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Archive for Coming Soon – Page 5

Music for Clarinet and Strings from Gemini

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

3 April, 2020

Divine Art is delighted to announce its latest project for the Métier label with leading chamber ensemble Gemini and its clarinettist leader, Ian Mitchell. The album, to be recorded this autumn, will be titled “for clarinet and strings” and contains works by several prominent composers, with a number of premiere recordings.

From its very beginning in 1974 Gemini has commissioned composers in a variety of styles, and programmed works and composers that have been overlooked sometimes for many years.

This album presents works by Cyril Scott and Rebecca Clarke that have been championed by the ensemble. The Scott quintet was premiered by the Melos Ensemble in 1953 and possibly given only its second performance (his widow thought this was the case) – at London’s South Bank Centre in 1995. The Clarke duo, like much of her music, was unfamiliar to most people, and (performing from manuscript copies) Gemini has given a number of airings including a live BBC Radio 3 broadcast. A central plank of Gemini’s programming has always been to promote contemporary composers including music by women – 32 of whom have been commissioned, with over 70 performances of works by women. The ensemble has developed long-standing relationships with many composers: commissioning, performing and recording with the aim of giving their music a wider audience. Gemini has had a long and close musical relationship with Nicola LeFanu (eventually inviting her to be the ensemble’s Honorary President); supported Sadie Harrison from very early in her career and commissioned a number of works from Howard Skempton.

The work by Sadie Harrison will have been written in 2020 and is due to be premiered this year subject to the position with regard to social restrictions. The Coe quintet grew out of a commission for a clarinet and piano piece by Ian Mitchell, Gemini’s director, and the Skempton Lullaby was also written for him.

The recording is booked to be held on 6^th October 2020 at St Michael’s Church, South Grove, Highgate, London N6 6BJ. Again this is subject to possible alteration given current circumstances. The Clarke and Scott works were recorded several years ago when Gemini was a winner in the Prudential Award for the Arts .

The new album marks the continuation of an established and successful relationship between Gemini, Mitchell and Métier Records. Given current difficulties in the world at large release is likely to be in the very early part of 2021.

“… for clarinet and strings …” (MSV 28608)

Works

Prelude, Allegro & Pastorale for clarinet and viola (Rebecca Clarke)
Fire in Song (Sadie Harrison)
Songs without Words (Nicola LeFanu)
Dream Sequence (Tony Coe)
Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet (Cyril Scott)
Lullaby (Howard Skempton)

Gemini:

Ian Mitchell (Clarinet)
Caroline Balding (violin & viola)
Ruth Ehrlich (violin)
Yuko Inoue (viola)
Sophie Harris (cello)
Aleksander Szram (clapsticks, speaker)

Previously on Métier:

Coming Soon

Tags : Cyril Scott, Gemini, Ian Mitchell, Metier, Rebecca Clarke

Zeynep Ucbasaran, Miguel Ortega Chavaldas, Sergio Gallo

Two New Piano Projects for 3 Pianos & Four Hands

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

2 March, 2020

New Recordings from Zeynep Ucbasaran, Miguel Ortega Chavaldas, and Sergio Gallo

Divine Art has announced two linked but very different new albums of piano music. The first comprises recordings of recent works for three pianos by an international group of composers from the USA, Spain, Italy, Brazil and Turkey. Though modernist, the works are also accessible and generally tonal with a rich and deep textured sound from the combined voices of the three grand pianos. The program includes the award –winning “Inni” (Hymn) by Luigi Dallapiccola together with works by Ince and Saygun, and pieces by other composers which have been commissioned by the trio and which are thus receiving their first recordings. The performers are Zeynep Ucbasaran, Miguel Ortega Chavaldas and Sergio Gallo, together ‘The 3-Piano Project’. Ucbasaran, based in California, is the ‘leader among equals’ in the group. She has made several highly-praised recordings previously for Naxos and Eroica.

As a counterpoint to this pioneering program, Ucbasaran and Gallo have recorded a second album – this time for four hands at one piano – of popular and well-loved works in splendid dynamic performances. The major work is Milhaud’s homage to Brazilian music with touches of jazz, ‘Le boeuf sur le toit’ and operatic themes and folk-inspired dances. Both recordings were completed at the Music Academy of the West, in Santa Barbara, California, in the latter half of 2019 and are scheduled for release in the summer of 2020.

Divine Art DDA 25207 ‘The Three-Piano Project’

Artists: Zeynep Ucbasaran, Miguel Ortega Chavaldas and Sergio Gallo (pianos)

Works:

Idea Cells (Server Acim) *
S’io esca vivo (If I escape alive) (Edson Zampronha) *
Poem, Op. 73 (Adnan Saygun) *
Petit Nocturne Noire (José Zárate) *
Requiem for Mehmet (Kamran Ince) *
Inni (Luigi Dallapiccola)
(*world premiere recordings)

Divine Art DDA 25208 Music for Four Hands at One piano (album title not yet determined)

Artists: Zeynep Ucbasaran and Sergio Gallo (piano duet)

Works:

Two episodes from Lenau’s Faust, S.599 (Franz Liszt)
Slavonic Dances from Op. 48 – Nos. 1,2 & 8 (Antonín Dvořák)
Love Song from Faust (Charles Gounod; arr. H. Englemann)
Jocelyn – Berceuse (Benjamin Godard)Carmen – Overture (Georges Bizet)
Faust – Waltz (Charles Gounod; arr, W.P. Mero)
Le bœuf sur le toit (Darius Milhaud)

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

Zeynep Ucbasaran made her Wigmore Hall debut in November 2004. She has recorded many albums, including music of Liszt, Schubert, Scarlatti, Beethoven, Bernstein and Muczynsjki. Most recently she recorded the piano music of Saygun (Naxos) and the complete piano sonatas of Mozart (Eroica Classical).

Dr. Sergio Gallo has won the piano concerto competitions of both the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra (Brazil) and the University Symphony, Santa Barbara (USA). He has performed with orchestras throughout the Americas and in Turkey, as well as broadcasting on Radio France and Radio Cultura. He now lives in the USA where he teaches at Georgia State University in Atlanta and Rocky Ridge Music Academy in Estes Park, Colorado.

Miguel A. Ortega Chavaldas was born in Las Palmas on the Canary Islands and studied in Spain under Almudena Cano. He was awarded a first-class diploma in Piano and the highest prize in Chamber Music. Mr Ortega Chavaldas is currently Professor of Piano at the Conservatorio Superior de Aragón in Zaragoza, Spain, and also a collaborating pianist at Reina Sofia Academy in Madrid.

Coming Soon News

Peter Sheppard Skaerved and Julian Perkins

Recording of Schubert’s Violin Sonatas on Period Instruments To Be Released on Athene

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

28 February, 2020

Peter Sheppard Skærved backstage with the violin — Peter Sheppard Skærved (Photo Richard Bram)

Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin), and Julian Perkins (square piano) have recorded Schubert’s three 1816 Sonatas for Violin and Piano on period instruments: No. 1 in D major, D.384, No. 2 in A minor, D. 385 and No. 3 in G minor, D.408.

While Franz Schubert is one of the most popular and well–loved of the ‘Great Composers’ not all of his works are quite as well known and this is perhaps true of the threeeSonatas for Violin and Piano, composed at the age of 19. While certainly not rare, they are far less often heard than the Symphonies and Lieder. Titled “Sonata” in the manuscript, the three works were published posthumously as “Sonatinas, Op. 137” and given their relatively intimate nature, and lyrical rather than virtuosic style, the name ‘Sonatina’ has been used often; the performers here insist that Schubert’s original title should be used.

The new recording features two of the country’s foremost performers: Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin) and Julian Perkins (square piano). Both have accomplished enormous success as soloists and chamber musicians. Skærved has already made many recordings as soloist for Athene and its sister ‘new-music’ label Métier (both divisions of Divine Art Recordings). Importantly this is believed to be the first recording of the Sonatinas using a period piano and violin thus reproducing much more accurately the works as originally envisioned and heard.

The new album is likely to be released in the summer.

ATHENE ATH 23208

Schubert: Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin)
Julian Perkins (square piano)
Recorded in London in the summer /autumn of 2019

Works

THREE SONATAS, Op. 137:
No. 1 in D major, D. 384
No. 2 in A minor, D,385
No. 3 in G minor, D.408

Coming Soon

Tags : Athene, Julian Perkins, Period Instruments, Peter Sheppard Skærved, Schubert

New Woodwind Albums from Geoffrey Allen Coming in 2020

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

28 February, 2020

Divine Art’s new-music division, Métier Records, will be releasing two albums of music by veteran Australian composer Geoffrey Allen this year. The first is an album of music for woodwind, which was recorded this January and will be released in the late summer. The music is for flute, clarinet and bassoon, all with piano. Of particular note are the three works for solo bassoon and piano, a brief Pastorale, a Sonatina, and a full-blown Sonata.

The artists are all local Perth musicians: Allan Meyer and Michael Waye from the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, Katherine Walpole who teaches bassoon at both the University of WA and the WA Academy of Performing Arts, and David Wickham, one of Australia’s leading accompanists.

In preparation for recording later this year is a set of music for flute (details to follow in the summer).

Born in 1927 and still incredibly active, Geoffrey Allen is something of a legend in his own country especially in the Perth area but has yet to establish a substantial international reputation. As well as being a fine composer, Allen also established and managed the Keys Press music publishing business until his retirement only recently. His music first appeared on a Divine Art album in 2001 with the Fourth Piano Sonata and Three Piano Pieces were performed by Trevor Barnard (‘Blue Wrens – piano music from Australia, Divine Art DDA 25017).

These new recordings are in addition to the 4-disc set containing Allen’s Piano Sonatas, performed by Murray McLachlan, which is being recorded this spring (details were announced some time ago).

Geoffrey Allen: Music for Woodwinds (MSV 28607)

Works

Pastorale, for bassoon and piano
Outback Sketches, for clarinet and piano
Sonata for Bassoon and Piano
Trio for Flute, Clarinet and Piano
Sonatina for Bassoon and Piano

Artists

Katherine Walpole (bassoon)
Allan Meyer (clarinet)
Michael Waye (flute)
David Wickham (piano)

Recorded in January 2020 in Perth, Western Australia

Coming Soon

Tags : Geoffrey Allen

Debut Recording By The Huberman Piano Trio

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

27 February, 2020

Album of Polish Chamber Music: Works by Szymanowski, Panufnik, and Bacewicz

Divine Art is delighted to announce the first recording by the immensely talented Huberman Piano Trio, based in Częstochowa, Poland. The program comprises three major works, though only one is a trio and the others are pieces for violin and piano. Recorded in January 2020 at the Huberman Philharmony in Częstochowa, the album will include works by Szymanowski, Panufnik and Bacewicz.

Karol Szymanowski is universally considered one of Poland’s greatest composers, while Grażyna Bacewicz has not yet received the full international recognition that her music deserves. Andrzej Panufnik is very well known especially in the UK having become a naturalised British citizen, but he is also held in very high esteem in the country of his birth.

The Huberman Piano Trio was established in 2013 and the violinist and pianist began performing as a duo in 2018. The three members are Barbara Karaśkiewicz (piano), Magdalena Ziarkowska-Kołacka (violin) and Sergei Rysanov (cello). They all obtained their musical education in leading centres including Moscow, Warsaw, Katowice and Poznan. They have performed throughout Europe and also in China, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Ukraine and Uruguay, also featuring twice in the Huberman Violin Festival.

The ensemble is named after Bronislaw Huberman, the legendary Polish violinist. He is remembered for his political work and efforts to help tolerance and understanding between peoples and nations. He was the founder of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The violinist of the ensemble, Magdalena Ziarkowska-Kołacka, plays the violin which was owned by Huberman since 1934.

The recording has been supported generously by the Huberman Foundation and Częstochowa Philharmonic and is scheduled for release in October 2020.

DDA 25206 Works

Karol Szymanowski: Sonata in D minor for Violin and Piano
Andrzej Panufnik: Piano Trio, Op. 1
Grażina Bacewicz: Sonata no. 4 for Violin and Piano

Coming Soon

Tags : Humberman Piano Trio

Moon Marked – New album from Chris Gekker Coming May 2020

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

12 February, 2020

Acclaimed American trumpet player Chris Gekker has just made his second album for Métier, the new-music division of Divine Art Recordings. This collection of new and recent works (all but one are world premiere recordings) by a range of American composers including Richard Auldon Clark, Carson Cooman and Lance Hulme, demonstrates the mellow and lyrical aspect of the trumpet. Chris Gekker uses descriptions such as “warmly expressive” and “hauntingly beautiful”. However even though the album is largely ‘laid-back’ it’s never lacking in depth, meaning and ‘soul’.

Adding to the richness of the sound world Chris Gekker is joined by pianist Rita Sloan (who also featured strongly in the previous Gekker album) , violist Katherine Murdock and oboist Mark Hill, and several members of the musically talented Gekker family: Suzanne (clarinet), Jason (double bass) and Lianna (piano).

The works here are wonderfully sonorous, harmonically conservative and will appeal to classical music lovers and also fans of soft lounge jazz.

The album is titled ‘Moon Marked’ and will be released in May 2020 on Métier (MSV 28605).

Moon Marked

Recorded at Dekelboum Concert Hall, University of Maryland on various dates in late 2019 except:

Variations and Fugue on a theme by Brahms (same venue, recorded 2011)
Moon Marked, recorded at Spencerville Seventh Day Adventist Church 2019

Works

… and justice for all? (Richard Auldon Clark) for trumpet, viola and double bass
Elegy for a Sultry Summer Afternoon (Lance Hulme) for trumpet and piano
Moon Marked (Carson Cooman) for trumpet and clarinet
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Brahms (Eric Ewazen) for flugelhorn and piano
Divertimento (Richard Auldon Clark) for trumpet, oboe and viola
Acquainted with the Night (Alistair Coleman) for trumpet and piano
Peace on Earth (Franklin Kiermyer) for trumpet, clarinet, double bass and piano

Performers

Chris Gekker (trumpet and flugelhorn)
Katherine Murdock (viola)
Mark Hill (oboe)
Suzanne Gekker (clarinet)
Jason Gekker (double bass)
Lianna Gekker (piano)
Rita Sloan (piano)

Previously on Divine Art: Ghost Dialogues (MSV 28572)

Chris Gekker is a master of his instrument. His technique is impeccable: The Metier recording is so clear one can hear every detail of attack. In addition, there is a real musical intelligence at work, here coupled with a fervent belief in the music he plays. This is a most varied recital, then, caught in superb sound. The combination of technique, taste, and musicianship is remarkable.”
—Colin Clarke, Fanfare

Coming Soon

Tags : Chris Gekker, Coming Soon, Moon Marked

New Album of Froberger Keyboard music from Divine Art

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

6 December, 2019

May 2020 will see the release of the new album by early music specialist Terence Charlston which contains the complete Fantasias and Canzonas by Johann Jacob Froberger (1616-1667) – this is the first ever recording of these works on clavichord. This recording was made in October 2019 at the Royal College of Music studios in London with engineer Anna Heath.

The new recording follows the highly praised first instalment of the complete Harpsichord Suites by Froberger (performed by Gilbert Rowland) on Divine Art’s sister label Athene – volume 2 to be recorded in July 2020. Froberger’s writing in the Suites demonstrates the foundation of the classic baroque dance suite and his individual keyboard works are no less full of interest and originality.

Froberger was a pioneer in the early baroque and a great influence on many of the great composers from Louis Couperin to Bach, Handel and Scarlatti. His Fantasias and Canzonas are amongst his most beautifully crafted yet most neglected works. Twelve of them survive in a meticulously written autograph manuscript dated 19 September 1649. They are particularly well suited to the clavichord if just the right instrument is available. In 2018, Charlston discovered the clavichord featured in this recording, quite by chance, and realised it would be ideal for this repertoire.

The clavichord is a reconstruction of a surviving southern German instrument of the later seventeenth-century made by Andreas Hermert in 2009. It takes us close to how the instrument might have sounded originally and provides an excellent means through which to hear the counterpoint of the most important German Baroque keyboard composer of the seventeenth century. Its dynamic nuance and expressive range, lute-like qualities, distinct timbral changes across its compass, and clarity contrast strongly with the ubiquitous modern-day performance tradition on harpsichord and organ.

Terence Charlston is one of the UK’s most respected musicians in the early-music field. His broad career encompasses many complementary roles including solo and chamber musician, choral and orchestral director, and teacher and academic researcher. He was a member of the quartet London Baroque between 1995 and 2007 with whom he gave nearly 500 concerts worldwide and since 2009 he has been a core member of the ensemble Florilegium. His large repertoire spans the Middle Ages to the present day reflecting a passionate interest in keyboard music of all types and styles. As well as being an important advocate of keyboard music of the 17^th and 18^th centuries Charlston is also a sought-after and devoted teacher. He founded the Department of Historical Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, London in 1995 and is International Visiting Tutor in Harpsichord at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester . He joined the staff of the Royal College of Music, London in 2007 where he is Professor of Historical Keyboard Instruments, a personal Chair created for him in 2016.

Terence Charlston has appeared on over 80 recordings – this is his third since joining Divine Art, following ‘The Harmonious Thuringian’ (DDA 25122) and ‘Mersenne’s Clavichord’ (DDA 25134) both of which featured rare music but also unique instruments and which received glowing critical praise.

Coming Soon News

Tags : clavichord, Johann Froberger, Terence Charlston

New Piano Albums from Composer Eric Craven

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

6 December, 2019

In 2020 Divine Art’s Métier label will release two volumes of ‘Pieces for Pianists’ by Manchester composer Eric Craven, performed by Mary Dullea. Volume 1 is likely to be issued in the early summer with Volume 2 following in the autumn. Each volume contains 25 Pieces, which were composed between 2016 and 2019.

If Craven is to be defined by anything it will be his pioneering development of his Non-Prescriptive methods of composing. He has evolved new ways of notation which, to differing degrees, encourage the performer to become part of the compositional process. His contribution to the field of experimental music has been widely recognised. In the September 2015 issue of Gramophone, Philip Clark gives more than equal consideration to Craven in an article which discusses new ways and innovations by Wolff, Feldman and Finnissy.

Craven presents the two volumes of Pieces for Pianists in his Non-Prescriptive Low-order format which means that there are no instructions, no guidance à propos performance. The performer is free to decide upon the parameters of dynamics, tempo, phrasing, pedalling and the general articulation of the notes and, by doing so, determines the outcome of each performance. The pieces are all quite short, monothematic and tonal, teeming with reference. They present an astonishing kaleidoscope of styles and genre: echoes of Prokofiev to Poulenc, Bernstein to Bartók.

Pieces for Pianists is Craven’s fourth collaboration with the wonderfully talented pianist Mary Dullea, who will be recording both volumes in December at the Menuhin Hall in Cobham, Surrey, with Adaq Khan, now established as one of Britain’s most accomplished producer/engineers.

Previous albums featuring Eric Craven and Mary Dullea

Coming Soon News

Tags : Eric Craven, Mary Dullea, Pieces for Pianists

Métier Announces Kevin Raftery’s “Second Child”

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

25 September, 2019

Divine Art’s leading new-music label, Métier, has announced the second album of works by British composer Kevin Raftery, which is being recorded over the next few months and is scheduled for release in Autumn of 2020. Raftery sees his albums as progeny, created after a long gestation process so has titled this new collection ‘Second Child’. While much of Raftery’s music is ‘serious’ he also has a fine knack for writing works of wit and humor.

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Raftery’s Chamber Music (Métier MSV 28569, issued in may 2017) met with unanimous positive reviews. Second Child broadens the picture adding choral and piano works alongside chamber music.

String Quartet No. 2, subtitled “Serioso”, develops ideas from Beethoven’s intense opus 95 quartet. Atlantis Dances for mixed quintet also touches upon deep feelings in its central “Mourning Dance”, albeit framed by more jubilant dances – the whole suite being second child to the earlier work First Companion.

Between these we hear a thoughtfully crafted program. Cook From Frozen is a journey for piano. Choral works Dimitte nobis and Three English Poems frame a meditation for two muted violins, Musica Fermata.

Raftery is blessed by co-operations with performers of the highest level: the Marmen Quartet, the Berkeley Ensemble, Clare Hammond, and Polyphony led by Stephen Layton.

Kevin Raftery was born in St.Louis, Missouri, in 1951 and studied composition with Peter Racine Fricker at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

In 1989 he moved to London where he studied with Justin

Connolly and maintained a dual career as musician and project manager.

He sings contemporary music with the New London Chamber Choir, plays bassoon in several ensembles, and is Music Director of the 500-member Richmond Concert Society.

For journalists in the UK who would be interested in attending sessions (the composer/artists are eager to offer interview opportunities), the Marmen Quartet will be recording on 29 November this year, and Polyphony on June 25-26 next year. These are world-class performers and the composer believes anyone would be thrilled to see them in action. If any journalist wishes to arrange attendance they may obtain venue details etc from Divine Art.

Album Details

“Second Child” – music by Kevin Raftery

Métier MSV 28600 for release in autumn 2020

Tracks and artists:

String Quartet No. 2 (“Serioso”) – Marmen Quartet
Cook from Frozen – Clare Hammond (piano solo)
Dimitte nobis – Polyphony, dir. Stephen Layton
Musica Fermata – Members of Berkeley Ensemble (two violins)
Three English Poems – Polyphony, dir. Stephen Layton
Atlantis Dances – Berkeley Ensemble (bass clarinet, horn, viola, cello, double bass)

Coming Soon News

Tags : Kevin Raftery, Métier, Second Child

New Album of Music for Small Orchestra from Composer Ed Hughes

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

13 August, 2019

Metier Records, a division of the Divine Art Recordings Group, will be releasing a new album of music by Sussex (England) based composer Ed Hughes. This will be Hughes’s fourth album for Metier in a series which includes an opera (CD/DVD set), a DVD of silent films with new music by Hughes, and a highly acclaimed double album of chamber works.

The new album contains three works: Sinfonia and Cuckmere: A Portrait for chamber orchestra, and a piano trio – Media Vita.

Ed Hughes writes music which can be very lyrical with long lines, and yet also polyphonic – sometimes dense, and sometimes translucent. Very characteristic is that things go in and out of focus, so you hear different things at different times, flowing in and out. There’s always a sense of forward momentum in that the music is constantly on a journey. A definite sense of momentum and energy. You are left wanting more. It resists definition! Sinfonia explores violent extremes of emotion ranging from anguished and desperate states, to the serene, with hints of early music. Whereas Cuckmere is often really gentle – the beginning of Spring is fleet of foot and light, whereas Summer has this amazing warmth and richness to the textures, which is a big contrast to the brittle shards of Winter. And the windswept Autumnal textures. Overall the album is a portrait, unified stylistically, even though the pieces exhibit many contrasts. (comments by Liz Webb)

Ed Hughes says: “My new CD features the most amazing performances of my music by the New Music Players and the Orchestra of Sound and Light brilliantly recorded and mixed by Simon Weir and the Classical Media Company.

“The CD opens with Cuckmere: A Portrait. A four movement piece evoking the journey of the Cuckmere river, this is also a journey through the seasons. So it is an exploration of time and space. It has a changing texture, even though the work is a continuous play, because there are a prelude and three interludes introducing and connecting the four main movements. Using the resources of a small orchestra and electronics I try to create a sense of spaciousness, cold, warmth, beauty, scale, and the drama of the environment conjured in Cesca Eaton’s film, for which this piece was originally conceived as part of a major 2018 Brighton Festival immersive commission.* I did this through searching melodies, changing harmonies, shifting string colours, blocks of wind and brass, and the strangeness you get when the landscape is transformed through snow and ice conveyed through ‘on the bridge’ string effects, and the occasional addition of electronics in the interludes.

“Media Vita is the piano trio which goes back to my first professional compositions. I am fond of it because it freely explores the intense harmonies of an early motet – John Sheppard’s Media Vita (c. 1550) with its exquisite harmonic progressions and expressive melodies. I transform this into quite a bold and searching piece for piano trio.

“The final piece is called Sinfonia (2018) – it links to Media Vita (1991) because more than 25 years on from Media Vita it’s a return to the idea of trying to get under the skin of early English music. But this time in a sort of chronological survey of music composed between 1415 and c. 1600 using pieces originally concerned with war, passion, the human spirit, death, environmental disaster and the sounds of the city… all these different mixed elements from an early period. I’m trying to transform them into a statement that’s more about today than yesterday, through this large scale ensemble piece, Sinfonia.”

Ed Hughes: Sinfonia (Métier MSV 28597)

Coming Spring 2020

Recorded by Simon Weir (Classical Media) in 2018.

Works & Performers:

Sinfonia – Featuring the New Music Players conducted by Ed Hughes
Cuckmere: A Portrait – Featuring the Orchestra of Sound and Light conducted by Nicholas Smith
Media Vita – Featuring Susanne Stanzeleit (violin), Joe Giddey (cello), Richard Casey (piano)

Ed Hughes Recordings on Métier

Coming Soon News

Tags : Coming Soon, Ed Hughes, Sinfonia

Divine Art Signs American Pianist Justin Badgerow for Debut Album

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

6 August, 2019

The American branch of Divine Art Recordings has announced the signing of American pianist Justin Badgerow, whose debut album ‘Reminiscences of Brazil’ is to be recorded this autumn for release in 2020.

Justin Badgerow is a pianist based in Lancaster, PA and is an Associate Professor of Music at Elizabethtown College. Dr. Badgerow holds degrees from University of Central Florida, University of Texas, and the University of Colorado. Justin has performed across the USA as well as in Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, and Ireland and he holds a special interest in music of Latin America. This particular recording project, his first, began after a visit to the state of Bahia, Brazil. After performing and lecturing in the city of Salvador, Badgerow met local composer Paulo Gondim and began to study his works as well as other historically significant Brazilian composers such as Heitor Villa-Lobos and Francisco Mignone. While reminiscing on his travels, he discovered also the Brazilian-inspired works of Frenchman Darius Milhaud. These composers’ pieces all fit together as an ideal recording opportunity which attempts to capture the essence of the Brazilian people and artistic culture through the lens of an American traveller. Dr Badgerow also intends to undertake a concert tour to promote the new album; further details will be published on the Divine Art website when available.

Reminiscences of Brazil

DDA 25201 – Coming Early Summer 2020 from Pianist Justin Badgerow

Works

Sies Preludios (Francisco Mignone)
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 (Heitor Villa-Lobos)
Ciclo Brasileiro (Heitor Villa-Lobos)
Saudades do Brasil (Darius Milhaud)
Valse Elegante (Francisco Mignone)
Serenata Humoristica (Francisco Mignone)
Gingado de Bibi (Paulo Gondim)
Sonhando (Paulo Gondim)
Sapeca (Paulo Gondim)
Teimosia (Paulo Gondim)
Dansa Brasileira (Mozart Camargo Guarnieri)
Congada (Francisco Mignone)

Coming Soon News

Tags : Coming Soon, Divine Art Recordings, Justin Badgerow, Reminiscences of Brazil

Divine Art Announces First Complete Recording of All 18 Geoffrey Allen Piano Sonatas

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

30 May, 2019

Divine Art Records is delighted to announce the forthcoming recording of the 18 Piano Sonatas by British-born Australian composer Geoffrey Allen, who has just celebrated his 92^nd birthday with the completion of his most recent sonata. Allen has had a great deal of influence in the Australian music world since retiring from his career as a librarian in 1992, when he founded The Keys Press, which functioned to promote and publish Australian music until 2014. Among other activities he has proved to be a very accomplished composer indeed. Stephen Sutton, CEO of the Divine Art group, says “It’s wonderful to anticipate the recording of Geoff’s complete sonatas. We recorded his 4^th sonata along with the delightful Three Piano Pieces back in 2001 (Divine Art DDA 25007 ‘Blue Wrens’ – pianist Trevor Barnard), so I was really pleased that the opportunity came along to produce a complete set.”

The pianist on the new set is Murray McLachlan, Head of Keyboard at Chetham’s School of Music and one of Britain’s most brilliant and busy pianists. Please see below for an appraisal of the Allen Sonatas by McLachlan.

The recordings will take place at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester on five dates commencing on September 25, 2019, with engineer Stephen Guy. The set will be issued on two 2-CD sets and two double albums; the exact make up of each disc/set is not yet finalised but will include the 17 numbered Piano Sonatas and a rhapsodic piece from 2003 titled ‘Rhapzonata’. The sonatas stretch from the first composed in 1959 (later revised) to no. 17, completed only a few weeks ago (April 2019).

The two sets will be released in the first half of 2020 on the Métier label, Divine Art’s primary new-music imprint, as MSV 77209 and MSV 77210

Murray McLachlan on Geoffrey Allen:

I’m extremely excited and eager to get started with the extraordinary project of recording for Divine Art the complete 17 sonatas of the 90-year-old Australian based British born composer Geoffrey Allen. Geoffrey’s story is unique: He was born in 1927 in Essex and went to Oxford before emigrating in 1952 to Sydney, Australia. After a brief period as a geography teacher he had much success as a librarian, working first in Sydney then in Perth and travelling internationally for his work. His musical talent and facility was first apparent in 1950 when three of his four songs were performed at an Oxford University Music Society concert. Clearly composing has continued and grown apace over nearly seventy years of serious endeavour.
Geoffrey is characteristically modest about his work, but he feels that the year 1989 was especially crucial for his artistic development. A visit to Spain with his second wife had a huge impact on his piano Sonata No. 2 and after this work a great momentum – a great rush of energy and creativity – unquestionably occurred. This momentum has continued right up to 2019 with final touches to sonata 17 only appearing a few weeks back!
Geoffrey has mentioned many pieces and composers who have influenced him – with the notable exception of Beethoven! Performances heard as a student of Brahms horn trio and Sibelius 4th Symphony made a strong impression, but he also was influenced by performances early on that he heard on the radio from figures including Bax, Milhaud, Khatchaturian, Bliss, Ireland and Walton.
From the 1950s in Australia Geoffrey was a fervent supporter of new music from his adopted homeland. He helped found and organise Brolga Records, a pioneering venture that enabled contemporary Australian music to be available as commercial LPs for the first time. After his retirement as a librarian in 1992 he established The Keys Press, a one-man publishing activity concentrating on Australian classical music that continued functioning until 2014.
How can one describe Geoffrey’s music? It is all too easy to start classifying and referring to new or unfamiliar music via references to music that is familiar. What is really interesting and special about Geoffrey’s music is the fact that it looks orthodox on the page initially, but is in fact extremely thought-provoking. He has a unique way of combining the familiar with the unfamiliar: Geoffrey’s music is always extremely well crafted and looks deceptively simple on the page, but as soon as you begin to play any phrase from his works you discover that he is always subtly reinventing the wheel! There is a unique special voice. The textures and structure will appeal to diverse audiences. If you enjoy Prokofiev, Tcherepnin, Barber and even Tippett, you will admire the Allen aesthetic too – diverse though these famous names are!
There is unquestionably subtle originality, extraordinary variety and colourful fascination in Geoffrey Allen’s prolific output for the instrument. The collection of recordings we are about to make will unquestionably amount to a significant contribution in the ongoing development of the 20th/21st century piano sonata.

Coming Soon

Tags : Coming Soon, Geoffrey Allen, murray mclachlan, News, piano

Divine Art/Métier Announces new Japanese-Inspired Album from Cross-Cultural Ensemble Shonorities

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

28 May, 2019

A new album of Japanese-inspired music from the cross-cultural ensemble Shonorities will be released by Métier Records later this year. Shonorities, created by Greek composer Basil Athanasiadis, is a diverse group of performers and composers committed to promoting a range of repertoire that encompasses a wide spectrum of musical styles including old, contemporary and traditional pieces. By blending a variety of musical cultures, Shonorities aims to show the potential for cross-cultural collaboration in contemporary music.

Shonorities’ past projects feature works for a variety of instrumental combinations including female voice and traditional Japanese instruments supported by organisations such as the Japan Foundation, Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, Sawakawa Foundation, Japanese Embassy in Greece, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, British Council and the Greek-Japanese Association.

Greek composer Basil Athanasiadis moved to London to complete his studies. He is the only composer to date to twice receive the prestigious JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (2010-11 and 2011-13). During that period Basil was based at the Tokyo University of the Arts as a Special Foreign Researcher, where he composed new works for Western and Japanese instruments with a particular interest on the shō (mouth organ) and the 20-stringed koto.

The group’s first album of music by Athanasiadis (‘Soft Light’ Métier MSV 28584) appeared in April 2018: “Music that hues closely to a Japanese aesthetic based on simplicity of utterance and purity of expression… absolutely intriguing and immensely satisfying.” (Music Notes)

The new album includes a fascinating mix of sounds including a rare appearance in art music of a solo Rhodes piano – an instrument normally found in jazz ensembles – as well as traditional western and Japanese instruments.

Book of Dreams (Métier MSV 28596)

Composer: Basil Athanasiadis

Artists: Shonorities: Shie Shoji (voice), Keiko Hisamoto (koto), Naomi Sato (shō), Lin Lin (alto flute), Nao Tohara (violin), Basil Athanasiadis (piano, Rhodes, percussion)
Guest artists: Noah Max (conductor), Elena Abad Martinez (violin 1), Chloë Meade (violin 2), Daichi Yoshimura (viola), Henry Hargreaves (cello)

Recording dates: 31 October 2017 (Orpington, Kent); 29 September 2018 (Goldsmiths Studio, London); 23-24 February 2019 (Studio A, Tokyo University of the Arts)

Works

Book of Dreams II (for alto flute and string quartet)
Five Pieces (for female voice and prepared piano)
Interlude (for solo piano)
Dream of a Butterfly II (for solo Rhodes)
Eyes are now Dim (female voice, violin, shō, koto)

Technicals

Microphones: Neuman U87, KM 83, AKG 414, DPA4006, DPA4011, CMC68, CMC64, CMC621, C414, R121
Mixing console: Calrec S2, adt SRC51
Monitor speakers: ATC SCM 20, musikelectronic geithain RL901K, Genelec 8050B
Microphone pre-amplifiers, A/D converters: Millennia HV-35/Avid HD interface, DAD AX32

Coming Soon

Tags : Basil Athanasiadis, Book of Dreams, Coming Soon, Métier, Shonorities

Athene Records Announces Great Violins, Volume Three With Peter Sheppard Skærved

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

24 May, 2019

Featuring the World Premiere Recording of Complete Solo Movements of the Historic Klagenfurt Manuscript of 1685

The Great Violins series from Divine Art’s Athene historic music label reaches Volume 3 with an exceptional historic work – the Klagenfurt Handskrift of 1685. Violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved accessed the original manuscript at the Landesmuseums Kartnen, in Klagenfurt (southern Austria) and studied a facsimile for many hours with great dedication, coming to terms with its ancient tablature notation. Skærved says: It was only as this work progressed that I began to realise the beauty in front of me. That dawning realisation, alone, at my desk, with violin, bow, and pencil, was one of the most moving experiences of my artistic life.”

The Klagenfurt Manuscript is a vellum-covered book of 80 leaves, nearly all of which are in the same hand. Seven different tunings are utilized. It was found in the convent of St. Georgen am Längsee, in Carinthia and while the massive manuscript is anonymous, Skærved strongly believes that it is the work of a Benedictine nun (all of whom worked anonymously at the time) or a lay sister working at the convent.

The recording, which as with previous volumes in the series has been wonderfully produced by Jonathan Haskell, consists of about 100 movements for solo violin, which indeed make up the major part of the whole manuscript, though it does also include some four-part pieces and some with basso continuo. The majority of movements are in recognisable dance forms, although many of them are unlabelled. They include allemandes, minuets, gigues, passepieds, courants, correntes, sarabandes, sicilianas and a number of movements which are less capabale of categorization!

For this recording Peter Sheppard Skærved has chosen an extraordinarily fine Stradivari violin of 1685 which is in the collection of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. It dates from the same decade (possibly the same year) as the manuscript – but more than this, the music and the instrument proved to the performer to be ideally suited to each other – each illuminated the other, in Skærved’s words. It is a beautiful instrument of maple, smaller than the modern ‘standard’ and of the type sometimes referred to as ‘violino piccolo’. Slight alterations were made to neck and bass bar at some point in the 19^th century. Skaerved plays with gut strings, and a period-style bow, to achieve as closely as possible the sound that the maker and his original customer would have expected. The bow, of typical 17^th century design and smaller than the modern bow, was made by the Genoese bowmaker Antonino Airenti.

A detailed essay on the manuscript, its notation and style (which includes several scordatura sections), and on the instrument, will appear in the album booklet.

Peter Sheppard Skaerved is among Britain’s (and the world’s) most accomplished violinists. Alongside his work at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he is tireless in his performing and recording career, both ‘solo’ and with his ensembles, Kreutzer Quartet and Longbow. He is the dedicatee of over 200 works for solo violin alone, and is a champion of music of all ages. He was recently described by MusicWeb International as ‘an aristocrat among violinists’. Peter is also a brilliant writer, painter, and a genuine cognoscente of the arts in general.

The album is scheduled for release at the end of 2019 or early 2020 and pre-release promotional copies may be available by the autumn.

Great Violins, Vol. 3 – Die Klagenfurt Handskrift (Athene ATH 23206)

2-CD set, and double digital album for release in late 2019/early 2020 and featuring Peter Sheppard Skærved performing a 1685 Violin by Stradavari on over 100 movements/sections/tracks.

Coming Soon

Tags : Athene, Great Violins, Klagenfurt Handskrift, Peter Sheppard Skærved

Divine Art Announces Third Album for Swedish Composer Jonathan Östlund: Mistral

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

16 May, 2019

Swedish composer Jonathan Östlund has been compared to a modern-day Debussy for his finely crafted impressionistic music, inspired strongly by the natural world – places, flora and fauna. Following the two double albums ‘Lunaris’ and ‘Voyages’, Östlund has again assembled a fine set of musicians to appear on his new album ‘Mistral’ which is scheduled to be released in late autumn this year.

The new release again contains a mix of orchestral and chamber works – most has been recorded but two tracks are due to be recorded in Moscow in the next few weeks.

The first album ‘Lunaris’ (DDA 21226) gained some fine reviews:

“Östlund’s signature, like Debussy and Schumann in the great tradition, merges atmosphere, mystery, fantasy, and fairy tale. Markedly original. [I] feel enriched by stepping into his world of fancy free.”
—Huntley Dent (Fanfare)

“Östlund seems to have no end to his reservoir of inspiration.”
—Remy Franck (Pizzicato)

‘Voyages’ (ZDA 50602) was released in March this year as a digital-only double album. A CD version, omitting two tracks for reasons of duration, is also due to appear later this year.

Album Details

Divine Art DDA 25199 ‘Mistral’

Full price CD / frontline digital album

Works and artists

Concerto for Violin & Symphony Orchestra – The Bow Tie Orchestra, Vladimir Podgoretsky (Conductor), Natalia Kovalevskaya (Solo Violin)
Aquarelle – ensemble from the Bergslagen Chamber Philharmonic
Morpheus Metamorphoses – The Bow Tie Orchestra, Vladimir Podgoretsky (Conductor)
Paganini Fantasia – Andreas Laake (Solo Violin)
The Forgotten Garden – Verisimo Ensemble
Légendes de la Mer – Nataly Brakhman (Piano) & Evgeny Brakhman (Piano)
Saga – Myriam Hidber-Dickinson (Solo Flute)
Nocturnia – Ethereal Night’s Ascendance – The Bow Tie Orchestra & Chorus, Vladimir Podgoretsky (Conductor)

The Bow Tie Orchestra is formed from members of the Russian National Orchestra and set up predominantly as a recording orchestra. Each member is a top professional – indeed 21 of its members have won international competitions.

The founder, artistic director and conductor is Vladimor Podgoretsky. After earning his B.A. in Conducting from the Moscow State Conservatory and graduating from UCLA film scoring program, Vladimir has been working for more than 7 years on diverse Hollywood films and animation. His orchestrator and conductor credits include such films as Season of the Witch, Single Shot, Scavengers, the acclaimed video game World of Warcraft, the ABC TV series Revenge and others. Vladimir composed music for the feature film The Game of Truth from acclaimed producer Timur Bekmambetov and worked as an additional music arranger with film composer Harry Gregson Williams on his film Equalizer.

Coming Soon

Tags : Jonathan Östlund, Mistral

Divine Art Announces Extension of Artyomov Series

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

3 May, 2019

Following the completion of Divine Art’s 10-album series of orchestral, choral and chamber works by Vyacheslav Artyomov, which culminated in a stunning recording from 2018 of his symphony ‘In Spe’ (in Hope), it has been announced that the series is to be extended. Next to be issued will be a compilation of chamber works recorded over a period of time, some of which are given their first commercial release, including both studio and concert recordings.

Artyomov is considered by many to be the greatest composer living in Russia today. His music is absolutely individual and unique, though blending influences from Messaien, Scriabin and Pärt at times. A deep spirituality and political (pro-freedom) thrust also underlines his work. His use of unusual instrumental combinations as well as standard large orchestras gives his work enormous diversity. Here the range includes many fascinating sound templates. Artyomov has been championed by many leading figures including conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dmitri Kitaeko and Teodor Currentzis (all of whom appear on the Divine Art series) and cellist Mstislav Rostropovitch.

The new album will be titled “Artyomov: Album XI” and will be released in the winter of 2019/2020 (date not fixed yet) and plans are in hand to begin a set of new studio recordings next year.

Works and Performer Details

Hymns of Sudden Wafts *
Igor Abramov (soprano and tenor saxophones); Alexwei Semionov (harpsichord); Yuri Smirnov (piano), rec. 1985
Litany I
Lev Mikhailov (soprano sax); Alexander Oseichuk (alto sax); Alexei Nabatov (tenor sax); Vladimir Yeriomin (baritone sax), rec. 1977 (Live)
Litany II
Vladimir Pakulichev (flute); A. Timochin (flute); Albert Gofman (flute); S. Khokhlov (alto flute), rec. 1982 (live)
Sunday Sonata (for bassoon and piano)
Valeriy Popov (bassoon); Piotr Meschaninov (piano), rec. 1978 (live)
Sonata for solo clarinet**
Oleg Tantsov (clarinet), rec. 1991
Four Armenian Duets
Ruzana Lisitsian (soprano); Karina Lisitsian (mezzo-soprano); Vyacheslav Artyomov (piano), rec. 1970
Capriccio on the ’75 New Years Eve
Lev Mikhailov (soprano sax); Vladimir Yeriomin (baritone saX); Ilia Spivak (vibraphone, flexitone, bells), rec. 1976

* Previously issued by Melodiya but from different source recording
** Previously issued by Olympia

Divine Art Vyacheslav Artyomov Retrospective

Artyomov: Gentle Emanation Symphony, etc

Artyomov: On the Threshold of a Bright World

Coming Soon

Tags : Vyacheslav Artyomov

The Fitzwilliam String Quartet Celebrates 50th Anniversary Season With a New Recording of Schubert

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

29 April, 2019

Fitzwilliam String Quartet photograph — Fitzwilliam String Quartet: Lucy Russell & Marcus Barcham Stevens (violins); Alan George (viola), Sally Pendlebury (cello)

Two major string quartets by Franz Schubert performed on period gut strings have been recorded by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet and will be released on the Divine Art label in February 2020. The recording is one of many events and projects set up by the quartet to celebrate its 50^th anniversary season (2018/9) which has seen the quartet so busy that the celebration is extending well into spring 2020!

The new album will contain two of Schubert’s masterful quartets (‘Death and the Maiden’ and the A minor) with a plan to follow this with another two quartets soon – next year if the schedule allows.

“Death and the Maiden” has been shown to be one of the most universally popular of all chamber works – and its composer perhaps the most loved of musical geniuses. But the A minor quartet – often known as “Rosamunde”, after the principal melody of its Andante – is hardly less appealing. The fact that they are both set in minor keys might, however, suggest a predominantly dark and gloomy experience ahead. It is true that in a letter from March 1824 he actually quotes two despairing lines of Goethe: “My peace is gone, my heart is heavy; never, never again will I find rest” – originating, no doubt, in the life-threatening diagnosis of syphilis. Yet the amazing variety Schubert conjures from the constraints of the quartet medium itself ensures that there is something here for everyone: this music can appeal on so many different levels, from the unparalleled pleasure to be gained from the stream of glorious melody, to the sheer intellectual mastery of the composition process. Along the way there is drama aplenty, laughter, tears – and joy! In their 50^th anniversary year, the Fitzwilliam presents these two masterpieces on instrumental set-ups that might have been familiar in 1824 (eg with gut strings), drawing on performing conventions of that time. – a truly authentic “period performance”.

The ‘FSQ’ has made four previous recordings for Divine Art’s labels – another ‘period performance’ ,of quartets by Haydn (Diversions DDV 24151); and in the contemporary music world, the four quartets of John Ramsay (Métier MSV 25828); ‘Intricate Web’ -works by Liz Johnson (Métier MSV 77206) and the unique fusion of classical quartet and jazz sax (Absolutely! – compositions and arrangements by Uwe Steinmetz) on Divine Art DDA 25112.

Divine Art DDA 25197

Franz Schubert (1797-1828):
String Quartet in D minor, D. 810 (‘Tod und der Mädchen‘)
String Quartet in A minor, D. 804 (‘Rosamunde’)

Recorded at St Martins’s Church, East Woodhay, Hampshire, England in July 2018

Coming Soon

Tags : Fitzwilliam Quartet, Schubert

‘Ogloudoglou’: New Recording of Avant-Garde Vocal Music by Soprano Sara Stowe

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

29 April, 2019

Ogloudoglou: Vocal Masterpieces of the Experimental Generation 1960-90

Soprano Sara Stowe’s debut recording for Métier – Divine Art Recordings Group, titled ‘Ogloudoglou: Vocal Masterpieces of the Experimental Generation 1960-90’, is a tour de force in contemporary vocal performance. Her disc displays both the trained virtuosity of a western classically-trained singer and a vocal flexibility and curiosity in the vocal sounds of traditional song and of improvisation which have inspired the composers on this disc.

The excitingly broad spectrum of vocal material in`Ogloudoglou’ ranges from the most celebrated experimental composers of the 1960s: John Cage, Luciano Berio, Luigi Nono and Morton Feldman, to the music-drama of Mauricio Kagel and the pentatonic textless improvisations of Giacinto Scelsi, influenced by his time spent in India and Nepal.

After early studies as harpsichord scholar at the Royal College of Music and vocal studies in Milan, Sara Stowe has followed joint careers as singer of early and new music. On this disc she accompanies herself on percussion, mandolin and harpsichord.

Album Details

Recorded at the Arc Centre, Old Harlow, autumn 2018
Sound Engineer: John Fitzpatrick
Editor: Mike Holloway
Producer: Matthew Spring

The album will be available on CD and in digital formats on Metier MSV 28593

Works

Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988):
Canto del Capricorno No. 8
Taiagaru No. 4
Ogloudoglou (voice and percussion)
CKCKC (voice and mandolin)
John Cage (1912-1992):
Sonnekus
Sylvano Bussotti (b.1931):
Lachrimae per ogni voce
Luciano Berio (1925-2003):
Sequenza III
Mauricio Kagel (1931-2008):
Recitativerie for Singing Harpsichordist
Luigi Nono (1924-1990):
La Fabbrica Illuminata
Niccolò Castiglioni (1932-1996)
Così parlò Baldassare
Morton Feldman (1926-1987):
Only

Sara Stowe’s recording with Ensemble Sirinu `The Man Hurdy-gurdy and Me’- the works for early and unusual insruments by Howard Skempton, is to be released by Métier next year.

Coming Soon

Tags : Métier, Ogloudoglou, Sara Stowe

Black Cats and Blues: New Work for Cello and Electronics from Métier

Posted by Divine Art Recordings Group on

26 April, 2019

Leading new-music label Métier pushes the boundaries with a new work for improvising cellist and electronics. Black Cats and Blues is a composition by Craig Vear, and performed/realised by cellist Craig Hultgren. The piece which is in ten movements allows the cellist to interact with electronic score generation and processing (and visual imagery in live performance) and use the whole panoply of performance techniques in this fascinating work.

Composer Craig Vear is Professor of Digital Performance (Music) at De Montfort University, Leicester, England. He has had much experience in the avant-garde and experimental music worlds and enjoyed success with his pop group Cousteau at beginning of the 2000s. Cellist Craig Hultgren is American and an active figure in presentation of new music. His performances here and his poetic responses to the digital score are innovative and breathtaking.

Black Cats and Blues (MSV 28594)

For release autumn 2019 (duration 46:26)
Recorded at De Montford University, Leicester, UK in August 2018

Black Cats and Blues (2014-18) is an extended composition by Craig Vear for improvising cellist and digital technology. It is inspired by Boris Vian’s collection of 10 short stories and creates a unique hybrid performance environment for each. All the electronics components (processing, score generation and visual imagery) that form the “score” are generated live or are controlled by interaction with the cellist Craig Hultgren. His response is entirely in-the-moment and improvised, although it is guided by the imaginary worlds from within each short story.

The technical challenge in Black Cats and Blues was to reconsider the notion of a “concerto” through the digital score. Generally considered to be a masterpiece exemplifying the performance prowess of a single instrument or performer, the interpretation of the term was expanded to three core principles: first, the technical challenge for the musician to cooperate with the hyper-media elements of the technology; second, how the performer embraces the ‘pataphysical’ nature of the original stories and their translation into digital music; and third, how the performer embodies the digitally mediated worlds set-up by each of the movements.

The narratives of Black Cats and Blues were inspired by Boris Vian’s 1949 book Blues for a Black Cat and other short stories. The poetic aim was to rupture the domain of the page and enter the realm created in the imagination when the words are read; using technology and the digital score format to achieve this. This book was chosen because of its rich imaginative worlds and its references to sounds, images and colours. It was felt that this would translate well into music, and the fact that there were 10 short stories each defining their own imaginative world, would be a useful format with which to explore different technical approaches. To enhance this principle all the reference and found materials that serve to colour each movement are taken from the book and are clearly influenced by the left-bank aesthetics of 1960’s France and jazz (Vian was an important influence on the French jazz scene of this period).

The piece was premiered at the Kranzberg Arts Centre in St. Louis in May 2018 which was supported by Hearding Cats Collective.

Coming Soon

Tags : Black Cats and Blues, Craig Hultgren, Craig Vear

Divine Art/Métier Records Announces New Digital Percussion Album

Posted by Divine Art Recording Group on

11 April, 2019

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

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

Coming Soon News

Tags : Coming Soon, digital release, Mathias Reumert, Métier, percussion

Archive for Coming Soon – Page 5

“… for clarinet and strings …” (MSV 28608)

Works

Gemini:

Previously on Métier:

New Recordings from Zeynep Ucbasaran, Miguel Ortega Chavaldas, and Sergio Gallo

Divine Art DDA 25207 ‘The Three-Piano Project’

Divine Art DDA 25208 Music for Four Hands at One piano (album title not yet determined)

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

ATHENE ATH 23208

Works

Geoffrey Allen: Music for Woodwinds (MSV 28607)

Works

Artists

Album of Polish Chamber Music: Works by Szymanowski, Panufnik, and Bacewicz

DDA 25206 Works

Moon Marked

Works

Performers

Previously on Divine Art: Ghost Dialogues (MSV 28572)

Previous albums featuring Eric Craven and Mary Dullea

Album Details

“Second Child” – music by Kevin Raftery

Tracks and artists:

Ed Hughes: Sinfonia (Métier MSV 28597)

Works & Performers:

Ed Hughes Recordings on Métier

Reminiscences of Brazil

Works

Murray McLachlan on Geoffrey Allen:

Book of Dreams (Métier MSV 28596)

Works

Technicals

Featuring the World Premiere Recording of Complete Solo Movements of the Historic Klagenfurt Manuscript of 1685

Great Violins, Vol. 3 – Die Klagenfurt Handskrift (Athene ATH 23206)

Album Details

Works and artists

Works and Performer Details

Divine Art Vyacheslav Artyomov Retrospective

Divine Art DDA 25197

Album Details

Works

Black Cats and Blues (MSV 28594)

20th Century Solo Percussion Masterworks

Works

Labels

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