Shaolin Nicolas Errera

Joseph-Hector Fiocco's music is remarkable for its quality, richness of invention and the liveliness that characterizes it all. With a somewhat surprising coherence it achieves a fusion of French and Italian aesthetics, as regards both harmony and melody. His infectious melodies give the listener the impression of knowing them already; singability is always paramount, and the lines are supple and elegant. Now and then a passage is reminiscent of Vivaldi, Pergolesi or Couperin. Yet the firm, inspired pen of Fiocco confirms his stature as a composer of the first order, with a highly personal language full of sensuality and light. Nicolas Achten and Scherzi Musicali deliver a second volume devoted to Fiocco's motets, after a 2011 release which was awarded a Diapason d'or Decouverte and IRR Outstanding.

These motets for one, two and four voices, were composed to augment the repertoire of the choir school of Saint Michel et Sainte Gudule in Brussels, where Fiocco was singing master. Nicolas Achten who directs Scherzi Musicali, found this music “immediately appealing” and hopes that this recording will show the quality of the work of this neglected composer.

Hélène de Montgeroult was a student of Clementi in Paris. She survived the French Revolution – during which, as an aristocrat, her life was in grave danger – to become a celebrated pianist, composer and author of a famous piano method. Her compositional language in these nine sonatas is wide and includes Italianate models as well as elements that reflect the influence of Haydn and Mozart, with chromatic and surprising harmonies, contrasts of register, chorale-like nobility and brilliantly athletic finales. Featuring several world première recordings, these sonatas represent a major contribution to the French repertoire of the late Classical and early Romantic periods.

2012 sophomore album from the Australian band. Their debut album, Flight Of The Ancients (2011), was a critical and commercial success story, lauded as a truly original blend of the sounds of 1970's West Africa, Ethiopia and the pioneering and progressive avant-garde jazz artists of the same period. Flight Of The Ancients went onto be nominated for several music awards, including the 25th Aria Fine Arts Awards in the world music category, whilst the band, led by Ross McHenry, cemented its reputation as a truly revelatory live act, with a colorful and vibrant visual element to their shows, with the band resplendent in flowing, hooded robes and face paint to complete the spiritual presentation of their highly original music.

Il suit des études musicales au sein des chœurs de la maîtrise de Notre-Dame de Paris.Parallèlement à l'apprentissage de la composition, il travaille à installer le matériel d'un musicien dans de multiples séances d'enregistrements dans les grands studios de la capitale. Il assiste aux enregistrements d'artistes comme Barbara, Michel Berger, France Gall, Johnny Hallyday, Jean-Jacques Goldman, mais aussi des enregistrements de musiques de films de Vladimir Cosma, Michel Legrand, Francis Lai…

Célèbre pour son rôle d’agent artistique dans la série télévisée Dix pour Cent, l’acteur et réalisateur Nicolas Maury se lance dans la chanson. Un peu à la manière d’Isabelle Adjani en son temps – Adjani, à qui l’acteur rend un hommage mi moqueur mi respectueux sur la pochette de ce premier album drôle, classe et sensible. Maury est comédien, donc. Un fait qu’il n’essaie pas de camoufler, comme le montre À ma fenêtre le matin, interlude introspectif et parlé qui éclaire avec émotion le thème principal de l’album : tout comme Maxence/Jacques Perrin dans Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, Nicolas Maury part à la recherche de l’idéal masculin en chansons. Submergé de cordes hollywoodiennes oniriques et tragiques, l’album dessine petit à petit un personnage impliqué dans une quête à la fois désespérée et enivrante, autant passionné par les sentiments que par l’amour physique (Blouson noir, Avec lui).

Il aura fallu vingt-et-un ans à Dominique Nicolas, alias Dominik Nicolas, pour sortir son premier album solo après son départ d'Indochine. Un laps de temps que le guitariste et fondateur (avec Nicola Sirkis) du groupe à succès n'a visiblement pas mis à profit pour explorer les méandres de la musique. Jeune homme des années 1980, Dominik Nicolas reste visiblement un fan transi de cette décennie du siècle dernier.

Crouch End Festival Chorus presents two Britten classics: Saint Nicolas and A Ceremony of Carols. Full of vibrancy and drama, Saint Nicolas is performed alongside the fabulous BBC Concert Orchestra and features tenor Mark Le Brocq as well as Coldfall Primary School Choir, members of Hertfordshire Chorus and Hannah Brine Choirs.The ever popular A Ceremony of Carols is performed with harpist Sally Pryce, with both works conducted by David Temple.A Ceremony of Carols (1942) and Saint Nicolas (1948) are the earliest works that Benjamin Britten composed for public performance primarily for boys’ voices. These performances, recorded here at London’s All Saints' Church and Alexandra Palace Theatre, truly show how glorious these two pieces of music are, and why they have remained so popular.