Magi 2023

Owain Park was born in Bristol, UK in 1993. His compositions are published by Novello, and have been performed internationally by ensembles including the Tallis Scholars and the Aurora Orchestra.

“Syndenes magi” was the sixth Arabs in Aspic album, and a turning point in their long career. After “Pictures in a Dream” and “Victim of your Father’s agony” the structure of “the new Arabs” was set. They had lots of songs ready to go, but after attending a spectacular King Crimson gig in Oslo they decided that their new material wasn’t up to par, and they had to do better.

This programme highlights the evolution of Christmas music: from early monastic carols such as the original plainchant of O come, O come, Emmanuel; through the beautiful 16th-century melodies Lo, how a rose e'er blooming and the Coventry Carol; to the mighty splendours of later eras as exemplified by J.S. Bach, Vivaldi and Berlioz, with Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from Messiahreigning supreme. This classic VOX recording featuring the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Robert Shaw was originally issued on the 2-LP set Nativity in 1976. The Elite Recordings for VOX by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

This collection contains compositions about Christmas, it is released on the Legacy Recordings label October 13, 2023.

One of Britain’s most popular contemporary composers, Patrick Hawes has teamed up with the excellent Voce Chamber Choir of Connecticut to create an album of twenty brand-new Christmas choral works.

One of Britain’s most popular contemporary composers, Patrick Hawes has teamed up with the excellent Voce Chamber Choir of Connecticut to create an album of twenty brand-new Christmas choral works.Specially written for the choir, the first collection and album title sets words by Patrick’s poet brother Andrew. The Nativity, for unaccompanied choir,moves through the Christmas nativity scene exploring the drama of this momentous moment in human history.

This 7 collection includes recordings made by Brazilian-born conductor John Neschling of the orchestral works of Ottorino Respighi, alongside Puccini the best-known Italian composer of the first half of the twentieth century. Widely praised by the press, including BBC Music Magazine, which described them as ‘the finest-ever survey of the composer’s orchestral output undertaken by a single conductor’, these recordings reveal Respighi’s extraordinary range. His transcriptions of works from the baroque period bear witness to his great musical refinement and are an example of the way in which people dared to adapt to current tastes at the beginning of the 20th century.