There are only six dynamics used in this score (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff) so that each "level" of volume has a clear meaning and sound. Very often dynamics are staggered and layered; thus it is especially important that musicians play their individual dynamics and not be swayed to change their dynamic if someone is playing a great deal quieter or louder. The words "sempre" and "subito" are used to help clarify the layered dynamic textures. Occasionally, where there are short instrumental soli, the term "rubato" is used and means that it is not necessary to mechanically play the exact rhythm (sextuplet, quintuplet, small triplet, etc.) but rather that one can consider those rhythms more gesturally. "Rubato" does not mean to drastically slow down or speed up the tempo. This music should be performed along with acrobats or dancers when feasible. Flute can be substituted by soprano saxophone, oboe or clarinet; Bass clarinet can be substituted by tenor saxophone or bassoon.

Alan was a complete musician - a composer, performer, teacher, and a person of extraordinary natural musicality. Small wonder then that he was viewed with profound respect by all those within the musical profession who were privileged to come into contact with him... As a pianist one was struck by his innate rhythmic verve, a facet which indeed radiated through all his compositions - but perhaps the quality above all else that will be remembered was that which can best be described as a mezzo voce bel canto, the realisation of a choice and refined ear, and the product of a deep thinker and inner tranquillity'. It is that satisfying synergy of elegant lyricism and rhythmic energy which distinguishes the keyboard works of pianist and composer Alan Richardson. (Paul Conway)

This remarkable release reveals the full breadth and genius of a creative career known to most merely by the tip of the iceberg: a small number of seminal works written in the composer’s final decade of life. Cesar Franck (1822–1890), although considered one of the foremost 19th-century French composers, was not in fact French by birth, but Belgian. He only became a full French citizen in 1873 after he had been appointed organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire.

Franck's career can be divided into three distinct periods, each characterised by the production of very different types of music. From 1834 to 1846, under pressure from his father, he concertised as a piano virtuoso, and most of the works of this period were written with that purpose in mind. In the decade following his marriage in 1848 he composed virtually nothing but became celebrated as an organist, and he would bring the spacious dimensions of that instrument to his sound world in the years to come. His ‘middle period’ – from about 1858 to 1879 – was devoted to the production of works for organ, church music and a series of monumental choral pieces on religious or biblical subjects. In these three decades he wrote virtually nothing for the piano. From 1879 begins the decade of his late flowering in the great chamber and orchestral works, ushered in by his well-loved Piano Quintet and containing the pieces for which Franck is widely known. Spanning all three periods were opera and his small output of 18 mélodies.

Recordings date from 1976-2016.

Includes new liner notes on the music and composer by David Moncur.

Selected excerpts of reviews from some of the previously released volumes included in this set:

Franck: Melodies / Francesca Scaini, Mattia Ometto

Scaini’s vocalism, rich and full with a luscious yet powerful tone and outstanding vocal control. She has no “break” in registers, her voice has the same burnished bronze quality from her lowest to her highest notes, and her vibrato is light and rapid, making her timbre sound almost vibratoless. Her breath control is staggering, spinning out the longest lines as if in one breath, and her musicality unquestionably great (Scaini, the notes tell us, has also sung the modern music of Hespos, Ligeti, and Neurath in addition to the standard Italian operatic repertoire). If I have any complaint, it is that she is more of an operatic animal and less of a song stylist; it’s a bit like hearing Gilda Cruz-Romo sing Schubert Lieder. Pianist Ornetto, following her every mood and impulse, also accompanies along “big” lines. This may not really be the ideal style for Franck’s chansons , but as I say, you can’t fault her voice or phrasing.

– Fanfare

Franck: String Quartet, Piano Quintet / Rubackyté, Vilnius String Quartet

Joined by Mûza Rubackyté, one of the great pianists of our era, the Vilnius Quartet galvanized to bar-by-bar involvement and escalating drama lifting into superbly mastered ecstasy verging on hysteria.

– Fanfare

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CONTENTS:

• Franck, C: Le Chasseur maudit
Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra
Roberto Benzi

• Franck, C: Symphony in D minor
Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra
Roberto Benzi

• Franck, C: Symphonic Variations for piano & orchestra, M46
François-Joël Thiollier (piano)
Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra
Roberto Benzi

• Franck, C: Les Djinns, Op. 45
François-Joël Thiollier (piano)
Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra
Roberto Benzi

• Franck, C: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 11
Martijn van den Hoek (piano)
Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra
Roberto Benzi

• Franck, C: Les Eolides - Symphonic Poem
Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra
Roberto Benzi

• Franck, C: Psyché
Sofia Symphony Orchestra
Vassil Kazandjiev

• Franck, C: String Quartet in D major
Vilnius String Quartet

• Franck, C: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 14
Muza Rubackyte (piano)
Vilnius String Quartet

• Franck, C: Trio Concertant in F sharp minor, Op. 1, No. 1
members of the Academica Quartet

• Franck, C: Trio Concertant in B flat major, Op. 1, No. 2 'Trio de salon'
members of the Academica Quartet

• Franck, C: Duo Concertante
members of the Academica Quartet

• Franck, C: Andantino quietoso in E flat, Op. 6
members of the Academica Quartet

• Franck, C: Trio Concertant in B minor, Op. 1, No. 3
members of the Academica Quartet

• Franck, C: Trio Concertant in B minor, Op. 2 No. 4
members of the Academica Quartet

• Franck, C: Violin Sonata in A major
Mariana Sîrbu (violin), Ruxandra Colan (piano)

• Franck, C: Ballade, Op. 9
Julia Severus (piano)

• Franck, C: Transcriptions of Four Schubert Songs, Op. 8
Julia Severus (piano)

• Franck, C: Fantasy on Two Polish Folk Songs, Op. 15
Julia Severus (piano)

• Franck, C: Souvenirs of Aix-la-Chapelle, Op. 7
Julia Severus (piano)

• Franck, C: Grande Fantaisie sur des motifs de Gulistan de Dalayrac
Francesco Bertoldi (piano)

• Franck, C: Fantaisie No.2
Francesco Bertoldi (piano)

• Franck, C: Fantasy on Two Polish Folk Songs, Op. 15
Francesco Bertoldi (piano)

• Franck, C: Grande Fantaisie No.3
Francesco Bertoldi (piano)

• Franck, C: Prélude, Fugue et Variation Op. 18
Muza Rubackyte (piano)

• Franck, C: Prelude, Aria et Final M23 (1886 / 7)
Muza Rubackyte (piano)

• Franck, C: Prélude, Choral et Fugue, M21
Muza Rubackyte (piano)

• Franck, C: Fantaisie in C major, Op. 16
Adriano Falcioni (organ)

• Franck, C: Grande Pièce Symphonique in F sharp minor, Op. 17
Adriano Falcioni (organ)

• Franck, C: Prélude, Fugue et Variation Op. 18
Adriano Falcioni (organ)

• Franck, C: Pastorale, Op. 19
Adriano Falcioni (organ)

• Franck, C: Prière, Op. 20
Adriano Falcioni (organ)

• Franck, C: Final in B flat, Op. 21
Adriano Falcioni (organ)

• Franck, C: Trois pièces pour grand orgue, M. 35-37
Adriano Falcioni (organ)

• Franck, C: Trois Chorals pour grand orgue, M. 38-40
Adriano Falcioni (organ)

• Franck, C: Cinq Pièces pour Harmonium
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: Prélude, Fugue et Variation Op. 18
Joris Verdin (harmonium), Jos van Immerseel (piano)

• Franck, C: Offertoire in A major
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: Petit Offertoire
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: Quasi Marcia Op. 22 pour Harmonium
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: Petit Offertoire pour Harmonium
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: Offertoire sur un noël breton
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: Entree pour Harmonium
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: Piece in E flat major
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: L'Organiste
Joris Verdin (harmonium)

• Franck, C: Stradella
Isabel Kabatu (Léonor), Marc Laho (Stradella), Werner Van Mechelen (Spadoni), Philippe Rouilon (Duke of Pesaro), Xavier Rouilon (Pietro), Giovanni Iovino (Michael), Patrick Mignon (Beppo), Roger Joakim (An officer)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie
Paolo Arrivabeni

• Franck, C: Les Béatitudes, M53
Cornelia Kallisch (alto), Ingeborg Danz (mezzo-soprano), John Cheek (bass), Diana Montague (mezzo-soprano), Scot Weir (tenor), Reinhard Hagen (bass), Gilles Cachemaille (baritone), Keith Lewis (tenor), Juan Vasle (bass)
Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR
Helmuth Rilling

• Franck, C: Redemption
Gé Neutel (soprano)
The Netherlands Radio Choir, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic
Jean Fournet

• Franck, C: Mass in A Major Op. 12
Mariann Bódi (soprano), Attila Wendler (tenor), István Rácz (bass)
Kodály Kórus Debrecen
Salamon Kamp

• Franck, C: Quae est ista
Kodály Kórus Debrecen
Salamon Kamp

• Franck, C: Dextera Domini
Kodály Kórus Debrecen
Salamon Kamp

• Franck, C: Sept Paroles du Christ sur la Croix
Mainzer Domorchester, Mainzer Domorchester
Karsten Storck

• Franck, C: Trois pièces pour grand orgue, M. 35-37
Daniel Beckmann (organ)

• Franck, C: Nocturne
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Ninon
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Le vase brisé
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Lied (Lucien Paté)
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Le mariage des roses
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Souvenance
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Robin Gray
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Passez
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Roses et papillons
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: L’ange et l’enfant
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Les Cloches du soir
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: L’émir de Bengador
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: S’il est un charmant gazon
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: A cette terre où l’on ploie sa tente
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: Aimer
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

• Franck, C: La Procession
Francesca Scaini (soprano), Mattia Ometto (piano)

This album is made up of selected live and radio broadcasts with the Danish Radio Big Band and Swedish, British and Danish/American small groups during 1964-71. As the title indicates only ballads are included on the album, and, for the first time on a Ben Webster ballad album, there is no string-section accompaniment. Three of the ten numbers were previously unreleased before the original issue of this album. The art of ballad-playing was all-important to Ben Webster. He once said "Remember, there are only three tempi in jazz - slow, medium and slow!" While all the tunes are ballads, the wide variety and constellations give a wonderful, multi-faceted sound-picture of Ben Webster.

Naples '44 is an unflinching autobiographical account of a year in Naples after the armistice and Allied landings in Sorrento in 1943. Working as a British counterintelligence officer under the Allied occupation, Lewis documents the rich pageant of life in the city and it's surrounding areas. There is suffering and squalor: criminal gangs are on the rise, along with typhus and black market commerce, and the female population is forced into part-time prostitution, simply to obtain food. Corruption is rife as a Genovese crime family member makes his way into the US army administration, and local hospitals, short on supplies, buy equipment back from those who stole it. There is farce and humor too, witnessed in the Roman uncle paid handsomely to simply appear at funerals and lend an air of gravitas, and in Lewis's own experience of vetting proposed marriages between British soldiers and local women. Unsparing, penetrating and profoundly humane, Naples '44 is a moving portrait of the costs of war, and the resilience of a society under extreme stress.

For a period of seven years, Wilfred Thesiger canoed through the marshes at the confluence of Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, living among the native Madan tribes and their islands made of reeds. Now extinct, their ancient way of life is speculated to have existed for 5,000 years, going back to the days of ancient Sumer, and possessed a unique culture found nowhere else in the Middle East. Thesiger documents the tribes' conflicts, traditions, cuisine, relationships, justice systems and art, and reveals how they built their unique water-borne society, with it's beautiful canoes (taradas) and stately guest houses (mudhifs) - it is a remarkable familiarity gained through Thesiger's innate understanding of tribal ritual and etiquette, and the trust he earned through the use of a basic medical supply kit that he brought along with him. Poetic and immersing, The Marsh Arabs brings alive the sights, sounds and smells of the marshes, and a culture that has now vanished forever.

Written from the perspective of an unbeliever, Fear and Trembling explores the paradox of faith, the nature of Christianity and the complexity of human emotion. Kierkegaard examines the biblical story of Abraham, instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac, and forces us to consider Abraham's state of mind. What drove Abraham, and what made him carry out such an absurd and extreme request from God? Kierkegaard argues that Abraham's agreement to sacrifice Isaac, and his suspension of reason, elevated him to the highest level of faith. He explores more comprehensible alternatives, but in each one Abraham fails the test of faith, thus showing that true faith cannot be explained, understood, or made rational. His thesis is a compelling counterpoint to Hegel, who maintained that reason was the highest form of thought, and proved a significant source of inspiration to later existentialist philosophers such as Camus and Sartre.

For the Best of Tacet 2012, the label has chosen from their lengthy catalogue only the greatest and most famous composers performed by some of the finest ensembles in the world.. The tracks included here feature pieces by Elgar, Mozart, Dvorak, de Falla, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Rossini, and more. All of these tracks have been taken from previous releases. Every one of the 'Best of Tacet' albums has been a stunning success. Ulrich Oesterle writes of Tacet recordings: "Unconventional ways of thinking and enormous skill produce sounds and musical results which are not only astonishing but also totally convincing. Tacet campaigns for quality. And Tacet stands for unusual artistic ideas, truly outstanding musical personalities and audiophile sounds. Tacet is successful and is now available all over the world."

For the Best of Tacet 2013, the label has chosen from their lengthy catalogue only the greatest and most famous composers performed by some of the finest ensembles in the world.. The tracks included here feature pieces by Vivaldi, Mussorgsky, Saint-Saens, Bartholdy, Chopin, Beethoven, Haydn, and more. All of these tracks have been taken from previous releases. Every one of the 'Best of Tacet' albums has been a stunning success. Ulrich Oesterle writes of Tacet recordings: "Unconventional ways of thinking and enormous skill produce sounds and musical results which are not only astonishing but also totally convincing. Tacet campaigns for quality. And Tacet stands for unusual artistic ideas, truly outstanding musical personalities and audiophile sounds. Tacet is successful and is now available all over the world."

James Rhodes has no formal academic musical education or dedicated mentoring. The title of the debut album “Razor Blades Little Pills and Big Pianos”, hints at the suffering that dogged Rhodes’s childhood and early adult life. Classical music became his solace and key to his survival. It was Bach, Beethoven and Chopin, not Faith Hope and Charity, that offered comfort. In 1993, mental health issues stopped him taking up a scholarship to the Guildhall. Suffering further setbacks due to health issues it was not until 2008, when Rhodes met his present manager, Denis Blais, that he was encouraged to record his first album. This enabled him to bare his soul and put many of the ghosts of the past to rest. With Blais, Rhodes also created a distinctive and unique approach to how the classical piano repertoire should be presented. Uncomfortable with the austere and traditional ‘white tie and tails’ recital they decided it was time for the performer to communicate directly with the audience. Rhodes was going to introduce his own programme notes and share what it takes to perform these works of art using fascinating anecdotes about the composers and his own life experience. Delivered in his unique trademark stand-up style he creates an immersive experience that has won him and classical music a dedicated new following. His new album, presented here, shows the same no-holds-barred approach to these time-honored classics.

First published in March 1722, 57 years after the event that struck more than 100, 000 people, A Journal of the Plague Year is a compelling portrait of life during London's horrific bubonic plague. Through the eyes of H.F. (speculated to be Defoe's uncle, Henry Foe, from whose journals the book was supposedly adapted) we witness great grief, depravity and despair: crazed sufferers roam the streets, unearthly screams resound across the city, death carts dump their grisly loads into mass graves, and quackery and skulduggery feed on fear. But there is kindness and courage too, as mutual support and caring are upheld through the worst of days. Defoe's Journal is considered one of the most accurate accounts of the plague, and includes many contemporary theories about the disease, along with rolls of the dead and a literary mapping of London, street by street, parish by parish. It is a fascinating and intimate account from one of the earliest proponents of the novel.

The Story of My Life is the explosive and exhilarating autobiography by the infamous libertine Giacomo Casanova. Intense and scandalous, Casanova's extraordinary adventures take the listener on an incredible voyage across 18th-century Europe - from France to Russia, Poland to Spain and Turkey to Germany, with Venice at their heart. He falls madly in love, has wild flings and delirious orgies, and encounters some of the most brilliant figures of his time, including Catherine the Great, Louis XV and Benjamin Franklin. He holds a verbal duel with Voltaire, a pistol duel with a Polish noble, and finds himself hauled before the court multiple times, including in London, where the judge in question turns out to be none other than Henry Fielding. His appetite for life is voracious; for him, a life lived close to the precipice is the only life worth living. The book is divided into six sections. Volume 3 contains the fifth and sixth sections: '5: In London and Moscow' and '6: Spanish Passions'.

The history of music is, in many ways, an assemblage of occasional compositions. Since the rise of art pour l'art in the nineteenth century, classical music purports to be abstract, but in the longer arc, compositions connect to specific occasions: a coronation, a requiem mass, a religious feast, a dinner party, a regal celebration. Such occasions and commissions present challenges-not least for the composer charged with responding to the myriad consequences of the world's first nuclear reaction. Does one focus on the (positive) reverberations in cancer treatment, power, and science? Does one focus on the (negative) reverberations in bombs, death, waste, and perpetual threats of war? In Plea for Peace, these consequences are inextricable. The clean perfect intervals that begin and end the work give rise to both expansionist leaps and cocooning retractions. The soloist's elegant, wordless vocalise weaves in and out of the string quartet's sustained harmonies in graceful counterpoint, drawing us closer to our common humanity. Simple harmonies slowly transform, becoming rich and complex at the insistent, dramatic climax: a wordless scream from the soul. As the music's opening glow returns, the voice seamlessly dovetailing with the strings, we return to the sonic space of meditation, reflecting on an absolute plea for lasting peace.

Murmuration describes the delicate sound of tens of thousands of wings created by migrating starlings as they congregate at dusk and form stupendous patterns in the sky. Richard Blackford writes in his performance notes: "The players should try to avoid accenting the first notes of each group. For the overlapping sections they should try to match each other dynamically as much as possible and thereby create a seamless texture." Richard Blackford has written extensively for the theatre, and his credits include The Laborers of Herakles, The Kaisers of Carnuntum, The Prince's Play, The Pig Organ, Follow My Leader, and others. Both of his critically acclaimed choral works- Mirror Of Perfection and Voices of Exile- were the subjects of television documentaries and have been frequently broadcast on Classic FM and BBC Radio 3.

Returned from Ireland after the death of his wife, Phineas Finn has a newfound ambition to rise through the ranks of English politics. But not long after regaining his seat in parliament, Phineas's luck begins to desert him. His reputation is tarnished after the press circulate rumors of an affair with Laura Kennedy, and his ambitions are frustrated by opposition from within the Party. Then, when his Party rival Mr. Bonteen is discovered dead, all fingers point towards Phineas, leading to his incarceration and humiliation at the dock... How will he redeem himself, and who will come to his aid? Phineas Redux is a gripping look at the political stage in Victorian England. It is perhaps the most personal of Trollope's Palliser series, being colored by the author's own experiences as a Liberal candidate between the time he wrote this and Phineas Finn.