Nov 20, 2023 | CD reviews
EX CORDE Vocal EnsemblePaul Gameson conductorAnna Snow soprano soloist Resonus Classics RES10323 All three works on this recording of choral music by David Lancaster (b.1960) are distinctive, unique even. The middle work is a richly coloured...
Oct 25, 2023 | CD reviews
English Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Kenneth Woods conductor Nimbus Alliance NI6439 In the last 20 years the music of Philip Sawyers (b.1951) has emerged from obscurity into the limelight making a considerable impression. I make this the fifth disc that has been...
Oct 25, 2023 | CD reviews
Stuart MacRae & Bernard Hughes composers divine art DDX21113 Why have I put the lyricist above the composers? Firstly because Chinwe D. John, a Nigerian-American poet and lyricist, is responsible for all 10 songs while the two composers are not. Then...
Oct 24, 2023 | CD reviews
Richard Deering piano HERITAGE HTGCD 140-141 Here is only the second recording of Parry’s two Piano Sonatas from 1876. The First Sonata is an immediate delight; straightforwardly winsome, and blithely tuneful. While it would be easy to play ‘Spot the Influence’, it is...
Oct 24, 2023 | CD reviews
Damin Spritzer (on the organ of Albion Church, Ashton-under-Lyne) Raven OAR-177 In the summer of last year, when I was investigating the possibility of using this T. C. Lewis organ for a CD of music by Alec Rowley, I was informed that it had recently been...
Oct 24, 2023 | CD reviews
Ayanna Witter-Johnson composer, vocals, cello & percussionGwilym Simcock composer, pianoLSO Percussion Ensemble:Neil Percy, Sam Walton, David Jackson, Jacob Brown LSO LSO5122 Both as composer and astoundingly as a performer, Ayanna Witter-Johnson is unique. In...
