Rias Kammerchor Wolfgang Rihm Astralis & Other Choral Works

In spite of the differences of time and distance, the choral works of the Australian composer Andrew Anderson (born in Melbourne in 1971) further the English cathedral tradition of such composers as Gerald Finzi and Herbert Howells, in music concerned particularly with lyricism and with clarity and directness of expression.

“This is music of confident, muscular vitality which breathes new life into the Requiem Mass. There are moments of great intimacy and solace to be found amongst the drama of this setting and the unequivocal final impression is one of true celebration and thanksgiving. Rapture and beauty are qualities common to the other fine works presented here - coupled with a truly individual approach to even the most familiar texts” (George Richford).

“This is music of confident, muscular vitality which breathes new life into the Requiem Mass. There are moments of great intimacy and solace to be found amongst the drama of this setting and the unequivocal final impression is one of true celebration and thanksgiving.

Jonathan Bielby MBE is Organist Emeritus of Wakefield Cathedral, where he was Organist and Director of Music for forty years from 1970 to 2010. As a composer Jonathan Bielby has written mainly for organ and voices, and this album brings together a selection of his recent sacred choral compositions.

Aside from his only opera Fidelio, Beethovens general link with the theater in Vienna came about largely with incidental music or songs to be inserted into the works of other composers- insertion arias. Konig Stephan was written to celebrate the politically significant opening of a new theatre in Pest, its triumphant mood honoring the ruling Austrian Emperor. Standard Bearer of female heroism Leonore Prohaska is commemorated with a Soldiers Chorus and a Romance with harp accompaniment. In Friedrich von Matthissons poem Opferlied (Sacrificial Song), a young man prays to Zeus to bestow upon him beauty and goodness in youth and old age. Two of Beethovens four settings are heard on this wide-ranging programme.

Aside from his only opera Fidelio, Beethovens general link with the theater in Vienna came about largely with incidental music or songs to be inserted into the works of other composers- insertion arias. Konig Stephan was written to celebrate the politically significant opening of a new theatre in Pest, its triumphant mood honoring the ruling Austrian Emperor. Standard Bearer of female heroism Leonore Prohaska is commemorated with a Soldiers Chorus and a Romance with harp accompaniment. In Friedrich von Matthissons poem Opferlied (Sacrificial Song), a young man prays to Zeus to bestow upon him beauty and goodness in youth and old age. Two of Beethovens four settings are heard on this wide-ranging programme.

Alec Roth's new oratorio, A Time to Dance, is a celebration of times and seasons. Jeffrey Skidmore and Ex Cathedra, who gave the premiere of the work in 2012, recreate the sheer exuberance of that live performance on this recording. The oratorio is paired with Roth's Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (Hatfield Service) and Men & Angels, a clever setting of John Donne's Antiphon "Praised be the God of love."

A versatile figure at home in lieder and in opera of several types, Katharina Konradi is the first major vocal star to emerge from the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. Based in Germany, Konradi has appeared in operas by Mozart, Strauss, and Wagner. Konradi was born on June 13, 1988, in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. Like many people in that city, formerly part of the Soviet Union, she grew up speaking Russian. At age 15, she moved to Hamburg, Germany. Although she spoke no German when she arrived, she succeeded in obtaining her Abitur (secondary school graduation) certificate at the Johannes-Brahms-Schule in Pinneberg in 2009.