John Curry

Multi-reedist John Surman returns to his chorister roots and lays bare his compositional prowess with this oratorio commissioned by the Salisbury Festival and premiered in June of 1996. The Salisbury Festival Chorus, founded in 1987 by Howard Moody (of whose compositions the Hilliard Ensemble and Trio Mediaeval have been strong proponents) approaches its Old Testament sources as the composer sets them: that is, with panache, a flair for syncopation, and raw intensity. Add to this pianist John Taylor in an unexpected turn on cathedral organ, and you’ve got a recipe for one of Surman’s most intriguing catalogue entries to date.

The inescapable album of the undisputed star of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fearless is the second album by the English actor/singer Tim Curry. Released in 1979, it was his most commercially successful album, reaching #53 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart.

Guitar works by New Zealand composers continue to display a richness of imagination and sense of colour that makes them intensely attractive to listeners. In 1990 Jack Body wrote African Strings, which transcribed music of the Madagascan valiha tube zither and West African kora harp to captivating effect. John Psathas’ Muisca refers to the Chibcha-speaking people of what is now Colombia in music of conversational vitality and driving rhythm. Anthony Ritchie evokes lovers’ dances in Pas de Deux and there is a beautiful arrangement of the famous traditional Maori love song Pokarekare Ana.