Andrew Benson-Wilson writes:

‘This is a remarkable recording project in so many ways. This is music that ... [is] impressive and deserves being heard on a full-sized pipe organ. And Graham Barber’s transcription is well-conceived, notably in his writing for the pedal line, missing entirely in the harmonium version. His amendments to the musical text are appropriate, and the performance is masterly, notably in his choice of registrations.’

UPC 5054526946538
Tonmeister: Christian Starke
Art-work revision for digital version: Hannah Whale / Fruition Creative Concepts

Ulysses Arts launched the first of six volumes of Fugue State Films' pioneering series of albums The English Organ on 26 June on Apple Music/ITunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and all major digital service providers. Performed by Daniel Moult, The English Organ is one of the largest recording projects ever made about the instrument, and has been hailed by Gramophone Magazine as ‘a dazzling showcase of both repertoire and instruments’ (Marc Rochester, June 2020).

Volume One explores music from William Byrd in the Sixteenth Century, through Purcell, Worgan, Stanley, Green, Boyce, Samuel Wesley and Mendelssohn, played on a spectacular range of English organs. Will Fraser, director of Fugue State Films, comments:

‘Daniel Moult recorded at least one major piece of repertoire on thirty-three instruments in five countries on three continents. Each instrument exemplifies the development of English organ building across five centuries. The range and quality of instruments is extraordinary, including great church and cathedral instruments, organs in concert halls, educational establishments and even private houses. Like any cultural or technological artefact, the organ represents its time and the people who built it. Organs were affected by historical events such as the Reformation, Civil War, industrialisation, Empire, democracy and popular. Alongside these recordings are three feature-length documentaries telling this story by Fugue State Films.

Volume Two was released on 3 July (Brahms, Stanford, Parry, Elgar, Bridge, Howells); Volume Three (Stainer, Whitlock, Grace, Hollins, Howells, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Brian Cooke, Kenneth Leighton, Stephen Hough, David Matthews and Ronald Corp) on 10 July. Volumes Four, Five and Six will be released on 17, 24 and 31 July 2020.

In parallel with the digital audio launch, The English Organ's companion documentary series was released on Fugue State Films' new Vimeo channel on 26 June: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/theenglishorgan.

Discover more about The English Organ at https://fuguestatefilms.co.uk/product/the-english-organ.

Daniel Moult is a concert organist, recording artist and film presenter, described by The Organ as ‘one of the finest organists of our time’. Renowned for his virtuosic, intelligent and engaging performances, his musicianship has been praised as ‘exhilarating’ (Gramophone), ‘dazzling’ (The Organ), and ‘formidable’ (Organists’ Review). Daniel is director of the organ department at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire; as a soloist, he has performed at major venues and festivals in the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia, including recitals and concertos with orchestra, and has broadcast frequently on BBC Television and Radio.

Daniel’s previous films include Virtuoso! Music for Organ, a film featuring some of the Twentieth Century’s most demanding organ repertoire, and The Elusive English Organ, a journey through English music from Byrd to Wesley. Recordings including the first solo performances at the newly-restored organ of Arundel Cathedral, and Handel's organ concertos with the London Early Opera Orchestra for Signum Classics' Handel at Vauxhall, and for Regent and Sony BMG.

Born in Manchester, Daniel studied at Oxford University, where he received his Fellowship diploma with three of its top prizes, and Amsterdam Conservatorium. Previous posts have included Visiting Organ Tutor at Chetham’s School of Music, Royal College of Music Junior Department, Organist & Assistant Director of Music at Coventry Cathedral and Artistic Director of The London Organ Day. A sought-after teacher, he leads master-classes, workshops and courses around the world. He is a Trustee of the Royal College of Organists, for whom he also examines. Other activities include several published editions, including the Easy Bach Album and Easy Handel Album for Bärenreiter, for whom he is now working on two new anthologies, and the Complete Church Organist, Volumes 1 and 2, with RSCM Publications. His articles on performance practice and performance-related topics have appeared in various music journals. He has also acted as producer for commercial recordings.

http://danielmoult.com

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE ENGLISH ORGAN ON ITUNES:

STREAM ON DEEZER

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD VIA AMAZON MUSIC - VOLUME ONE

STREAM ON SPOTIFY

Recording Details
Label: Fugue State Films, in association with Ulysses Arts
Catalogue ID: FSRCD017 (No.1), FSRCD018 (No.2), FSRCD019 (No.3), FSRCD020 (No.4), FSRCD021 (No.5), FSRCD022 (No.6)

Release Information:
Catalogue Number: UA000025
UPC: 5054526713871

Dillon Jeffares launches Tartini's Sonata in G Minor, The Devil's Trill, on 3 July and Brahms, Sonata No.3, with pianist Kumi Matsuo, on 10 July on Apple, Spotify and all main streaming services.

Dillon comments:

'Tartini - lawyer, dueller, musician - was a larger-than-life artist and person. This maverick genius claimed he had 'made a pact with the devil', hearing in his dreams a 'Sonata so wonderful and beautiful as I have never conceived in my boldest flights of fantasy.' I was inspired by Henryk Szeryng's playing: mesmerised by his tone, rhythmic drive and probing musical intellect, I wanted to make this great music my own. In contrast, Brahms Sonata No.3 is one of the greatest duo works for violin and piano ever written, introvered yet deeply emotional.'

The Tartini and Brahms releases will be followed by a full album including Franck, Violin Sonata, Debussy, Beau Soir and Clair de Lune, Szymanowski, Nocturne and Tarantelle and de Falla, Three Pieces from Seven Spanish Popular Songs, launching on 24 July 2020, in which Dillon Jeffares plays with pianists Thomas Kelly, Damir Durmanovic, and Kumi Matsuo.

Dillon Jeffares studies at The Royal College of Music in London with Lutsia Ibragimova. Previously he attended Harrow School, then The Yehudi Menuhin School. He is a laureate of the 2018 Leonid Kogan Violin Competition in Brussels; in 2019 he was awarded the first prize in The London and Paris Grand Prize Virtuoso International Competition, receiving also the ‘Best British Musician’ Prize. In 2020 he was selected as a finalist in the Anton Rubinstein Competition in Germany.  He is supported by British charity Talent Unlimited.

He has participated in Riga’s Alion Baltic Music Festival and The Holland Music Sessions, working with Dr Felix Andrievsky, Pierre Amoyal and Takashi Shimizu. He has played for Maxim Vengerov and studied in masterclasses with Alina Ibragimova, Vadim Gluzman and Isabelle van Keulen. In 2016, Dillon was the recipient of a generous award from the Humphrey Richardson Taylor Trust and in 2015 he attended the USA Summit Music Festival for master-classes and concerts with Aaron Rosand.

Dillon has performed in the United Kingdom, France, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey and Japan in venues such as the Amphitheatre of the Philharmonie de Paris, Brussels’ Royal Conservatory Concert Hall and Bozar, the Konzerthaus Berlin, London’s Wigmore Hall, Milton Court and King’s Place, the Banstead Arts Festival, Thaxted Festival, Gstaad Festival and Bergen Music Festival in The Netherlands. He is supported by UK music charity Talent Unlimited.

http://talent-unlimited.org.uk/dillon-jeffares.html

Kumi Matsuo, piano, has an international career as a solo pianist, chamber musician and accompanist. She studied at the Toho Gakuen College of Music, Tokyo, then at the Royal College of Music, London with John Blakely and Ashley Wass, winning its prestigious Artist Diploma with Distinction. In 2012 she won First Prize in the 6th Isidor Bajic Memorial Piano Competition in Serbia, and in 2013, First Prize in the 5th Louisiana International Piano Competition, USA. She is now on the staff at RCM as Duo Coach to the String Faculty, as well as accompanying other instruments.

Kumi made her London concerto debut in 2008 playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto for Left Hand in Cadogan Hall with the RCM Sinfonietta conducted by Peter Stark. The following year she played Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No.1 with the RCM Chamber Orchestra in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, with Vladimir Jurowski, and in 2012 she played Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto with Martin André at the Royal College of Music. She has also performed with the Symphony Orchestras of Tokyo, Galicia, Banatul and Constanta in Romania, and in the USA, the Rapides in Louisiana, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

As soloist and chamber musician Kumi has played extensively in the UK, USA, France, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, India and Japan. She made her New York debut at Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall in 2014 and an extensive recital tour in Louisiana in 2015.

DOWNLOAD LINKS

TARTINI, THE DEVIL'S TRILL
- iTunes
- Amazon Music

BRAHMS, VIOLIN SONATA NO. 3
- iTunes
- Amazon Music

DEBUSSY, SZYMANOWSKI, FRANCK AND FALLA - Pre-order
- iTunes

STREAM ON SPOTIFY

Release Details:
Record Number: UA000019
UPC: 5054526748620

​http://www/cristiangrajnerdesa.com
​

Claraliz Mora was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. She studied harp at New York's Manhattan School of Music and took a Master's degree in Voice at Stuttgart's Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. Awards include the 'Beca de Excelencia', Mexico's most prestigious scholarship, the Gesellschaft der Freunde Stuttgart Scholarship, the Special Prize of the Komitas Lied Competition in Berlin, and the Mexican Association Support Programme's Fonca scholarships for Young Artists.

Claraliz has performed on stage from an early age, playing the Child Ghost in a Julliard School  production of Macbeth. She sang in Zarzuela productions by the Amigos de Zarzeuela and Identity Productions in Mexico and the USA, and made her debut in Veracruz Opera House as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata. From 2015-18, Claraliz worked as a soloist on the Bellas Artes a Todas Partes programme funded by CONACULTA (Mexican Institution for the Advancement of Arts and Culture) and INBA (National Institute for the Performing Arts), with whom she toured Mexico singing numerous opera roles: Musetta (La Bohème), Violetta (La Traviata), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Rosina (The Barber of Seville) and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni). In 2019, she made her debut Micaela in Bizet's Carmen in Veracruz. She has also performed Lieder, oratorio and opera in concerts widely in Mexico, including with the Symphony Orchestras of Tuxtla, Gutierrez/Chipas, Xalapa/Veracruz, Puebla, Chihuahua, and on Mexican television's 'Cuatro Mas' programme.

Besides classical music, in Germany Claraliz performs Latin American music with Trio 'Sol Latino' and makes guest appearances with ensembles such as Marichi Dos Aguilas. 

https://music.apple.com/gb/album/cuando-vuelva-a-tu-lado-with-rodrigo-alfonso-single/1513644369

https://open.spotify.com/album/1LO7POu6xjsMtWRI6p2XwI?si=H4Y5zFTORaKxwRy9hdh0iQ

Catalogue Number: UA000016

CLARALIZ MORA LANZARA EL BOLERO, „CUANDO VUELVA A TU LADO“ ESCRITO POR LA COMPOSITORA MEXICANA MARÍA GREVER, EL 5 DE JUNIO DEL 2020

Ulysses Arts lanzara el bolero mexicano „Cuando vuelva a tu lado“ de Maria Grever, en la voz de la soprano mexicana Claraliz Mora, el 5 de Junio de 2020 a ITunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Claro musica y demas principales plataformas digitales.

La version de Claraliz Mora del bolero mexicano de Grever, grabado junto con el pianista chileno Rodrigo Alfonso, captura la nostalgia y suave melancolia de la cancion.

El lanzamiento de la cancion „Cuando vuelva a tu lado“, sera seguido en Julio 2020 por una grabacion en vivo del aria de Micaela „Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante“ del Acto III, de la opera „Carmen“ de Bizet, con la Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa, y el director de orquesta, Lanfranco Marcelletti.

Claraliz Mora comenta: „Yo soy mexicana, y vivo en Alemania. Despues de años de estudio, audiciones, y esfuerzo, finalmente este año tenia muchos conciertos en puerta donde iba a cantar los diferentes generos de opera, oratorio y bolero. COVID19 destruyo todo eso, lo cual significo para mi meses sin trabajo. „Cuando vuelva a tu lado“ representa mis raices y quien soy: nace de la solidaridad, humanidad y gentileza del ser humano. A traves de esta cancion busco traer esperanza, confort, y sabor a tierra mexicana a todo quien la escuche, incluyendo a las personas que estan lejos de su pais, hogar y seres queridos en estos tiempos.“

Claraliz Mora nació en Xalapa, Veracruz, México. En la "Manhattan School of Music" de Nueva York, completó una licenciatura en arpa clásica con las profesoras Deborah Hoffman y Susan Jolles, además de estudiar una maestría en canto en la "Universidad Estatal de Música y Artes Escénicas de Stuttgart" con Francisco Araiza y Dunja Vejzovic. Claraliz fue becaria del estado de Veracruz, Mexico, otorgada la "Beca de Excelencia" - la beca más prestigiosa de México -  fue becaria tambien de la "Sociedad de Amigos de la Universidad Estatal de Música y Artes Escénicas" de Stuttgart y de igual manera recipiente de la beca del FONCA, el programa de apoyo mexicano para jóvenes artistas.

Comenzó su actividad en el escenario cuando era niña, interpretando "el pequeño fantasma" en una presentacion de "Macbeth" de la Juillard School of Music. A partir de ahi, Claraliz cantó en varias producciones de las compañias "Amigos de la Zarzuela" e "Identity Productions" en los Estados Unidos y México, e hizo su debut en la Ópera de Veracruz como "Violetta" en "La Traviata" de Verdi. Después de completar su maestría, presentó su repertorio de canciones de arte alemanas, oratorio y ópera en numerosos conciertos en México, con las orquestas sinfónicas de Tuxtla Gutiérrez / Chiapas, Xalapa / Veracruz, Puebla, Chihuahua, y el programa "Cuatro Mas" de la televisión mexicana. En 2014, Claraliz Mora ganó un "Premio Especial" en el concurso „Komitas Lied“ de Berlín, Alemania.

De 2015 a 2018, Claraliz trabajó como solista en el programa "Bellas Artes a todas Partes", financiado por CONACULTA (Institución Mexicana para el Avance de las Artes y la Cultura) y el INBA (Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas), con el que hizo una gira por todo Mexico. Durante este tiempo, tambien encarnó diversos roles de la ópera y el repertorio de zarzuela, incluyendo: "Marola" (La Tabernera del Puerto), "La Duquesa Carolina" (Luisa Fernanda), "Susanna" (Le Nozze di Figaro), "Musetta" (La Boheme), "Violetta" (La Traviata), "Rosina" (El Barbero de Sevilla), y "Donna Anna" (Don Giovanni). En 2019, Claraliz hace su debut como "Micaela" en la ópera "Carmen" de Georges Bizet en el Teatro de Veracruz, México al lado de la Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa y el director Lanfranco Marcelletti.

En Alemania, aparte de a la música clásica, también se dedica a la música latinoamericana con su trío "Sol Latino" y  apariciones especiales al lado de conjuntos latinoamericanos como el "Mariachi Dos Aguilas".

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Claudio Astronio is a harpsichordist, organist and conductor, music director of ensemble Harmonices Mundi, and the Theresia Baroque Youth Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Antiqua Early Music Festival in Bolzano, and a Feruccio Busoni International Piano Competition artistic board member. He performs a the most prestigious festivals in Europe, North America and Japan, working with such musicians as Emma Kirkby, Max van Egmond, Dan Laurin, Gemma Bertagnolli, Susanne Ryden, Yuri Bashmet and Gustav Leonhardt.

Considered by critics to set the highest standard of vocal and dramatic interpretation in Twentieth Century and Contemporary Music, equally skilled as a singer and actress, Laura Catrani graduated in singing and vocal music from Milan's Guiseppe Verdi Conservatory, and in acting from the Paolo Grassi School of Dramatic Arts. She has sung numerous performances of modern and contemporary composers including Azio Corghi, Alessandro Solbiati, Silvia Colassanti, Nicola Moro, Matteo Franceschini. Alongside modern music, she has also sung traditional opera roles, especially in Mozart, Eighteenth Century and Baroque works. She has recorded for the Naxos and Stradevarius labels.

#HighlandsandSea

Ulysses Arts launches Darkness illuminated by Uzbek pianist Nafis Umerkulova on Friday 27 September 2019. The album sets piano works of eccentric enigmatic genius Alexander Scriabin alongside those of his rarely heard contemporary, Aleksey Stanchinsky.

Stanchinsky’s extraordinary talent was noticed at an early age. He was invited to study with Sergei Taneyev, a teacher of Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Medtner. Many believed Stanchinsky was destined to become a great Russian composer, however his untimely death at the age of 26 put an early end to his creative genius, Medtner dedicated his Three Pieces Op. 31 to the memory of Stanchinsky.
 
Scriabin’s Preludes Op.16 from “Darkness illuminated” reflect his fascination at the time with the music of Chopin, whereas his Fourth Sonata Op.30 and Two Poems Op.32 are among the highlights of Scriabin’s artistic input. Stanchinsky’s Sonata in E-flat minor pays homage to Scriabin, and is one of the forgotten jewels of twentieth century piano sonata repertoire.

Nafis Umerkulova comments: ‘Scriabin’s music has been my lifelong passion; I discovered Stanchinsky’s works some years ago and immediately fell in love with them. The music I chose for this album was written within a 17-year time span; my intention was to draw parallels between the works and to demonstrate how the style of each composer evolved over this period. Illuminating, through my vision, a creative chapter from the lives of Scriabin and Stanchinsky, I hope to connect the listener more closely with this beautiful music.’

A prize-winner of national and international competitions, Nafis Umerkulova, was the first musician from Uzbekistan to be awarded a full scholarship to study at the Purcell School as well as at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Nafis is also a recipient of the prestigious Myra Hess Award by Help Musician’s UK. She has performed in venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Birmingham Symphony and Town Halls, Manchester Bridgewater Hall and Glasgow City Halls.

Apple ITunes Link

https://music.apple.com/gb/album/darkness-illuminated-nafis-umerkulova-plays-piano-music/1479182364?fbclid=IwAR2gsCdk3grYtpUG12MOGsWuXN_hSFTsi6EswOt1JEOLbu-hEIXt3NIbn2c
 
Preview Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKoEP4kFK_E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL5gQZRARiw