Walk the mountains and the valleys, touch the lakes and rivers, smell the clean air and pine forest, see bleak winter wildness and spring flowers exploding, pause so you don't disturb the wildlife; watch, and be watched! Later inhale the faint smoke from distant warming fires and the food they cook. Embrace the day, and mould your thoughts and creativity. These are some of the life experiences had by Grieg, Rautavaara, Abrahamsen and Sibelius, who form the featured composers on this new recording.

The concept of recording this CD was born during the uncertain times of the pandemic in 2020, when musicians were facing a great deal of instability and personal connections became restricted. As live music came to a halt in the UK and Europe, trumpeter Oscar Whight found himself taking on the role of Principal Trumpet in the Cairo Symphony Orchestra for a period of 10 months. This unexpected journey became the backdrop for the first piece commissioned for this recording, Winter Journeys by Martin Butler. On his return to the UK, Oscar collaborated with other renowned British composers and these exciting new works for trumpet and piano are now showcased in this album. This project provided a wonderful opportunity to bring together a diverse programme of fresh and exhilarating music which is uncompromising in it's ambition, yet can connect immediately with the listener. The programme encompasses a wide range of styles and techniques, showcasing the trumpet's versatility. From technically demanding passages that push the instrument to it's limits, to simple melodies that highlight it's inherent vocal qualities, each piece requires a unique approach. The title Nexus not only symbolises the desire to present music that connects, but is also representative of the various connections that brought this CD to fruition. Artistic working relationships create friendships and Oscar was fortunate to collaborate with the talented pianist Zeynep ozsuca for this recording, who also happens to be a neighbour. Two of the composers featured on this recording are contemporaries of Oscar's father Michael: Martin Butler was a member of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra with him, and Mark Anthony Turnage studied at the Royal College of Music at the same time as Michael. The artwork for this disc, titled Pathways, was created by Stuart Hartley, a family friend whose work perfectly complements the theme of connections explored in this album.

The pan flute holds a significant place in Romanian folk music, with Gheorghe Zamfir pioneering flute techniques in the '80s, elevating it to a concert level worldwide. In the hands of Zamfir, the pan flute becomes an instrument equal to traditional orchestral instruments, offering endless expressive colours and technical capabilities for playing modern music. Surprisingly, there is a lack of large original compositions for the pan flute. Therefore, writing two original compositions for this instrument and a modern orchestra is a revolutionary and groundbreaking project, providing justice to the pan flute and offering future players a challenging musical and technical work. Elia Cmiral is best known for his film scores, most natably Ronin which influenced Hans Zimmer's use of the deduk in his score for Gladiator. Gheorghe Zamfir met composer Elia Cmiral whilst collaborating on a short film for which he composed the score. Gheorghe played solo on a few tracks. During this period, their connection deepened, with a shared appreciation for musical aesthetics and a mutual love for emotionally resonant melodies. Their joint understanding continued after the completion of the film, evolving into a cross-continental friendship - Cmiral in Los Angeles, US, and Gheorghe in Bucharest, Romania.

Lures for Feeling takes it's name from Welsh composer Richard Elfyn Jones' Piano Sonata No. 2, which derives from an assertion by one of his philosophical heroes, Alfred North Whitehead, who wrote that the actual world is essentially the outcome of 'an aesthetic order derived from the immanence of God.' His book Music and The Numinous aims to clarify this in the light of the composer's own experience as one who, when exercising his creative freedom, has always felt that elements outside oneself have a controlling role in one's work. In his case, and certainly in that of many tonal composers, it is the obvious demands of the God-given harmonic series that is the rather obvious pointer towards the numinous character of music in it's various aspects, whether or not the composer or his/her audience is aware of that. This album also includes his Piano Sonata No. 1, Fantasy Evocations and other recent works, including the heartfelt Threnody for Ukraine. Christopher Williams is well-known through is acclaimed recordings for Grand Piano and Willowhayne Records.

Recorded in Willowhayne Records 10th anniversary year in 2022, St Albans Experience is the tenth in their Experience series. This recording showcases every facet of the magnificent Harrison & Harrison organ of St Albans Cathedral, in music from the Baroque era to contemporary works for the instrument. Central to this programme is Maurice Durufle's beautiful Prelude, Adagio et Choral Varie sur le Veni Creator, Op. 4. This recital includes several world premiere recordings, including Francis Pott's Laudes, Rhian Samuel's three-movement Ad Lucem, and two works by the late Peter Hurford - for twenty years Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral, and the driving force behind this world-renowned instrument. Also included are works by Peter Dickinson and Anthony Gilbert, who passed away earlier in 2023, and to whose memory the recording is dedicated.

Following her highly praised debut album, Yasmin Rowe returns to Willowhayne Records for an engaging and delightful programme, in which she returned to Holy Trinity Church, Hereford for this recording. Now resident in Melbourne, Australia, Yasmin has gained critical acclaim as a soloist, collaborator and recording artist in Europe, Asia and Australia. As well as her concert hall recitals, she has given many free-to-air concerts As well as her concert hall recitals, she gives many live-to-air performances, appearing as a frequent guest on Melbourne-based 3MBS Radio since 2019.

In this new recording of contemporary works for saxophone and piano, Max Goldberg and Annabel Thwaite present a programme of contemporary works by European, American and Australian composers, including the world premiere recording of Welsh composer Edward-Rhys Harry's The Ballad of Lady Barham, the philanthropist who established schools and churches in the Gower peninsula through her own funding. Max Goldberg demonstrates the lyrical and expressive qualities of the saxophone as a solo instrument throughout this recording.

Pianist Helen Davies is the daughter of a Bohemian mother and Anglo-German father and her family has always been acutely aware of their European heritage. Connections was conceived during the COVID-19 UK lockdown in March 2020. Much of the music on this recording was created by German composers, hence the decision to focus on that link, recording music which they felt connected them back to some of their familial roots. Music is an international language, unaffected by boundaries and this is celebrated in this recording. The inclusion of the little Rondo by the British composer Arnold Cooke embodies this continental link: Cooke studied composition with the German composer Paul Hindemith who had a strong influence on his style and whose musical language can be clearly heard in Cooke's short composition. In keeping with the connections theme, Laurence Davies uses a German horn, an Alexander model 103 made in Mainz for this recording.

Celebrated pianist-composer Julian Jacobson, acclaimed for the colour, vitality and insight he brings to his performances, presents three of Beethoven's most iconic piano sonatas in this recording. Julian is well know for his Beethoven "marathons", performing all 32 of his sonatas from memory in a day, most recently in November 2022 in celebration of his 75th birthday. "It soon became clear that the pianist's mastery of Beethoven's idiom was such he could easily have improvised himself out of any momentary difficulty" was how one critic described one of his marathon performances.

Johannes Geffert plays the organ of Sint Paul's Church, Antwerp, an instrument originally dating from 1654. This organ is a unique synthesis built at a meeting place between cultures (Latin and Germanic) and confessions of faith (Catholicism and Calvinism). An organ case which has been built according to the principles of the Dutch-North German organ (the “Hamburger Prospekt”: vertical construction, pedal towers) contains sound qualities that are mainly French orientated. Elements of the early-romantic have also found their place here. The front of the magnificent organ case is decorated with extravagant Rubens-like sculptures which make it unmistakably original to Antwerp.

This release presents some well-known works of J. S. Bach, played on the organ in the Abbey church of Amorbach. This instrument was completed in 1782 by the brothers Johann Philipp (1705-1776) and Johann Heinrich (1715-1788) Stumm of Rhaunen-Sulzbach, Hunsrüch. Consisting of three manuals and 46 speaking stops the organ was rebuilt at various times during the 19th and 20th centuries by the organ builders Steinmeyer & Co. In 1981-1982 the organ was comprehensively restored by Steinmeyer & Co and Johannes Klais Orgelbau. Nicolas Kynaston was born in Devon, England and was a student of both Fernando Germani and Ralph Downes. He was organist of Westminster Cathedral from 1961 to 1971 prior to his career as a full time concert organist. Nicolas is Organist to The Athens Concert Hall and a professor at the Royal Academy of Music.

The doyen of British organists, Francis Jackson celebrated his 100th birthday in 2017. He has remained active as a composer, and his music is widely performed. In this recording, made during that centenary year and now released by Willowhayne Records, Mark Swinton pays tribute to this remarkable musician with a survey of his organ music, encompassing works written throughout his 100-plus years. From the heartfelt Impromptu of 1944, a birthday gift to his teacher and mentor Sir Edward Bairstow, to his Fifth and Sixth Organ Sonatas composed during the first decade of the present century, Jackson's flair at writing for his own instrument is abundantly displayed. In the clean acoustics of the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, the 1980 Nicholson organ offers a blend of Classical and Romantic aesthetics that perfectly amplify the counterpoint, texture and colors of this richly rewarding music.

“In the process of making this release of unrecorded or neglected works for oboe and piano, intriguing connections began to surface between three composers. In 1973, the year I was born, the organist Richard Elfyn Jones gave the premiere of Arnold Cooke's Organ Sonata No.1 in the presence of the composer, in Cardiff University's Concert Hall, and 46 years later in 2019, I premiered Richard Elfyn Jones' Oboe Sonata in his presence. At Cardiff University while I was an undergraduate, I studied Harmony and Counterpoint with Richard Elfyn Jones, and performed the Oboe Sonata written by Cooke's teacher, Hindemith, in my Final Recital, in the same hall, standing next to that same pipe organ which 46 years earlier was used to premiere Cooke's Sonata.” (Catherine Tanner Williams) This recording of Arnold Cooke's two lyrical Oboe Sonatas is the first for many years, having previously been recorded by its dedicatees. The album also features three world premiere recordings: The Viva Altea! Sonata for Oboe and Piano, and oboist Catherine Tanner Williams' own works: Luminous and Darkness Falling.

Arnold Cooke (1906 – 2005) was an English composer who studied at Cambridge and then in Berlin. His music is very attractive and has a strong, individual voice. This recording features three world premiere recordings – the Sonata no. 1 for Violin and Piano, the Solo Violin Sonata and the Duo for Violin and Viola. The Sonata no. 2 for Violin and Piano has been recorded once. This delightful and beautifully performed album was recorded in Manchester with members of the Pleyel Ensemble. Based in Manchester but including top players from other cities this versatile group has a very active concert and touring programme. The performances are excellent, musical and very committed and the recording was made in the Carole Nash Room (formerly the Recital Hall) at the Royal Northern College of Music. Cooke deserves to be far better known and this recording shows us clearly the fine quality of his music.

Willowhayne Records presents an album of virtuoso piano music, which shows every facet of Leeds Piano Competition 2016 semi-finalist Ashley Fripp's astounding playing. Included in the programme is Thomas Adès's Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face, the only available recording apart from the composer's own. "Ashley Fripp is a genuine virtuoso, an astoundingly brilliant and masterly pianist, and his total grasp of the music is a joy to hear.” (Thomas Adès)

British pianist Ashley Fripp has performed extensively as a recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist throughout Europe, Asia, North America, Africa and Australia in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. Highlights include the Carnegie Hall, Musikverein, Concertgebouw, the Philharmonie halls of Cologne, Pars, Luxembourg and Warsaw, the Bozar, the Royal Festival, and others.

Mikhail Shilyaev was born in Izhevsk, Russia. He started learning piano at the age of six and won several regional piano competitions at a young age. He studied in Russia, Germany, and in the UK. As a soloist with orchestra, he has recently performed with Musikkollegium Winterthur, the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, RNCM Concert Orchestra, the Gregorian Philharmonic Orchestra and with the Gulbenkian Symphony Orchestra. Mikhail lives in London and plays mostly in the UK and Europe. He is interested in historical performance practice and often gives recitals on fortepianos. The choice of instrument for this recording is the result of Mikhail's personal fascination with the spirit of fin de si�cle, that period when so many musical styles emerged, coexisted, fused and challenged each other. It was an era in which the art of piano playing truly blossomed, and fortunately for us, the newly emerged recording technology documented and preserved this blossoming. The works on this release (with the exception of Mompou's Variations) were composed around the time this particular Bechstein was being built. So the pianistic sound worlds of Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin and Mompou are reflected in the sound world of this, their contemporary instrument.

As One Who Listens to the Rain

In their second album for Willowhayne Records, Antiphon presents world premiere recordings of three choral works by Michael Walsh. Two are sacred and one secular: an unaccompanied Mass of the Holy Trinity, a full-scale Requiem Mass, and The Way of Love: a setting of five love poems by the First World War poet Rupert Brooke, scored for choir and strings. These works reflect the gentle character of the composer's style, steeped through nearly thirty years of singing in English Cathedrals. It is a happy coincidence that Exeter Cathedral is where Michael Walsh first sang in a Cathedral setting: in 1968, the choir of Allhallows school sang the D minor setting by Walmisley and Batten’s O sing joyfully there and he was hooked. After studying at Trinity College of Music in London, Michael settled in Chichester and was a member of the Cathedral Choir under John Birch and Alan Thurlow from 1972-1990. He sang for a further ten years in Portsmouth Cathedral Choir. From 1972 to present day, Michael has been involved as MD of several local choirs and orchestras, giving many concerts to raise money for charities.

The Ord-Tempered Harpsichord

Arundel Experience

Although these two masterpieces are of differing styles - the Schubert (1828) being a 4 movement sonata in the Viennese classical tradition and the Mussorgsky (1874) a sequence of 15 short sections in a deliberately Russian idiom that rejects western European influence, there are parallels between them. Neither was published until after their composer’s death, the sonata in 1838 and Pictures in 1931, though an edited version by Rimsky-Korsakov had appeared in 1886. Neither work received real appreciation and understanding until the 20th century. Daniel Hill comments: “My criteria for selecting repertoire to record was twofold: firstly, that I would be playing music for which I held a deep respect, passion and conviction; and secondly, that they were pieces for which I felt I may be able to do some justice. “Both works, though largely disparate in nature, represent a kind of journey: in the vivid experience of Mussorgsky’s Pictures, this is somewhat overtly so; Schubert, on the other hand, takes us into a profoundly intimate and, at times, transcendental realm. “My hope in making this disc is that I may have found some of that elusive and precious connection between interpreter and composition.”

Daniel Rieppel, a native of Minnesota of Austro-Hungarian descent, performs Mozart’s Fantasy and Sonata in C minor, the Piano Variations of Aaron Copland and Symphonic Etudes by Robert Schumann. Dr. Rieppel performs widely in North and South America and Europe (most recently in Iceland) and has been Professor of Music at Southwest Minnesota State University for over a quarter century. He has international recognition for his research into Schubert’s incomplete sonatas, finishing several that will be the subject of his next recording.

French music for oboe and piano lies at the heart of the oboe repertoire. In this their third album, Catherine Tanner-Williams and Christopher Williams present the famous oboe sonatas of Saint-Saëns, Poulenc and Dutilleux alongside their own brand-new transcriptions of well-known arias from Bizet's Carmen, including the Habanera "L’amour est us oiseau rebelle” - Love is a rebellious bird. The oboe's vocal quality also shines in Brod's Fantasie on the Mad Scene from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Ravel's Pièce en forme d’Habanera. The disc includes the neglected Fantasies of Henri Dallier and Blai (Blas) Maria Colomer, and world premiere recordings of the Nocturne and Impromptu by Louise-Marie Simon, (who wrote under the pseudonym Claude Arrieu).

A fascinating juxtaposition - the seven early toccatas of J.S. Bach are interleaved with the 6th of Peter Seabourne's nine "Steps" cycles, the concept of renowned Bach player, Konstantin Lifschitz. Far from the Romantic toccata style, these canvases are multi-sectional kaleidoscopes of texture and tempi - each a miniature world encompassing virtuosity, intimacy and narrative. In the masterly hands of Lifschitz the result is a monumental journey of extraordinary invention.

Willowhayne Records presents the debut album from violinist Emmanuel Bach in a delightful programme of original works and arrangements from great violinists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Leopold Auer and Joseph Joachim. Royal Overseas League String Competition winner Emmanuel Bach has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at venues including Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, St George's Bristol, St Martin-in-the-Fields and St James's Piccadilly. He was a prizewinner at the ROSL String Competition 2017, and Mirecourt International Competition 2016, and was winner of the Una Clark Competition. He took a Masters at the Royal College of Music, and is completing an Artist Diploma with Radu Blidar, supported by the HR Taylor Trust. He is grateful for support from the ESU and Countess of Munster Musical Trust.