Quattro QCD9408: CRUX
20th Century Norwegian Choral Music

Edvard Grieg - Four Hymns Op.74;
Knut Nystedt - O Crux; Immortal Bach;
Arne Nordheim - Three Lamentations;
Trond H F Kverno - Corpus Christi Carol; Ave Maris Stella; Missa in sono tubae;
Stabat Mater Dolorosa

Grex Vocalis, Director - Carl Hogset

Total time: 73.56

(GB pounds 14.50)

The Norwegian choir Grex Vocalis (the Singing Flock) was formed in 1971 and has a repertoire spanning from renaissance to contemporary Norwegian music. Here the a capella music ranges from Grieg's last composition in 1906 to Kverno's 1991 setting of Stabat Mater.

Cedille - CDR90000060: SOLO CHACONNES

JS Bach - Partita No.2 in D min. BWV1004;
Richard Barth - Ciacona in B min. Op.21;
Max Reger - Chaconne in G min. Op.117/4.

Jennifer Koh violin

Total time: 57.22

(but currently unavailable)

For her Cedille Records debut and first solo recording, Jennifer Koh performs Bach's complete Partita No.2 (which includes the famous Chaconne) and presents two rarely heard late-Romantic solo chaconnes that Bach inspired. A disciple of Brahms, violinist/composer Richard Barth's 1908 Ciacona in B minor reflects the virtuoso violin technique of the post-Paganini era and speaks in a rich tonal language. Max Reger's 1912 Chaconne in G minor updates the baroque form with an iridescent, neo-Wagnerian harmonic palette. Jennifer Koh was winner of the top prize at the 1994 International Tchaikovsky Competition and 1995 recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Robert Maxham in May/June 2002 Fanfare magazine: "Jennifer Koh's collection of chaconnes...provides a reading of Bach's masterpiece as well as of two later works, one Romantic and one on the cusp of modernity, that were perhaps inevitably influenced by it. Her partner in this solo venture, the ex-Grumiaux ex-DuPont Stradivari of 1727, sounds as though it has been miked very close, in a way that captures the wide dynamic range that she commands; yet the performances reveal nothing unattractive in either her sound or that of the i8nstrument itself...her anthology will perhaps appeal most strongly to students exploring the genre. recommended to them and to inquisitive collectors as well."

Cedille - CDR90000059: DVORAK QUARTET & QUINTET

Dvorak - String Quartet No. 13 in G, Op.106;
Dvorak - String Quintet in E flat, Op.97*

Pacifica Quartet (Simin Ganatra & Sibbi Bernhardsson violins,
Kathryn Lockwood viola, Brandon Vamos cello) with *Michael Tree viola

Total time: 75.40

(but currently unavailable)

This CD of two of Dvorak's finest, and less well-known, chamber works will earn a cherished spot in your record collection. Dvorak composed his richly textured String Quintet Op.97 during a sojourn in Iowa in 1893 and the poetic and expressive String Quartet Op.106 shows Dvorak in his creative prime. On this new Cedille recording, the Naumburg Award-winning Pacifica Quartet, a bold and dynamic young ensemble rises to the challenge, joined in the quintet by violist Michael Tree of the Guarneri Quartet.

Peter J Rabinowitz in May 2002 International Record Review: "The young Pacifica Quartet are known for their passionate dedication to new music..however, the group has more in common with the versatile young Juilliard Quartet than with the more parochial Kronos or Arditti. For even in this familiar nineteenth-century terrain, they hold their own against the established mainstream ensembles. Michael Tree is a superb collaborator and it was an inspired idea to have literary critic (and amateur cellist) Wayne Booth team up with musicologist Yonatan Malin for the detailed notes. The engineering is up to Cedille's usual high standards, too. Enthusiastically recommended."

Tall Poppies - TP096: ULURU

New Works for Solo Cello by Ross Edwards, Elena Kats-Chernin, Martin Wesley-Smith, Colin Bright, Tristram Cary, Roger Frampton, Anne Boyd, David Pereira, Roger Dean, Sarah Hopkins, Mike Nock and Peter Sculthorpe

David Pereira cello

Total time: 78.48

(GB pounds 14.50)

Twelve new Australian solo cello works written for David Pereira - a project which celebrates the handing back of Uluru (Ayers Rock) to its traditional indigenous owners. The musical responses are varied, from the digeridoo sounds underpinning Sarah Hopkins' work to the modernism of Roger Dean. Martin Wesley-Smith asks Pereira to sing along - which he does admirably! Two of Australia's finest jazz pianist/composers - Mike Nock and the late Roger Frampton - explore tender song-like melodies. The cover painting was commissioned from Newcastle artist David Middlebrook.

Tall Poppies - TP145: ANN GHANDAR - Piano Music

Ghandar - Garden with Birds; Rainy Day Rag*; Night Pictures; September Suite; Dahab, Little Suite*; Four Songs; Dreaming of the Sea; Toushka; Photophoresis*; Reflections; Scillitin; For Mustafa

Ian Munro piano with *Ann Ghandar piano

Total time: 61.25

(GB pounds 14.50)

Ann Ghandar teaches composition at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales and is herself a formidable pianist. She gave the first Australian performances of Messiaen's Four Rhythmic Studies and the Concord Sonata and First Sonata of Charles Ives and has given many recitals throughout the world. She is an authority on Middle Eastern music and her music often inhabits that harmonic sound-world. She is also inspired by nature, especially birds and water. Ian Munro plays this music with utter affection and Anne Ghandar joins him for the Little Suite and gives a marvellous performance of Photophoresis.

Tall Poppies - TP157: DIETRICH BUXTEHUDE - Cantatas

Buxtehude - Cantatas: Canite Jesu nostro; Mein Herz ist bereit; Salve, Jesu, patris gnate unigenite; Furchtet euch nicht; Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe; Ich bin eine Blume zu Saron; In dulci jubilo; Motet: Cantate Domino

Arcadia (Margaret Pearce & Helen Gagliano sopranos, Michael Leighton Jones bass,
Catherine Shugg, Ross Mitchell & John Quaine violins, Ruth Wilkinson gamba)
Jacqueline Ogeil (organ and director)

Total time: 66.48

(GB pounds 14.50)

This CD is a must for Buxtehude fans as it contains five works not otherwise available on CD. Arcadia is a new ensemble formed in Melbourne to explore early vocal works. This is a collection of Italian-style sacred motets or cantatas - settings of texts from the Bible, Lutheran hymns and devotional poetry - for solo, duo and trio vocalists with instrumental accompaniment. Arcadia sounds superb in this recording made in the Chapel of the Carmelite Monastery in Kew, Melbourne.

Nicholas Anderson in July 2002 International Record Review: "Much of Buxtehude's music has a markedly intimate devotional character and may have been intended for private domestic use. This aspect is foremost in the eight pieces performed here by the Australian ensemble, Arcadia...the recital is an attractive one containing several seldom-heard items. The recorded sound is spacious but too resonant for such intimate music-making. Jacqueline Ogeil directs with assurance from the organ and the booklet contains full texts."

Tall Poppies TP131: MOZART & BRAHMS - Clarinet Quintets

Mozart - Clarinet Quintet in A major K581
Brahms - Clarinet Quintet Op.115

The Australia Ensemble (Catherine McCorkill basset clarinet/clarinet,
Dene Olding & Dimity Hall violins, Irina Morozova viola, Julian Smiles cello)

Total time: 70.23

(GB pounds 14.50)

Featuring the delectable clarinet playing of Catherine McCorkill, this CD contains two of the most loved works in the chamber repertoire. Catherine McCorkill plays the basset clarinet in the Mozart Quintet - the first time she has brought her acclaimed skills on this instrument to a recording - and the Brahms is just wonderful!

Morrison & Co Trust - MMT2036: GARETH FARR:
WARRIORS FROM PLUTU

Gareth Farr - Naga Baba; Te Parenga; Warriors from Pluto;
Nga Tai Hurihuri; Time and Tide.

STRIKE; Deborah Wai Kapohe soprano;
NZSO Chamber Orchestra, Marc Decio Taddei

Total Duration 66:52

(GB pounds 14.50)

Listen to an extract

Gareth Farr’s music is by turns dynamic, lyrical, percussive and rhythmic, but above all, it is some of the most exciting and approachable contemporary music you’re likely to hear. This new recording features two startlingly dramatic works for chamber orchestra, (including Warriors from Pluto - virtually a concerto for the STRIKE percussion ensemble), sumptuous arrangements of music from the TV police drama Duggan and the incidental music to The End of the Golden Weather plus Nga Tai Hurihuri, a celebration of renewal for soprano, karanga and percussion.

Roger Thomas in International Record Review June 2002: "For Stockhausen, needless to say, space has always been the place, so while we're here we should perhaps fend off Garreth Farr's pesky Warriors from Pluto...This is essentially clattery, bad-boy stuff which fans of Steve Martland during his Factory Classics days will certainly appreciate... Farr is known to different audiences as a composer, a skilled percussionist and as a stunning drag artist."

Morrison & Co Trust - MMT2037: LANDSCAPES
New Zealand Orchestral Music

Douglas Lilburn - Drysdale Overture; Lyell Creswell - Dancing on a Volcano;
Maria Grenfell - Stealing Tutunui; David Hamilton - Elysian Fields;
Martin Lodge - Hinterland; Ross Harris - ...of memory…;
Anthony Ritchie - Yet Another Poem of Spring.

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Young

Total Duration 71:40

(GB pounds 14.50)

Listen to an extract

This recording showcases works by seven of the foremost New Zealand composers of orchestral music. The programme is marked by a diversity of expression and mood, but united in that each work reflects to some degree the composer’s consciousness of the New Zealand landscape. Together, they make up a ‘snapshot’ of New Zealand composition at the end of the twentieth century. The booklet is complemented by beautiful reproductions of paintings of the New Zealand landscape by Leo Bensemann, Bill Hammond, Dick Frizzell and Toss Woollaston and Michael Illingworth.

Roger Thomas in International Record Review June 2002: "...this collection of twentieth-century orchestral works from New Zealand, performed by the NZSO under Kenneth Young, is a fine introductory package for anyone whose knowledge of this country's music doesn't extend beyond the works of Lyell Creswell, although he is represented here by a typically arresting piece, and quite rightly so."