. Despite these outlandish circumstances, we somehow managed to perform the piece.

"It has since become one of my most performed chamber pieces and has received several awards and recognitions. It has never been recorded in a studio up until now. So, after a recent performance with Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra, where it received very warm reviews, we decided it was time to do something about it. That snowballed into what is now this album…”

REVIEWS:

Icelandic composer Hugi Guðmundsson has crafted an idiom combining neo-tonality and modernist inflections, with deliberate rhythms often based on slowly evolving ostinatos. Aspects of rhythmic construction loom large here on this portrait CD for Sono Luminus, as well as Guðmundsson’s incorporation of electronics into chamber works. Guðmundsson’s inclusion on the label is most welcome. He has a distinctive creative voice, and Windbells is a thoroughly persuasive recording.

-- Sequenza21.com

Performances throughout are distinct and characterful, but the bold musicianship of flautist Áshildur Haraldsdóttir deserves special mention; her playing is assertive and daring in its breathy ferocity, while equally capable of singing with the sweetest clarity.

-- BBC Music Magazine

This is a Blu-ray Audio disc, playable on Blu-ray players only.

“In the Summer of 2019, we recorded our album Once Upon a Time, our first recorded version of a “story concert.” Although we had explored this concept for several years prior with storyteller Sarah Walker, Once Upon a Time was our first collaboration with Benedict Sheehan, who composed incidental music (almost like a choral movie score) to accompany Sarah’s dialogue and to connect the musical dots between existing works by an array of composers. That summer, it became clear that we had stumbled onto something unusual and special. First, the idea of a continuous choral story score – combining elements of classical performance, storytelling, film scoring, and theatricality – seemed to be a rich new idiom for choral performance art. Second, the collaborative team of the project seemed like a dream come true – there was a strong sense of mutual respect for everyone’s unique talents, and a rare ability for creative push and pull…” (Matthew Guard, Artistic Director)

Tvær hliðar/Two Sides presents two contrasting sides of our music-making. On the first album we perform our core repertoire of Italian and Swedish Baroque music, but Barokkbandið Brák also seeks to expand the repertoire for historical instruments by commissioning new works by up and coming Icelandic composers, and the second album showcases new Icelandic music written specially for the ensemble. All of these works share the same sound world as all the music is performed on historical instruments from the baroque era.

REVIEW:

This is a gripping if curiously conceived album, divided unequally between an entertaining music from the High Baroque, and four new works by young Icelandic composers all commissioned by Barokkbandi Brák.

There are no doubts about Barokkbandi Brák’s virtuosity or musicality: the lively opening Allegro of Vivaldi’s Sinfonia bounds along with flawless intonation and ensemble. In Agrell’s vibrant Sinfonia in A and Sammartini’s energetic Concerto grosso, musical flow is always beautifully maintained, moving consistently at pace without seeming hurried. Barokkbandi Brák’s partnership with Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir in the Agrell Concerto is immaculate, with a real sense of joy – but then Kristinsdóttir is not only one of theirs but was one of the founders of the group in 2015. The same applies to the crisp performance of Vivaldi’s triple concerto for two violins and cello, featuring the group’s co-founder Laufey Jensdóttir and cellist Steinunn Arnbjörg Stefánsdóttir.

The group’s chamber credentials are highlighted in the trio sonatas by Corelli and Stradella, and – in a very different vein – Thrainn Hjalmarsson’s string quartet Recitar cantando/Speaking in Song, a study in ethereal textures. Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir composed her septet Quorum Sensing to evoke the biological mechanism that can ‘regulate gene expression’ and ‘co-ordinate group behavior’. Starting in not dissimilar expressive territory to Recitar cantando, it develops, slowly, in a more focused manner. Finnur Karlsson describes Fold as ‘a kind of contemplation about different aspects of Baroque music’. Kristinn Kristinsson’s diptych BRK also explicitly references the Baroque at its opening, though the music immediately circles away from (and back to, several times) the idiom in the first span’s sedate progress. Sono Luminus’s sound is crystal clear throughout.

-- Gramophone

Bruce Levingston is one of today’s celebrated figures in contemporary classical music. The New Yorker has called him “a force for new music” with “a gift for innovative and glamorous programming.” The title of pianist Bruce Levingston’s haunting new album is taken from the beautiful suite by acclaimed American composer James Matheson, heard here in its world premiere recording. This evocative, richly-colored work depicts the exquisite stained glass windows of Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse inspired by ancient imagery and scripture. These works, which reflect a myriad of overlapping artistic influences, led Levingston, an artist known for his cutting-edge programming, to seek out other composers who have been inspired by multiple art forms. Robert Schumann was an immediate choice. His intimate Kinderszenen, a series of distilled little jewels that offer fleeting glimpses of childhood, is paired with the urbane, elegant Arabeske.

Distinguished British-American composer David Bruce is also heard here in the premiere recording of his touching work, The Shadow of the Blackbird, inspired by the music of Schumann as well as the moving poetry of Wallace Stevens. It seemed fitting for Levingston to program these three inspired, and inspiring, composers together. Their works, old and new, represent aural windows through which their extraordinary visions may be heard, sensed and felt.

REVIEW:

The label's resonantly ample engineering particularly lends itself to Matheson’s vibrant writing and Levingston’s compelling, colorful pianism.

– Gramophone

Track Listing
1. Battle Cry of Freedom, for voice, chorus & keyboard, The
2. Star-Spangled Banner, The (National Anthem, USA), for orchestra & voice/chorus, ad lib
3. Uncle Sam's Farm
4. Vaillance Polka Militaire
5. Drums and Trumpets
6. Weeping, Sad and Lonely, for voice & keyboard
7. Columbian Quadrilles, The
8. Girl I Left Behind Me, folk song, The
9. Beauregard's Retreat From Shiloh, for narrator, chorus & piano
10. We Are Coming, Father Abraham for voice & piano
11. Kingdom Coming
12. Grafted into the Army
13. Picture on the Wall, The
14. Daniel Webster's Funeral March
15. Tenting On the Old Campground
16. Battle Hymn of the Republic, The ("Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory," words by Julia Ward Howe; music attributed to Steffe)

D.C. Hall's New Concert & Quadrille Band: Kevin M'Dermott (vocals), James H. Johnston (violin), Patrick G. Jordan (viola), Peter H. Bloom (flute, piccolo), Steven Jackson (clarinet), Henry Peyrebrune (acoustic bass).

Recorded at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, New York in November and December, 1993. Includes liner notes by Kevin M'Dermott.

On UNION & LIBERTY!, D.C. Hall's New Concert & Quadrille Band performs Northern popular music of the Civil War era on period instruments.

D.C. Hall's New Concert and Quadrille Band: Kevin M'Dermott (tenor); James H. Johnston (violin); Henry Peyrebrune (bass violin); Patrick G. Jordan (viola); Peter H. Bloom (flute); Steven Jackson (clarinet).
Personnel: Patrick G. Jordan (viola); Peter H. Bloom (flute, piccolo); Kevin M'Dermott (tenor saxophone).

Liner Note Author: Kevin M'Dermott.

Recording information: Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, NY (11/1993-12/1993).

Editors: Kevin M'Dermott; Jonathan Marcus.

Arrangers: Kevin M'Dermott; Patrick G. Jordan; Peter H. Bloom; Moore.

In many ways, this album represents the debut recording of ACME, American Contemporary Music Ensemble. The collection of pieces here was chosen for very pure and simple reasons; each work is a piece we love and to which we feel quite intimately connected. The performance of this music is an expression of affection and closeness, not just to each other as performers, but also to the composer who wrote it. Three of the four composers featured are also performers in ACME. It is music that feels very close. The privilege of performing this music for others has shaped each of us individually and as an ensemble, and these pieces occupy a good part of the music ACME has performed as concert music. It was also chosen for this album, to exist on recorded media, because it is work that should exist in other scenarios beyond the concert experience: a long, slow walk; a frenetic commute; a late evening at home... The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) is dedicated to the outstanding performance of masterworks from the 20th and 21st centuries, primarily the work of American composers. The ensemble presents music by living composers alongside the classics of the contemporary. ACME’s dedication to new music extends across genres, and has earned them a reputation among both classical and rock crowds. NPR calls them “contemporary music dynamos,” and The New York Times describes ACME’s performances as “vital,” “brilliant,” and “electrifying.” Time Out New York reports, “Jensen has earned a sterling reputation for her fresh, inclusive mix of minimalists, maximalists, eclectics and newcomers.” ACME was honored by ASCAP during its 10th anniversary season in 2015 for the “virtuosity, passion, and commitment with which it performs and champions American composers.” "This curated selection of pieces comes from different but rhyming sonic worlds and is some of the music we have grown to love the most in this varied and fast-changing world." - Clarice Jensen, ACME Cellist & Artistic Director

Track Listing
1. Turtle Dove, folk song
2. Fair Margaret and sweet William (Child 74)
3. Gypsen Davey
4. Arise, arise, you slumbering sleeper
5. Soldier boy for me
6. Lord Bateman (Child 53)
7. Berayna
8. Outlandish knight (Child 4)
9. Lady Gay (The Wife of Usher's Well), folk song (Child 79)
10. Johnny home from sea
11. Charlie's sweet
12. Earl Brand (Child 7)
13. Lady and the dragoon, The
14. Nightingale
15. Rebel soldier, The
16. True lover's farewell, The

Personnel: Custer LaRue (soprano); Mark Cudek (cittern); Ronn McFarlane (lute).

Recording information: Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, NY (09/1994).

Editors: Katherine A. Dory; Brian M. Levine.

The European folk music that British, Scottish and Irish immigrants brought with them to the U.S. paved the way for at least three forms of music: country, bluegrass and American folk. Essentially, American bluegrass is an extension of the Celtic jigs and reels of Ireland and Scotland, and the storytelling of country and American folk stems from British and Celtic folk traditions. Illustrating the parallels between English and Appalachian folk ballads, this 1994 recording consists primarily of songs that were published in the 1932 book English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. The liner notes are quite comprehensive, letting us what folk singers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia or North Carolina had performed the songs in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. On all of the songs, the Baltimore Consort features Custer LaRue, an excellent singer who joined the outfit in 1983. The expressive LaRue, who grew up in Virginia, sings in a soprano, and she often reminds us of early Joan Baez. From "the Rebel Soldier" and "Lord Baterman" to "Johnny Home from Sea" and "Arise, Arise, You Slumbering Sleeper," the charismatic LaRue has no problem brings these pastoral songs to life. Highly recommended. ~ Alex Henderson

The Teddy Bears Picnic

Sono Luminus is proud to introduce a stunning new talent to the label, The Jasper String Quartet, with their debut album The Kernis Project: Beethoven. For this debut recording, they chose two pieces closest to their collective heart. Aaron Jay Kernis took quartet writing to the next level when writing his Pulitzer Prize winning Quartet No. 2 “musica instrumentalis”. The first two movements take inspiration from Baroque and Renaissance dance forms and the last movement is directly influenced by the joyous fugue of Beethoven’s Op. 59 No. 3. With his last “Razumovsky” Quartet, Beethoven began his transformation into the most revered quartet composer of all time. The two pieces share a profound depth of expression and expansion of the possibilities of the quartet genre, making them a perfect pair for this project.

A varied and entertaining programme which gives a good impression of Vivaldi's writing for the lute.

The title of this disc leads one to expect pieces with a solo part for the lute. One wonders why three compositions have been included without a lute part. The reason is that in the motet and the two sinfonias the basso continuo is performed on theorbo, a lute with longer bass strings. This is joined by the lute in the motet. That results in a characteristic sound which is more intimate than with a harpsichord playing the bass part. Intimacy is a feature of this recording anyway. Some fast movements are played in a more moderate tempo than we are used to hear in Vivaldi's music, in particular in performances by Italian ensembles.

The fact that Vivaldi wrote a number of pieces for instrumental ensemble with a solo part for the lute is remarkable. Since the renaissance the lute had mainly been used as a solo instrument, to accompany singers and as part of an ensemble of various instruments. When the concertante style emerged in the early 17th century the lute - and in particular the theorbo - was used in the basso continuo. Compositions for lute solo with other instruments were rare in Italy. Most pieces of this kind were written by composers north of the Alps, in particular in Germany. It is assumed that the Concerto in D (RV 93) and the two trios were composed around 1730 when Vivaldi is thought to have stayed in Prague for a while. That could explain the solo role for the lute. The trios are obviously meant as chamber music, but the concerto is also likely to have been intended for a performance with one instrument per part, as on this disc. The lack of a part for the viola is in indication of this.

The Concerto in d minor (RV 540) is a special case; it is Vivaldi's only concerto for this combination. He was one of the first composers to write any concertante music for the viola d'amore. In his oeuvre we find six solo concertos and a concerto da camera with a viola d'amore part. Furthermore he used it as an obbligato instrument in arias in some vocal works. In the concerto the viola d'amore and the lute are treated on equal terms in the fast movements. In the largo the focus is on the viola d'amore whereas the lute is reduced to playing arpeggios.

The Sinfonias which open and close this disc belong to a considerable number of pieces which are referred to as concerti ripieni. They are scored for strings and b.c. and don't include any solo episodes. They are mostly very short - every movement taking barely two minutes or less. That depends on the choice of tempi and here these are mostly on the moderate side. It works quite well in the Sinfonia in d minor (RV 127) but less so in the Sinfonia in g minor (RV 157) where I find them just too slow.

In the trios and the concertos the tempi of the fast movements are also moderate. It lends them much grace, which suits these pieces well. Ronn McFarlane gives very fine performances of the solo parts. The violin and viola d'amore parts are also nicely played. I am less pleased by William Bauer's vibrato now and then in the largo of the Concerto in d minor.

Lastly the motet: it is very much in the style of Vivaldi's chamber cantatas. Like these the motets were first and foremost vehicles for the soloist to show his or her skills. Jennifer Ellis Kampani's skills are considerable as she convicingly deals with the many coloraturas, in particular in the opening aria. She has a pleasant voice which is perfectly suited to this repertoire.

It rounds off a programme which is varied and entertaining, and gives a good impression of Vivaldi's writing for the lute. The performances generally focus on the more intimate and graceful side of Vivaldi's oeuvre. There are no exaggerations as one meets them now and then in Italian performances of this repertoire.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

This selection is a High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) recording.
The Butler lute heard on several selections was rebuilt by David Brown of Baltimore in 1994.
Includes chaconne(s) for lute by Silvius Leopold Weiss. Soloist: Ronn McFarlane.

REVIEW:

Baroque chamber performers face the challenge of picking a program that makes sense from among the enormous body of small-ensemble music by Georg Philipp Telemann, and the multinational historical-instrument ensemble Rebel (pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable) surmounts this challenge. Telemann, like other composers of the first half of the 18th century, wrote lots of trio sonatas, but he also pursued the richer sonata à quattro and sonata à cinque. These are, in the main, flashier and more experimental pieces than the trio sonatas, and Rebel captures their daring qualities. Most of the movements are Italianate, but annotator John Moran (his notes are in English only) rightly points to the influence of Polish folk fiddling on Telemann's music here. Consider the Sonata Discortato à 4 in A major, TWV 43:A7 (tracks 5-8). "Discortato" means "untuned," and Telemann is thought to have derived the scordatura tuning here from Polish music he heard. The final movement is not a Polish dance but a French one, a bourrée, and it is miles away from Bach's treatments of this form; with its drones and plain melodic figures it sounds almost like a reproduction of an actual folk dance. This rustic style (explored in more detail on another Rebel disc devoted specifically to Telemann's Polish side) is balanced by flamboyant Italian sonata movements with pairs of violins and violas sounding off against each other in many combinations. It's a great deal of fun. Rebel here records in the U.S., in a church in Stamford, CT, that brings disagreeably live results, but this remains a colorful program that the Telemann aficionado will enjoy.

-- James Manheim, All Music Guide