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.

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

Neoteric Ensemble - a sextet of leading London brass and saxophone players, releases its debut album, Neoteric Volume 1, on 3 November 2023, with music by Rob Buckland, Toby Street, Misha Mullov-Abado, Charlotte Harding, Andy Panayi, Dan Jenkins and Mark Nightingale. Neoteric will be performing live in London at their album launch concert at The Pheasantry, King's Road, Chelsea, on Wednesday 8 November, 8pm.

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

Martin Chiltern, London Jazz News, 16 October 2023

Video of the Day, JazzWise, 23 October 2023

'Neoteric Ensemble’s fusion of jazz and classical music definitely works and the standard of both the writing and the playing is exceptional throughout. ... This is one of the most successful and convincing projects of its kind.'
Ian Mann, The Jazzman, 3 November 2023

'The album offers modern compositions and first class playing in a highly distinctive soundscape. The brass and woodwind combinations are always innovative and they neatly fuse the contemporary classical with African and Latin jazz elements.'
Neil Duggan, All About Jazz, 12 November 2023

'A feast for the ears. Astonishing accuracy is interspersed with tight timing, crystal-clear playing and virtuosity.'
Mattie Poels, MusicFrames, 23 November 2023

'An important piece of modern music-making, Neoteric Ensemble Volume 1 is seriously enjoyable and capable of being enjoyed by the serious. It also sounds like they loved making it. In common with the best projects in contemporary culture, it speaks to the personal, artistic and wider societal benefits of curiosity, open-mindedness and engagement.'
David Shiers, London Jazz News, 25 November 2023

LISTEN TO NEOTERIC ENSEMBLE, VOLUME 1 ON SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC, AMAZON MUSIC, DEEZER, QOBUZ OR YOUTUBE

Electronic press kit available for review use: contact Ulysses Arts.

For UK press and invitations to Neoteric's album launch concert at The Pheasantry, King's Road, London SW3 on Wednesday 8 November, contact Emma Perry at ECN Music.

Listen to Neoteric Ensemble Volume 1 on BBC Radio 3 Record Review (starting at 57')

Neoteric Ensemble on Apple Music

Follow Neoteric Ensemble on Spotify

The Tailleferre Ensemble, founded in 2019 by Nicola Hands and Penelope Smith, is a UK-based chamber collective whose principal aim is to promote women in music. The group is a flexible chamber ensemble of varying line-up who perform works of diverse instrumentation and genre, from works by established composers to those that are lesser-known and contemporary. As a group they have been praised for their fine performances and ‘extensive palette of timbres’, and they work to redress the balance of works performed by men and women composers in classical music.

The Ensemble has performed across the country since its inception, ranging from prestigious venues and chamber music festivals to local chamber series, and have also collaborated with other groups.  In 2021 they were grateful to receive funding from the Ambache Charitable Trust to make recordings of works by Cecilia McDowall and Rhian Samuel. In 2022 they were invited to perform the rarely-played Mass in D by Ethel Smyth. Since then, they received further invitations to collaborate on similar performances.

This album is the group’s first recording, exemplifying their work, featuring music from various historical periods and for different ensemble sizes. Of particular note is the première recording of Sonate Champêtre by the group’s namesake, Germaine Tailleferre: they are pleased to share this work recorded for the first time, alongside the première of Little Duos by Rhian Samuel, dedicated to the group’s founders Nicola Hands and Penelope Smith.

Most of the album comprises works by living composers, but lesser-known pieces from further back, by Röntgen and Hoffmann, also feature. There are Things to be Said byIngrid Stölzel inspired the album’s title, evoking concepts of loneliness and struggle but also reflects the hopefulness, determination and creativity of this new chamber collective.

'An exemplary debut with There are Things to be Said. ... Many things recommend the collection, from superb musicianship to an inspired and varied set-list.'
Textura, March 2023

'The Tailleferre Ensemble excels in subtlety... Their performances contain all musical pastel shades, which together form one lovely colored palette. This is partly due to the various instrumentations that provide transparency and clarity, but certainly also due to the excellent interplay, the beautiful and well-groomed intonation and the lively appearance. ... The Ensemble switches style and instrumentation with ease and gives each composition the warm intention that it deserves.' Mattie Poels, Music Frames, 15 March 2023

'Enjoyable and thoughtfully-programmed.'
Kate Wakeling, BBC Music Magazine, 16 May 2023

ALBUM DETAILS

Germaine Tailleferre, Sonate Champêtre (première recording)

I. Allegro moderato
II. Andantino
III. Allegro vivace: Gaiement

Ingrid Stölzel, There Are Things to be Said (2009)
 
Bill Douglas, Three Lyrical Pieces
                                                                                              
I. Wings of the Wind
II. The Hills of Glencar
III. Autumn Song
                         
Jenni Brandon, Metamorphosis *

I. Vulnerable
II. Evolving
III. Transformation
IV. Rebirth
V. Transfiguration
VI. Breaking through the mold
VII. Regeneration
VIII. Emerging
IX. “The Metamorphosis excites in the beholder an emotion of joy…”

* First performance and recording by Dr Lindabeth Binkley (oboe) with Dane Philipsen (oboe) and Mary Jo Cox (piano) on Dr. Binkley’s album FROM EARTH AND SKY: MUSIC OF JENNI BRANDON on Blue Griffin Record label in 2020.
 
Rhian Samuel (première recording), Little Duos for oboe and cor anglais

I. Morning Glow
II. Whispers
III. Sentries
 
Cecilia McDowall, Century Dances: Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon

I. Allemande
II. Menuet – ghost dance
III. Mazurka
IV. Tango
V. Last Dance 

Melchior Hoffmann, Trio Sonata in G minor

I. Adagio
II. Allegro
III. Adagio
IV. Vivace

Julius Röntgen, Trio for Flute, Oboe and Bassoon in G Major, Op. 86

I. Allegretto con Spirito
II. Poco andante, quasi una fantasia
III. Allegretto

The Tailleferre Ensemble

Emma Halnan and Nicola Crowe, flute
Nicola Hands and Penelope Smith, oboe / cor anglais
Jennifer Dunsmore and Helen Pierce, clarinet
Amy Thompson, bassoon
Lana Bode, piano

Electronic press kit available for reviewers.

Download from HDtracks

Philip Sawyers (b. 1951)
Kenneth Woods, conductor
NI 6436

Double Concerto for Violin and Cello
1. I. Allegro moderato
2. II. Andante
3. III. Allegro vivo
Daniel Rowland, violin • Maja Bogdanović, cello
English Symphony Orchestra • Zoë Beyers, leader

4. Remembrance for Strings
English String Orchestra • Emily Davis, guest leader

Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
5. I. Allegro
6. II. Andante
7. III. Allegro moderato
Daniel Rowland, viola
English Symphony Orchestra • Zoë Beyers, leader

8. Octet
English Symphony Orchestra soloists

'In 2009 I was commissioned to write a cello concerto by the Sydenham International Music Festival for one of their rising stars, Maja Bogdanović. Since her musical and personal connection with the amazing violinist Daniel Rowland, it had been in my mind to write them a double concerto. Overshadowed by the famous Brahms Double Concerto, this was a somewhat daunting task. It is a piece which reflects ideas of journeys which develop initial ideas as the music unfolds and unlike previous concertos, there is no first movement cadenza. In 2020-21, a friend and colleague asked me if I would write a piece to mark the loss of his mother. He also wanted it, in some way, to be for both of his late parents. He told me how fond of my tone poem the Valley of Vision she was, so I ‘hid’ a few quotations from that piece in the new one. He also requested something akin in mood to Elgar's Elegy for Strings. The resulting composition, I hope, meets all these wishes.

The viola concerto was written in 2020. The idea came after attending recording sessions and performances of a double concerto for violin, viola and string orchestra by my fellow composer and friend David Matthews. The lovely playing of the viola part by Sarah-Jane Bradley set off some ideas for a viola concerto of my own.

In 2007 the mixed chamber music ensemble ‘Liquid Architecture’ commissioned me to write them an octet for their appearance at the Chelsea Schubert Festival. The Schubert Octet was on their programme so the instrumentation was pre-determined: clarinet, horn, bassoon, two violins, viola, cello and double bass. The piece is in one continuous movement in four sections: Adagio, Allegro, Andante and Allegro.' (Philip Sawyers)

This is the sixth title available in the Philip Sawyers series available on Nimbus Alliance.

Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel, February 2023

Remy Franck, Pizzicato, 5 March 2023

Electronic press kit available for review use.

Jonathan Dove: In Exile
Lyrita SRCD.413

Sir Simon Keenlyside, baritone
Raphael Wallfisch, cello
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Gergely Madaras, conductor
Jonathan Dove, piano *
World Première Recordings

In Exile
1. - Cello alone I
2. Daybreak again
3. The first arrow the bow of exile will shoot
4. See, cold Island, we stand
5. I left that land wretched
Listen to me
6. - Cello alone II
7. If I were an ear of corn
8. - Cello alone III
9. Unclean
10. Where have the horses gone?
11. My grief on the sea

12. Night Song, for cello and piano *

The idea of writing a cello concerto for Raphael Wallfisch was first mooted more than ten years ago at the Banff Arts Centre, Canada, where Jonathan Dove was composer-in-residence. The two men spoke of Dove’s interest in writing a piece for cello and orchestra, and after further meetings in London, the work began to take shape. Given the composer’s extensive experience of writing for the voice, it was decided that the score would be written for baritone singer and solo cello with orchestra with texts taken from poems by various writers.

The subject matter was suggested by the Wallfisch family history. Raphael’s father fled, together with his mother and brother, to Palestine from Breslau in 1937, and his mother, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, is a concentration camp survivor. She has written of the persecution of her Jewish family during the Second World War and her own incarceration in Auschwitz and Belsen, where her skill as a cellist saved her life. Knowing of these events, Jonathan Dove was inspired to base the work’s theme on the universal experience of refugees being exiled from their homeland.

In Exile was premièred at the George Enescu Festival on 3 September 2022, followed by a performance in Bucharest on 5 September. Scored for baritone, 'cello and orchestra, Jonathan Dove writes of the piece: ‘In Exile moves through a day in the life of an involuntary exile: waking alone in a foreign land; remembering the moment of banishment, the moment of departure, the voyage; remembering the homeland. The Exile feels the pain of being so far away in his country’s time of need, unable to help his own people. He remembers all the names he has been called in this strange land. He thinks of all he has lost, and longs for home.

The spine of Alasdair Middleton’s libretto is from a 10th Century manuscript, The Wayfarer, by an anonymous old English author. Voices from across the ages flesh out a composite portrait: a single line of Shakespeare recurs among lyrical verses by Dante, Emily Lawless, Kahlil Gibran, Kaveh Bassiri and Douglas Hyde. The theme of exile was suggested by the history of the Wallfisch family, and is dedicated to Raphael’s mother, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who has told her story in her book Inherit the Truth 1939-1945: The Documented Experiences of a Survivor of Auschwitz and Belsen.

In Exile fuses elements of operatic scena and concerto, the two soloists expressing complementary aspects of the same character. In Raphael Wallfisch’s words: ‘the cello represents the soul and spirit of the Exile, the baritone is that person and sings the dramatic and often challenging texts. Jonathan’s lyrical style lends itself so naturally to the cello. He exploits every register from the lowest to the highest notes. The cello comments on the sung texts'. (Paul Conway)

Night Song, a short piece for cello and piano is derived from the final section of In Exile. In the calm closing moments of the work the baritone sings of his loss in the words of the poet Douglas Hyde : My grief on the sea, / How the waves of it roll - / For they heave between me / And the love of my soul. Night Song was written partly at the request of the Rachel Baker Memorial Charity – who commissioned the orchestral work – and partly in response to the strong reaction of the first audiences who connected with this uncomplicated musical expression.

'An intoxicating blend of emotion.'
Janet Horvath, Interlude, 3 March 2023

'This remarkable work for solo baritone, solo cello and orchestra ... dark, complex and profound'.
Planet Hugill, 21 March 2023

'An arresting, important work. ... Both music and performance can be recommended without reservation.' John Quinn, MusicWeb International, 29 March 2023

SRCD412 British Cello Works Volume 2
Smyth, Delius, Gibbs, Britten
Lionel Handy, cello, Jennifer Walsh, piano

Also Available: British Cello Works, Volume 1
Lionel Handy, cello and Jennifer Walsh (née Hughes), piano
Lyrita Records SRCD.383; UPC: 5020926038326

'A key figure in the British musical renaissance, Dame ETHEL SMYTH (1858-1944) was critically acclaimed for her music and for her writing during her lifetime. Smyth’s Sonata in A minor for cello and piano, Op.5 was written in 1887 and published the following year by C. F. Peters in Leipzig. The score is dedicated to the German cellist Julius Klengel, whom she met through her friendship with the Röntgen family.

In her A minor Sonata, Op. 5, as in her earlier Sonata in C minor for cello and piano (1880), Ethel Smyth favours expressivity over virtuosity, emphasising the cello’s warm and lyrical tone. The piano enjoys a key role in all three movements and is often invited to present the chief subject matter rather than merely playing a supporting role accompanying the cello line. Thus, the piece constitutes a true ‘sonata for cello and piano’. Fluent and tightly constructed,the score reveals a gift for melody, pacing and characterisation which the composer would use to good advantage in her stage works.

One of Delius’s most satisfying chamber works, the Cello Sonata is distinguished by the expressive power of its material. Both instruments enter at the same time, the cello unfolding a songlike, long-limbed line, while the piano presents the main idea. A second key theme, introduced by the cello over the piano’s rippling, arpeggiated chords, is more forthright and sharply defined.

In the late 1940s and the 1950s, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs wrote a series of instrumental works, two of them written for, and dedicated to, the cellist Eileen Croxford. They consist of Three Pieces, Op. 121 and the Cello Sonata in E, Op. 132. The Sonata is dated 12 January 1951 and was published by Oxford University Press the following year. The opening Allegro moderato is a substantial movement in sonata form. Over a syncopated, chordal piano accompaniment, the cello unfurls a sweeping, unsettled melody which contains some unexpected tonal shifts and covers a wide dynamic range.

Britten’s Cello Sonata is a challenging, bravura piece that benefits immeasurably from the natural affinity between composer and player which would inspire Britten to produce four more major works for Rostropovich over the next decade. Rostropovich wrote of the work, ‘This is a sonata full of surprises, innovations for any cellist, gifts for the musician flowing freely from the horn of plenty. We meet not merely a novelty in finger-work but, what is most important, a new kind of expressive and profound dramatic composition.'

© Paul Conway, 2022

'Handy and Walsh play with conviction and flair.'
Janet Horvath, Interlude: 22 February 2023

Electronic press kit available for reviewers

'The rise in popularity of the harmonium in the second half of the nineteenth century brought with it a large repertoire of chamber music, especially in France, where the instrument had been developed and refined. The combination of harmonium with piano was an especially popular one. As well as original compositions, the harmonium attracted composers making arrangements for reduced forces. The accordion, taking the role of the harmonium on these recordings, produces sound in a near identical way – air passes over vibrating free reeds made of metal.' Dr David Jones

It is the performers’ hope that the subtle shift from the 19th century French harmonium to a modern classical accordion will enable these delightful pieces to be performed more often and to gain the widest possible audience.

Electronic press kit available for reviewers.

ALBUM DETAILS

Camille Saint-Saëns. Volume 4: Duos for Harmonium and Piano
Miloš Milivojević, classical accordion
Simon Callaghan, piano

Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)
1. Scherzo capriccioso Op. 36
2. Pastorale Op. 26

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
3. Duos Op. 8 : V. Scherzo

César Franck (1822-1890)
4. Prélude, fugue & variation Op. 18 [FWV.30]

5. Camille Saint-Saëns Duos Op. 8 : VI. Capriccio

6. Alexandre Guilmant Prière in F Op. 16

7. Camille Saint-Saëns Duos Op. 8 : III. Choral

8. Alexandre Guilmant Finale alla Schumann, Op. 83 - on a Languedoc Carol

Camille Saint-Saëns
9. Duos Op. 8 : II. Cavatina
10. Duos Op. 8 : I. Fantasia e fuga

11. Alexandre Guilmant Élégie Fugue Op. 44

12. Camille Saint-Saëns Duos Op. 8 : VI. Final

Electronic press kit available for reviewers.

Nimbus Alliance releases a new album of Schumann piano music on 6 January 2023 (NI 6433), including rarely recorded early works, performed by internationally renowned Pianist and Conductor Vladimir Feltsman.
 
Variations on the name “Abegg” Op. 1 was written by the 20-year-old Schumann in 1830 and dedicated to the fictitious “Countess Pauline von Abegg”, whose last name provided Schumann with the theme for his variations – A, B-flat, E, and double G. Abegg Variations is a delightful, unpretentious, and elegant work free of the care, tension, and unresolvable conflicts that would haunt Schumann for the rest of his creative and personal life.
 
Papillons (Butterflies) comprises eleven seemingly unrelated parts and a grand finale that brings back the main tune (a waltz) of the opening piece, creating an arch that binds the set together. Like a phantasmagorical theatrical vision, the parts follow each other in a rapid succession, each having its own special character, texture, purpose, and expressiveness.
 
Davids bündlertänze ('Dances of the League of David') Op. 6 was written in 1836. It includes 18 pieces grouped in two volumes of 9 pieces each. One of the most complex and sophisticated of Schumann’s works, it vividly articulates his essential creative principles, imagination, and unique approach to composing. It is a real artistic manifesto, a self-portrait of the artist.
 
Carnaval (Carnival), Op. 9 was written during 1834-35. Its twenty-one short pieces represent masked revellers during Carnival, the festive season that precedes the austerities of Lent. The music is filled with cryptograms, riddles, humour and misdirection, as if he was teasing the future ‘readers’ of his works, challenging them to figure out what is really going on and why; as he wrote, ‘deciphering my masked ball will be a real game for you’.
 
Arabeske (Arabesque) is a subtle, intimate and unpretentious work, beautifully crafted. The main episode is presented three times without any alteration. The two middle episodes are contrasting in character, and the conclusion is dreamy and hushed. Blumenstück has five thematic episodes (five petals), the second of which is presented three times, making it an eight-petalled flower. The form is unique and not easy to define—it just is a flower (‘A rose is a rose...’).
 
Nachtstücke Op. 23 ('Night Pieces') was written in 1839 and published a year later. The title Nachtstücke suggested the distinction between the vocalized romantic idioms associated with night music such as the nocturnes of Field and Chopin and Schumann’s much darker visions.

'Feltsman’s Schumann is beautifully voiced and rhythmically free ... Though this music can be difficult, virtuosity is the last thing Feltsman’s playing evokes; recalling Clara Schumann’s conception of her husband’s music, he does not play ‘passagework’, but shapes each line and traces each character.' Dr Natasha Loges, BBC Music Magazine, 22 March 2023

'Feltsman's Carnaval pivots adroitly among moods and tempos, capturing the unstable undercurrent of lyric passages especially well. The soloist colors the episodes vividly, from the coyness of Coquette to the crisp, dazzling Papillons.' Stephen Francis Vasta, Stereophile, April 2023

Electronic press kit available for review use.