The UA Blog - Press Centre - Ulysses Arts

Neil Wright, Tota Pulchra es - Caritas Chamber Choir conducted by Benedict Preece - releasing on 27 January 2023

17/1/2023

Stream on Apple Music or download in iTunes - click above

Tota pulchra es is a 1,600 year old Roman Catholic prayer, meaning 'You are completely beautiful', referring to the Virgin Mary. It glorifies her immaculate conception, and takes its text from the Bible's Book of Judith and Song of Songs.

It has inspired great composers for centuries, from Guillaume du Fay and Heinrich Isaac in the late Middle Ages, through Schumann, Bruckner, Pablo Casals, Duruflé and Gorczycki to contemporaries such as Sir James MacMillan and Ola Gjeilo: Neil Wright's new settting revels in the opportunity for musical beauty and spiritual yearning.

Tota pulchra es is Wright's debut commission and recording with Caritas Chamber Choir. Studying the Royal Northern College of Music, as an organist, composer and improviser, he has performed throughout the UK (including Cadogan Hall; Westminster Central Hall) and in Germany (Dresden Cathedral, Stuttgart-Schondorf Orgelnacht, Friedenskirche Potsdam, Maria Laach Abbey), USA (Carmel Valley California), Italy (Tagliacozzo Festival, Cremona Cathedral), Finland (Åland Orgel Festival) and France (Vannes Cathedral, Eglise de La Trinité Paris).

Neil Wright

Caritas Chamber Choir with Benedict Preece

Caritas Chamber Choir, based in Canterbury, UK, is one of the world's leading commissioners of contemporary choral music, performing frequently around the UK and Europe, directed by Benedict Preece, a Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar.

Streaming and download links:

Released in partnership with Platoon.

Orchestral Masters Vol. 10, released by Ablaze Records on 17 March 2023 - Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Mikel Toms

16/1/2023

Download on iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music

Pioneering US contemporary music label Ablaze Records releases the tenth album of its innovative Orchestral Masters series worldwide on 17 March 2023. Performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Mikel Toms, it features music by composers from the USA (Edward Smaldone, Jeffrey Holmes, Jason Phillips),Cem Güven (Turkey/UK), Fang Ke and Zou Hao (China/USA) and Hojin Lee (South Korea/USA).

More pre-order and streaming links will be added here.

Caritas Chamber Choir - John Kelley, When You are Old - world première recording released by Ulysses Arts on 30 December 2022

21/12/2022

John Kelley's When You are Old is an atmospheric setting of W.B. Yeats’ famous poem: its retrospective nature is a perfect work to precede the New Year, performed by the Caritas Chamber Choir conducted by Benedict Preece.

American composer John Kelley studied at Yale University and is a lay clerk at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. His setting of When You are Old won the 1997 National Award for Schirmer’s Young American Choral Competition; it is performed annually by Redhot & Blue, Yale University’s world-renowned mixed a capella ensemble.

Caritas Chamber Choir

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

John Kelley

Benedict Preece

NEOTERIC ENSEMBLE DEBUT ALBUM RELEASED BY ULYSSES ARTS ON 3 NOVEMBER 2023

18/12/2022

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

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

Neoteric Ensemble is a dynamic, expressive group of the UK’s leading brass and saxophone players founded by Toby Street and Adrian Miotti, also including James Fountain, principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra, Rob Buckland (saxophone), Sarah Field (saxophone and trumpet) and Richard Watkin (trombone).

Neoteric offers a contemporary fusion of classical and jazz influences through its distinct line-up of brass and saxophones, performing entirely new commissioned pieces. Our rules are simple: we seek out and perform the most contemporary compositions that inspire both us and our audiences. This is Neoteric's debut album, which has featured already on Scala Radio, Jazz FMN, BBC Radio 3's Record Review, Breakfast and live on InTune.

1-3. Soundscapes ROB BUCKLAND
1. i. Mojito
2. ii. Fjord
3. iii. Bosh

4. The Effra Parade MISHA MULLOV-ABBADO

5-8. Pandemic Suite ANDY PANAYI
5. i. Huanan Market
6. ii. The Traveller is Named
7. iii. The Traveller Goes Forth
8. iv. Lockdown Release

9. Neo CHARLOTTE HARDING

10. Karatina Market TOBY STREET

13. Bach in Barbados DAN JENKINS

12. Arriba MARK NIGHTINGALE

Martin Chiltern, London Jazz News, 16 October 2023

Video of the Day, JazzWise, 23 October 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Neoteric Ensemble on Apple Music

Follow Neoteric Ensemble on Spotify

Tailleferre Ensemble Debut Album: Tailleferre, Röntgen, Hoffmann, Jenni Brandon, Bill Douglas, Cecilia McDowall, Rhian Samuel and Ingrid Stölzel, released on 24 February 2023 by Ulysses Arts

18/12/2022

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

The Tailleferre Ensemble

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ALBUM DETAILS

Germaine Tailleferre, Sonate Champêtre (première recording)

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

Ingrid Stölzel, There Are Things to be Said (2009)

Bill Douglas, Three Lyrical Pieces

I. Wings of the Wind
II. The Hills of Glencar
III. Autumn Song

Jenni Brandon, Metamorphosis *

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

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

Rhian Samuel (première recording), Little Duos for oboe and cor anglais

I. Morning Glow
II. Whispers
III. Sentries

Cecilia McDowall, Century Dances: Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon

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

Melchior Hoffmann, Trio Sonata in G minor

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

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

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

The Tailleferre Ensemble

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

Penelope Smith and Nicola Hands

Tailleferre Ensemble at Conway Hall, London, April 2023

Electronic press kit available for reviewers.

Download from HDtracks

Nimbus Alliance releases Philip Sawyers Concertos Album: Daniel Rowland and Maja Bogdanović with English Symphony Orchestra/English String Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Woods, 3 March 2023

14/12/2022

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

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

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

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

8. Octet
English Symphony Orchestra soloists

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

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

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

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

Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel, February 2023

Remy Franck, Pizzicato, 5 March 2023

Electronic press kit available for review use.

Jonathan Dove, Cello Concerto 'In Exile': World Première Recording released by Lyrita on 3 March 2023: Simon Keenlyside and Raphael Wallfisch with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gergely Madaras

14/12/2022

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

Jonathan Dove: In Exile
Lyrita SRCD.413

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

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

12. Night Song, for cello and piano *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CARITAS CHAMBER CHOIR RELEASES 'CHRISTMAS WITH CARITAS' ALBUM ON 25 NOVEMBER 2022

9/11/2022

Ulysses Arts releases Canterbury-based Caritas Chamber Choir's first Christmas album, directed by Benedict Preece, on 25 November 2022. Christmas with Caritas features traditional carols in new arrangements with première recordings of contemporary works by Phillip Cooke, Sarah Cattley, Graham Patterson, Anthony Esland, Eric Choate, Stewart Duncan and Simon Beattie.

Click to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music: click above

Christmas with Caritas is preceeded by two singles from the album:

Phillip Cooke, I Sing of a Maiden - 28 October
Sarah Cattley, What Child is this? - 11 November

Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music.

Download on iTunes on stream on Apple Music.

Album Details

Tradition (arr. Benedict Preece), O Little Town of Bethlehem
Lyricist: Phillips Brooks

Sarah Cattley, What Child is this?
Lyricist: William Chatterton Dix

Graham Patterson, Sweet was the Song
Lyricist: Anonymous/Graham Patterson

Traditional (arr. Benedict Preece), Ding Dong Merrily on High
Lyricist: George Ratcliffe Woodward

Sarah Cattley, The Robin Carol
Lyricist: Sarah Cattley/Traditional

Phillip Cooke, I Sing of a Maiden
Soloists: Christina Bosanko, Christina Astin, Peter Ellis, Graham Titus
Lyricist: Anonymous

Phillip Cooke, Susanni
Soloists: Catherine Futcher, Bob McKay
Lyricist: Traditional

Franz Gruber (arr. Phillip Cooke), Silent Night
Lyricist: Joseph Mohr, John F. Young

Sarah Cattley/Michael Praetorius, A Spotless Rose
Soloist: Peter Ellis
Lyricist: Traditional, Catherine Winkworth

Graham Patterson, Balulalow
Lyricist: Wedderburn brothers

Anthony Esland, The Bee Carol
Lyricist: Carol Ann Duffy

Traditional (arr. Eric Choate), Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella
Lyricist: Anonymous

Stewart Duncan, There is no Rose
Lyricist: Anonymous

Lewis Redner (arr. David Conte), O Little Town of Bethlehem
Soloist: Sally-Anne Hanson
Lyricist: Phillips Brooks

Simon Beattie, Advent Calendar
Lyricist: Rowan Williams

ALEX HEFFES FACE TO FACE ALBUM RE-MIXED WITH NEW CONTENT, RELEASED ON 7 OCTOBER 2022

8/7/2022

Alex Heffes re-releases his album Face to Face (PLAT14823) on 7 October 2022, re-mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos, and with new material, including for the first time on many digital sites: click here to discover more.

Click above to pre-order Face to Face on iTunes

Alex Heffes

Released on 5 August 2022

Released on 26 August

Released on 16 September

Face To Face is an album by Alex Heffes featuring collaborations with Matthew Barley, Tunde Jegede, Kawesa, Yasmin Levy, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Regina Spektor. Each track was improvised from scratch on the day of recording and features Alex on keyboards with one guest. Sessions were recorded in a series of spectacular locations including the giant ‘Turbine Hall’ of the Tate Gallery in London at night time (Matthew Barley), an empty glass roofed warehouse in the Bronx (Regina Spektor), Abbey Road’s legendary Studio 2 (Tunde Jegede) and on a hilltop overlooking Uganda’s capital city Kampala (Kawesa).

Alex comments: 'For years people asked me many variations of one particular question: “Where does your inspiration as a composer come from?” This inspired me to make a record - one that was entirely improvised - nothing prepared in advance. I chose six inspiring collaborators to record in six inspiring locations. My task: to commit to whatever happened in that space on that day, and make a piece of music. Face To Face is my answer to this question."

Why now? The 2022 mix celebrates ten years since the original release. The album has been fully re-mixed and mastered in stereo and Dolby Atmos to immerse the listener even more vividly into the atmosphere of the original sessions. The bonus track ‘Helios Rising’ has been newly included on the 2022 mix from the Abbey Road / Tunde Jegede sessions.

Face To Face was recorded and mixed by Grammy winning engineer and producer Peter Henderson and was captured on photo and film by photographer Rama Knight.

Alex Heffes on Apple Music Classical playlists

New in Classical

Minimalism

Classical Edge

Face to Face is distributed by Platoon.

More streaming links for the album and for pre-release singles will be posted here.

Neo, by Charlotte Harding, with Neoteric Ensemble - single release on 24 June 2022

25/5/2022

Ulysses Arts releases Neo, by Charlotte Harding, on 24 June 2022, performed by Neoteric Ensemble.

Download Neo on iTunes or stream on Apple Music: click above

Inspired by Neoteric Ensemble's fresh approach to classical and jazz fusion, Neo takes a shouty melodic line and weaves it through punchy rhythmic statements and raspy textures. Improvised brass and saxophone solos contrast with rich tutti passages, exploring the expressive energy, dynamism and creativity of this exciting new ensemble comprising some of the UK's leading brass and saxophone players.

This is Ulysses Arts' second single release from Neoteric Ensemble, following Rob Buckland's Mojito, both featuring in their upcoming album releasing in November 2023.

Neoteric Ensemble

DOWNLOAD AND STREAMING LINKS

iTUNES AND APPLE MUSIC

QOBUZ

DEEZER

ABLAZE RECORDS RELEASES ORCHESTRAL MASTERS VOL. 8 AND TREMOR, WITH ROBERT NAIRN, IN MARCH 2022

24/2/2022

US-based contemporary classical label Ablaze Records releases Orchestral Masters Vol. 8 on 11 March 2022 with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert Kružík, and Tremor, featuring double bass soloist Robert Nairn, on 18 March 2022, in partnership with Ulysses Arts.

Apple Music and iTunes: click above

Apple Music and iTunes: click above.

QOBUZ

ORCHESTRAL MASTERS VOL. 8

TREMOR

Ulysses Arts lauches Ich spiele noch by Johannes Schlecht on 4 March 2022

16/2/2022

Ulysses Arts releases German composerJohannes Schlecht's album Ich spiele noch on Friday 4 March 2022, with Landeskapelle Eisenach (now Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach) conducted by Wolfgang Wappler and Tetsuro Ban , soprano Susann Möbius-Huss and 'cellist Grita Bühler.

Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music

Johannes Schlecht comments:

'At some point, many years ago, I had my first contact with poet Rose Ausländer during a night drive. On the radio. I heard her talk about herself andher exciting, fulfilling life, I heard her read from her poems. Her voice sounded cheerful and lovable, friendly and comforting, modest and humble, amazed and hopeful, curious and lively. This voice came from a woman who had been bed-ridden for years, sick, in a Jewish old people’s home in Düsseldorf. I was impressed and touched by the clarity and simplicity of her language and above all, the brevity in which she said the important, essential and necessary. For a long time I had the idea of composing poems by Rose Ausländer, of tracking down the melody of her language and poetry.

For me that means composing by listening to the melody of the language and bringing it to life musically. In this sense, as a composer, I see myself as a creator and mediator. I put my personal, subjective view of poetry up for discussion: I try to provide a comment that brings the word, at best read or spoken, sung to another level of experience and feeling. Understanding the word, initially an ostensibly intellectual means of communication, becomes unimportant. It took me years to tackle Rose Ausländer’s poems. In between, to name just two important works, were the composition of ten songs based on poems by Paul Celan. For this cycle I received the last Hanns-Eisler Composition Prize from GDR Radio in 1989. Paul Celan, just like Rose Ausländer, comes from that melting-pot and centre of Eastern Jewish intellectual life - Cernowitz. I have developed a great affinity for this way of thinking and feeling. And in between there was also the composition of the small volume “DIR”, which was composed and drawn by Heinrich Vogeler, fourteen very soft, tender, sad-melancholy love poems for voice, cello and viola.'

Album Details

Ich spiele noch: Sieben Stücke für Singstimme, Flüte, Oboe, Fagott, Violoncello und Streichorchester nach Texten von Rose Ausländer
Susann Möbius–Huss – Sopran; Landeskapelle Eisenach, Leitung: Wolfgang Wappler

Streichquartett Nr. 1
i. nicht zu schnell
ii. sehr langsam
iii. unglücklicher Walzer mit glücklichem Ausgang
iv. schnell, ausgelassen

Divertimento Streichquartett der Landeskapelle Eisenach:
Simona Balan, Violine; Silvia Peter, Violine; Gheorghe Balan, Viola; Roxana Mereutza, Violoncello

Kommen und Gehen – Orchestermusik für Sophia
i. Sehr ruhig
ii. Ruhige Viertel
iii. Sehr ruhig

Landeskapelle Eisenach, Leitung: Tetsuro Ban

Kommentare zu einem Thema von Max Reger – für Violoncello allein
i. sehr frei, so langsam wie m glich
ii. gehend
iii. sehr ruhig, sempre col legno schnell, hüpfend
iv. sehr langsam
v. gehend
vi. Thema, Largo

Grita Bühler, Violoncello

DOWNLOAD LINKS

iTUNES

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SPOTIFY

TIDAL

STREAMING LINKS

DEEZER

YOUTUBE

Links to download and stream on HDtracks and other service providers will be published here.

ABLAZE RECORDS RELEASES CLOUD OSSUARY ALBUM BY DOUGLAS KNEHANS - BRNO PHILHARMONIC, MIKEL TOMS, JUDITH WEUSTEN, PAVEL WALLINGER

7/1/2022

Ablaze Records releases Cloud Ossuary (AR00062) by Douglas Knehans, performed by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mikel Toms, with Dutch soprano Judith Weusten and violin soloist Pavel Wallinger, with text by Katarina Knehans, on 7 January 2022. The album is released in partnership with Ulysses Arts.

Composer Douglas Knehans comments:

'Cloud Ossuary began as a setting of my daughter Katarina Knehans' riveting and poignant poem Bones and All. When I first read her poem, I was seized with an immediate desire to set it to music. So, almost as immediately I got to work on it. As work progressed, I became more and more pleased with the piece—until it was finished. Once completed I had some difficulty reconciling the feelings of satisfaction with the setting with my concomitant feelings that it was incomplete.

After much reflection, I came to realize that Bones and All was actually the final movement of a larger work, hence creating the two preceding movements: Breathe Clouded and The Ossein Cage. Breathe Clouded is an inverted and compressed version of Bones and All and The Ossein Cage follows the same harmonic architecture as both of the outer movements. Thus, Cloud Ossuary sits as three different guises of the same harmonic material and structural approach, though with dramatically different surfaces.'

Preceding Cloud Ossuary is Knehans' hauntingly evocative single-movement Mist Waves for solo violin and strings - a 'loose chaconne based on veiled repetition of its initial eight bars' - performed by Pavel Wallinger, leader of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra.

VIEW SCORES

CLOUD OSSUARY

MIST WAVES (violin and strings version)
MIST WAVES (violin and piano version)

APPLE MUSIC

Mist Waves on Apple Music's New in Classical playlist

SPOTIFY

YOUTUBE

TIDAL

QOBUZ

BUY CLOUD OSSUARY CD

CLOUD OSSUARY REVIEWS

'Ever-challenging, ever-surprising'.
ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

'Cloud Ossuary is a striking and fascinating work, full of gorgeous textures and colours,
yet throughout it is clear that Knehans brings a strong structural underpinning to the beauty, making for a satisfying symphonic work.’
PLANET HUGILL

'Eloquent and original'.
GAPPLEGATE CLASSICAL-MODERN MUSIC REVIEW

'Atmospheric presence and strong waves of inner exploration:
the perfect match of classical music in modern times.'
Anthony Biasioli, BRNO DAILY

'Sensitive, committed performances by the Brno Philharmonic
under the meticulous guidance of Mikel Toms'.
Michael Quinn, LIMELIGHT

HEAR MIST WAVES LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY

11 MAY 2022 - LEFRANK CONCERT HALL *

12 MAY 2022 - WEILL RECITAL HALL, CARNEGIE HALL, 8PM *

* Note Pandemic re-scheduled changes of date from those in advertised links

ULYSSES ARTS AND ABLAZE RECORDS LAUNCH NEW DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP FROM SEPTEMBER 2021

24/9/2021

Released on 8 October 2021

Ulysses Arts is delighted to be working with leading US-based contemporary classical music label Ablaze Records to manage digital distribution of its extensive catalogue of orchestral, choral and chamber music recordings. The partnership starts with a series of re-releases of Ablaze recordings on 24 September and 1 October 2021, then Othmar Schoeck's song cycle Das stille Leuchten, on 8 October, with mezzo-soprano Clara O'Brien and pianist James Douglass.

James Ross, Ulysses Arts' director, comments: 'Ablaze Records is one of the world's most innovative classical label, whose catalogue is a treasury of contemporary composers' works. Ablaze's mission aligns strongly with our wish to present classical music as a living, evolving art-form and to support today's composers to create a new generation of great works for us to perform and hear. We are looking forward hugely to helping Ablaze to widen its digital reach to listeners on a huge range of digital platforms, and to help the composers it records to maximise their visibility worldwide.'

Mist Waves by Douglas Knehans
Pre-release from Cloud Ossuary album: 3 December 2021

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1gudwIIpTYs1JPcGjVu0ET

Deezer: www.deezer.com/en/album/273169602

YouTube: youtu.be/JHqwuvaMy5s

New Release: 7 January 2022: Douglas Knehans, Cloud Ossuary

Click above to discover more

Download Cloud Ossuary:

iTunes

Qobuz

24 September 2021 Releases

Released in October 2021

15 October

15 October

22 October

29 October

Released in November and December 2021

26 November

26 November

10 December

17 December

3 December

10 December

Released on 4 February 2022

10 December

19 November

19 November

10 December

19 November

19 November

17 December

Millennial Masters

ELECTRONIC MASTERS

CARITAS CHAMBER CHOIR AND BENEDICT PREECE RELEASE CROSSING THE BAR - MUSIC FOR REFLECTION AND HOPE

20/9/2021

Released on 19 November 2021:

Download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music - click above

Crossing the Bar on Apple Music's Classical New Releases playlist

O Nata Lux by Philip Stopford on Apple Music's Sacred Sounds playlist

LISTEN TO CROSSING THE BAR ON YOUTUBE

Ulysses Arts released two singles from Crossing the Bar - Music for Reflection and Hope, performed by the Caritas Chamber Choir directed by Benedict Preece. The first single, O Nata Lux by Philip Stopford, releases on 1 October, followed by Crossing the Bar, by Benedict Preece, on 22 October, on Apple Music/iTunes, Spotify, Qobuz, HDtracks and all other major digital service providers.

O Nata Lux is a world première recording from Philip Stopford, one of the most celebrated contemporary choral composers. It is conducted by Benedict Preece, who featured on Ulysses Arts' 2020 J.S. Bach horn and organ album with Anneke Scott. This calm but powerful work takes us from darkness to light, a theme of Advent, when this piece would normally be sung. It has musical elements that hark back to the familiar version of the same text by Thomas Tallis.

Benedict Preece writes about his motet Crossing the Bar:

'Written in 2016 as a gift to Gothenburg's HagaMotettkör for collaboration with Caritas Chamber Choir, I chose to create deliberately simple hymnlike music to allow this most powerful poem to remain the listener's focus. The 'aw' section, sung by lower voices, is intended to represent the sea. The work builds to an almighty climax: “I hope to see my pilot face to face” before finishing with an echo of the “sea”, this time as a hum, which depicts crossing the bar from this life to what comes next.'

iTunes

Crossing the Bar (album)

O Nata Lux

Crossing the Bar (single)

High definition sound on Qobuz

Crossing the Bar (album)

O Nata Lux

Crossing the Bar (single)

HDtracks

Crossing the Bar (album)

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