The ancient origins of the modern cello came from India and the Far East, arriving in Europe through Arab trade routes. By the time of the instrument’s advanced construction in the mid-18th century, the greater volume of sound and versatility that could be achieved contributed to its development both as a solo and an ensemble instrument. People often cite the cello as their favorite string instrument on account of its similarity to the human voice, the warmth of tone, the dramatic quality of the upper register and the instrument’s directness of communication. All of these unique qualities are represented by the works in this essential collection.

Take Nothing for the Journey was a labor of love for composer David Haas. He has been captivated by Franciscan spirituality since childhood. Over the years this draw deepened and was nurtured by Franciscans who have walked with him on his journey. Whether used in your liturgical celebrations or for your personal spiritual journey, the songs in this collection are meant to strengthen the love of God's faithful and to inspire others to discover the divine fire found in the hearts of saints Francis and Clare. They are a reflection of and tribute to the lives these two saints lived–their care for others, the earth, and all its creatures. It is our hope that the sung prayers of Take Nothing for the Journey will offer you encouragement as you come to embrace the vast richness of the Franciscan tradition, deepen your prayer life, and become closer to God.

Founded in 1480, the historic traditions and refined sound of the Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, have proven fertile ground for generations of composers. From the richly inventive and expansive writing of John Sheppard to the mysticism and passion of James Whitbourn’s recent settings, this programme celebrates a unique and finely crafted legacy of choral music and sublime singing that flourishes in our time as much as it did in the 15th century. “… an hour of listening that is both of the moment and utterly timeless.” (The Independent on the 2013 album Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri) “The interpretations are forthright and plangent, the young soloists spirited…” (The Times on the 2016 album Tomkins: Choral Works)

Mirjam Schröder has put together magical and dreamy stories for harp for this al-bum. She found what she was looking for primarily in the French region. In a fascinating variety, this selection shows how mystical, sometimes even quirky, romantic and modern harp music found its place in a wide variety of stylistic forms and continues to do so until today. And that’s actually not surprising, because “the harp has always had a magical aura. From Apollon‘s Lyra to the thousand wonderful sounds of the glissando of the modern harp, the magic of the instrument has prevailed in people of all nations and ages” (Marcel Tournier in “La Harpe - Histoire de la harpe à travers le monde”).

For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The ‘Best Loved’ series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual instruments in some of the best-loved pieces ever written, and with a mix of solo, chamber and orchestral works, the series provides a convenient introduction to classical music’s infinite variety of instrumental sounds and styles. The focus in these releases is a light and relaxed approach, rather than academic and theoretical: a joyful exploration and celebration of individual instrumental sounds. The present release is devoted to music for trumpet.

For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The ‘Best Loved’ series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual instruments in some of the best-loved pieces ever written, and with a mix of solo, chamber and orchestral works, the series provides a convenient introduction to classical music’s infinite variety of instrumental sounds and styles. The focus in these releases is a light and relaxed approach, rather than academic and theoretical: a joyful exploration and celebration of individual instrumental sounds. The present release is a showcase of the horn.

Arrangements of five Shaker songs by Kevin Siegfried provide the structure for this album of 20th and 21st century choral works. The texts for this program explore themes of peace, a parent’s love, and awe in God’s creation, concluding with two motets for Advent and Christmas. This extraordinary choir is directed by Deanna Joseph and recorded in the warm acoustics of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta. The internationally award-winning Georgia State University Singers is the School of Music’s premier vocal ensemble. In May of 2017, the University Singers won first place in the renowned Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition. “…the choir sings with great musicality, excellent intonation, clear diction, and a healthy and beautiful pallet of tone colors…” (The Choral Scholar)

Hank Jones was a consummate musician. As is so often the case, that description carries the implication that such a person is unflamboyant, somewhat reserved, and that their artistry is more appreciated by fellow workers than by the public. A Musicians musician. In discussing Jones, this is compounded by the fact that, as well as a brilliant and inventive soloist, he was also a sensitive and stimulating accompanist. It was that aspect of his work which was often assumed to be his most significant contribution to the music – an aspect at least implied by the comments of other musicians – and yet, when he appeared front and centre, he was clearly a fully rounded personality in his own right.

With this programme of music for cello and piano, Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih transport us to the world immortalized in Marcel Proust’s a la recherche du temps perdu – the Parisian high society and its glittering salons. For the composers of the time these provided a perfect platform for the introduction of new works, performed by the finest musicians in France for a sympathetic, educated and rich (!) audience. And for the music-loving Proust they offered countless opportunities to meet the composers that he so admired (and others that he may have admired a bit less…) The first of these to make his appearance in the programme is no one less than Proust’s one-time lover and lifelong friend, Reynaldo Hahn, with a brief set of Variations chantantes on a theme from a baroque opera. He is followed by Gabriel Faure, whose music Proust gushed about in a letter to the composer: ‘I could write a book more than 300 pages long about it.’

Proust was less expansive about Saint-Saëns’ music even if he admired him as a pianist, but the composer’s First Cello Sonata is nevertheless the centrepiece of the programme, before Henri Duparc and Augusta Holmes make their appearance. These were both students of Cesar Franck, whose iconic Violin Sonata in A major (here in the version for cello) closes this programme of ‘salon music’ – in the best possible sense of the term.

REVIEW:

The writings of Marcel Proust are suffused with music. Proust depicted the world of the Parisian salons of the late 19th century, where both music and literature flourished. This release by cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Connie Shih does not depict a specific event, but it does plunge the listener into Proust's world. Isserlis brings the necessary heat to the Franck sonata, an arrangement of the composer's cello sonata that the composer himself sanctioned. Another draw is Shih's accompaniment work, distinctive and appropriately intense. For lovers of French music, this is a standout release.

– AllMusicGuide.com (James Manheim)

After more than 70 years of silence a great organ has risen again in the Trinity Church of the Gda?sk Franciscans. With determination, passion and diligence, Andrzej Szadejko worked on the reconstruction of the baroque organ, which finally was completed in 2018 by the Dresden manufacturer Wegscheider. His multi-colored portrait represents the opulent sound conception of Baltic organ building from the early 17th to the middle of the 18th century, but also revives the grandiose musical culture of Gda?sk's golden age. The anonymous Fantasia at the beginning of the programme is chosen from the Gda?sk tablature of 1591 and sounds in festive Gothic blockwork registration. The Baltic metropolis cultivated relations with the whole world. So it is not surprising that even the famous Sweelinck composed 8 variations on a "Poolsche Dans" in distant Amsterdam - a welcome occasion for Andrzej Szadejko to use the Renaissance voices - like the wonderfully creaking shelf - as soloists. Of course, Buxtehude cannot be missing: With classical Sesquialtera registration in the chorale arrangement "Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt" or in the grandiose "Magnificat", which Szadejko arranges according to old practice alternating with the exquisite Choralschola, the master of North German organ art is shown to his best advantage. Froberger, Muffat, Kerll, but also Böhm and Bach and even Frescobaldi as guests from more southern regions prove the versatility of the new instrument reconstructed according to historical models. Probably the only one of its kind in a baroque organ in the world is the large pedal, which was erected in 1703 after a lightning strike in its own case on the south wall of the church, in which the impressive 32' sub-bass is located.

For her fifth release on BIS Clare Hammond has constructed an adventurous programme of twentieth and twenty-first-century variations for piano. From the imposing Chaconne by Sofia Gubaidulina, to the tender grief of Paul Hindemith’s variations or Aaron Copland’s bold and uncompromising proclamation, the disc presents a fresh perspective on the genre. Hammond opens with Karol Szymanowski’s Variations on a Polish Theme from 1904, a virtuosic and intensely Romantic outpouring that contrasts strikingly with the wit and irreverence of Helmut Lachenmann’s set on a theme by Schubert. The most recent works in the programme are Harrison Birtwistle’s mercurial elegy and its polar opposite I Still Play, a lyrical waltz composed in 2017 by John Adams. Described as ‘a star interpreter of contemporary music’ (The Observer), Clare Hammond has developed a reputation for imaginative concert programming. As she herself admits in her liner notes, variation form may on the surface appear to be both limiting and limited, but the works she presents here transcend the form in myriad creative, and at times daring, ways.

Roby Lakatos and Ensemble proudly present their new recording for avanticlassic and avantijazz. This luxurious new project is a fusion of the hugely popular Lakatos Gypsy style with a Yiddish and Klezmer repertoire. With support from the world-renowned Yiddish singer Myriam Fuks, the Italian accordionist Aldo Granato and the celebrated Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, this luxury album production will delight both fans of Roby and of Yiddish Klezmer music. A unique homage to some of the most inspiring tunes of western musical history with a very modern feel and with arrangements containing elements of Tango, Funk, Jazz and Waltz. This is an extremely refreshing and original musical journey.

The king of the violinists, lauded as "The fastest-fingered fiddler in the world" by The Daily Telegraph, the unique Roby Lakatos is back with a stunning new double album: La Passion! Entirely recorded live at the iconic Sydney Opera House, La Passion will allow music lovers to discover Gypsy supernatural violinist Roby Lakatos in an all new program including never previously recorded pieces such as Meadowlands (Songs of the Plains), the Flight of the Bumblebee, Valse Triste, Oblivion, Chiquilin, Those Were the Days, Du Schwarzer Zigeuner and many more gems new to Roby's discography. The second album is devoted to the most famous bits of Roby's repertoire with such beloved pieces as Two Guitars, Fire Dance, Black Eyes (Ochi Chornyje), Brahms Hungarian Dance No 5, Monti's Csardas... This album also features a phenomenal L'Alouette (The Lark) lasting more than twelve minutes and catching Roby Lakatos in a jubilatory improvisation. This recording will furthermore allow many listeners to discover an all rejuvenated Ensemble featuring an amazing array of young Hungarian musicians aged from only 19 to 25! La Passion captures the unique energy that emanates from Roby Lakatos' live performances. This double album constitutes a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in a world marked by musical freedom, warmth, matchless virtuosity and surprising repertoire ideas with long forgotten melodies set in totally new and original arrangements.

Oboist Jacqueline Leclair releases a collection of premiere works for English horn that covers a wide range of stylistic territory and explores the rich, penetrating voice of this beguiling instrument. Featuring music by Meera Gudipati, Hannah Kendall, Faye-Ellen Silverman, Jenni Brandon, Karola Oberm�ller, Lisa Bielawa, and Cecilia Arditto, Leclair's virtuosity, flexibility, and lyricism abound in these major contributions to the English horn repertoire. Oboist Jacqueline Leclair is Associate Professor of Oboe at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. She is a member of Ensemble Signal, and can frequently be heard performing solo and chamber music concerts internationally. She was a member of Alarm Will Sound for eight years until resigning in 2011. Dr. Leclair was on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music (NYC) and was Assistant Professor of Oboe at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) from 2007 to 2012. During her last two years at BGSU she also served as the Director of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music.

For the first time on Challenge Records well-known Supertramp Saxofonist John Helliwell releases his brand new album with compositions of Peter Gabriel, Richard Davies, Andy Scott, Paolo Fresu and many more arranged by Andy Scott. John Helliwell is an English multi-instrumentalist known for his versatility and his on-stage presence. He got his start with The Alan Brown Set, with whom he began playing in 1966. He joined Supertramp in 1973. He has been featured on recordings by artists such as Pink Floyd, Jean-Jacques Goldman, and Diana Ross. On his solo release, he brings all of his experiences to the table to present an exciting lineup of music inspired by jazz, blues, rock, gospel, and funk.

Bite the Bullet was inspired by the Venetian artist Carlo Marchiori’s painting of the same name. The painting depicts two Pulcinelli, Venetian clowns dressed as bakers, shooting at one another with guns, bullets meeting in the middle, creating a white-orange-pink cloudburst. I was in awe of the vibrant colored landscape and the Pulcinelli, providing the creative impetus for this work. In Bite the Bullet, I portray the intensity of the painting and use my own sonic color scheme through orchestration and instrumental color. You will hear the intensity of the brass and percussion sections portraying the gunshots by the Pulcinelli with the woodwind flourishes emulating the painter’s brush strokes.

For the first time in his career, Roberto Alagna is devoting an entire album to the great and beautiful French chanson. Alagna is passionate about music from all over the world and this time he is offering us a veritable declaration of his love for his French musical heritage: “Le Chanteur” introduces listeners to this legacy in a different way through the whole wealth of the various genres and diverse foreign influences that have helped to shape this medium’s identity.

The album features swing, jazz, gypsy jazz, the lamento, the waltz and the tango and through its highly personal approach to these songs, it conveys the tenor’s tremendous passion for music which, full of character, is instinct with vitality and feeling. The result is a formidable tribute to the unforgettable melodies that we all know and that we have all hummed to ourselves. It is also an homage to their illustrious interpreters and composers.

The album includes, among others, “La Chanson des vieux amants”, “Padam, padam”, “Les feuilles mortes”, “C’est un mauvais garçon”, “Mon pot’ le gitan”, “Nuages”, “Adieu mon pays” and “Domino”.

“This is the first time that I have made a recording devoted entirely to the French chanson […]. Reading between the lines of this repertoire, I wanted to throw light on the whole range of different genres and on the more or less remote musical influences that are now an integral part of the identity and legacy of French music. […] This foray into a world unlike that of my normal lyrical and classical repertoire, in a genre where listeners may not necessarily expect to find me, has a particular appeal for me. […] Be that as it may, this is a recording in which I hope that listeners will sense the infinite pleasure that I myself have felt in exploring these different styles and – thanks to the instrument that is my voice – allowing audiences to discover my passion and love of this music and to share those feelings with the greatest possible number of listeners.” Roberto Alagna

Without any doubt this session of the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition 2021 will stay fixed in our memories. In spite of the constraints imposed by the health crisis (absence of the public, number of semi-finalists and finalists reduced by half), 58 candidates presented themselves to play before the members of the jury. The media maintained exceptional visibility at the competition right from the first round (television, radio, internet and social media) and the audiences confirmed an ever growing passion for the Competition. In this 4 album-box set you will find the 6 laureates of this session, that saw the Frenchman Jonathan Fournel win First Prize; you can enjoy his performance in Brahms’ Second Concerto with the Belgian National Orchestra conducted by Hugh Wolff, as well as the whole of his recital in the semi-finale. The Russian Sergei Redkin, second laureate, is present in the Third Concerto of Rachmaninov as well as the set piece by Bruno Mantovani. Two concertos by Mozart with the Orchestre de Chambre de Wallonie conducted by Frank Braley are also on the programme: No. 23 (KV 488) by Vitaly Stakirov (5th Prize) and the No. 27 (KV 595) with the Japanese Keigo Mugawa (3rd Prize). Chamber music is also well represented, revealing notably Tomoki Sakata (4th Prize) in the Liszt Sonata and Dmitry Sin in Schumann’s Concerto without orchestra. These artistes, all of them exceptional pianists, who tomorrow perhaps will appear on the world’s leading concert platforms, can be discovered here in their first ever recordings.

In his Musick’s Monument of 1676, Thomas Mace described in great detail numerous aspects of contemporary musical life in London. This volume evokes all the characteristics of English music, going back to the most glorious years of the Renaissance, with a particular emphasis on the repertory written for consort of viols. While his writings describe the performing practices of the time, they also provide invaluable information on instrument making, which has enabled L’Achéron to build a ‘set’ of six viols following Mace’s indications. For this new project of English music, the ensemble inaugurates a new virginal and an organ made in accordance with the famous theorist’s specifications. The programme comprises fantasias, ayres and dances by composers who brought this viol consort tradition to its peak, including Alfonso Ferrabosco, John Ward, William White, Thomas Lupo, Richard Dering, Giovanni Coperario, William Lawes, John Jenkins and Christopher Simpson.

Craig Phillips, a leading composer of new American Anglican choral music, is presented here in his first album as a conductor. The program of music for All Saints' includes the iconic hymns "For All the Saints" and "Amazing Grace," contemporary motets by Tavener, Pärt and four premiere recordings of Phillips' new compositions. Craig Phillips is a distinguished and popular American composer and organist and Director of Music at All Saints’ Church, Beverly Hills. His choral and organ music is heard Sunday by Sunday in churches and cathedrals across the United States, and many of his works have been performed in concert throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He was named the American Guild of Organists Distinguished Composer for 2012 — the seventeenth recipient of this special award. Dr. Phillips joins an illustrious list that includes past honorees Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, Daniel Pinkham, Stephen Paulus, David Hurd and others. In 2015 Dr. Phillips was named an honorary canon of the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, Diocese of Los Angeles, at a gala event at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and in 2016 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Virginia Theological Seminary.

Making their Inventa Records debut, the Linarol Consort of Renaissance Viols presents a recording of German, Flemish and French viol consort pieces of the early sixteenth century. Recorded from a new edition of a rare manuscript held in the vast collection of the National Library of Austria, in Vienna, the manuscript is not widely known by exponents of music of this period. The completion of the manuscript dates to around 1535, and soon after it was finished it was in the library of the wealthiest and most influential of German merchants of the sixteenth century, Jacob Fugger, who is held to be one of the wealthiest individuals in history.

Whether or not you follow a particular form of meditation, meditate for a specific reason, or simply need some quiet time to yourself, the music selected for Classical Meditation can help you to relax your mind and body, focus your thought, and refresh your spirit. The music in this collection is grouped into �sessions�, each of which may take you on a different imaginative journey. The first disc features choral music of radiant beauty, which seems to float freely outside time and space, inviting you to enter a realm of inner peace. The second disc presents music inspired by natural landscapes from around the world, celebrating our place in the world.

Of the five English composers featured on this release, only two are really known at all – Coleridge-Taylor for Hiawatha and Boughton for The Immortal Hour – but all wrote wonderful music in Romantic style – rather under the shadow of Elgar, Delius, other prominent figures. Rosalind Ellicott had much success and performances in the 1880s before moving from orchestral to chamber music; Forrester was less prolific, concentrating on his teaching career, but has a fine impressionist voice. Warner was very well known as a violist and member of the London String Quartet; he was very busy as a composer with several chamber works, two operas and over a hundred songs to his name. The Trio featured here won the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Prize. Trio Anima Mundi is one of Australia’s finest chamber trios; since its founding in 2008 it has won several international awards and made special efforts to unearth and perform forgotten but worthy works as well as the newest pieces of today. Their previous Divine Art album won rapturous acclaim.

The traditional songs of the Christmas holiday are offered here by the Salzedo Harp Duo, their third release on Azica Records. The Salzedo Harp Duo, named after groundbreaking composer Carlos Salzedo, is Jody Guinn and Nancy Lendrim. Jody Guinn has been the principal harpist of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Opera since 1984. She has been substituting or playing extra harp with the Cleveland Orchestra since 1986. Guinn shares her love of the instrument with several private students and is on the harp faculty of colleges across the region. Jody Guinn has been the principal harpist of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Opera since 1984. She played for the Cleveland Ballet and the Ohio Chamber Orchestra for 16 years while both organizations were in existence in Cleveland. She has been substituting or playing extra harp with the Cleveland Orchestra since 1986 including multiple tours to Europe, New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center.

Custódio Castelo is the world’s leading player of the Portuguese fado guitar, the instrument that helped make fado music Portugal’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (UNESCO).Like Carlos Paredes, Custódio Castelo creates groundbreaking new sounds that have promoted the Portuguese Guitar to a concert instrument that can be played solo or as accompaniment. His unique Portuguese guitar, handmade from an oak root by master Oscar Cardoso, is capable of fine nuances of emotion, and he uses them well, especially for melancholy, but also for a sense of jubilation. This release is a selection of Portugal’s most famous fados, arranged for and performed on Portuguese guitar by Custódio Castelo, lovingly selected by the master himself.