Calluna Andrew Chalk

The arrival of a new Andrew Chalk album is always a cause for celebration. Following 'A Light at the Edge of the World' (a single piece), the sequel, out on his Faraway Press imprint, finds a new collection of 19 pieces sequenced in story-like chapter and verse from memories and melodies of a nostalgic past. Played more in thoughtful focus and with a lyrical narrative. In recent years, Chalk's recordings have reconfigured away from the static drama of high minimalism and into collections of miniatures - intimate, languid, sometimes haunted, always lovely snatches of sonic ephemera that could be pieced together as a koan of lost memory and forgotten landscape. An evanescent echo and artfully accreted drone trickle throughout the album, all of which are swimming in illumined, golden baths of hallowed light. The album closes with a solstice in midwinter.

In the mid-1970s, Andrew Gold’s skills as a musician and an arranger were ubiquitious, appearing on some of the biggest records of the decade by artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Art Garfunkel, and James Taylor. By 1977, he had reached the Billboard Top 10 as an artist and writer with his self penned hit, “Lonely Boy.” In the mid ’80s and early ’90s, Andrew’s song “Thank You For Being A Friend” was used as the theme for the hugely successful NBC-TV sitcom The Golden Girls. From 1992–1999, Andrew was the TV theme voice of the Paul Reiser—Helen Hunt comedy starrer Mad About You and in 2019, Andrew’s “Spooky Scary Skeletons” found new life thanks to a viral dance craze on TikTok that has reached over 250 million people!

Andrew Blanch and Emily Granger are a pioneering guitar and harp duo. Both celebrated soloists in their own right, Andrew and Emily combine forces in this beguiling instrumental combination with a synchronicity and charm “enough to win any audience over” (The Advertiser). The pairing of guitar and harp is at once both fresh and familiar, each instrument like an enchanted reflection of the other. Between them, their 53 strings offer a unique richness of resonance and an expanded range of expressive possibilities.

Andrew Blanch and Emily Granger are a pioneering guitar and harp duo. Both celebrated soloists in their own right, Andrew and Emily combine forces in this beguiling instrumental combination with a synchronicity and charm “enough to win any audience over” (The Advertiser). The pairing of guitar and harp is at once both fresh and familiar, each instrument like an enchanted reflection of the other. Between them, their 53 strings offer a unique richness of resonance and an expanded range of expressive possibilities.

Andrew Blanch and Emily Granger are a pioneering guitar and harp duo. Both celebrated soloists in their own right, Andrew and Emily combine forces in this beguiling instrumental combination with a synchronicity and charm “enough to win any audience over” (The Advertiser). The pairing of guitar and harp is at once both fresh and familiar, each instrument like an enchanted reflection of the other. Between them, their 53 strings offer a unique richness of resonance and an expanded range of expressive possibilities.

Like many of England's finest musicians, Andrew Lawrence-King began his career in choir school, serving as head chorister for the Cathedral and Parish Church of St. Peter Port, Guernsey. He took an organ scholarship to Cambridge University, where he read mathematics, but finished his studies in organ and voice at the London Early Music Centre. A party at a harpmaker's house gave the opportunity for Lawrence-King to own his first early harp, modeled after a Medieval Irish instrument.

Gold assembled a handful of knowns and unknowns to make special cameos on this melodic and fun collection of original and classic Halloween tunes with a pop-rock bent. Among the haunted are David Cassidy, Karla Bonoff, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Bishop, Nicolette Larson, and Gold's children and wife. From the Beatlesesque touches of "It Must Be Halloween" (parts seemingly lifted from "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite") to Boris Karloff's "Monster Mash" and "The Addams Family" theme song, Gold and company offer up treats that kids and their parents will like, including the "Ghostbusters" theme. But with cooler original fare like "The Creature from the Tub" and "Spooky, Scary Skeletons," you have to wonder why they relied on so many predictable cover songs.

On April 1, 2022, Steinway & Sons releases Andrew Rangell's recording of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (STNS 30176). Pianist Andrew Rangell's debut recording—released thirty years ago—featured Bach's Goldberg Variations, F-sharp minor toccata, and the two Ricercares from "A Musical Offering". Over the course of many years, the verve, beauty and originality of Mr. Rangell's Bach playing have been evidenced in a steady progression of interpretations: The Partitas, French Suites, Well-Tempered Clavier (bk.1), The Art of Fugue, English Suites, Inventions, Sinfonias, and many other individual pieces. This second book of the WTC now brings to completion a journey and survey which was never firmly planned as such. This is because the pianist's embrace of Bach has run parallel with other deep involvements, beginning with Beethoven, but also exploring repertoire ranging from Sweelinck, Gibbons, and Farnaby to Ives, Nielsen, Enescu, Schoenberg and a host of other 20th century voices. Schubert, Haydn and Chopin also receive special attention within the artist’s rich discography. Rangell's Bach survey ends with this second book of the WTC in sparkling, free-spirited performances.