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World music CD DVD shop and Classic distribution
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ID: NMCD052
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Orchestral Works
Subcollection: Orchestra
Anthony Payne, narrator
Elgar's complete sketches for the 3rd Symphony, exactly as the composer left them, are brought to life by pianist David Owen Norris, Robert Gibbs playing Reed's own violin and the BBCSO with a commentary from Anthony Payne.
Birtwistle's awe-inspiring masterpiece is a key work in the development of post-war opera, groundbreaking in its fusion of music, song, drama, myth and electronics. The three discs are accompanied by a facsimile of Peter Zinovieff's remarkable libretto.
GRAMOPHONE AWARD: Best Contemporary Recording 1998 |
| 22.00 eur Buy |
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ID: SIGCD101
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Vocal Collection
Subcollection: Voices and Chamber Ensemble
Philip Langridge is joined by a fine cast of musicians for this recording of songs from the Georgian era, centred around the rural paradises in and around London, the Pleasure Gardens.
Featuring works by some of the foremost composers of the day, this is a hugely entertaining and dramatic collection of songs where love, lust and lament are the main players. : William Boyce, William Jackson, William Croft, John Blow, John Eccles, Daniel Purcell, George Munro, Maurice Green, James Hook, Thomas Arne, Thomas Linley, Stephen Storace
Philip Langridge is one of the world’s most distinguished singers, whose musical and dramatic qualities ensure that he is in constant demand throughout Europe, the USA and Japan. In recognition of these qualities, he was made a Commander of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 1994. |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CC2014
CDs: 2
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Bassoon
The 24-page CD booklet has a 6,000 word programme note in English containing the interview below, plus a detailed track-by-track description, including interviews with Gordon Langford about his arrangements and David Matthews about Toccatas and Pastorals. There are many photographs.
Jeremy Polmear talks to Catherine Smith about The Sheba Sound:
The Sheba Sound was founded in 1975 by Catherine Smith, and ran for an impressive 22 years. I asked her how it came about. "I was a freelance oboist working in London, and, to be honest, I felt that life was getting a bit repetitive. I needed a challenge, I needed to break out of the orchestral rut. I love making experiments, and exploring new areas of life.
"My starting point for the new group was two oboes, bassoon and harpsichord to play trio sonatas. I approached the oboist Deirdre Lind and the bassoonist Deirdre Dundas-Grant because they had both played in the BBC Concert Orchestra, and therefore had experience in playing all kinds of music. Neil Black [a prominent London oboist] suggested I contact the harpsichordist Harold Lester, who not only played early music with Alfred Deller, but contemporary music with Cathy Berberian and the London Sinfonietta. Our horizons were limitless. The name of the group reflects this - 'Sheba', in reference to the best-known baroque piece for two oboes, 'The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba' by Handel, - and 'Sound', being the kind of name you wouldn't use in strictly classical circles. All future members of the group shared this eclectic experience of musical styles. I am particularly grateful to the first members, who made financial sacrifices until we had established ourselves.
"As I wanted the group to be unique in every respect, I decided that we would play, if possible, unpublished Baroque music, so I spent hours and hours in libraries looking for interesting scores. Harold Lester brought his extensive knowledge of early harpsichord music, and arranged some of it; and I also wanted a more jazzy arranger. Brian Kay of the King's Singers suggested Gordon Langford, who had written beautifully for them; he wrote a Folk Song Suite for us [Kaleidoscope CD, tracks 15 -19], the first of many arrangements. Our subsequent commissions were not only contemporary serious music, but also jazz and rock.
"I decided that our presentation was very important. Our dresses were glamourous, shot silk, in bright reds, and the men had cummerbunds to match. Each work was introduced by a member of the group, which was unusual at that time. We commissioned special music stands from the furniture department of the Royal College of Art, and draped the funiture on the platform in red velvet.
"We played all over the UK, in concert halls, at music clubs and festivals, and we did regular London concerts at the Wigmore Hall. One was recorded, and is the source of several tracks on these CDs. We often worked with well-known actors such as Gabriel Woolf [The Bassoon Song, Kaleidoscope CD, track 7], Derek Jacobi, Nicolas Parsons and Spike Milligan, on whose TV programmes we appeared. We did lots of Children's Concerts too, at which the greatest success was a special story, 'The Key to the Zoo', written by humourist Miles Kington, with music by Stephen Oliver. In the story we each became an animal character, with an appropriate hat.
"We toured abroad too, especially in Germany, Italy and Arabia. In Italy they preferred to have a singer with the group, and we took people such as the contralto Margaret Cable and the tenor Christopher Underwood. We also played in Holland, and on TV in Flanders. We broadcast in the UK too - on the BBC music channel Radio 3, but I was also on the talk channel Radio 4, on 'Woman's Hour'. At the time I had three children under eight as well as my career - quite a new thing back in 1975 - and this created quite a lot of interest among the listeners, who then wanted to know what our music sounded like. This led to the BBC financing a recording, many of whose tracks appear here." |
| 29.00 eur Buy |
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