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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Traditional and Modern Carols from New College Oxford
Choir of New College Oxford | 
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| |  | Spotless Rose - Hymns to the Virgin Mary
Phoenix Chorale, Charles Bruffy Stephen Paulus is one of America’s most prominent composers, recognised particularly for his empathetic vocal writing. In Splendid Jewel, based on a fourteenth-century lauda, Paulus imparts a mediaeval flavour to the setting of this ancient text, which he then warms with his own harmonic language. A Hymn to the Virgin is one of Britten’s earliest pieces, written in 1930 when Britten was not quite seventeen. Britten retained a warm feeling for this youthful piece, so much so that it was one of the pieces performed at his funeral. The English composer Cecilia McDowall is well known for her sensitive text setting. The ‘Ave Regina’ and the ‘Regina caeli’ are two of the four great Marian antiphons of the ancient Church and McDowall’s settings of them are here followed by a haunting Ave, Maria for women’s voices. She is joined by another English composer, Herbert Howells, a composer famous for his choral music, and more especially for his sacred music. His setting of the fourteenth-century Marian text ‘A Spotless Rose’ dates from his mid-twenties, and is dedicated to his mother. The Liturgical Motets are among Healey Willan’s best-known pieces, and the three recorded here take their texts from Responsories from an eighth-century Office of Our Lady and from the Song of Solomon. Completing the SACD are works by Javier Busto and Jean Belmont Ford. Belmont Ford has long been a favourite of Charles Bruffy and his choirs, who are enthusiastic champions of her work. Electa, a commission by the Kansas City Chorale in 1995 and recorded here for the first time, draws on various liturgical texts to weave a tapestry of praise to the Virgin Mary. In his Ave, Maria and Ave maris stella, the latter a premiere recording, Busto sets the familiar ancient texts. The SA-CD booklet comes with notes and full texts in three languages. “Jean Belmont Ford's cycle Electa is a real discovery, performed with a naturalness and ease that carries one unerringly through very unfamiliar musical territory.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2008 **** “Choral singing just doesn't get much better than this. When it comes to purity of tone, daunting precision and superfine blend, Charles Bruffy's remarkable Phoenix Chorale have it all - and then some!” Gramophone Magazine, November 2008 |
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| |  | The Aeolian CompanyOriginal compositions and arrangements for pianola
Discover musical gems from a bygone age with our new recording of Aeolian Company piano rolls (1921), authentically performed by the accomplished pianolist Rex Lawson.
What is a pianola and how is it used?
The pianola (popular in many households between 1900 and 1930) is a foot-operated player-piano with a complete set of 88 felt-covered wooden fingers that sit over the keyboard of a normal piano and play the keys as indicated by tiny perforations on interchangeable rolls of paper. The operator, or ‘pianolist’, achieves dynamic shading of the music by varying the degree of pressure applied to the foot pedals. In addition, a set of handoperated levers mounted just below the front of the keyboard provide accentuation, tempo control, activation of the sustain and soft pedals and selection of play and rewind modes. In the hands of an accomplished operator, a convincingly lifelike musical performance is achievable. “This delightful disc contains crisp, meticulous music for the Pianola, an instrument made by the Aeolian Company and that once had great currency...Lawson has mastered [the pianola] and spread the Pianola gospel around the world.” Sunday Times, 27th April 2008 *** “An evening with Rex Lawson, king of the British pianola, is always interesting, often fascinating, never less than fun” Financial Times | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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“Three precociously brilliant, warmly Romantic works from Howell's very early 20s. The vigorous, astonishingly assure Piano Quartet is outstanding - as are the performances in general. Beautifully-toned recordings.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2008 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Howells: | Hymnus Paradisi Sir Patrick Spens The world premiere recording of Sir Patrick Spens provides the coupling, a Scottish ballad for huge forces – very large orchestra, choir and baritone soloist. It was written around 1922 when the composer was around 30 years of age |
Claire Rutter, James Gilchrist & Roderick Williams The Bach Choir & Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Boult conducts ...
Butterworth, G: | Two English Idylls The Banks of Green Willow A Shropshire Lad - Rhapsody | Hadley, P: | One Morning in Spring - sketch for orchestra | Howells: | Procession, Op. 36 Merry-eye Herbert Downes (viola), Desmond Bradley & Gillian Eastwood (violins), Albert Cayzer (viola) & Norman Jones (cello) New Philharmonia Orchestra Elegy For Viola, String Quartet And String Orchestra Herbert Downes (viola), Desmond Bradley & Gillian Eastwood (violins), Albert Cayzer (viola) & Norman Jones (cello) New Philharmonia Orchestra Music for a Prince Herbert Downes (viola), Desmond Bradley & Gillian Eastwood (violins), Albert Cayzer (viola) & Norman Jones (cello) New Philharmonia Orchestra Corydon’s Dance Scherzo in Arden | Warlock: | An Old Song for small orchestra |
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult “…sympathetic accounts… Butterworth's Two English Idylls, The Banks of Freen Willow and the sublime Shropshire Lad rhapsody. Tension levels rise markedly for exceptionally insightful readings of Howells's Procession, Merry-Eye Elegy (an extraordinarily rapt display) and lively 1949 diptych Music for a Prince (these last three with the NPO). Warlock's An Old Song and Patrick Hadley's gorgeous One Morning in Spring (written in 1942 for Vaughan Williams's 70th birthday) complete the feast.” Gramophone Magazine, Janurary 2008 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Severn & Somme - Songs
Roderick Williams (baritone) & Susie Allan (piano) “Roderick Williams is a national treasure. Not only is he an intensely musical singer, acutely
responsive to the sound and meaning of words, but also his approach to the English Romantic song
repertoire is…revelatory. (Susie Allan) lingers tellingly over an important detail in the piano writing
just at the right moment to complement Williams’s exquisite interpretations. Recordings…balance
singer and instruments to something like perfection…Strongly recommended.”
Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Herbert Howells - Choral & Organ Music, Volume 1
David Burchell (organ) The Choir of New College Oxford, Edward Higginbottom (director & organ solo) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Herbert Howells - Choral & Organ Music Volume 2
The Choir of New College, Oxford, Edward Higginbottom | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Herbert Howells - Music for Violin and Piano
Paul Barritt (violin), Catherine Edwards (piano) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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