Rough Magic
Rough Magic features premiere recordings of four works created for and (significantly) with the group, is an explosive departure from their previous recordings, leading listeners through the beauty and struggle of language while showcasing, once again, the band’s unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of vocal music. From high-gloss, 80s-style synth-charged passages to early Steve Reich tape-piece-type sounds, Rough Magic articulates a grand experience of language, its limits, and its r…
In Glow of Like Seclusion
Samuel Andreyev’s music is incredibly varied, from the sparse resonance of the Sonata da Camera, the ‘cartoon music’ – as the composer puts it -of Vérifications, characterised by primary colours and strong instrumental timbres; the Sextet in Two Parts which in contrast focuses on minute timbral shadings; and of course the cantata for solo voice and ensemble which is the title track of the album.
Performed by Ensemble Proton Bern, conducted by Luigi Gaggero with the magical soprano voice of Peyee…
Someone Will Remember Us
Since the nineties, Elisabeth Harnik’s work as an artist is characterised by two aspects: improvisation and composition. For Harnik, these two activities, which are usually treated as entirely separate entities in music, are two sides of the same coin. This already becomes evident in her improvisational playing, in which she frequently works with piano preparations and extended playing techniques. Exploring, juxtaposing, merging and fusing sounds, she marks out different paths through the sounds…
Passio
2024 stock. Pärt's long-form The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to St. John dramatizes the apostle John's account of the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. The form he adopts sounds as though it were centuries old, with its choral orchestration. But his choice of instruments, his choice of chords, his phrasing, and the basic construction of the piece itself are all based on 20th century ideas, most notably his own innovation, the "tintinnabuli" method. The overall sound is significantl…
Antoine Brumel: Earthquake Mass
Following on from their successful last recording, Josquin the Undead (GCDP32117) this new recording of Antione Brumel's Earthquake Mass is a welcome addition. Graindelavoix is an Antwerp-based music and art ensemble founded in 1999. Helmed by founder-director Bjorn Schmelzer, it is committed to offering a contemporary and critical interpretation of mainly historical, vocal repertoires. It would be difficult to find a composition that resembles the twelve-part mass Et ecce terrae motus by Antoin…
A Hilliard Songbook - New Music For Voices
*2024 stock. Deluxe packaging* Although by now almost habitually referred to as Britain’s foremost early music vocal group, the Hilliard Ensemble (founded 1974) has long had an equal, and complementary, commitment to contemporary music. Its members have sought out new music that adapts itself to the group’s blend of voices and, where necessary, commissioned works from composers they admire. In their recitals, century-spanning leaps – from John Cage, say, to Josquin Deprez (or vice versa), from P…
Chorus at The Corner - A Joyfull Noise
Born in 1933, with a career spanning over 65 years, the American composer Philip Corner has explored the most diverse artistic and musical expressions: as a pianist and trombonist, he performed historic and contemporary authors such as Ives, Cage, Cacioppo, Hellerman (in 1963 he also took part in the first integral performance of Vexations by Satie curated by Cage in New York). As a composer and performer, he was a member of Fluxus (defining with his Piano Activities the most iconic performance …
Trostlieder
"Commenting on the folly of war, eight independent voices and texts compete for attention, reflecting the tumult of emotions...The impeccable recording quality allows us to appreciate the fine..." — Gramophone Magazine
Magna Mater
*In process of stocking* "Magna Mater for voices, ensemble and video installation (2013) is one of Maria de Alvears most important recent works. It constitutes a ritualistic invocation of all-nourishing Mother Nature. Sounds, words and images evoke her power and wisdom, the destructive power of earthquake, asteroid impact, drought and firestorm, and the life-giving elements of soil, sun, water, air, sky, clouds, rain.
In this decidedly visceral music, Maria de Alvear explores archetypal human c…
Ark Hive of A Live
Ark Hive of A Live is a 4 CD set of recordings by Andrew Poppy, along with a 128 page book, including writing by Andrew Poppy; an introduction by Paul Morley; other writing by Leah Kardos, Nik Bärtsch and Rose English; and archival photographs.
Te Deum Per Un Amico
*Includes a 40-page booklet with full text of the work, introductory texts and photos.* Giovanna Marini is an almost unique figure in Italy: a classically trained musician (graduated from the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, perfected as a guitarist with Maestro Andres Segovia, then a lutenist with Maestro Quaranta's "Concentus Antiqui" ensemble), from the early 1960s she began a work of studying and transcribing songs from the Italian folk oral tradition. Beginning with "Bella Ciao" in 19…
Light Colours In Jyderup
*111 copies limited edition. 2022 stock* ‘Light Colours In Jyderup’ is a trademark Marta Forsberg composition – in a relatively short space of time, the Swedish composer is able to transform the simplest of sonic materials into the most magical, transcendent experience. Using only vocals and some effects, she makes a handful of students from a tiny Danish town sound both alien and medieval; the way the piece unfolds is graceful, its tone and feeling is sacred yet warm, like a Christmas carol fro…
Momente
*2022 Stock.* This is a 2 CD presentation of a new recording of Momente from 1998. Momente has a "mobile-form", which means that the individual segments can be rearranged from performance to performance (typically pre-arranged at the conductor's discretion). Therefore this version is again unique from the 1965 and 1972 versions of Momente found on The Stockhausen Edition no. 7. Like the 1965 version, it does start with the "clapping" sequence, but in this performance the transition from "audienc…
Hoch-Zeiten
*2022 Stock.* Hoch-Zeiten (High-Times, 2001/02, 5th scene of Sonntag aus Licht) for orchestra and choir. The 5th scene of Sonntag aus Licht is actually a 2-part conception. One part is staged as an instrumental orchestral work, and the other is a simultaneous a cappella choral work performed in another room. However, sounds from the orchestral part are piped into the choral work, and vice-versa. This CD presents the orchestra point of view (WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne), followed by that of th…
Hoch-Zeiten für chor
*2022 Stock.* Hoch-Zeiten für chor (High-Times for choir) features each of the choral sub-groups from Hoch-Zeiten, 5th scene of Sonntag aus Licht (presented in its staged normal form on the Stockhausen Edition no. 73) as individual, isolated tracks. These tracks essentially allow the listener to hear the choral parts more clearly in smaller ensembles. A version for the complete ensemble (all together as a "tutti") is also included. Musically, each ensemble explores static harmonies but with a d…
Düfte - Zeichen
*2022 Stock.* Düfte - Zeichen (Scents – Signs, 4th scene of Sonntag aus Licht (Sunday from Light) for 7 vocalists, boy’s voice, synthesizer (2002). This Scene features six vocalists grouped as soloists, in duets, and in trios, supported and bracketed by rhythmically-free (aleatoric) background ensemble text and glassy synthesizer harmonies. At the end are two additional songs featuring a youth "from the audience". The vocal texts (included in the booklet) describe the themes behind each of the s…
Tempi Agitati
On April 6, 1327, a 22-year-old Italian poet named Francesco Petrarca caught a glimpse of a young woman, Laura, in a church in Avignon. He later reported that “living sparks issued from two lovely eyes”. Those sparks enflamed Petrarch such that he spent the rest of his illustrious career coming to terms with them. Madrigals were developed in the 16th century by Adrian Willaert and Cipriano de Rore, which took Petrarch’s agonized images as justification for violating the rules that had guided mus…
Momente - Version 1965
* 2022 Stock * With the legendary “Studio Reihe Neuer Musik” series, Wergo created a trademark of advanced contemporary music in the Sixties of the past century already. On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the label now releases these highlights of 20th-century music history in an excellent sound quality on CD for the first time."Studio Reihe” now continues with a work by Karlheinz Stockhausen: His “Momente” [Moments] for soprano, four choral groups, and thirteen instrumentalists have not …
The News Trilogy / Revolution Songs in an AI Environment
Nicholas Bussmann was born in 1970 and is a very diversified artist. He first made a name for himself in the real-time music scene as an improvisational instrumentalist, then he devoted himself to electronic music and now he moves quite freely between artistic styles. His works are usually highly praised and are mostly part of exhibitions or other types of total artworks.The News Triology fills the first page of this work and is thus the first part of this extraordinary project released on vinyl…
À La Recherche Du Temps Perdu
Perennially bewildering polymath Akira Rabelais unveils the most impressive durational work of his career thus far with a 4 hour smudge of classical works by the musical zeitgeist of the late 19th and early 20th century Belle Époque. It’s a highly enigmatic erosion x sublimation of the familiar in a way that’s by now etched into modern canon thanks to works by The Caretaker, but Rabelais has been weaving his own uncanny shroud of infidelity over our collective memory for over two decades now, wi…