Suchergebnisse

"A music redolent of the past and the future" Several of the works in this collection feature intricate, a cappella, polychoral-inspired techniques. These include multi-part, multi-divisi, and unusual spatial effects (or cori spezzati – literally "split choirs" – as the technique was referred to in the Renaissance and early Baroque periods). Therefore different sections of the choir, or different "sub-choirs" and/or vocal soloists, are sometimes placed in various arrangements around and above the audience: this ancient technique being pioneered in modern form in "Kyrie", Op.5, for 21 individual vocal lines – where some singers are stationed in a gallery, and at a distance. Some works also feature echo effects, as well as isorhythmic fragments, melodic and rhythmic hocket, while cross-rhythms and cross-textuality may additionally be involved. Due to the incorporation of such "polychoral"-derived techniques (in addition to some derived from Medieval music), a striking extra dimension is added both to recordings and to live performances (where the aural "spatial" interest creates a quasi-theatrical effect). The harmonic language is largely built on the composer's personalised modal foundations, frequently complemented by very subtle use of rhythm and ornament, which can sometimes involve quite elaborate – but always delicate – "filigree"-like patterns. All but the Kyrie are world première recordings (including the first recording of the choral version of That Time of Year), and were recorded over five separate sessions in the UK and US. Includes an additional historical and contextual essay by Renaissance and Baroque scholar, Hugh Keyte, leading expert on early polychoralism: "Polychorality: Some Observations". (NOTE: Opus numbers in the composer's œuvre are apportioned according to date of initial conception, rather than by date of completion.) "WOEFULLY ARRAYED": Sacred and Secular Choral and Polychoral Works of JONATHAN DAVID LITTLE (b.1965) INCLUDES WORLD PREMIÈRE RECORDINGS Vox Futura, Boston (USA) Directed by Andrew Shenton; Organ: Heinrich Christensen ‡Stanbery Singers, Cincinnati (USA) Directed by Paul John Stanbery †Thomas Tallis Society Choir, Greenwich (UK) Directed by Philip Simms SACRED WORKS: 1. "Woefully Arrayed", Op.13 (Anthem for Triple Choir: AATTBB + SSA + SSA) [attrib. to John Skelton] (with Organ) (ca.26:00) 2. †Kyrie, Op.5 (SATB Double Choir with Soloists) (from Missa Temporis Perditi) (ca.4:50) * * * ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY / BBC RADIO 3 "ENCORE Choral" Award Winner * * * 3. Gloria, Op.18 (SATB Double Choir with Soloists) (from Missa Temporis Perditi) (ca.12:00) SECULAR WORKS: 4. ‡"Wasted and Worn", Op.6 (Part Song for SSAATTBB Choir with Soloists) [Lord de Tabley] (ca.12:10) 5. ‡"That Time of Year", Op.2 (SATBarB Choir) [Shakespeare] (ca.4:45) 6. "Woefully Arrayed", Op.13 [Reprise – abridged version] (ca.12:30) This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body (Individual International Arts Project Award 2015-17: UK-USA-Australia). Invaluable support has also been provided by the Royal Philharmonic Society (UK), through its "ENCORE Choral" Award scheme. The support and advice of music publishers Anne Keats, OAM, and Brennan Keats, OAM, Directors of Wirripang Pty Ltd (Australia), of Ben Hall and staff at the University of Chichester (UK), of Professor Craig De Wilde of the University of Singapore, of music copyist David Turner (UK), of Bob Lord and all his team at PARMA Recordings (USA), and of James M. Kendrick (Director and Treasurer of ASCAP, USA), is gratefully acknowledged.

This project involves the creation of several new choral works, all of which feature intricate a cappella (or unaccompanied) "polychoral" techniques. These techniques include multi-part, multi-divisi, solo, and unusual spatial effects (or cori spezzati – literally "split" or "separated choirs" – as the technique was referred to in the Renaissance and early Baroque periods). By such means, an extra dimension is added both to recordings and to live performances (where the aural "spatial" interest creates a quasi-theatrical effect). This project is part-funded by an Australian Government / Australia Council for the Arts "Individual International Arts Project Award", and takes place across three countries: the UK, the US, and Australia. A CD recording of the works will be issued in 2017 by PARMA Recordings (US), and at least three new, large-scale choral scores will be published. The CD will also include the Royal Philharmonic Society / BBC Radio 3 "ENCORE Choral" award-winning work, "Kyrie" (for 21 voices).

Being one in a series of intense and ethereal or (as here) kaleidoscopically vibrant and sparkling symphonic portraits of the nine muses, Terpsichore (a showpiece for large orchestra) is itself divided into nine dance scenes: 1. The precocious Muse begins her wild, whirling dance 2. Entrancing Terpsichore dazzles all those who behold her 3. A most majestic and dramatic solo performer 4. The beguiling Muse slows and strikes a pose 5. Her frenzied dance resumes 6. The Muse displays her hypnotic, swaying gracefulness 7. She pauses one last time 8. Her recollection of past glories, and homage to the ancient circular dances 9. The capricious Terpsichore's Finale! Duration is ca. 14'30" A Note on Dissemination: The recording featuring this work was officially released on 7th January 2008. (See Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Terpsichore-Other-Jonathan-Little-Composer/dp/B0018O3MMA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378159518&sr=8-1&keywords=%22jonathan+little%22+%3D+terpsichore) Terpsichore was later re-released on the album POLYHYMNIA in 2011, and then on the "Digital Only" classical compilation album, FINE MUSIC, VOL. 4, on Navona (USA) NV5916, with a release date of 7th May, 2013 (distributed by Amazon, iTunes, ClassicsOnline, Spotify and Naxos Music Library). COMMENTARY Terpsichore explores the concept of how one might construct a vibrant and colourful latter-day orchestral "showpiece" (in the same spirit as works such as Chabrier's España) yet here by drawing together an incredibly diverse array of musical influences that would sit quite comfortably within a modern plural society and worldview, all set within a dance-inspired framework (containing nine programmatic episodes – as described above).1 Thus, the work is intended (as reviewers did in fact respond to it) as orchestral tour-de-force consisting of a set of "aural pictures" that aim to maximise variety of orchestral colour and mood, ultimately rising to ecstatic frenzy by its conclusion.2 Rhythm – just as much as texture and orchestration – is a key element in this dance-based piece, and indeed it treats the percussion section in a democratic way as a full and equal partner with all other sections of the orchestra. (The string section does not in this work, therefore, occupy the pre-eminent position that it does in many 19th-century works, for instance – where the strings tend to play a good proportion of the time). Terpsichore indeed was the work that launched the composer's series of epic orchestral tone pictures inspired by the "Nine Muses" of Greek myth, and was the first work where critics began to pick up on its subtle use of newer types of minimalism blended with elements of the British pastoral tradition, as well as the fact that it conveyed a sense of orchestral brilliance and "ecstasy" at climactic points. Terpsichore set out to capture a great array of moods, all in a relatively short time frame, while also referencing other musics and challenging players and listeners alike with its various performance and aural demands – yet in a wry, spirited, quirky, accessible and enjoyable way. 3 NOTES: 1. Typical of the comments of several reviewers, Simon Thomas drew attention to the "whirling kaleidoscope of sounds … ending on something like the succulent grandeur of a Respighi tone poem. … An extraordinary range of sensations." (Music OMH, Nov. 2008). And of its dance inspiration, Tempo concluded: "[Terpsichore unleashes] a positively dynamic musical palette, portraying the wild behaviour and dancing of Terpsichore in an astonishingly hypnotic range of musical sketches … moving the listener irrevocably onward to a brightly illuminated plain of poetic splendour, rhythm and ecstasy. Could this be a 21st-century version of Maurice Ravel's choreographic symphony, Daphnis et Chloe?" See: Tempo, Vol. 62, Issue 243 (Jan. 2008), Cambridge University Press. 2. Tempo (January 2008) further described Terpsichore as a "ground-breaking tour de force … incandescent", while, in America, Fanfare magazine (May-June 2008) admired its "music of tremendous power … [and] astonishing range of colors and moods". By December, this debut album was being featured in Fanfare Magazine's "Want List 2008" as one of the top worldwide recordings of the year, showcasing what it called "a major new, original and quite brilliant classical voice". 3. Australia's Music Forum several times paid particular attention to the composer's "finely honed" crafting and "command of orchestration … lush and at ease with the tropes of modernist tonal music" (see the issues of Feb-April 2009, and May-July 2009), and the UK's Music and Vision (25th September, 2012) likewise spoke of the work's "dazzling displays". RECORDING supported by the Kenneth Leighton Trust (UK) and the Foundation for New Music (USA). FIRST PERFORMANCE SCORE reproduced with the aid of a grant from the Society for the Promotion of New Music's "Francis Chagrin Fund" (UK). ISMN M720072234. ASCAP/MCPS Registered.

'Of all fairy tales I know, I think Undine the most beautiful' - George MacDonald This one-off musical performance of Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's Undine follows the story of the romance between a water-sprite Undine and the Knight Huldbrand. The tale had a profound influence on the 19th century, inspiring operas, ballets and adaptations, including Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid and Dvořák's Rusalka, as well the imagination of Arthur Rackham. This performance will retell the narrative of Undine, interspersed with some of the most iconic musical versions of the story, all set against Arthur Rackham's definitive illustrations. This multimedia concert is led and co-ordinated by Victoria Leslie with composer Jonathan Little, and collates various musical treatments of the Undine story interspersed with Rackham's illustrations of Undine and with spoken word. Researched, compiled and produced by Victoria Leslie and Jonathan David Little. BIOGRAPHIES Victoria Leslie's PhD research explores how early water women narratives, including Friedrich de la Motte Fouque's Undine (later made popular by Arthur Rackham's illustrations) were used by writers at the fin de siècle to discuss women's sexual and political freedom. Her thesis is cross-disciplinary, collaborating with other academics and creative practitioners who are similarly interested in the cross-fertilisation of literature, art and music. Her previous writing has been short-listed for a number of awards, included the Shirley Jackson Award and the World Fantasy Award, and she was awarded fellowships at Hawthornden and the Saari Institute in Finland to research Nordic water myths. Victoria's fiction has accrued many awards and nominations and her debut novel, Bodies of Water is available from Salt Publishing. Jonathan David Little is Professor of Musical Composition / Music History at the University of Chichester. His atmospheric and evocative music is notable for its mystical beauty, intensity and richness of material. Little was the first Australian-born composer to be awarded the John Clementi Collard Fellowship (2011), one of the most prestigious awards of the City of London's ancient Worshipful Company of Musicians. His two-volume study of musical and literary orientalism won a Royal Literary Fund Award and he is currently working on further volumes in the series and a major text on musical composition. This year he received "Special Distinction" in the ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize (USA) – one of the concert music world's most esteemed awards.