New CDs from tutti.co.uk

The Yasser Collection

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:29:38 -0000

The Yasser Collection – Trumpet

19 short pieces in 19 divisions of the octave commissioned over a 7 year period by trumpeter Stephen Altoft - this is the first collection of pieces for this specially adapted instrument, which can play 19 equal divisions of the octave using an additional valve and tubing.

The pieces reflect a wide range of styles and countries with composers representing many different genres and approaches. Slightly more than half the tracks are for solo trumpet and others include electronics and voice. In one piece Altoft is joined by Lee Forrest Ferguson on wooldblock.

Lasting for 70 minutes, this is the seventh in the series of Microtonal Project's releases.

Available at tutti.co.uk: £15.00 / €18.13 / $23.17 / ¥1780.45

Aerial

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:13:38 -0000

Aerial – Chamber

Three different chamber ensembles: Poetic, virtuosic works by Timothy Salter, performed by the players for whom they were written.

Aerial
I Agitated
II Calm
III Exuberant
Nephele Ensemble

Piano Quartet
I Vigorous
II Fluid
III With nervous energy
Ensemble na Mara

String Quartet No. 2
Auriol String Quartet

Available at tutti.co.uk: £11.06 / €13.37 / $17.09 / ¥1312.79

Pippa Passes and Violin Sonata

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 16:35:34 -0000

Pippa Passes and Violin Sonata – CDs

"Pippa Passes - five songs of Asolo" is a setting for mezzo and piano trio of some of Robert Browning's most famous lines, from his dramatic poem of the same name. Mezzo Yvonne Howard is on top form, with a splendid characterisation of Pippa, passing innocently through the decidedly murky world of Asolo.

The trio's violinst and pianist then give a fine performance of "Affinities", a sometimes dark and complex work that finishes with two sparkling movements, including a very difficult five/eight scherzo that the players toss off with great nonchalance.

Available at tutti.co.uk: £10.00 / €12.09 / $15.45 / ¥1186.97

Moths and Moonlight

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:22:53 -0000

Moths and Moonlight – Electronic

Two haunting disks of moonlit atmosphere, vividly evoking the nocturnal world of moths. The first disk is Stuart Russell's magnificent Moon Symphony, "The Radiant Moon", captured in four ambient electronic sequences. Disk two introduces CoMA FIREWIRE, creating music for a summer night which was first streamed through the gardens of Anglesey Abbey near Cambridge, in June 2010. Both these works were commissioned by Making Music Eastern and the National Trust at Anglesey Abbey.

This exciting commission was realised in different ways: Stuart Russell synthesised the sounds he wished to create, and built up a complex and dramatic night journey, that follows the rise and fall of the moon, with great power and imagination; leading to the first glimmers of dawn and the dawn chorus. This symphonic work was streamed through the gardens of Anglesey Abbey near Cambridge on June 26th, as part of a twilight family workshop.

in collaboration, Colchester composer Julia Usher worked with Stuart Russell to record a series of free improvisations on images and themes relating to "The Secret Life of Moths". Julia then took this extensive material and edited and processed the improvisations into 12 tracks, which were then used during the family workshops. 100 participants of every age group were encouraged (during three workshops) to interact with the streamed music created by Firewire and by Julia Usher herself, in moth-movement, and making surprising sounds using recycled materials: bubble wrap, cardboard tubes, plastic containers, and more. The old Flour Mill at Anglesey Abbey became a giant percussion instrument, as children only were allowed to enter under supervision, and "sound" the whole building.

The music perfectly complemented the extraordinary setting of the gardens at night. All the participants stayed up very late indeed, to meet the real life Secret Life of Moths, observing the moths that gathered in their thousands, attracted by enormous light screens, under a full yellow moon.

Available at tutti.co.uk: £8.00 / €9.67 / $12.36 / ¥949.58

English Heartland Songs

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:28:07 -0000

English Heartland Songs – Solo song

9 songs by Roger Lord (former oboist); 4 songs for children by Ivor Gurney; 6 songs by Sulyen Caradon in 2 sets of 3 ('Lowland Airs' & 'The Garden of Gaia); cycle of 7 songs by Dennis Wickens to poems by Thomas Wyatt ('The Heart Oppressed').

Lord's songs are mainly to poems by William Blake & WHAuden, & include a bluesy setting of the comic, 'Roman Wall Blues'.

Gurney (1890-1937) has 3 songs to poems by his friend, Robert Graves; and the 'Cradle Song' by W.B.Yeats.

Caradon's 'Lowland Airs' were written in memory of his mother;, while 'Garden of Gaia' songs are on ecological themes about our misuse of planet Earth.

The poet Thomas Wyatt, was imprisoned by King Henry VIII in the Tower of London for his suspected relationship with Anne Boleyn. This cycle is a set of love poems, possibly addressed to Anne, whose execution Wyatt witnessed from his room in the Tower.

Both Roger Lord (b.1924) & Dennis Wickens (b.1926) have featured regularly in the short-lists of the composing competitions of the English Poetry & Song Society, of which Caradon is Chairman.

Available at tutti.co.uk: £9.00 / €10.88 / $13.90 / ¥1068.27

airborne

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:18:31 -0000

airborne – Recorder

Back in 1998, right on the inside edge of the millennial fold, a biographical note accompanying the CD release of Donald Bousted's A Journey Among Travellers for unaccompanied recorders expressed the composer's belief that the instrument would become 'a major protagonist in the music of the 21st Century'. The pieces gathered together on Airborne go a long way towards bearing out this prediction. Its presence makes each of them seem timeless. Even the earliest work here demonstrates by its boldness how little the intervening decades seem to matter in the life of the recorder. The future of music clearly remains unthinkable without it.

The instrument seems never to have left its own childhood behind. It consequently retains a vigorous sense of the past. With fingering considerably more innocent than that enjoyed by some of the other orchestral woodwind, the recorder is traditionally associated with idyllic rural scenes and junior school assemblies. Look beyond these unaffected connections, and a darker prehistory starts to make itself known. Among its distant ancestors are the flutes carved from old bones to produce some of the first human music, establishing an otherworldly connection between the living breath of the player and departed spirits of the dead, transforming them both into forces of nature. Even today the recorder has the power to remind us that the world of sound remains a mysterious and primitive one; traces of it can still be found in the atavistic thrust of Bousted's Rachel's Dance Track and the suspended trills and respirations of Maki Ishii's east.green.spring.

Like its prehistoric forebears, the recorder remains a column of breath. The sounds it produces do not simply take the form of musical notes or words but fill space the way only music and voices can. Caught somewhere between breathing and speaking, Donald Bousted's Les Multiphoniques for recorder and tape reaches back to the rhythmic singsong of our earliest communications. Deep at the roaring heart of Peter Eötvös' Music for New York, this inarticulate shaping of the air is crowded round by raw electronic tones and sparse percussion to evoke a primal environment now becoming estranged from itself. Bringing the past, the present and the future together, Andreas Böhlen's playing allows the recorder to blend in easily with the more modern instruments to be heard on Airborne, such as the xylophone on Stuart Saunders Smith's Strays or the plunging marimba and violin of Wolfram Graf's Existenz. Capable of generating the perfect human sine wave, the recorder continues to be haunted in the way that only the most transparent of things can be, summoning up memories and dreams.

Ken Holling

Available at tutti.co.uk: £12.00 / €14.51 / $18.54 / ¥1424.36

A Glimpse of Heaven

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:38:05 -0000

A Glimpse of Heaven – Sacred

BUY THIS CD AND RECEIVE RENAISSANCE BY CANTIONES SACRAE FREE OF CHARGE

This CD is the first by Cantiones Sacrae when they were a five-voice ensemble. The selection of music includes the stunning "Maria plena virtute" by Robert Fayrfax, William Byrd's "Ave verum corpus", and Tomas Luis de Victoria's "Missa Simile est Regnum Coelorum" and "Ne timeas Maria".

Comments received by critics and audiences alike over recent years have included:

"a spell-binding performance"

"Cantiones Sacrae has a lovely silken sound with great control and indeed must be one of the most accomplished groups of its kind"

"a master-class in the art of unaccompanied singing"

"It is unusual these days to come across an ensemble who take such an intimate approach to Renaissance vocal music..."

"an hour-and-a-half of brilliance with perfect balance and perfect pitch".

Cantiones Sacrae specialises in unaccompanied vocal music of the Renaissance period and beyond. The group has sung for services and ceremonies the length and breadth of the UK including at The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, has been commissioned to record music for historic visitor centres, and also sings to packed churches at Christmas time for their "Renaissance Christmas by Candlelight".

If you would like further information about Cantiones Sacrae, please visit our website at: www.cantiones.net

TRACK LISTING

• King John IV of Portugal - Crux fidelis
• William Byrd - Ave verum corpus
• Robert Fayrfax - Maria plena virtute
• Cristobal de Morales - Parce mihi Domine
• Tomas Luis de Victoria - O magnum mysterium
• Tomas Luis de Victoria - Ne timeas Maria
• Tomas Luis de Victoria - Missa Simile est Regnum Coelorum
• Thomas Tallis - If ye love me

TOTAL PLAYING TIME 49:21

Available at tutti.co.uk: £7.85 / €9.49 / $12.13 / ¥931.77

Renaissance

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:04:02 -0000

Renaissance – Vocal Ensemble

BUY THIS CD AND RECEIVE A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN BY CANTIONES SACRAE FREE OF CHARGE
This recording was made in the unrivalled acoustic of Saint Salvador's Church, Dundee, Scotland: a stunning mid-19th century gem by G. F. Bodley.

The album contains a wide assortment of pieces both in terms of their periods and styles including Mass settings, motets in both English and Latin, some secular works, and a small selection of Christmas carols ranging in origin from the 14th to the 20th centuries.

Cantiones Sacrae specialises in unaccompanied vocal music of the Renaissance period and beyond. The group has sung for services and ceremonies the length and breadth of the UK including at The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, has been commissioned to record music for historic visitor centres, and also sings to packed churches at Christmas time for their "Renaissance Christmas by Candlelight".

If you would like further information about Cantiones Sacrae, please visit our website at: www.cantiones.net

TRACK LISTING

• Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) - Cantate Domino
• Andrea Gabrieli (1510-1586) - Missa Brevis in F
• Richard Farrant (1530-1580) - Lord, For Thy Tender Mercy's Sake
• John Bennett (1570-1610) - Weep, O Mine Eyes
• Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) - O Crux Benedicta
• William Byrd (1540-1623) - Mass for 4 Voices - Agnus Dei
• Nicholas Wilton (born 1959) - O Salutaris & Ave Verum
• Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) - Almighty and Everlasting God
• William Byrd (1540-1623) - Lord, Make Me To Know
• Antonio Lotti (1667-1740) - Simple Mass
• Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) - Short Service
• Basque Carol (13th/14th century) - Gabriel's Message
• Traditional Normandy Melody - Away In A Manger
• John Rutter (born 1945) - Cradle Song
• Johann Georg Ebeling (1637-1676) - All My Heart This Night Rejoices
• Anon (15th century) - Coventry Carol

TOTAL PLAYING TIME 61:13

Available at tutti.co.uk: £7.85 / €9.49 / $12.13 / ¥931.77

Telemann Oboe Sonatas

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:55:15 -0000

Telemann Oboe Sonatas – Baroque Ensemble

Review:

"admirable collection draws on both the Essercizii musici and Der getraue Musikmeister and includes an extra sonata....interplay between soloist and bassoon is particularly felicitous. Trio Sonata ... is winning, played here delightfully....ideal way of sampling this repertoire which shows the composer at his freshest and most inventive... Excellent well-balanced recording" © Penguin Guide 3 stars

Available at tutti.co.uk: £10.00 / €12.09 / $15.45 / ¥1186.97

Haflidi's Pictures

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:11:42 -0000

Haflidi's Pictures – Piano

A new CD from pianist Mark Tanner which features the premiere recording of John McLeod's 'Haflidi's Pictures' - 12 Aphorisms based on drawings by Haflidi Hallgrimsson and interspersed with 12 Epigrams written and spoken by the composer. The record also features a conversation between composer John McLeod and Mark Tanner. Also included on the disc are works by Fitkin, Martin, Stocken, Burtch and Decio.

'Mark Tanner delivers the pieces with flair and spontaneity that reflects the freshness of the notes on the page. The Scotsman **** 4 star rating

'McLeod's music is colourful and exciting, technically challenging and characterful'. Classical Music

'McLeod's Aphorisms are whimsical, even bizarre, and always entertaining - played with brilliant pianism'. Classical Net Review

Available at tutti.co.uk: £10.43 / €12.61 / $16.11 / ¥1238.01

It's Christmas - Classical Christmas

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:56:12 -0000

It's Christmas - Classical Christmas – Orchestral

Mozart / Prokofiev / Tchaikovsky / Handel / Faure / Rimsky-Korsakov / Brahms / Bach

Sixteen tracks

Hilliard Ensemble / Choir of King's College, Cambridge / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Academy of St Martin's in the Fields

Available at tutti.co.uk: £5.00 / €6.04 / $7.72 / ¥593.49

It's Christmas - Christmas Carols

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:03:04 -0000

It's Christmas - Christmas Carols – Full chorus

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Good King Wenceslas / Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer / Whille Shepherds Watched Their Flocks / The Holly And The Ivy / Deck The Halls / In The Bleak Mid-Winter / Silent Night / O Little Town Of Bethlehem / Lead Us Heavenly Father Lead Us / Coventry Carol / Once In Royal David's City / I Saw Three Ships / See Amid The Winter's Snow / Ding Dong Merrily On High / We Three Kings / Away In A Manger / O Come All Ye Faithful

Available at tutti.co.uk: £5.00 / €6.04 / $7.72 / ¥593.49

It's Christmas - Easy Christmas

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:55:40 -0000

It's Christmas - Easy Christmas – Easy Listening

Michael Flanders - Little Drummer Boy / Nat King Cole - Silent Night / Matt Monro - Mary's Boy Child / Kay Starr - Everyone's waiting! / Julie london - I'd Like You for Christmas / Bing Crosby - When A Child Is Born / Adam Faith - Lonely Pup / Aled Jones - Walking In The Air / The Beverly Sisters - I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Klaus / Dickie Valentine - Christmas Alphabet / Connie Francis - Baby's First Christmas / Jack Jones - Mistletoe And Holly / Pat Boone - Blue Christmas / Peggy Lee - It's Christmas Time Again / Michael Ball - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas / Al Green - White Christmas / Crystal Gayle - Winter Wonderland / Andy Williams - The Christmas Song

Available at tutti.co.uk: £5.00 / €6.04 / $7.72 / ¥593.49

Gordon Jacob

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:52:36 -0000

Gordon Jacob – Mixed ensemble

CD of chamber music by Gordon Jacob featuring Sarah Francis (oboe) and the Tagore String Trio

Gordon Jacob chamber works 1895-1984 Dutton CDLX 7177

Penguin Guide to Compact Discs four-star recommended as outstanding "Superb performance and recording"

Highly recommended by The Gramophone

Gordon Jacob composed his Trio for flute, oboe and harpsichord for the Sylvan Trio. Sarah Francis was the oboist for the original performance in the Wigmore Hall with her parents John Francis (flute) and Millicent Silver (harpsichord). Sarah tells us that Gordon particularly liked her mother's harpsichord which is by Goble and is the instrument Howard Beach is playing on this CD.

Gordon Jacob started composing at school. At 18 he volunteered to fight in the first world war but was taken prisoner and then composed pieces for his fellow prisoners in the POW camp.

On this CD:

Quartet for Oboe & Strings

Six Shakespearian Sketches

Sonata for Oboe and Piano

Sonatina for Violin Solo

Trio for Flute, Oboe and Harpsichord

Available at tutti.co.uk: £10.00 / €12.09 / $15.45 / ¥1186.97

Gordon Crosse

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:14:14 -0000

Gordon Crosse – Concerto

Ariadne, Concertant for solo oboe and twelve players was commissioned for Sarah Francis. The composer's inspiration for the piece resulted from a trip to Knossos on the island of Crete. Crosse's retelling of the Ariadne myth is not programmatic music. The whole composition is based on opposition and interplay, with simple expressive statement set against passages of intricate thematic and rhythmic development.

Ariadne lasts for just over 20 minutes and plays continuously. It was first performed on 11 July 1972 at the Cheltenham International Festival by Sarah Francis and Contrapunkti, conducted by Michael Lankester.

Changes is a major choral work requiring soprano and baritone soloists, children's choir, chorus and symphony orchestra. It is formed of four parts and has two orchestral interludes. The composer writes, "My chief conscious aim in writing this piece was to fashion something enjoyable to listener and performer alike."

Changes was commissioned for the 1966 Three Choirs Festival in Worcester.

Available at tutti.co.uk: £10.00 / €12.09 / $15.45 / ¥1186.97

Piano Quartet

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:58:08 -0000

Piano Quartet – Chamber

USK 1228CDS

Available at tutti.co.uk: £5.95 / €7.19 / $9.19 / ¥706.25

A Poem of Dancing

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:54:56 -0000

A Poem of Dancing – Chamber

Brilliant use of rhythm keeps this music dancing throughout and the subtle apposition of voices with clarinet holds the attention and draws out the sense of the words

Available at tutti.co.uk: £5.95 / €7.19 / $9.19 / ¥706.25

Piano Showcase

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:11:26 -0000

Piano Showcase – Piano

This CD of piano music was prepared by the composer on an electronic keyboard, so by using multi-tracking techniques, the works for four hands could be realised.

The pieces include:

Four Kinds of Love, offering a reflection on four different aspects of love.

Toccata in the Manner of JS Bach in the 21st Century, commemorating the 250th aniversary of Bach's death.

Two Reflections, two short pieces reflecting on our inner and outer nature and the beauty of this world.

Variations on an Original Theme, an early student study.

Sonata No. 2 - 'In Search', a three movement sonata suggesting our need for spiritual exploration. It is dedicated to both Bartók and Messiaen.

Corrievrechan for two pianos, describing the notorious whirlpool that exists between two of the Inner Hebridean islands off the shores of Scotland.

Three Human Attributes for piano duet, focussing, in turn, on our body (Physical Condition), mind (Mind and Human Intellect) and spirit (Rational Soul).

Available at tutti.co.uk: £10.00 / €12.09 / $15.45 / ¥1186.97

Tranquillity Zone

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:28:55 -0000

Tranquillity Zone – Keyboard

The four pieces on this CD are composed as an aid to relaxation and meditation, independent of the listener's religious beliefs. The pieces are:

Breezes of Eternity, which can be used to aid total relaxation;

Light of Guidance, a meditation on God's Holy Laws;

Inner Sancturary, which can provide a calming atmosphere prior to a meditation or devotional;

Mantra, is based on a repeating chord sequence, allowing the listener to take a more extended meditation, suggested by a slow walk around a beautiful garden.

Available at tutti.co.uk: £10.00 / €12.09 / $15.45 / ¥1186.97

Affinities - Sonata for violin and pianoforte

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:49:14 -0000

Affinities - Sonata for violin and pianoforte – Violin

Sonata in A minor in four movements for violin and piano

1: Quasi a piacere
2: Andante piangevole ma espansiva
3: Scherzando
4: Allegro (Rondo)

Kerry Milan: violin
Itzhak Oda: piano

duration: 27'39"

Available at tutti.co.uk: £6.00 / €7.25 / $9.27 / ¥712.18