Classical Music Discoveries

When the American composer Jack Stamp was appointed International Composer-in-Association to the Grimethorpe Colliery Band in 2019, he conceived a recording project focused on works written explicitly for the GCB, including compositions by himself and Liz Lane, the other GCB Composer-in-Association, alongside other pieces which have played a prominent role in the Band’s recent activities. The kaleidoscopic range of styles to be heard here displays the extraordinary virtuosity of one of the world’s best-known brass bands.TracksJack Stamp (b. 1954)Handsel Overture (2019)* (7:23)David Hackbridge Johnson (b. 1963)Slow March on Gresford: In memorian E.R. II (2022)* (8:24)Michael Halstenson (b. 1956)Winter’s Moon (2022)* (8:13)Liz Lane (b. 1964)Serenata (2019) (4:34)Harrison Birtwistle (1934-2022)Grimethorpe Aria (1973)** (10:03)Robert Bernat (1931-94)Dunlap’s Creek (1976) (4:50)Ben Gaunt (b. 1984)More Like What It Is (2023)* (5:55)Liz LaneBeyond the Light (2022)* (6:57)Jack StampVociferation (2022)* (7:02)Edward Gregson (b. 1945)Postcards to Grimethorpe (1993/2022)* (3:31)*First Recordings**Live Recording

The figure of George Frideric Handel cast a long shadow over musical London in the first half of the eighteenth, condemning many of his contemporaries – fine composers themselves – to long years of obscurity. In Handel’s Shadow throws light into forgotten corners and discovers some glittering gems, some of them demanding dazzling vocal fireworks from their performers. Several of these composers set scenes from Classical mythology or Old Testament narratives – but they also explore the underside of the Baroque psyche in one of David’s darkest psalms and in a representation of Arcadian madness. The composers in question are Johann Ernst Galliard (1666 or 1687–1747), Jeremiah Clarke (c. 1674–1707 – he of the famous ‘Trumpet Voluntary’), Maurice Greene (1696–1755), the short-lived Elisabetta de Gambarini (1730–65), Henry Carey (c. 1688–1743) and John Blow (1649–1708). The music is performed by Lux et Umbrae, a group founded in 2015 and here making its first recording. It consists of Robert Crowe and Annette Fischer, respectively male and female sopranos (and it’s instructive to hear how different the voices are), Julia Nilsen-Savage, cello, Sigrun Richter, lute, and Michael Eberth, harpsichord.This album is broadcast with the permission of Sean Dacy from Rosebrook Media.

SOMM RECORDINGS announces a tribute, marking the centenary of his birth, to the English baritone John Carol Case with the first release of his performance of Schubert’s Winterreise, accompanied by Raymond Calcraft.Help support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) [email protected] album is broadcast with the permission of Sean Dacy from Rosebrook Media.

SOMM Recordings announces Cascade, the exhilarating new recital by pianist Cordelia Williams featuring music by Beethoven, Schumann, and Prokofiev.TracksLudwig van BeethovenBagatelle in C Major, WoO 56 (2:13)Sergei ProkofievVisions fugitives, Op. 22 (23:25)Lentamente (1:20)Andante (1:27)Allegretto (0:58)Animato (0:59)Molto giocoso (0:26)Con eleganza (0:28)Pittoresco (2:14)Comodo (1:15)Allegretto tranquillo (1:20)Ridicolosamente (0:52)Con vivacità (1:12)Assai moderato (0:57)Allegretto (0:52)Feroce (1:08)Inquieto (0:51)Dolente (1:56)Poetico (1:00)Con una dolce lentezza (1:19)Presto agitatissimo e molto accentuato (0:46)Lento (1:57)Robert SchumannWaldszenen, Op. 82 (21:54)Eintritt (2:05)Jäger auf der Lauer (1:36)Einsame Blumen (1:48)Verrufene Stelle (3:19)Freundliche Landschaft (1:15)Herberge (2:00)Vogel als Prophet (3:02)Jagdlied (2:48)Abschied (3:57)Ludwig van BeethovenSix Bagatelles, Op. 126 (17:37)I. Andante con moto, Cantabile e compiacevole (2:38)II. Allegro (1:49)III. Andante, Cantabile e grazioso (2:34)IV. Presto (3:57)V. Quasi allegretto (2:09)VI. Presto (4:26)Help support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) [email protected] This album is broadcast with the permission of Sean Dacy from Rosebrook Media.

Composer and librettist John Aylward today releases the soundtrack for his one-act chamber opera Oblivion on New Focus Recordings, with a feature-length film through Graham Swon’s Ravenserodd Productions scheduled to follow in fall 2023. With a portfolio of work called “mysterious, iridescent and daring” (Gramophone Magazine), Aylward takes those elements to spellbinding extremes in this new work exploring the value of self-knowledge, the nature of redemption, and our capacity to distinguish truth from falsehood. Drawing inspiration from Dante’s Purgatorio, Oblivion takes us inside a surreal netherworld where two disoriented Wanderers struggle to make sense of their existence, unsure of whose account to trust – or whether they even want the answers. The scene is set by Aylward’s score for four voices, backed by viola, cello, double bass, electric guitar, and electronics. Notes by Dan Lippel, who performs the electric guitar part, call the score “beguiling and mysterious … virtuosically intertwining spoken and sung texts with angular figures in the instruments. … The closing material in the ensemble has an ethereal and disembodied ambiance as if the musical figures themselves are circles in Purgatory.”Oblivion TracklistJohn Aylward – Oblivion     I. Prologue [4:13]     2. Scene 1 [6:29]     3. Scene 2 [8:21]     4. Scene 3 [6:05]     5. Scene 4 [12:48]     6. Scene 5 & Interlude [12:19]     7. Scene 6 [14:20]Total time: 64:35This album is broadcasted with the permission of Katy Salomon representing Primo Artists.

Alpha Classics today releases esteemed Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes’ new album, Amazônia, the capstone to a project celebrating the music of Philip Glass and the great Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Pairing musical selections with striking images by Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist Sebastião Salgado, the broader Amazônia project is a meditation on the beauty and fragility of the Amazon rainforest. Menezes has been praised throughout Europe and Latin America for her “astonishing performances” and “daring concepts [that] could only come from a deep and free artist and thinker" (Classical Music Magazine), and made her North American conducting debut leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in all Beethoven at the legendary Hollywood Bowl on August 29, 2023. Watch Excerpts from the LA Phil Performance.Help support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) [email protected] This album is broadcasted with the permission of Katy Salomon representing Primo Artists.

Winner of 21 national awards, including the “X Eldorado Music Prize” in 1999, Karin dedicated herself to a deep and meticulous recording of Chiquinha's waltz repertoire, initially inspired and struck by one of her pieces, Harmonias do Coração. The breadth and quality of the scores greatly impressed the pianist, prompting her to split the project into two volumes. In this first album, previously unknown waltzes, unfamiliar to the general public, are introduced. Notable songs include Walkyria" (from the Operetta "A Corte na Roça") – widely celebrated in its time and which became the theme of the conductor’s talisman brooch – and ...A Rir o Santo Dia... (from the Zarzuela "Dama de Ouros"), a lyrical-dramatic expression of Spanish origin that greatly captivated audiences in the 19th century.Tracks1. Yara "Coração de Fogo" (08:35)2. Walkyria (From the Operetta "A Corte na Roça") (07:02)3. Saudade (04:07)4. Carlos Gomes (04:29)5. Heloisa (04:36)6. Borboleta (04:27)7. Valsa (From the Pastoral Operetta "Estrela d’Alva") (03:54)8. Cananèa (05:51)9. Harmonias do Coração (06:02)10. … A Rir o Santo Dia… (From the Zarzuela "Dama de Ouros") (03:06)11. Tupy (03:52)12. Grata Esperança (07:00)13. Ortruda (04:33)14. Bella Fanciulla Io T’Amo (04:00)15. Rosa (05:15)16. Phalena (04:26)17. A Bela Jardineira (02:58)18. Dança das Fadas (04:51)19. Viva la Gracia (05:39)20. Ary "Filha do Céu" (05:25)21. Timbyra (03:38)Help support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) [email protected] This album is broadcast with the permission of Bárbara Leu from Azul Music.         

Conspirare’s founder and leader, Craig Hella Johnson, commissioned many of the pieces on House of Belonging and composed the opening track himself. The album’s texts convey and explore themes about spirituality, philosophy, the natural world, and the human need for deep connection with others. Composers Kevin Puts, Derrick Skye, Alex Berko, Moira Smiley, Shara Nova, and Michael Schachter were recruited for the project, and the music of  Margaret Bonds and Ross Lee Finney completed the album. The emotive texts include verses by Euan Tait, John Muir, William Stafford, Wendell Berry, Rabindranath Tagore, David Whyte, Langston Hughes, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Hildegard of Bingen.Help support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) [email protected] album is broadcast with the permission of Sean Dacy from Rosebrook Media.

Australian composer Timothy Collins has crafted a setting of the poem 'Sea Song' by New Zealand poet Katherine Mansfield. The single is released to coincide with the centenary of Mansfield’s death which is being notably marked in her native New Zealand. Alongside the release of this single, Divine Art is releasing the Sea Song music film digitally, a fully realized narrative film featuring Conceptus artistic director and tenor, Scott Robert Shaw and actress Patricia Aragon. Conceptus’ debut album “Gods, Ghosts and Monsters” is set for release on Divine Art in 2024.Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) [email protected] album is broadcast with the permission of Sean Dacy from Rosebrook Media.

Scott Robert Shaw's debut "The English Tenor" takes us on a beautifully performed journey through a who's who of great English composers and their vocal works. The names Ivor Gurney, Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi and Roger Quilter are synonymous with English Song, and a Golden Age of British music. The wide variety of accompanying instruments and artists, the broad range of text settings, and the mix of cornerstone works of the repertoire alongside lesser-known cycles make "The English Tenor" a thrilling debut album.Five Elizabethan Songs - Ivor Gurney (1890-1937)Along the Field Ralph - Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)Four Songs, Op. 14 - Roger Quilter (1877-1953)8 Folksong Arrangements for High Voice and Harp - Benjamin Britten (1973-1976)Let Us Garlands Bring, Op. 18 - Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)Help support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber and Apple Classical. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber#AppleClassical Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) [email protected] album is broadcast with the permission of Sean Dacy from Rosebrook Media.