Ulysses Arts, in partnership with Fugue State Films, launches the digital version of Sigfrid's Unbeaten Tracks - music for Kunstharmonium by Karg-Elert, played on the Link-Gaida Organ of the Paulskirche, Ulm, by Graham Barber - on Friday 7 August.

From 33 Portraits, Op.101
Quasi Concertino per Clarinetto solo - alla Weber (No. 12)
Impromptu interrompu - alla Chopin (No. 14)
Vorspiel zu einem Drama - alla Wagner (No. 18)
Frauengunst - alla Johann Strauss (No. 20)
Duetto d’amore - alla Verdi (No. 19)
Am Hardanger Fjord - alla Grieg (No. 25)

Sonata No. 2, Op. 46
(first recording for organ)
I. Enharmonic Fantasie and Double Fugue (B-A-C-H)
II. Canzona
III. Toccata

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.’

Musicweb International acclaimed Graham Barker's release as 'all superb performances, technically stunning and gloriously fluid in their coloristic properties' (Marc Rochester).

Download Sigfrid's Unbeaten Tracks now, on iTunes and Amazon Music, with extensive digital book. Live streaming links are below and at www.facebook.com/events/227200648260128

https://www.deezer.com/en/album/159971092

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k-F1fS6qun67okZpy_-G2uzR8b9C_fvT4

UPC 5054526946538; Catalogue Number FSRCD016
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 and Five, released on 17 and 24 July respectively, feature Purcell, J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn, S.S. Wesley, Smart and Elgar.

The final album, including Thalben-Ball's extraordinary Paganini Variations for pedals only, music by Whitlock, Gowers, Fricker, Leighton, Joubert, and contemporary works by David Matthews, Douglas Mason and Iain Farrington was released on 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 or STREAM on APPLE MUSIC:

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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)

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.

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