Arlen: Over the Rainbow

Is it possible to represent faithfully the rich world of the oboe and oboe playing?

This double CD offers this and more, with 33 tracks of music from composers such as Mozart, Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Britten. Twenty oboists are featured,

including Elaine Douvas and Nicholas Daniel. The first CD is designed to be enjoyed as either foreground or background music, with instantly recognisable tunes, or music with a persuasive atmosphere, or both. The second covers an enormous range, from Beethoven's Fidelio to Berio's Sequenza VII.

A genuine trumpet phenomena, Romain Leleu has quickly gained an enviable profile courtesy of his infallible technique, enthusiam and his natural musicality, which have already won him a Victoire de la Musique.

He is back, on a third disc for Aparté, with his playmates the Ensemble Convergences for this very personal album of classic standards and crossover, specially orchestrated for string quintet and trumpet. Fun, cheesey even and in excellent arrangements.

'Ferry Tales' is a disc which combines original compositions with imaginative and unexpected arrangements of classics such as Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Alexander Borodin's Prince Igor. Baadsvik's tuba and Skomsvoll's piano are joined by the Trondheim Soloists, the acclaimed string ensemble.

If anyone ever thought that the term ‘Light Music’ described a small corner of the music scene appealing only to minority interests, then maybe the wide variety of styles on offer in this collection will raise some serious doubts. No two people would probably ever agree on the exact boundaries of the genre, which is in itself an indication of how far it stretches across other musical styles. So within the 79 minutes of music on this CD you will find works originally created for light orchestras in the concert hall rubbing shoulders with popular melodies from other fields, given a fresh appeal in the hands of talented arrangers and conductors. When ‘A to Z’ was chosen as the idea behind this collection, there were initial doubts that suitable titles could be discovered for all the letters of the English alphabet. It was a close run thing (‘X’ was obviously going to be a problem!) but hopefully listeners will enjoy the result of our endeavours, starting with Alpine Pastures and ending with Zingara, meeting top conductors such as Sidney Torch, David Rose, Robert Farnon and George Melachrino along the way.

Celebrated soprano Karita Mattila has proved herself to be irresistible in any musical genre.

This mid-price compilation couples live performances of some of the world’s best-loved opera arias together with the Finnish diva’s unique interpretations of songs from Broadway musicals and the Great American Songbook.

Winner of the first 'Singer of the World' competition in Cardiff, Karita Mattila is one of the most illustrious soprano singers in the world today. She is recognised as much for the beauty and versatility of her lyric voice as for her extraordinary stage ability.

This release marks her 50th birthday in 2010, coinciding with Ondine’s 25th anniversary.

One of Britain’s most acclaimed and best-loved sopranos, Felicity Lott, collaborates with award-winning harpist, Isabelle Moretti, to create ‘Cantare’ – a celebration of the relationship between the harp and the voice ranging over a very varied and sometimes surprising repertoire. Dame Felicity Lott, a long time friend of Isabelle, brings her experience, charm and charisma to the vocal works chosen by both herself and the harpist. First sung by Judy Garland in the musical film The Wizard of Oz (1939), “Over the Rainbow” has become a universally known tune. Isabelle Moretti calls it her ‘cult song’, and Felicity Lott admits to humming it in the shower. Here, the harp part is an arrangement by the harpist herself. Award-winning artist Isabelle Moretti is one of the most appealing figures in the world of the harp and on today’s musical scene. Her rich and varied discography has been much acclaimed, winning such awards as the Victoire de la Musique, Grand Prix de la Nouvelle Académie du Disque, Prix Charles Cros, Choc du Monde de la Musique, 10 de Répertoire, and fff de Télérama.

The main purpose of this CD is to show that there is a wealth of good music, in many styles, available to the oboe beginner. These pieces are within the general Grade 3 level, and some of them can be played after just a few lessons, so that learning the oboe can be a musical experience right from the beginning. The tracks are marked 0 to 3, to indicate their general technical level, where 0 indicates a pre-Grade 1 piece.

There are two exceptions to the Grade 3 limit - Mozart's La ci Darem (Grade 4), because it points the way to a new world of musical expression, and Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter, because, as one teacher put it, it is by far the nicest way to learn the bottom two notes on the oboe.

The selection was made in consultation with a number of teachers. I asked them which pieces their pupils responded to with enthusiasm. I soon noticed the same pieces being mentioned time and again. Some pieces were liked by some teachers and not by others, and I added in my own preferences, and take full responsibility for the final choice.

It was also necessary to stick to a smallish number of books or tutors, so that the pupil is not faced with a large music bill. Where only one piece has been included from a particular collection, it always means that there are other equally good pieces in that book. Exclusion of a book of pieces does not mean it is not good. Attention was also paid to the various exam syllabuses for Grades 1 to 3; some of these pieces appear there, some do not.