Lofofora la Distance

Germany’s most successful instrumental rock act Long Distance Calling explore the next step in their multi-faceted career with their 7th studio album ‘How Do We Want To Live?’. The band have returned with a sharply defined, artistically deep exploration of the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. In late 2020, Long Distance Calling will continue their hugely successful ‘Seats & Sounds’ tour, and this year also saw them nominated for the German Musikautorenpreis 2020 for compositional & artistic achievement. ‘How Do We Want To Live?’ carries all the bands trademarked sounds whilst at the same time revealing new, surprising and unexpected elements of the Long Distance Calling sonic landscape.

Nothing can turn back the tides of time or stop their inexorable forward grind, but music can always be relied upon to make the journey more enjoyable. LONG DISTANCE CALLING have been expressing the inexpressible for the last 16 years, ploughing their primarily instrumental furrow with the skill and dexterity of true sonic artisans.

Issued in a 4-panel Digifile. Given away for free with German magazine "RockHard" issue 07/08/2020. Exclusive Rock Hard sampler.

Francesco Landini was the most famous Florentine Trecento composer, known for being a multi-instrumentalist, notably a virtuoso on the organ. As known, he lost his sight at the age of 7 but, despite his disability, he excelled in the study of music and all liberal arts. Might the condition of blindness have affected the poetic production of Landini? La Reverdie together with Christophe Deslignes, investigate this hypothesis, with a new project that presents both well-known masterpieces and pieces never recorded before, searching for signs that might be eventually impressed in the verses and the music of Magister Coecus by the loss of his sight.

Thanks to Julien Chauvin and his ensemble La Loge, the programs of the Concert Spirituel’s evenings in the late 18th century Paris come back to life. The so called Haydn’s “symphonies parisiennes” are the core of their musical project which also features contemporary composers, some of them are still unknown.

Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre is one of the most remarkable female musical figures in history. Rarely has a woman composer garnered such esteem in her own time, and her success, rather than provoking resentment in the hearts of her contemporaries, inspired the utmost admiration. One has to give credit to the Grand Siècle, a unique period in this regard, for granting Élisabeth the respect she truly deserved. This recording features works seldom heard but nonetheless of exceptional quality, exemplifying two genres in which Jacquet de La Guerre excelled: the French cantata and the suite for harpsichord. In these, we can discover the intrinsic and timeless value of her artistry, regardless of the anecdotal aspects of the historical and social conditions in which they were created.

I discovered Rachmaninov’s ‘Vespers’ singing in a choir, and the work made a genuine emotional impact on me! This music gives off an impression of naturalness and ‘simplicity’, yet in fact its architecture is complex and innovative for its time in the quasi-orchestral treatment of the voices. I wanted to place the work in a liturgical context that I conceived by drawing my inspiration from the Orthodox ceremonies I have been lucky enough to attend in Russia and Romania. The special characteristic and the beauty of this Vigil service (which in the Orthodox churches includes both Vespers and Matins) is that it accompanies the prayers of the faithful from dusk until sunrise.

This new OSR recording presents the two most ambitious musical responses to Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1893 epoch-making play Pelléas et Mélisande.

The first ever album dedicated to the music of Ernest Shand, including several first recordings.