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Mozart Operatic Arias
SOMMCD 010 - Justin Lavender, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Howard Williams. Arias from The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Idomeneo, Cosi Fan Tutte, Die Entführung. Superb recording of arias from Mozart's best loved operas.
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A Peter Warlock Christmas
SOMMCD 011 - The Allegri Singers, Louis Halsey. Peter Warlock has been described as a supreme carrolist of the century, perhaps of all time. Included on this disc are all his carols and some transcriptions suitable for Christmas tide.They are all lovely to sing and to listen to, and are superbly performed by the Allegri Singers directed by Louis Halsey.
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Eugène Ysaÿe
SOMMCD 012 - Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27. Takayoshi Wanami. Eugène Ysaÿe was the leader of the tonalist movement in violin playing in Western Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. Each of the works on this CD is profoundly different from the other, and they contain the gamut of virtuoso violin techniques. Wanami gets under the skin of Ysaÿe's six subjects like no one heard before. Wanami is a sensation – this disc has received top recommendation from American Record Guide.
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20th Century Miniatures
SOMMCD 013 - Music by Ibert, Milhaud, Tomasi, Poulenc, Villa-Lobos. London Wind Trio. Scintillating wind music played by three top class musicians of worldwide stature. The London Wind Trio (established in 1970), play with irresistible freshness, spontaneity, and rhythmic verve.
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Choral Music by George Dyson
SOMMCD 014 - Dyson's music is akin to Parry's in vocal colour and texture with exciting, sonorous climaxes and a rich orchestral harmony indebted as much to Richard Strauss (Dyson's idol), as to Delius. Dyson brings his choral work to life in music of rare charm and freshness.
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The Piano Music of Percy Turnbull
SOMMCD 015 - Peter Jacobs(piano).
The main characteristic of Turnbull's music is that it is unostentatious, yet has an individual sense of lyricism, textual balance and clarity, the harmonic language showing an interesting mix of French and British composers of the early 20th century.
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Anton Bruckner, Symphony No.8 in C Minor
SOMMCD 016-2 - The superb ex-libris stereo recording originally issued in 1973 and recorded at the Zürich Tonhalle Studios in 1971 is the first recording -- now presented in a 2-CD slimline set -- in SOMM's venture into the historic field, aiming to celebrate the work of lgendary performers of the past.
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Keith Michell in 'Ride! Ride!'
SOMMCD 017 - The new concert version of the Thornhill/Thwaites musical "Ride! Ride!". With witty dialogue and a memorable score, the musical is based on the true story of eighteen-year-old Martha Thompson's incarceration in Bedlam. Spectacular and great fun!
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20th Century Miniatures Vol.2
SOMMCD 018 - Detlef Hahn (violin) and Simon Parkin (piano).
Music by Ravel, Ysaÿe, Stravinsky, Szymanowski, Poulenc. As in Vol.1 (SOMMCD 013), the music also on this volume reflects artistic changes which developed as a reaction to 19th-century romanticism, with Paris as the artistic centre of the new movement.The combination of violin and piano brings great clarity and clean, refreshing textures.
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Michel Bourcier plays organ music by John Jeffreys
SOMMCD 019 - Michel Bourcier, organ. Those of you who have had the opportunity of listening to "Of Fire And Dew" (SOMMCD 218, main catalogue) will readily agree that Jeffrey's music has great lyricism, individuality and strength. His organ music displays the same passionate warmth and conviction and just as important, it has the advantage of remaining accessible to all. Michel Bourcier, a gifted French organist, plays on a Cavaillé-Coll Organ with three manual keyboards.
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The Songs & Part-Songs of Percy Turnbull
SOMMCD 020 - Nancy Argenta, soprano Roderick Williams, baritone Robin Bowman, piano Joyful Company of Singers. Those of you who have had the opportunity of listening to SOMMCD 015 (The Piano Music of Percy Turnbull with Peter Jacobs, released in 2000) will already be familiar with the richness and variety of styles present in Turnbull's various compositions. A delightful CD showing classical simplicity.
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Fernando Sor Studies for Guitar
SOMMCD 021 - Eros Roselli, Guitar. This recording presents as its centrepiece a collection of guitar studies by Fernando Sor collected and edited by Segovia, himself a passionate and effective advocate of Sor's output for solo guitar. Eros Roselli is a young Italian guitarist who has made a name for himself by winning several prestigious competitions.
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Constant Lambert - The Last Recordings
SOMMCD 023 - Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Constant Lambert. An historic re-issue. Constant Lambert(1905-1951) had a charismatic personality and a brilliant mind which could shape and inspire exceptional orchestral performances. This CD features quite extraordinary recordings of the composers Sir William Walton, Franz von Suppé, Emile Waldteufel and Emmanuel Chabrier.
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Schumann Piano Music
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 024 - George-Emmanuel Lazaridis, Piano. Fantasiestücke Op.12, Papillons and Carnaval. Lazaridis has been described as "an exhilarating soloist", "a genius at work" and an artist of outstanding, world-class distinction. This recording is a sparkling demonstration of those gifts - not to be missed!
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Ravel Music for Two Pianos
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 025 - Jennifer Micallef & Glen Inanga Piano Duo. Rapsodie espagnole, Entre cloches, Ma mère l'oye, Ouverture de Shéhérazade and other pieces. The duo have won First Prizes and awards including the RTZ-CRA Ensemble Prize in the Royal Overseas League Competition, London. "Two-piano playing of sparkling vivacity and undoubted sensitivity from this young prizewinning duo" (Gramophone).
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Chopin & Rachmaninov Cello Sonatas
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 026 - Jamie Walton, Cello. Charles Owen, Piano. Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.65. Rachmaninov: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.19. Jamie Walton is one of the rising soloists of the new generation. He combines a warmth of tone with a technical command which reaches dazzling proportions. Charles Owen is one of the young leading British pianists of our time.
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Ernest Ansermet Conducts Ballet Music
SOMMCD 027 - Ansermet conducts: Rossini - Respighi La Boutique Fantasque (London Symphony Orchestra) and Stravinsky Petrushka (Suisse Romande Orchestra). Ansermet had the remarkable ability to balance an orchestra in the studio without help from the engineers and the quality of sound that Ansermet himself created lends such individuality to these works.
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The Piano Music of Janácek
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 028 - Charles Owen, Piano. The disc includes Janácek's most substantial work for piano - On an overgrown path, two sets of miniatures. Here as elsewhere, Janácek captures the imagination with these astonishingly vivid and touching vignettes recalling his childhood in Moravia. "Charles Owen is out of the best school of British pianism - bright, sensitive, unaffected and with playing informed by brainwork". The Glasgow Herald
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Cello Sonatas:Prokofiev, Kabalevsky, Miaskovsky
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 029 - Jamie Walton-Cello, Daniel Grimwood-Piano. All three works in this collection of sonatas were inspired by the great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. There is a remarkable affinity and musical rapport between the cellist and pianist - they bring to this recording fresh ideas and the brilliance of their talent.
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Dimitri Shostakovich
The Two Viola Sonatas, Op.40 & Op.147
Viola Suite from 'The Gadfly', Op.97a
SOMMCD 030 - Lars Anders Tomter, Viola; Håvard Gimse, Piano. Coupled with a world premiere recording of the Suite of four movements from "The Gadfly" and the Viola Sonata Op.147. Beautifully laid out for the viola and piano - Lars Anders Tomter is one of today's most oustanding violists("The Giant of the Nordic Viola" – The Strad). Håvard Gimse has established himsef as one of the leading Scandinavian international pianists.
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Violin Sonatas: Goossens, Hurlstone, Turnbull
British Treasures
SOMMCD 031 - Madeleine Mitchell-Violin, Andrew Ball-Piano play Goossens, Hurlstone and Turnbull. "Three gorgeously, lyrical, romantic British violin sonatas played with great affection by Madeleine Mitchell and Andrew Ball. Highly recommended". Ian Lace, Classical Music Web.
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Piano Music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 032 - Mark Bebbington,Piano.The moods and colours that distinguish Castelnuovo-Tedesco's piano music are strong, unequivocal and often ravishing. The immensely gifted young pianist Mark Bebbington has made this music popular throughout the UK and France.
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El Ultimo Tango plays Astor Piazzola
SOMMCD 033 - Nicholas Bricht,Flute; Mark O'Brien, Saxophones; Eduardo Vassallo, Cello; Fred Lezama Thomas, Piano; Mark Goodchild, Double bass. The tracks on this inaugural CD cover the spectrum of Buenos Aires life, from political protest to the passing of the seasons. Most famous of all remains the haunting, poignant Adios Nonino.
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Piano Music by Jean-Michel Damase
SOMMCD 034 - Nicholas Unwin,Piano. Damas'es compositional style is akin to Debussy's, Ravel's, Poulenc's and Prokofiev's but it becomes obvious, even from his earlier work for piano (Thème et Variations – 1956) that he is perfectly able to weld them into a convincing vehicle couched in his own brand of persuasive language. Warmly tonal, this deftly-delineated music strikes immediately with its characteristically "French" timbres.
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Piano Music by Francis Poulenc
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 035 - Charles Owen, Piano. This is Charles Owen's second disc in the "New Horizons" series (see SOMMCD 028). After Debussy and Ravel, and before Messiaen, Poulenc's is the most significant body of French solo piano music of the twentieth-century.In Charles Owen's own words -- "One of the great joys in playing this repertoire is the need to recapture the joie de vivre inherent in the music's conception."
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Organ Music by Samuel Wesley
SOMMCD 036 - Jennifer Bate, Organ. Premier Recordings taken from Manuscripts and First Editions. Jennifer Bate is internationally known for her Messiaen recordings. She was the composer's chosen interpreter and the first to record his complete Organ Works. Recorded on the historic Bishop Organ of St. James's Church, Bermondsey.
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Jascha Horenstein
Conducts the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
SOMMCD 037 - Horenstein conducts the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in R.Strauss's 'Don Juan' and Brahms' Symphony No.2. Horenstein is considered to be one of the finest conductors of the 20th Century. This first release, recorded live at the Montreux Festival in 1966, is intended as introductory taster to what we hope will be an extended series of previously unissued, live and studio recordings.
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Piano Music by Ivor Gurney & Howard Ferguson
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 038 - Mark Bebbington, Piano. Neither Gurney's nor Ferguson's piano works are currently represented in the gramophone catalogue, apart from a 1942 recording of the Ferguson Piano Sonata by Myra Hess. We are particularly pleased therefore, to have this new release in the SOMM catalogue with Mark Bebbington, whose debut disc on "New Horizons" SOMMCD 032 (see earlier in catalogue) has had unprecedented success.
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Organ Music by The Wesleys & Their Contemporaries
SOMMCD 039 - Jennifer Bate, Organ. Following soon after Jennifer Bate's critically acclaimed first recording on SOMM of Samuel Wesley Organ Music (SOMMCD 036 - see earlier in catalogue), here is a highly intriguing and enjoyable companion. Both CDs were recorded from First Editions or Manuscripts. Recorded on the organs of St. James's Church, Bermondsey and The Brangwyn Hall, Swansea.
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Mozart String Quartets Volume I
SOMMCD 040 - The Coull Quartet. KV 458 'The Hunt', KV 465 'The Dissonance', Adagio & Fugue KV 546. The Coull Quartet is one of Britain's most respected and longest established ensembles, having celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2004.
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Piano Music by Alexander Scriabin
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 041 - Daniel Grimwood, Piano. Grimwood brings freshness and colour to the 24 Preludes Op.11, capturing their many different moods. He is also capable of the most exquisite delicacy and shading of dynamics in the smaller works such as Désir No.1 Op.57 and Poème No.1 Op.32.
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Music from France & Spain
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 042 - Jamie Walton-Cello, Daniel Grimwood-Piano. Pieces include works by Ravel, de Falla, Fauré, Granados, Debussy, and Cassadò. Walton & Grimwood have performed together since their student days. Their recording of SOMMCD 029 was praised for their technical finesse and unusual dexterity and clarity - and so with this CD.
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Piano Music by Edward MacDowell
SOMMCD 043 - Sandra Carlock, Piano. MacDowell was the first American composer to achieve international prominence. This CD contains recordings from the Sonata Eroica,Etude de Concert,The Fireside Tales, and others. Sandra Carlock is a distinguished American pianist - this CD is highly recommended.
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Handel, Seven Trio Sonatas Opus 5
SOMMCD 044 - The London Handel Players. Handel's wonderful Op.5 trio Sonatas are prime examples of the composer's inexhaustible invention. The Handel Players are no strangers to SOMM - they feature on SOMMCD 226 Handel's "Occasional Songs" and the premier recording SOMMCD 227/8 Handel: 3-Act Silla.
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Tangos by Astor Piazzolla
SOMMCD 045 - Eduardo Vassallo, Cello • Cristina Filoso, Piano. All the material on this disc, none of it originally for cello, has been arranged specially for Vassallo to perform and record by the admired cellist and composer José Bragato. None of the tracks here exemplifies the web of relationships, in a world where people live and work for each other, more than the well-known Adios Nonino , composed by Piazzolla on the death of his father.
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Sonatas by R. Strauss & Rachmaninov
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 046 - Yuri Zhislin, Violin/Viola • George-Emmanuel Lazaridis, Piano. Strauss' Violin Sonata in E flat has a surging opening movement with operatic leanings with a melting subject announced on the piano, and immediately taken up by the violin. Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata in G minor gives the limited cello/piano repertoire one of its most popular and imposing works. Played by Zhislin in a beguiling transcription for viola by Vadim Borisovsky.
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A Garland of the Elizabethan
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 047 - The Clerks of Christ Church: Countertenor - John Cotton, Tom King • Tenor - Adrian Lowe, Brian Chapman • Baritone - Angus Wilson • Bass - William Gaunt. Five Centuries of Madrigals, Glees & Partsongs with Elizabethan Lyrics.This CD presents music inspired by some of the finest poetry written during the golden age of the Renaissance in England.
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Sergei Rachmaninov
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 048 - Martin Cousin, Piano. Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No.1 in D minor, Op.28 • Morceaux de Salon for piano, Op.10. The Sonata showcases Cousin's huge talent in no uncertain way - he plays it with great élan and sensitivity. Coupled with the freshness and unpretentiousness of the Morceaux de Salon makes this a well-filled and enjoyable CD.
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Mozart String Quartets Volume II
SOMMCD 049 - The Coull Quartet. The "Milan" Quartets KV 155 - KV 160. This CD follows the Mozart String Quartets Volume I (SOMMCD 040). This sextet of works reveals the stylistic trends which were influencing their composer at this time: Italianate lyricism and Salzburger strength and effect. Coull display throughout a genuine feel for the quartet medium, each instrument a partner on equal terms with its colleagues.
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Mendelssohn Organ Works Volume 1
SOMMCD 050 - Jennifer Bate, Organ. This is a very special edition in five volumes of researched, corrected and edited material by Professor Christian Martin Schmidt. Includes Prelude & Fugue in C minor Op.37 No.1, Fugues in D & E minor, and Sonata No.1 in F minor Op.65. Played on six romantic English organs.
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Mendelssohn Organ Works Volume 2
SOMMCD 051 - Jennifer Bate, Organ. This is a very special edition in five volumes of researched, corrected and edited material by Professor Christian Martin Schmidt. Includes Fugue in G minor, Fugue pro Organo pleno in D minor,Fugue in C minor, Fugue in B flat, Sonata No.2 in C minor Op.65, Sonata No.6 in D minor Op.65 and others. Played on six romantic English organs.
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Mendelssohn Organ Works Volume 3
SOMMCD 052 - Jennifer Bate, Organ. This is a very special edition in five volumes of researched, corrected and edited material by Professor Christian Martin Schmidt. Includes Prelude & Fugue Op. 37 No.2, Sonata No. 3 in A, Fugue in D minor, Andante in D, Chorale-Partita on "Wie grosse ist des Allmächt gen Güte", Nachspiel in D and others. Played on six romantic English organs. Editor's Choice April 2006 - Gramophone.
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Mendelssohn Organ Works Volume 4
SOMMCD 053 - Jennifer Bate, Organ. This is a very special edition in five volumes of researched, corrected and edited material by Professor Christian Martin Schmidt. Includes Sonata No.4 in B flat Op.65, Andante sostenuto in F minor, Andante in D, Fugue in D minor, Passacaglia in C minor, Fughetta in D, Prelude in C minor and others. Played on six romantic English organs.
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Mendelssohn Organ Works Volume 5
SOMMCD 054 - Jennifer Bate, Organ. This is a very special edition in five volumes of researched, corrected and edited material by Professor Christian Martin Schmidt. Includes Prelude & Fugue in D minor Op.37 No.3, Sonata No.5 in D Op.65, Fugue in C minor (Duet with Martin Stacey), Chorale in D minor, Allegro maestoso in B flat and others. Played on six romantic English organs.
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G.F.Handel
'Handel at Home'
SOMMCD 055 -The London Handel Players. "Handel at Home" is SOMM's second new release in its Handel series with the London Handel Players (see SOMMCD 044). What lies behind this delicious confection of Handel Arias adapted for flute, strings and harpsichord, is Flautist Rachel Brown's idea of putting together and re-arranging some highlights from Handel's opera or oratorio performances.
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Piano Music of Frank Bridge Vol.1
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 056 Mark Bebbington, Piano. Following his acclaimed recordings for SOMM of piano works by Castelnuovo_Tedesco (SOMMCD 032), Ivor Gurney and Howard Ferguson (SOMMCD 038), Mark Bebbington continues his series of British piano music with Volume 1 of a three-CD set of the complete piano music of Frank Bridge.
This first CD includes the Sonata (1921-24) in its first recording for 15 years – a work which is pivotal, both in British music and in Bridge’s own stylistic evolution. “… what can only be described as a magnificent performance…”
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SEVERN & SOMME
Songs by Gurney, Howells,
Sanders,Wilson, Venables
SOMMCD 057 Roderick Williams, Baritone — Susie Allan, Piano. This new release affords the listener a brief but fascinating glimpse into the life and work of Ivor Gurney, his friends and fellow composers as well as the poets whose work inspired him to set to music songs of great sensitivity and originality. The title of this CD has been inspired by Gurney’s poetry – Severn & Somme being the first volume to be published.
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Antonin Tucapsky
Stabat Mater & Mary Magdalene
SOMMCD 058 Czech RSO, Conductor Valek. Prague Mixed Chr, Conductor Kosler. Tucapsky’s Stabat Mater has long been considered his supreme masterpiece and SOMM is very proud to have this work in its catalogue (also see SOMMCD 201) together with the composer’s other seminal work, the Cantata Mary Magdalene. Tucapsky’s music is emotional and traumatic without any obvious direct influences but he acknowledges Szymanowski, Dvorak and Hanus (particularly in the Mary Magdalene).
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MANUEL DE FALLA
La Vida Breve
SOMMCD 059 With Victoria de los Angeles as Salud. Orquesta Sinfonica de la Opera de Barcelona and Capilla Clasica Polifonica, Conductor Ernesto Halffter. This is the first-ever recording of La Vida Breve and it is valuable for the superb singing of Victoria de los Angeles at the beginning of her illustrious career. Recorded in Barcelona in 1954 with a cast of Spanish singers who are outstanding. The conductor, Ernesto Halffter, was a pupil of Falla and is considered a unique authority on the composer’s music.
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John Joubert
Chamber & Instrumental Music
SOMMCD 060-2 a 2-CD slimline set. Brodsky Quartet, Patricia Rozario - Soprano, David Chadwick - Violin, Anna Joubert - Cello, John McCabe, Mark Bebbington - Piano. It was with great enthusiasm that SOMM embarked on this project - Joubert celebrates his 80th birthday in March 2007. Joubert is no stranger to music lovers. He is a prolific composer whose carol Torches, a miniature gem, has become a favourite throughout the Christian world. The first of our two discs is devoted to Joubert's chamber music with a superb performance of his 2nd String Quartet by the Brodsky Quartet. The second disc features the Lyric Fantasy played by Mark Bebbington and the three Piano Sonatas played by John McCabe.
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Piano Music by Malcolm Arnold & Constant Lambert
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 062 Mark Bebbington, Piano. Following his acclaimed recordings for SOMM of piano works by Castelnuovo-Tedesco (SOMMCD 032), Ivor Gurney and Howard Ferguson (SOMMCD 038) and Frank Bridge Vol.1 (SOMMCD 056). Works on this disc include Arnolds "Ukrainian Variations", Piano Sonata in B minor and Lambert's Piano Sonata and Elegiac Blues.
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LOVE'S VOICE
Songs by
Gurney, Ireland, Finzi & Venables
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 063 Nathan Vale, Tenor — Paul Plummer, Piano. This release is based on Venable's eponymous 1995 Song Cycle to words by John Addington Symonds and it tells of unrequieted love.
Gurney: On Wenlock Edge, Bread and cherries, Ha'nacker Mill and others. Ireland: Friendship in misfortune, The Land of Lost Content and others. Venables: Love's Choice, Vitae summa brevis Op.3 No.3 and others. Finzi: Oh fair to See.
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KATHARINE GOWERS Violin
CHARLES OWEN Piano
Music by Monti, Faure, Ravel, Gershwin, et al
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 064 Katharine Gowers, Violin — Charles Owen, Piano.
We thoroughly recommend this disc and are certain beyond doubt that those who acquire it, will be both entertained and beguiled.
Pieces include Monti: Czardas, Faure: Apres un Reve, Gershwin: It Ain't Necessarily So, Debussy: Beau Soir, Krein: Gipsy Carnival, and many others ending in the formidable Trad.: Orange Blossom Special.
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Nicholas Maw & Benjamin Britten String Quartets
SOMMCD 065 - The Coull Quartet. Maw: String Quartet No.3. Britten: String Quartet No.3 Op. 94 and Three Divertimenti. SOMM's close collaboration with the Coull Quartet has so far produced two successful discs of Mozart String Quartets (SOMMCD 040 & 049). This third disc highlights the wide range of music performed by the Quartet. The ending of Maw's 3rd. Quartet, with its quiet, mysterious repose at the conclusion of the passacaglia movement shares an obvious affinity with the Third Quartet by Britten, a composer Maw admires greatly.
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MOZART Piano Concertos
KV 413, KV 414, KV415
SOMMCD 066 Mark Bebbington, Piano — Orchestra of the Swan, David Curtis, Conductor. Piano Concerto No.11 in F major, KV 413 - Piano Concerto No.12 in A major, KV 414 - Piano Concerto No.13 in C major, KV 415. In our delightful journey with Mark Bebbington into new repertoire of British Music, we now have another "first" - mainstream repertoire in such joyful and imaginative performances. Another "first" is our exciting collaboration with the Orchestra of the Swan and their charismatic Artistic Director david Curtis.
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G.F.HANDEL
Complete Sonatas and Works for Violin & Continuo
SOMMCD 068 -The London Handel Players. This enjoyable new recording is the third in SOMM's continuing collaboration with the London Handel Players. The CD has something new and unique to offer. Adrian Butterfield writer of the CD booklet notes and the principal artist on this CD writes:- "The idea that a new recording of Handel's violin sonatas might contain works written only by Handel may not seem to be a particularly revolutionary concept. And yet this recording will be the first to achieve this ... for there has been a fog of confusion shrouding Handel's chamber music since it was written in the first half of the 18th century ..."
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EDWARD ELGAR Symphony No.1
ALAN BUSH Piano Sonata in B minor Op.2
SOMM NEW HORIZONS
SOMMCD 069 Mark Bebbington, Piano. Elgar: Symphony No.1 in A flat major Op.55 -- transc. for solo piano by Sigfrid Karg-Elert. Bush:Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 2. In celebration of 150 years from Elgar's birth in 1857, SOMM Recordings are pleased to announce the release of the recording in their "New Horizons" series of the piano transcription by Sigfrid Karg-Elert of Elgar's First Symphony coupled with the first recording of Alan Bush's youthful Sonata Op.2 with pianist Mark Bebbington. Mark's playing is full of memorable lyricism(especially of Bush).
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BEETHOVEN
Music for Wind Ensemble
SOMMCD 070 -The Albion Ensemble. Supported with funds from UCE Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Northern College of Music, this enjoyable new SOMM release of arrangements of Beethoven's music for Wind Ensemble researched and edited by Martin Harlow, highlights the role of the small wind band known as the Harmonie. Music for the small wind ensemble became quite a phenomenon during the late 18th and early 19th century and the vast extant repertory for Harmonie from across Europe, original music and arrangements, testifies to the fascination for this medium.
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Symphony No.5 in D.
Dona Nobis Pacem
SOMMCD 071 Symphony No.5 in D: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Cond. Vaughan Williams. Dona Nobis Pacem: BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Renee Flynn(Soprano), Roy Henderson(Baritone), Cond. Vaughan Williams. Symphony No.5: Premier CD Release recorded off the air during a Prom Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1952. Dona Nobis Pacem recording by BBC of first broadcast performance at BBC Studios in 1936. 'As a composer performer Vaughan Williams took the creative process a step further than the printed score and presented his work in its natural medium, that of sound'.
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PHILIP GLASS
Another Look at Harmony - Part IV
For SATB Chorus & Organ
SOMMCD 072 - Choir of the 21st. Century, Christopher Bowers-Broadbent: Organ -- Howard Williams: Conductor. Thoughts from the conductor: "Glass's project which he started in the mid-1970s is not so much an essay in Minimalism as a search for the way beyond it. This recording represents the moment at which Glass - like other minimalists - felt the need to adopt more chromatic harmony within the framework of repetition ..." A fascinating portrayal of rhythm supported by melody and harmony only made possible by the heroic performance of the organist and the conductor's superbly well prepared choir.
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George Weldon
conducts Edward Elgar
SOMMCD 073 - Gladys Ripley:Contralto, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, George Weldon: Conductor. Elgar: "In the South" (Alassio)Op.50 (recorded 1954), Sea Pictures Op.37 (recorded 1954), Enigma Variations Op.36 (1953). The name of George Weldon may not mean much to people of the younger generation but he is still remembered with great affection and admiration by older audiences as a conductor as well known for his bonhomie and flamboyance, as for his skill and brilliance on the podium. On hearing Weldon conduct these Elgar works, one is struck by the tremendous brilliance, passion, and joie de vivre as well as the affectionate humour in all three.
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Kathleen Ferrier
sings Brahms, Chausson & Mahler
SOMMCD 075 - Kathleen Ferrier:Contralto, BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Halle Orchestra; Malcolm Sargent, John Barbirolli, Adrian Boult: Conductors. Brahms: Four Serious Songs, Chausson: Poeme de l'Amour et de la Mer, Mahler Symphony No.3 in D minor. This disc is compiled from three BBC broadcasts between 1947 and 1951 singing with three of the most famous British conductors of the era. Kathleen Ferrier's was a natural, unforced, God-given voice, allied to a depth of musical understanding that was equally natural at the same time as being enhanced by a musical curiosity arising from a born singer. This disc amply illustrates Ferrier's artistry in a manner that speaks directly to the listener.
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