Paul Sanchez | Divine Art Recordings

Divine Art Records will be releasing towards the end of the year a new album of piano works by British composer Graham Lynch.

Writing for piano has been central to Graham Lynch’s composing for many years now. This new album is based mainly around recent works, and has been recorded by American pianists Paul Sánchez and Albert Kim. An ongoing series of pieces, the White Books, have been further developed here, with White Book 3 being commissioned and recorded by Sánchez. This set of five pieces was inspired by the paintings of leading British artist Christopher le Brun. White Book 2, performed by Albert Kim, is also on the programme, and its six pieces have varied and diverse starting points, including Matisse and Lorca. (note: White Book 1 was recorded by Mark Tanner for Priory Records some years ago).

The recording also includes a number of shorter single movement works. Absolute Inwardness, with its introspective mood that draws on German romanticism, contrasts with the French influence in The Couperin Sketchbooks. And the disc ends with Ay!, a slow and intense piece that absorbs elements of tango and flamenco. All of the works are melodically rich, with complex keyboard textures set against passages of beautiful simplicity.

Divine Art CEO Stephen Sutton remarked: “We are overjoyed to have this new album from Graham. He has the rare ability to write new and fresh sounding music which is highly tuneful and full of life, but never facile or simplistic. Knowing some of his works from harpsichord from a previous album we knew that he has a remarkable talent.”

Graham Lynch’s music has been commissioned and performed in over thirty countries, as well as being frequently recorded commercially and featured on radio and television. Performers of his music include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Singers, Orchestra of Opera North, The Eastman Sax Project, and Mahan Esfahani. His works have been played in venues as diverse as the South Bank, Wigmore Hall, Merkin Hall New York, Paris Conservatoire, Palace of Monaco, at the Venice Biennale, and from the Freiberg Jazz Club to a cake shop in Japan, and everything in between. Six works by Graham Lynch, including Ay!, were recorded by Finnish harpsichordist Assi Karttunen on the album Beyond the River God (Divine Art DDA 25120) together with music by François Couperin, a major influence on Lynch.

Album details:

Graham Lynch: Piano music (album title to be confirmed)
Label: Divine Art
Catalogue number: DDA 25221
Release date: to be confirmed, late 2021
Recorded in 2020 in the USA