Grace+jones

Inscribed to the memory of Grace Williams’s friend Nancy Elizabeth Jenkins, who died of cancer shortly before the work was completed, Grace Williams’s Missa Cambrensis is a full-scale setting of the Mass in Latin and Welsh, scored for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, mixed chorus, boys’ choir, orchestra and speaker. The orchestral forces required consist of two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, (second doubling cor anglais), two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (two players: cymbals, glockenspiel, tubular bells, tamtam), piano and strings.

Inscribed to the memory of Grace Williams’s friend Nancy Elizabeth Jenkins, who died of cancer shortly before the work was completed, Grace Williams’s Missa Cambrensis is a full-scale setting of the Mass in Latin and Welsh, scored for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, mixed chorus, boys’ choir, orchestra and speaker. The orchestral forces required consist of two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, (second doubling cor anglais), two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (two players: cymbals, glockenspiel, tubular bells, tamtam), piano and strings.

Mention the pianist Earl Wild and you will conjure the term virtuoso, indeed, super-virtuoso. A pianist who in Liszt's definition is 'called upon to make emotion speak and weep and sigh. He creates passions he will call to light in all their brilliance… he will call up scent and blossom and breathe the breath of life.' All in all a cornucopia of pianistic magic performed with grace, relish and fluency by Martin Jones, England's most recorded pianist.

New recordings of six superb Baroque suites by a London contemporary of Handel, graced a vision and ingenuity out of all proportion to his fame.

Certainly one of the most celebrated artists of the modern era, Janelle Monae's latest album is sure to be highly anticipated. It is said to be her 'queerest' and 'blackest' album and has already yielded lead single 'Float' featuring Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 - a swaggering, brassy victory lap which bodes well for the remaining contents.

NOW Music are excited to present a brand-new series - ‘NOW 12” 80s’. The first instalment – 1980 – is released on July 14th 2023.

In the late ‘70’s ‘disco’ became a phenomenon. Fueled by the success of the movie ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and the impact of the dance clubs, the music not only ruled the dance-floors but also the charts across the world. ‘The Best Disco Album’…. brings together the essential tracks from the era. Appropriately we kick off with the track ‘I Feel Love’ by Donna Summer, that not only came to represent the finest in disco but also pointed the way forward to the electronic and sequenced future of dance music. As well as ‘I Feel Love’, huge crowd pleasers from Earth Wind & Fire with The Emotions, The Jacksons, Lipps Inc. and Yvonne Elliman (from the afore-mentioned ‘Saturday Night Fever’ soundtrack) feature alongside truly timeless anthems from Gloria Gaynor, Village People, Dan Hartman and Thelma Houston as well as huge hits from Rose Royce, Odyssey and A Taste Of Honey. Established artists enjoyed some of their biggest success with disco tracks namely Diana Ross, Cher, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Three Degrees, Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr and even the then new-wave stars Blondie – all of whom are featured. And it wasn’t just the U.S. acts! Some of the biggest disco songs were created in Europe (including Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’) and massive hits from Heatwave, Patrick Juvet, Baccara, Meco, Ottawan, Eruption and Boney M are included here. On top of that, the biggest European act of the decade are celebrated twice on this collection with ‘Voulez Vous’ and the phenomenal ‘Dancing Queen’… ABBA!

In 1985, NOW Music released ‘NOW Dance: The 12” Mixes’, a 20-track compilation that included the extended or remix versions of some of the biggest recent hits and popular club tracks. This was followed a year later by a second 20-track volume, and in 1989, a third…NOW Music proudly present ‘NOW Dance – The 80s’; a selection of 48 tracks that appeared on those three original ‘NOW Dance’ albums - all in their 12”, extended or remixed versions.From the first (1985) ‘NOW Dance’ release – Philip Bailey and Phil Collins’ #1 smash ‘Easy Lover’ kicks off the album, with The Power Station, Eurythmics, Stephen Tin Tin Duffy, and Belouis Some following. Less compiled cuts from Eddy And The Soulband and Mahogany, Lillo Thomas, and T.C. Curtis are up next, along with huge chart and club hits from Loose Ends, Cool Notes, Jermaine Jackson, and the #1 ‘Move Closer’ from Phyllis Nelson. Two 80s classics from Ashford and Simpson (‘Solid’) and DeBarge (‘Rhythm Of The Night’) feature, before making way for a stellar line-up from the next ‘NOW Dance’ - from 1986.