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.

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.

Click here to download from Qobuz

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pre-Release Singles

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

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.

DOWNLOAD OR STREAM ON PRESTO MUSIC

EPK for reviewers and radio producers are available from Ulysses Arts.

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).

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.’

Press kit for reviewers and radio presenters available from Ulysses Arts.

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.

Silent London, 1 Oct 2024

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

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.

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.

Nimbus Alliance releases Robert Blocker: Contemporary Character Pieces for PIano, with works by eight composers, on 1 November 2024 (NI 6453).

“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).

“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.

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).

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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DIDIER RECLOUX ON AMAZON MUSIC

Sir George Benjamin's opera Picture a Day Like This, with libretto by Martin Crimp, wll be released by Nimbus Records on 6 September 2024 (NI.8116).

An ordinary day. A terrible event. The death of her infant child sets in motion one woman’s search for a life-restoring miracle. All she needs to do – in the course of a single day – is find one genuinely happy human being. But when every encounter ends in disappointment, she turns finally to the mysterious owner of a magnificent garden…

Recorded during the first performances, as part of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, at the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume, Aix-en-Provence, France, on 5 July 2023.

Kevin Mandy, British Music Society, 15 August 2024

Justin Bernard, La Scena musicale, 5 September 2024

Catherine Kustanczy, The Opera Queen, 9 September 2024

Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 12 September 2024

The Financial Times, 25 September 2024

Christopher Cook, BBC Music Magazine, 1 October 2024

Mark Pullinger, Gramophone, 3 October 2024

'The best classical albums of 2024 so far', The Times, 7 October 2024

Morgan Burroughs, MusicWeb International, 9 October 2024

John Gilks, Opera Ramblings, 13 October 2024

Maureen Buja, Interlude, 14 October 2024

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

Nimbus releases Robert Saxton's Epic of Gilgamesh and The Resurrection of the Soldiers (NI 6447) on 5 July 2024 with the English Symphony Orchestra and English String Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Woods.

Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest written literary text in Middle Eastern/Western cultural history, predating the Hebrew Bible. The epic relates the story of King Gilgamesh, partly divine, partly human, who may have existed historically circa 2800 BC. From immature youth and a belief in his immortality, he eventually comes to accept the power and reality of Death.

There are five movements/scenes including the Prologue, where the gods try to restore a sense of balance, the journey to the Forest of Cedar in search of glory, and Apotheosis, where Gilgamesh visits Ut Napishti (precursor of Noah in Genesis) who survived the Flood and had been granted immortality by the gods. Gilgamesh fails the final task set by Ut-Napishti to test his suitability for eternal life, returning to Uruk to build his lasting monument, the city walls.
 
The Resurrection of the Soldiers for string orchestra was commissioned by George Vass, to whom it is dedicated, and the English Symphony Orchestra, for the 2016 Presteigne Festival, with funds generously donated by the John S. Cohen Foundation and the Arts Council of England. The title derives from the final panel of Stanley Spencer’s Sandham Chapel visionary series of paintings which were the result of Spencer’s experiences in the British Army in World War One and depicts soldiers emerging from their graves on the last day.

The piece is in three continuous parts: a slow, sustained introduction which is, in essence, a descent from the note E by means of a prolation canon, but which ascends to a rather intense climactic point before falling and giving way to a very active fugue which, after arriving at an anguished, sustained climax, is succeeded by a closing slow movement consisting of arising melodic line which permeates the entire texture heterophonically, leading to the closing E major triad. The work thus traces a cyclical path as it progresses towards a sense of resurrection, re-birth and hope. © Robert Saxton

'Saxton here evinces an orchestral mastery.' Richard Whitehouse, Arcana, 25 June 2024

'Full of captivating music-making, two remarkable and compelling compositions, magnificently played.' Guy Rickards, Gramophone, July 2024

'In Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh – a work that is subtle yet approachable in its idiom – Saxton reveals an understated orchestral mastery.'  Robert Saxton Composer Profile
Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone, 12 July 2024

'The strings cope with some fantastically demanding writing with apparent ease.'
Kevin Mandry, British Music Society, 18 July 2024

Maureen Buja, Interlude, 29 July 2024

'Fans of orchestral music will be impressed by this movingly powerful and emotionally charged symphonic poem.' Keith Finke, AllMusic, 2024

Robert Saxton was born in London in 1953. At 21 he won the Gaudeamus International Composers Prize in Holland and was Fulbright Arts Fellow at Princeton in 1986. Now Robert is Emeritus Professor of Composition at Oxford University, Composer-in-Association at the Purcell School, and Honorary Research Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music.
 
Robert has been commissioned by the BBC, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic  Oorchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Nash Ensemble, Antara, Arditti and Chilingirian Quartets, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (USA) and written for the Huddersfield, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, City of London, Lichfield and Three Choirs Festivals.

Electronic press kit and listening link available for reviewers from Ulysses Arts.

Alex Heffes's score to Shardlake, featuring the Paraorchestra and choir Tenebrae, is now available from Hollywood Records, released on 24 April 2024. The series releases worldwide on Disney+  and Hulu on 1 May. The soundtrack also features Alex Heffes playing electric 'cello.

Shardlake is an eerie whodunnit adventure, based on the popular historical novels by C. J. Sansom.
Set in 16th-Century England during the dissolution of the monasteries, lawyer Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes) is sent by Thomas Cromwell, the Lord Chancellor (Sean Bean) to the remote town of Scansea. Shardlake's mission is to investigate the death of a commissioner and to seize the wealth of Scansea's monastery, accompanied by the ambitious Jack Barak (Anthony Boyle).

Shardlake, the central character, is disabled, therefore making it especially apt that Disney chose to collaborate with the Para Orchestra - the world’s only orchestra built around people with a range of disabilities.

Flim Music Reporter, 26 Apr 2024

Electronic press kit available from Ulysses Arts

Alex Heffes is a Golden Globe, BAFTA and three-times Ivor Novello nominated composer who has scored over 70 feature films and TV projects. He has worked with many of cinema’s top filmmakers including Steven Frears, Kevin Macdonald, Catherine Hardwicke, Mira Nair, Michael Keaton & J J Abrams. His wide range of work includes scores to Macdonald’s The Last King Of Scotland & State Of Play, Justin Chadwick’s Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, Mira Nair’s Queen Of Katwe and Michael Keaton’s Knox Goes Away. Notable TV projects include Black Mirror (Shut Up & Dance), the award-winning reboot of TV classic Roots, the Stephen King mini series 11.22.63 produced by J.J. Abrams and the HBO limited series The Regime starring Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant.

Known for his great versatility across genres, Alex has shown himself equally at home scoring biopics such as Stephen Frears’ The Program, horror in The Rite, action in Escape Plan, comedy in Catherine Hardwicke’s Mafia Mamma and natural history films such as BBC Earth's Earth: One Amazing Day and The Elephant Queen for Apple TV+.

His unique ability to collaborate with artists also been been a trademark of his style. It was his iconic score to Macdonald’s The Last King of Scotland that first sent Alex to record in Africa where he created a blend of world music and orchestral scoring. His solo album Face To Face features collaborations with artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Regina Spektor and Yasmin Levy and his score to A Suitable Boy features a collaboration with Anoushka Shankar. He collaborated closely with director Tim Burton on his screen adaptation of Sweeney Todd.

Alex’s many honors include nominations for a Golden Globe, BAFTA and several International Film Music Critics Awards as well as wins and nominations at The World Soundtrack Awards, European Film Awards and The Royal Television Society. He has been nominated three times for an Ivor Novello, winning for Best Film Score of the Year. His score to Roots won Best TV Score of the Year at the Hollywood Music In Media Awards. In 2016 he was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The world première recording of Andrew Smith's Old Irish Blessing, performed by Caritas Chamber Choir with soprano Catherine Futcher, directed by Benedict Preece, is released by Ulysses Arts on 15 March 2024, in partnership with Platoon. This single is the first pre-release for a new album of contemporary choral music launching in summer 2024.

Andrew Smith (b. 1970) is a British-Norwegian composer with a growing international reputation for choral and vocal music that links tradition with a contemporary idiom. 

He read Music and English at the University of Oslo. Composing, a hobby since the age of eight, began in earnest in the late 1990s when he wrote a piece for the newly-formed Trio Mediaeval (Norway). The subsequent recording of this and other music for the Trio brought Andrew to the attention of the American audience and led the way to collaborations with groups such as New York Polyphony, Khorikos Chamber Choir and Gothic Voices.

Andrew’s Requiem, composed for the Nidaros Cathedral Girls’ Choir in response to the tragic events in Norway in July 2011, was first performed in Trondheim in 2012. The work features on the Nidaros Cathedral Girls Choir album LUX, awarded a Grammy for Best Immersive Audio Album in January 2020.

Andrew has been commissioned and performed by numerous choirs in Norway and abroad. Recent commissions include Lukaspasjon, a setting in Norwegian of the Passion according to St. Luke for Oslo Cathedral Choir, and O Antiphons for the Khorikos Chamber Choir in New York, first performed in 2019.

Andrew Smith’s music is published principally by Norsk Musikforlag, with some works published by Oxford University Press.

Nimbus Alliance releases Augusta Read Thomas's Terpsichore’s Box of Dreams and other world prèmiere recordings on 5 April 2024.

Augusta Read Thomas writes:

'I am eternally grateful to the entire Nimbus Records team. Music for me is an embrace of the world, a way to open myself to being alive in the world--in my body, in my sounds, and in my mind. I care deeply about musicality, imagination, craft, clarity, dimensionality, an elegant balance between material and form, and empathy with the performing musicians, recording engineers, as well as everyone who works in the presenting organizations.'
 
'Collaborating with the artists whose performances are on this recording has been one of the most exhilarating experiences of my creative life. It is difficult to express how grateful I am to the many extraordinary colleagues who have made this possible. It is pure magic -- deeply rewarding, fun, and sincere.'

'Previous instalments in this long-running survey of Augusta Read Thomas's œuvre have ranged far and wide within a catalogue that spans some 30 years to date. In contrast, we explore here a variety of works of more immediately recent vintage - the earliest dates from 2018.  Between them, they fill out a vividly-coloured snapshot of Thomas' irrepressible current compositional persona. Many of her long-standing preoccupations are to be found in this collection: love of dance which propels the music into a tirelessly evolving voyage in both rhythmic and narrative terms; the iridescent, bell-saturated sonic environment that fills her musical landscapes with light and clarity; the sense of jazz auras acting as guiding spirits propelling the music on its course with its restless, hocketing rhythms and penetrating harmonic flavours; a celebration and understanding of instrumental virtuosity; the overall sense of her music engaged in a deep-seated interaction between the present and the past.' © Paul Pellay

Augusta Read Thomas

The New Yorker called her “a true virtuoso composer.” Critic Edward Reichel wrote, “Thomas has secured for herself a permanent place in the pantheon of American composers of the 20th and 21st Centuries. She is without question one of the best and most important composers that this country has today. Her music has substance, depth, and a sense of purpose. She has a lot to say and knows how to say it—and in a way that is intelligent yet appealing and sophisticated.”

Album Contents and Performers

TERPSICHORE’S BOX OF DREAMS 18:18
For flute (picc.), oboe, clarinet (bass clarinet), alto saxophone (baritone sax.), horn, 2 percussionists, harp, piano, 2 violins, viola, and 'cello (2023)
Grossman Ensemble;  Tim Weiss, conductor

1. Terpsichore Enters: 1:15
2. Dance No. 1 Scatter: 2:01
3. Dance No. 2 Tiptoe Caper: 1:11
4. Dance No. 3 Pointillistic Groove Flutter Pirouettes: 1:46
5. Dance No. 4 Slalom: 1:25
6. Dance No. 5 Dream: 5:09
7. Dance No. 6 Gambol: 2:37
8. Dance No. 7 Romp: 1:59
9. Terpsichore Departs: 0:45

10. STAR BOX
For percussion quartet or percussion ensemble (2020): 6:20
John Corkill, Ian Ding, Kyle Flens, Cynthia Yeh

11. DANCE MOBILE
For 13 players or small chamber orchestra (2021): 14:31
Grossman Ensemble. Stefan Asbury, conductor

12. LAETITIA’S CAPRICE
For solo soprano saxophone (2023): 3:03
Phil Pierick, soprano saxophone

13. CARNIVAL for bassoon and wind ensemble (2022): 12:37
State University of New York Fredonia Wind Ensemble; Nadina Mackie Jackson, bassoon
Paula Holcomb, conductor

14. BEBOP RIDDLE II for cello and piano (2022): 7:12
Alexander Hersh, 'cello. Tom Hicks, piano

15. CON MOTO for percussion quartet (2018): 7:28
John Corkill, Adam Rosenblatt, Garrett Arney, Nonoka Mizukami

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Electronic press kit and advanced listening link for reviewiers available from Ulysses Arts.