Considered the bridge between romanticism and modernism, Matthew Arnold wrote verse that is simple, unadorned and straightforward. From the hypnotic and beautiful lines of Dover Beach to the pastoral narrative of The Scholar Gipsy, Arnold cast a gaze at the main intellectual issues of the nineteenth century while giving a timeless insight into man and nature. This collection covers his major poetic works, including the narrative poems, sonnets and elegiac poems, illuminating the lyricism and serenity of Arnold’s best poetry. The collection includes: Dover Beach, Desire, Longing, A Summer Night, Consolation, Philomela, A Dream, The Scholar Gipsy, East London, West London, Thyrsis, Immortality, Growing Old, A Wish, Bacchanalia; Or, The New Age, A Modern Sappho, The Hayswater Boat, The River, Human Life, The Buried Life, Austerity of Poetry, A Farewell, Requiescat

In this hapless state I looked myself over and saw that I was now no bird, but an ass.... In this ancient picaresque adventure, Lucius, an insatiably curious young man, finds himself transformed into a donkey after his fascination with black magic and witchcraft goes awry. While trapped in his new body, he becomes the property of thieves, farmers, cooks, soldiers and priests, and observes the hypocrisy and ineptitude of Imperial Roman society. The Golden Ass is considered the only novel to survive the Roman period, and the earliest novel to survive complete in the Western literary tradition. It is brimming with slapstick humor and sexual escapades, and foreshadows later works by Boccaccio, Rabelais, Cervantes and Chaucer, upon whom it was a direct influence.

Augusta read thomas : Rhea enchanted (2016)For solo violinDuration: c. 5 minutesFormat: A4 loose sheetsAlso available for solo viola (NMP1036) and solo cello (NMP1037)Available on CD, NI6355“Although highly notated, precise, carefully structured, soundly proportioned, and while the musician is elegantly working from a nuanced, specific text, I like my music to have the feeling that it is organically being self-propelled – on the spot - as if we listeners are overhearing (capturing) an un-notated, deeply musical improvisation.” Augusta Read Thomas

Yury Kunets is a Russian composer, musician, and producer. Kunets began composing while studying in a public school. From the late 80's on, he wrote lots of songs for different bands and solo artists. From 2004 Yury was involved in several musical TV projects as a producer. Along with author and director Maxim Kapitanovsky, he created two music films: Blame it all on the Beatles. By 2011 Yury Kunets had accumulated a considerable repertoire of instrumental pieces. In collaboration with award-winning American conductor Lee Holdridge and British recording producer Christopher Alder, Yury began recording a series of symphonic music works. In 2011, the first pieces were recorded in Krakow with the Wroclaw Score Orchestra. After receiving positive reactions, Yury decided to continue recording with Holdridge and Alder. By the end of 2014 he had recorded several new compositions in Warsaw. Yury Kunets' music combines elements of classical music, jazz and pop music. In his symphonic compositions melody and romance work to reflect the author's inner energies. ''The music itself exhibits a very lyrical character, through which I was trying to convey my own understanding of life and my state of mind. It's the result, so to speak, of my philosophical reflections, littles tories about our being surrounded by nature, which is intimately connected in turn with our own emotional lives...'' (Yury Kunets)

Augusta read thomas : Avian Escapades (2016)For woodwind quintetDuration: c. 12 minutesFormat: 40-page A4 saddle stitched score & 5 A4 saddle stitched partsAvailable on CD, NI6355“There are no quotes or paraphrases of any music in Avian Escapades. Every note of the quintet is part of an integrated, wholly original composition. It is to be performed along with dancers when feasible” Augusta Read Thomas

The Devil Made Me Do It is an album with the work from composer Alex Puddu, a long time Schema Records collaborator with several solo works in a very different music field than this. In fact, teh main source of inspiration of ''The Devil..'' is the music of Feta Kuti, with particular reference to the Africa 70 project to whic he belonged together with drummer Tony Allen. In its original version, ''The Devil Made Me Do It'' is pure downtempo afro beat while, for what concerns the other two versions here included, the ''Invisible Cosmic Echoes'' has a slower pace and is characterized - as the title suggests - by reverberations and space sound, while teh ''Invisible Astral Wave'' is perfect for a DJ remix and has got a slightly accelerated pace, with an emphasis on the percussive / tribal element. ''The Devil Made Me Do It'' confirms once again that a handful o fnotes and chords is more than enough to produce charming and enchanting music; to light the fuse of creativity we don't need anything else than a bunch of few right tones!

Listen to the Naxos Podcast to learn more about this release

The Eighth Book of Madrigals, subdivided into a substantial series of vocal and instrumental partbooks, contains some of Monteverdi's greatest music. In this sumptuous collection the material is carefully arranged by category into madrigals of war, love and those for the stage, with a wide array of human passions and compositional styles. This is the first recording to present Book Eight in its original, uncut form, also incorporating instrumental sinfonias and dances by Biagio Marini to round off Monteverdi's design. In keeping with seventeenth-century practice, the madrigals are performed entirely by male voices, including a boy soprano in the role of Cupid.

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REVIEWS:

The quality of the performances is extremely high. Technical prowess is always in the service of the music, and Marco Longhini is not averse to pushing his all-male ensemble to extremes of slow or fast tempos or to special vocal effects. Another strength of this excellent interpretation is the size and scope of the instrumental forces. There are 9 players in the continuo group, a further 9 in a mostly string ensemble (including 2 recorders), and a viola da gamba quartet. This gives Marco Longhini a very wide palette to draw on for dramatic power, theatrical variety, and evocative effect.

– American Record Guide

As Longhini has pointed out in previous releases, the instruments to be used is largely left to the performers, and in the composer’s day would probably have depended on those available. In this series of discs he has opted for a ‘middle-of-the-road’ approach, so as not to become ornate, yet providing more that an obliging backdrop. In the vocal group there are, of course, no female voices in music of that period, so that much rests on the shoulders of the outstanding countertenor, Alessandro Carmignani. Yet again I will heap praise on the sonorous bass voice of Walter Testolin, his deep voice is an earthy delight. Solos permeate all of the madrigals, and when numerous voices are used, the Delitiae’s blend is pure joy. Longhini's approach throughout this series has that feel of dedication and authenticity, the music continually intriguing, immediately likeable, and, in every way, it has been a wonderful experience with this as its crowning glory. The engineers have once again played their part in the clarity of texture they have created. It is terribly sad that it is coming to an end, but there remains just one more book, the unfinished Ninth, that was published after the composers death.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

The Grammys in the US, the Gramophone Awards in Britain, the Diapason d’Or in France and the ECHO Klassik awards in Germany are among the organizations that have picked out many of Perahia’s recordings as some of the finest of their day. This set is devoted to Perahia’s award-winning discs for Sony Classical / CBS Masterworks. These also trace the story of his journey through the musical world, capturing magnificent collaborations, unforgettable partnerships and peerless solo accounts alike.

Once again, the itnrepid Zorro fights for justice! In the fourth of Naxos Audiobooks' Zorro titles, our hero's assistance is sought when the devious Pedro Morelos threatens the fortune of a wealthy heir, Vicente Canchola. Morelos hatches a plot to kidnap the Governor of California and extort profitable trade concessions from him. Zorro overhears this, but will he be able to foil the evil scheme, and stop the Canchola estate from falling into the wrong hands? This marks the final entry in the series; previous titles include The Mark of Zorro, The Further Adventures of Zorro, and Zorro Rides Again. Bill Homewood gives a lively and inimitably colorful reading as he is well accustomed to adventure stories, having previously recorded The Three Musketeers, She and the Four Just Men series.

How come a piano trio calls themselves ‘van Beethoven’? Isn't that a little bold? Beethoven stands for independence of mind, for revolutionary ideas, for music that reaches far beyond his own time. Beethoven was a ‘lone wolf’, but at the same time the central point of departure for new traditions of composition. This fits in with the main mission of the TrioVanBeethoven: the care of the classical trio works, but also the commissioning of new compositions or crossover projects constitute the work of Verena Stourzh, violin, Clemens Zeilinger, piano, and Franz Ortner, cello. Their first grand opus which is presented now with Gramola is this timeless recording of Beethoven's complete works for piano trio in an extensive release, comprising countless hours of recording sessions, which made them ascend into the proverbial olymp of this genre.

It is hard to believe (and somehow a relief) that in this internet age we live in is still difficult to find information on some records. The few information available on "Nell'anno della luna" by Gino Conte and his orchestra, tell the story of a soundtrack composed specifically for the movie by the same name directed by Romolo Marcellini in 1969. Marcellini was a director who specialized in documentaries (his most famous work is "La Grande Olimpiade", a movie dedicated to the Rome olympic games in 1960), but also directed adventure movies such as "I pirati del golfo" or "Sentinelle di bronzi". Not even the ever-precise internet movie database is able to help us, and mystery surrounds the movie and its soundtrack, which was released one year later. A beautiful work that lingers in between swing and melodies, in a fad that was popular a few decades earlier, complmented by some elements of novelty borrowed from beat and rock. Tracks such as the title track, "Alla brasiliana" and "Samba Querida" sound more traditional, while titles like "Afro Swing", "Underground", "Beatmania" (all featuring the vocal ensemble I 4 + 4, led by Nora Orlandi) representa more adventurous side of this soundtrack. This reissue is complemented by 5 alternative versions.

Listening today to Piero Umiliani's music is an experience that we wouldn't hesitate to define "totalizing" and "revealing". Totalizing, because Umiliani's music career has ranged through a myriad of genres; revealing, because any listener can immediately realize how his extensive production was way ahead of its time and still very actual today, now that a few decades have passed. "Produzione" is the album "Problemi d'oggi" opening track, originally released in 1973 on Umiliani's Liuto Records label under the pseudonym of Zalla, one of many under which the artist used to hide at the time. The track can be found in its original version at the beginning of of side B: it's an amzing mix of acoustic percussion and electronic experimentation, considered by some as the first example of techno/trance music ever recorded. This song, along with "Attivita", another excerpt from "Problemi d'oggi", has been "reworked" by Gerardo Frisina, who cleverly extends the original content by mixing it with contemporary electronic sensations. The result, packaged in an artwork inspired by the original 1973 release, are two tracks in which the '70s avant-garde and today's music blend with surprising ease.

Although fifty years have now passed since Fritz Wunderlich’s tragic death on September 17, 1966, the singer and his incomparable tenor voice have remained unforgotten. One reason for this was the meteoric success of his artistic career. Following his performance in a student production of Mozart's Magic Flute in Freiburg, the young singer was instantly engaged by the Stuttgart State Opera, then went on to Frankfurt and Munich, performed at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival, and had already received an offer from the New York Metropolitan Opera. What people remember most about him was his vital, lively personality, his almost limitless ability to cope under pressure, and of course his mellifluous voice, with its great depth, radiance, and delightful timbre. His accurate and always intelligible pronunciation of the words he sang has remained quite unparalleled. He performed operetta scenes with ease and charming levity; he bestowed the grace of genuine feeling onto lieder that had fallen into sentimental discredit; and he belted out party pieces with all the effortless verve of an Italian.

The recordings of some Munich Sunday concerts and studio recordings by the Bayerischer Rundfunk show him and his tenor voice at the height of their success. Together with the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, he can be experienced singing with such renowned conductors as Kurt Eichhorn, Siegfried Köhler, Willy Mattes, Hans Moltkau and Meinhard von Zallinger. Here he focused primarily on the German repertoire, from comic opera to operetta all the way to popular hits which,to this day, more or less owe their very survival to his interpretations of them in concerts and recordings.

REVIEW

The gatefold sleeve prints, in German and English, a short appreciation of Wunderlich’s career. It was cut short by an accident in 1966 when he was not quite 36 years old. His discography reflects a very wide range of repertoire covering all the genres from solo lieder to opera to oratorio. Here he is strictly in popular mode singing tuneful extracts, mostly from operetta. Singing of this quality is always a pleasure[.] The LP has been produced with extremely quiet surfaces and was hyperclean when I opened the sleeve.

--MusicWeb International

Günther Herbig knew the Berlin Symphony Orchestra well, even before being made Principal Conductor in 1977 of what is now the Konzerthaus orchestra. He had deputized in that post from 1966 to 1972. Solo flautist Richard Waage, an orchestra member from 1961 to 2002, also valued the work ethic of his Principal Conductor – notably when it came to the execution of solo parts. “With Herbig things were ‘more open’, when you had worked your way into a certain context, than with other conductors. He allowed you more freedom.” On one occasion when he had the opportunity to see Herbig’s conducting score, he was impressed by how every harmonic step was marked, so that the score bore traces of a musicological analysis. Solo flautist Richard Waage, an orchestra member from 1961 to 2002, also valued the work ethic of his Principal Conductor – notably when it came to the execution of solo parts. “With Herbig things were ‘more open’, when you had worked your way into a certain context, than with other conductors. He allowed you more freedom. You could offer more as an individual. I liked that a lot.” On one occasion when he had the opportunity to see Herbig’s conducting score, he was impressed by how every harmonic step was marked, so that the score bore traces of a musicological analysis. “This was the mathematical impulse” characteristic, he judged, of Herbig’s way of working. This architectural, formally structured approach to the music fitted well with the recording technique of those days, which did not allow breakdown into such small steps as today. Arches of tension thus sound more plausible, because there are fewer pieces to put together. “When you have long takes, of course that makes it all more organic,” concludes Richard Waage. It will surely have been these working conditions and the conductor’s specific style that made it possible, even in such an unpretentious piece as the Pavane, “to bring out the character of mourning”, which so moved Jürgen Kögel and other participants. This recording contains Ravel’s symphonic works La Valse, Ma Mère l'Oye, Pavane pour une infante défunte and last but not least the famous Bolero.

Given his fascination with obscure and esoteric topics, an interest that lasted throughout his whole career as a composer of library music, Fabio Fabor must have been diabolic and mysterious for real. The Milan-born composer, who passed away in 2011, had always showcased a darker side compared to other fellow musicians of his ear. A side that is well portrayed in works like the famous masterpiece "Pape Satan", or "Satanas", which is included in the very accessible "B 81" or in this splendid and experimental "Mr. Diabolicus - Mr. Mysterious". This is still a library music release, but it is kind of diffuclt to imagine TV or radio shows accompanied by tracks like "Neutroni", "Mr. Mysterious", "Fucina diabolica" or "Idillio Cosmico". We have nonetheless to acknowledge that in 1973, Italian TV was often surprising the audience with innovative shows, likely to host music such as Fabor's compositions - however, listening againt o these 14 short compositions is still an extraordinary experience if we consider their impact and influence on contemporary music and on hip labels of our days like Ghost box. "Sea Melody" and "Mare di ghiaccio" could have been taken from aquatic/biological-themed releases like "Ittiologia" or "Biologia Marina", but the whole album quality is impressive. Along with "Pape Satan", this is probably the best Fabio Fabor ever.