Maat Saxophone Quartet – No one is too small (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:27 minutes | 879 MB | Genre: Classical Crossover
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © 7 Mountain Records
No one is too small is the new project of the Maat Saxophone Quartet. The acclaimed ensemble calls on people to take action against climate change. Through a musical performance in combination with simple but powerful drawings, the ensemble aims to inspire and simplify a process that is overwhelming and hopeless for so many individuals. “We want to show that denial is not a choice, that the world needs to take urgent action and that a collective, proactive and caring attitude towards climate change will truly change the course. No one is too small to take action. No action is too small to make a difference.”
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London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Simon Rattle – Britten: Spring Symphony, Sinfonia da Requiem, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:19:31 minutes | 1,25 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © LSO Live
Celebrating the work of Benjamin Britten, this album combines three of the composer’s enduringly popular, yet vastly distinctive works. Sir Simon Rattle leads us on an unexpected journey through this diverse collection of masterpieces.
Written shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Sinfonia da Requiem meditates in part on the political populism which had, for the second time in just a few decades, plunged the world in to an existential crisis. In this piece, Britten’s rich, yearning harmonies reveal a sombre and dramatic warning of the cost of conflict.From the darkness of war, we move towards the light with Britten’s choral Spring Symphony. With its mysterious reimagining of traditional English folk song and verse, the work depicts the gradual reawakening of the natural world when winter ebbs away, and spring begins to triumph.Britten let his imagination catch fire in The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. This brilliantly original showpiece is one of the composer’s best-known pieces, and draws the album to a close.
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Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien & François Lazarevitch – Doux silence (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:02:13 minutes | 1,96 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Alpha Classics
‘The air de cour has been with me for almost as long as I’ve been playing the flute… For me, it is one of the finest creations of French art. I have assembled these airs from the second half́ of the seventeenth century to complete the exploration begun with Et la fleur vole (early seventeenth century, ALPHA314) and À l’ombre d’un ormeau (early eighteenth century, ALPHA342)’, says François Lazarevitch in the introduction to this new release. ‘I am particularly interested in combining the qualities of sound and breathiness of the voice and the flute.’ Love songs, dance tunes and brunettes on pastoral themes follow one another in a programme at once moving and erudite. These miniatures are magnificently interpreted by the two outstanding singers who join the instrumentalists (lute, flute, musette, harp, viol) of Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien: the soprano Julie Roset and the mezzo Lucile Richardot.
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Lauri Porra, Dalia Stasevska, Vantaan Viihdeorkesteri – Matter and Time (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 50:26 minutes | 535 MB | Genre: Classical Crossover
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Platoon
Revered Finnish composer and musician Lauri Porra has announced his new album Matter & Time, out April 19 th via Platoon. The composition is a musical love letter to the universe, using the words of the celebrated astronomer and writer Esko Valtaoja, as spoken by the actor, author and broadcaster Stephen Fry. It also features lyrical contributions from Paula Vesala.
Scored for narrator, large orchestra, choir, electric ensemble and vocal soloist, Lauri Porra’s Matter&Time takes us on a voyage from the very beginnings of the universe, the birth of the carbon atom and the first murmurings of life on earth. Over its 40 minutes across 10 tracks, we travel through the lifespan of our solar system and 100s of billions of years onward as the universe starts to die. What survives us is the love we have for one another—spelt out in binary ones and zeros. Science and human experience in perfect harmony.
Despite its scientific theme, Porra’s inspirations for his ambitious work were church mass settings, composed centuries ago when the creation story was the accepted explanation of life on earth, and everything was predestined by a supreme deity. “When you listen to music by Bach, you can sense this immense gratitude and love towards God,” says Porra.
“I wasinterested in this, the depth of love and this sacredness, but I wanted my piece to be a testament of love and gratefulness towards the universe.” Porra embarked on a quest to discover whether a person could love the universe with the same intensity of devotion. “Instead of a religious text,” he says, “I started to wonder whether I could use one based on scientific ideas.”
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LaShawn D. Gary – Evolution (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 41:19 minutes | 477 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © LNC Music, Inc.
Taken from his new CD ‘Evolution’ that hit the streets earlier this week, ‘Everything You’re Looking For’ is the latest single from the Emmy award winning producer, composer and smooth pianist LaShawn D Gary.
Featuring Penny Wells on vocals this one is a real knockout.
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![Reinhold Friedrich - Enjott Schneider: The Art of Trumpet (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2023/02/02/p0r1ndg0tgvkc_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Reinhold Friedrich – Enjott Schneider: The Art of Trumpet (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:25:23 minutes | 1,45 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Solo Musica
A very important release for me, because it presents – for the first time – Reinhold Friedrich, an excellent soloist, who is supported by congenial partners: Hannes Läubin (trumpet), Gregory Ahss (solo violin), Munich Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martín Baeza-Rubio. Secondly, there are four special compositions of different character, – the double concerto VIVALDISSIMO with two trumpets chasing each other in a rush of sound, the double concerto ALTAI – TRACES FOR INFINITY with my Far Eastern longing (Central Asia, Siberia, China…) for an archaic world. ) for an archaic world, L’ANGELICA FARFALLA with “my” gems of early music, and finally IKARUS – DESIRE FOR THE LIGHT as an epic pictorial arc on the themes of “near-death experiences” and afterlife research, which have fascinated me for a long time. Thirdly, the “trumpet” was the first instrument of my musical education and still means a familiar timbre to me today.
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![Richard Resch - Wenn ich nur Dich hab (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2022/12/18/nohtbxaf2h90a_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Richard Resch – Wenn ich nur Dich hab (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:25:47 minutes | 3,11 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Carpe Diem Records
On his debut solo album, German tenor Richard Resch presents a selection of early Baroque cantatas and other vocal music works from northern Germany. Together with Ensemble La Silla, he explores this beautiful but not so well-known repertoire, including two world premiere recordings of rediscovered works by Johann Friedrich Meister and Gottfried Philipp Flor.
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![Ruby Hughes, Clara Mouriz, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Juanjo Mena - Montsalvatge: Partita 1958, Cinco Cancione Negras, Calidoscopi simfònic & Simfonia de Rèquiem (2012/2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2022/12/18/t6y9gauzpt6bb_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Ruby Hughes, Clara Mouriz, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Juanjo Mena – Montsalvatge: Partita 1958, Cinco Cancione Negras, Calidoscopi simfònic & Simfonia de Rèquiem (2012/2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:07:55 minutes | 1,12 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Chandos
This album of orchestral works marks the centenary in 2012 of the birth of the Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge.
It is released as part of our Spanish music series, conducted by Juanjo Mena, a fellow Catalan national and Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic. Montsalvatge was one on the most influential musical figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the twentieth century. He explored virtually every musical form, but many of his most significant works, including Cinco Canciones Negras (Five Negro Songs), were written after his discovery of the art of the Antilles. He was fascinated by West Indian music, which, as he wrote, ‘was itself originally Spanish, exported to the Caribbean, and then re-imported’. In Cinco Canciones Negras for mezzo-soprano and orchestra he set a varied collection of poems from the Caribbean and Spain, adopting the captivating rhythms of the West Indies. ‘Canción de Cuna para Dormira a un Negrito’ can only be described as one of the tenderest lullabies in the repertoire, presenting a vivid contrast to the exhilarating display of rumba-like rhythms in ‘Canto Negro’.
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Katarina Pejak – Pearls On A String (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 48:58 minutes | 536 MB | Genre: Blues, Female Vocal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Ruf Records
With ‘Pearls On A String’ Belgrade-born singer, keyboard player and songwriter Katarina Pejak announces her second release on Ruf Records.
Or rather her third, if you take the live recording from Ruf’s 2019 Blues Caravan into account that she played together with her colleagues Ina Forsman and Ally Venable.
While her 2019 label debut ‘Roads That Cross’ was recorded at Mike Zito’s MARZ studio in Texas, with Zito also acting as producer, the recording sessions for the new album took place in France where Katarina Pejak has since taken up residence. Her husband, Romain Guillot, played an important role as co-producer and sound engineer on the record.
Apart from ten originals two covers can be found on the tracklist: the Pink Floyd classic “Money” written by Roger Waters and “Honey Jar” by the US roots band The Wood Brothers. “My version of ‘Money’ was fun to record, with an ironic and spooky twist that will hopefully question the message of the song. And ‘Honey Jar’ is just a beautiful song that I love to play.” As far as the themes of her own songs are concerned, the musician adds, “they are about saying goodbye to the past, joyfully questioning love and relationships and enjoying what we have. After a period of starting new songs but not being able to finish them, it was like a levee broke, after I had written the title track of ‘Pearls On A String’ and songs just started pouring out.”
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Jérôme Hantaï – Mozart: Rondos and Sonatas (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:12:33 minutes | 735 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mirare
During his travels, Mozart often needed new pieces: in Mannheim, for example, he composed the Sonata in C major for the thirteen-year-old Rosa Cannabich, and later, in Linz, the Sonata in B flat, presumably as a concert piece for himself. These two brilliant sonatas are plaved here on an original fortepiano of the late eighteenth century, similar to those by Stein that Mozart loved so much, and accompanied by the three wonderful rondos for piano of 1786/87. ‘Clarity, tranquillity, grace: the hallmark of the works of art of Antiquity is also that of the Mozartian school’, wrote Schumann.
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Jean-Guihen Queyras, Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxembourg & Gustavo Gimeno – Dutilleux: Tout un monde lointain – Symphony No. 1 – Métaboles (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:18:32 minutes | 2,49 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © harmonia mundi
The symphonic universe of Henri Dutilleux is a fascinating one. Mysterious and poetic, always remarkably expressive, his music explores the thousand and one colours of the orchestra with unique mastery. Gustavo Gimeno and the Luxembourg Philharmonic give us a flamboyant reading of three masterpieces from the composer’s first creative period, showcasing the superb cello playing of Jean-Guihen Queyras in Tout un monde lointain.
Read more![Rick Nelson - Rockin’ In Hollywood (Live) (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2022/10/27/qjxab2kk9bqbc_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Rick Nelson – Rockin’ In Hollywood (Live) (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 47:46 minutes | 564 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Delta Music – Silver Eagle
Rick Nelson was one of the very biggest of the ’50s teen idols, so it took awhile for him to attain the same level of critical respectability as other early rock greats. Yet now the consensus is that he made some of the finest pop/rock recordings of his era. Sure, he had more promotional push than any other rock musician of the ’50s; no, he wasn’t the greatest singer; and yes, Elvis, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, and others rocked harder.
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