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ULYSSES ARTS RELEASES POETRY & PRAYER ON 5 JUNE 2026: NEW CHORAL MUSIC FROM CARITAS CHAMBER CHOIR DIRECTED BY BENEDICT PREECE

29/4/2026

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Ulysses Arts releases Poetry & Prayer, new choral music by Sarah Cattley, Phillip Cooke, Benedict Preece, Eoghan Desmond, Neil Wright and Conner McCain on 5 June 2026, performed by Caritas Chamber Choir directed by Benedict Preece (UA260060).
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Track List

Sarah Cattley, Ave Maria (IG/Single: 8 May)
Phillip Cooke, God be in my head (IG: 29 May 29)
Luke Mayernik, Vigil- Mary, the Dawn (IG/Single: 15 May)
Sarah Cattley, The lark's in the sky, love
Sarah Cattley, My heart is like a singing bird
Phillip Cooke, Everyone Sang
Benedict Preece, With Prayer and Supplication
Benedict Preece, Ave, Maris Stella (IG: 1 May)
Eoghan Desmond, Aestimatus Sum (IG/Sing;le: 22 May)
Eoghan Desmond, The Wayfaring Stranger
Phillip Cooke, Tota Pulchra Es
Conner McCain, You are Beautiful



Pre-order links and more details will be published here shortly.

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

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J.A. MONTEIRO, SEVEN LAST WORDS - WORLD PREMIÈRE RECORDING RELEASING ON 3 JULY 2026

20/4/2026

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World première recording of J A Monteiro, Seven Last Words, performed by the Happenstance Singers directed by Matthew Swann, is released by Ulysses Arts on 3 July 2026 (UA260070).
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Seven Last Words was recorded on Good Friday in 2025: it sets the last words of Christ on the cross.  Each movement illuminates a different emotional character, from the sincerity of ‘Truly, I say to you’, and the tender compassion of ‘Woman, behold your son’, to the anguish of ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’ The final movement, ‘Father, into Your Hands’, brings the sequence to a close with a moment of stillness and release.

Pre-order links and more details will be published here.

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

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WILLIAM THOMAS MCKINLEY STRING QUARTETS VOL. 1 RELEASED DIGITALLY ON 17 APRIL 2026

20/2/2026

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William Thomas McKinley String Quartets Vol. 1 (MS104) is released digitally on 17 April 2026 by the McKinley Foundation, in partnership with Ulysses Arts.
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Click cover above to download from iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music
Stirng Quartet No. 1 is from McKinley's student days: two superficially contrasting movements, but full of subtle connections, including angular melodic lines, chromatically inflected intervals, imitative counterpoint and tripartite textures with melody and accompanyment and often a third line commenting on both.

Quartet No. 7's eight movements constitute a panoply of aesthetic directions, from sarcasm, pastiche and profound lyricism.

No. 4 - Fantasia Concertante - is a unapologetically modernist, embracing new complexity. Its a single movement: dense, deeply chromatic,and brilliantly textural—and yet remains accessible.

No. 9 (1992), subtitled “moments musicals”, incorporates jazz and abstract harmony into a coherent, mature whole, in eleven short movements with an early 1990s post-minimalist character.






CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ON YOUTUBE


Download William Thomas McKinley String Quartets Vol. 1 with booklet:

ITUNES

QOBUZ

AMAZON MUSIC


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

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PAUL HENLEY PIANO WORKS VOLUME 2 WITH PAVEL TIMOFEYEVSKY RELEASED BY ULYSSES ARTS ON 29 MAY 2026

11/2/2026

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Ulysses Arts releases Paul Henley Piano Works Volume 2, performed by Pavel Timofeyevsky, on 29 May 2026, in partnership with Bridges Music (UA260050).
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Click image above to pre-order from iTunes with digital booklet

PRE-ORDER LINKS:
ITUNES

QOBUZ
AMAZON MUSIC

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

Electronic press kit available from Ulysses Arts.

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JOEL TOEWS, WE REMEMBER MOMENTS EP RELEASING ON 1 MAY 2026

3/2/2026

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We Remember Moments, the debut recording by Canadian composer and pianist Joel Toews, is released by Ulysses Arts on 1 May 2026 (UA260020).

'“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” (Cesare Pavese) My music evokes memories - not specific recollections, but moments imparting an experience’s emotions. Memory is fallible; remembering an entire day is impossible. Instead, we retain moments, snapshots of life affecting our minds and present.

Each work alludes to moments surrounding experiences, emotions and people. The melodies, harmony and rhythms are straightforward, composed not for show or gravitas, but as meditative reflection on moments worth remembering.' (Joel Toews)


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Click image above to download on iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music

1. Four Thousand and One: Joel Toews
2. Evergreen: Joel Toews, Jacqueline Goring
3. January (of 2020): Joel Towes
4. Prairie Skies: Joel Toews, William Lamoureux
5. August (of 2006): Joel Toews, Jess Lajner, William Lamoureux
6. Solace: Joel Toews, Matt Smith
7. Stephanie’s Theme: Joel Toews


Joel Toews, piano
Jacqueline Goring, harp; William Lamoureaux, violin
Jess Lajner, guitar; Matt Smith, trumpet


Download We Remember Moments with digital booklet:

iTunes
Qobuz
Amazon Music
HDtracks
7digital

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Joel Toews is a Canadian composer, arranger, songwriter and pianist based in Toronto.

He studied at Berklee College of Music, then Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music at MacEwan University, where he wrote and arranged for string quartet, choir, jazz big band, piano trio and more, studying with Dr. Allan Gilliland, Kent Sangster and John McMillan. Currently he studies composition at York University, Toronto.

Composition credits include:

2018: Piano Trio 'Influence': International Keuris Composers Contest 4th prize.
2019: 'Ra’ah': Borealis Orchestra, Edmonton
2019: Film score for 'The Transit Lodge', directed by Kalyan Acharya

2021: Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Explore the Score program: mentorship from TSO composers and conductors and recorded reading of 'Athabasca', awarded first annual Litha Symphony Orchestra Composition Contest; first performed in New York City, 2022
2021: MacEwan University commission: 'Miriam', for big band, recorded in its 'Generations' Project.
2021: Suite for Piano and Cello, for Sahara von Hattenberger, blending elements of Canadian and Japanese culture, funded by Canada Council for the Arts: recording with visual accompaniment. 2022: 'Mirrors in Haida Gwaii' première: Sofia Symphonic Summit: Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Bulgaria
2022: 'Sleeping Giant': Orchestra Toronto Composer Prize commission.
2023: River City Big Band Edmonton commission, celebrating the planets, including a re-working of the opening of Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra

2025: New Conductors Orchestra's Call for Scores winner, New York City.

Joel lives and works in Toronto. He is a piano, theory and composition teacher for children, youth, and adults; he works as a composer, arranger, and songwriter, and is Orchestra Manager of the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra.



Electronic press kit available from Ulysses Arts.





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(quasi una) Fantasia: Craig and Telemann album released by Ulysses Arts on 7 November 2025

30/7/2025

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Ulysses Arts releases (quasi una) Fantasia, with Telemann, Flute Fantasias and world premières by Richard Craig, on 7 November 2025.
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Click above to download from iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music
 
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.

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JOHANNES SCHLECHT 'DIR' ALBUM RELEASED BY ULYSSES ARTS ON 24 OCTOBER 2025

16/7/2025

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Ulysses Arts announces the release of DIR, a new double album of songs and chamber music by German composer Johannes Schlecht, on 24 October 2025 (UA240040). This is Ulysses Arts's second album with Johannes Schlecht, following Ich Spiele Noch in 2022.
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Click above to download DIR from iTunes with digital booklet or to stream on Apple Music
Click here to download from Qobuz

Wie kann ein Komponist sich Schlecht nennen!

„Wie kann ein Komponist sich Schlecht nennen!“, rief ein Musikalienhändler aus, der Anfang der 1990er Jahre nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer eine Dependance in Thüringen, eines der neuen Bundesländer, eröffnete und indessen Gesichtskreis Johannes getreten war. Seine Empfehlung lautete: „Ich würde mir ein Pseudonym zulegen.“

Johannes folgte dieser Empfehlung nicht. 1948 in der Mitte Deutschlands geboren, wuchs Johannes Schlecht in eine sich teilende Welt hinein. Noch bestand Deutschland aus Ländern, kontrolliert von vier Besatzungsmächten. Doch kein Jahr später gab es schon zwei deutsche Staaten, die von Jahr zu Jahr mehr und mehr auseinanderdrifteten – politisch, wirtschaftlich, kulturell, mental.

Johannes wurde im politischen Osten sozialisiert – als Sohn eines Pfarrerehepaars, was eine natürliche Opposition zur Ideologie der neugegründeten Deutschen Demokratischen Republik nach sich zog. 1990 „ging sein Land“, um eine bekannte Formulierung des (ost-) deutschen Schriftstellers Volker Braun aufzugreifen, „in den Westen“. Johannes blieb, wo er aufgewachsen war: im politischen Osten, der sich – nach kurzer Euphorie – entgegen aller Erwartung nicht dem Westen Deutschlands anglich, sondern zunehmend bis heute eine eigene Identität entwickelt, deren Wurzeln in 40 Jahren Leben in der DDR und in den einschneidenden Erfahrungen der Wendezeit liegen.

Das alles beeinflusste Johannes‘ Ästhetik in keinerlei Weise. Johannes beobachtet die politische Entwicklung mit Aufmerksamkeit und wachsender Sorge. Doch bleibt er bei seinem Stil, der geprägt ist von Genrevielfalt. Johannes schrieb sinfonische wie Filmmusik, Lieder wie Chansons, Singspiele wie Musicals, alle Art von Bühnenmusiken. Er inszenierte, sang und spielte zahlreiche Kinderliedprogramme und setzt sich ein für ein ganzheitliches, alle Sinne animierendes Liedtheater, gerichtet an kleine und große Leute. In dieser Eigenschaft arbeitete er mit Gisela May, Werner Schneyder, Michael Heltau, Cox Habbema, Annekathrin Bürger und anderen zusammen.

Auch musizierpraktisch lebt er in unterschiedlichen Welten. Er leitete viele Jahre einen traditionsreichen Chor in Eisenach und spielt weiterhin Klavier in einer Jazzband, die dem traditionellen Jazz verpflichtet ist und erfolgreich im Inund Ausland tourt.

Auf vorliegender Doppel-CD liegt der Schwerpunkt auf Kammermusik. Der Einfluss der geistigen Weggefährten
Anton von Webern und Reiner Bredemeyer, dessen Schüler Johannes für kurze Zeit war, ist unüberhörbar. Lassen Sie sich mitnehmen von Johannes‘ Witz und Heiterkeit, von seiner Lust an Wortspielen, aber auch ergreifen von seinem Ernst, ohne den alle Musik flach und schal wird.
How can a composer call himself Schlecht ['bad']!

"How can a composer call himself Schlecht!" exclaimed a music dealer who, in the early 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall, opened a branch in Thuringia, one of the new federal states, and into whose sphere of influence Johannes had come. His recommendation was: "I would adopt a pseudonym."

Johannes Schlecht did not follow this advice. Born in 1948 in the centre of Germany, Johannes Schlecht grew up in a dividing world. Germany still consisted of states, controlled by four occupying powers. Less than a year later, there were already two German states, which drifted further and further apart from each year – politically, economically, culturally, and mentally.

Johannes was socialised in the political East – being the son of a pastor couple led to a natural opposition to the ideology of the newly founded German 'Democratic' Republic. In 1990, to borrow a well-known phrase from the (East) German writer Volker Braun, "his country went to the West." Johannes remained where he grew up: in the political East, which – after a brief euphoria – contrary to all expectations, did not resemble West Germany, but has increasingly developed its own identity to this day, rooted in 40 years of life in the GDR and the dramatic experiences of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

None of this influenced Johannes' aesthetics in any way. Johannes observes political developments with attentiveness and growing concern. However, he remains true to his style, characterized by genre diversity. Johannes wrote symphonic and film music, songs and chansons, singspiels and musicals, and all kinds of stage music. He directed, sang, and performed numerous children's song programs and advocated for a holistic, all-senses song theater, aimed at young and old alike. In this capacity, he has worked with, amongst others. Gisela May, Werner Schneyder, Michael Heltau, Cox Habbema, Annekathrin Bürger.

In his musical practice, Johannes also lives in different worlds. He led a traditional choir in Eisenach for many years and continues to play piano in a jazz band dedicated to traditional jazz, which tours successfully both in Germany and abroad.

This double album focuses on chamber music. The influence of his spiritual companions Anton von Webern and Reiner Bredemeyer, whose student Johannes was briefly, is unmistakable. Let yourself be captivated by Johannes' wit and cheerfulness, by his love of wordplay, but also by his seriousness, without which all music becomes shallow and stale.




Part One/Teil Eins: SPRICH AUCH DU

ZEHN LIEDER NACH TEXTEN VON PAUL CELAN
1. Chanson einer Dame im Schatten 4.36
2. Eis, Eden 1.48
3 Lob der Ferne 1.59
4. Auf hoher See 1.19
5. Die Halde 1.54
6. Sprich auch du 2.54
7. Irisch 1.35
8. Du liegst im großen Gelausche 1.17
9. Nachmittag mit Zirkus und Zitadelle 2.04
10. Krokus 1.02
Stefan Freiberge, Singer/Stimme / Eva Gerlach-Kling, Klavier

WENN ALLE BÄCHLEIN FLIEßEN
Sechs Kommentare zu einem Choral von Johann Sebastian Bach für Violoncello allein
11. Sehr ruhig 2.49
12. Schnell, motorisch 1.35
13. Wieder ruhig 3.13
14. Gehend 1.23
15. Langsam und ruhevoll 1.59
16. Ruhig 3.14
Grita Bühler, Violoncello

SECHS HOLZSCHNITTE FÜR CELLO ALLEIN
Elly Viola Nahmacher gewidmet
17. Neutraler Beginn 0.59
18. Auf spechtische Art 0.39
19. Komischer Choral 0.58
20. Hölzerner Walzer 0.45
21. Ungewöhnlicher Takt 1.03
22. Kurzes aber schönes Ende 0.37
Grita Bühler, Violoncello

MEIN VATERLAND IST TOT
Fünf Lieder nach Texten von Rose Ausländer
23. Damit kein Licht uns liebe 3.03
24. New York 2.12
25. Muttersprache 1.56
26. Mutterland 1.26
27. Freund 2.00
Ulrika Strömstedt, Singer/Stimme / Daniel Gutierrez, Violoncello

Part Two/Teil Zwei: ACH GOETHE ODER

SAH EIN KNABE KEIN RÖSSLEIN STEHN: Sieben Stücke für Violoncello allein
28. Heißspornig und was sonst noch 2.11
29. Verliebt, aber nicht verlobt 2.16
30. Neugierig auf Carl & August 1.02
31. Platonisch, aber wer weiß schon 2.35
32. Politisch, aber nicht schlecht 1.35
33. Gastlich, auch ein bißchen selbstgefällig 2.23
34. Schon älter, aber immer noch klassisch 3.36
Grita Bühler, Violoncello

FÜNF ARTEN ZU GEHEN - UND EINE ZU STEHEN: Gangarten des Island-Ponys
35. Galopp 1.17
36. Rennpass 1.01
37. Schritt 1.40
38. Sehr ruhig 3.03
39. Tölt 1.19
40. Trab 0.41
Eva Gerlach-Kling, Klavier/piano

ALLEZEIT HEYDERKEIT: Jost Heyder gewidmet
41. Laßt uns froh und Heyder sein 1.04
42. Heyderlein, ging allein 0.57
43. Hoppe,hoppe, Heyder 0.58
44. Heyderwalzer 1.16
45. Heyderröslein 1.28
46. Auf den Feldman Heyder 2.41
47. Stille Nacht, heydere Nacht 1.03
Grita Bühler, Violoncello

DIR: Vierzehn Lieder nach Texten von Heinrich Vogeler
48. Sehr ruhig, heiter, mit herziger Ironie, nicht satirisch, nicht sarkastisch 1.30
49. Betrachtend, sehn- und mondsüchtig, nicht melodramatisch 1.18
50. Heiter, hüpfend, fast ausgelassen, nicht überschwänglich 0.32
51. Ratlos, ängstlich, nicht hoffnungslos 1.43
52. Mit viel Sehnsucht und Melancholie, nicht traurig 2.42
53. Verinnerlicht, liebevoll, nicht sentimental 1.01
53. Drängend, glücksahnend, nicht sicher 0.59
54. Anmutig, heiter, erzählend, nicht wehmütig 1.53
54. Traumtänzerisch, mir ängstlicher Sehnsucht, nicht gramvoll 0.58
57. Rückschauend, resümierend, nicht fatalistisch 0.52
58. Mit leichter Verzweiflung, schöner Erinnerung,
wenig Hoffnung, nicht froh 2.34
59. Absichtsvoll, mit innerem Frieden, nicht wehmütig 2.02
60. Erinnernd, paradiesisch, verklärend, nicht weltfern 0.53
61. Testamentarisch, mit unendlicher Weisheit, nicht vorwurfsvoll 2.48
Ulrika Strömstedt, Singer/Stimme / Luise Denis Nesprias,Viola / Daniel Gutierrez. Violoncello

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Johannes Schlecht was born in 1948 in Neuhaus - Schierschnitz, South Thuringia. In 1967 he achieved his ‘Abitur’ (highest high school exams in Germany) in Eisenach. He then commenced study in Theology at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena. From 1969 his natural inclination and academic ability led him to the Franz-Liszt-Hochschule in Weimar, with studies in Pop music, piano, theory and methodic by Erika Heide and M. Schmitz, organ lessons with Rainer Böhme, arrangement lessons with Alo Koll and composition lessons with Joachim Thurm); Johannes graduated in Theology as ‘Diplom-Theologist and continued music study until 1976.

His works in music have been vast and varied such as performing as the piano player of the ‘Old Time Memory Jazz Band 1968-1973’, freelance work as a composer in Berlin from 1975 on, composing pop music and recording for radio and television. He has also toured Europe with many different projects. Johannes was a founding member of famous East German children’s music group CIRCUS LILA. With this group, he has:

– Developed many musically pedagogical programs for children and young people in nurseries and schools
– Won first place at many national festivals
– Composed and conducted many records for children
– Produced children’s series for radio and television. He has been a producer and composer of many GDR television series, e.g. Gisela Mays ‘Pfundgrube’ and worked with many renowned and well-known artists of the European Singer,-songwriter & acting scene. Composed Original Soundtracks for the ‘DEFA’ (east german film production firm); such as dramas, documentaries and children’s movies.

His catalogue of work and achievements is vast, including:
– Winning national and international awards (e.g. for the OST of ‘Kai aus der Kiste’ (‘Kai in the box’)
– Member of the ‘VKM’ -Verband der Komponisten und Musikwissenschaftler der DDR (‘collective of composers and musicians of the GDR’)
– Private lessons as choir and orchestra conductor with Manfred Fabricius at the School of Music Hanns Eisler in Berlin;
– More work as a composer in the area of the ‘E-Musik’;
– Student of Rainer Bredemayer;
– Winner of the ‘Hanns-Eisler-Price’ (radio price of the GDR) for composing ‘Paul-Celan-Songs’(for piano and singing) in 1989;
– Compositions for music theatre premieres in Eisenach, Kassel, Gemünden & Marl;
– Several orchestra pieces, chamber music ensembles, choir pieces and live singing and instrument compositions;
– Arrangements and productions for his band ‘Medical Syncopater Jazzband’ and other groups, ensembles and artists;
– Since 2015, choir leader for the ‘Eisenbahn-Chor Friedrich List e.V.’ in Eisenach;
– Since 2016, piano player for the ‘Old Time Memory Jazz Band’ again.


PRE-ORDER FROM QOBUZ WITH DIGITAL BOOKLET
More details will be announced here, including further pre-order, download and streaming links.


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

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TODD MASON, LUX ÆTERNA ALBUM RELEASED BY ULYSSES ARTS ON 26 SEPTEMBER 2025

10/7/2025

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Ulysses Arts releases Todd Mason's album Lux Æterna, also including his String Quartet No. 3, City of Angels and When You are Near, on Friday 26 September 2025 (UA2500. The performers are the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra and Ars Brunensis Choir conducted by Pavel Šnajdr, Budapest Scoring Orchestra conducted by Peter Illényi, Zelter String Quartet and soprano Anna Schubert with conductor Zoltán Pad.
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LUX AETERNA (2023) 22.03
1. Part 1: Requiem dona eis
2. Part 1: Kyrie, eleison
3. Part 2: In Paradisum
4. Part 3: Lux aeternam
5. Part 3: Kyrie, eleison
6. Part 3: In Paradisum

Brno Philharmonic Orchestra: Pavel Šnajdr, conductor
Ars Brunensis Choir: Dan Kalousek, choir director
Jana Vondrů, soprano; Aneta Podracká Bendová, alto
Jaroslav Zouhar, recording engineer
Todd Mason, studio producer and post-production

STRING QUARTET NO. 3 (2022): 15.26
7. Allegro sostenuto - Spirito - Moderato - Andante espressivo - Allegro moderato

Zelter String Quartet
Kyle Gilner and Gallia Kastner, violins
Carson Rick, viola; Allan Hon, cello
Van Webster, recording engineer, Mount Wilson Observatory
Todd Mason, studio producer and post-production

CITY OF ANGELS (2024) 16.12

8. Restless City (Pensive) 6.44
9. Dream City (Expressive) 5.40
10. Irrepressible City (Festive and Fast!) 3.48

Budapest Scoring Orchestra; Peter Ilényi, conductor
Viktor Szabo, recording engineer; Bálint Sapszon, orchestra manager
Todd Mason, studio producer and post-production

WHEN YOU ARE NEAR (2020)

11. Espressivo 4.48

 Budapest Scoring Orchestra:; Zoltán Pad, conductor; Anna Schubert, soprano
Dénes Rédly, recording engineer; Bálint Sapszon, orchestra manager
Todd Mason, studio producer and post-production

Total timing: 58'29"



DOWNLOAD ON QOBUZ

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

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J A MONTEIRO LIMEHOUSE MASS EP RELEASES ON 21 FEBRUARY 2025

12/12/2024

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J.A. Monteiro's Limehouse Mass, performed by the Happenstance Singers conducted by Matthew Swann, is released by Ulysses Arts as an EP on 21 February 2025 (UA250020). The release also includes Monteiro's And Ruth said, Ave Maria, and organist James Gough playing Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem.
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Click above to download on iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music



Pre-Release Singles



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

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LUMINATE RELEASES BRETT DEAN ECLIPSE (STRING QUARTET NO. 1) ON 24 JANUARY 2025

30/11/2024

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Luminate Records releases Brett Dean's Eclipse (String Quartet No.1) on 24 January 2025, performed by the Slate Quartet (LR246707). This EP is Luminate's first recording released in partnership with Ulysses Arts.
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Click above to download from iTunes or stream on Apple Music





DOWNLOAD OR STREAM ON PRESTO MUSIC
EPK for reviewers and radio producers are available from Ulysses Arts.

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LYRITA RELEASES GAVIN HIGGINS, THE FAERIE BRIDE AND HORN CONCERTO ON 7 FEBRUARY 2025

16/11/2024

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Lyrita Records releases a double album of Gavin Higgins, The Fairie Bride,  with Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Roderick Williams, The Three Choirs Festival Chorus and BBC National Orchestra Orchestra of Wales conducted by Martyn Brabbins, and Horn Concerto and Fanfare, Air and Flourishes for solo horn, with soloist Ben Goldscheider, and the BBCNOW conducted by Jaime Martin, on 7 February 2025 (SRCD 440).
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Gavin Higgins’ music is bursting with authenticity. Everything he writes speaks in some way of where he comes from, of the land, of the community, of the family which formed him. He grew up in a working-class former mining community in the Forest of Dean, a borderland between England and Wales with its own dialect, a liminal place where Welsh songs and stories as well as English are in the air. It’s a place where brass band music is the chief legacy of the coalmines, the last of which closed a decade before Gavin was born and where the forest, with its sounds, its colours and its stories was a constant presence. Gavin has spoken evocatively - and perhaps romantically - about the music of the forest which surrounded him: sounds of foxes and deer mingled with brass bands, church choirs and occasional illegal raves. Nature and music, he says, are powerfully linked in his mind. © Gillian Moore
 
Horn Concerto
“… the pieces on this disc which feature the French horn -Horn Concerto and Fanfare, Air and Flourish- mark the first time that he has highlighted his own instrument in the solo slot. As ever, it was a personal connection which sparked the idea of the Horn Concerto - an approach from the horn virtuoso Ben Goldscheider, made in the full knowledge that this would reunite Gavin with his younger self. The Horn Concerto connects to the past in other ways. It’s written in E-flat, the key of famous Horn Concertos by Mozart and Strauss. It also amplifies and expands the sound of the solo horn by giving it a prominent relationship with the quartet of horns in the orchestra, calling to mind Robert Schumann’s blazing Konzertstuck from the middle of the 19th century and Gyorgy Ligeti’s Hamburg Concerto, written at the turn of the 21st.”

The Faerie Bride

Gavin looks west ward from the Forest of Dean to a Welsh tale from the Red Book of Hergest, an important mediaeval manuscript of Welsh history, poetry and stories. The legend of The Lady of the Lake tells of a water spirit who emerges from Llyn y Fan Fach in the Brecon Beacons and marries an earthly man, having insisted on a clear prenup agreement: if he strikes her three times (she uses the curious and ambiguous phrase ‘heart’s blow’ which suggests mental rather than physical cruelty) she will go back into the lake and take everything she has brought to the marriage with her. Tales of watery spirits who take human form to lure men to doom are abundant in European culture… but, Gavin says, ‘The Welsh myths are empowering, with strong female characters who set their own agenda. There is no coercion, theft, or kidnap but rather misunderstandings and cultural differences.’
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Press kit for reviewers and radio presenters available from Ulysses Arts.



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ULYSSES ARTS RELEASES STEPHEN HORNE SOUNDTRACK TO HITCHCOCK'S THE MANXMAN ON 10 JANUARY 2025

18/9/2024

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Ulysses Arts releases Stephen Horne's soundtrack to Alfred Hitchcock's 1929 silent film The Manxman, orchestrated and conducted by Ben Palmer wth the Orchestra da Camera di Pordenone and soloists Louise Hayter, oboe, and Jeff Moore, violin, on 10 January 2025 (UA240130). The Manxman will be screened live at the 2025 San Francisco Silent Film Festival on 11 January at Grace Cathedral.
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Click above to download with digital booklet on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

Ulysses Arts · Laura Roman interviews Stephen Horne about his score for Hitchcock's The Manxman

Silent London, 1 Oct 2024

Ron Schepper, Textura, February 2025
'An illuminating portrait of this most talented artist.'

PictureStephen Horne
One of the world's leading silent film performers, Stephen Horne is a house musician at London’s British Film Institute Southbank. Principally a pianist, he often incorporates other instruments into his performances, sometimes simultaneously. He regularly plays internationally and his accompaniments have met with acclaim at numerous film festivals across Europe, North America and Asia.

Stephen has recorded music for many restorations of classic and rediscovered silent films. In 2011 and 2012, he was commissioned to compose scores for the London Film Festival galas of The First Born and The Manxman. In 2012 his accompaniment for Rotaie won first prize at the Bonn Sommerkino Festival and he was subsequently invited to repeat the performance at that year’s Beethovenfest. For ten consecutive years, from 2014 to 2024, he has won in one or more categories in Silent London’s end-of-year poll.

In 2021 he recorded Silent Sirens, an album of solo piano pieces based on several of his silent film scores. It was released by Ulysses Arts and has performed well across digital platforms. In 2022, his orchestral score for Stella Dallas, commissioned by MoMA, was premiered at the pre-opening night of the Venice Film Festival.

PictureBen Palmer conducting The Manxman
In 2022, with the help of conductor-orchestrator Ben Palmer, Stephen completed two fully orchestrated scores for films that he had previous scored for small ensemble. Stella Dallas, commissioned by MoMA, was premièred at the Venice Film Festival and The Manxman formed the closing gala of Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, Pordenone in Italy.






The Manxman: Pre-Release Singles


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

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NIMBUS ALLIANCE RELEASES ROBERT BLOCKER COMTEMPORARY CHARACTER PIECES FOR PIANO ON 1 NOVEMBER 2024

4/9/2024

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Nimbus Alliance releases Robert Blocker: Contemporary Character Pieces for PIano, with works by eight composers, on 1 November 2024 (NI 6453).
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Click above to download from iTunes or stream on Apple Music
“The romantic character pieces of Schumann and Brahms have been my musical companions since childhood. In earlier years, I was immersed in their emotional content. The craft, especially the economy of scale and refinement of compositional technique, captured my attention as a college student…Throughout my career, I have championed new music created by fellow students and colleagues. Shortly after assuming the deanship of the Yale School of Music, it occurred to me that the expansive piano repertoire could be enriched further by contemporary character pieces. These would be in the tradition of the romantic era, each one being three to five minutes in length with an inherent emotional impulse...When asked to compose a contemporary character piece that I would perform and record, my faculty colleagues and friends were most gracious and responded affirmatively…My gratitude and admiration foreach of them is boundless not only for their personal encouragement but also for this significant contribution to the piano repertoire and our musical life.” © Robert Blocker
 
This release includes compositions from Ezra Laderman (Decade), David Lang (Winter Piano), Joseph Schwantner (Palindrome’s Dance), Warren Lee (Three Novelettes), Martin Bresnick (Extrana Devocion), Paul Reale (The Pooka’s Revenge), Aaron Jay Kernis (Toward The Setting Sun) and Christopher Theofanidis (Wake Up, Calleth The Voice).
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“Robert Blocker began his study of the instrument at age five, presenting his first public recital two years later. Following baccalaureate studies at Furman University, Blocker earned master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance at the University of North Texas under the tutelage of the eminent American pianist Richard Cass.”


Electronic press kit and pre-release listening link available for reviewers and radio producers from Ulysses Arts Ltd.

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ULYSSES ARTS RELEASES A NEW SPIRIT - WORLD PREMIÈRES BY SIR JAMES MACMILLAN, HENRIK DAHLGREN, PHILLIP COOKE AND ANDREW SMITH FROM CARITAS CHAMBER CHOIR DIRECTED BY BENEDICT PREECE, ON 18 OCTOBER 2024

23/8/2024

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Ulysses Arts released Caritas Chamber Choir's album A New Spirit, with world premières by Sir James MacMillan, Henrik Dahlgren, Phillip Cooke and Andrew Smith, directed by Benedict Preece, on 18 October 2024 (UA240110).
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Click above to download from iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music
A NEW SPIRIT: ALBUM DETAILS

Phillip Cooke, Christus resurgens
 
Henrik Dahlgren, Three Latin Hymns:
Ave maris Stella
Ave Regina Caelorum
Ave Maria
 
Sir James MacMillian, If ye love me


Sir James MacMillan, For a thousand years

Phillip Cooke, Veni Sponsa Christi
 
Sir James MacMillan,  I will take you from the nations


Phillip Cooke, O Lord, save thy people
 
Sir James MacMillan, Be who God meant you to be
Sir James MacMillan, The Highgate Motet

Andrew Smith, Christi tractus in odore

Andrew Smith, Rex et martyr triumphalis
 
 Andrew Smith, Old Irish Blessing


Maureen Buja, Interlude, 2 Dec 2024

'Congratulations to Benedict Preece and his singers for producing such a nicely balanced anthology with exemplary notes, texts and presentation.'
Malcolm Riley, Gramophone, Dec 2024


Based in Kent, in south east England, Caritas Chamber Choir was founded in 2011 by music director Benedict Preece. Caritas is the Latin word for charity: as part of its concert schedule, the Choir raises funds for charities, good causes and churches. Performing to the highest level throughout the UK, the Choir has also performed in Belgium, France - including regularly at Lille Cathedral's summer music festival, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Caritas has a strong commitment to contemporary choral music: it performs and commissions music from many of the leading composers of our time, including Sir James MacMillan, Cecilia McDowall, Phillip Stopford, Phillip Cooke, Andrew Smith, Sarah Cattley, David Conte, Gabriel Jackson, Neil Wright, Eric Choate and Henrik Dahgren. Caritas is signed with UK-based record label Ulysses Arts.
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Caritas Chamber Choir
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Benedict Preece


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

UA240110
Producer: Emily Baines
Recording Engineer: John Croft - Chiaro Audio
Artwork: Tony Garrett

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DIDIER RECLOUX RELEASES ENOTIS ON 9 JULY 2024, WITH LEOS STRINGS

28/6/2024

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Didier Recloux's single Enotis (Wedding Song), performed by Leos Strings Quartet (Brookspeare Music), releases on 9 July 2024.

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Click above to stream on Apple Music or download in iTunes

'Striking and tender', Grace Bradford, Music Review World, June 2024

For press kit, more details, and interviews, contact Ulysses Arts.

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Leos Strings
PictureDidier Recloux
Didier Recloux is a Belgian-born composer based in London, his passion for music was fostered from an early age, having come from a musical family where he was introduced to a wide range of music by his Polish grandmother. His musical career began aged six, studying guitar, drums, piano, singing, and composition at his local music academy. He also studied counterpoint, music for film and television with Berklee Online, orchestration in New York with Steven Scott Smalley and learned about music production at IMW London. He still studies with pianist, music teacher and author Jonathan Walker.

Didier started his musical career playing in bands, writing and demoing songs with friends, mainly in a pop/rock style. Progressive rock, heavy metal, pop, electronic and classical music or film composers like Maurice Jarre and Ennio Morricone have all played influential roles in shaping Didier's musical sensibilities. Belgium is also a mosaic of communities and he was therefore exposed to a huge amount of foreign music and styles.

Didier's music emphasises melody, which he describes as something he would like to call “portable”, that one can carry away from a film, bringing back the feelings experienced while watching the movie. His aspiration is to touch and move people, the way that he has been moved by the music he loves. 

Didier's latest album Monsieur Linh and His Child was released on the 7 March 2024. Inspired by a novel by French author Philippe Claudel, the music illustrates the story of Monsieur LInh, an old and frail man who has to leave his country because of war, taking with him a small suitcase and his baby grand-daughter Sang Diû. The album was rated “outstanding” byMusic Review World.

His first television credit was 2014 documentary The Lost Child, written and presented by renowned broadcaster and director Zeinab Badawi (World News Today & HARDtalk), produced and broadcast by BBC World.

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Didier's most significant musical contribution so far is his collaboration with Zeinab Badawi on her twenty-eposide BBC series The History of Africa part I and II. Broadcast on BBC World, it has had more than 14 million views on YouTube alone.  This was followed by the series Take me to the Opera (2021-24) for which he wrote the main theme and arranged well-known classical pieces. Its third season currently is in pre-production. Zeinab describes collaborating with Didier: ‘He is a wonderful composer who worked meticulously to capture the spirit and authenticity of each programme'.

Earlier in his career, Didier wrote his first original score for the documentary Featherweight, directed by Christophe Hermanns (Belgium 2005). He collaborated twice with award-winning British director Lou Hamilton on Desire of the Pitbull Warrior (2010) and Angie (2012), and later with Keith Mackin and John Reck on Cops and Robbers (2013).




CLICK BELOW TO FOLLOW DIDIER RECLOUX ON SPOTIFY



CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW DIDIER RECLOUX ON YOUTUBE

DIDIER RECLOUX ON AMAZON MUSIC

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