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Music Centre Slovakia releases its album Sacred Music in Slovakia from the Eleventh to Seventeenth Centuries (HC10065) with the Ad Fontes Musical Ensemble digitally on 27 March, and Slovak Sacred Music of the 20th Century (HC10066) on 15 May 2026, in partnership with Ulysses Arts.

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Sacred Music in Slovakia of the 11th to 17th Centuries (download)

Slovak Sacred Music of the 20th Century (pre-order)

Sacred Music in Slovakia from Sources of the 11th-17th Centuries features Gregorian plainchant comes from manuscript codices dating from the 11th to the 16th centuries, set in the context of the vocal polyphonic repertoire from 17th-century Spiš and Šariš sources. The selection of compositions on the recording is thematically based on two five-voice polyphonic works — Magnificat octavi toni by David Thusius and the anonymous Te Boha chwalime — taken from the Levoča Music Collection and the Ľubica Hymnal.

Additional sources of the repertoire include the Bratislava Antiphonaries, the Spiš Missal, the Bardejov Music Collection, and other manuscripts. The selected works were recorded by the vocal-instrumental ensemble Ad Fontes Musical Ensemble under the artistic direction of Sylvia Urdová.

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Ulysses Arts releases (quasi una) Fantasia, with Telemann, Flute Fantasias and world premières by Richard Craig, on 7 November 2025.

 
Richard Craig comments: 'I have recorded nine of Telemann's twelve Fantasias grouped here into four sets. I hear these groupings as Imaginary Sonatas - an exposition of a longer Fantasia form in which each set proliferates the next, and not necessarily in the conventional sense of key or temperament. In between my groupings I have placed my own works which are improvisations. They offer a contemporary perspective of the Baroque’s musical possibilities. They are my own fantasias: rather than guided by melodic lines: pleats, weaves and warps of musical ideas that have radiated from my work on the Telemann. I added titles to my works in post-production. These relate to aspects of the Fantasias, with added poetic turns of phrase and borrowed words from Shakespeare’s Tempest Scene II Act 1.'

More download and streaming links will be published here.

Electronic press kit for reviewers and radio producers available from Ulysses Arts.

Denis Delair is known today as a theorist and the author of the Traité d’Acompagnement pour le Theorbe, et le Clavessin, first published in 1690. Despite mention of his instrumental compositions in the 1724 edition of his treatise, Delair’s compositions have - until now - fallen into obscurity.

In looking through the catalogue of the Düben Collection, a Swedish musical manuscript collection started in the 1640s, members of The Levée came across seven ‘Sonates à Violino seul’ by a ‘Mr De L’air’. When we began studying these sonatas, we were captivated by Delair’s unique style of composition: the rich harmonies, his rhetorical, vocal writing for instruments, the heavy chromaticism and surprising modulations.

These sonatas are an excellent counterpart to Delair’s theoretical writing: they are the perfect vehicle for the application of ideas from the treatise, and they feature examples of the harmonies
that Delair mentions in his chapter on ‘Acompagnemens [sic] extraordinaires’.

DELAIR’S SONATAS IN SWEDEN

While no other copies of Delair’s Sonatas have yet been found, their appearance in the Düben Collection suggests that the works circulated amongst musicians.

The Sonatas were copied by the Swedish church musician Carl Hintz. Hintz held positions in churches in Sweden and Latvia, but there is no evidence that he travelled to France. In the 17th century, the Swedish court had a taste for French aesthetics, and many artists were sent to Paris for educational purposes. Hintz was employed as a copyist under the Hofkapellmeister Anders von Düben to copy parts from French stage works by composers like Lully for performances of a French troupe of actors and musicians resident in Stockholm from 1699 to 1706. It is possible that these French musicians brought Delair’s sonatas to Sweden, and that Hintz was tasked with making a copy. Hintz died in either 1710 or 1711, so Delair’s sonatas must have been written and circulated before this date.

'Unearthed elegance'. Read more on Continuo Connect.

Delair: The Violin Sonatas, on France Musique

The Levée is an early music ensemble formed to bring forgotten music back to life and to explore new stories of music history. They want to interrogate why some music had a continuous performing tradition, and why other music remained untouched. They find that relatively unknown music presents exciting challenges to modern historical performance practice and understanding of music history.

The Ensemble reflects the interests of its constituent members in its focus on the ‘unwritten’ aspects of music which bring it to life: historically informed ornamentation, improvisation, and basso continuo realisation. Works like these Delair’s Sonatas on their debut album break down preconceptions about what we now categorise as Italian, French or German national styles,  and are of particular interest to the group.

The Levée takes its name from a painting and engraving of the same title in William Hogarth’s series A Rake’s Progress (1732-35). The eight painting series depicts the machinations of a spendthrift, hedonist son of a wealthy merchant who comes to no good but enjoys himself along the way.

The Levée, the second painting in Hogarth's series, shows the protagonist "Tom Rakeford" indulging in sport and artistic luxuries. Present at Rakeford’s levée (morning ceremony) is a harpsichordist thought to represent Handel or Porpora, alongside a dancing master holding a small violin.

The Levée comprises founding members:
Marguerite Wassermann - Baroque Violin    
Josef Laming – Harpsichord
Niels Pfeffer – Theorbo
Martin Jantzen – Viola da Gamba

Guest artist (Delair album)
Elise Dupont - Baroque Violin

The Levée on CONTINUO CONNECT

Instrumentalists Marguerite Wassermann (violin), Martin Jantzen (viola da gamba) and Josef Laming (harpsichord) studied together in Switerzland at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and benefitted from coaching from professors such as Amandine Beyer, Eva Saladin, Jörg-Andreas Bötticher and Thomas Leiniger. The Levée made this recording in St John's Church, Loughton, in the UK, where they also presented a showcase concert of selections from Delair's Opus, followed by performances of their 'Delair in Context' programme in the UK, Germany and Switzerland.

ALBUM LAUNCH CONCERT: BASEL, SWITZERLAND, 24 APRIL 2025
Zunftsaal Schmiedenhof, Rümelinsplatz 4, 4001 Basel, 7:30pm

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Electronic press kit available for editors, reviewers and radio producers from Ulysses Arts.

NImbus Alliance releases Bach-Centricity: Concertos, Trios & Sonatas arranged for two harpsichords, with David Ponsford and David Hill, on 3 January 2025 (NI 6454).

All the concertos, trios and sonatas on this recording are in some way associated with J. S. Bach, being composed, arranged, transcribed or copied by the composer. All are in the BWV catalogue; most have positive links with Bach’s first important appointment as Court Organist and Chamber Musician at the Ducal Court in Weimar (1708-1714).

The value of such arrangements is that they allow a wider perception into a composer’s compositional processes, and which have the potential for presenting new insights and different characteristics to particular pieces of music, which might not be evident in the originals. Hence these arrangements extend a practice that was normal in the early eighteenth century, and in this recording, they are played on instruments with which Bach would have been entirely familiar. What revelations they reveal! © David Ponsford

‘The Two Davids’, as they have sometime been called, began playing together in 2020 when they recorded Bach’s Six Organ Trio Sonatas (NI 6403) on two harpsichords. This recording elicited the following review in Choir & Organ: ‘The recording conveys a compelling sense of dialogue and sociability between two virtuoso musicians, equally at one with the material, and the alternation between instruments makes great sense of Bach’s antiphony and repeats.’ Since then they have played at the St Albans and Cambridge Festivals, as well as for music societies in various parts of the country, including The Athenaeum Club in London. © David Ponsford

Retour aux sources: France Musique, 29 January 2025

Maureen Buja, Interlude: 9 February 2025

David Ponsford is an organist, harpsichordist, musicologist and conductor, and an authority on keyboard music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries… David has an extensive discography, having recorded all four parts of J. S. Bach’s Clavierübung, the complete series of Bach violin sonatas with Jacqueline Ross, ‘Parthenia’ (1612), and the complete Handel recorder sonatas with Alan Davis… In March 2024 he was awarded The Medal of the Royal College of Organists, its highest honour, ‘in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ performance and scholarship’.

Renowned for his fine musicianship, David Hill is widely respected as an organist, conductor and educator. He has held positions as Organist of Westminster Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral and St John’s College, Cambridge. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists when he was 17 whilst studying at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester… He has given recitals since he was 10 years old and continues to do so. Away from the organ world, David operates a busy life as a freelance musician… as Musical Director of The Bach Choir, London, Music Director of the Leeds Philharmonic Society, Associate Guest Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and from 2013-24 he was Professor and Principal Conductor of Schola Cantorum, Yale University… He has made a number of discs as an organist, and a recent recording from Peterborough Cathedral was nominated as Critic’s Choice in the American Record Guide in 2021.

EPK and listening link available for reviewers and radio programmers from Ulysses Arts.

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.

Comments on Bach Revealed

'A detailed insight into the structure and ornamental possibilities of the Six Bach Suites for Cello, and a testament to the greatness and creative potential that these Suites represent. The imaginative way that the authors have revealed the layers and voices of Bach’s musical language makes examination of their material accessible and instructive for cellists at any stage of their development. I applaud the work that went into producing such a volume and endorse the results with admiration and enthusiasm.' Ralph Kirshbaum, Piatigorsky Professor of Cello, University of Southern California

'It has simplified a complex problem for most cellists, where so many editions have surfaced and make the study of the Bach Suites a puzzle rather than a musical adventure.' Bernard Greenhouse, Beaux Arts Trio

'Selma Gokcen and Kenneth Cooper provide us a tremendous service by giving us a guided tour and visceral sampling of the “essence” of these pieces. This grounding experience can naturally lead us to more effortlessly insightful and gratifying interpretations.' From Timothy Eddy, Professor of Cello, The Juilliard School, New York

'I've used Bach Revealed with my students. This edition opens ears and creates deep interest for this incredible opus which keeps us cellists busy for a lifetime.'
Thomas Demenga, Professor of Cello, Musikhochschule, Basel, Switzerland

'Bach Revealed is a most excellent, interesting and imaginative approach to an experiential analysis of Bach’s Cello Suites ... a unique departure from the usual editions. The work represents a real contribution to the study and realization of these works through musical understanding and performance.'
Bonnie Hampton, formerly Professor of Cello at The Juilliard School, now San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Selma Gokcen and Kenneth Cooper’s work provides students and teachers with an important tool that can help explore and understand the deep structures of the music by providing a bass line and by simplifying the melodic line. I have used her Player’s Guide for myself and with my students [who] have been excited by the discoveries that they have made as a result of using it. I recommend it highly as part of any cellist’s journey of exploration into the mysteries and possibilities contained in the Suites.' Bob Jesselson, Carolina Distinguished Professor, University of South Carolina; Ex-President, American String Teachers Association

 What does Bach Revealed do?

Bach Revealed: A Player’s Guide to the Bach Cello Suites is a first of its kind, assisting professional cellists, students and teachers to study the solo Suites through simple clear two-part reductions. Confronted by primarily a single line of music, cellists are told that Bach’s polyphony is woven into the music. Where? How? What is the musical structure? Where do the various voices enter and depart? How are the harmonies sustained and resolved?

This edition offers insight into these pieces from the inside out — revealing the fundamental structure of Bach’s language which inform successful performance.

These enjoyable two-part reductions reveal:

• the implied bass line
• the essential melodic line
• the essential rhythmic character of each movement
• opportunities to ornament and elaborate the melodic line beyond Bach's written text, thereby stimulating the players’ creativity.

 
How will Bach Revealed benefit Your Playing?

• Questions about performance practice - appropriate tempi, character, articulation, and voicing - can be explored when the underlying structure is understood. By clarifying what is structural versus what is ornamental, players can make decisions about their interpretations based upon a knowledge of Bach’s harmonic language.
• Bach Revealed is an indispensable teaching tool, allowing student and teacher – or groups of students – to explore the movements together and to hear their implied counterpoint.

 
How to use Bach Revealed?

• By a cellist alone, either playing the bass line at the keyboard and singing the melody line or playing both parts at the keyboard.
• Two or more cellists can divide up the two lines, offering the possibility of using other instruments.
• Teacher and pupil can alternate bass and melody lines.
• Both lines are playable against Bach’s original text, illustrating how Bach establishes and embellishes his harmony.
• For intermediate and advanced players, the simple structure allows them to explore the art of ornamentation.

The reductions are enjoyable to play and approachable for all ages and players from intermediate students to professionals.

CRD Records releases violinist Maya Magub's album Canons on 7 October 2022. The album comprises Telemann's Six Canonic Sonatas and Mozart's Canons and Puzzle Canons. Maya is joined on the album by violinists Ben Jacobson, Marianne Thorsen and Jonathan Morton, with Jonathan Moerschel, viola and Richard Harwood, 'cello (CRD 3542).

Electronic press kit available for reviewers.

Maya Magub writes about Canons:

'The Covid-19 pandemic impacted the arts in many diverse ways, not all detrimental. History has always seen the arts flourish in times of hardship, and this was no different, spawning some incredible innovations out of necessity. Soon after news of the virus’ spread came to light, the movie studios here in Los Angeles found a solution to the restraints of lockdowns and social distancing by helping players like me to set up temporary home studios. Miraculously, we were able to record full movie scores remotely, and I found myself learning basic engineering skills. Many late nights wrestling with unfamiliar technology were soon rewarded by the opportunity to listen back immediately to my – and only my – playing; an amazing journey of self-discovery as a player.

With this new skill-set that had become part of everyday life for many musicians, I was excited to realise that it was possible to play ‘together’ with other musicians, despite not sharing a physical space, by recording separately.

It suddenly occurred to me that the perfect fit for this ‘remote chamber music’ was the musical canon. As people all over the world were struggling, and failing, to play together in real time over the Internet, they found themselves plagued by echoes and delays. What could be more perfect than a musical form that itself seems to have evolved out of a long echo?! The musical canon needs an even greater time separation between identical lines, demanding that one voice must literally lead, and the next react to what has already been played. I realised that canons could be a great way to collaborate. And if I was not in the same room as another player, why not collaborate across continents as well as across my own city? This was an opportunity to play with some of my favourite players in the world!

In our new age of Zoom, this process became more like sending a ‘musical letter’ by mail, each of us recording as a leader and then waiting to follow and be inspired by another player in the next canon. The project evolved into a truly creative collaboration, with emails and internet calls across time zones about musical ideas as well as the technical process of recording. I remember discussing tempo preferences from my car, and emails about “alternating trills” at a particular cadence point... I even received a photo of a moose slipping on an icy road in Norway on the wintery day that Marianne returned her microphones to the hire company! Our patience for the much slower pace of recording was rewarded by the delight of ‘opening’ a new performance from another musician, and the luxury of time to fully absorb it and respond.

With the constraints of recording in separate spaces and very different acoustics came the opportunity to position microphones very closely. Without using too much of each performer’s live acoustic and through close microphone positioning, we were able to capture a very ‘real’ and immediate sound which communicates vividly and could later be put into the same virtual acoustic or musical ‘space’. And with that came extra silver linings: such as the ability to virtually ‘walk off stage’ (through fading out and speaker panning) during the unending ‘puzzle’ canons!

The final bonus was being able to mix in Dolby Atmos/Spatial Audio. We were suddenly able to make a huge feature out of our necessity to record separately, and it brought the project together in a remarkable way. With different voices seeming to appear from many different directions, there was now a whole extra dimension to the project that we had not envisioned at the start, and one that makes so much sense of the music; it’s hard to imagine a more fitting marriage of musical form and technical innovation. It was the most extraordinary and delightful experience to listen to Neil Stemp’s spatial mix for the first time and to be able to untangle each individual line so beautifully within the broader, more vertical structure. We had a lot of fun experimenting with virtual positioning of the many different voices in the multi-part canons and seeing how this affected the listener’s perception of the music.'

Paul Riley, BBC Music Magazine, 2 Nov 2022

Maureen Buja, Interlude, 2 Nov 2022

Pre-Release Singles

29 July: Telemann, Sonata No. 3 in D Major, TWV 40:120: I. Spirituoso

• 12 August: Telemann, Sonata No. 6 in A Minor, TWV 40:123: II. Soave
  
  
• 26 August: Mozart, O du eselhafter Martin (Jakob), K.560b
  (arr. for violins by Maya Magub)
  
  
• 9 Sept: Mozart, Lacrimoso son'io, K.555
  (arr. for violins by Maya Magub)
  
  
• 23 Sept: Mozart, Four Puzzle Canons, K.89:
  Thebana bella cantus (arr. for strings by Maya Magub)

Richard Craig launches the first two single of his complete Telemann Fantasias for Solo Flute on Ulysses Arts, with No. 11 in G Major on 7 May and No. 9 in E Major on 4 June 2021.

Telemann's inspiration for Fantasia No. 11 came from a 1739 visit to Pszczyna in Poland where he heard fiddlers and bagpipers: 'One would hardly believe the inventiveness with which they improvise when the dancers pause for breath'.  Richard Craig writes: 'I imagined a similar scene and relished the challenge of recreating the vivacity of folk musicians and dancers in the twists and turns of my ornamentation.'

STREAMING AND DOWNLOAD LINKS

FOLLOW RICHARD CRAIG ON SPOTIFY

Richard writes about his work and career:

'In my various guises as a new music performer, collaborator, improviser/composer I have played alongside musicians such as Rohan de Saram, Roberto Fabbriciani, Barry Guy, Angharad Davies, Rhodri Davies and new music groups ELISION, Musikfabrik, Klangforum Wien, and the RTÉ Orchestra. Closer to home, I have been a guest musician with most of the UK’s new music groups: Welsh ensemble Uproar, and London-based Riot Ensemble, Ensemble Octandre, Explore ensemble, and in Scotland the Hebrides Ensemble and Red Note. I was a founding member of the Spanish group SMASH and Manchester-based Distractfold Ensemble.

Exploring solo performance has been and continues to be an important journey for me. It has led me to develop a distinctive approach to the flute; to re-invigorate older music, as well as exploring improvised and notated contemporary works.

My own compositions are often a series of smaller works under a collective title: the first being Amp/Al for flute/s and feedback (2012-15) and the most recent being Hortulus Animae (2015 – 2019) for flute/s and fixed media. Composing and improvisation are linked to my interests in the visual arts and I also use video and photography in my work.

Alongside my work as a performer, I am also a teacher. I give masterclasses and lead workshops and seminars in chamber music, ensemble performance and flute playing. I was a Visiting Fellow in Performance at theUniversity of Aberdeen 2010–12. In 2015 I was appointed as a lecturer and Head of Performance at Bangor University, Wales, a post I held until 2019; during this time I was also an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield from 2014 to 2019. Outside of academia, I have been invited to teach on courses such as theEstalagem da Ponta do sol residency in Madeira, and also the Distat Terra Academy in Argentina. I received my PhD from Middlesex University in 2020. As a writer I have contributed to publications for Örat, and the Orpheus Institute.

My solo discs INWARD (2011) and VALE (2017) were released on the Métier label: they document my work with composers Esaias Järnegard, Richard Barrett, John Croft, Malin Bång, Brice Pauset, Evan Johnson and Fabrice Fitch. Other recordings of note include the composer John Croft’s monograph disc Seirenes in 2019 (First Hand Records), and two discs with Another Timbre, performing the works of Jürg Frey and Magnus Granberg. I have recorded several albums and live broadcasts for the BBC, WDR Cologne, YLE Finland, Radio France, Radio Nacional de España, Swedish Radio, ARTE, Métier, Another Timbre, FHR, Icelandic RUV, as well as curated releases of repertoire, and my own compositions. In 2021, I will be releasing a re-interpretation of the Telemann Fantasias on the Ulysses Arts label, and composer Oliver Seale’s portrait disc with Scottish label, Delphian.

I studied flute at the RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) with Sheena Gordon and later with Richard Blake. After graduating with honours, I continued my studies at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, France, with Mario Caroli with support from a Dewar Award and the Scottish International Educational Trust. As well as working with the full range of flutes from contra to piccolo, I play on two Rudall Carte wooden flutes from the early and mid-20th century, restored for me by Arthur Haswell. One of these instruments was originally commissioned by renowned Italian teacher and soloist Alberto Veggetti (1874 – 1948).

I currently live in Edinburgh where I run my own flute studio.'

'To go directly to the matter in hand: the playing on this disc is sensational.'
Johan Svensson, Nutida Musik

'Pushing the instrument to its technical and expressive limits ... a tour de force.'
Tim Ashley, The Guardian

Irlandiani, featuring Baroque 'cellist Carina Drury with Nathaniel Mander (harpsichord), Poppy Walshaw ('cello continuo), Aileen Henry (harp) and Eimear McGeown (Irish flute), releases digitally on 23 April 2021, released by Penny Fiddle Records, distributed by Ulysses Arts.

Irandiani is a testament to the musical richness of 18th Century Ireland, and the connections between Baroque music and folk traditions, explored in works by Bocchi, Geminiani, Turlough O'Carolan, Burk Thomoth, and traditional melodies from the Neal 'Collection of the Music Celebrated Irish Tunes'.

Album Details

Lorenzo Bocchi, Sonata IX in C major and Sonata X in D major

Francesco Geminiani,  Sonata Op. 5 No. 3 in C major and Sonata Op. 5 No. 6 in A minor

Lorenzo Bocchi,  Plea Rarkeh na Rourkough

Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) , Carolan’s Concerto

Traditional, arr. Neal: A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes (1724):
Thomas Burke
 Limbrick’s Lamentation
Ye Clarge’s Lamentation

Turlough O’Carolan - Captain O’Kane

Neal: A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes (1724) – Capten Magan

Turlough O’Carolan – Sí Bheag, Sí Mhor

Burk Thomoth (fl. 1739-1750) 12 Irish and 12 Scotch Airs with Variations – Slaunt Ri Plulib

Burk Thomoth (fl. 1739-1750) 12 Irish and 12 Scotch Airs with Variations – The Major

Turlough O’Carolan – Carolan’s Farewell to Music

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Carina Drury

Nathaniel Mander

Eimear McGeown

Poppy Walshaw

Aileen Henry

'Superbly engaging and highly virtuoso performances ... bravura, expressiveness and collegiality.' Planet Hugill

''The playlist is excellent and the musical story fascinating.'
Andrew Benson Wilson

Released by Penny Fiddle Records, with digital distribution by Ulysses Arts
Producer and recording engineer: Simon Fox-Gal
Mastering engineer: John Croft
UPC 5056495471370

1. Purcell: The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation

2. J. S. Bach: Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209

3. Handel: Guardian Angels, from The Triumph of Time & Truth, HWV 71

4. Mozart: Ah’ lo Previdi - ah t’invola agl’occhi miei, K 272

5. Finzi: Dies Natalis [1]

Margaret Marshall comments: ‘I’m thrilled that Songbird has been released digitally. I retired from professional singing fifteen years ago and never imagined I would be releasing ‘new’ music. But thanks to wonderfully supportive friends, here it is! Alongside music by Purcell, J.S. Bach, Handel and Mozart – composers and works I loved to sing – is Finzi’s beautiful Dies Natalis, best known for tenors but also a wonderful sing for sopranos.’
 
Miss Marshall shares her experience of singing these works on her new website www.margaretmarshallsongbird.com

Margaret Marshall is one of the finest discoveries of recent years. A perfect technique carries this radiant voice, more varied in colour than some of her world-famous colleagues, full of life and energy, of exquisite expression where the vocalisation pours forth inner enchantment and surpasses technical virtuosity.[2]

[1] 1 and 4: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mosche Atzmon and Hanns-Martin Schneidt; 2: Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Hans Zender; 3. NDR Elbphilharmonie Orkester; Günther Weissenborn: 5. Mainz Chamber Orchestra, Günter Kehr

[2] J.S. Bach, Easter Oratorio, Kurt Redel (conductor), Le Monde, 20 April 1976

REVIEWS AND FEATURES

Graham Rickson in The Arts Desk

Planet Hugill

'I urge all devotees of fine singing to enjoy this previously unheard testimony to the enduring appeal of Margaret Marshall’s lovely voice.'
Ralph Moore, MusicWeb International

Francisco Salazar in OperaWire

Francesca Wilson, Meet The Artist

Press and radio inquiries to Ulysses Arts via our 'Contact Us' details below.

Ulysses Arts launches Franco-Belgian pianist Antoine Préat's first solo album, Polyphony, on 15 January 2021, with music by J.S. Bach, Chopin and Scriabin. Polyphony follows Antoine's debut recording of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.31, Op.110, released by Ulysses Arts in June 2020.

J.S. Bach, Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911
Chopin, Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61
Scriabin, Sonate-Fantaisie, Op. 19

Antoine comments: 'Born into a Baroque-fanatic family in Paris, I grew up immersed in the sound of the 'cello and harpsichord. I have always been intrigued by polyphonic music, with deep emotion contained within a perfectly assembled puzzle. I started this theme with Beethoven’s Op.110; my debut album of Bach, Chopin and Scriabin continues this exploration of intricate polyphony in the solo piano repertoire.’

Antoine Préat

Described by Radio France as ‘one of the most gifted pianists of the younger generation’ and as ‘a young artist with a distinctive voice’, Franco-Belgian pianist Antoine Préat is establishing himself as a soloist and chamber musician. 

Since his orchestral debut at 17, playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 with the Orchestra of Alicante, Antoine has performed with The Tonerl Chamber Orchestra, Sainsbury Soloists, Academy Festival Orchestra, London Student Orchestra and Resonate Chamber Ensemble.  

Winner of Making Music's Philip and Dorothy Green Award 2020, and recently appointed City Music Foundation Artist 2020, Antoine performs regularly in Europe and the United States in halls such as the Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau, Wigmore Hall, Thayer Hall, Paris Beaux Arts Museum and Frederyk Chopin Institute. His performances have been broadcast by the BBC, Scala Radio and France Musique.

Performance highlights include festivals such as the Nohant Chopin Festival, Lisztomanias, Chopin à Bagatelle, Les Concerts d’Esther, Marathon Chopin, Les Nuits du Piano in Paris, IMS Prussia Cove, Encuentro de Santander. An avid chamber musician, Antoine was the youngest artist invited to join the Centre de Musique de Chambre de Paris, directed by Jérôme Pernoo, with whom he gave a concert series at the Salle Cortot sponsored by Deutsche Gramophone. He has been a finalist or prizewinner in numerous competitions such as the Ettlingen Competition for Young Pianists, Concours International de la Ville de Gagny, Concours international d’Ile de France and received an honour prize at the New York Début Piano Competition.

Having completed his postgraduate course with honours at the Ecole Normale de Paris with Ludmilla Berlinskaia and Guigla Katsrava, Antoine continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Tatiana Sarkissova and Christopher Elton, receiving a Master of Arts and the DipRam, its highest qualification.

To enrich his understanding of the instrument and its repertoire, Antoine began to study fortepiano and period instruments with Carole Cerasi at the Royal Academy and has also been guided from artists such as Andreas Staier, Tobias Koch, Philippe Cassard, Alberta Alexandrescu, Robert Levin, Jerome Lowenthal, Richard Goode, Imogen Cooper and Stephen Hough.

Antoine is supported by The City Music Foundation, Talent Unlimited, Hattori Foundation and Making Music.

... et maintenant en français:

- Beethoven Sonate op°110 en La Majeur
Single de promotion sorti le 19 Juin 2020, playlisté par Apple Music, recueillant plus de 50,000 écoutes
- Bach Toccata en Do mineur BWV911, Chopin Polonaise Fantaisie op°65, Scriabin Sonate n°2 op°19 sorti le 15 Janvier 2021, playlisté par Spotify dans “Classical New Releases”

Vidéo de promotion: https://youtu.be/VWMMPV8-JR8

L’album

'Mon premier album, enregistré à Londres au courant de cette tumultueuse année 2020, se focalise sur l’évolution de l’écriture polyphonique au fil des différentes époques. Vouant une affection particulière à J.S Bach, je souhaitais souligner son influence sur le processus de composition de ses successeurs. Si Bach lui-même fut influencé par ses prédécesseurs, tels que Buxtehude ou Kerll.

il demeure la figure ‘phare’ de la période baroque et de l’écriture polyphonique (que ce soit sous forme de fugue, de choral, d’aria ou de sonate). Toutes les pièces de cet album jouent aussi sur la liberté de la forme musicale: une Toccata comprenant un choral et deux fugues, une Sonate de Beethoven avec ses multiples fugues et arias, la Polonaise-Fantaisie, alternant marche patriotique,
choral et mélodie accompagnées, et la Sonate de Scriabin en deux mouvements.)

Dans ses dernières années, Beethoven se tourne à nouveau vers la musique de Bach et de Haendel, qu’il avait toujours beaucoup admirés. Cette influence est très présente dans ses œuvres dites “de la troisième période” (qui fut d’ailleurs sa dernière), au cours de laquelle il composa certaines de ses œuvres les plus acclamées : la Hammerklavier, les trois dernières sonates pour piano, le quatuor op°131, la Grosse Fugue op°133, Die Weihe des Hauses op°124.

Beethoven, éclatant la forme classique et ouvrant grand la porte à ses successeurs romantiques, insuffle un souffle nouveau à la forme fuguée et à la polyphonie complexe du XVIIIème siècle. Frédéric Chopin est souvent considéré (à tort selon moi) comme le “romantique” par excellence, le
symbole du rubato à outrance interprété avec une mièvrerie mal placée. Il était très important pour moi d’établir un parallèle entre l’oeuvre de Chopin celle de Bach car non seulement Chopin portait une véritable adoration à son vénérable prédécesseur, mais leurs oeoeuvres ne sont pas si éloignées les unes des autres bien qu’appartenant à un style et une époque différents. Si l’on étudie avec attention les compositions de Chopin, on constate que ce qui peut à première vue être qualifié de “mélodie accompagnée” se révèle souvent bien plus complexe et polyphonique qu’il n’y parait (les accompagnements notamment comprennent bien souvent un contrepoint développé en plusieurs lignes mélodiques). Enfin, le rubato dont on parle tant chez Chopin me rappelle la notion d’ ‘élan’ et de respiration en musique Baroque, et ne devrait pas conduire à ce qualificatif de “sentimentalisme” (simplement parce qu’il s’agit la de musique dite ‘romantique’, si la respiration n’est pas naturelle, l’interpretation ne l’est pas plus).

Alexandre Scriabin est le seul compositeur présent qui ne se soit pas réclamé de Bach de son vivant. C’est ce qui me semblait si intéressant: Scriabin, si inspiré au début de sa vie par Chopin, reflète souvent l’influence que Bach a eu sur la musique ‘classique’ à travers sa manière de composer, son sens de l’architecture, de la structure et de la complexité des voix intérieures de certaines de ses partitions.

Quelques mots

Ayant étudié le clavecin et la musique baroque dès mon enfance, ce thème me tient vraiment à coœur, et je suis ravi d’avoir pu l’explorer à travers ce premier disque. Je tiens à preciser que ce disque devait également sortir en magasin, mais la deuxième journée d’enregistrement (Bach, Chopin, Scriabin) ayant été décalée de plusieurs mois à cause du COVID-19, et le piano premièrement utilisé ayant été endommagé, j’ai dû séparer la sonate de Beethoven et le reste de l’album.'

Antoine Préat, janvier 2021

Ulysses Arts is delighted to release a new recording of J.S.Bach's music re-imagined for corno da tirarsi and organ performed by Anneke Scott (corno da tirarsi) and Benedict Preece (organ).

The 2020 Pandemic saw Anneke Scott work her way through all of Bach’s chorales on her corno da tirarsi as part of a project she entitled “Corno Not Corona”. Out of this was sparked the idea of a collaboration with organist Benedict Preece in which the pair would re-configure a number of Bach Chorale Preludes incorporating the corno da tirarsi on the chorale melodies.

The recording is a testament to the many ways in which musicians have had to be resourceful and resilient in this most testing of years for the arts. The two musicians recorded their contributions in isolation, with Benedict performing the organ part using Hauptwerk, a state-of-the-art virtual instrument. Hauptwerk contains high quality samples of some of the finest organs in the world and each stop is relayed through the software to enable organists to play the chosen organ from any location. For this recording Benedict selected the Muller organ of St. Bavo Church, Haarlem.

Matching a “virtual” instrument is Anneke’s “hypothetical” corno da tirarsi (made by Egger in Switzerland). The corno da tirarsi has been a conundrum for many years. Bach wrote for the instrument but no instrument appears to survive. Normally Bach writes for the corno da tirarsi doubling soprano chorale melodies in his cantata, hence it feeling like an appropriate instrument to incorporate in his chorale preludes.

Featured on Spotify Classical New Releases and Apple Music Bach and the Baroque playlists

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https://www.annekescott.com/bach-chorale-preludes

Total playing time 27 minutes; UPC 5054526239067

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1. Tomaso Albinoni (1671–1751): Sonata in D Minor, Op. 4 No. 1: I. Adagio

2. Antonio Bertali (1605–1669): Ciaccona in C Major

3. Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665–1729): Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major: II. Adagio

4. Andrea Falconieri (ca. 1585–1656): Il Primo Libro di Canzone: Brando dicho el Melo;
Corriente dicha la Mota, echa para Don Pedro dela Mota

5. Giovanni Battista Fontana (1589–1630): Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major

Tracks 1–4: Maximiliane Norwood (Baroque Violin), Jacopo Sabina (Theorbo)
Track 5: Maximiliane Norwood (Baroque Violin), Cornelia Demmer (Theorbo), Chloé de Guillebon (Virginal)

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_loIkTOZMHg0EVt4MoOZHc1aL2DUlMGBkM

UPC: 5054526304741