Author Archive for Divine Art Recording Group

Métier Records to launch Edward Cowie: ‘Rutherford’s Lights’

Edward Cowie has been described as the greatest living composer inspired by nature, and the recordings of his music issued by Métier over the last couple of years have drawn unstinted praise.  In this, his 80th birthday year, a number of new recordings are in progress including the third volume in the Bird Portraits series, and music for string quartets and other chamber groupings.

Edward Cowie
Edward Cowie © Edward Cowie

Métier is also licensing a few particularly excellent recordings from the University of Hertfordshire which produced the UHR label some years ago and one of these is Rutherford’s Lightsa piano cycle by Cowie and played brilliantly by Richard Casey.

This epic cycle of 24 studies for solo piano explores the wonders of light in many states and forms from Simple Wave Motion to Dispersion and Radiation of Electromagnetic Waves. Himself an ex-student of physics, Cowie collaborated with Light Physicist Sir Michael Berry FRS in ‘an adventure in illuminations, colours and photons!’ The work was commissioned by The Institute of Physics in London, England and premiered and then recorded in 2010.

This is music inspired by science inspired by music! Pianist Richard Casey gives a stunning and richly virtuosic performance of this work, which after its premiere in The National Portrait Gallery in London, earned huge praise and plaudits for its originality and creative power. Cowie- renowned for music that challenges all the senses, has literally made a sonic reality of illumination in all its grandeur and kaleidoscopic possibilities. This is a re-release of the original 2010 recording, released at that time on the UHR label.  Scheduled for release in September, this will be the first issue of the recording in digital form, the UHR original having been a limited CD release only.

Rutherford’s Lights

Label: Métier

Catalogue number:  MEX 77116

Artist : Richard Casey (piano)

Works :

  • Rutherford’s Lights
  • Recorded in 2010 at Weston Auditorium, University of Hertfordshire

Edward Cowie on Métier

Great losses: Oliver Davies & Alexander Buzlov

We note that pianist and historian Oliver Davies died in July aged 81. An exceptional musician and mine of information on any subject of musical history, he will be sadly missed. And tragedy struck young cellist Alexander Buzlov who apparently suffered a fatal blood clot and passed away on 8 November, at the age of only 37. Each appeared on one Divine Art album.

Happy Birthday Peter Hope

English composer Peter Hope reaches his 90th birthday on November 2nd, 2020. Famous for his very longrunning theme for BBC TV news, and of course his wonderful Divine Art album ‘Wind Blown’ (DDA 25137). We send our very best wishes and virtual cake to Peter on this special day.

Sheet Music from Divine Art Edition

Divine Art Edition is now live: having acquired a small catalog of titles from Brandon Music, the list will expand with plenty of scores of music appearing on our recordings.. Find ‘shop’ in the menu bar and click ‘scores’. PLEASE NOTE: we only sell PDF files to download and print ()or play from screen). Printed copy can be obtained from Naxos Sheet Music

Ennio Morricone

Sad to hear of the death of Italian movie composer Ennio Morricone, whose music was possibly the best part of many Italian-made Westerns back in the 70s… He was 91. Probably his best known piece is ‘Gabriel’s Oboe’ and we were honoured to record Susanne beer’s version on cello for her album ‘Cello Diverse’ – Tragically Susanne is also no longer with us, having passed at the prime of her life.

Women composers playlist

We now have several playlists on Spotify devoted to composers/instruments/genres and our latest includes music by our women composers (over 60 of them) – most contemporary. Amazing creativity – click ‘read more’ to access the playlist link:

Customer discounts

Just a reminder that subscribers to our newsletter get a discount voucher which can be used for any non-sale purchase of CD or digital album from the online store. In 2020 this will be replaced by new offers and opportunities. Meanwhile sign up for 15% off…..

Richard Scott R.I.P.

We were saddened to hear of the passing of engineer extraordinaire Richard Scott yesterday after a long and very difficult battle with illness. As ‘RAS Audio’ Richard produced many albums for Divine Art and Metier over more than a decade and he will be greatly missed by the musicians who came to rely on his expertise and calm efficiency, and also by everyone at DA.

The new PDF complete catalogue is now available to download here.  While not as detailed as the website information, the PDF is the most useful quick reference guide from which you can spot items of interest!’

Burkard Schliessmann Receives the Goethe-Plakette

The Goethe Plakette designed by Georg Krämer
The Goethe Plakette designed by Georg Krämer

Burkard Schliessmann has received the highest and most prestigious German distinction, the “Goethe-Plakette” of the city Frankfort/Main. 

The Goethe Plakette designed by Georg Krämer is commended to

poets, writers, artists and scientists and other personalities of the cultural life […] who, through their creative work, are worthy of a tribute dedicated to the memory of Goethe

The ceremony will be held in January 2020. Past laureates include Thomas Mann, Albert Schweitzer, Helmut Walcha, Sir Georg Solti, and more!

Burkard Schliessmann Recordings

From Scotland to Thailand – An Inaugural Recital for Peter Seivewright

Pianist Peter Seivewright announces an 27th April 2019 recital at St. John’s Cathedral in Oban, Scotland at 7:30pm featuring J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 2. Following this performance, on May 21, 2019, Seivewright begins his appointment as the Pianist-in-Residence at the brand-new Phuket School of Music in Phuket, Thailand. He will present his Inaugural Recital at 6:30pm on Saturday, 15th June 2019 which will feature the following program:

  • J.S.Bach (1685-1750): Prelude and Fugue in A flat major BWV 862
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943): Piano Sonata Number 2, in B flat minor
  • Peter Dickinson (born 1934): Lullaby 
  • Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) transcribed Rachmaninoff : Liebesfreud

Peter Seivewright (b.1954) has held a number of positions at new music schools  around the world from Trinidad to Cambodia,  and has performed in Kazakhstan, Donetsk Republic and around the UK and USA. He records exclusively for Divine Art and is currently preparing recordings of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 and Goldberg Variations, and the fifth volume of his series of Galuppi Piano Sonatas.

Divine Art/Métier Records Announces New Digital Percussion Album

In 2015 Métier released a DVD of solo percussion music performed by Danish virtuoso Mathias Reumert. “Solo – Contemporary percussion meets Art Cinema” (Métier MSVDX102) was presented in the highest artistic quality with the visuals in the hands top movie director Christian Holten Bonke. The use of special lighting and other techniques makes the DVD (also available digitally from Amazon Prime) a visual and audible treat. Mathias Reumert was awarded the Danish Critics’ Prize in 2015, a rare accolade indeed for a percussionist.

Métier are now about to issue an audio-only album based on the DVD but adding new tracks in place of the more ‘theatrical ‘ ones which require visual input. The new album will be issued only in digital download and streaming formats (including HD) and will appear on July 19 in dealers worldwide (and on the Divine Art website for pre-order by early June).

20th Century Solo Percussion Masterworks

Métier (ZME 50802)
Total duration approx 108 minutes
All items recorded between 2005-2014 except Zyklus (June 25, 2018)

Works

  1. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Zyklus No. 9
  2. Franco Donatoni: Omar
  3. Iannis Xenakis: Psappha
  4. Iannis Xenakis: Rebonds
  5. Karsten Fundal: Moebius #1
  6. Brian Ferneyhough: Bone Alphabet
  7. Hans Werner Henze: Five Scenes from The Snow Country
  8. Roger Reynolds: Watershed I

Scarlatti and Clementi from John McCabe Coming Fall 2019

John McCabe - photo taken some time in the 1980s
John McCabe in the 1980s

John McCabe’s death in 2015 robbed us of both a brilliant and innovative composer and also an outstanding pianist whose particular love of Haydn and also a deep commitment to contemporary composers made him one of Britain’s most venerated musicians.

Following the release in January 2019 of a recording made by McCabe of recent American and Australian music, long thought to be lost (“Mountains”, Metier Records MSV 28585), Divine Art are now working with engineer Paul Arden-Taylor and McCabe’s widow Monica as producer, in the reissue of two fine recordings which McCabe made for Hyperion in 1981. Originally on two LPs, McCabe plays sonatas by Scarlatti and Clementi. Remastering from the analog originals will be to modern hi-definition audio formats and a double CD. It is expected that the release date will be around September or October.

Album Details

Catalog number: Divine Art DDA 21231 (available as Double-CD, HD, lossless, and MP3 digital)
Performer: John McCabe
Original analog LP releases: Hyperion A66025 (Scarlatti); A66057 (Clementi)

Works

Disc A (Domenico Scarlatti)
  • Sonatas  K. 105 in G major;  K. 426 in G minor; K. 517 in D minor; K, 490 in D major; K, 69 in F minor;
  • K. 518 in F major;  K. 28 in E major; K. 215 in E major; K. 133 in C major; K. 259 in G major; K. 43 in G minor; K. 460 in C major
Disc B (Muzio Clementi)
  • Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 50 No. 3 (“Didone Abbandonata”)
  • Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 40 No. 3
  • Piano Sonata in F major, Op. 33 No. 2
  • Monferrines, Op. 49: No. 3 in E major,  no. 4 in C major & No. 12 in C major
Both recorded in 1981

Two New Carson Cooman Albums Coming in 2019

Erik Simmons, organist
Erik Simmons, organist

Divine Art Records will be releasing two more volumes this year in its continuing series Carson Cooman Organ Music. The extraordinarily talented and prolific writer, organist, composer and teacher, who among many activities is composer in residence at the Memorial Church at Harvard, was recently the subject of an extended feature in the Organ (UK). His writing encompasses many styles – a great deal of liturgical and other works suitable for church performance but also symphonies (for orchestra and for organ), and pieces in all the baroque and classical forms in his own accessible yet modern language. Volume 11 of the series is titled ‘Portals’ after Cooman’s Third organ Symphony of that name, the principal work on the album. This Symphony in itself is specifically religious in concept. This will be released in July 2019. The second album is one that Cooman has prepared especially for Christmas with variations and fantasies on many popular seasonal melodies. Highly recommended for any church Christmas fellowship – give the organist a night off! The Christmas disc will be available by October. (Note: Volume 13 is already recorded and will be scheduled for release early in 2020)

Both albums are beautifully performed by Cooman’s regular collaborator Erik Simmons. Recordings are made via the Hauptwerk system from the Sonnenorgel (Sun Organ) of Stadtkirche St. Peter & Paul, Gorlitz, Germany, a gorgeous instrument constructed 1997-2006 with a large, rich specification.

Portals: Carson Cooman Organ Music, volume 11

Recorded December 2017-April 2018
Divine Art (DDA 25195)
Erik Simmons, organ

Works

  • Carillon after the Bells of Ulm Cathedral
  • Legends: Nos.  1, 2, 3 and 4
  • Tiento de falsas
  • Prehiera pastorale
  • Praeludium in festo S. Thomae apostolic
  • Praeambulum festivum
  • Organ Symphony No. 3 ‘Portals’ (5 movements)

How Great Our Joy: Carson Cooman Organ Music, volume 12 (The Christmas Collection)

Recorded November 2018-January 2019
Divine Art (DDA 25196)
Erik Simmons, organ

Works

  • Fantasia on ‘Greensleeves’
  • Fantasy on ‘Veni Emmanuel’
  • Little Partita on a Polish Carol
  • Variations on a Basque Noel
  • Little Fantasia on ‘In dulci jubilo’
  • Carol Paraphrase on a Motive of Wilhelm Wiesmann
  • Voluntary on ‘O du frohliche’
  • Meditation on ‘Es ist ein Ros’
  • Rhapsody on a German Carol
  • O Sleep, Dear holy Babe
  • Rondino for St Joseph
  • All My Heart this Night Rejoices
  • Triptych on a Sorbian Carol
  • Three Pastorales on a German Carol
  • Fantasy on ‘Adeste Fideles’

Pizzicato Features the Artyomov Retrospective

Pizzicato gives full marks (♪♪♪♪♪) to the Divine Art Recordings Vyacheslav Artyomov Retrospective with highlights from the recent releases in the series:

“Divine Art’s ongoing series with music by Russian composer Vyacheslav Artyomov comprises several CDs’ of which four are reviewed here. Artyomov’s music is mostly sombre and sorrowful, sometimes with the expression of anxiety. Rooted in the musician’s Christian faith, it is at the same time deep, spiritual and often mystic. It is well worth hearing in these excellent recordings.”

—Remy Franck, Pizzicato

See the full feature and review on pizzicato.lu

Vyacheslav Artyomov Retrospective

Announcing Transformations: A Selection For Organ

Divine Art Records is delighted to announce the forthcoming release of a new album of music performed by Alexander Ffinch on the recently rebuilt organ of Cheltenham College Chapel.  “Transformations: A selection for Organ” will be released in the summer of 2019.

The title reflects the composition style of the pieces on the album, which were chosen to convey the freshness of a post-restoration sound as well as showcasing a large-scale symphonic instrument.  ‘Transformations’ therefore marks the moment of a great instrument recently restored.

Programme

  • Joseph Jongen (1873-1953) – Sonata Eroica (19:12) Edition Alphonse Leduc
  • Jonathan Dove (b.1959) – The Dancing Pipes (10:11) (world premiere commercial recording) – Edition Peters, London
  • Franz Liszt (1811-1886) – Fantasia and Fugue ‘Ad nos, ad salutarem undam’ (32:42)

Recorded at the Chapel of Cheltenham College on 23rd, 24th and 27th July 2018

To be released summer 2019 (date to be confirmed) as Divine Art DDA 25193

Cheltenham College Organ

At the heart of Cheltenham College Chapel lies the College organ, originally built in 1897 by Norman & Beard. The case was designed by Henry Prothero, architect of the Chapel. The organ was rebuilt and extended by Harrison & Harrison in 1930 and was last restored with minor alterations in 1976. In 2013, a 32-foot ‘Double Ophicleide’ stop was added.

The organ has been excellently maintained by Harrison & Harrison since the last rebuild, but the time was right for the entire instrument to be taken apart in 2017 for major restoration, which was again undertaken by Harrison & Harrison.

The complete console, soundboards, wind system and pipework were all removed from the organ case and moved to Durham for overhaul, reworking and releathering before being reinstalled. Some pipework was removed and cleaned onsite. The organ has retained all of its valuable historical features and, like its larger cousin at King’s College, Cambridge, which has also been newly and successfully restored, it will certainly remain one of the finest examples of British organ building of the period.

Alexander Ffinch

Alexander Ffinch studied at the Royal College of Music, and was later organ scholar of Keble College, Oxford where he subsequently became a pupil of Thomas Trotter. He was resident organist at Lancaster Town Hall where he gave over 100 recitals in the 1990’s and also gained recognition in the St Albans Interpretation Competition in 1999. He has performed in UK, Europe, USA and Asia and his schedule for 2019 includes numerous engagements across the globe.

He was appointed College Organist of Cheltenham College in 2004, after a three-year tenure as Director of Music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and is responsible for the daily organ playing in the College Chapel as well as accompanying the Choirs.

Throughout his time at Cheltenham, he has continued to give recitals regularly and is resident organist for The Eton Choral Courses and The Rodolfus Choir, appearing with these at both Cheltenham International Music Festival and also live on BBC Radio 3 broadcasts.

The Organ Magazine Spotlights Carson Cooman

The Winter 2019 issue of The Organ Magazine has an extensive feature on composer and artist Carson Cooman. You can hear his organ music in our new discounted set of 10 recordings by Erik Simmons!

Carson Cooman

Carson Cooman has an impressive and growing discography. In particular, there is a series of ten CDs, under the rubric “Organ Music by Carson Cooman.” These are on the Divine Art label, a cooperative enterprise which allows the artist control over the production process and marketing. The titles of the CDs are short and evocative, and are taken from a track on the given recording.

One of the most delightful features of these recordings is the organist, Erik Simmons. His playing is as clean and concise as the music; he allows each score to speak (or sing) for itself. Another contribution he makes is in the organs chosen for each CD. These are virtual models, in most cases made by Jiří Žůrek of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Hymnus features an organ modeled by Gernot Wurst.) The Žůrek models are part of the Sonus Paradisi project. All of these recordings are played on virtual organs, and they are chosen from all over Europe. We hear the Cavaillé-Coll organs at the Abbey of St-Etienne in Caen and Notre- Dame in Saint-Omer; the 1831 Bätz organ in the Domkerk of Utrecht; the two Marcussens of the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam; the 1732 Engler in Basilica Maria-Himmelfahrt in Krzeszów (Grüssau); the Rosales in Trinity Cathedral, Portland, Oregon; and still others.

In other words, the recordings offer a virtual world tour and compendium of organ tonal concepts in addition to the music. The use of digital technology is highly cost-effective as well; there is no need to travel, transport heavy equipment, rent a church, and record in the wee hours when traffic is light. Post-production is light, as the recordings are entirely Hauptwerk-to-disc. At the same time, the lifelike quality of the model gives a faithful idea of the instrument and acoustic. The present writer was struck, in particular, by the power of the bass, where there is so often some loss in conventional recordings. Digital calleth unto digital.

The repertoire for each CD is chosen around a coherent theme. The titles are usually chosen from one piece on the recording, but the pieces themselves have relationships to each other. So the two-CD set titled Preludio heavily favours works evoking historic models. Italian predominates (ricerare, canzona, concertino, passacaglia, “Rondo estatico”), though we also find an allemande, a rondeau, a tambourin, and a “Kleine Speilmusik” and “A Bedfordshire Voluntary” to boot. The liner notes explain: The works included on this album are largely bound together by inspiration from various facets of early music. Without any question, my favourite period of the pre-20th century organ literature is the late Renaissance and very early baroque. Though the late/ high baroque gets far more attention, it is this earlier period that holds significantly greater musical interest for me, in part because the music is so often imbued with a tremendous freedom of harmony and mode that was largely lost until the 20th century.

Meanwhile, Masque is a collection of preludes and fugues, rounded out with a short work titled Preghiera and a longer Symphony for Organ. The title of the first movement of the Symphony, “Masque,” gives us the CD title. The preludes and fugues are this writer’s favourite part of the album, because of the wealth of invention, not only in the preludes, but in the themes of the fugues and their treatment. These “dry” forms display the composer’s fecundity and musicality with telling clarity.”

—Jonathan B. Hall, The Organ

Carson Cooman Recordings on Divine Art

For customers in Austria

For some years we have worked with Gramola Winter in Austria, and have been pleased to have their support. However things change and as from April 1, 2019, Naxos Deutschland will be our official trade distributor for Austria and will supply all dealers there. Of course we are always happy to accept direct orders which are processed and shipped usually within 24 hours.

New Music from Composer Philip Grange

Philip Grange

Following the success and critical acclaim of recent recordings, the British chamber ensemble Gemini is busy finalising a new collection of chamber works by Philip Grange which will be released by Métier in the summer.

This CD of music by Philip Grange features Shifting Thresholds, a major new large-scale, structurally sophisticated work marking an important stage in Grange’s compositional development, both aesthetically and in its use of compositional and instrumental techniques in relation to stream of consciousness ideas. The CD is entitled “Homage”. The sextet Shifting Thresholds is a homage to Samuel Beckett and the three other pieces continue this theme: the Piano Quartet Tiers of Time is a homage to Grange’s friend and colleague Professor John Casken, written to mark his retirement from Manchester University; Elegy for solo cello was written as a homage to the poet Edward Thomas and the Piano Trio Homage to Chagall is self-explanatory.

Composer-portrait CDs provide important markers of a composer’s development. Furthermore, they do not promote single pieces, but, as is the case here, draw together works with a common thread, enabling an in-depth exploration of an aspect of a composer’s oeuvre. As recordings are realised carefully in a studio they are fully representative of a piece and thereby attract dissemination via platforms such as Spotify and YouTube and are often broadcast on radio stations. Indeed, a previous CD of Grange’s music recorded by Gemini has been broadcast in its entirety twice on Dutch radio and individual works have been broadcast elsewhere.

The performers are Gemini, who have given over 30 performances of Grange’s compositions, working closely with him for more than 25 years, and recorded two previous discs of his music, both chosen as a Critic’s Choice for Disc of the Year in Gramophone magazine, Thus, the performances on this new CD are informed by a well-established working relationship, exemplified by the previous Metier album ‘Darkness Visible’ (MSVCD 92083). (More recently, Grange’s ‘Ghosts of Great Violence’ was recorded for Metier by Quatuor Danel (MSV 28546).

HOMAGE

Catalogue number:  MSV 28591
Release date: to be confirmed but between June and September 2019
Composer of all works: Philip Grange

Performers

Gemini:

  • Ileana Ruhemann (flute)
  • Catriona Scott (clarinet)
  • Caroline Balding (violin)
  • Rose Redgrave (viola)
  • Sophie Harris (cello)
  • Joby Burgess (percussion)
  • Alexander Szram (piano)
  • Ian Mitchell (conductor)

Recorded by David Lefeber (Metier Sound and Vision) at All Saints Church, Tooting, London, on 17 -18 January 2019-02-25 .

Announcing a New Album with Cuatro Puntos

Divine Art Records has announced its latest signing which will result in the release in early summer on the Metier label of a fascinating album of music inspired by the sounds of the Near East, performed by the Resident Artists of Cuatro Puntos. Each track comes from a personal collaboration or association between Cuatro Puntos musicians and composers or other musicians from the Near East region. The tracks are arranged roughly by their origin on a path beginning in India and concluding in Egypt. The disc opens with Jaunpuri (Morning Song), a composition by Cuatro Puntos musician Kevin Bishop. It is inspired by a personal association with two special Hindustani classical musicians while they were all living in Afghanistan. At the center of the album are Reza Vali’s Love Songs and Calligraphies No. 1-3, based on traditional Persian modes. Sandwiched between these works is another by Kevin Bishop – this one a suite of Afghan tunes on which he plays the zerbaghali. Next is a piece gifted to Cuatro Puntos by Sadie Harrison, composer of the recent Rosegarden of Light album. It is based on the oldest known written piece of music, found in Syria and dated to 1400 BCE. Concluding the album are pieces by Israeli American composer Gilad Cohen and Egyptian composer Mohamed Aly Farag, both of whom began relationships with Cuatro Puntos after their pieces were chosen from an international score call.

Cuatro Puntos is a non-profit organization based in Hartford, Connecticut, USA dedicated to intercultural dialogue and universal access through the performance, writing, and teaching of music. Cuatro Puntos oversees a resident chamber music ensemble, a concert series, the Music Moves Hartford program for underserved Hartford populations, and, recently, a partnership with the Müzikhane Social Music School in Southeastern Turkey.  The Cuatro Puntos Resident Musicianshailed by Fanfare Magazine as having a “great depth of sound” and a “virtuostic performance”, have performed extensively throughout the United States as well as in Bolivia, Brazil, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Afghanistan.

A four-year collaboration with Afghanistan’s only music school, which included several teaching artist visits to Afghanistan and a one-year teaching tenure by Cuatro Puntos’ executive director, resulted in a collaborative album between Cuatro Puntos and the Afghanistan National Institute of Music titled The Rosegarden of Light. The album was released on Toccata Classics and has received critical acclaim worldwide as well as airplay on major stations such as BBC and NPR.  Music from the album has also been used on the score of several films, most recently in The Staging Post and Laila at the BridgeBlackmore Vale Magazine in the UK said “At a time when we are bombarded every day by images of the world in crisis, The Rosegarden of Light is a joyful celebration of musicians who share a fundamental right to express themselves through the universal language of music.”    

Jaipur to Cairo

Métier Records MSV 28589
Recorded at Hartt School, University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA on
22-24 March 2018
Producer: Kevin Bishop.  Engineer: Justin Kurtz

Works

Kevin Bishop: Jaunpuri
Reza Vali: Three Love Songs
Kevin Bishop: Afghan Suite No. 2
Reza Vali: Calligraphies
Sadie Harrison: The Oldest Song in the World
Gilad Cohen: Ten Variations
Mohamed Aly Farag: Rhapsody for piano and strings

Artists

Cuatro Puntos Resident Artists:
Mohamed Shams (piano)
Kevin Bishop (viola/zerbagali)
Charles Huang (oboe)
Aaron Packard (violin)
Annie Trépanier (violin)
Steve Larson (viola)
Allan Ballinger (cello)
Andrew O’Connor (double bass)