Christopher Fox Clarinet Music

22 May, 2017

A new album for British composer Christopher Fox will be taking shape soon. Our Métier (new-music) label is to release a disc of Fox’s entire output of clarinet music, which handily extends to about 80 minutes. The recording is to take place in London in August, the soloist being Canadian clarinetist Heather Roche, who originally proposed the recording to the composer last year. Fox describes Roche as ‘the most exciting player I’ve heard in a long time’ and everyone at the Métier office is eager to hear the results, as Fox is one of the most experimental and unorthodox composers around, yet makes music which is more approachable then many of the modernists. Fox says that the recording will involve the full family of instruments from the E flat to the contrabass; some tracks will involve electronics and some overdubbing of the instruments.

The release date for this album is likely to be November, or possibly the beginning of 2018 depending on progress in the studio and will be on Métier MSV 28573 (CD and digital).

Coming Soon

Tags : Christopher Fox, clarinet, Heather Roche, Métier

Symphonic Visions by Ed Hughes

Posted by Divine Art Recording Group on

22 May, 2017

A fascinating new video album will be released by Métier comprising new music for silent films by Ed Hughes. Métier has worked with Hughes before on a chamber/vocal disc (Dark Formations, MSV 28530) as well as an opera disc (When the Flame Dies, MSV 77203), both to critical acclaim. Hughes has written new scores for many classic films and this new collection includes music for ‘A Voyage to the Moon’ (1902) and the surrealist ‘The Nose’ (1963) as well as incidental music to accompany RAF and Imperial War Museum footage from the 1940s. The catalyst for the project was however a commission from the City of Brighton (UK) to produce a 45-minute orchestral score as part of the Brighton Festival’s 50th anniversary in 2016. The score was to accompany a new silent film ‘Brighton: Symphony of a City’ by Lizzie Thynne – a portrait of everyday Brighton but with historic archive clips referencing the past.

This is an eclectic mix of fascinating visual material bound together by the excellent compositional skills of Hughes.

Due for release in February 2018 (Métier MSVDX 203 – DVD format in universal play). The audio version “soundtrack” will also be issued simultaneously as a digital-only album (MSV 50801).

Coming Soon

Tags : Dark Formations, Ed Hughes

Ghost Dialogues

Posted by Divine Art Recording Group on

22 May, 2017

Among the plethora of chamber music discs featuring strings and woodwind soloists, the brass section seems still to be given relatively less attention except for early and baroque works. A new album from Métier presents a range of new works for trumpet by American composers, performed by Chris Gekker, acclaimed soloist who is also Professor of Trumpet at the University of Maryland. All approachable and melodic works though varied in style and presentation, these are all first recordings and include works by Robert Gibson, Carson Cooman, Lance Hulme, David Heinick and Kevin McKee. Performers alongside Gekker will include Rita Sloan (piano), Chris Vadala (tenor sax), and Clara O’Brien (mezzo-soprano). To be released in July 2017 (Métier MSV 28572).