The UA Blog - Press Centre

Piano Music of Francisco Mignone - Martin Jones, on Nimbus Records, releasing 5 May 2023

25/2/2023

Francisco Mignone

'Although Mignone wrote a large number of pieces for piano solo, his preference had always been for the orchestra, and for solo song. In his works for the piano the search for orchestral colour and texture is clearly evident in his use of ornamentation, spaced chords and explorations at the extreme ends of the keyboard. His focus on piano composition tended to be sporadic, producing many pieces in the 1940s, almost nothing in the 50s and early 60s, and eventually a return to larger forms, in particular the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sonatas.

Mignone's works for piano solo fall into some natural groupings, the four sonatinas and four sonatas, more than thirty waltzes, and the the nine Lendas sertanejas. Of the remaining pieces two-thirds are written in a predominantly 19th century European language, and the remainder reflect the influence of Brazilian folklore, in rhythm and form.' © Adrian Farmer

Martin Jones

Martin Jones has been one of Britain’s most highly regarded solo pianists since first coming to international attention in 1968 when he received the Dame Myra Hess Award. He has made over 90 recordings with Nimbus Records exploring music that is not often played including the complete works of 18 composers. This year will see the release of four albums of newly discovered manuscripts of Daniel Jones. Also, together with Adrian Farmer, three albums of French music for four hands. During next year ,as well as giving concerts, he will complete three albums of the first recordings of all the piano works of Elizabeth Lutyens for Resonus Records, and continue his American Piano Series with Volumes 6 & 7 for Prova Recordings. THis will include several new works especially written for him, and, for Nimbus a collection of Brazilian music by Mignone, Gnatalli & Lorenzo-Fernandez.

Electronic press kit available for reviewers from Ulysses Arts

Men and Angels - new album from The Ramsey Singers releasing with Ulysses Arts on 26 May 2023

8/2/2023

Click above to pre-order from iTunes with digital booklet

The first two decades of the 21st Century witnessed an exciting new wave of compositions - many from women - which have rejuvenated the great choral music tradition with a huge range of individual styles. The Ramsey Singers have performed many of these album pieces on their visits to English cathedrals during the past 20 years, as well as commissioning significant additions to the repertoire. This album brings together some of the best works from this new tradition, mostly recorded for the first time, including music by Philip Stopford, Kerena Briggs, James Lavino, Lucy Walker, Alec Roth, Ben Ponniah, Jeremy Woodside, Sarah MacDonald and Jonathan Rathbone.

The Ramsey Singers

Founded in 1987, The Ramsey Singers have performed in many of England’s most famous cathedrals and churches including Canterbury Cathedral, York Minster, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Singers come from all over England and meet twice a year. Directed by Mark Fenton, the choir has undertaken tours to Belgium, The Netherlands and France and has recorded albums of works by Henry Purcell and Pelham Humfrey (Priory) and Arnold Bax & Percy Whitlock (ASV). The Ramsey Singers have championed the works of contemporary composers and the choir celebrated its 30th anniversary by commissioning a piece by James Lavino.

Mark Fenton

Born in London in 1965, Mark Fenton won a Scholarship in History at Cambridge University. He sang with the choir of St. Catharine’s College under the direction of Peter le Huray and Owen Rees with whom he took part in recordings of choral works by George Dyson, Herbert Howells and Benjamin Britten. After graduating with First Class Honours, he joined the choir of Chelmsford Cathedral where he participated in numerous BBC broadcasts, recordings and tours. As founder and Director of The Ramsey Singers, Mark has conducted at Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral in London and at Sacre Coeur in Paris. After a distinguished career in education - including fifteen years as Headmaster of Dr Challoner’s Grammar School - he returned to working in music, taking up a post as a Bass Lay Clerk at Worcester Cathedral where he has sung in BBC broadcasts and in the Three Choirs Festival.

More download and streaming links will be posted here on or before release day.

Electronic press kit available from Ulysses Arts

Verdi Requiem, orchestrated by Richard Blackford, with The Bach Choir and David Hill, released by Nimbus Records on 7 April 2023

7/2/2023

NI6437: Verdi Requiem – Richard Blackford

Verdi Requiem orchestrated by Richard Blackford, for SATB Choir, Two Pianos, Organ and Percussion.

In collaboration with the renowned Bach Choir conducting by David Hill this recording features a sound that is distinct from the original Requiem, while still retaining the heart of the piece.

'Who would not wish to perform Verdi’s Requiem in the composer’s masterful original orchestration? The astonishing range of orchestral colour, from the moments of high drama to the most tender, give Verdi’s masterpiece its unique power and aura. When David Hill suggested that I create a new orchestration for two pianos, organ and percussion for The Bach Choir, I immediately saw the potential of an orchestration that would have a distinctive sound world of its own, not a watered-down reduction of Verdi’s original. Such an orchestration would also make the work accessible to choirs who either could not afford the full orchestra, or would not have the space to accommodate it.

Further discussions with David, who had the previous year commissioned me to write Prelude and Passacaglia for organ solo, gave valuable insights into how the organ could replicate a great range of orchestral colours that would contrast and augment the dynamic brilliance of the pianos and percussion. As work progressed, I found more and more ways of realising Verdi’s intentions with these minimal resources, such as replicating Verdi’s frequent string tremolandos by overlapping the piano tremolos in a way that, rather than cancelling each other out, produce a strange pianistic murmuring. Having six keyboard hands available generally meant that Verdi’s contrapuntal writing, especially in the Sanctus, is fully reproduced, unlike a single piano reduction. The percussion part, by virtue of being one player, requires the player to switch energetically from timpani to bass drum, and reassuringly few notes of the original were sacrificed in the course of doing so.' Richard Blackford

Lyrita Releases Malcolm Lipkin Piano Music Album, performed by Nathan Williamson, on 7 April 2023

7/2/2023

SRCD414: Malcolm Lipkin Piano Music

Lyrita is releasing a collection of Malcolm Lipkin’s piano music, recorded by renowned soloist Nathan Williamson. Included in this recording are Lipkin’s Nocturnes and Sonatas.

“Malcolm Lipkin's experience and skill as an executant who can perform his own music is evident in each of his piano scores. Often hypnotic and brooding, it beckons the listener in to an ethereal, uncanny soundscape. At other times, the material is brilliant and challenging, demanding from the player a formidable technique. Perhaps the most notable aspect of Lipkin’s writing for piano is its basic integrity. If, at a certain point as the music unfolds, the composer decides that an unvarying series of repeated notes or chords or arpeggiated figures is required for several bars then that is, unashamedly and irrefutably, what he sets down on the stave. This preoccupation with the fundamentals of piano writing is part of the very fabric of the material – shrewd, incisive and intuitive.” Paul Conway, 2023

Nathan Williamson performs at many leading venues as soloist and chamber musician, composes new work for a wide variety of artists at home and abroad, and directs performance and education and outreach projects on a local and national level. Recent performance highlights include the complete Beethoven Concertos with the Prometheus Orchestra, the premiere of Christopher Brown’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, international tours with the renowned new music ensemble Piano Circus, and a detailed exploration of piano works by Malcolm Lipkin culminating in the present album. During the pandemic Nathan gave online recitals for City Music Live and regularly streamed live music into schools and care homes.

On Malcolm Lipkin - The Symphonies: 'These performances are of great importance as examples of British Symphonies in the second half of the twentieth century': MusicWeb International

Electronic press kit available for press use.

ModernMedieval Voices releases debut album The Living Word - 10 March 2023

27/1/2023

Vocal ensemble ModernMedieval Voices releases The Living Word, its debut album, on 10 March 2023 on Ulysses Arts. The Living Word pairs chants by Hildegard von Bingen with new works by Daniel Thomas Davis, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, Caroline Shaw and Caleb Burhans, inspired by her music, life and message. The album's title pays tribute to Hildegard as a pioneer – a woman ahead of her time. Her words, music, and achievements continue to resonate today.

Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

ModernMedieval was created byDr Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, a member of world-renowned vocal quartet Anonymous 4, to explore the worlds of early and new music through lectures, workshops, masterclasses, performances and recordings. ModernMedieval Voices (MMV) is an all-female ensemble directed by Jacqueline. She is joined by early and new music specialists for concerts and special projects that combine medieval chant and polyphony with music from later eras and new commissions influenced by the poetry and sonorities of music from the Middle Ages.

ModernMedieval Voices takes the vocal techniques developed by Anonymous 4 for singing this repertoire and combines them with a fresh approach to programming that introduces this wonderful music to new audiences.

The Ensemble gave its debut performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, performing Hildegard's chant O Jerusalem as part of the Al-Quds : Jerusalem concert with MetLive Arts, described by Heidi Waleson of The Wall Street Journal as ‘exquisitely sung’. MMV has given performances at The National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington D.C., The Virginia Arts Festival, and the Ecstatic Music Festival in New York City, broadcast live on WNYC NewSounds Live, hosted by John Schaefer. The Ensemble has also given residencies and performances at Notre Dame University, East Carolina University NewMusic Initiative, Florida’s University of Tampa, Binghamton University, Pittsburgh Dance Project, Liquid Music in Saint Paul Minnesota, Princeton University Sound Kitchen, Electric Earth Concerts in New Hampshire, Dumbarton Oaks, and The Cloisters in New York City as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s MetLiveArts series.

ModernMedieval Voices feature on award-winning album To Shiver the Sky with music by Christopher Tin, which received its world première performance in May 2022 in Washington DC.

‘Although more than eight centuries separate us from this music, ModernMedieval’s approach to Hildegard is above all natural, emphasizing her fluent expressivity in perfect medieval Latin. Hildegard is always a good listen, and juxtaposed with sympathetic contemporary works, her beauties were especially resplendent.’ (Patrick Rucker, The Washington Post)

ALBUM ARTISTS

Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek
Chloe Holgate
Martha Cluver

ALBUM DETAILS

Hildegard von Bingen, O Presul vere Civitatis
Daniel Thomas Davis, Three-Winged Wisdom *
Hildegard von Bingen, O Virtus Sapientie
Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, Meditation *
Hildegard von Bingen, Spiritus Sanctus Vivificans
Hildegard von Bingen, Karitas Habundat
Caroline Shaw, Caritas Abundat *
Hildegard von Bingen, O Viridissima Virga
Caleb Burhans, We Cannot Live *
Hildegard von Bingen, O Jerusalem

*Commissioned by ModernMedieval

Listen on YouTube

Electronic press kit available for reviewers from Ulysses Arts.

Ruby Colley EP launch and UK concerts - February - March 2023

27/1/2023

Violininst and composerRuby Colley launches her EP Underheard on 17 February 2023, with live concerts in London and Bury in February and March.

Ruby Colley

Ruby's work seeks to unravel the connections between nature and music. She draws upon a wide range of music styles including folk, improvisation and contemporary classical. Ruby creates instrumental soundscapes beyond the realm of traditional playing, introducing sounds from nature and electronics. Her latest commission - Edgeland - is an audio-visual work that explores people including Ruby's neurodivergent brother, and places within an 'Edgeland' near her home in West Sussex.

Ruby’s music is eclectic, unique and her performances are charged with emotional power and nuance. Her debut album Murmurations was released in 2010, followed by The Sussex Sessions, an EP with Isobel Anderson in 2014. Her latest album Overheard was released in April 2022, and explores connections between human presence and nature in response to the climate crisis.

EP released on 17 February 2023 - click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

Tour Dates

28th February - City University, London, Concert Series, 7pm, with Will Pound, harmonica

11th March - The Met, Bury, 7pm
Market St, Bury BL9 0BW
18th March - The Nest, Old Town Hall, Hastings, 7.30pm

Ruby Colley on BBC Radio 3

Night Tracks: 6 March 2023
InTune: 16 March 2023

Electronic press kit for concert and recording reviewers available from Ulysses Arts.

PHILLIP COOKE, FOUR MARIAN ANTIPHONS - CARITAS CHAMBER CHOIR AND BENEDICT PREECE - RELEASING ON 31 MARCH 2023

21/1/2023

Pre-order on iTunes or stream pre-add tracks on Apple Music

Ulysses Arts releases the première recording of Phillip Cooke's Four Marian Antiphons on 31 March 2023, performed by the Caritas Chamber Choir directed by Benedict Preece.

Four Marion Anthems

1. Ave Regina Caelorum
2. Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae
3. Alma Redemptoris Mater (pre-release on 24 February)
4. Regina Cœli (pre-release on 17 March)

Phillip Cooke

Released in partnership with Platoon.

More streaming and download links will be published here on release day.

Blessed Among Women, Weeping: Sacred Choral Music of Father Ivan Moody, from Coro Volante conducted by Brett Scott, released by Ablaze Records on 24 March 2023

20/1/2023

Pre-order on iTunes: click above

Fr. Ivan Moody

Fr. Ivan Moody was born in London in 1964. He studied music and theology at the Universities of London, Joensuu and York (where he took his doctorate). He studied composition with Brian Dennis, Sir John Tavener and William Brooks.

He has worked with soloists and ensembles of world renown, such as the Hilliard Ensemble, Singer Pur, Trio Mediaeval, the Tallis Scholars, the English Chamber Choir, Cappella Romana, New York Polyphony, the Regensburger Domspatz, Singcircle, Lumen Valo, Tapestry, Cappella Nova, Ars Nova Copenhagen, the Taverner Consort, Fretwork, the Raschèr Quartet, Raphael Wallfisch, Suzie Leblanc, Artur Pizarro and Paul Barnes. Over the years he has written a series of substantial choral and choral-instrumental works, including Passion and Resurrection (1992), Revelation (1995), Akathistos Hymn (1998), The Dormition of the Virgin (2003), Passione Popolare (2005), Ossetian Requiem (2005), Moons and Suns (2008), Stabat Mater (2008), Qohelet (2013) and Stephans-Weihnacht (2019). Instrumental music includes a series of concertante works for viola, cello, recorder, double bass, piano, harp, tuba, bass clarinet and marimba, and many works for chamber ensembles (notably the piano quartet Nocturne of Light, from 2009) and solo instruments.

Ivan Moody is also a conductor and musicologist; his book Modernism and Orthodox Spirituality in Contemporary Music was published in 2014. He is a Researcher at CESEM—Universidade Nova, Lisbon, and a priest of the Orthodox Church.

Lines from Poetry - Davis Brooks plays music by Filipe Leitão, Richard Einhorn, Ronald Caltabiano, Frank Felice, Balee Pongklad, released by Ablaze Records on 10 March 2023

20/1/2023

Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

American violinist and viola player Davis Brooks records all the parts in the music on album Lines from Poetry, released by US label Ablaze Records on 10 March 2023, featuring composers Filipe Leitão (Brazil), Richard Einhorn, Ronald Caltabiano, Frank Felice (USA), Balee Pongklad (Thailand/USA).

Davis Brooks

'It become commonplace for many artists to produce a “covid project,” - this is mine. The Pandemic gave me the opportunity to collaborate personally with five composers in recording their music, resulting in a wide assortment of musical styles.

Two works, String Samba and Two by Four, were projects enabling me to explore performing and recording all the parts, enabling me to control every interpretive and technical variable. String Samba originally was intended to be performed by a traditional string quartet, but Filipe and I were intrigued by the possibility of a three violin and viola format. In addition to the original scored notation, I recorded additional ponticello and pizzicato effects and the piece was reinvented anew.

The recording of Two by Four, like String Samba, became a late-night home studio project. Having been part of the première of Two by Four in 2004, I simply wanted to record a version where I played all of the parts, and to see where my own interpretation might go.' (Davis Brooks)

Listen on YouTube

Electronic press kit available for press use from Ulysses Arts

Rameau Re-Imagined: Edward Higginbottom, Holly Teague, Felix Higginbottom - CRD Records, 7 July 2023

20/1/2023

Pre-order on iTunes: click above

Edward Higginbottom is joined by rising star soprano, Holly Teague and percussionist Felix Higginbottom as he takes Rameau's most theatrical compositions into the organ loft and 'reimagines' their performance, meanwhile taking us on a journey through exotic landscapes and arresting scenes.

To be released by CRD Records on 7 July 2023. More details published here soon.

Viriginia Black, Beethoven Piano Sonatas: Power, Passion and Ecstasy: CRD Records, 7 April 2023

20/1/2023

Pre-order on iTunes: click above

Virginia Black returns to the keyboard and her lifelong love - Beethoven's piano sonatas - in her latest album from CRD Records, released on 7 April 2023.

The three sonatas programmed here - The Tempest, Pathétique and Opus 110 - afford us a window onto Beethoven's life and his increasing struggle with hearing loss. Meanwhile we experience Beethoven at his best: breaking the rules of the sonata form and transcending them.

Neil Wright, Tota Pulchra es - Caritas Chamber Choir conducted by Benedict Preece - releasing on 27 January 2023

17/1/2023

Stream on Apple Music or download in iTunes - click above

Tota pulchra es is a 1,600 year old Roman Catholic prayer, meaning 'You are completely beautiful', referring to the Virgin Mary. It glorifies her immaculate conception, and takes its text from the Bible's Book of Judith and Song of Songs.

It has inspired great composers for centuries, from Guillaume du Fay and Heinrich Isaac in the late Middle Ages, through Schumann, Bruckner, Pablo Casals, Duruflé and Gorczycki to contemporaries such as Sir James MacMillan and Ola Gjeilo: Neil Wright's new settting revels in the opportunity for musical beauty and spiritual yearning.

Tota pulchra es is Wright's debut commission and recording with Caritas Chamber Choir. Studying the Royal Northern College of Music, as an organist, composer and improviser, he has performed throughout the UK (including Cadogan Hall; Westminster Central Hall) and in Germany (Dresden Cathedral, Stuttgart-Schondorf Orgelnacht, Friedenskirche Potsdam, Maria Laach Abbey), USA (Carmel Valley California), Italy (Tagliacozzo Festival, Cremona Cathedral), Finland (Åland Orgel Festival) and France (Vannes Cathedral, Eglise de La Trinité Paris).

Neil Wright

Caritas Chamber Choir with Benedict Preece

Caritas Chamber Choir, based in Canterbury, UK, is one of the world's leading commissioners of contemporary choral music, performing frequently around the UK and Europe, directed by Benedict Preece, a Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar.

Streaming and download links:

Released in partnership with Platoon.

Orchestral Masters Vol. 10, released by Ablaze Records on 17 March 2023 - Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Mikel Toms

16/1/2023

Download on iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music

Pioneering US contemporary music label Ablaze Records releases the tenth album of its innovative Orchestral Masters series worldwide on 17 March 2023. Performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Mikel Toms, it features music by composers from the USA (Edward Smaldone, Jeffrey Holmes, Jason Phillips),Cem Güven (Turkey/UK), Fang Ke and Zou Hao (China/USA) and Hojin Lee (South Korea/USA).

More pre-order and streaming links will be added here.

Caritas Chamber Choir - John Kelley, When You are Old - world première recording released by Ulysses Arts on 30 December 2022

21/12/2022

John Kelley's When You are Old is an atmospheric setting of W.B. Yeats’ famous poem: its retrospective nature is a perfect work to precede the New Year, performed by the Caritas Chamber Choir conducted by Benedict Preece.

American composer John Kelley studied at Yale University and is a lay clerk at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. His setting of When You are Old won the 1997 National Award for Schirmer’s Young American Choral Competition; it is performed annually by Redhot & Blue, Yale University’s world-renowned mixed a capella ensemble.

Caritas Chamber Choir

Links to listen or download on digital service providers will be posted here on 30 December.

John Kelley

Benedict Preece

Ulysses Arts releases NEOTERIC ENSEMBLE debut album in autumn 2023

18/12/2022

Neoteric Ensemble is a dynamic, expressive group of the UK’s leading brass and saxophone players founded by Toby Street and Adrian Miotti, including James Fountain, principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra. It offers a contemporary fusion of classical and jazz influences through its distinct line-up of brass and saxophones, performing entirely new commissioned pieces. Our rules are simple: we seek out and perform the most contemporary compositions that inspire both us and our audiences. This is Neoteric's debut album.

1-3. Soundscapes ROB BUCKLAND
1. i. Mojito
2. ii. Fjord
3. iii. Bosh

4. The Effra Parade MISHA MULLOV-ABBADO

5-8. Pandemic Suite ANDY PANAYI
5. i. Huanan Market
6. ii. The Traveller is Named
7. iii. The Traveller Goes Forth
8. iv. Lockdown Release

9. Neo CHARLOTTE HARDING

10. Karatina Market TOBY STREET

13. Bach in Barbados DAN JENKINS

12. Arriba MARK NIGHTINGALE

Electronic press kit available for review use.

Follow Neoteric Ensemble on Spotify